Benita Pearson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is the first African-American woman to hold a seat on a federal court in Ohio. Born and raised in Cleveland and a graduate of Georgetown University, she worked as an accountant before becoming a lawyer. From 1996-1998, Pearson served as a law clerk for venerated U.S. District Court Judge John Michael Manos (1950). Subsequently, she was associated with two Cleveland law firms before being appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney. In 2008, she was appointed a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court, and in 2009, Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown nominated her for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. She was confirmed by the Senate and appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010.