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Alumni Notes
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- Barbara Quijano Decker, LA'72, GR'73, LW'00, was named one of the Des Moines Business Record's 2023 Women of Influence. Barbara is executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Des Moines and immediate past-president of the Law School'd Board of Counselors.
- Steffi Lee Dwyer, LW'23, joined Dentons Davis Brown as a litigation and immigration associate attorney.
- Josh Strief, AS'10, LW'14, was recently named chairman of the LifeServe Blood Center Board of Directors. Josh is a partner with Elverson Vasey in Des Moines.
- Josh Duden, AS'16, LW'19, is now an assistant attorney general with the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa.
- Manuel Cornell, LW'18, has been appointed to the Simpson College Board of Trustees. Manuel is a commercial litigation attorney at Dorsey & Whitney, LLP.
- Kole Pederson, LW'23, will join the Nebraska Farm Bureau as Director of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs.
- Chelsey Moreland, LW'20, has started a new position as counsel at Everside Health.
- Michael Schuchat, LW'10, has started a new position as an attorney with Lutz, Bobo & Telfair, P.A., in Sarasota, FL.
- Kimberly Graham, LW'99, was elected Polk County Attorney in November 2022 and sworn in on January 3, 2023.
- Shannon Woods, LW'03, was recently promoted to Chief Strategy Officer and now serves as the Chief Legal and Strategy Officer for Consumer Safety Technology, a national company owned by the private equity fund LCatterton.
- Charlie Bottenberg, AS'04, LW'12, has joined Brick Gentry, PC, as a shareholder.
- Torey Cuellar, LW'14, has started a new position as first Assistant County Attorney for Boone County, Iowa.
- Kristina Stanger, LW'05, was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute for a three-year term. She is an experienced commercial litigator with Nyemaster Goode P.C. In addition to her legal practice, she is a retired combat-tested Lieutenant Colonel form the Iowa Army National Guard.
- Emily Duffy, LW'19, joined Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. as an Associate Attorney in the Government Law Practice Area.
- Ryan Cox, LW'98, has joined Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC as counsel as part of the firm's merger with Foland, Wickens, Roper, Hofer & Crawford, P.C.
- Jenna Cruise, LW'10, has been certified as a life member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Jenna is a shareholder with Hupy & Abraham in Milwaukee.
- Michael McLeran, LW'17, was promoted to Partner at Childers Hanlon & Hudson, PLC, in Phoenix.
- Josh Strief, AS'10, LW'14, recently obtained a defense verdict for Elverson Vasey law firm in a Polk County jury trial seeking over $500,000.00.
- Joseph S. Kelly, Jr., LW'74, was recently inducted into The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
- Richelle Mahaffey, LW'16, will be one of two district associate court judges serving the children and families in juvenile proceedings in Iowa's Judicial Election District 8A..
- Elizabeth Van Arkel, LW'12, received the Business Record Forty under 40 award for her business and community work.
- Judge Jerry Harmison, LW'87, is serving as Presiding Judge of Greene County, Missouri's 31st Judicial Circuit Court for the remainder of the current term, and then a two-year term beginning January 1, 2024.
- Rachel Payton, LW'22, started a new position as a founding member and On-Demand Fellow of African Descendant Social Entrepreneurship at the U.S. Department of State.
- Bruce Odle, LW'94, hosted a Q&A with Drake Law School to discuss his role as President of Imagn, the nation's largest sports image wire service as well as his journey after law school.
- Tirzah Roussell, LW'19, started a new position as Associate Attorney at Dentons Davis Brown. She is specializing in bankruptcy and representing a broad range of clients such as businesses, creditors, trustees, and individuals.
- Loree Nelson, LW'94, judged oral arguments conducted by first year Drake law students, giving them practical experience of appellate advocacy with real time feedback for them.
- Jordan Nickerson, LW' 18, is excited to serve as Vice Chair for the Unity Point Health Des Moines Young Advisory Council.
- Jefferson Fink, LW'16, has started a new position as Lobbyist at Iowa Capitol Group.
