Jumpstart 2025 Faculty Bios
Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.)
Jumpstart Founder
Of Counsel, Jones Day
Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), a trailblazer and leader, heads Jones Day’s efforts to advance the rule of law in Africa. Devoted to promoting the effective delivery of justice worldwide, particularly in Africa, she has partnered with judiciaries, attorneys, NGOs, and the U.S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. She also has taught at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
President Ronald Reagan nominated her in 1985 to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, making her the first woman of color to serve on a district court in the three-state Seventh Circuit. In 1999, President William Clinton’s nomination made her the first judge of color to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the third Black woman to serve on any federal circuit court. She brings her vast experience on the bench to serve as a resource for the Firm’s leading trial and appellate practices.
She has served on many judicial committees and, as treasurer and president of the Federal Judges Association, was the first person of color to become an officer. Committed to public interest work, she helped found Just The Beginning — A Pipeline Organization, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Chicago, Minority Legal Education Resources, and the Public Interest Fellowship Program for Equal Justice Works. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Weinstein International Foundation, Museum of Science & Industry Chicago, University of Notre Dame (emeritus) and National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) (emeritus), the Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works, and chairs the Advisory Board of the International Law Institute-South African Centre for Excellence. She was chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary for 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024.
Kendra Abercrombie
Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Manager, Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Kendra Abercrombie currently serves as a Legal Recruiting and Professional Development Manager at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Prior to joining Willkie Kendra served as the Legal Recruiting Manager for Benesch Law. Where she was able to help the firm commit to diversity and inclusion through its recruiting process.
Prior to joining Benesch Law she served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, where she promoted integrity, civility, and professionalism among the lawyers and judges of Illinois. In this role, Kendra lead the Commission’s educational and advocacy initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the legal and justice systems.
As DEI Manager, Kendra developed and delivered legal education on DEI and other professionalism topics to lawyers, judges, and law students, and performed outreach across the state on behalf of the Commission. She also supported the Commission’s lawyer-to-lawyer mentoring program and managed its involvement in Jumpstart, a law school preparatory program for historically underrepresented law students.
Before joining the Commission, Kendra was Associate Director of Admissions and Diversity Recruitment and Assistant Director of Admissions and Diversity Initiatives at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. Earlier in her career, Kendra was an Admissions Counselor and Recruiter at Arizona Summit Law School.
Kendra has served as an instructor of legal research and writing at the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity and an adjunct professor in economics at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Ind.
Kendra holds a JD from Arizona Summit Law School, an MBA from the Kogod School of Business at American University, and a BA from the University of Georgia. In April 2021, Kendra received the Dean Frank Motley Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award from Maurer’s Black Law Student Association.
Benjamin E. Alba
Professor of Legal Practice, Director of Academic Success, DePaul University College of Law
Benjamin E. Alba is a Professor of Legal Practice and Director of Academic Success for the College of Law. He serves on the Faculty/Staff Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community-building and as faculty advisor for the Asian Pacific-American Law Student Association (APALSA). Previously, he taught Remedies and Legal Analysis, Research & Communication; and he served as Director of Bar Passage and Student Advising.
Prof. Alba received his BS in Psychology, summa cum laude, from DePaul University and his JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Before joining DePaul in 2002, he practiced for 19 years (including 12 years as partner) in the Chicago civil litigation firm of Sneckenberg, Thompson & Brody. Areas of practice included insurance, personal injury, malpractice, civil rights, product liability, and administrative review. His practice encompassed state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels. During this time, he trained and supervised the firm’s law clerks and associates. In addition, he served on the Loyola adjunct faculty, teaching legal writing and moot court, and he created and taught a course in pretrial litigation.
Prof. Alba served as certified arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County (1990 – 2015), and he formerly chaired the board of the Grant Park Conservancy. He is the author of Inventing Late Night: Steve Allen and the Original Tonight Show (Prometheus Books 2005).
Isabella Aguilar
Law Clerk for the Honorable Mary M. Rowland
Isabella (Bella) Aguilar is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Mary M. Rowland, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She graduated from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2019, where she served as Executive Editor for the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. While in law school, Bella’s legal clinic team freed a woman from Logan Correctional Center, where their client was being held indefinitely under a civil statute. After law school, Bella worked at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in the Juvenile Unit, diverting eligible youth to diversion court and restorative justice programs. After her time at the Philadelphia DAO, Bella worked at Loevy & Loevy, a civil rights litigation boutique based in Chicago. While there, Bella primarily litigated Section 1983 cases involving wrongful convictions. One of her proudest accomplishments includes securing a settlement for a mother wrongfully incarcerated for her infant son’s tragic death, allowing her to properly grieve and move forward. Bella will be clerking for Judge Jackson-Akiwumi on the Seventh Circuit in Fall 2026. In her free time, Bella enjoys spending time with her two children: Mia aged 2 and Johnny aged 4 months.
Candace Bergeron Lenard
Director of Student Wellness and Community Engagement, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Candace Bergeron Lenard serves as the Director of Student Wellness and Community Engagement at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. In this role, she helps students navigate the multifaceted challenges of law school life. She leads the Be Well initiative, a comprehensive wellness program dedicated to fostering an environment that supports student well-being through a variety of programs, activities, and community-building opportunities. These initiatives equip students with the tools necessary to perform at their peak and succeed both during law school and in their future careers.
Candace holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Illinois State University and a Master of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Chicago. She is a certified leadership coach, certified mediator through the Center for Conflict Resolution, and serves as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor.
