A dedicated public servant with a foundation in social work, Judge Alyssa Cowan — raised in Monroeville with roots firmly planted in our community — has been fighting for Allegheny County families for over 20 years.

Having spent thousands of hours in the courtroom, she knows that the days spent by families in front of a judge are some of the most difficult of their entire lives. To that point, she has one simple yet important commitment: treat any member of your family, should they appear in her courtroom, with the care and attention she’d want for her own.

She also knows the difference a good judge can make in having the best outcome for all those involved and promises to be a caring, honest, attentive, and unbiased judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

Judge Cowan is also an adjunct professor and proud Pitt faculty union member at the University of Pittsburgh where she is helping to shape the next generation of advocates by teaching courses on advocacy, lobbying, and risk assessment for children and families.

Join us in this fight and vote to keep Judge Alyssa Cowan on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas this Tuesday, May 20th!

“My path to the law was rather different from other candidates. Prior to attending law school, I was a practicing social worker and I have my master’s degree in social work.

I practiced as part of an interdisciplinary center at the University of Pennsylvania composed of members from the schools of social work, law, medicine, and nursing providing evaluations on complex cases in the family division of Philadelphia’s courts. It was through working with court involved children and families in this capacity that I saw the real need for interdisciplinary training for professionals working with our systems involved families.

Judges and attorneys typically lack training in child development, family systems, human psychology, and lack an understanding of the pressures families are facing in their lives and communities and thus families weren’t being treated with dignity and respect in the courtroom. I went to law school specifically to bridge that gap and improve problem solving in the courtroom for families coming to court in crisis by applying an interdisciplinary approach.

I received a public interest scholarship (one of three students my class year) to pursue this work and I have dedicated myself to improving best practice in child welfare law throughout the 21 years of my legal career.

Should you elect me to serve as a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, I pledge to bring this interdisciplinary approach to the bench each and every day.”

Signed,

Judge Alyssa Cowan