WINTER 2019
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE FOR VERMONT LAW SCHOOL
INDELIBLE IMPACT CASES THAT CHANGED LIVES
WINTER 2019 Volume 32
PRESIDENT AND DEAN Thomas J.P. McHenry VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI RELATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT Mary L. Welz EDITORS Ben Jervey Hannah Morris CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Maryellen Apelquist Melissa Harwood MELP’12 Ashley Patton CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sky Barsch Rebecca Beyer David Goodman DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Karen Henderson PRINTING Puritan Capital PUBLISHED BY VERMONT LAW SCHOOL 164 Chelsea Street, PO Box 96 South Royalton, VT 05068 vermontlaw.edu Send address changes to alumni@vermontlaw.edu or call 802-831-1312. Alumni can also update contact information on the web at connect.vermontlaw.edu. Printed with soy-based inks on recycled paper. © 2019 Vermont Law School
THE PERSISTENT DEFENDER, HELENA, MONT. FOR SIX YEARS, ENVIRONMENTAL ATTORNEY THAD ADKINS JD’09 WORKED TO FREE A MAN WRONGFULLY JAILED FOR 23 YEARS. READ THE FULL STORY OF THIS LIFE-CHANGING CASE, PAGE 16. PHOTO BY JEREMY LURGIO ON THE COVER: THAD ADKINS JD’09 PHOTO BY JEREMY LURGIO
CONTENTS
Exonerated How did a VLS graduate with an environmental law degree end up working on behalf of a man wrongfully convicted of murder? For this alumnus—and especially for his client—the impact of this case was indelible. BY DAVID GOODMAN
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DEPARTMENTS LETTER FROM THE DEAN
Lives Changed.................................. 5
DISCOVERY Welcoming ELC Director Jenny Rushlow. Protecting and securing the electrical grid. New farm and energy initiative bridges two VLS institutes. The Entrepreneurship and Legal Lab. The Center for Justice Reform. Professor Janet Milne's authoritative book on environmental taxes...........6
CLASS NOTES News from the VLSAA, your classmates, and friends.................. 37
INTER ALIA
A Calling........................................ 49
VERMONT ALBUM ..............................52 REPORT OF GIVING ...........................53
Answering The Call Pursuing justice through environmental regulation, starting in the classrooms at VLS and ending up in the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has been a lifelong commitment for this VLS alumna. BY REBECCA BEYER
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Alumni Gallery From Queens, N.Y., to Tulsa, Okla., to San Francisco, Calif., VLS alumni share cases that have changed the lives of individuals as well as those of entire communities. BY SKY BARSCH
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: HELENA WOODEN-AGUIL AR JD’02, PHOTO BY JAY MALLIN; JULIANA V. U.S. PROTESTORS, PHOTO BY ROBIN LOZNAK; THAD ADKINS JD’09, PHOTO BY JEREMY LURGIO.
Jay Ericson THOMAS MCHENRY, PRESIDENT AND DEAN, HIKES UP KENT'S LEDGE IN SOUTH ROYALTON, OCTOBER 2018.
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L E T T E R F R O M T H E D EA N
LIVES CHANGED Dear Alumni and Friends, When we take the time to reflect back on our lives, we often note those moments when our personal trajectories changed. Maybe it was an event, a decision you made, or an introduction to a mentor or partner. This issue of Loquitur profiles several VLS alumni for whom that was the case. For Helena Wooden-Aguilar JD’02, a seemingly routine Title VI case in her second year at the Environmental Protection Agency opened her eyes to the human impact behind the bureaucratic decisionmaking, influencing her work in the agency’s Office of Civil Rights for years to come. For the new director of our Environmental Law Center, Jennifer Rushlow, it was successfully arguing at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that the state wasn’t doing enough to uphold its legislated mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Sometimes, the lives changed are not only those of the attorney or advocate, but may include the person or community they are serving. Alexandra Goncalves-Peña MSEL’06 works with immigrants seeking asylum in the United States to protect them from returning to dangerous, even deadly, conditions in their homelands. Dana Christensen JD’12 obtained justice for an illegally evicted young mother in New Mexico. Join me in reading their inspiring stories. In David Goodman’s feature, you will learn how Thad Adkins JD’09 found himself fighting on behalf of a Montana man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and had to spend 23 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. To say that Thad changed lives with his work is an understatement. For me, several projects and cases had career-affecting impacts. One was a failed bail hearing on behalf of a young man in the Boston correctional system–one that taught me a law degree would be required to provide any real assistance. Another was an 8-0 drubbing in a U.S. Supreme Court preemption case in which we submitted an amicus brief, indicating that a policy change at the executive level was the only route to recognizing minimum instream flow levels for wildlife protection. Numerous other cases taught me that common sense, civility, logical reasoning, and teamwork will most often lead to a personally satisfying and satisfied client result. I hope you will enjoy reading about the life-changing work being done by your fellow VLS alumni. We know this is but a small sample, as so many of you do meaningful, purposeful work that brings both personal fulfillment and positive change to your communities, and the world. Keep doing what VLS alumni do, and keep changing lives.
All my best,
Thomas McHenry President and Dean
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Merrill Shae Photography
DISCOVERY
LEADING THE ELC IN THE FALL, VERMONT LAW SCHOOL WELCOMED JENNIFER RUSHLOW AS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER (ELC) AND ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PROGRAM. Rushlow came to VLS from the Conserva-
tion Law Foundation (CLF), where she was a senior attorney and director of Farm & Food, leading CLF’s New England-wide advocacy on agriculture and food issues, while also working on clean energy and transportation. Fitting to this issue’s theme, Rushlow experienced a life-changing case of her own while at CLF. In 2016, she represented children suing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts over climate change policy, arguing and winning Kain v. Department of Environmental Protection before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. As she settles into her new role at the ELC, Rushlow is enthusiastically getting to know the students, hosting countless meetings with the environmental
faculty and student groups, and strategizing about the school’s next moves on the forefront of environmental law and policy. “As each day brings more troubling news of increasing social inequity and of the plundering of our bedrock environmental laws, it’s clear we need a new generation of environmental leaders,”
"This drive to make a difference is powerful; we all do our best work when we’re doing it because we care."
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Rushlow says. “The students of Vermont Law School think freely and bring a passion to do good in their careers. This drive to make a difference is powerful; we all do our best work when we’re doing it because we care. These students make me hopeful for the future.”
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protectourpower.org
DISCOVERY
NEW FARM AND ENERGY INITIATIVE BRIDGES TWO VLS INSTITUTES The Farm and Energy Initiative at Vermont Law School is a newly launched collaboration between the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) and the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS). Genevieve Byrne, the new staff attorney for the Farm and Energy Initiative, started in summer 2018. Given the importance of both agriculture and energy production to the economy and the environment, the VLS Farm and Energy Initiative will explore the many policy linkages between these industries. Initial research efforts will examine energy self-reliance on farms, balancing solar siting on agricultural land with protection of prime soil resources, and the use of biodigestors to manage the reuse of organic waste and generate local energy. “The Farm and Energy Initiative will help build a bridge between the work of the IEE and CAFS, and offer increased research and hands-on experiential opportunities to JD, master’s and LLM students,” says Kevin Jones, director of the IEE. The initiative was made possible by a cooperative agreement between Vermont Law School and the National Agricultural Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that awarded $1.5 million to CAFS.
FOR A MORE SECURE ELECTRIC GRID The Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) at VLS is working with Protect Our Power on critical research related to security and resilience issues of the nation’s electric grid. Protect Our Power is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build consensus as soon as possible among government, industry, and other key stakeholders to strengthen the nation’s electric grid. Their goal is to make the overall grid more resistant against all potential physical or cyber threats, as well as improve its ability to restore power quickly in the event of an attack. The IEE's funded research will focus on identifying a model approach for state electric utility commissions, and the utilities they regulate, to use to facilitate timely grid upgrades, including identifying an appropriate financial structure for equitably sharing the costs of such upgrades. “The electric grid is a sophisticated physical system largely governed by a complex state-bystate regulatory system,” says Jim Cunningham, executive director of Protect Our Power. “We are asking the IEE to help us develop a streamlined, model approach that can be used in every state to properly incentivize the utility companies and assure complete recovery of costs associated with improving grid resiliency now.” The research team will be led by Mark James LLM’16, a senior research fellow at the IEE.
FARM ENERGY
INITIATIVE
VERMONT LAW SCHOOL
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W I N T E R 2019
CENTER FOR JUSTICE REFORM AND NEW MASTER’S DEGREE IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
DISCOVERY
NEW LEGAL LAB TO SUPPORT LOCAL GREEN ENTREPRENEURS.
Courtesy of Jon Kidde
In an effort to support the burgeoning local green economy, VLS has launched the Vermont Law School Entrepreneurship and Legal Lab (VSELL). This novel collaboration between Vermont attorneys, business leaders, and government officials is providing free or low-cost legal assistance to entrepreneurs who are seeking to launch green and sustainable businesses. VSELL will also train law students interested in learning how to practice business law, while supporting a broader state-wide effort to encourage more business startups. “We want to build on Vermont’s strong reputation for innovation by providing legal support to our talented entrepreneurs when they most need the help, but can least afford it,” says Trey Martin JD’08, of counsel to Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC and attorney advisor to VSELL. VSELL received a generous grant from the City of Burlington Mayor’s Prize awarded last December, with funds from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
In fall 2017, Vermont Law School launched the Center for Justice Reform (CJR) to address deficiencies in the criminal justice system and other responses to harm and conflict. “We need new ways to think about and respond to crime and other conflict,” says center founder Professor Robert Sand JD’87, a former state’s attorney and a leader in alternative criminal justice responses. “Harm affects individuals and relationships, not just the state or some higher authority, and those individuals need a meaningful voice in shaping the response. Moreover, people who cause harm have an obligation to make things right. Punishment alone does not create an adequate voice for those harmed or an adequate opportunity for those who create the harm.” CJR will serve as a focal point for training leaders who work within the criminal justice system, child protective services, and educational institutions. VLS has also launched a new Master of Arts in Restorative Justice (MARJ), a joint JD/MARJ, and a Professional Certificate in Restorative Justice. In June 2018, the CJR partnered with the State of Vermont Department of Corrections, the University of Vermont, and the Center for Court Innovation to host the inaugural three-day International Restorative Justice Conference. Workshops, panels, presentations and keynote addresses tackled issues of addressing harm and conflict, environmental justice, and building safe, healthy, and inclusive communities.
HOT OFF THE PRESS Professor and Environmental Tax Policy Institute Director Janet E. Milne has edited another authoritative book on environmental taxes, a two-volume work grappling with how the law shapes economic theory into practical reality. "Environmental Taxation and the Law" examines the legal design of environmental tax instruments; how governments define the legal authority to implement environmental taxation, and more, while using carbon taxes and climate change as critical case studies. Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein describes the book as “a fascinating and important collection on an issue of increasing urgency.”
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#COUNTMEIN 2018 REUNION GIVING CHALLENGE
FOURTH ANNUAL REUNION GIVING CHALLENGE When it comes to friendly competition, Vermont Law School alumni jump in with great spirit. The fourth annual Reunion Giving Challenge (known as “#countmein”) invited milestone reunion year classes (ending in ’03 and ’08) to compete to see which class could inspire the most members to give to VLS by the close of the fiscal year. The campaign, starting mid-May and culminating on the Friday evening of Homecoming Weekend, helped VLS raise over $500,000 for the Fund for VLS. The Class of 1978 won the competition with a 37 percent participation rate in giving, earning the Reunion Class Participation Award. The generosity of the Class of ’78—and all who supported VLS in fiscal year 2018—helps keep the Fund for VLS robust as it provides assistance to students with financial aid packages and student services, and helps attract and retain quality faculty and staff.
DOUGLAS MEREDITH
SOCIETY There are many options for planned gifts which allow alumni, parents, and friends to give talented and ambitious law students—and the gifted faculty who teach them—a financial boost. Seventy-two of our extended community have already provided for VLS in their estate plans. If you have included VLS in your estate plans, or to learn more about giving options through estate plans or lifetime income gifts, contact Mary L. Welz at mwelz@vermontlaw.edu or 802-831-1079.
ANSWERING The Call
BY REBECCA BEYER
HELENA WOODEN-AGUILAR JD’02
Jay Mallin
Is Committed to the Pursuit of Environmental Justice.
H
It was a simple case that Wooden-Aguilar had fielded by-the-book. The woman’s complaint had been filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging that an EPA-funded agency had given the greenlight to a facility that would diminish air quality in her community. Unfortunately, the alleged conduct had happened too far in the past according to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, so Wooden-Aguilar was compelled to reject it. It is rare for individual complainants to reach out directly to the EPA officials assigned to their case, however, and, during the call, Wooden-Aguilar soon realized the complainant had no understanding of federal timeliness requirements. So when Wooden-Aguilar hung up, she went back to her supervisor and asked that the case be reopened under an exception to the code. When the complainant found out, she called Wooden-Aguilar again. This time she was crying with gratitude. “It blew my mind,” Wooden-Aguilar says of the calls, which took place more than a decade ago. In a regulatory bureaucracy the size of the EPA’s, she added, people are normally just “names on paper.” In the end, Wooden-Aguilar found no evidence of discrimination in that particular case. But that doesn’t mean justice wasn’t done. “It was just as important [for the woman] to have been heard, to have been provided information,” she says. “In that moment, I realized that my role was not just to be a trier of facts, but also to be an advocate for justice. It’s not just about the facts. It’s about the people.” For Wooden-Aguilar, that simple case provided an important lesson. It’s one that she has continued to carry with her throughout her career at the EPA, which has included managerial roles in the Office of Civil Rights, where she began her tenure in 2004 and later helped head up the handling of Title VI cases, and her current position as acting deputy chief of staff for the entire agency. “Obviously, a measure of success is complaints go down, or complainants are happy, or recipients [of federal funding, who are the targets of Title VI complaints] are happy,” she says. “I’ve never seen my job as making people happy. For me, the integrity of the process and the integrity of the people that are in charge of the process is how I measure success.”
