Avana Epperson-Temple, president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyer Association, has been recently honored with the 2025 Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award in the category of emerging executives.
The award, now in its 30th anniversary year, highlights nine women who are captains of industry within their field and have distinguished themselves as leaders. Past honorees include Governor Maura Healey and Restaurateur Nia Grace.
Epperson-Temple received her B.A. in international studies and sociology from Emory University and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. A successful attorney, she was appointed to the Business Litigation Session Advisory Committee by the Massachusetts Superior Court in 2022.
Early in her career, Epperson-Temple began as an associate attorney for Boston’s Morrison Mahoney LLP, a firm that specializes in trial work. She specializes in professional liability, insurance coverage litigation and business litigation, often defending business owners and other entrepreneurial professionals against allegations ranging from negligence to breach of contract.
“I am deeply humbled to be honored as a 2025 Pinnacle Award recipient and to stand among such profound changemakers and visionaries whose achievements continue to elevate and empower our community,” said Epperson-Temple.
She has been honored in the past with the Women’s Bar Association’s 2023 Emerging Women Leaders in the Law Award and the Massachusetts Bar Association’s 2021 Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. Epperson-Temple was also recognized by “Get Konnected!” as one of Boston’s Most Influential Millennials of Color in 2018, named as an Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2020, and named one of Emory’s top 40 under 40 alumni in 2021.
Epperson-Temple is active in her community in a philanthropic capacity. She serves on the Board of Directors at the Pine Street Inn, a Boston-based homeless shelter that focuses on providing housing and other resources to the homeless. She also volunteers with the Family Law Project as a pro-bono attorney.
Epperson-Temple is also passionate about fitness. In an interview with Women Who Win, she said, “My big dream extends beyond my career in law and centers on my passion for fitness. Having worked as a fitness instructor since 2017, I am committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within fitness spaces, particularly around body size and shape.”
With respect to her legal career, she is “focused on advancing by exploring opportunities to serve on a corporate board and building a robust book of business.”