Diamond Brooks
2L, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Diamond Brooks is a rising 2L at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College for undergrad studying political science and African American studies. Before coming to law school, she worked as a paralegal for the Legal Aid Society of New York and a development coordinator for Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She came to law school to pursue a career in civil rights litigation. At Northwestern, Diamond is the President of SFPIF, a tour guide, and on the executive boards of the ACLU and BLSA. She is also on the National trial team. Her favorite 1L classes were law and social change with Len and contracts with professor Kadens. This summer she interned for the Cook County Public Defenders’ office. Feel free to stop her in the halls and say hello!
Dejah Bush
2L, DePaul College of Law
Dejah Bush is a rising 2L at DePaul College of Law. She received a Bachelors in Sociology from Western Illinois University. This summer Dejah had the opportunity to work at Saul Ewing as a summer associate where she gained valuable experience assisting with litigation and transactional matters. Last year, Dejah was also in the Jumpstart program, and the experience helped her gain practical knowledge before my first day, helped ease any anxiety she had, and introduced her to wonderful individuals that she is still friends with today.
Cindy Buys
Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law
Professor Cindy Buys joined the SIU School of Law faculty in 2001, where she has served as a Professor, Director of International Law Programs, and Interim Dean. She is a Fulbright Senior Specialist and has been a Visiting Professor at both Bangor University in Wales and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland. She has received both the Outstanding Teacher of the Year and the Outstanding Scholar of the Year as well as other state and national awards for her work and her service.
Professor Buys holds leadership positions in the American Association of Law Schools, the American Society of International Law, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association. She is a Commissioner on the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, is a member of the Illinois Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and serves on the Boards of The Immigration Project and the Southern Illinois Immigrant Rights Project. She also is a panelist for NAFTA/USMCA trade disputes.
Prior to academia, Professor Buys spent ten years in public and private practice in Washington, D.C. She was an international attorney-advisor with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Import Administration, where she had the privilege of representing the United States before the World Trade Organization as well as in U.S. courts. Previously, Professor Buys was in private practice with a Washington, D.C., law firm that specialized in international transportation law.
Professor Buys holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University School of Law in International and Comparative Law, a J.D. degree and an M.A. in International Relations from Syracuse University, and a B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany.
Professor Buys teaches International Law, International Business Transactions, Constitutional Law, Immigration Law, and a variety of other international law and study abroad courses. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on a wide range of topics including economic sanctions, shipping law, trade law, international arbitration, immigration law, consular relations law, U.S. treaty law and practice, and the intersection between U.S. constitutional law and international law.
Jolynn Caroline
Senior Director for Inclusive Excellence, Career Planning and Professional Development, University of Illinois College of Law
Jolynn Caroline brings nearly 20 years of experience in career counseling and professional development for students and alumni. She has presented at national conferences on topics such as student professional development and best practices for supporting neurodivergent law students.
Jolynn earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she served as Notes Editor for the University of Illinois Law Review. She graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from the University of Illinois.
Prior to her current role at the College of Law, Jolynn was an associate at Holland & Knight and at Ungaretti & Harris (now Nixon Peabody), where her practice included labor and employment law, product liability, aviation litigation, and construction law.
Heidi Carrillo
2L, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Heidi Carrillo is a rising 2L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. At Loyola, Heidi participates in the Intellectual Property Law Society and will be serving as Vice President of the Environmental Law Society. A Chicago native, Heidi earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois-Chicago. This summer, Heidi will be interning at the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.
Maya Crim
Dean of JD Admission and Scholarships, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Maya Crim is assistant dean of JD admission and scholarships at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She received both her BS in Kinesiology and her MEd in Higher Education Administration degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She began her career in law school admissions at Loyola in 2002. Dean Crim served as Vice-President for the Midwest Alliance of Law Schools (MALSA) from 2009-2011; 2016 Access Group Conference Planning Committee Member; LSAC CRM Work Group Member from 2013-2015; 2017 LSAC Annual Meeting and Educational Conference Planning Work Group Member; LSAC Schools and Candidates Committee Member from 2019-2021; 2023 LSAC Newcomers Workshop Planning Work Group Member; LSAC Emerging Markets and Innovation Committee Member from 2023-2025 and as an LSAC Forum Workshop Volunteer. She currently serves on Loyola’s Curriculum Committee and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
Cristina Figueroa
Program Director, Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization
Cristina Figueroa has a background in education and law which has supported her role as Program Director for Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization. She graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law. She worked as a judicial extern at the Cook County Circuit Court and upon graduation, worked for NIU Law’s Health Advocacy Clinic conducting outreach to low-income community members in need of legal assistance. Cristina has experience in the classroom as a lead teacher in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and as an English teacher in South Korea. She thrives when working with diverse students and is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their ethnic or socioeconomic background, can continue higher education and pursue legal careers.
Hannah Grosch-Jurowicz
Senior Assistant Attorney General; Law Clerk Program Director; Attorney Recruiting, Professional Development & Diversity, Office of the Illinois Attorney General
Hannah Grosch-Jurowicz is a Senior Assistant Attorney General and Law Clerk Program Manager at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. She leads professional development programs for new attorneys and law clerks and provides mentoring on career growth.
Hannah has over a decade of experience managing complex litigation, having served in her office’s Special Litigation Bureau, working on constitutional law, police reform, and reproductive rights issues. Prior to her roles at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Hannah served clients in commercial litigation and intellectual property law.
Hannah is a POSSE Scholar and graduate of the University of Wisconsin (BA in Sociology and English) and Northwestern University School of Law (JD and LLM in International Human Rights). During law school, Hannah externed for the Hon. Ann Claire Williams on the Seventh Circuit and worked on civil rights litigation, death penalty reform in Malawi, and anti-human trafficking initiatives. Throughout her career, Hannah has championed the importance of mentoring and inclusivity in the legal profession.