SEEKING SOLUTIONS: HELENA WOODEN-AGUIL AR JD’02, STANDING IN FRONT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN MISSION IN MIND: HELENA WOODEN-AGUILAR AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE IN WASHINGTON, JD’02, D.C., STANDING IN FRONT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN SEEKS COMMUNIT Y JUSTICE THROUGH DISPUTE RESOLUTION. AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., SEEKS COMMUNIT Y JUSTICE THROUGH DISPUTE RESOLUTION.,
ELENA WOODEN-AGUILAR JD’02 was in her second year as an attorney in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Civil Rights when she got an unusual call at her desk.
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ANSWERING THE CALL
The Roots of a Life Pursuing Justice
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Pennsylvania native and graduate of Howard University, Wooden-Aguilar grew up with an appreciation for social justice and government service. Her mother, an immigrant from Venezuela, worked for the state. Her father, an African-American who worked in higher education, had been active in the civil rights movement in the U.S., including when he was a student at Howard. Wooden-Aguilar double majored in sociology and anthropology as an undergraduate, imagining she would become a “female Indiana Jones.” But a class on environmental justice taught by a government attorney during her junior year opened her eyes to the law. She found Vermont Law School through Google searches for “environmental law,” “social justice,” and “best law school.” On a visit with her mom, during which she sat in on classes and spoke with faculty and students, she fell in love with the location and the program. “I felt a strong connection—a really good vibe,” she says. Jamaal Buchanan JD’02, a friend and former classmate, remembers meeting Wooden-Aguilar during orientation.
“You get a sense of who are the intelligent people, who are the people who are going to work hard,” he says. “From the very beginning, Helena stood out. She knew she wanted to go into environmental law, while some of us were like, ‘I don’t know what I want to do.’” A class with Tseming Yang, now a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, reinforced WoodenAguilar’s career aspirations and introduced her to the Civil Rights Act and, specifically, to Title VI. That was when she decided she wanted to work for the EPA. “You’re telling me there’s an actual statute we can enforce to provide relief to communities,” she remembers thinking. “It opened my mind to the fact that I could work for the federal government and put these pieces together and do some good.” Yang, who later worked with Wooden-Aguilar at the EPA, says she was a “really thoughtful student, deeply interested in the issues.” “You could tell that Helena was really grappling with how society has treated the poor and racial minorities unfairly but at the same time in the context of an environmental regulatory system that’s quite complex,” he says. “That’s what I found to be most remarkable about Helena: she takes these issues seriously from both sides.
“
I realized that my role
was not just to be a trier
of facts, but also to be an
“
Courtesy of Helena Wooden-Aguilar
advocate for justice. It’s not just about the facts.
It’s about the people. HELENA WOODEN-AGUIL AR DURING ORIENTATION FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT VLS IN 1999.
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“
You could tell that Helena was really grappling with
how society has treated the poor and racial minorities unfairly but at the same
“
File Photo
time in the context of an environmental regulatory PROFESSOR TSEMING YANG’S TEACHING INFLUENCED WOODEN-AGUIL AR DURING HER TIME AT VLS.
Coming Face to Face with Title VI Cases at the EPA
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fter graduation, Wooden-Aguilar returned home to Pennsylvania to work at a nonprofit focused on domestic violence prevention. Even though the work wasn’t environmental in nature, it was solution-oriented, which appealed to her approach to justice. One of the issues she worked most closely on was housing: domestic violence survivors are often adversely affected by rental policies that prohibit police activity, even when the police activity is through no fault of their own. “That work instilled in me the themes of fairness and equality,” she remembers. “I took a keen interest in that.” When she saw an open position to work on Title VI cases in the EPA’s Office of Civil Rights, however, she jumped at it. “It felt like a miracle,” she says. “It seemed like a dream job to me.” Perhaps, but for the EPA, Title VI was something of a nightmare. The statute, which prohibits discrimination against members of the public by recipients of government funds, is controversial as applied by the EPA for a variety of reasons. First, it puts the EPA in a position of policing the state and local agencies that are normally its partners in environmental protection. When an individual or advocacy group claims that a local regulator has made a decision that unfairly impacts a community, the EPA must investigate and decide whether to take action against that regulator. That makes the cases politically unpopular. More controversial is the EPA’s record on Title VI matters. In 2011, a few years after Wooden-Aguilar arrived in the Office of Civil Rights, the office published
system that’s quite complex.
a self-commissioned report that found the agency had “not adequately adjudicated Title VI complaints” and was facing a backlog of cases dating back more than a decade. Later reports criticized the office’s almost nonexistent findings in favor of complainants over the years. Part of Wooden-Aguilar’s job was to try to improve the internal process for Title VI cases. To that end, she held so-called “listening sessions” with stakeholders within and outside the agency and formalized the use of alternative-dispute resolution (ADR) by making it available to the parties in all Title VI cases. In 2015, shortly before she left the Office of Civil Rights for her current position, Wooden-Aguilar authored a report documenting the office’s progress, including inserting language about Title VI in all its agreements with EPA funding recipients; meeting regularly with stakeholders to monitor compliance; and providing technical assistance, among other efforts. “She was definitely one of the people within the Office of Civil Rights really trying to push these issues forward,” says Yang, who supervised the work of his former student in his role as EPA’s deputy general counsel. William Yon, who worked under Wooden-Aguilar as a clerk while he was at The George Washington University Law School, says his former boss is “a relentlessly positive person.” “It’s hard to discourage her,” he says. “She’ll have a mission in mind and be willing to do the work to get there. When there are problems, she sort of rolls with it and tries to keep everything moving.” Wooden-Aguilar is particularly proud of implementing ADR in Title VI cases, which had been known to drag on for years without resolution. “The possibility of a community sitting across a table from an adversary and coming to solutions without the federal government having to play trier of fact is amazing to me,” she says.
ANSWERING THE CALL Pioneering the Agency’s Use of ADR in a Landmark Case
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able” record on Title VI cases means local agencies don’t have much to fear if they can’t come to an agreement with complainants. “What we really need is government agencies to actually comply with civil rights laws and enforce civil rights laws,” he says. Wooden-Aguilar doesn’t disagree: For the right results, the right processes need to be in place and people need to be able to meaningfully participate in those processes. To help ensure that a more diverse cohort of future lawyers is trained in environmental justice, law, and policy, she helped broker an agreement between her employer and her law school alma mater that allows students from minority academic institutions to study in Vermont Law School’s top-ranked environmental education program and to intern at the EPA. At least 25 students from North Carolina Central University School of Law took advantage of the program in its first iteration, which began in 2010; in January 2017, the EPA and Vermont Law School signed a memorandum of understanding to renew the collaboration. The partnership, which Wooden-Aguilar spearheaded, was inspired by her first unsuccessful attempt to reach the EPA. When she was a student at VLS, WoodenAguilar applied for an internship at the agency but was
Courtesy of Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice
n 2013, Wooden-Aguilar introduced ADR into a long-running Title VI case in California. The original complaint brought by the community advocacy group Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice against the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District alleged a lack of meaningful public involvement in approving construction of a fossil fuel power plant in Avenal. The case was ultimately resolved with ADR—a first under the Obama administration—and led to public notices in both English and Spanish, a major win for the predominantly Spanish-speaking and Latino community. Three years later, the Avenal case was a helpful precedent in a settlement described as “historic” by Greenaction and two local regulators who were battling it out over allegations related to a hazardous waste site. “Avenal set the tone for [Kettleman] to even happen,” Wooden-Aguilar says. Bradley Angel, the executive director of Greenaction, which also brought the Kettleman City case, says mediation in the Avenal case was “strategically important” to its resolution, in combination with community organizing and public advocacy. “We were able to win some important victories around civil rights compliance and language access through mediation,” he says. But he adds that the EPA’s “miser-
FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS, THE COMMUNIT Y ADVOCACY GROUP GREENACTION FOR HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HAS WORKED WITH THE PREDOMINANTLY SPANISH-SPEAKING AND L ATINO COMMUNIT Y OF KETTLEMAN CIT Y, CALIF., TO ADDRESS POLLUTION ISSUES. LOQUITUR
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rejected because of a lack of experience in environmental law and policy. She doesn’t want that to happen to others. “If we want to change the conversation of environmentalism, we need to have diversity of thought,” she says. “How do you do that? You bring students from all walks of life and you enrich them at the EPA.” Kevin C. Foy, who helped facilitate the partnership at North Carolina Central and, as a result of it, now teaches in VLS’s summer program, says the impact on students who participated was obvious.
If we want to change the conversation of environmentalism, we need to have diversity of thought. “What I saw from my students when they came back was just a lot more awareness,” he says. “They sort of became ambassadors for environmental issues. That was its most profound effect.” Former EPA official Ben Scaggs, who helped WoodenAguilar launch the partnership within the agency, says Wooden-Aguilar’s commitment to environmental justice is what got the program up and running in the first place, and what makes it so special now. “None of that would have happened without Helena,” he says. “Fundamentally, Helena is a people’s person—that drives or fuels her to do all the work that she does. At the heart of it all is a desire that everybody be heard and treated fairly.” Wooden-Aguilar’s current role at the EPA is more internal-facing (as acting deputy chief, she has a hand in personnel decisions and employer-employee relations); she isn’t likely to pick up the phone and hear a Title VI complainant on the other end of the line. But through the partnership with VLS and her responsibilities at the EPA, she still feels like she can help people have a voice in the environmental justice movement, including by empowering others to pursue jobs in the field. “I believe I’m in a position to help open doors and create opportunities,” she says. This past summer, an intern who worked with WoodenAguilar at the EPA sent her a thank you note to say her experience there had made her rethink her future career. For Wooden-Aguilar, that’s progress—helping someone see how they can be part of the process. “My job is to inspire future leaders to be at the table of this environmental conversation with the most diverse lens they can have.”
Jay Mallin
Rebecca Beyer is a freelance writer living in New York City.
Jeremy Lurgio
EXONERATED
THE CASE THAT BECAME A MISSION: THAD ADKINS JD’09, AN ENVIRONMENTAL ATTORNEY IN HELENA, MONT., ENDED UP REPRESENTING A FELLOW MONTANAN IMPRISONED FOR 23 YEARS IN THE APPEAL OF A LIFETIME.
HOW A VLS GRADUATE HELPED FREE AN INNOCENT MAN By David Goodman
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T WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT ON JANUARY 12, 1994, AND DONNA MEAGHER, A 34-YEAR-OLD WAITRESS, WAS CLOSING UP AFTER A LONG NIGHT at Jackson Creek Saloon in Montana City, Mont. This was a familiar routine for her. Meagher was eager to get home to her two sleeping children. Without warning, this cold winter morning became anything but routine. Sometime between 12:45 and 1:36 a.m., someone entered the saloon and ordered Meagher to hand over cash. Terrified, she emptied $3,300 from the register and gambling machines. She never came home. The next morning, family members went to the saloon and were concerned by what they found. The door was unlocked and Meagher’s pickup truck, which was normally in the saloon parking lot, was found behind a nearby restaurant. The keys were in the ignition. At 9:30 a.m., two women driving on Highway 12 spotted an injured deer alongside the road. When they stopped to check on it, they
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were horrified to discover a woman’s lifeless body lying in a ditch. Donna Meagher had been bound with a cord and struck in the head 10 to 12 times with the claw end of a hammer. News of the murder dominated headlines in Montana for weeks. But law enforcement was coming up cold in the search for the killer. Investigators caught a break that summer when a man named Dan Knipschield, who was in jail, told them that he believed his son-in-law, Fred Lawrence, was involved in the Meagher murder. Knipschield, who was hoping to claim a Crime Stoppers reward, agreed to wear a wire and discuss the crime with Lawrence. The tape allegedly malfunctioned, but Knipschield insisted that Lawrence confessed to the murder. Police interviewed Lawrence, who was just out of jail for a traffic violation in West Yellowstone, Mont. Lawrence denied involvement and blamed the crime on his friend, Paul Jenkins, and Jimmie Lee Amos, an intellectually disabled man in the care of Jenkins and his wife Mary, who had dementia.
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EXONERATED
IN 1995, PAUL JENKINS (MIDDLE) AT THE LEWIS & CL ARK DISTRICT COURT IN HELENA, MONT., WAS CHARGED AND SENTENCED TO 100 YEARS IN PRISON. STILL SHOT FROM VIDEO FOOTAGE COURTESY OF JILL VALLEY/KPAX NEWS.
Montana investigators traveled to Oklahoma and interviewed Paul and Mary Jenkins. Mary’s interview lasted eight hours, during which she allegedly told police that she saw Lawrence murder Donna Meagher. The detectives claimed they had recorded the interview with Mary Jenkins and mailed the tape and transcript back to their office. The transcript arrived, but the tape had mysteriously disappeared. Lawrence later recanted his claim that Jenkins had committed the murder. In the fall of 1994, Paul Jenkins and Fred Lawrence were charged with deliberate homicide, aggravated kidnapping, and robbery. In January 1995, a state forensic psychiatrist determined that Mary Jenkins and Jimmie Lee Amos were both incompetent. But the prosecutor argued that without Mary Jenkins’ testimony, “We do not have a case. We are not able to proceed.” The court ruled that Amos was incompetent, but that Mary Jenkins’ “confession” was admissible. With no physical evidence linking Jenkins or Lawrence to the crime, Mary’s testimony against her husband was central to the prosecution’s thin case. On Feb. 24, 1995, separate juries that heard the cases at the same time convicted Lawrence and Jenkins of murder. Both men were sentenced to 100 years in prison. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the convictions two years later.
