Anna Elizabeth Blackburne-Rigsby (born May 6, 1961) is the chief judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest appellate court for the District of Columbia. After graduating from Duke University and getting her Juris Doctor from Howard University. She works very closely with her husband Robert Rigsby and has great influence from her mother, Laura D. Blackburne. Early life and education Born in Washington, D.C., Blackburne-Rigsby graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens, New York, in 1979. She began her collegiate education at Duke University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1983 and later received the Duke University Presidential Leadership Award. After graduating, she was one of twelve people chosen to spend time in San Francisco, California, working as a public affairs fellow of the Coro Foundation. In 1987, she received a J.D. degree from the Howard University School of Law, finishing in the top five percent of her class. While there, she also earned the position of Lead Articles Editor for the Howard Law Journal and was also recognized as the Co-Captain for the Charles Hamilton Houston Moot Court Team. Career After law school, she spent five years as an associate at Hogan & Hartson (now known as Hogan Lovells US LLP) in D.C. During her time working for the law firm, she argued on matters including education, real estate, commercial, employment discrimination before federal courts. In 1992, she went to work at the office of the Corporation Counsel for D.C., first as a special counsel and then as Deputy Corporation Counsel in charge of the Family Services Division. This division was responsible for protecting and supporting children who experience abuse and neglect as well as domestic violence in their households. In 1995, she became a hearing commissioner at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, a role later retitled Magistrate Judge. In 2000, President Bill Clinton assigned her the position of Associate Judge in the D.C. Superior Court. During the duration of her time as Associate Judge, she sat on a chair in the District of Columbia Courts’ Standing Committee on Fairness and Access and also served on the District of Columbia's Access to Justice Commission. President George W. Bush promoted her to the position of Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals in August 2006, and her latest position of Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals was assigned