Fatou Calixte Presented with the Rose Deeb Kitchen Award by the Tallahassee Women Lawyers (TWL) and the Kitchen Family  

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Stearns Weaver Miller announced that Tallahassee Associate Fatou Calixte was presented the Rose Deeb Kitchen Award by the Tallahassee Women Lawyers (TWL) and the Kitchen family. The award commemorates Rose Deeb Kitchen and recognizes women in the Second Judicial Circuit who have overcome obstacles and hardship to become attorneys.

Fatou Calixte was born and raised in Germany, where she began her career in financial services and where she met her husband, an American soldier stationed abroad. Shortly after getting married, they had a son, whom Fatou largely raised on her own during her husband’s military deployments and assignments.
During the pandemic, Fatou’s husband was confined to a military base due to lockdown restrictions. As a result, Fatou shouldered the responsibility of purchasing a home, relocating the family to Florida, and helping her middle-school-aged son adjust to a new school and community—all on her own. Despite these significant challenges, Fatou began her studies at FSU College of Law, where she excelled both academically and professionally.

Despite a multitude of family commitments and responsibilities, Fatou devoted herself to her legal studies as well as to numerous professional and community organizations. Fatou served as a student advocate with FSU Law’s International Human Rights Clinic; a judicial extern for the Northern District of the Division of Administrative Hearings; a legislative fellow with the Florida House of Representatives in the Health & Human Services Committee; an invited staff editor for the Journal of Transnational Law and Policy; a board member of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA); a member of the Regional Champion BLSA Mock Trial Team; a member of the Student Advisory Board for the Raising the Bar+ Program; and a member of the Career Services Student Advisory Board.

After graduating, Fatou joined Stearns Weaver Miller, where she had previously worked as a law clerk during law school. In her second year of practice—and with her son nearing high school graduation—Fatou welcomed a new baby into her family.

Fatou remains active in the legal community as Meetings Coordinator and Board Member of TWL and a member of the Stafford Inn of Court. Fatou also played a key role in developing the Bridge to Law School program, supporting first-generation students through mentoring and professional guidance. She remains an essential voice as the program continues to grow.

“Fatou embodies the persistence, dedication, tenacity and excellence the Rose Deeb Kitchen Award is designed to recognize,” said Felicia Kitzmiller, President of Tallahassee Women Lawyers and Shareholder at Stearns Weaver Miller. “No outside observer would guess the struggles Fatou has overcome to be in the position she is today. She is a beacon of positivity who brings energy to her every endeavor – as a wife and mother, sister and daughter, friend and colleague. TWL is honored to celebrate her and her commitment to herself, the law, education, family and community.“