Jumpstart 2024 Faculty Bios

Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.)
Jumpstart Founder
Of Counsel, Jones Day

Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), a trailblazer and leader, heads Jones Day’s efforts in advancing 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, and Uganda. 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 and only judge of color to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the third woman of color to serve on any federal circuit court. She brings her vast experience on the bench to serve as a resource for Jones Day’s leading trial and appellate practices.

Judge Williams 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 NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, University of Notre Dame, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), Weinstein International Foundation, iCivics, Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works, and Museum of Science & Industry Chicago and chairs the Advisory Board of the International Law Institute-South African Centre for Excellence. She is also chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary for 2021-2023.

Benjamin E. Alba
Director of Academic Success, DePaul University College of Law

Professor Ben Alba is the director of academic success at DePaul University College of Law, where 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).  He previously taught Remedies and Legal Analysis, Research & Communication and served as Director of Bar Passage and Student Advising.  Before joining DePaul in 2002, he was a partner in the Chicago litigation firm of Sneckenberg, Thompson & Brody; areas of practice included insurance, personal injury, civil rights, and administrative review.

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.

Rob Cameron
Associate Director of Admissions, University of Chicago Law School

Rob Cameron is the Associate Director of Admissions at the Law School at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the admissions team, he was the Program Director for the Careers in Law program for the College at the University of Chicago, where he advised pre-law students during their career exploration, internship and job searches, and law school application cycles. Previously, he practiced law, working on corporate real estate transactions at both Skadden and Barack Ferrazzano. He is a graduate of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Columbia College Chicago. Before law school, he acted professionally (while also waiting tables and bartending) in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Candace Caruthers
Law Clerk for the Honorable Jeremey C. Daniel

Candace Caruthers is a term law clerk for the Honorable Jeremey C. Daniel, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Previously, Candace served for two years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Districts of Colorado and Wyoming, representing clients in their direct criminal appeals before the Tenth Circuit. She also worked as a New Jersey appellate public defender for two years. Candace graduated cum laude from Howard University School of Law in 2019 where she served as a Senior Notes & Comments Editor for the Howard Law Journal and was a Dean’s Fellow to Legal Writing Professor Bawa. Her comment, When the Cops Become the Robbers: The Impact of Asset Forfeiture on Blacks and How to Curtail Asset Forfeiture Abuses, was published in the Howard Law Journal and received the 2019 White & Case Best Note Award and a Burton Award. Candace was also a proud member of the Howard Law Gospel Choir.

Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings
U.S. Judge, Northern District of Illinois

The Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings serves as a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, a position he has held since October 2023.  Judge Cummings also served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Illinois from 2019 until he assumed the role of District Court Judge.

Between 1995 and 2019, Judge Cummings was a litigation partner at the law firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland, where he had worked since 1989.  During his years at the firm, Judge Cummings represented a variety of clients – both plaintiffs and defendants – in a broad range of civil cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts.  He specialized in employment discrimination cases of all types, civil rights (including voting rights and police misconduct), and the representation of whistleblowers in cases arising under the federal and state false claims acts.  In addition, Judge Cummings served as a Hearing Officer for both the City of Chicago’s Commission on Human Relations and the City’s Police Board.

Judge Cummings received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1987 and he graduated cum laude and Order of the Coif.  Between 1987 and 1989, Judge Cummings served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ann Claire Williams, who was then sitting as a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

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.

Dominique Gilbert
Law Clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings

Dominique Gilbert is a term law clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Last year, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Harry D. Leinenweber, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  Dominique graduated in 2022 from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law where she served as communications editor for the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology and as a student attorney in the Supreme Court clinic. She summered with Loevy & Loevy and the International Disability Alliance. Prior to law, Dominique worked in multilateral affairs at Homeland Security and earned a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Clarence Glenn
Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law

Passionate about shaping futures, Dr. Clarence Glenn is a seasoned leader in higher education with over 15 years dedicated to enhancing student success and organizational excellence. Holding a Doctorate in Education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, his career is marked by a commitment to creating inclusive, equitable learning environments where all students thrive.

At the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, he has transformed student experiences through his former role as Director of Student Activities & Leadership Development and currently as Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He has spearheaded initiatives that ensured academic integrity, enhanced student support systems, and fostered a vibrant campus culture celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. While he has had the privilege of impacting students’ lives through various roles, he is excited to help students build community in a new way through the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. His mission is to ensure that students have as clear and fair a path to graduation as possible.