- The following Drake Law alumni were selected to the Des Moines Business Record's 2023 Forty Under 40 list; Brandon Geib, LW'15, Blake Hanson, LW'15, Katheryn Thorson, LW'13, Elizabeth Van Arkel, LW'12, and Srikant Mikkilineni, LW'13.
- Brett Battani, LW'22, started a position as Corporate/Transactional Associate Attorney at Brown Winick.
- Jenna Sabroske, LW'17, congratulate her for being elected Shareholder at Ahlers & Cooney, P.C.
- Brittany Lumley, LW'13, was named Executive Director of the Iowa Insurance Institute.
- Brody Swanson, LW'17, congratulate him for starting a new position as Shareholder at Peters Law Firm.
- Emiliano Lerda, LW'08, is thrilled to announce that he joined Shannon and the Elevator team full-time as Co-Founder and CEO.
- Tyler S. Smith, LW'16, congratulate Tyler S. for being promoted to Partner at Peddicord Wharton, LLP.
- Victoria Millet, LW'18, started a new position as a Senior Investigator at the University of Southern California.
- Chas Cahill, LW'18, started a new position as Assistant City Attorney at the City of Des Moines with their Infrastructure and Intergovernmental Divisions.
- Blake Norman, LW'12, has been appointed as a District Court Judge in Judicial District 2A.
- Jancy Nielson, LW'22, has started a new position as the Junior Legislative Liaison at Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
- Alex Golay, LW'17, GR'17, has been promoted to Senior Legal Counsel at Athene.
- Willa Gibson, LW'91, has been named Associate Dean of Academic Excellence at University of Akron Law School of Law. Dean Gibson also serves as C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Professor of Law, teaching Constitutional Law and Secured Transactions. Her research and scholarship interests are in the fields of Secured Transactions and Securities Regulations.
- Jonathan Kaman, LW'11, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the McHenry County Economic Development Corp. Kaman is an attorney with Zanck, Coen, Wright & Saladin P.C. in Crystal Lake, IL.
- Justin LaVan, LW'98, has been named to the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers. LaVan is a shareholder at Bradshaw Law in Des Moines where he practices in the areas of Agricultural Law and Business and Commercial Litigation.
- Jennifer Benson Bahr, LW'05 was appointed as a District Associate Judge in District 4. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Bahr worked as an Assistant County Attorney in Pottawattamie County Attorney's Office.
- Kley De Jong, LW'14, was appointed as a Polk County Magistrate Judge in District 3B.
- Leah Patton, LW'05, has been selected to be a Polk County Magistrate Judge and has also started a new position as a Managing Attorney at Patton Legal Services, LLC.
- Ann Zebrowski, LW'13, has started a position as Associate Attorney at Jackson Lewis P.C.
- Katie Ranes, LW'07, was appointed as a District Associate Probate Judge in District 5C. She is currently serves as a magistrate in Judicial Election District 5C.
- Elizabeth Batey, LW'15, was appointed as a District Associate Judge in Judicial Election District 2A. She currently serves as a magistrate for Butler County and practices law with the Vickers Law Office in Greene, IA.
- Bianca Prosper, LW'18, has started a position as Staff Attorney, Assistant Deputy Public Defender at New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.
- Hon. Dexter Wimbish, LW'94, GR'94, completed his doctoral studies and was issued an EdD in Higher Education from Grand Canyon University in May 2022. His doctoral thesis was entitled "A Comparative Examination of Mentoring Types on African American Faculty Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as published in ProQuest." Judge Wimbish also serves as a member of the adjunct faculty at Mercer University.
- Hon. Robert T. Hanson, LW'80, recently retired from his position as Circuit Judge for the State of Illinois. At the time of his retirement he was Chief Judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit.
- Charles Sinnard, LW'00, has been appointed to serve as a district judge in Iowa Judicial Election District 5A. Charles currently serves as the Dallas County Attorney following his election in 2018, with previous experience as an assistant county attorney in the same office.
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