Erika Harold
Executive Director, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
Erika N. L. Harold is the Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. A dedicated advocate for civility, empathy, and inclusion, Erika leads the Commission’s extensive educational programming focused on advancing professionalism among the state’s lawyers and judges to build trust and confidence in the justice system.
Prior to joining the Commission, Erika was an attorney in Champaign and Chicago.
Erika is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics including professionalism, civility, leadership, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and was a featured panelist at Fortune Magazine’s “Most Powerful Women, Next Gen” conference.
Grant Higgins
3L, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Grant is a rising 3L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and lives in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. During his second year of law school, Grant served as President of Loyola’s Health Law Society, facilitating programming and mentorship for students interested in health law. He also served as an academic tutor for 1L Civil Procedure, an Associate Editor for the Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences Journal and competed as a Mock Trial Fellow for the Philip H. Corboy Fellowship in Trial Advocacy. Grant will be a returning member of the Corboy Mock Trial team and will serve as a Senior Editor for the Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences Journal for the upcoming academic year. During his rising 3L summer, Grant was a summer associate at Reed Smith LLP in Chicago where he performed extensive legal research and drafted memoranda on a variety of complex and substantive litigation matters, with a focus on managed care work within the health care industry. In his free time, Grant enjoys playing golf, listening to music, reading, and spending time with friends and family. As a proud Chicago suburb native, Grant is passionate about contributing to the success and development of incoming law students and he is excited to share his experiences and insights with students at Jumpstart 2025.
Rebekah Holman
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law
Rebekah Holman teaches Communication and Legal Reasoning. Before joining the Northwestern Pritzker Law faculty, Professor Holman served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the District of Columbia, where she tried eighteen cases to verdict and briefed and argued cases before the courts of appeal. Prior to serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, Professor Holman was Deputy Associate Chief Counsel at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and taught legal analysis, research and communication at DePaul University Law School. She has an undergraduate degree from Tufts University, and a JD from the University of Chicago, where she was an editor of the University of Chicago Roundtable, an interdisciplinary law journal.
Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt
U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
LaShonda A. Hunt was appointed a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on May 26, 2023. She previously served for six years as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge. Prior to beginning her judicial service, Judge Hunt had a distinguished career in government service as General Counsel of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, Chief Legal Counsel of the Illinois Department of Corrections, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, law clerk to the Honorable William J. Hibbler, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and staff attorney for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She also spent several years in private practice.
Judge Hunt is an active member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. She previously held leadership positions as President, Vice-President, and Board Member at Large. In addition, she served on the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Bar Foundation. From 2020-2023, she was a member of the Federal Judicial Center Bankruptcy Judge Education Advisory Committee, by appointment of the Chief Justice.
Judge Hunt is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, American Law Institute member, and Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Alumna.
Judge Hunt earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana and her law degree from the University of Michigan.
Chief Judge Virginia Mary Kendall
Article III Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Chief Judge Kendall was appointed to the federal bench in January 2006. She is the co-author of Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining Global Enforcement and Supply Chain Challenges and U.S. Responses (Rowman & Littlefield 2016) and Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining the Global Challenges and the U.S. Responses (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2012), with T. Markus Funk. Chief Judge Kendall teaches human trafficking, supply chain law, and public corruption at University of Chicago Law School, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She was the Peter and Patricia Gruber Fellow in Women’s Rights at Yale Law School in 2018. She has authored numerous articles on a variety of topics including international human rights, human trafficking, public corruption, and transnational investigations.
Aside from her own writing, she also serves as an editor of Litigation Magazine where she regularly contributes articles to the periodical. She is a member of the American Law Institute where she works as an Advisor to the drafting of a model penal code for sexual offenses. She is a member of the UNODC’s Judicial Integrity Network and served on an Expert Committee which drafted an international model social media ethics code for judges. She served six years on the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Codes of Conduct Committee where she drafted the Advisory Opinion for the US judiciary on its use of social media. In 2019, she was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to serve on the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on International Judicial Relations. She lectures extensively both domestically and internationally (more than 30 countries) in the areas of human trafficking, public corruption, ethics, and judicial training. She has taught in numerous African, European, Southeast Asian, and South American countries. When she trains judges in other countries, Chief Judge Kendall researches the laws and practices of that country and creates a unique program to address the specific needs of that state. Domestically, she created a human trafficking training module for the creation of task forces and judges that has been implemented in numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States.
Aside from her work in human trafficking and international human rights, Chief Judge Kendall serves as a multi-district litigation judge and as a Patent Pilot Program judge in her district. She is a judicial liaison to the Federal Circuit Bar Association and was the 2017 Federal Circuit Bar Association Global Fellow. As a Global Fellow, Chief Judge Kendall lectured on a comparison between German and American patent law in Munich, Germany. She serves regularly on Federal Circuit Bar Association panels and American Bar Association panels focused on patent litigation including a recent panel entitled Empowering Women in the Law Virtual Summit. She participated as a conference panelist for the Master Dialogue on Intellectual Property Adjudication – Judicial Perspectives on IP at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Washington, D.C in September 2019. Chief Judge Kendall serves on the board of the Linn Inn of Court (Intellectual Property and Patent Bar) received the Distinguished Judicial Service Award from the Intellectual Property Association of Chicago.