Julie Griffin
Associate Director of Financial Aid, University of Illinois College of Law

Julie Griffin is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the financial aid process for College of Law students, understanding loan consolidation and repayment processes, and addressing any other financial concerns. Prior to joining the College of Law, Julie was a student financial aid administrator for the main campus office for eight years, served on various committees, and worked briefly in Student Affairs. Julie earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and her master’s degree in educational policy studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Leah Hall
3L, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law

Leah Hall is currently a third-year law student at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. Scheduled to graduate in December 2024, she plans to take the bar exam in February 2025. Originally from Akron, Ohio, she moved to Chicago specifically to pursue her law degree. At UIC Law, Leah currently serves as Student Manager in the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and is an active member of the Honors Trial Advocacy & Dispute Resolution Board. During the 2023-24 academic year, she also held the position of President of the Glenn T. Johnson Chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA).

Leah participated in Jumpstart in 2022, followed by volunteering at and attending the Just The Beginning – A Pipeline Organization (JTB) conference in October of that year. During the summer of 2023, Leah was selected for the JTB Summer Judicial Internship Diversity Project and externed for the Honorable Dan A. Polster, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Honorable Sunil R. Harjani
U.S. Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Illinois

The Honorable Sunil R. Harjani took his oath of office as a United States District Court Judge on April 2, 2024.  He was nominated to the position by President Joseph R. Biden on February 1, 2024 and confirmed by the Senate on March 12, 2024.  Judge Harjani also served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Illinois (2019-2024) before assuming the position of district judge.

Prior to assuming the bench, from September 2008 through January 2019, he was an Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, where he investigated and prosecuted complex white-collar crimes. During his time as a federal prosecutor, Judge Harjani tried numerous securities and commodities matters, and other complex fraud cases to verdict in this district, as well as argued multiple appeals on behalf of the United States before the Seventh Circuit. Prior to that, Judge Harjani practiced federal civil litigation as a Senior Counsel at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, as an associate at Jenner & Block, and as a federal judicial law clerk. Judge Harjani holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law where he teaches classes on White Collar Criminal Practice, Federal Civil Discovery, and Depositions.

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.

Masayoshi “Yoshi” Haynie
Associate, Faegre Drinker

Masayoshi “Yoshi” Haynie is a fourth-year transactional corporate associate at Faegre Drinker in Chicago, focusing most of his work in the M&A/PE space. He began his career at a top-10 firm where he worked on teams to help close approximately $30 billion in deals. He received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Radio and Television Sports Broadcast from the University of Missouri in 2016 before deciding to pursue a career in law. He went on to receive his juris doctorate degree from UIC law school in May 2020, where he graduated cum laude and landed on the Dean’s list every semester.

During law school, Yoshi was very involved taking roles as Student Bar Association president, a member of law review, Moot Court Honors Council, and executive roles within the Black Law Student Association, Entertainment Sports Law Society, Black Entertainment Sports Law Association (“BESLA”) and Black Men Lawyers’ Association (“BMLA”). He now serves on the board of directors of BMLA and as President of the Junior Board of Building Brighter Futures, a non-profit on the west side of Chicago. He’s the founder and CEO of The Mentor, Inc. where he started two programs: The Law School Mentor and The Med School Mentor. Both programs exist to provide the resources, access and assistance to those in the legal and medical field through mentorship.

Grant Higgins
2L, Loyola University School of Law

Grant Higgins is a rising 2L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and lives in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2021, Grant worked for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, DC and then moved back to Chicago to do community and workforce development at RUSH System for Health for 2 years before law school. At Loyola, Grant is a Mock Trial Fellow for the Philip H. Corboy Fellowship in Trial Advocacy, and an Associate Editor for Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences journal. Additionally, Grant is the incoming President of Loyola’s Health Law Society as well as an Academic Tutor for 1L Civil Procedure for the Fall 2024 semester. During his 1L summer, Grant worked at a Commercial Litigation firm in the loop, performing extensive legal research and drafting dispositive motions and memoranda on a variety of complex substantive and procedural litigation matters. In his free time, Grant enjoys playing golf, listening to music, reading, and spending time with friends and family. Grant had an amazing experience in his first year at Loyola and as Chicago native interested in a long-term career in the city of Chicago, he is excited to contribute to the success and growth of incoming students next year.