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For 23 years, Lawrence and Jenkins remained in prison. They have always maintained their innocence. They would likely still be in prison today were it not for the efforts of a handful of lawyers on a mission. One of them was a fellow Montanan just back from Vermont who dreamed of saving the earth, but ended up saving a life.
FROM YELLOWSTONE TO VERMONT
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had Adkins JD’09 grew up in Gardiner, Mont., the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. He was one of 18 members of the graduating class of 1997 at his local high school. His father worked for a concessionaire for the National Park Service and his mom was an artist. He attended Carroll College in Helena, then transferred in his senior year and graduated from the University of Tennessee. Growing up in one of the country’s most spectacular landscapes, Adkins has a deep connection to the environment. Since he was 13, he worked as a hunting and fishing guide for his uncle’s outfitting business, guiding
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FOR 23 YEARS, LAWRENCE AND JENKINS REMAINED IN PRISON. THEY WOULD LIKELY STILL BE THERE TODAY WERE IT NOT FOR THE EFFORTS OF A HANDFUL OF LAWYERS ON A MISSION. fishing trips, elk hunts, trail rides, wrangling horses, fixing fences, and whatever else was needed. These experiences shaped him. “A previous generation had World War II, but for me climate change and the environment are the big issues of our day. That got me motivated,” he says. Shortly after he graduated college, one of his Montana neighbors offered Adkins some advice. “If you really want to make a difference for the environment, you need a law degree.” “That really resonated with me,” Adkins recalls. He heard that Vermont Law School had a renowned environmental law program. It was the only law school to which he applied. When Adkins enrolled at VLS in 2006, he was finally able to engage
his passion for working on environmental issues. “In Montana, a good portion of your time is spent debating whether there is a warming climate. At VLS, your time is spent figuring out what to do about it, not arguing what’s fact and what’s not. It’s a solutions-oriented place.” After graduating from VLS in 2009, Adkins, then 30 years old with a wife and a young son, wanted to move back to Montana and practice environmental law. Instead, he was offered a job at the Office of Public Defender in Helena, the state capital. Adkins was eager to take the job, but he had never even taken a class in criminal procedure. He decided he could learn on the job. Adkins was soon working 300 active cases. “It was very fast-paced
and everybody was really overloaded,” he concedes. The Montana ACLU sued over inadequate funding of the Office of Public Defender, but the caseloads remained overwhelming. After several years, Adkins accepted a job offer at a prominent Helena law firm, Jackson, Murdo & Grant PC. The firm needed an attorney with experience in criminal law, and Adkins was now a veteran. One day in 2011, Adkins was contacted by a friend who was a staff attorney with the Montana Innocence Project (MTIP), a branch of the national nonprofit legal group whose “mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.”
POLICE INVESTIGATE THE JACKSON CREEK SALOON IN MONTANA CIT Y, MONT., THE SCENE OF THE 1994 CRIME THAT L ANDED PAUL JENKINS AND FRED L AWRENCE IN PRISON. STILL SHOTS FROM VIDEO FOOTAGE COURTESY OF JILL VALLEY/KPAX NEWS.
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“SINCE THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE LINKING JENKINS AND LAWRENCE TO THE CRIME AND ALMOST ALL EVIDENCE WAS CIRCUMSTANTIAL, WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD CASE FOR NEW DNA TESTING.” – TOBY COOK, STAFF ATTORNEY, MONTANA INNOCENCE PROJECT
Thanks in part to the work of the Innocence Project, 362 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing as of late 2018, including 20 who served time on death row. His friend at the MTIP inquired: Would Adkins consider taking on the pro bono legal appeal of Paul Jenkins? Adkins was “pretty skeptical,” but agreed to take a look. MTIP staff attorney Toby Cook explains, “Our threshold requirement is that we have to have new evidence of innocence or determine if it is a DNA case. Since there was no physical evidence linking Jenkins and Lawrence to the crime and almost all the evidence was circumstantial, we thought this was a good case for new DNA testing.” Adkins grew concerned as he read the case file. “The more I went through transcripts of the original trial, the clearer it became that some catastrophic mistakes were made. The lack of physical evidence was one of the main problems. I began to believe my client.” The Meagher murder was a highprofile case in Montana, which has a relatively low number of violent crimes. When Dan Knipschield
LOQUITUR
offered up his son-in-law Fred Lawrence as a perpetrator, Montana law enforcement were eager to believe him. Adkins quickly recognized the social context of the case. “Fred Lawrence, who lived in a trailer park and had a history of low-level misdemeanor troubles, didn’t have a lot going for him. Paul Jenkins had just moved here and had no support network. That’s a warning sign. If the prosecutor and detectives are really under pressure to make a case, there’s nobody advocating for these guys.” Paul Jenkins thought the police’s interest in him was a misunderstanding that would just go away. The problem came when they interviewed his wife Mary, who was in the early stages of dementia (she would die of Alzheimer’s Disease five years later). “She would walk out of a store and not know where she parked her car. She was starting to have fairly significant cognitive impairment,” says Adkins. Her confused mental status would have been apparent during her interview with detectives. “The first detail that intrigued me was that the detectives ended up mailing the interview transcript
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and tape to their office in Helena,” says Adkins. “Why didn’t they bring it physically in their custody? That was an odd thing.” Sure enough, a package arrived at the detective’s office with the transcript, but the tape was missing. “I’ve dealt with a lot of police officers and they are mostly standup guys, but there were always some who bent things. It seemed obvious that they had leaned on her in the interview—and then the tape goes missing,” says Adkins. Paul Jenkins said that “they were telling her that she was either going to be named as a defendant, lose her kids and go to prison, or she could testify against Paul. She ultimately testified that she and Jimbo, the developmentally disabled guy, had both been involved.” Too many facts didn’t make sense to Adkins. Mary claimed that Paul Jenkins and Fred Lawrence robbed the saloon and that Lawrence had beaten the victim unconscious and loaded her into a pickup truck. But there was no blood at the saloon, the description of the vehicles and the timeframe didn’t match up, there were the wrong size shoe prints, and witnesses identified different cars.
EXONERATED
PAUL JENKINS, ON TRIAL IN 1994 IN HELENA, MONT. STILL SHOT FROM VIDEO FOOTAGE COURTESY OF JILL VALLEY/KPAX NEWS.
“I could see how they got convicted, because the wife is saying this happened and we were there and participated, and the father-in-law had a story. But there was absolutely no physical evidence linking them to the crime scene,” Adkins observes. “It definitely was a symptom of law enforcement needing to get a handle on this case.” “This case floated a lot of boats,” Adkins says of the original investigation and trial. The prosecutor went on to be elected Montana Attorney General and then chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court. One of the investigators became county sheriff. And the defense attorney became head of the Office of Public Defender when Adkins worked there.
A CASE BECOMES A MISSION
T
had Adkins became convinced that Paul Jenkins and Fred Lawrence were innocent. “Just the thought that these guys were in prison for so long for something they didn’t do was horrifying and mind-boggling. I can’t think of any case as an attorney that has kept me up as long.” In August 2015, Adkins and lawyers for the Montana Innocence Project filed a motion seeking new DNA testing of the physical evidence in the Meagher murder case. Among the 20 items sought were a rope used to bind Meagher and a cigarette butt found near her body. District Court Judge Kathy Seeley granted the motion one year later. Meanwhile, Adkins had changed jobs. In 2012, he left the private law firm to become an attorney
with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. This new job introduced a wrinkle: by day, he was a state environmental attorney. In his pro bono work, he was challenging other state attorneys who worked for the AG. Was that awkward? He laughs: “A little bit. I had to keep a low profile. Because I was doing environmental law, everybody was OK with me continuing [the Jenkins case], but I couldn’t neglect my day job and had to use vacation time to work on it.” In March 2017, there was a crucial development in the case. Fred Nelson reported to Montana law enforcement that his uncle, David Wayne Nelson, who was then in prison after confessing to a 2015 double homicide, had bragged that he killed Donna Meagher in 1994. Fred Nelson had previously reported his uncle’s admission to lawyers and police in 1998 and 2011. But he was told that nothing could be done because there was no new evidence. Adkins says it was unclear whether the police or sheriffs suppressed or just ignored the damning information. “The general sense was, ‘We’ve got the right guys in prison so there’s no point in reopening it.’” Fred Nelson’s 2017 statement, combined with the fact that DNA testing was underway, caused the state to reopen the investigation into the Meagher murder. Adkins and his Innocence Project colleagues believed that if Nelson’s DNA turned up on any of the evidence, it would be “a slam dunk” that Nelson had committed the crime, and Jenkins and Lawrence were innocent. The drama quickened in late 2017. Thad Adkins was sitting at his desk one evening when he opened an email from Cellmark, a DNA Lab. “Lo and behold, one of the ligatures–a nylon rope to tie up the victim–had DNA
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EXONERATED
mitting murders in five states, including killing Donna Meagher in 1994: “He abducted her, robbed the casino, took her to a road outside of Helena, said he was going to let her go, got out of the car. She said it was cold out. He walked her to the back of the car and said, ‘I have a sweater in the trunk of the car.’ He opened the trunk and he said he pulled out a hammer and hit her in the head with a hammer. He said that two guys got convicted and went to prison for it and he got away with it.” MTIP staff attorney Toby Cook recounts, “When the nephew was describing the confession, you could hear a pin drop in the court. That was a moment of high drama. That was right after our DNA expert had testified that Nelson’s DNA was on the rope mixed with the victim’s DNA. The statistical probability on that was 1 in 10 septillion.” Cook praised Adkins’ work on the case. “Thad is a very critical thinker. He was instrumental in his ability to think through all of the evidence and the issues and what it meant. He had great ideas about different topics we should question each witness on. His experience as a public defender also helped him as far as thinking on his feet.”
“THE LAW IS A HUMAN SYSTEM. THERE IS A HUGE DANGER OF CONFIRMATION BIAS, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ADVERSARIAL SYSTEM WHERE AN INVESTIGATIVE TEAM REACHES A CONCLUSION, THEN YOU SWITCH INTO DEFENSE MODE. IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO DEFEND A CASE WITH AN OPEN MIND.” – THAD ADKINS JD’09 LOQUITUR
THAD ADKINS JD’09.
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Jeremy Lurgio
that was a match to David Nelson,” he recounts. “I was absolutely floored.” The attorneys still had to persuade a judge of the significance of the DNA finding. In January 2018, the MTIP team filed a motion to vacate the murder convictions of Jenkins and Lawrence under Montana’s DNA Exoneration Statute, which MTIP helped get passed in 2015. The hearing to consider the new evidence took place on March 9, 2018, in Helena. DNA expert Dr. Greg Hampikian from Boise State University, who was also working with the Innocence Project, took the stand first, and told Judge Kathy Seeley, “There’s no DNA link whatsoever to Lawrence and Jenkins in this case.” “I do a lot of cases,” said Hampikian. “This is the second time I can remember in one of my cases where it cleared two men and someone else is a hit to the database.” In a surprise move, the MTIP team called David Nelson to the stand. He appeared in shackles and exercised his right to remain silent. The lawyers then called Fred Nelson as a witness. He described his uncle’s boasting to him about com-
“I NEVER THOUGHT ONE TIME I’D SEE THIS DAY …DON’T GIVE UP. DON’T GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. JUST KEEP GOING.” – PAUL JENKINS, 2018 INTERVIEW WITH KPAX TV
On April 13, 2018, Judge Seely overturned the murder and kidnapping convictions of Jenkins and Lawrence and ordered a new trial. The judge said the new evidence “far exceeds” the standard required to prove the likelihood of a different outcome had it been presented in the original trial. Four days later, Lawrence and Jenkins were released from prison. On June 1, 2018, the state dismissed the charges. Twenty-three years after they were wrongfully convicted, Paul Jenkins and Fred Lawrence were free men. “I never thought one time I’d see this day,” Jenkins told KPAX TV in an emotional interview the day after his release. He advised others in his situation, “Don’t give up. Don’t give up no matter what you do. Just keep going.”
“A CASE YOU DREAM OF”
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had Adkins says that when he was a law student in Vermont, “this is the kind of case you dream of. It was really satisfying to feel like you were able to make a pretty big difference. ...We set some legal precedents and it makes
it a little easier within the state to bring a case like this. I am thrilled with how it turned out.” MTIP staff attorney Toby Cook observes, “I think this case was significant for several reasons. It shows how horribly wrong a case can go and the detrimental impact that a wrongful conviction can have not just for victims, but for society as a whole. Jenkins and Lawrence spent 23 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit—that’s a tragedy. But those two people in Deer Lodge [murdered by David Wayne Nelson in 2015] lost their lives because the right person was not convicted in 1994.” In September 2018, Adkins started a new position as senior counsel for the Natural Resource Damage Program in the office of the Montana Attorney General. He now works alongside the attorneys he recently opposed. Adkins chuckles softly in reflecting on his career path, “I would be making a helluva lot more money if I had stayed at the law firm I was with. But that was not my motivation for going to law school.” Adkins says that one of the lessons he takes from this case is that the law “is a human system. There is a huge danger of confirmation bias, because this is an adversarial system
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where an investigative team reaches a conclusion, then you switch into defense mode. It can be difficult to defend a case with an open mind. It drove home to me the importance of a defense counsel who is on the ball.” Adkins says it is easy for a criminal defense attorney to get jaded. “But we are the last line of defense. We need to take it seriously and listen to our clients.” Adkins now looks forward to spending more time with his wife and two young kids and getting back to the magnificent Montana outdoors that first inspired him to study law. Less than a decade after leaving his last law class in Vermont, Thad Adkins has had the privilege to use his skills to help exonerate an innocent man. The experience has renewed his faith in the law, and in humanity. “For every gross injustice carried out,” he muses, “there are still these instances of people working really hard to make a difference and make sure the right outcome is achieved.” David Goodman is a Vermont journalist, a bestselling author, and host of the public affairs radio show, The Vermont Conversation.