Aside from her work with the Federal Circuit, Chief Judge Kendall has sat by designation with the Seventh, Ninth, and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Prior to her judicial appointment, she served over ten years as a federal prosecutor in Chicago in both the Public Corruption Unit and as the Child Exploitation Coordinator where she tried dozens of jury trials. While a federal prosecutor, she was appointed to the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Panel that reviewed all multi-jurisdictional child exploitation and trafficking cases and served as Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator. She has received numerous awards for her work with victims and honorary degrees for her human trafficking work and her pro bono work. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law.
Honorable Young B. Kim
U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in January 2010.
Judge Kim was born in South Korea. His family immigrated to the United States in 1977, when he was 11 years old, and initially settled in Chicago before moving to Niles, Illinois. Judge Kim was the first in his family to graduate from high school and college. He became a United States Citizen during his junior year of college, taking his oath of citizenship in the same courtroom where he is now honored to administer the oath to new citizens. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988, and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1991.
Judge Kim began his legal career as an Assistant Cook County Public Defender. He then served as a law clerk for United States District Court Judge Charles R. Norgle. In 1995, Judge Kim joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, where he prosecuted both civil and criminal matters. In 2001, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission appointed Judge Kim to serve as an Administrative Judge. With this appointment, he became the first Korean American to serve as a judge in the State of Illinois. He is the first Asian American to join the federal bench in the Seventh Circuit, which covers Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, and only the fourth Korean American to serve as a federal judge in United States history.
Judge Kim was one of the founding members of the Chicago Chapter of the Korean American Bar Association in 1993. He was also a co-founder in 2000 of the monthly Pro Bono Legal Clinic run by the Korean American Bar Association and the Korean American Community Services, where he served as a clinic volunteer for nine years. He has also been honored with many professional awards, including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” award in 2004, the Chicago Bar Association’s Distinguished Public Service Award in 2007, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Community Service Award in 2009, the Korean American Association of Chicago’s Korean American of the Year award in 2011, and the 2012 Vanguard Award from the Asian American Bar Association.
Jesse Landstrom
Senior Associate Director of Advising and Wellness Programs, University of Chicago Law School
Jesse Landstrom is the Senior Associate Director of Advising and Wellness Programs at the University of Chicago Law School. At the Law School, she provides academic advising, wellness programming and referrals, and works with peer mentoring programs. She is also the Law School’s liaison to Student Disability Services. She has been part of the UChicago community since 2012. Prior to the Law School, she served as the Assistant Dean of Students in the College. Prior to UChicago, Jesse worked at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, providing support to psychology graduate students and veteran students. In her free time, Jesse enjoys spending time with friends and family, volunteering, and exploring the great outdoors.
Michael Loch
Director of Academic Success and Bar Support, University of Illinois College of Law
Professor Michael Loch is the Director of Academic Success and Bar Support at the University of Illinois College of Law. In this role, he helps students build skills for law school success and prepares them for the bar exam following graduation. He has previously served as Director of the Academic Excellence Program at the University of Oregon School of Law and has held academic support roles at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, and the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Before working in higher education, Professor Loch litigated trust and estates and worker’s compensation cases in southern California. Prior to law school, he was an English teacher in the Chicago area. He and his wife have six children, two dogs, and two ferrets.
Tania Luma
Assistant Dean, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity, Loyola Chicago School of Law
Tania Luma is the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Loyola Chicago School of Law. Dean Luma works to promote a culture that values and supports diversity through work in five main areas: institutional strategic planning, programming, community building and sense of belonging, student support, and leadership development. As a University of Illinois Chicago School of Law student, she chaired the SBA’s Diversity Affairs Committee, a position through which she lobbied for the college to establish an Office of Diversity; the office was created in 2009. After earning her JD from UIC Law in 2009, she practiced civil litigation in the Cook County Child Protection Division, representing children affected by abuse and neglect. At DePaul University, she taught Critical Thinking, Criminal Justice, and Homeland Security, and helped DePaul create assessments of student critical-thinking abilities and collaborated with colleagues to assess incoming students from 2012 to 2016. She also studied public leadership at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and used this training to coach and advise individuals and institutions on leadership and organizational development.
Esther Lwakabamba
Associate Director of Academic Advising, DePaul College of Law
Esther Lwakabamba joined DePaul University College of Law in 2022, initially in the Admissions Office before moving to the Student Affairs Department in April 2023. As the Associate Director of Academic Advising, she serves as the main Academic Advisor for all students (JDs and non-JDs) at DePaul’s University College of Law, working directly with hundreds of students on complex matters. Additionally, Esther manages the administration of numerous scholarships, collaborates on numerous Student Affairs initiatives, and works closely with departments such as University Student Financial Services to support students throughout their law school journey.
Honorable Nancy L. Maldonado
U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Nancy L. Maldonado has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago since July 2024. Prior to her elevation, she served as a district judge in the Northern District of Illinois for approximately two years.
Judge Maldonado was a litigator in private practice at a public interest law firm for nearly 20 years and was active in leadership for several local non-profits, including the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
Judge Maldonado graduated with honors from Harvard College and Columbia Law School and started her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Rubén Castillo.
Jody Marcucci
Co-Director, Legal Analysis, Research & Communication; Professor of Legal Practice, DePaul University College of Law
Prior to joining the College of Law, Professor Jody Marcucci served as a law clerk to Illinois Appellate Court justices David A. Erickson and Rodolfo Garcia, where she drafted judicial decisions encompassing several areas of criminal and civil law including post-conviction, medical malpractice and contract cases. She also taught at DePaul as an adjunct legal writing instructor. Professor Marcucci received her BA in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned her JD, magna cum laude, from DePaul, where she served as an associate editor of DePaul Law Review and as a legal writing teaching assistant. Professor Marcucci also served as a law clerk at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago and the Chicago Legal Clinic.