Reagan Honn
2L, Southern Illinois University School of Law

Reagan Honn is a rising 2L at Southern Illinois University Simmons School of Law. Her undergraduate degree is in accounting, which she intends to make use of in her career as an attorney. Her favorite classes in her 1L year were Criminal Law and Legal Research. Even as a busy law student, Reagan manages to make time for walking in the park with her corgi,  Macaroni, and the occasional video game session. Finding that balance is the key to enjoying life during law school!

Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt
U.S. District Judge, 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.

Aleschia Hyde
Associate, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP

Aleschia Hyde is an associate at Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP. Before joining the firm in July 2024, Aleschia was a term law clerk for the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She graduated cum laude from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2020 where she was an executive editor for the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, a participant in the Law Scholars Program, a student in the Children and Family Justice Center: Pre-Trial, Trial, and Post-Dispositional Advocacy Clinic, and an extern for the Honorable Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in the Northern District of Illinois. She previously was a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Aleschia is originally from Atlanta, GA.

Judge Beth Jantz
U.S. Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Illinois

The Honorable Beth W. Jantz is a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  Judge Jantz handles both civil and criminal matters, and since being appointed, has conducted more than 175 formal settlement conferences.  Judge Jantz was previously an attorney with the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois. Before that, she practiced at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, focusing on class actions and products liability.  Judge Jantz was the President of the Chicago Inn of Court for 2019-20.

Judge Jantz serves on many court committees including: the Sentencing Options that Achieve Results Program (“SOAR”), which is a pretrial diversion program for criminal defendants; the 7th Circuit Criminal Jury Instructions Committee; and the Administrative Office’s “Roadways to the Bench” program.

Judge Jantz is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she played Division I women’s softball, and Northwestern University School of Law. After graduation, she clerked for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Staff Attorneys’ Office.

Brian Kehenassa
2L, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

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.

Yolanda M. King
Director of the Center for Intellectual Property, Information and Privacy Law and Associate Professor of Law, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law

Yolanda M. King is the Director of the Center for Intellectual Property, Information and Privacy Law and an Associate Professor of Law at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. She teaches Property and intellectual property law courses. Her scholarly interests include the copyrightability of tattoos, the enforcement of tattoo copyrights, right of publicity protection for celebrities’ tattoos and choreography, and music licensing.

Dean King is Of Counsel at Chicago-based intellectual property law firm Advitam IP, where she advises clients on trademark protection and prosecutes federal trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

She graduated from Harvard Law School and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Susan Landrum
Dean of Students and Assistant Dean of Academic Administration, University of Illinois College of Law

Susan Landrum is Dean of Students and Assistant Dean of Academic Administration at the University of Illinois College of Law. Previously, she served as Assistant Dean for Academic Success and Professionalism and Interim Associate Dean of Students at NSU Shepard Broad College of Law and Assistant Dean for Academic Achievement at St. John’s University School of Law. Before law school, Susan was a history professor and held a faculty fellowship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Her current research interests include online and hybrid learning and pedagogy, accessibility and support for law students with disabilities, and the NextGen Bar Exam. She has published several law review articles and book chapters on these and other topicsand provides training to law schools, law firms, and businesses on increasing accessibility for persons with disabilities. Susan is currently President-Elect of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Academic Support and Executive Editor of The Learning Curve.

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 and wellness programming and manages the Peer Advisor program. 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.

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 Law School. Dean Luma works to promote a culture that values and supports DEI through work in five main areas: institutional strategic planning, diversity programming and training, current student support, recruitment, and community partnerships. She practiced child and family law for 7 years prior to her career in higher education. In addition to practicing law, Assistant Dean Luma has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level and consulted with organizations on leadership and how to create high-performing employee cultures. She is Harvard University-trained in adaptive leadership and public leadership.

Christina McClernon
Associate Corporate and Compliance Counsel, Illinois Housing Development Authority

Christina McClernon is an Associate Corporate and Compliance Counsel at the Illinois Housing Development Authority, or IHDA (“I-Duh”). Christina received her undergraduate degree from the College of William & Mary in History and Anthropology, and her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 2014. While in college, Christina was involved in developing testimonial documents to support the prosecution of former Argentine military leaders involved in political persecution of so-called “communists” during the 1980s.

After law school, Christina joined the Governor’s Office as a FOIA officer. Christina was later promoted to Chief Ethics Officer for the State of Illinois. In that role, Christina developed the Statewide sexual harassment prevention training taken by 50,000 public servants each year and helped create the Chief Compliance Office for the Governor. After the Governor’s Office, Christina litigated for several years, both in private practice and for Chicago Public Schools.