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A Gallery of VLS Alumni by Sky Barsch
From Queens, N.Y., to Tulsa, Okla., to San Francisco, Calif., VLS alumni share cases that have changed the lives of individuals as well as those of entire communities.
DANA CHRISTENSEN
JD’12
Martin Arroyo
Dana Christensen JD’12 changes lives through countless cases she works as a legal services attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y. “For a lot of our clients there are so many things going against them,” she says. “We keep people in their homes, or prevent them from becoming homeless, help them get out of abusive relationships, get them custody of their kids.” Before she arrived in Brooklyn, it was a case she took on last year as a Legal Aid attorney in New Mexico, involving a young mother who was illegally evicted from her apartment, that really sticks with her. “Things are a bit more Wild West out there,” Christensen says. “The landlord just threw stuff out on a hot desert day, and all of her food got ruined. We had a multiple-day trial proving that they did, in fact, throw out her stuff. It was the trial of the century of the week—multiple witnesses, photo evidence, people lying on the stand.” They won the case, and the client was financially compensated. For Christensen, this type of work allows her to continue the spirit of what she learned through working with Professor Alex Banks JD’87 at the South Royalton Legal Clinic. Banks recently passed away. “He walked the walk,” Christensen says. “His approach to domestic violence and how he supported so many women in Vermont—he had a wealth of life-changing cases in that one career. You have to be humble, and it’s important not to have a savior complex.” That “stay humble and serve” attitude guides Christensen in her legal services work today. “I’m drawn to the people, the stories, the action of it, the fast pace, the tangible results that I see immediately. That there’s always something coming up and there is never a dull moment.”
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DAVID BRIDGERS
JD/MSL’93
Courtesy of David Bridgers
Newtown Creek is a tributary of the East River that forms the border of Queens and Brooklyn, N.Y., and served as water supply for many types of New York City’s founding industries, including refining, processing and shipping oil, as well as for transporting goods to market. As such, the 3.5-mile creek was heavily polluted with hazardous chemicals. Today, it is one of the most trafficked bodies of water in the Northeast, and is further polluted by the city’s inadequate wastewater system. It fields billions of gallons of wastewater and raw sewage each year. In 2010, the federal government designated it a Superfund site and five parties, including some of the country’s major gasoline and petro-fuel companies, entered into an administrative order with the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct an investigative remedial study—to see what it will take to clean up the site. David Bridgers JD/MSL’93 serves as common counsel to that group of five parties, keeping them working together to move the study forward in a way that is fair to his clients, while acting as an outside voice for the group with the EPA and the City of New York. “I try to make sure we’re advancing the group’s common interest. They have overlapping interests and they have interests where they have disputes,” Bridgers says. “There’s times I look like a lawyer, but a lot of times I’m more providing strategy and figuring out group dynamics. I deal with multiple disputes a week, that range from the silly to the profound. What it calls on is everything you’ve learned as a human being.” The goal is to come to a record of decision by 2023, so Bridgers will have spent more than a dozen years studying this problem. “I am a litigator, but this really has changed how I approach all that. I’m much more intuitive and seeing what I do as solving problems. There was a time, I thought I knew what a lawyer does—now I am a problem-solver who happens to have a law degree.”
Cronin Photography
ALEXANDRA GONCALVES-PEÑA Alexandra Goncalves-Peña JD/MSEL’06 works with immigrants who are facing removal from the United States, a job that is equal parts challenging and inspiring. She works with people who fear—in many cases, for their lives—returning to a domestic abuse situation, or politically related revenge. Her job recently got much more difficult after Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued an order doing away with a pathway to citizenship for some individuals who have suffered domestic violence. As the supervising attorney for Catholic Migration Services in New York City, some of Goncalves-Peña’s cases, which have been in progress for years, now potentially face vastly different outcomes, profoundly affecting the lives of her clients and their family members. “We represent everyone who is in a removal proceeding regardless of race, nationality, or type of case they have. The goal being providing quality legal representation and defense,” GoncalvesPeña says. “A successful case—an asylum win—those cases are very difficult to win. When you succeed with getting an asylum grant, it’s huge: their status in the United States is normalized. They have a
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JD/ MSEL’06
pathway toward citizenship. The fear of being removed to a country where you’ve suffered extreme harm or fear harm, that no longer exists. It’s wonderful.” But, today, the work is harder. For instance, Goncalves-Peña recently had a hearing for a client who appeared to be eligible for asylum under the previous rules. When the judge heard the case, he said though it was a sympathetic case, the asylum seeker did not meet the new eligibility requirements. With two children in her home country, one under a year old, the client was faced with the choice to accept withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture, which meant forfeiting her application for asylum—and the potential to become a resident and then citizen of the United States—or to move forward and ask for asylum, and risk having her application denied at both the trial and appeal level. “There are extreme consequences if the result is not favorable to our clients,” Goncalves-Peña says. As the fate of that client is still uncertain, Goncalves-Peña recognizes that her work securing asylum for those who cannot safely return to their home countries is more important now than ever.
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LIZZIE TISHER
JD’14
Rob Bossi
In her final semester at VLS, Lizzie Tisher JD’14 was seeking some hands-on experience to demystify the litigation process. The case she was assigned in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic was to help a group of neighbors fight the environmental and health impacts of an asphalt plant that had set up near their homes. Through the process, they discovered a company was crushing rock to feed to the asphalt. That crusher did not have an Act 250 land-use permit and the company argued that its longstanding operation was grandfathered under the Vermont’s landmark land-use law. As the case went from Vermont Environmental Court, to the Vermont Supreme Court, back to Environmental Court, back to Supreme Court for a second and then a third time, Tisher found herself in a “never-ending story.” In August 2018, she filed a brief with the Supreme Court over the crusher, and even if the court decides in her favor, the fight is far from over. The company could move the crusher’s location and continue to fight to operate. The fight has been hard on the neighbors. “They’ve been going through this for six years and they might feel like there’s no end in sight,” Tisher says. “They’re not the ones who decided to put the rock crusher there, but they’ve had the burden all along. They spend their time and money, and there’s a lot of stress involved. I’ve seen the physical and psychological toll it’s taken on them.” “When you’re sitting at somebody’s kitchen table with them, talking about their lives, it takes on new meaning,” Tisher says. “We want to win because we want them to get the relief they deserve.”
LOQUITUR
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Courtesy of Dennis J. Neumann / United Tribes News
GEORGE AND MARILYN KEEPSEAGLE, BOTH CITIZENS OF THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX TRIBE, TAKE PART IN A MEETING ABOUT THEIR HISTORIC LAWSUIT AT UNITED TRIBES TECHNICAL COLLEGE IN BISMARCK, N.D., IN NOVEMBER 2010.
ALICIA NEVEQUAYA In the national class action civil rights discrimination lawsuit, Keepseagle v. Vilsack, American Indian ranchers and farmers sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture saying American Indians were denied equal access to its Farm Loan Program. Though the USDA did not admit discrimination, it agreed to a $760 million settlement. Alicia Nevaquaya MSEL’05 worked on the aftermath of the case. As a claims representative for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, she identified farmers and ranchers who would benefit under the terms of the suit. This meant traveling all over eastern Oklahoma, meeting these small business owners in the field. “It was really interesting,” Nevaquaya says. “I would go from the field with cows and farmers and fill out
MSEL’05
claims and other USDA paperwork on the dashboard of their trucks. Then I’d be back in the office—sometimes even at a White House consultation. I’d be in their hay field, or chicken houses, turkey houses, or hog houses, or at their commodity crop fields and I’d leave…to go to the White House events.” While in the field, farmers and ranchers told Nevaquaya how they’d seek assistance from the USDA, only to be told they’d have to go to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “They could not get any relief anywhere in order to farm their land,” she says. “As a result, oftentimes what would happen is non-Indian farmers in the area would lease their land because the Native Americans couldn’t farm their own land.”
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Through the process, “Agriculture became a guiding purpose in my career, as well as farm advocacy and working for the farmers around the country. I can’t see myself not serving farmers and ranchers in my career,” she says. “Without them, we would literally not eat. Food is critical to our personal health, our personal security, and our national security.” The settlement vastly changed the lives of hundreds of American Indian farmers and ranchers, as they saw critical debt relief. “It is no small feat to bring a claim of discrimination against the United States government by a farmer or rancher, but these people did it,” Nevaquaya says. “And they won."
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LOU HELMUTH
JD’84
There’s a saying that people who work in and around climate change face “pre-traumatic stress disorder,” the gravity of understanding what’s to come weighing heavy on their minds. Lou Helmuth JD’84 is intimately familiar with that concept—he’s spent the past five years on the front lines as the deputy director of Our Children’s Trust (ourchildrenstrust. org), an organization that advocates on behalf of youth for science-based climate recovery policies. The organization supports all facets of the landmark Juliana v. United States case, which argues that the federal government's affirmative actions on climate change violate the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, and fail to protect essential public trust resources. The plaintiffs are 21 young people, and their youthfulness provides a welcome balance in the face of impending climate catastrophe. “These kids are remarkable,” Helmuth says. “They are all incredibly conscious and aware advocates. Each one of them are wise beyond their years but they also all have tremendously hopeful attitudes and expectations for their futures.” Helmuth says his organization is seeking a drawndown of carbon dioxide concentrations from more than 400 parts per million to fewer than 350 parts per million by 2100. This requires tireless advocacy, though new friendships and inspiration are born as a result. “All of these kids move me every day, truly,” Helmuth says. “They have become a supportive and close-knit unit. The younger ones have very close friendships with each other. The older ones are serving as mentors to the younger ones. The younger ones look up to their mentors. It’s a really remarkable tribe of very thoughtful young people who take their role in this very seriously, but also know how to have a lot of fun.”
LOQUITUR
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Robin Loznak PL AINTIFFS IN JULIANA V. U.S. GATHER IN PROTEST, WITH EXPERT WITNESS AND CLIMATE SCIENTIST DR.JAMES HANSEN (ON FAR LEF T).
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JARED MARGOLIS
JD’06
Courtesy of Jared Margolis
After the Trump administration approved the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project—that the Obama administration had blocked in 2015 over environmental concerns—TransCanada Corp. sought to quickly get it back underway. This time around, the Nebraska Public Utilities Commission approved a new pipeline route. Suddenly, the fight was back on for Jared M. Margolis JD’06, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, who worked on the case with a coalition including other major national environmental groups like Friends of the Earth and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Margolis’s specialty is protecting endangered species, specifically the whooping crane, which migrates across the Great Plains. Experts say the number one cause of whooping crane mortality is collision with power lines, and the population is so threatened that even a few deaths could have a catastrophic effect. Because the newly proposed route would involve hundreds of miles of new transmission lines, Margolis’s group argued in a brief that the project would jeopardize whooping cranes, and therefore shouldn’t be able to move forward. In August 2018, a federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, citing the coalition’s brief. The judge required further analysis in a supplemental environmental impact study, and the coalition is currently waiting on a decision regarding the Endangered Species Act claims. “This case and working with the center has made me feel a part of not just one case, but this ongoing effort to save us from our ties to fossil fuels and climate catastrophe,” Margolis says. “It’s put me in this position to make real change. It’s been life-changing for me, my family, and hopefully the planet.”
LOQUITUR
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LLM’08
Bill Eubanks LLM’08 was only a year out of law school when the case of a lifetime came his way: Beech Ridge Energy was planning a large-scale wind power project in West Virginia, plotting turbines near caves that were home to the endangered Indiana bat. At the time, there was a rift in the environmental community. Some felt renewable energy was so necessary to combat climate change that it shouldn’t be challenged; others felt projects like Beech Ridge would have enough negative impact that they should be halted. Eubanks saw a middle ground. He sued on behalf of several nonprofit conservation organizations, not to stop the project but instead seeking to force Beech Ridge to mitigate its impact on Indiana bats (and many other bat and bird species). After a trial with testimony from several of the nation’s leading bat experts, a federal judge ruled in favor of Eubanks’ clients and ordered Beech Ridge to take measures to reduce the environmental impacts of the project.
Courtesy of Bill Eubanks
BILL EUBANKS
“This was a unique situation because attorneys in our field rarely go to trial,” Eubanks says. “This was exciting for me as a young lawyer—I thought I was only going to be writing briefs, and instead I was traveling all over the country meeting experts, taking depositions, examining and cross-examining experts in court, and gaining invaluable experience.” After the trial, the developers reduced the project’s footprint by 20 percent by eliminating the turbines nearest the bat caves. They also worked with engineers to ensure that the turbine blades would only turn during higher wind speeds when bats and birds are less likely to fly near them. The project as proposed would have killed 200,000 bats; with these measures in place the project will likely kill less than 5,000. “We were able to show that there is a middle ground,” Eubanks says. “We can support renewable energy projects without giving them a free pass.”
