Pasadena Council Honors Trailblazing Lawyer in Moving Tribute

The Pasadena City Council, preceded its budget deliberations on Monday night with a tribute to Betty Jane “BJ” Kirwin Hanna, a pioneering environmental lawyer and community leader whose life of public service left an indelible mark on the city.

Councilmember Steve Madison delivered the poignant remembrance of Kirwin Hanna, highlighting her groundbreaking legal career that navigated significant gender barriers in the professional world. Initially attending the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, she graduated in 1968 and obtained her law degree from Berkeley Law School in 1971.

“She was emblematic of one of my favorite expressions, which I know you’ve heard many times, which is if you want to get something done, ask a busy person,” Madison said.

After clerking for a federal judge in Los Angeles, Hanna became a distinguished environmental law partner at the prestigious Latham and Watkins firm, plunging into a legal landscape where few women practiced, especially in “big law” firms.

Her professional achievements were matched by her extensive community involvement, spanning multiple influential boards. Kirwan Hanna served on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board, an Environmental Protection Agency Secretary’s Blue Ribbon Panel, and chaired the environmental subcommittee of the California Chamber of Commerce. She was also a board member for the Westridge School for Girls, the Sandyland Protective Association, and the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Notably, Hanna was a longtime board chair for Planned Parenthood of Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley and a member of the Valley Hunt Club, where her memorial service was recently held. Madison noted Hanna’s particular significance to the community, stating that “our community is the worse off for not having BJ here with us any longer.”

The council unanimously agreed to adjourn in her memory, extending condolences to her husband, John Terence Hanna, and her children and grandchildren. Her memorial represented more than a personal tribute—it was a recognition of a woman who tirelessly promoted women’s roles in law and public service.