Becky Tin Joins Board of Asheville Watchdog

Becky Tin, a lawyer and former district court judge, has joined Asheville Watchdog’s Board of Directors. 

Tin, who divides her time between Asheville and Charlotte, was a Mecklenburg County District Court judge for 16 years, presiding over domestic violence cases, high-conflict divorces, landlord-tenant and other civil and criminal matters. 

She received the 2013 Women of Justice Award for Public Service from North Carolina Lawyers Weekly; was recognized as 2018 Judge of the Year by the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys; and received the 2019 John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award for exemplary service to the legal profession from the North Carolina State Bar. She also served on the North Carolina District Court Judges’ Education Committee with faculty from the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, helping to design curriculum and lecturing at statewide judicial conferences.

Before her legal career, Tin received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where she competed on the women’s varsity gymnastics team, and went on to receive a master’s degree in liberal studies from the New School for Social Research. She then pursued a public radio journalism career with WBAI-Pacifica in New York, followed by WXPN and WHYY in Philadelphia. She reported from Nicaragua and Puerto Rico as a freelance documentary producer for NPR in Washington.

After her stint in journalism, Tin studied at Harvard Law School and graduated magna cum laude. She worked for New Hampshire Public Defender, a nonprofit corporation that provides legal representation to indigent defendants. She returned to her hometown of Charlotte after receiving an offer to work for Ferguson Stein, the law firm founded by civil rights pioneer Julius L. Chambers, where she practiced employment discrimination and education law.

Tin’s spouse, Noell, is the managing partner of the law firm Tin Fulton Walker and Owen. Together they have three adult sons. One is a lawyer for Southern Environmental Law Center; another is a firefighter and an emergency medical technician; the youngest is a recent graduate from Cornell. Tin currently owns and operates Midwood Pilates, where she teaches Pilates and yoga. She and Noell travel with Kona, their lively and athletic rescue dog, and KJ, their cat. In Asheville they enjoy hiking, cooking, golf, and kayaking.