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AND
KORRIN PETERSEN SETH SCHOFIELD
JD’04
unconstitutional. His work on the case would put him on a course to become the senior appellate counsel for the Energy and Environment Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.. “I grew up on Buzzards Bay,” Schofield says. The case mattered to him a great deal because of his personal connection—he’s a windsurfer and a fisherman. “It was meaningful as a lawyer because it was a significant victory and one of the first cases in the country to find that a federal agency has to consider the potential environmental consequences of seeking to preempt a more protective environmental state law requirement.” The rules that Petersen and Schofield have defended require oil-transporting barges to have a tugboat escort through the sensitive areas, additional manning requirements on the primary tugs to assist with safe navigation through Buzzards Bay, and a vessel monitoring system—similar to air traffic control—in order to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to control traffic and increase safety on the waters. “Every time I’m out on the water or shoreline and I look out and see a barge going through on the bay and it has an escort tug, I feel like I have succeeded and protected this body of water,” Petersen says. “That’s why I went to law school—to protect our natural resources.”
Jay Ericson
In 2003, an oil transport barge was traveling through Buzzards Bay off Cape Cod when it veered out of the navigation channel and ran up against underwater rocks, tearing a 12-foot slice down the ship. Some 98,000 gallons of oil would spill out, contaminating more than 90 miles of shoreline with highly toxic fuel oil. The impact was immediate and longlasting: seabirds died, shellfish beds were polluted, and popular beaches were forced to close. The incident was a call to arms for environmental advocates who would learn that there were no regulations or laws in place regarding the transport of oil through estuaries of national significance. For Korrin Nygren Petersen JD/MSEL’02 and Seth Schofield JD’04, the ensuing legal battle would impact their lives for years to come. In Petersen’s case, this incident has been life-defining: she not only drafted and helped pass legislation that puts critical safety measures in place for oil-transporting barges traveling through sensitive estuaries when she was working as committee counsel in the Massachusetts Legislature, she now works as the senior attorney for Buzzards Bay Coalition, which defends those measures. For Schofield, he defended the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when the federal government and maritime shipping associations sued, saying that the state law was preempted by the federal law, and therefore
JD/ MSEL’02
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DOWNTOWN SOUTH ROYALTON BULLETIN BOARD, 1995
CLASS NOTES
NOTES FROM THE VERMONT LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
world. The students—and the tiny law school in the foothills of the Green Mountains known as Vermont Law School—need us. Your input on how the VLSAA can improve is not merely welcome, but expected. Please see us and the Alumni Office as resources and reach out to your regional chapters or to the VLSAA. For the accomplishments of the past year and for efforts yet to come, I am grateful to the leadership of the alumni regional groups, to the VLSAA Board of Directors, and to the alumni trustees. Go Fighting Swans! Sincerely,
Rick Johnson JD’97 President, Vermont Law School Alumni Association
File Photo
This issue of Loquitur examines lifechanging cases with wide-ranging impacts and concerns that deeply resonate with many alumni. It’s a strong demonstration of the boldness, determination, and commitment of Vermont Law School alumni. As a 1997 graduate, I am inspired to read these stories and humbled to be serving as the Vermont Law School Alumni Association (VLSAA) president for one more term. The VLSAA Board of Directors had a great 2017-2018 year. We primarily focused on student engagement and advising the law school on alumni issues and concerns. Some of our milestones included recognizing the northern California regional group, selecting recipients for the Alumni Service Award and Distinguished Alumni Award, and meeting with student leaders to connect students with alumni through the mentoring program. Additional work included updating our bylaws and collaborating with the Career Services Office on addressing mid-career resources for alumni. Over 70 alumni events took place around the world and over 250 alumni attended Alumni Week-
end in June. This September, President and Dean Thomas McHenry and the VLS community welcomed 275 new students to campus. Our newest Fighting Swans are a group of JD, master’s, and LLM students who have come from all over the country and the world. They represent the next generation of Vermont Law School alumni to soon be profiled in Loquitur for their hard work. Now more than ever, it is our duty to ensure the best education and experience possible for our current and incoming students and to continue to position them for meaningful and engaging careers in law and policy. In the year ahead, the VLSAA board will continue to grow the mentoring program, expand regional groups, and celebrate and support the ties connecting the generations of classes, ensuring that the alumni voices and perspectives are heard throughout the school. While the regional gatherings and Alumni Weekend serve to help us keep in touch with one another, we, as proud VLS alumni, must not lose sight of our primary functions—to help VLS continue to grow and prosper and to help future alumni make their transition to the real
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from—and is also the recently elected chairman of—NYSBA’s Entertainment Arts and Sports Law section. They shared fond memories about each other, and the friends they made, during their days in South Royalton. They invite members of the VLS community to reach out and connect.
1980
Scott Cameron jscameron@zclpc.com
BOB SHAFER JD’79 AND BARRY SKIDELSKY JD’80 CONNECTED OVER THE SUMMER IN COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., ON L AKE OTSEGO, SOURCE OF THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER. FROM LEF T TO RIGHT: BOB SHAFER, K ATHLEEN HENNESSY, EILEEN KING, AND BARRY SKIDELSKY.
1976
Mark Portnoy mhportnoy@gmail.com
1977
Thomas Donnellan tomlaw333@comcast.net
1978
Robin Bren rbrenip@gmail.com Veronica Boda JD’78 would like to take a cruise in May. Last year, she sailed to Bermuda for the first time, and the weather cooperated, allowing for sunny walks around the island and swimming at Horseshoe Bay. This year, she travelled to the Bahamas, visiting Great Stirrup Cay, Nassau, and Paradise Island. She is planning additional cruises, and is looking for a travelling companion.
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If you are interested, please contact her at vchb79@yahoo.com. Robert Lamb Jr. JD’78 is pursuing a career with the Federal Government. He writes, “Hard Work, Focused, Studious and Attentive.”
197940TH REUNION Deborah Bucknam dbucknam@vtlegalhelp.com
Bob Shafer JD’79 and Barry Skidelsky JD’80 connected over the summer in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Lake Otsego, source of the Susquehanna River. Both were there as elected delegates attending a meeting of the New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates, NYSBA’s governing body. Bob (who has a private practice in Tully, N.Y.) is a delegate from the 6th judicial district, while Barry (who has a national private practice based in New York City) is a delegate
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Jack Tomarchio JD’80, the principal with Agoge Group, LLC, travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark, this summer for the first annual meeting of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. Organized by former Danish Prime Minister and NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the summit was formed to foster democratic ideals and respect for the rule of law. Jack is a member of the summit’s board of directors and currently resides in Wayne, Penn. Jack notes that he recently visited Montpelier and enjoyed spending an hour or so chatting in Chambers with the Honorable Harold “Duke” Eaton JD’80, a Justice on the Vermont Supreme Court.
1981
Tim McGrath timbomcg@juno.com Tom Aristide JD’81 writes, “As with all of us from Class of 1981, that time has come for exit plan from the practice and after 37 years of being a solo practitioner in Pennsylvania, I am on my way to the other end of country to Florida. Kids up and out and mostly married. One daughter
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is an assistant Attorney General in Vermont! So I did keep some roots in Vermont!” Benjamin K. Trogdon JD’81 was recently named the director of the Bureau of Enforcement at the Federal Maritime Commission.
1982
Larr Kelly photolarr@verizon.net
1983
Martha Lyons malyonsesq@hotmail.com
198435TH REUNION Charles Van Gorder chase@vglaw.com
Holly Dustin JD’84 and Grady George JD’00 are senior financial advisors at Ledyard National Bank in Hanover, N.H. They advise clients about how to manage their wealth and about tax-efficient transferring of assets in connection with estate planning and philanthropic giving. In addition they work with clients on financial planning and retirement planning. “It is fun work,” notes Holly, who lives in Brookfield, Vt. George writes, “It is great to see so many VLS graduates practicing in the Hanover/Norwich area. We enjoy working with them and getting to know them.” Kurt M. Hughes JD’84, an attorney at Murdoch Hughes & Twarog in Burlington, Vt., has joined
Noticed©, an invitation-only service for distinguished professionals. Kurt was chosen as a Distinguished Lawyer™ based on peer reviews and ratings, dozens of recognitions, and accomplishments achieved throughout his career. Kurt has over 25 years of experience in law, with a specialization in family law. Dean R. Marcolongo JD’84 was elected Surrogate Judge of Cape May County, N.J., on November 7, 2017. The Surrogate is one of three Constitutional Officers in each county and the only elected judge in the State, serving a 5-year term. The Surrogate Court probates wills, appoints administrators of estates if no will exists, appoints testamentary trustees, processes guardianship applications involving incapacitated persons, manages all adoption petitions and supervises/ invests funds for minors as ordered by the Superior Court. Dean and his wife Carol live in Marmora, N.J., and are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this year. They have three beautiful adult daughters. Dean struggles endlessly with his golf game and finds solace in the music of Jimmy Buffett. Chase Van Gorder JD’84 has relocated to Minneapolis, Minn., and has reluctantly resolved to accept retirement from fulltime employment. He still plans to continue contract work as a staff attorney for the New Mexico legislature during its winter sessions in Santa Fe.
1985
Please email alumni@vermontlaw.edu if you are interested in serving as class secretary.
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KURT HUGHES JD’84
1986
M.P. Zimmerman pattyzim@comcast.net
1987
Mark Ouellette mouellette01@gmail.com Alison Gravel JD’87/MSL’89 has practiced law in Royalton, Vt., for 30 years. She is retiring in June of this year and has been on the Royalton Selectboard for two terms as well as on the Town Board of Civil Authority. She also was an EMT for 15 years. Alison writes, “I have enjoyed practicing law in Royalton as a sole practitioner. The Royalton Bar was always very helpful in assisting a new attorney. For a while I lived my dream life as a ‘hobby farmer’ on Mill Road with oxen, horses, hens, geese, and cats, and a dog. I live in the village now due to age and health issues. I speak with new students at 108
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Chelsea Station (the Best Little Coffee Shop) and when I tell them when I graduated, most of them say ‘I wasn’t born yet.’ It’s fun to visit with them, hear how much they like VLS and their ambitions.” Kathy Reardon JD’87 is an appellate attorney at the Monroe County Conflict Defender’s Office in Rochester, N.Y. She represented Preston Carter on his appeal from a murder second conviction and sentence of 25 years to life. Kathy reports that both the court reporter and the trial attorney felt very strongly that justice had not been served in this case and that the wrong man had been convicted. As a result, Mr. Carter was serving what would potentially be a life sentence, especially based upon the brutality of the crime. Following the filing of briefs and argument before the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, the Court reversed and vacated the conviction and today, writes Kathy, “Preston Carter is a free man!”
1988
Sandra Allen sallen19@roadrunner.com William Barry JD’88 wrote a book on dispute resolution, called “Appropriate Dispute Resolution,” that was recently published by Wolters Kluwer. For over 18 years, he has been an assistant district attorney for Cumberland County, Maine, in Portland.
animal law and policy, and constitutional law. He is also affiliated with Monmouth’s Urban Coast Institute, where he will work on marine governance and coastal climate adaptation issues. Gilbert P. Kaback JD’89 just celebrated his 25th year running Gilbert P. Kaback, P.C., which is a solo practice in Colchester, Conn. He is married with three children and lives in Colchester, Conn.
“APPROPRIATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION” BY WILLIAM BARRY JD’88
Randall S. Abate JD/MSEL’89 is the inaugural Rechnitz Family Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy and a professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J. He joined the Monmouth faculty in August 2018 with 24 years of full-time law teaching experience at six law schools, most recently as a professor of law from 2017-2018 at Florida A&M University College of Law in Orlando, Fla., where he also served as associate dean for academic affairs in 2017. At Monmouth, he will teach courses in climate change law and justice, ocean and coastal law and policy,
198930TH REUNION Kim Montroll kimmontroll@gmail.com
RANDALL ABATE JD/MSEL’89
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1990
Mario Gallucci mfg7102@aol.com
1991
Peg Stolfa margaret.stolfa@gmail.com
1992
Margaret Olnek mlo@olneklaw.com Dave Celone JD’92 writes, “Sold my art gallery in White River Junction, Vt. Moved into a new house in East Thetford, Vt., after spending the winter in a renovated farmhouse in Post Mills, watching balloons ascend most mornings from the Post Mills Airport right next door. Just missed my first hole in one by many inches at the Hanover Country Club’s 4th hole, and another at the Yale Golf Course’s 15th hole this past weekend. Have discovered the world’s best lobster roll in Orford, N.H. Am shopping a book manuscript with some New York and California
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agents—creative non-fiction with maybe one oblique reference to VLS. Cranking out poetry by the boatload. Learning to make and paint lampshades from an artist in lovely White River Junction which, if you’ve not been, is the latest artist colony to self-colonize in the Northeast.”
Director and Producer, American Resilience Project and director of The Burden, Tidewater and upcoming film series, Current Revolution (amresproject.org/currentrevolution).
199425TH REUNION Joseph C. Galanes joseph.galanes@gmail.com
1993
Lainey Schwartz geowoman3@aol.com Dirk Anderson JD’93 is happy to have renewed his acquaintance with classmate Kelli Kazmarski JD/MSL’93. In Kelli’s new role as Vermont Legal Aid’s unemployment insurance attorney, she regularly represents clients before the Employment Security Board, whom Dirk serves as counsel. They recently were on opposite sides of a Supreme Court appeal that may change the lives of Vermont’s adjunct professors. According to Dirk, this was a step up from their last Supreme Court fight, which turned on the misappropriation of cheese. Dirk writes, “This is why I love Vermont.” On May 31, 2018, Alan Strasser JD/MSL’93 moderated a panel regarding the upcoming film series, Current Revolution, at New York University’s Pzifer Auditorium. Kevin Jones, director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School, was among the panelists to discuss policies and practices to support grid modernization through distributed renewable energy and electrified transportation. The other panelists included Ronny Sandoval, Director, Grid Modernization, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF); Scott Fisher, Vice President of Market Development, Greenlots; and Roger Sorkin, Executive
1995
for the New York State Department of Public Service on Long Island, helping to oversee the local utility’s implementation of clean energy policy and programs according to state guidelines. She also started a nonprofit called Green Inside and Out (greeninsideandout.org) and hosts a monthly environmental radio show on StonyBrook University radio WUSB. Karis L. North JD’95 was recently appointed to the inaugural Plymouth County Commission on the Status of Women (PCCSW), and was elected by her sister commissioners as chairwoman. The PCCSW will work to advance women and girls of Plymouth County, Mass., to full equality in all areas of life, and to promote their rights and opportunities.
