The Irv Shuman Award
Barry Markson
Barry Markson is an attorney, mediator, and the owner of Markson Mediation, where he partners with attorneys and their clients to resolve complex civil and commercial disputes. After a distinguished litigation career spanning more than 28 years and covering a broad range of civil matters, he transitioned exclusively to mediation and arbitration.
He is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals—an invitation-only organization recognizing leading mediators and arbitrators nationwide, and is consistently recognized among Arizona’s top mediators by publications including Phoenix Magazine, AZ Business Magazine, and Ranking Arizona.
In addition to his legal practice, Barry has built a long and successful career in broadcasting. He has hosted radio talk shows for more than three decades, including co-creating and co-hosting The Fantasy Forum, widely regarded as one of the earliest fantasy sports programs and among Arizona’s longest-running sports talk shows. Today, he hosts on 92.3 KTAR in Phoenix, where he also serves as the station’s legal analyst.
Barry is deeply engaged in civic and community leadership. He is a former Chairman of the Board of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center and has been a longtime board member and officer of both the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and the VOSJCC. He also served as President of the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel and as Arizona’s representative to the Defense Research Institute. In addition, he was the longtime President of the Scottsdale Cal Ripken youth baseball league, where he coached for many years.
Barry and his wife, Lori, have been married for 25 years and met through the Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership Division. They are proud parents of two sons, Jake and Sam, who were raised in Scottsdale.
The Irv Shuman Award
Presented to those who exemplify the spirit of tzedakah through commitment, passion, service, and leadership within our community, it is our pleasure to honor Barry Markson with the Irv Shuman Award.
If you look up the definition of a mensch, you could easily find Irv Shuman as a prime example. Leo Rosten, in The Joys of Yiddish, defined a mensch as “someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being a real mensch is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, and decorous.”
Irv embodied that spirit for much of his life, rediscovering his deep connection to Judaism after visiting his son Rick in Israel, who was there as a volunteer during the Yom Kippur War. If the essence of being a Jew is making the world a better place, Irv certainly lived that truth—touching countless lives in meaningful and lasting ways.