Hon. Dana Fabe (Ret.)

Dana Fabe served on the bench in Alaska for nearly 28 years, and she continues to serve on the supreme court and the court of appeals in a pro-tem capacity. She was appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court in 1996 and was the first woman to serve on the court. She was elected by her colleagues to serve three terms as Chief Justice, from 2000-03; 2006-09; and 2012-15, and is only the second justice in the court’s history to serve three terms in that role. She clerked for Justice Edmond W. Burke of the Alaska Supreme Court in 1976-77 and served as Chief Public Defender for Alaska from 1981-88 by appointment of the Governor. In 1988, she was appointed to the superior court bench in Anchorage where she served as deputy presiding judge and training judge.

Since retirement from active status on the supreme court in 2016, Dana has opened a private mediation practice and has mediated over 400 litigated matters, as well as resolving conflicts in the workplace. While on the trial bench, Dana also conducted hundreds of settlement conferences, receiving mediation training in Alaska and at national conferences. Since retirement, she has attended three summer sessions of the Straus Institute’s Professional Skills Program in Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine School of Law, taking courses in advanced mediation, as well as conflict resolution consulting and executive coaching.

Dana has chaired the Alaska Civil Rules Committee and co-chaired the Alaska Fairness and Access Commission. She has served as co-chair of the Advisory Committee of the Center for Judicial Ethics at the National Center for State Courts and on the board of directors and as second vice-president of the Conference of Chief Justices. She is a past President of the National Association of Women Judges and founded two of its signature programs: Success Inside and Out, a reentry program for women prisoners, and Mentor Jet, a speed-mentoring program for students on careers in law.

Dana’s national awards include the 2017 Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Education Award, presented by the National Center for State Courts; the 2012 Distinguished Service Award, presented by the National Center for State Courts; and the 2012 Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award, presented by the National Association of Women Judges. She is also one of the charter inductees of the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame and has been named a YWCA Woman of Achievement. She is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Sustaining elected member of the American Law Institute.