Friends School Announces The Honorable George L. Russell III ’84 as the 2025 Keynote Commencement Speaker

Friends School is honored to welcome The Honorable George L. Russell III ’84, Chief District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, as the keynote commencement speaker on June 8, 2025.

Judge Russell’s career of distinction and wide-reaching impact is noteworthy among the history of 301 African Americans who have served on U.S. federal benches since 1949.

Judge Russell obtained his B.A. degree from Morehouse College in 1988 and received his J.D. degree in 1991 from the University of Maryland School of Law. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1991.
Upon graduation from law school, Judge Russell served as law clerk to the Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. He entered into private practice in 1992 with the law firms of Hazel and Thomas, P.C. and Whiteford Taylor and Preston, P.A. In 1994, Judge Russell became an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Civil Division. Judge Russell returned to private practice in 1999, accepting a position with the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos, P.C. In 2002, Judge Russell returned to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland in the Criminal Division.

Appointed to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in 2007 by Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., Judge Russell was elected to a 15-year term in 2008. In 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Russell to be a district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. (Throughout his presidency, Obama appointed 52 African American justices to State District Courts.) Thirteen years later, Judge Russell became the Chief District Judge on May 1, 2024, having presided over 300 cases.

Judge Russell has been, and continues to be, involved in community service organizations. He served on the Board of Directors for organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maryland (2002-2004), the Community Law Center (1998-2004), and the Public Justice Center (2002-2004). Judge Russell served as Trustee and Director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (2002 to 2016). He has been a Trustee for the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland since 2007, an important archive which houses significant Maryland case papers, court justice portraits, and legal documents, dating back to 1790. His father, George Levi Russell, Jr. (1929–2025), was the first African American to sit on the circuit court in Maryland.

A “lifer” at Friends, Judge Russell joined the PrePrimary in 1968 and was one of three graduating seniors who spent 15 years at Friends. During his time in the Upper School, he served on the Senate, participated in the Outing Club, and played Varsity Football and Varsity Basketball. 

We look forward to Judge Russell’s keynote address and having him back on campus. We invite all families, friends, and alumni to celebrate the Class of 2025’s Commencement on June 8 at 5:30 p.m. on the Middle School lawn. Tickets are not required.