Since 2022, Christina has worked at IHDA. IHDA’s mission is to finance the development of affordable housing around the State of Illinois. Christina serves as Ethics Officer, Open Meetings Act Officer, and FOIA Officer for IHDA. In her role, Christina drafts legislation and administrative rules, oversees compliance matters, and provides legal support for IHDA’s emergency rental and emergency mortgage assistance programs, which are new programs borne out of the Covid-19 pandemic, and which have provided billions of dollars in direct assistance to Illinois residents.

Omni McCollum
2L, Northern Illinois University College of Law

Omni McCollum is a 2L at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Omni is from Kankakee, Illinois, and attended Northern Illinois University for undergrad. Omni currently serves as the President of the NIU Chapter of the Black Law Students Association as well as the Director of Membership for the Midwest Region of the National Black Law Students Association. Omni is the Vice President of Parents & Caregivers Attending Law School, a Student Ambassador for NIU College of Law, and she is a Graduate Assistant for the Department of Student Conduct at Northern Illinois University. Omni has a real estate background and is interested in practicing real estate and contract law. This summer she has served as an intern with the Chicago Housing Authority.

Cristina A. McNeiley
Attorney, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Cristina A. McNeiley currently works as an Attorney at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2020, Cristina focuses her practice on employment and commercial litigation. In her current role, Cristina focuses her practice on defending employers of all sizes against claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and other employment-related claims arising under federal and state statutes. Cristina represents employers in federal and state court, arbitrations, and before various administrative agencies.

Prior to her role at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Cristina was an Associate at Barnes & Thornburg, LLP where she worked primarily on mass tort and products liability matters. Cristina currently serves as the Communications Chair for the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, an Associate Board Member for the Chicago Committee for Minorities in Large Law Firms, and an active and financial member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

During law school Cristina also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge Ruben Castillo during his time as Chief Judge of the Northern District of Illinois. Cristina received her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2020 and her B.A. from Butler University in 2017. At Chicago-Kent Cristina was involved in many diverse student organizations at both the local and regional levels, eventually taking on leadership roles in the Hispanic Latino Law Student Association (HLLSA), the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), and the Midwest Black Law Students Association (MWBLSA). Cristina has been a member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois (HLAI) and the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) since her first year of law school. In her free time Cristina enjoys spending time with her dog, volunteering, watching movies, working out, and trying new restaurants with friends. Cristina also loves going back to her hometown in Northwest Indiana to visit her parents, grandmother, and family dogs.

Virginia 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.

Juan Morado Jr.
Partner, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Juan Morado Jr. is a seasoned health care regulatory and transaction attorney and has extensive experience working with state and federal agencies, and providing strategic counsel to private and public corporations, organizations, and individuals. He is a trusted advisor to hospitals, health systems, physician groups and business owners, helping them achieve their business goals while navigating complex regulatory requirements to implement industry best practices. Juan is one of the leading Certificate of Need (CON) attorneys in Illinois, and provides guidance to General Counsels on all aspects of their business needs.

Before joining Benesch in 2017, Juan served as General Counsel to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, and he began his career in public service with the office of Chicago’s Corporation Counsel and later became Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant GC in then-Gov. Pat Quinn’s office.

Juan serves as a mayoral appointee on MPEA Board, and previously served as Commissioner on the Illinois Medical District Commission. Juan is a Past President of the Hispanic Lawyer Association of Illinois, and also serves on the Board of the Chicago Bar Association, the Public Interest Law Initiative, La Casa Norte, and is the Chair of the Latino Leadership Council.

Honorable Martha M. Pacold
U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Illinois

The Honorable Martha M. Pacold serves as a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  She previously served as Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and, before that, Executive Secretary at the agency.  Before that, she was an associate and then a partner in the Chicago office of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, LLP.  She also was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School.

Earlier in her career, she served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and as a Counsel to the Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice.  She served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States, to Judge Jay S. Bybee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and to Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

She earned her B.A. from Indiana University and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Kim Ricardo
Interm Associate Dean for Community Legal Clinics and Experiential Education; Professor of Law; Director, Lawyering Skills Program, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Kim D. Ricardo (née Chanbonpin) joined the John Marshall faculty in 2008. Professor Ricardo teaches Lawyering Skills, Criminal Law, Torts, Gender Race and Class, and National Security Law. She has also taught Introduction to the U.S. Legal System to LLM students in China’s State Intellectual Property Office and at Masaryk University Faculty of Law in the Czech Republic. In 2014, she was a Visiting Professor at Seattle University School of Law.

