The City County Observer is pleased to honor Evansville City Councilwoman from the 3rd Ward Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley with a MOLE AWARD for 2012. Brinkerhoff-Riley’s courage and diligence in vetting contributed significantly to save the taxpayers of Evansville at least $4.8 Million by stopping the Earthcare Energy deal in its tracks. After the City Council approved this deal in a controversial 5 – 4 vote Stephanie expended hundreds of hours of personal effort to vet the concept and the management team. Eventually an opportunity to terminate the agreement was seized upon by the Winnecke Administration and as they say, the rest is history. For this exceptional effort the CCO has chosen Councilwoman Riley as one of only 5 recipients of this year’s Mole Award.
Stephanie Brinkerhoff Riley was born in Danville, Illinois in 1972. Her father was a union Boilermaker and farmer, and her mother a housewife. She moved with her family moved to Newburgh, Indiana in 1988, and graduated with honors from Castle High School. Stephanie went on to the University of Evansville and worked full-time to supplement her scholarships to pay her own expenses. Stephanie was the first person in her family to graduate from college.
She finished cum laude in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Administration and a minor in Political Science. She went on to put herself through law school at Indiana University Mauer School of Law in Bloomington. Graduating in 1999, Stephanie went to work as a business agent for the United Steelworkers of America, and was a third generation union member. After three years with the Union, she went on to work for a union-side labor law firm in Chicago.
The call of home tugged on Stephanie’s heartstrings so considering the Evansville area home, she returned to start her own law practice. Brinkerhoff-Riley, LLC was born in January of 2004, and Stephanie limited her practice to family law, criminal law and employment discrimination. In late 2006, she merged her practice with Gerling Law Offices.
Stephanie continued her training and became a registered Domestic Relations Mediator, an advocate of collaborative divorce and one of four Certified Family Law Specialists in southwestern Indiana.
From 2004 to 2011, Stephanie became very involved in the Evansville community, serving as the Chairman of the Family Law Section of the Evansville Bar Association, joining the Board of Directors of both the YWCA and the Jacobsville Area Community Corporation, serving as a Precinct Committeeperson and the Third Ward Leader for the Democrat Party, and as a mentor through the YWCA Live Y’ers Program. She also volunteered as the defense attorney in the Juvenile Court CHINS Drug Court, became President of the Vanderburgh County Democrat Club, was invited and attended Leadership Evansville, and won numerous awards for her pro bono legal work.
Her community involvement culminated in a run for the Third Ward City Council Seat in 2011. After winning the election and wanting to devote significant time to the position, Stephanie left Gerling and re-established her own firm. She now owns and runs Brinkerhoff -Riley, P.C., where her practice is limited to family law litigation.
Stephanie is married to Bradley Riley, a Tool & Die Maker and the Machine Shop Supervisor at Evana Automation. They have three sons and a daughter: Ty is a 21 year old college student at the University of Southern Indiana, Cole is a senior at North high school, and the twins, Zoe and Beck, are 30 months old.
From humble beginnings, Stephanie has largely created her own destiny. She backs down from nothing and is absolutely committed to making Evansville a better place to live. Staunchly independent, she is not afraid to take on both parties at the same time if need be. She’s smart, responsive to the voters, and capable of being Mayor someday.
I do appreciate Councilwoman Brinkerhoff-Riley’s efforts in exposing the Earthcare Energy debacle.
I have seen Stephanie at ERC meetings where much was on the table in the way of taxpayer dollars and her questions cut right to the heart of the matter. I was disappointed when she joined some others on the council to vote for a resolution in support of the Teamsters during their contract negotiations. In my humble opinion council members should not interject themselves into those type of situations.
She has the makings of an excellent city council member and I wish her nothing but the best. The majority of local citizens are always seeking someone to speak for them. The patricians have no trouble being heard.
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I agree. Stephanie is diligent and smart. I understand that her primary income has been from a union of some sort most of her life, so she has them in her heart. However, all of my life I have been a “scab” and have been spit on, threatened, and treated like a third class dog when working next to the boilermakers. All I wanted to do is work and pay my own way. But these guys believe you are stealing their jobs even if it is shoveling their poop. These union members and by extension her family have created a lifetime enemy in me by the way have been treated.
Stephanie was a union member for three years. She has been self-employed for the last nine years.
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