1996
William S. Fewell williamfewell@vermontlaw.edu
AL AN STRASSER JD’93
Karen Moore kj.moore@judicial.state.co.us
Beth Fiteni MSEL’95 just published a book in April called “The Green Wardrobe Guide: Finding EcoChic Fashions that Look Great and Help Save the Planet,” about where to find sustainable fashions, what to look for and why, including a list of ecofashion stores around the country for men, women, and babies. See greenwardrobeguide.com. She works
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Seth Handy JD/MSEL’96 writes, “All’s well in Providence, R.I. Our firm is in its eigth year now. We have built a good client base around our energy centered, real estate, municipal, environmental, dispute resolution, and business practice. Our motto is true stewardship—caring for our clients as we care for the community. Highlights are here: handylawllc.com. We had a great intern from VLS last spring (Randelle Boots JD’18) and will welcome another this fall (Emma Akrawi JD’19)–smart young people with lots of energy bring a nice vitality to the office. I attached a picture of a fishing trip with two VLS classmates (Eric Wilkinson JD/MSEL’96 and Seth Handy JD/MSEL’96). Best to you all!” Jeremy Vermilyea JD’96 writes, “After eight years at a large law firm,
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199920TH REUNION Joy Kanwar-Nori joy.kanwar@gmail.com
2000 Anna B. Fry adafry@aol.com
Kristy M. Caron Kristycaron@gmail.com
FISHING TRIP INCLUDING TWO VLS CL ASSMATES. PICTURED HERE: ERIC WILKINSON JD/MSEL’96, DAVID DAHLMEIER, AND SETH HANDY JD/MSEL’96. managing its construction practice group and moving from Portland, Ore., to Seattle, Wa., in service of that mission, I left in the spring of 2017 to reopen my solo office. In May of this year, I moved back to the Portland area to be closer to clients and friends. Seattle is a great city, but it’s growing and changing fast, and not to my liking. I’m still practicing construction law, and am also serving as a mediator and arbitrator in construction and commercial cases in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. As for fun, I’m still riding my Harley, and just recently had my first whitewater rafting experience, floating the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. One of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a long time! If you’re in the Northwest, look me up!”
1997
Cheryl C. Deshaies Davis davis4nh@comcast.net
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1998
Thomas F. Leary thomas.f.leary@gmail.com Paul Freeman JD’98/MSEL’01 has joined one of the country’s top law firms, Crowell & Moring LLP, where he is a senior counsel in the firm’s New York office and a member of the Environment & Natural Resources and Government Contracts groups. He brings two decades of diverse experience advising clients in the energy, maritime, and aerospace and defense industries on a range of issues, with a primary emphasis on matters involving enforcement defense, litigation, and risk management. Michael Sutch JD’98/MSEL’99 got married to Jessica Howard at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colo., on New Year’s Eve this past winter and opened his own solo practice in Denver this summer.
Joy Braunstein MSEL’00 writes, “MSEL Class of 2000! I just joined the Climate Reality Project as the Senior Regional Organizer for the Ohio River Valley. My children are now 9, Jordan, and 5, Nomi. And our family owns a small boarding stable in western Pennsylvania. We still live in Pittsburgh.” Eric N. Columber JD’00 opened his own solo practice December 2017. Columber Law is located in Ellsworth, Maine. Eric resides in Blue Hill with his wife, two children and a dog. He still finds time to play his mandolin and guitar. Rima Idzelis JD’00 writes, “Greetings from Durham, North Carolina. If ever in the area, get in touch! idzelis@law.duke.edu.”
2001
Karen Domerski Murray kmurray9515@gmail.com
2002
Paige Bush-Scruggs paigescruggs@comcast.net
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Jennifer Robbins JD’02 married Craig Talbert on July 28, 2018, in Colorado.
2003
Shannon Bañaga vlsmaher@yahoo.com
2004 15TH REUNION Spencer Hanes spencer.hanes@duke-energy.com
2005
Meg Munsey and Kelly Singer vermontlaw2005@gmail.com Keith Dennis MSEL’05 and Allison Bellins Dennis MSEL’05 welcomed the birth of their son, Owen Andrew Dennis, on March 15, 2017. Owen
joins his twin sisters, Kate and Zoey, 4. Keith serves as senior director of strategic initiatives for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Allison serves as deputy communications director for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water in Washington, D.C. Marnie R. Kudon JD’05 recently joined Cozen O’Connor’s national real estate practice. Marnie, who previously served as senior counsel at the New York office of Locke Lord LLP, joins the firm as a member and will reside in Cozen O’Connor’s midtown Manhattan office. CHRISTOPHER CURTIS JD/MSEL’06 FULFILLED A LIFELONG DREAM OF CLIMBING MT. KILIMANJARO.
2006
Ashley Carson Cottingham ashleybrey@gmail.com Ebony Riggins erriggins@gmail.com Christopher J. Curtis JD/MSEL’06, Chief of the Public Protection Division of the Vermont Attorney
General’s Office, reports that in March, Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced a $28 million settlement with tobacco companies to resolve years of potential arbitration. The settlement was negotiated through the diligence of the Public Protection Division’s dedicated attorneys and staff. On a personal note, Curtis also spent two weeks in July in Tanzania in pursuit of a lifelong dream to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro; he also went on a safari.
2007
Greg Dorrington gregdorrington@gmail.com Liz Lucente liz.lucente@gmail.com
OWEN ANDREW DENNIS, BORN ON MARCH 15, 2017.
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2008
Samantha Santiago Beaulieu santiago.samantha@gmail.com Jamie Williams willjamie@gmail.com Robert Gardner JD’08/MELP’09 writes, “Hey there Swans! It’s been quite the decade! Since things are so healthy, efficient, and balanced with the national political debate, I’ve decided to step away from it! I know, I know—silly decision—but so it goes! I’ve moved on home to Washington, D.C., to serve as the advocacy director for our local bicycle association. It’s great! And if you’re ever in town, pop on in for a pint and a ride.” Kate Lynn Toan Merlin JD’08 and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby boy, Ethan Joel Jamison Merlin, on May 14. Kate’s case, Martinez v. COGCC, brought on behalf of Our Children’s Trust, on the question of whether Colorado’s oil and gas administrative agency has a statutory duty to regulate the industry in a manner that protects public health, safety, and welfare, is now fully briefed to the Colorado Supreme Court, awaiting oral argument. Her clients, the Youth Plaintiffs led by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, prevailed at the Court of Appeals last year in March. That ruling was appealed by the Colorado Attorney General over the publicly stated wishes of the governor.
Susan (Baker) Senning JD/MELP’08 recently accepted a staff attorney position with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ Municipal Assistance Center. She previously served as the Town of Waitsfield’s Planning & Zoning Administrator for seven years which will supply experience and ground-level perspective to her municipal law practice. Susan’s husband, Will Senning JD’06 has served as Vermont’s Director of Elections and Campaign Finance since 2013. His job has had an increasingly national and international focus in recent times. Will and Susan continue to enjoy life on the side of a mountain in Duxbury with their two daughters Stella Grace, 4, and Dylan, 2, and cat, Stormy. Margarita Smirnova JD’08 and her boyfriend have a 3-year-old and live in North Reading, Mass. Her practice (margaritasmirnovalaw. com) involves part-time in-house counsel for a small medical clinic, business contracts and litigation and constitutional law, specifically second amendment. She focuses on denials, suspension and revocations as well as dealing with mishandled ceased property. Margarita writes that she always thinks of Professor Cheryl Hanna when she works on constitutional issues. Her current case provides a map on how to sue a police officer in Massachusetts.
200910TH REUNION Editor’s note: See the profile of Lou Helmuth JD’84 in the Gallery of Alumni, page 30, to learn more about Our Children’s Trust.
John Miller johndmillerjr@gmail.com Jennifer McDonald jmcdonald@drm.com
2010 Cara Cookson cara.cookson@ccvs.vermont.gov Laurie Wheelock lauriewheelock@gmail.com Shaina (Rasmussen) Rosenbleet JD’10 and her husband Benjamin Rosenbleet are happy to announce the birth of a son, Avi Harrison Rosenbleet, on March 20, 2018.
AVI HARRISON ROSENBLEET BORN ON MARCH 20, 2018.
2011
Amanda George-Wheaton amanda.georgewheaton@yahoo.com Sarah McGuire sarah.mcguire18@gmail.com Tracy Wyeth JD’11/MELP’08 got married on August 11, 2018, in Woodstock, Vt., to Garrett Kelly. The joyous event was attended by many classmates. Tracy currently lives in Woodstock, and practices at the Law Office of Jonathan L. Springer, P.C. in Windsor. Hilary M. Zamudio JD’11 was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate
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clinics offering free or low-cost immigration legal services to lowincome individuals.
ATTENDEES AT THE WEDDING OF TRACY WYETH JD’11/MELP’08, FROM LEF T TO RIGHT: MAGGIE RICE JD’11, JENNIFER LEINBACH JD’11, NICHOL AS D'ADDARDIO JD’11, ABBY VOLBERDING, MOLLY WHITE JD’12, DELIA DELONGCHAMP MELP’08, SHANNON ECKMEYER JD/MELP’11, THE BRIDE AND GROOM (TRACY AND GARRETT KELLY), TOM KING JD/MELP’11, SERGIO BOTIFOLL JD’11, JASON WEIBEL JD/MELP’11, K ATHERINE MARTIN JD’11, BRIAN MARTIN JD’10, K ATELYN ATWOOD JD’10, REED SIRAK JD’12/MELP’09, AND STEVE NADEAU JD’11. Brown to serve as a board member of the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), an appellate body with exclusive jurisdiction to review local government land use decisions. Zamudio started her full-time service in Salem, Ore., in July 2018. Prior to joining LUBA, Zamudio clerked at the Oregon Court of Appeals and practiced law with a private firm in Medford, Ore., focusing on appellate, administrative, and land use law.
2012
Susan Lettis susanlettis@gmail.com Lauren Marks lauren.miller.e@gmail.com Monica Miller JD’12 recently presented oral arguments in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals surrounding the constitutionality of a massive city cross. She is senior
counsel for the American Humanist Association and has a robust docket of First Amendment cases.
2013 Brian Durkin brian.o.durkin@gmail.com Rae Kinkead rmkinkead@gmail.com Charles D’Angelo MELP’13 cofounded a Renewable Energy nonprofit 501(c)(3) named American Renewable Energy Advocates Society (AREASonline.org) and created a children’s learning book for 4th and 5th graders: theenergywizard. science. Marcelo N. Betti JD’13 has accepted a full-time position as an immigration attorney with Justice For Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI), at their office in Traverse City, Mich. JFON-MI is a nonprofit organization, and part of a nationwide network of legal
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Richard Sala JD/MELP’13 earned a Master of Business Administration in June 2018 from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and retired from the United States Marine Corps after 21 years of service. He and his family moved to New Hampshire where he serves as legal counsel to the New Hampshire Department of Education and its Divisions including Program Support, Educational Improvement, Career Technology and Adult Learning, and Higher Education. He also represents the State of New Hampshire before State and Federal courts and administrative agencies under the direct supervision of the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Stephanie Tavares-Buhler JD/ MELP’13 was recently promoted to the position of acquisitions manager at the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT). Stephanie joined MALT’s Conservation Team in November 2013 and has been integral to MALT’s increased pace of agricultural conservation easement acquisitions. In this new role, Stephanie is taking on the responsibility for implementation of MALT’s easement acquisition program, including MALT’s innovative Mandatory Agricultural Use Amendment Program, and she will be working closely with the rest of MALT’s Conservation Team to maintain the pace of acquisitions in order to meet MALT’s lofty goal of protecting 100,000 acres by 2040. She invites her fellow swans to visit her in Point Reyes Station, Calif., any time they are in the area.
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moving forward; she enjoys the amount of time she gets to spend in the field as part of the effort to protect these beautiful places. Kristin Leigh Campbell JD/ MELP’15 celebrated three years as a Law Fellow with the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD) in August 2018. While the main office for IGSD is located in Washington, D.C., Kristin moved back to Vermont in October 2017, settling in Montpelier. Her work specializes in connecting
SEVERAL CL ASS OF 2013 ALUMNI SHOWED UP IN ROCHESTER, N.Y., TO ATTEND THE RETIREMENT PART Y FOR RICHARD SAL A JD/MELP’13. FROM LEF T TO RIGHT: T YLER WARD JD/MELP’13, KRYSTIL SMITH JD/ MELP’13, RAE KINKEAD JD’13, RICHARD SAL A JD/MELP’13, K ATIE THOMAS JD/MELP’13, AND VICE DEAN FOR STUDENTS AND PROFESSOR OF L AW BETH M c CORMACK.