Her scholarly writing considers redress and reparations law, policy, and social movements in the United States. Her work has appeared in the U.C. Irvine Law Review, the Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy, and the Mercer Law Review, among other publications.

Professor Ricardo is a member of the State Bar of California, and has been involved in several pro bono publico cases litigating a variety of legal issues, including post-conviction relief, Violence Against Women Act self-petitions, and police brutality claims. She sits on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Council. Professor Ricardo is currently serving as Immediate-Past President of the Legal Writing Institute. She also proudly serves on the Board of Governors for the Society of American Law Teachers and on the board of the Chicago Dancemakers Forum

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.

Diona E. Rogers
Partner, Thompson Coburn LLP

Diona E. Rogers currently works at Thompson Coburn LLP in Chicago. Diona assists in the documentation and closing of syndicated and single-lender secured and unsecured credit facilities. Prior to joining Thompson Coburn, Diona served as a compliance associate in a Chicago trading firm and worked as a corporate attorney. Diona holds both a J.D. and an MBA, enabling her to apply a strong business-minded perspective to legal matters.

She is president of the Minority Legal Educational Resources, Inc. (“MLER”).

Faraz Shahidpour
Law Clerk for the Honorable John J. Tharp, Jr.

Faraz Shahidpour is a term clerk for the Honorable John J. Tharp, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2020. During law school, Faraz was an articles editor for the Michigan Law Review, president of First Generation Law Students, and teaching assistant for a 1L legal research and writing course. He spent his 1L summer in Buenos Aires at an Argentinian law firm. During his 2L summer, Faraz was a summer associate at Kirkland & Ellis’s Chicago office, where he then practiced as a litigation associate for two years before starting his clerkship. In addition to clerking, Faraz is currently involved in a local non-profit organization serving Chicago’s isolated elderly population.

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 programs. She also manages all law school accreditation matters regarding the American Bar Association and other external bodies. In addition, Dr. Shaw teaches health law focused legal writing courses, an interdisciplinary seminar on health literacy and health equity, and a socio-legal research and writing course on rule of law and international development.

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; a Master of Laws degree in Health Law from Loyola; a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh; 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 Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, a position she has held since 2019. She previously served as a law clerk to 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.

Sheila Simon
Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law

Sheila Simon rejoined the SIU 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, Sheila 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.

Jennifer Spreng
Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law

Jennifer Spreng joined the faculty of Southern Illinois School of Law in 2022.  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 authentic learning, integrated course design, legal writing, and other law teaching and curriculum issues.

Professor Spreng was previously Associate Professor of Law and taught Bankruptcy, Civil Procedure, and Constitutional Law for nine years at Arizona Summit Law School, where she led cutting-edge curriculum development efforts, designed and delivered integrated courses, and regularly created innovative classroom activities and teaching materials, such as The Great Civil Procedure Shootout.  She also designed and taught first-year and upper-class writing courses as one of the original faculty of the Law Success program at Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas for more than five years.

Professor Spreng earned her Bachelor of Arts with honors in American history from Washington and Lee University (magna cum laude) in 1990; her J.D. from Saint Louis University (magna cum laude) in 1995, where she was Lead Articles Editor of Saint Louis University Law Journal, which published her comment, Failing Honorably:  Balancing Tests, Justice O’Connor, and the Free Exercise of Religion; and her LL.M in Biotechnology and Genomics from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in 2014.

Professor Spreng is the author of the book, Abortion and Divorce Law in Ireland, and her articles about school desegregation in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and possible Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reorganization are leaders in their fields.  She won Arizona Summit’s 2013-14 Faculty Scholarship Award, and along with law teaching, her current scholarly interests include religious and other individual liberties, and food, drug, and pharmacy law.

Professor Spreng is a former clerk to Judges Andrew J. Kleinfeld of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and F. A. Little Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.  She practiced bankruptcy and civil litigation in Owensboro, Kentucky for nine years, and before law school, she served as a U.S. Congressional staff member providing research support for a welfare reform project that formed the foundation for the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996.