Bradford McGann
Law Clerk for the Honorable Sharon Johnson Coleman
Bradford McGann is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Sharon Johnson Coleman, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2023, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern University Law Review — the first Black person to hold the position in the journal’s history — and was awarded the Student Graduation Leadership Award and the Student Bar Association 3L Leadership Award for his contributions as a leader in the student community. Prior to his current role, Bradford worked as an associate at the Washington, DC office of Covington and Burling LLP in the firm’s Environmental and Energy Practice Group. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University. When he is not in the courthouse, Bradford enjoys playing bass guitar, watching NBA basketball, and going swing dancing with his wife.
Virginia Wenlan Mohr
Assistant Director of Legal Careers, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Virginia Mohr is the Assistant Director, Legal Careers at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. In this role, Virginia advises students and recent graduates on how to achieve their goals in and beyond the legal profession. Virginia joined Northwestern in 2021 after practicing labor and employment law at two large law firms in Chicago. She received her J.D. from Duke University School of Law and B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Allen Moye
Associate Dean for Information Technology & Library Services; Director, Rinn Law Library; Associate Professor of Law, DePaul College of Law
Allen Moye joined the faculty of DePaul College of Law in January 2005. In addition to supervising the College of Law’s technology support team, Professor Moye serves as director of the Rinn Law Library, and is responsible for the financial management and quality of library services and research support offered to faculty, students, alumni and other patrons of the law library. He coordinates with the legal writing faculty to provide legal research instruction to law students and teaches Advanced Legal Research. Prof. Moye also teaches an Introduction to American Law and Legal Systems course as part of the MJ program.
In addition to his responsibilities as a senior administrator in the College of Law, Professor Moye is an active member of the faculty having served on committees on faculty recruitment; diversity; facilities and technology; self-study; academic program review; and strategic planning. He has also served on the university’s Physical Environment; Teaching, Learning and Technology committees and the President’s Diversity Council. He is a past faculty advisor to the College of Law’s Black Law Student’s Association and a recipient of the Deans’ Excellence in Staff Service Award.
Professor Moye is involved in professional library associations and he has served as chair of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Committee on Diversity; and as a member of the Annual Program Planning and Nominations Committees. He is an active member of AALL’s Black Caucus and serves as President of the Mid-America Law Libraries Consortium ( MALLCO) 2017-2019.
Professor Moye was among 32 law librarians nationwide featured in “Celebrating Diversity: A Legacy of Minority Leadership in the American Association of Law Libraries” by Carol Avery Nicholson, Ruth Johnson Hill & Vicente E. Graces, (William S. Hein & Co., 2006).
Layla Murphy
Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School
Layla Murphy is a seasoned higher education professional with over 20 years of experience in higher education at Southern Illinois University specializing in student recruitment, retention, and success across undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to advancing equity and access in education, with a particular focus on supporting students from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Layla’s professional interests center on closing equity gaps in higher education and promoting a campus culture where all students can thrive. Layla has led strategic initiatives aimed at improving the student experience and fostering academic achievement through data-informed practices. She has collaborated with faculty, staff, and leadership to design and implement evidence-based programs that promote inclusive excellence and student persistence.
As Director of Admissions at SIU Simmons Law School, Layla focuses on student recruitment and provides applicants with the guidance and support needed to build a strong foundation for a successful transition to law school.
Mary Nagel
Associate Professor of Legal Writing, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Mary Nagel is an Assistant Professor of Legal Writing at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. She also teaches Civil Procedure, Illinois Civil Procedure, and Federal Courts. She has lectured throughout the United States on such topics as legal writing in doctrinal classes, academic achievement in lawyering skills, initial introductions to working with the bar, alternative methods of lawyering skills teaching, and moot court teams/competitions. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of teaching American legal research and writing in Beijing, China and Brno, Czech Republic. Prior to full-time teaching, Professor Nagel was an attorney in the private sector and the public sector, serving as the Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Labor and, before that position, as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois.
Diana Ojeda
2L, Northern Illinois University College of Law
Diana Ojeda is originally from Mexico and raised in Arizona. Diana graduated in 2024 with a B.A. in Government with an emphasis in Legal Studies and a B.S. in Justice Studies from Grand Canyon University. She is currently a rising 2L at Northern Illinois University College of Law. During her first year, Diana served as the 1L Representative for the First-Generation Law Student Society. She now serves as the incoming President of the Immigration Law Society, Secretary and Marketing Chair for the Latinx Law Student Association, and 2L Representative for the Public Interest Law Society. This summer, she is completing an internship with the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian in the Domestic Relations Division. Diana has a strong interest in practicing Family Law and advocating for underrepresented communities.
Jordan Patterson
Law Clerk for the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt
Jordan Patterson is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He graduated from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2021, where he served as Articles Editor for the Ohio State Law Journal, tutored LL.M. students as a Legal Writing Fellow, and received the Robert M. Duncan Service Award for the Class of 2021. His note, Ending a War Waged by Deed of Title: How to Achieve Distributive Justice for Black Farmers, was published in the Ohio State Law Journal in 2021. Prior to his current role, Jordan was a litigation associate at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP and previously clerked for the Honorable Jeffery P. Hopkins in the Southern District of Ohio. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and is a current board member of Thrive for Change, a harm reduction nonprofit based in northeast Ohio.
Jennifer (Jenny) Plagman
Partner, Jones Day
Jenny Plagman is an experienced trial lawyer who represents and advises employers in a diverse range of labor and employment matters. Her practice focuses on individual and complex disputes arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and the Biometric Information Privacy Act.
