Login | April 27, 2025
Two Akron muni employees to be honored as Women of Distinction
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 3, 2024
As a young girl growing up in Lake Township in Stark County, Ohio, Nicole Hagy was part of a local Girl Scouts troop.
Years later after taking on the role of Akron Municipal Court Community Outreach and Grants Coordinator, she attended two Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) Women of Distinction awards events.
While she was impressed by the backgrounds and contributions of the recipients, who include Akron Municipal Court Administrative/Presiding Judge Annalisa S. Williams, she said she never imagined she would be one of them.
But that’s exactly what is about to happen.
On May 16, Hagy along with Akron Municipal Court Judge Nicole Walker, will join eight others from the region in being honored as “Women of Distinction” during the organization’s 13th annual awards luncheon, which takes place at the InterContinental Cleveland.
First established in 2012, the event was created to celebrate and recognize women who’ve gone the extra mile to make their communities better places to live and work.
“I was very surprised when I was notified,” said Hagy. “I am proud to join this group of women who have accomplished so much.”
“I was very excited when I learned the news,” said Judge Walker. “I am honored to receive this recognition.”
Also among this year’s recipients are U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes and Ohio Sen. Kristina Roegner, who represents District 27.
In addition, three high school students—Sydney Harbour (GlenOak H.S.), Irenne Scherer (Bio-Med Science Academy) and Jessica Castle (Strongsville H.S.) will receive college scholarships after being selected as 2024 Leaders of Tomorrow, and Rock Entertainment Group will be presented with the Advancing Women Award.
In a press release, GSNEO Chief Executive Officer Jane Christyson stated “girls need to see leadership, courage, confidence and purpose-driven accomplishment in other women in order to envision themselves with those qualities.
“We are proud to celebrate both Judge Walker and Ms. Hagy as role models who pave the way for our future female leaders.”
Elected to the Akron Municipal Court bench in 2017, Judge Walker served as administrative/presiding judge in 2020.
She currently presides over the certified specialized docket ARCH (Active Recovery Creates Hope) Court, which provides intensive supervision and treatment to repeat OVI (Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated) offenders.
Together with Judge Ron Cable, she worked to start a new housing program, which began last fall.
Designed to promote workable solutions between landlords and tenants, the program provides referrals to both parties, while assisting them in understanding the mediation process and the benefits of utilizing it to resolve their matters.
The program also hopes to assist indigent homeowners who have been cited by the city for failure to maintain utilities and make repairs.
“One of the things we envision doing down the road is starting a separate docket that I would oversee that would provide resources to these homeowners, many of whom face difficult hardships that have led to the violations,” said Judge Walker.
In addition, Judge Walker has partnered with the Humane Society of Summit County to start a new specialized docket for animal cruelty and neglect cases that will be called BARK court.
Although the work has already begun, there is no definitive timetable in place as to when it will begin.
A native of Ashtabula County, Ohio, Judge Walker’s path to the bench was not a direct one.
As an undergraduate at The University of Akron, she majored in English literature and sociology, taking a position as a property manager after earning her bachelor’s degree.
“Law school was always a dream of mine but I did not know how realistic it was given the cost,” said Judge Walker.
When she did enroll at Akron Law, she was an evening student. She worked as a law librarian at Brouse McDowell during the day.
After earning her juris doctor in 2006, Brouse hired her as an associate attorney.
About two years later she joined the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office as an assistant prosecutor in the felony decision.
“My father was the police chief in my hometown of North Kingsville for 25 years and I had always wanted to do litigation,” said Judge Walker. “Brouse was more of a transactional law firm so when I got the chance to get some courtroom experience I could not pass up the opportunity.”
Judge Walker later served as a magistrate in the general division of the Summit County Common Pleas Court under Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer.
When Judge Stormer took the probate court bench, she asked Judge Walker to be a magistrate at that court, which she did until she was elected to the Akron Municipal Court in 2017.
A longtime member of the Akron and Ohio State bar associations, Judge Walker serves on the Oriana House advisory committee and on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina, & Stark Counties Inc.
In addition to her upcoming honor, Judge Walker received a judicial award from the Ohio Association of Magistrates in 2018, where she is a former member. She was also an ATHENA Akron Inc. Leadership Award finalist in 2022.
Judge Walker, who won a second term last year, said her focus right now is on getting BARK court off the ground and continuing to find innovative ways to serve the citizens that comprise the Akron Municipal Court’s jurisdiction.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve as an Akron Municipal Court judge, which allows me to help people during some of the most stressful times in their lives,” said Judge Walker.
Hagy started her position as Akron Municipal Court Community Outreach and Grants Coordinator in June 2017.
A graduate of Lake High School, she received her bachelor’s degree in 2007 from Walsh University in North Canton, where she majored in marketing and minored in English.
Hagy initially worked as a freelance journalist for the Observer-Reporter in Canton and served as a donations coordinator in the stock pile division of the Stark County Regional Planning Commission.
In December 2008, she started as a public information associate for the Stark County District Library.
From Nov. 2011 to Feb. 2016, Hagy served as senior social and digital marketing coordinator for the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) in North Canton.
While at NIHF, she obtained a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University.
Prior to starting at Akron Municipal Court, she held the titles of retail marketing manager at Harry London Candies and social media marketing and community content manager at MeyerDC in Hudson, respectively.
As community outreach and grants coordinator, Hagy is the primary contact for local media. Her other duties include securing grant money to fund court programs and projects and creating content for its social media platforms.
In 2021, Hagy joined the Ohio Supreme Court Judicial College faculty where she shares her expertise on public relations strategies. She has presented on best practices related to social media, community outreach and employee engagement at various marketing conferences held nationwide.
The following year, she launched a professional development group for grant writers and marketing professionals in the Akron/Canton area.
“Grant writing is a difficult task and due to its nature it can be filled with a lot of rejection,” said Hagy. “When I saw that a group for grant writers in Pittsburgh was formed and that each month they brought in a representative from a different area foundation, I knew it would be successful in the Akron/Canton region too.
“It has been a great way for local grant writers to meet one another and learn the types of projects donors and foundations want to fund,” Hagy said. “The speakers give us a bit of history about their organization and their mission and then they take questions. It’s very casual and the foundation representatives love it too. It’s completely free and it’s a win-win for all of us.”
In addition, she is a former chair and current board member at Hope Meadows Foundation and completed two terms on the board of the Victim Assistance Program.
In 2019, Hagy received a Greater Akron Chamber 30 for the Future Award and two years later the Chamber’s Women’s Network Leadership Institute presented her with the Laura Allio Emerging Leader Award.
Hagy’s dog Daphne, a fox red Labrador retriever, is currently being trained to be a facility dog at the court.
“I really love my job and I am always looking for new ways to expand the court’s community outreach efforts,” said Hagy.
For more information on the upcoming Women of Distinction awards luncheon, visit gsneo.org.