20145TH REUNION Whitney Standefer whitneystandefer@gmail.com Cristina Mansfield cristinaleila@hotmail.com Megan M. Hunter JD/MELP’14 was recently quoted in the Toledo Blade related to her work representing the Lake Erie Foundation as amicus curiae in a landmark lawsuit to clean up Lake Erie. Lindsay Speer MELP’14 is now working for Alliance for a Green Economy on the HeatSmart CNY and Renewable Heat Now campaigns. Both campaigns promote the rapid conversion of building heating and cooling systems from climate-intensive fossil fuel combustion to efficient, renewable-ready, electric air source and ground source heat pumps. Lindsay additionally continues her work as a
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consultant for the Onondaga Nation on environmental and indigenous rights issues. She recently won a campaign to get fish advisory signs posted in multiple languages around the Onondaga Lake Superfund site. Her article “From Blight to Beautiful: Renovating an Urban House By and For Community” was recently featured in the 2018 Eco-Building issue of Communities Magazine.
2015 Crystal Abbey cnabbey88@gmail.com Alona Tate alona626@yahoo.com Ariana Barusch JD’15 is a litigator with the Utah Attorney General’s Office and is involved in all cases relating to Utah’s public lands. They have a number of high-profile cases
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science with international law and policies on short-lived climate pollutants (HFCs, methane, tropospheric ozone, and black carbon) and the implications and impacts of climate change in the Polar Regions. Since returning to the Green Mountain State, Kristin has utilized some of her non-work hours to rekindle her relationship with dance, taking ballet, tap, modern, and jazz classes at a local studio and performing as frequently as she can. Catherine Craig MELP’15 and Steve Coteus JD’14 were married in Vershire, Vt., on July 7, 2018, four years after meeting at VLS. Steve and Catherine live in Montpelier, Vt., where Steve is an associate at Tarrant, Gillies & Richardson and Catherine leads the Vermont Green Business Program at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Ellen Czajkowski JD’15 has returned to Vermont after a year at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section, where she was a law clerk on the Volkswagen criminal case. She now lives in Montpelier and enjoys hiking and visiting breweries with her roommate Kristin Leigh Campbell
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JD/MELP’15. She works for the Vermont Office of Legislative Council. Bradley Flynn JD’15 is a special education attorney with the Philadelphia-based law firm Montgomery Law. He focuses his practice on representing children with special needs through due process hearings in administrative court, Individualized Education Program (IEP) development, and by working to find alternatives to traditional methods of disciplining children (fighting the school-to-prison pipeline.) Additionally Bradley represents university students and works to address civil rights issues as they pertain to all schools, preschool through graduate level. He currently splits his time between Philadelphia, Penn., and Beverly, Mass., where he lives with his fiancée, Samantha Carroll. Andrew W. Minikowski JD/MELP’15 recently joined the Connecticut office of Consumer Counsel where he represents the ratepayers of Connecticut’s public electric, natural gas, and water utilities in relevant administrative and legal proceedings.
to empower women in developing countries through increased access to information and accountability of human rights.
2016
James LaRock jamesmlarock@gmail.com Helene Combes MELP’16 writes, “As I’m getting ready to start a Human Rights LLM at the University of Edinburgh, I’ve been reflecting on how special the Vermont Law School community is. Since leaving Vermont and despite living in France, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some Vermont Law School grads: Brittmy Martinez JD’19/MELP’16 on both sides of the Atlantic; Cornelia Alvarez JD’16 for a Parisian Thanksgiving; Alexis Lunetta JD’17 during her Parisian adventures;
Amy Orta-Rivera MELP’16 during some of her work travels in Frankfurt and this past June in D.C. where we caught up with the ever-busy Liz Trotter MELP’16; Jeffrey Caesar MERL’16 to attend a protest Iftar later that day; even with a 7-week-old, Marin LaCroix MELP’16 was kind enough to host in Vermont where we had lunch with Lorie LaPorta JD’19/MELP’16 and dinner with Claire Child MELP’16; even those preparing for the bar were kind enough to give me a couple minutes of their time when I went by the library and campus. As such I wanted to thank the greater Vermont Law School community for their support in taking this next step, including fellow Parisians Bonnie Smith JD’17, Gretchen Oldham JD’09, and Ashley Slavik JD’10. I hope to see some of you in Edinburgh soon or in some other adventure elsewhere.”
Kelly Nokes JD/MELP’15 has accepted a position as a staff attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) in Taos, New Mexico. WELC is a non-profit, publicinterest environmental law firm using the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. Alona Tate JD’15 recently completed a one-year clerkship at the Pohnpei State Supreme Court in the Federated States of Micronesia. Since returning to Vermont, her research on Micronesia has been published in the World Bank 2018 Report on Women, Business, and Law. This project aims
WEDDING ATTENDEES POSE WITH THE BRIDE, KRISTEN DEXTER JD’16, THIS SUMMER IN TUNBRIDGE: MAUREEN MORIARTY “THE BIG CHEESE”; RACHAEL DELEHANTY JD’16; MICHAEL GAN JD/MELP’16; CATIE DAVIS JD’17; JESSICA LARRICK; MORGAN WALTON JD’16; KELSEY BAIN JD/MELP’17; LILLIAN VILLEGAS; ALFONSO VILLEGAS JD’17; SAMANTHA JOHNSON; CLAIRE ANDREWS; ZACH HOZID JD’17; BRETT HUBBARD JD’15; ROB POST JD’16; BERIAH SMITH JD’16; ASHTON ROBERTS JD/MELP’16 AND KRISTEN (IN THE MIDDLE, HOLDING BANNER.)
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CLASS NOTES
Stephen Jochem JD’16 married Megan Hamby on June 2, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif.
2017
Catlin Davis catiedavis.cd@gmail.com
Cedar Wilkie Gillette JD’17 is a law fellow at the Earthjustice Northern Rockies Office in Bozeman, Mont. She is leading a fellowship project that addresses fracking issues, including building a broad and diverse coalition that will lay the groundwork for environmental justice and a healthier environment on tribal and public lands. Dr. iur. Gabriela Steier LLM’17 completed a Doctorate in Law at the University of Cologne, Germany, and published a new book (her third) titled “Advancing Food Integrity: GMO Regulation, Agroecology, and Urban Agriculture.”
2018
Liz Bower lizbower88@gmail.com Michael J. DiVincenzo JD’18 writes, “I am continuing with the deep-rooted tradition of Vermont Law School’s legal advocacy work.” Starting September 4, 2018, Michael began working at the Trans Clinic of San Diego. “The trans-clinic meets one Tuesday a month at the LGBTQ clinic in the Hillcrest area of San Diego. The practice focus is Name and Gender-Marker Change, however, if there are other trans legal issues, the clinic is there to help if possible. If any fellow VLS Swans in the San Diego area would like to help, please contact the director Helen by emailing transclinic.sandiego@gmail.com.” Daniel Wilcox JD’18 has moved to Minneapolis, Minn., and is a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Christian S. Wilton in Scott County District Court.
“ADVANCING FOOD INTEGRITY: GMO REGULATION, AGROECOLOGY, AND URBAN AGRICULTURE” BY DR. IUR. GABRIELA STEIER LLM’17.
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Karen Henderson
Kristin Dexter JD’16 got married on July 28, 2018 at Landgoes Farm in Tunbridge, Vt., and writes, “Amy from the bookstore was kind enough to let us borrow the VLS flag. Eben Brock and I met at the law school when she was working in the café and I was a 1L student. After graduating from VLS, we moved to Montana where I had a year-long fellowship under the Department of Justice to help elder victims that had been exposed to abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation. After the fellowship was completed, we decided we missed Vermont and had to move back, and I snagged my now awesome job in the registrar’s office.”
INTER ALIA
A CALLING This excerpt is from a speech delivered by Kyle Clauss JD’20, president of the Student Bar Association, during Orientation 2018.
Admittedly, I’m a bit of skeptic. I don’t believe in ghosts, though I’m told my house on North Windsor Street is deeply haunted. When someone tells me, “Everything happens for a reason,” I tend to roll my eyes. But after a year at Vermont Law School, I’m starting to believe we are called to this place. In May 1973, a young rocket scientist got a call from a friend about a half-page ad in The New York Times, announcing a new law school opening in South Royalton, Vermont. Just four months out of law school, the rocket scientist happened to know the town because he had picked strawberries there. Four decades later, Professor David Firestone’s Contracts lectures remain a hallmark of the VLS experience. You, too, have been called here. In the quietest moments, you can feel that reason flickering in your chest like a tiny flame. It may grow dim in times of stress, but you must never lose sight of that flame. There hangs in the Chase Center a plaque bearing the words of its namesake, the late Dean Jonathon B. Chase. “There is a spirit here,” he said, “a commitment to the idea of community, which is what brought many of us here in the first place. Academic excellence, alone, is not enough. I want all to feel affection for their time here. That feeling will assure the future of Vermont Law School.” The truth is, I know of no other place that can nourish the mind and soul in equal parts quite like this brave little school. Here at VLS, you will feed that flickering flame into a blazing torch, so that you may carry it into the darkest, forgotten corners of society. Never, ever forget that you have been called here. How will you answer?
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IN MEMORIAM Former Governor Philip Henderson Hoff, Trustee Emeritus, 93, died April 26, 2018, at his Shelburne home. He was born in the Village of Turners Falls, Mass., on June 29, 1924, to Olaf Hoff, Sr., and Agnes Hoff. He was educated in his local public schools and entered Williams College in 1942. After his freshman year, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy, where he saw World War II action in the South Pacific Theater as a submariner aboard the USS Sea Dog. After the war, Hoff returned to Williams, graduated in 1948, and married Joan Brower. After earning his law degree from Cornell Law School in 1951, he and Joan moved to Burlington where he joined the law firm of Black and Wilson and where they raised their four children, Susan, Dagny, Andrea and Gretchen. Hoff ’s political career began with an unsuccessful run for the Ward 6 Burlington Board of Aldermen seat in 1959. In 1960, he was elected as the city’s lone member of the Vermont House of Representatives. There he quickly gained influence as part of an ad hoc, bi-partisan freshman caucus known as the “Young Turks,” who pushed to shake up and reform many aspects of state government. In 1962, Hoff began an energetic and successful campaign for governor against the incumbent, F. Ray Keyser, Jr. His election was the culmination of a decade of efforts to make the Democratic Party a competitive force in Vermont elections. At a torchlight victory parade in Winooski, Hoff exclaimed: “One hundred years of Republican rule broken!” He was re-elected in 1964 and 1966. The hallmark
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of the Hoff administration was his youthful confidence as he reformed Vermont government and thrust the state into the mainstream of modern American life. Hoff opened state government’s first planning office, ended the local Overseer of the Poor system of administering welfare benefits in favor of a statewide approach, and established the Vermont District Court and the Judicial Nominating Commission. He established the Governor’s Commission on Women, the Vermont Council on the Arts, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. He promoted regionalization in the delivery of government services, establishing regional airport and library systems. He presided over the reapportionment of the Vermont legislature to comply with the principle of one person, one vote. As his administration drew to a close, Hoff grew active on the national political stage. Concerned about the nation’s struggle for racial equality, he and New York City Mayor John Lindsay founded the Vermont-New York Youth Project. The program brought Vermont students together with minority students from New York City to work on joint projects at several Vermont colleges. This ground-breaking project reflected Vermont’s eagerness to address racial inequality but the reaction of many Vermonters underscored the racist tendencies of many other Vermonters. After a Far East tour, Hoff was the first Democratic governor in the nation to split with President Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War. Hoff campaigned across the country in support of
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Robert Kennedy’s effort to obtain the Democratic presidential nomination, and was seriously considered as Hubert Humphrey’s vice-presidential running mate in 1968. In 1970, Hoff challenged incumbent Winston L. Prouty for a seat in the United States Senate. Although Hoff mounted a vigorous effort, Prouty was reelected. In 1982, Hoff returned to elective politics, winning a seat in the Vermont Senate from Chittenden County. He was re-elected in 1984 and 1986. In the Senate, he was instrumental in revitalizing the Vermont Human Rights Commission and promoting prevention of social and health problems. Hoff remained steadfastly committed to the cause of racial justice, serving for many years on the Vermont Advisory Commission to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He also remained an active supporter of the Vermont Democratic party, serving as its chair in the 1972 and 1973. Hoff ’s support helped launch the careers of many successful Vermont politicians including Senator Patrick J. Leahy, whom Hoff appointed as Chittenden County States Attorney in 1966. Hoff practiced law for many years, chaired a blueribbon commission that reformed the Vermont Bar Exam in 1982 and was a long-time Chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission. Among Hoff ’s other leadership roles were Chairman of the New England Governors’ Conference; Chair, New England Natural Resources Center; Director of Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation; Board member, Public Land Law Review Commission; and member of the Vermont Commission on Family Recogni-
tion and Protection (2007-2008). Phil cherished his beloved family, and had abiding, true affection for Vermont and its people. These words from his first inaugural address, January 17, 1963, still ring true today: “New methods have always been resisted by the timid and by the vested interests. We have too long accepted the belief we cannot change with the times. We have for too long heard only the cries about the risk involved in change. We now must lift our eyes to the opportunities that are within our grasp if we only have the courage to reach out for them.” Phil Hoff is survived by his wife, Joan Brower Hoff, of Shelburne, and his four daughters, Susan Haynes and her husband, Charles; Dagny Hoff and her husband, Ted Withey; Andrea McNaughton and her husband, James; and Gretchen Hoff; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, and by his siblings, Olaf, Jr., Dagny and Foster. Angela Jean “Ange” Prodan JD/ MSL’94, 50, of Putney Mountain Road, Putney, Vt., a resident of the area since 1994, died Sunday morning, May 6, 2018, in the comfort of her home. Angela was born in Norwalk, Conn., on February 21, 1968, the daughter of Ronald and Barbara D’Alessio Prodan. She was raised and educated in Shelton, Conn., graduated as president of her senior class at Shelton High School, Class of 1986. She went on to attend Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., earning her BA, in 1990, later graduating from Vermont Law School with her
master’s and juris doctor degrees in 1994. Angela was admitted to the Vermont Bar Association in 1994, and joined the law firm of Fitts, Olsen & Giddings, PLC in Brattleboro, Vt. In 2005 she became a partner at Corum Mabie & Cook in Brattleboro, the law firm currently known as Corum Mabie Cook Prodan Angell Secrest & Darrow, PLC. Angela was a gifted athlete and enjoyed playing softball and was active with the Greater Brattleboro Area Softball League. She also coached Little League Baseball in Brattleboro. Of her other leisure time activities, she loved the outdoors, skiing, snowboarding, hiking and travelling. Survivors include her parents of Shelton, one son, Elias Dov Prodan Gradinger of Putney, Vt., two brothers, Christopher and Nicholas and their families of Connecticut. Additionally, she leaves many aunts, uncles and cousins to her extended family. Memorial contributions in Angela’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 42040, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or www.cancer.org. To sign an online register book with messages of e-condolence to the family, please visit www.atamaniuk.com. Dennis Provoncha JD’78, 65, of Morrisville, Vt., died unexpectedly on March 31, 2018, at his home in Zephyrhills, Fla. He was born in Burlington, Vt., attended Vermont Law School and ran his legal practice in downtown Morrisville for about 30 years, and then from the home he and his wife, Jan, had in Johnson. In 2005, they relocated to Dade City, Fla., as full-time residents to be
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near family and to be able to play golf year-round. He continued to serve as a tax attorney until 2015, when he decided to become a full-time retiree to enjoy travel, grandkids and golf. After moving to the Zephyrhills Betmar Community, he volunteered to be the chief of security, continued to sing in the choir at the First Methodist Church of Dade City and strived to improve his golf game. He was a mentor to his kids and grandkids, always trying to teach them how to invest and grow their money. Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Jan; four daughters, Vicki Wiggins and husband Ernie of Dade City, Fla., Christine Aldrich of Las Vegas, Nev., Lori Provoncha of Fort Myers, Fla., and Kim Gravel of Wolcott, Vt.; two sons, Ed Aldrich and wife Laura of Wellington, Fla., and Donald Provoncha of Barre, Vt.; three brothers David Provoncha and wife Karen of Storrs, Conn., Charlie Livendale and wife Linda of Barre, and Howard “Bud” Brown of Cape Cod, Mass.; grandchildren Jacob and Joshua McNeill of Zephyrhills, Fla., Adam Aldrich of Seattle, Wash., Amanda McSwain and husband Lewis of Vale, N.C., Ashlyn Amato of Knoxville, Tenn., Lauren Forcier of St. Albans, Vt., and Erica and Jacob Wiggins of Lakeland, Fla.; a great-granddaughter Sophia McNeill of Spring Hill, Fla.; sisters-in-law Norma Pellerin of Brooksville, Fla., and Vivian Giles and husband Dale of Claremont, N.H.; nieces and nephews; and many friends who are like family.