In addition to representing employers in litigation, Jenny routinely handles high-stakes investigations involving alleged violations of federal and state employment laws and company policies. Clients trust Jenny with their most sensitive and complex internal matters. A portion of Jenny’s practice also focuses on advising corporate clients on a variety of employment matters, including compensation practices, worker classification, state law compliance, employment agreements, workplace sensitivity, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and pay equity.
Recently, Jenny successfully defended a Fortune 1000 company in a six-day jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas. She also co-led four-day (California) and three-day (Hawaii) wage and hour bellwether arbitrations, winning each on all counts, which subsequently resolved over 300 pending arbitrations.
Jenny is a member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association and the National Employment Law Council and serves on the boards of the Center for Conflict Resolution and the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts.
Within Jones Day, Jenny co-leads the Black Lawyers Affinity Group, serves on the Firmwide Inclusion and Advancement Committee, and is the Firm’s 2025 Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow.
Marsha Ross-Jackson
Associate Dean, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Marsha Ross-Jackson, Associate Dean of the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, is an experienced leader, attorney, educator and consultant. With over 25 years of professional experience in a variety of roles, industries and sectors, Marsha’s breadth of knowledge and experience enable her to add value to any organization. Marsha’s expertise in managing operations, finance, communications, employee and labor relations, investigations, compliance, human resources, and law in diverse, large multi-state offices, has helped her to become well-versed in cross-cultural communication and leadership, as well as extremely effective in directing across interdisciplinary settings. Marsha has served as an HR/legal business partner and advisor to senior leaders, boards of directors and operational leaders. She has also represented multi-billion dollar clients in insurance, employment and commercial litigation matters. Marsha is an Arbitrator; a former member of the American Arbitration Association’s Roster of Neutrals – Employment Law Panel and the Joint Arbitration-Mediation Panel for the Chicago-Public Schools and The Chicago Teachers Union.
Julia Roundtree Livingston
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
Julia Roundtree Livingston is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Manager at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism where she leads the Commission’s education and advocacy initiatives aimed at promoting DEI in Illinois’ legal and justice systems. She joined the Commission in 2023.
Prior to joining the Commission, Julia was Executive Director of Macon County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which provides court-appointed volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected, and/or dependent children who are involved in the Macon County juvenile court system. She was appointed to this role in 2018 after serving as CASA’s Director of Development.
At CASA, Julia led a sustainable nonprofit organization with multiple streams of funding while educating the community on the need for CASA’s services. This included working with local lawyers and judges to organize trainings for CASA volunteers, regularly communicating with legal and judicial professionals about CASA’s capabilities, and presentations to the Decatur Bar Association on CASA’s work.
Julia is also a member of the Diversity & Education Leadership Team at the Maroa-Forsyth School District and founder of Discourse on Racial Difference: A Macon County Book Club, which has 600 members statewide.
Honorable Mary R. Rowland
U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Judge Mary M. Rowland was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on August 22, 2019. She served as a Magistrate Judge for the same court from October 2012 to August 2019.
Judge Rowland received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1984 and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 1988. After law school, she clerked for District Judge Julian A. Cook Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Rowland then served for ten years in the Chicago office of the Federal Defender; first as a staff attorney and later as the office’s chief appellate attorney. In 2000, she joined the law firm Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym, where she led the criminal defense practice and litigated high-profile civil cases.
Judge Rowland is a founding member and one of the judges presiding over the first alternative to incarceration court in the Northern District of Illinois, Sentencing Options that Achieve Results (SOAR). Since 2009, she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. She is also a member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC), the Alliance of Illinois Judges, and the Seventh Circuit Bar.
Jacqueline Russell
Director of Recruitment Programs, Office of Career Development & Professionalism, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Jackie (she/her) has been with Chicago-Kent since 2019. In her role at the law school, she manages on-campus recruiting initiatives and employer relations. She also provides individual career advising to students. She is particularly interested in law student professional development, with specific focus on how AI tools can be safely and ethically leveraged by students. She graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy College of Law in 2014 and practiced family law and civil rights litigation in Michigan before moving to Chicago. She also volunteered with Wayne County CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) as an advocate for children in the foster care system. As a law student, she was an SBA representative, the Justice of the school’s Phi Alpha Delta chapter, and a member of the Irish-American Law Students Association. She worked in the school’s Veterans Law Clinic helping low-income veterans with their cases before the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jackie is a Michigan native and has lived in many different places throughout the state. She attended Albion College where she studied English and political science and was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She resides in the north suburbs with her husband, son, and two cheeky cats.
Karen Alicia Shaw
Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Accreditation, Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing, Loyola University Chicago College of Law
Dr. Karen Alicia Shaw oversees and facilitates a broad range of projects regarding the law school’s academic and administrative goals, initiatives, and policies, as well as aspects of the school’s graduate law and Rule of Law for Development (PROLAW) programs. She also manages all law school accreditation matters regarding the American Bar Association and other external bodies. In addition, Dr. Shaw teaches in the following areas: health law, health literacy and law, legal writing (health law focused), international development law and policy research, and socio-legal studies. More so, she currently serves as a subject matter expert for health literacy standard-setting in organizational systems and policies with the Health Literacy Solutions Center at the Institute for Health Care Advancement.
Dr. Shaw has over 20 years of experience in educational leadership, teaching, and academic program administration. Prior to Loyola, she briefly worked in various health law and other legal practice settings before transitioning her career to academia teaching courses in health insurance policy, medical law and ethics, and English at the vocational training and business college levels where she had the privilege of instructing and mentoring many first-generation and nontraditional students. During this time, she also served as a program dean at a career college where she developed health care curricula and implemented the college’s academic assessment initiatives.
