Judge Russo was appointed to the federal bench on February 25, 2016, following 28 years of service to the U.S. District Court, first as a staff attorney to Judge James Redden, and later as a senior staff attorney to Judge Ann Aiken. Judge Russo has served as an adjunct law professor at the University of Oregon School of Law since 2004, and she has also served as an adjunct law professor at Lewis and Clark Law School. She is an active community volunteer and also serves her legal community on several boards, including the Federal Bar Association, Oregon Women Lawyers, and the Multnomah County Bar Association. She earned her JD from Lewis and Clark Law School.

 

Judge Russo is the fourth woman to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the District of Oregon, following Magistrate Judges Janice Stewart, Patricia Sullivan and Stacie Beckerman. 

 

She is just the seventh woman to serve on the U.S. District Court since 1859, following U.S. District Judges Helen Frye, Ann Aiken, and Anna J. Brown, in addition to the other U.S. Magistrate Judges.