Judge Tracy E. Van den Bergh: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Hon. Tracy E. Van den Bergh is a judge for the Twenty-Second Circuit Court of Michigan in Washtenaw County. She was elected to the bench in 2020.

During her judicial tenure, Van den Bergh hears family and personal protection cases.

Prior to her election, she was an attorney with the Michigan Department of Attorney General. As such, Van den Bergh was assigned to the Health, Education, and Family Services Division. Before that, she spent eight years as a supervising attorney at Legal Services of South Central Michigan. During her tenure there, Van den Bergh also served as a field instructor for the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University.

She received a B.S. (1993) and an M.S. (1994) in social work from New York University. Van den Bergh then worked as a clinical social worker and mental health director before completing a J.D. at Michigan State University College of Law in 2006.

She has held memberships with the Michigan Judges Association, the Michigan Association for Justice, the Women Lawyers Association, and the NAACP (Willow Run Branch).

Van den Bergh has served as co-chair of the Washtenaw County Bar Association Public Service Committee and is a former member of the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative Steering Committee, the Michigan Justice Caucus, the Jim Toy Community Center, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

She and her husband, Larry, have one daughter. When not presiding over legal matters, Van den Bergh enjoys hiking, horseback riding, and spending time with her family and her dogs, including three bullmastiffs and a dachshund. She also works with local animal rescues to help rehabilitate and foster homeless dogs.