Dr. Shaw holds a Doctor of Juridical Science degree in Health Law and Policy from Loyola, where her dissertation employed a systemic content analysis of Medicaid class actions through the lens of cooperative federalism and institutional reform litigation to devise a framework for defining “reasonably prompt” health care services for children. She also holds a Master of Laws degree in Health Law from Loyola; a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh, where she served as an associate editor for the Journal of Law and Commerce; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies with minors in Professional Writing and Business Administration from DePaul University.
Janna Shell
Law Clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings
Janna Shell is a career law clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She previously clerked for Retired Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason in the Northern District of Illinois and as a clerk to Judge Mary Anne Mason in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division. Janna graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 2008, where she served as a legal writing tutor, a judicial extern, and a senior editor of the Consumer Law Review. Janna holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Sheila Simon
Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law
Sheila Simon rejoined the School of Law faculty after serving as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 2011 to 2015. Since returning to the school she has taught Property, Torts, Legal Writing, Advanced Real Estate Transactions, Children and the Law, Government Ethics, and a seminar on Crime Victims and Witnesses. As Lieutenant Governor she worked on many issues including education policy and secure funding for rape crisis centers.
In addition to her experience in state government and local government, Simon has been a long-time teacher at the School of Law, and was the first staff attorney for the Domestic Violence Clinic. Before joining the faculty, she was an assistant state’s attorney for four years, with two of those years spent prosecuting domestic batterers. Her civil law experience includes five years as a staff attorney at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance, and three years in private practice. Simon is one of the authors of Legal Writing, now in its third edition.
Simon graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1987, and from Wittenberg University in 1983. Ms. Simon is a member of the board of the Women’s Center, Equality Illinois, and Marcy’s Law Illinois. She has served on a panel to screen federal judge applicants and been a pro bono attorney for the Association for Late Deafened Adults. She also served on the Carbondale City Council from 2003 to 2007.
Simon and her husband, Perry Knop, have two daughters, Reilly, who works in Washington, DC, and Brennan, a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia. Simon is a member of Loose Gravel, a bluesish band which can be heard locally, and on a 2004 cd which (she says) you would be lucky to get.
Jennifer Spreng
Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law
Professor Jennifer Spreng joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School in 2022. She teaches Legal Writing and Torts and also serves as Director of Academic Success. She has designed and taught numerous innovative doctrinal, writing, simulation, academic support, bar preparation, and integrated courses, often in experimental formats and notable for their authentic anchoring scenarios and extensive formative assessment. Spreng regularly publishes and lectures both here and abroad about assessment and feedback, authentic learning, integrated course design, legal writing, and other law teaching and curriculum issues.
Audrey Stallings
2L, Southern Illinois University Simmons School of Law
Audrey Stallings is a 2L at the SIU Simmons School of Law where she is in the honor society, on the moot court team, a torts TA, and is a member of the law journal. She completed her undergraduate education at Murray State University where she was a B.S. in Political Science. In her free time, Audrey is completing independent research on trauma-informed care, crafts, and enjoys gaming with friends.
Cassipea Stith
2L, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Cassipea Stith is a rising 2L at Chicago-Kent College of Law from Atlanta, GA. For undergrad, they attended Brandeis University where they studied Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and African and African-American Studies. They will be the incoming BLSA VP for their law school’s chapter, as well as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Kent Justice Foundation and C-K Lambdas. Currently, Cassipea is wrapping up their internship at Legal Aid Chicago where they’ve spent the past ten weeks working in the Pro Bono and Community Partnership Practice Group helping mitigate client’s criminal records through expungement and sealing.
Jay Streitz
Legal Writing Instructor, Northern Illinois University College of Law
Jay Streitz teaches legal writing and advocacy and also assists with the Academic Success Program. He began his legal career as a litigation associate, first at Faegre & Benson LLP (now Faegre Baker Daniels), and later at Siegel Brill PA in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before joining the College of Law, Streitz was an acquisitions editor at West Academic Publishing, where he worked with law professors, soliciting and developing proposals for law school casebooks, textbooks, and study aids. He also taught appellate advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and legal writing and analysis as a full-time visiting instructor at Hamline University School of Law.
He graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Iowa College of Law, where he was elected 1L class representative to the Iowa Student Bar Association. He earned an MA in philosophy from the University of Iowa, and received his BA with honors in political science from the University of Minnesota.
Justice Rena Van Tine
Appellate Court, First Judicial District
Justice Rena Marie Van Tine sits on the Illinois First District Appellate Court. She decides appeals on issues that are raised from various trial court proceedings. She was previously the Presiding Judge of the County Division in the Circuit Court of Cook County. In this capacity, she supervised the judges assigned therein. She was previously assigned to the Law Division, Jury Trial assignment call at the Daley Center. She was also assigned to Juvenile and Traffic Court.
Justice Van Tine has been on the bench for over 22 years. She is the President of the Asian American Judges Association of Illinois and a past President of the Asian American Bar Association. She has previously served on the boards of the Illinois Judges Association and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. She has also served on the board of the South Asian Bar Association, which she co-founded. She is a board member of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association, a non-profit organization that assists immigrants and refugees.
Prior to her appointment to the bench, Justice Van Tine served as Special Counsel to Illinois State Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes. Before joining the Comptroller’s Office, Judge Van Tine was a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney for 12 years. In this capacity she wrote numerous appellate briefs and argued several cases in the Appellate Court. In her 37 years of practice in government, private practice, and the judiciary, she has tried over a hundred jury trials to verdict.