Bria Stephens
Law Clerk for the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt

Bria Stephens is a term clerk for the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She graduated from Emory University School of Law with Honors in 2019. While at Emory, Bria was a member of the Moot Court Society and served as a tutor with the Dean’s Teaching Fellow Program. She was previously a litigation associate at Alston & Bird LLP and Lawrence & Bundy LLC, a boutique litigation firm. Bria is originally from Beloit, WI.

Benton Thomas
DePaul University Chicago School of Law

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. Vázquez-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. Vázquez-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 is the Deputy Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. She helps to execute operations and programs within the Commission by leveraging technology and project management processes.

As Deputy Director, Stephanie is responsible for streamlining the day-to-day activities of the Commission such as IT, workflows, and data analysis. In addition to these operations, Stephanie also supports the Commission’s mentoring, education, and law school programs. With a particular interest in health and wellness, Stephanie seeks to promote a healthier, more rewarding professional life for lawyers and by extension, better service to their clients.

Stephanie graduated summa cum laude from Saint Mary’s College and with Order of Coif distinction from DePaul University College of Law. Subsequently, she dedicated her career to social justice and public interest law. Most recently, she was the Content Director at Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) and was charged with publishing high-quality, user-centered content. She managed ILAO’s recent 2-year content transformation from five websites to one.

Stephanie is the Chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Standing Committee on Professionalism and a member of the ABA’s Cornerstones of Democracy Commission, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs’ (CoLAP) Law School Outreach Committee, and an advisory committee member of Catholic Charities Legal Assistance.

Jessie Wang-Grimm
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Professor Jessie Wang-Grimm practiced administrative law within the Social Security Administration’s Office of General Counsel for over two decades, focusing her litigation practice in federal district court and the Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits, as well as representing the agency in employment law matters before the EEOC. Professor Wang-Grimm also specialized in appellate advocacy for several years in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Civil Appeals Division, representing numerous state agencies in cases before the Illinois Appellate Court and the Seventh Circuit. She additionally served as a law clerk to the Honorable David G. Larimer, and as a staff attorney, for the U.S. District Court, Western District of New York. Professor Wang-Grimm received her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she served as the Executive Editor of Publications for the Loyola Law Journal, and as a legal writing tutor. She received a B.A. with honors in political science from the University of Chicago.

Samantha Woo
Interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Samantha Woo is the Interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. In that role, Samantha advises individual students and student affinity organizations, develops programs and trainings aimed at promoting an inclusive environment and fostering a sense of belonging, implements initiatives focused on strengthening the pipeline to the legal profession for individuals with identities that are historically underrepresented in the field of law, and supports other Northwestern Law departments and external partners in connection with strategic initiatives related to diversity, inclusion, and community building.

Prior to joining Northwestern Law in 2023, Samantha worked over a decade as an associate, then partner, at Jones Day in the Firm’s labor and employment practice group. During that time, Samantha represented employers in litigation matters, including collective and class action wage and hour cases and discrimination disputes, as well as labor-management relations issues, including collective bargaining and unfair labor practice cases. She also conducted internal investigations, guided clients through reductions-in-force, and counseled clients in connection with labor and employment issues that arose in mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions. Samantha earned the distinction as a “Rising Star” from Illinois Super Lawyers from 2016 to 2022 and The Legal 500 United States from 2019 to 2021. She also was included on the list of “Ones to Watch” by The Best Lawyers in America in 2021.

Samantha is active in both the legal and DEI communities. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Employment Law Council since 2020 and co-chaired its Academy since 2018. She is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, as well as former chair of the Associate Board of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. Since 2018, Samantha has served on the Advisory Board of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic.

Dawn Young
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Legal Writing, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Dawn Young will join the Loyola faculty in the fall of 2024 to teach legal writing. From 2022 to 2024, Professor Young taught academic skills courses at the University of Idaho College of Law, where she also co-directed the academic success program and supervised its student fellows.

Before her tenure at the University of Idaho College of Law, Professor Young held various roles at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. From 2020 to 2022, she served as Director of Academic Skills, overseeing the academic skills program, supervising teaching assistants, and acting as the writing specialist. Additionally, from 2018 to 2022, she taught an upper-level legal writing course as an adjunct professor. From 2010 to 2020, she was Director of Institutional Projects, where she managed grants, directed various law school programs, and assisted with strategic planning and accreditation.

Prior to her academic career, Professor Young practiced law in both private practice and in the legal department of a real estate development and marketing company in Chicago.