Justice Van Tine was also an Illinois Supreme Court appointee to the Oversight of Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee for 9 years. She currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Committee for Civil IPI jury instructions. In May, 2020, she was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court’s Court Operation During COVID-19 Task Force and she chaired its committee on Remote Proceedings in Civil Cases.
Justice Van Tine was an adjunct professor for Trial Advocacy at the Chicago-Kent College of Law and has presided at numerous local and national moot court competitions. She has judged trial advocacy competitions at various law schools. She has also served as adjunct faculty and instructor at the February 2020, February 2022 and June 2022 Judicial Education Conferences for all state court judges in Illinois. She is a cohort leader in the Supreme Court’s New Judge Orientation program and mentor many new judges in the state of Illinois.
She has appeared as a panelist on several cable programs on behalf of the Illinois Judges Association for topics such as running ethical judicial campaigns, women and the law, and what to expect in child protection court. As a lawyer, she gave several television and radio interviews regarding hate crimes She wrote a book chapter in the American Bar Association’s publication of “Dear Sisters, Dear Daughters: Words of wisdom from multicultural women attorneys who have been there and done that.” She has also written several Law Division bench book chapters.
Before becoming a judge, Rena was the Chair of State’s Attorney Richard A. Devine’s Asian American Advisory Council. She was also Joint Treasurer of the Indo-American Democratic Organization. Rena was a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention held in August, 2000.
Dr. Ana Vázquez-Rivera, PhD.
Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Student Life, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Dr. Ana Vázquez-Rivera has over 20 years of professional experience in the field of education, specializing in diversity initiatives, student affairs, and teaching. In her current role, she is responsible for diversity, wellness and student leadership programming.
Dr. Vazquez-Rivera holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as a Ph.D. from Loyola University-Chicago. Her dissertation documented the college experiences of Latinx students at predominantly White higher education institutions.
Dr. Vazquez-Rivera has committed much of her research and education advocacy to fostering positive educational experiences for students, particularly diverse students and helping them achieve their educational goals.
Stephanie Villinski
Deputy Director, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
Stephanie Villinski is the Deputy Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism where she oversees Commission operations and develops educational programs for legal professionals across Illinois.
With a particular interest in health and wellness, Stephanie seeks to promote a healthier, more rewarding professional life for lawyers and judges and, by extension, better service to the public. This includes writing and speaking about issues of professionalism, civility, and well-being, including spearheading a statewide training on vicarious trauma for judges.
In addition, Stephanie oversees the Commission’s advancement of high-quality legal education, diversity and inclusion efforts, implementation of effective communications, professionalism programming for law schools, and day-to-day operational activities.
Brandi Welch
Dean of Students, University of Chicago Law School
Brandi L. Welch graduated with Honors from the University of Texas School of Law and also earned a Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from the UT College of Education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the UChicago Law, she worked at the University of Texas School of Law where she was the Director of Student Affairs and at Wayne State University in Detroit, where she was the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. She is an active member of the National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals and was a member of the NALSAP Board of Directors, as well as serving at the National Conference Co-Chair in 2021. Prior to her career in higher education, Dean Welch was an attorney in Vinson & Elkins’ New York office and at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Austin. She also served as a volunteer attorney for Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas and American Gateways.
Alexandria Wilson
University of Illinois College of Law
Alexandria Wilson is a rising 3L at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Elder Law Journal. She previously served as Vice President of the Black Law Students Association and as a member of the Illinois Trial Team. Alexandria is also the recipient of the Paul M. Lisnek Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy and has earned CALI Awards in both Trial Advocacy and Trial Team. She has spent the past two summers as a summer associate at Saul Ewing LLP and has also externed with the Champaign County Public Defender’s Office.
Samantha Woo
Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Samantha Kwok-Ting Woo is the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access. In this role, Samantha advises individual students and student organizations, develops programs aimed at promoting a supportive, welcoming Law School community, implements pre-law initiatives to expand pathways to the legal profession for individuals who may have more limited access to information and resources relating to law school and the legal profession, and collaborates with other Northwestern Pritzker Law departments and external partners in connection with strategic initiatives related to community engagement.
Samantha joined the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law staff in January 2023. Prior to that time, Samantha worked over a decade as an associate, then partner, at Jones Day in the Firm’s labor and employment practice group. She is a 2012 graduate of Northwestern Pritzker Law, where she was a member of the Northwestern Law Review, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and Diversity Coalition. Samantha is active in the legal community, including in the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago and National Employment Law Council. Since 2018, she also has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Northwestern Pritzker Law Bluhm Legal Clinic. Samantha received Northwestern Pritzker Law’s Volunteer Service Award in 2024, which recognizes alumni for their exceptional volunteer service and ongoing commitment to the Law School.
Dawn Young
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Legal Writing, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Dawn K. Young is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she teaches Legal Writing I and II.
Prior to joining the Loyola faculty in 2024, Professor Young taught Academic Skills Lab I and II at the University of Idaho College of Law and co-directed the Academic Success Program at the Boise campus. She also supervised student fellows and provided individualized academic advising.
From 2010 to 2022, Professor Young held several roles at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. As Director of Academic Skills, she oversaw the Academic Skills Program, supervised teaching assistants, and served as the law school’s writing specialist. From 2018 to 2022, she taught an upper-level legal writing course focused on transactional practice as an adjunct professor. In her earlier role as Director of Institutional Projects, she led cross-departmental initiatives, managed grant-funded programs, and played a key role in strategic planning and accreditation efforts.
Before entering academia, Professor Young practiced law in both private practice and as in-house counsel for a real estate development and marketing company in Chicago.