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VERMONT ALBUM
TUNBRIDGE WORLD'S FAIR, VERMONT PHOTO BY EMILY POTTS
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Karen Henderson
JULY 1, 2017 - JUNE 30, 2018
FISCAL YEAR 2018 WAS A BANNER FUNDRAISING YEAR FOR VERMONT LAW SCHOOL as support for the Fund for VLS reached $768,971, setting an all-time record. At the same time, gifts for other initiatives—the South Royalton Legal Clinic, the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the Center for Agricultural and Food Systems and the U.S.-Asia Partnerships for Environmental Law—topped out at $2,833,208; and we received endowment and special initiative grants totaling $676,255. More than 600 alumni, trustees, parents, friends, corporations, foundations and government agencies joined together to raise $4,278,434 to fund VLS operations. Last spring, Dean McHenry and I attended an ABA-sponsored fundraising conference especially for chief development officers and their deans from law schools. By the time we left that conference I understood, more than ever, just how fortunate VLS is to have such a generous philanthropic base of support for this special school. I am so thankful for all who have chosen to stand by Vermont Law School during a challenging yet pivotally important year in our history. Other notable fundraising achievements include: Total gifts from alumni increased by 23 percent; VLS established what will be its largest scholarship endowment—The Rachel L. Carson Scholarship—to be eventually funded at $500,000 Giving for the graduating class gift effort tripled over FY17. Gifts to higher education are directly linked to alumni engagement, and the Office of Alumni Relations worked tirelessly to engage alumni, organizing 70 events dispersed across the country and around the world, a 13 percent increase from last year. Our regional groups are more active than ever. Vermont Law School oversees 13 officially recognized regional groups in Albany, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., Paris, Philadelphia, Minnesota, N.Y.C., New Jersey, Northern California and Vermont. Alumni in New Hampshire are working toward official recognition in 2019. The fact that the number of regional groups has grown exponentially over the past five years points to the pride and affection our alumni have for their alma mater. There are so many ways to support Vermont Law School. For example, gifts of service are equally appreciated. We are grateful for the more than 250 alumni who serve as VLSAA board members, advisory committee members, reunion volunteers, regional representatives, mentors, admissions volunteers, and employers of graduates. As it has for so many of our alumni and current students, Vermont Law School has impacted my life on a personal level, and it has given my career new meaning and purpose. I feel honored to work alongside the faculty and staff here who are passionately committed to providing our students with the finest education possible. Our commitment is translated to practice because of you and your support. With heartfelt thanks,
Mary L. Welz Vice President, Offices for Alumni Relations and Development
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REPORT OF GIVING F Y 2018
THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS WILL TACKLE OUR WORLD’S MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS. Vermont Law School is investing in those who will make a difference. We remain committed to providing the most expansive kind of preparation: small class sizes, clinical settings, on-theground training. We couldn’t do it without the generous support of those included in this report. On behalf of the Vermont Law School community, we thank you.
LEADERS’ CIRCLE
The Leaders’ Circle giving society recognizes the commitment and contributions of donors who support Vermont Law School at a leadership level, year after year. To become a Leaders’ Circle member, donors make a five-year forward pledge of $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000 per year, and/or have demonstrated a five-year, consistent giving history at that level.
Anonymous (7) Adour and Helen Aghjayan P’16 Mrs. Esther D. Ames P’07 Christopher ’94 and Marietta ’94 Anderson Steve ’79 and Ellen Ankuda Abby Armstrong ’84^ Bradford T. Atwood JD/MSL’90 Vice President Lorraine Atwood^ Richard* and Beth Ayres Dr. Marilyn Bartlett ’91 Edna Y. Baugh ’83* James L. Beausoleil, Jr. JD/MSEL’94 Joshua L. Belcher JD/MSEL’08 and Sarah E. Belcher Glenn J. Berger, Esq. ’78*^ and Rachel S. Cox Andrea Berlowe JD/MSL’93 and Jonathan Binder ’92 Sandra L. Bograd ’83 Brent Bohan JD’10/MSEL’07 Heather Bowman ’98 Jaclyn A. Brilling ’79 and Michael J. Horgan, MD Robert ’90 and Theresa Brunelli Joel R. Burcat ’80 Judson ’89 and Carol Burnham Ingrid Busson-Hall JD/MSEL’99 Elizabeth J. Byrne ’90 The Byrne Foundation Leslie A. Cadwell ’94* and Ron Rupp J. Scott ’80** and Cathy Cameron Lisa M. Campion JD’11/MELP’08 Edward J. Chesnik ’76** J. Lee Clancy, Ph.D. MSL'92 Caryn J. Clayman '83* Jim '91** and Joni ’91 Clemons Alexa A. Cole ’98 Peter B. Colgrove ’84 Torend L. Collins JD/MELP’09 Christian Colwell ’91 and Kathleen Bradley Colwell ’91 Colleen H. Connor ’85* and Brian P. Kelahan Joe Cook ’97 Amy Hanks Cornelius ’02 Robert ’92 and Maura Costello John ’78 and Janet Craven Scott M. Cullen ’97* and Carrie G. Cullen ’98 Robin C. Curtiss ’86 John R. Durrance ’76 and Amy Marie Davenport* Polly deVeau Davis ’91 Ann T. Debevoise** Michelle T. Delemarre ’91 and Ronald L. Vavruska ’91 Charles E. Di Leva ’78 Priscilla B. Dube ’80 Chip MSEL’97 and Ashley (Brown) JD/ MSEL’99 Duffie Brian Dunkiel JD/MSEL’96* and Leslie Halperin Tom ’85 and Susan Durkin P’14
Christopher* and Ann Dutton Michael H. Dworkin^ P’13 Professor Stephen Dycus**^ and Elizabeth R. Dycus Douglas Ebeling ’97 Professor John Echeverria^ and Carin Pratt Robert A. Fasanella JD’86/MSL’83 Tom Federle ’96 Jennifer Feeley Hyzer ’02 and Cameron Hyzer Steve Feldman ’93 Caroline ’04 and Heather Fisher-O'Neill Robert B. Fiske, Jr. P’90* Mary E. Fletcher ’92 Mr. Philip B. Flynn and Ms. LoisGrace Golde P’18 Janice A. Forgays, Esq. ’85* Michael J. Franco ’85 and Mary C. Franco Bridgette G. Gallagher ’11 Mario F. Gallucci ’90 Edward Gillis ’92 and Linda Mandell Gillis JD/MSL’94 John R. Gonzo ’90 Christine Gardner Gould ’02 and Peter Gould ’02 Shannon JD/MSL’07 and Joe ’07 Griffo Sheppard** and Joan Guryan Zoe ’06 and Spencer JD/MSEL’04** Hanes Christopher ’77 and Martha Harold P’12 Harris Family ’76 William Hatfield JD/MSL’93 Todd M. Heine ’11, JD, LLM, Master 2 Droit Lou Helmuth ’84 and Lisa Steindler Arturo ’07 and Jennifer Balsman Hernandez JD’07/MSEL’03 Stuart JD/MSL’83 and Janet Hersh Stephen T. Hesse JD/MSL’89 Michael O. Hill ’84* Jerry Howe MSL ’83 and Jodi Frechette Robert R. Bent ’81 and Jacqueline A. Hughes ’81 Jason Hutt ’98** and Maria O'Donnell Joslyn Wilschek ’03 and Anthony Iarrapino ’03** Merrill H. Jacobson ’90 W. Owen Jenkins ’77 Jeff Johnson ’82 and Mary Kehoe Harold V. Jones* Mr. and Mrs. Ralph E. Jones III P’17 Byron S. Kalogerou ’86* Howard ’01 and Karolina Kanner Edward T. Keable ’86 and Scot M. Rogerson Max** and Paige Kempner J. Patrick ’93 and Diane Kennedy Dianne Kenney ’91 Patrick ’03 and Cara Kenney John R. Keough ’80 and Diane P. Keough Michael Kessler ’80 and Christine Kessler Kolleen Kirk JD/MSEL’99 Professor Kenneth Kreiling^ and Ms. Blanche Podhajski
*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
Adam JD/MSL’84 and Stephanie Kushner Susan G. Lacoste MSEL’03 P’11 John ’87 and Claudine Lanahan Professor Mark A. Latham**^ Thomas F. Leary JD/MSEL’98 Joan Sarles Lee ’80 Christopher ’78 and Jennifer Leopold Ms. Catherine MacKenzie*^ William G. Madsen ’90 Lori** and Timon** Malloy Margaret A. Mangan ’86 David M. Martini ’78 Edward G. Martoglio ’82 Kirk Marty ’96 Edward C. Mattes, Jr. ’83** Mr. and Mrs. Matthew J. Matule ’94** Bob Maxwell ’86 James C. May^ and Natalia E. May ’09^ Beth McCormack^ David M. McCullough ’07 and Melissa C. McCullough Thomas McHenry*^ and Elena Phleger Jennifer McIvor ’07 Alice and George** McKann M. Andrew McLain JD/MSEL’05 Michael and Jane McLain P’05 David JD/MSL’91**^ and Nancy Mears David JD/MSEL’97 and Erin ’97 Meezan Kevin R. JD’87/MSL’86* and Lori J. Mendik Sharon D. Meyers ’79 and Andrew L. Meyers Marc**^ and Chris Mihaly P'13 Dr. Rom Stevens and Dr. Marianne Mikat-Stevens P'17 Elizabeth* and Eric Miller John D. Miller, Jr. ’09**^ Edward Montoya ’92 and Carmen A. Montoya James Moreno JD’88/MSL’93 and Sarah Nicklin Amara Whitcher Morrison JD/MSL’87 Douglas A. Mulvaney ’83 Constance Neary ’89* The Honorable Harry M. Ness ’76 Gail H. Nichols ’80** Karis L. North ’95* Marjorie Northrop Friedman ’99 and Peter J. Friedman Karen Oelschlaeger ’16 Margaret L. Olnek ’92 Jessica L. Olson ’07 Susan E. Oram ’83 Anne Debevoise Ostby MSL’88* W. Bruce Pasfield ’84 Christian H. Pedersen ’99 Frederick V. Peet ’93 Joseph Perella ’88 Pamela J. Pescosolido ’90* Alex S. Polonsky ’98 Brian H. Potts JD/MSEL’04 and Abigail Wuest ’04 E. Miles Prentice III, Esq.** Todd M. Rego and Lori A. Rego P’18
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
Christopher M. Reid ’99 and Tara A. Reid ’98 Bill Reynolds ’87 Lamar S. Rhodes ’04 Jessie (Marshall) Roberts ’80 Christian ’85 and Cheryl Robin Mollie D. Roth ’96 Robert L. Sand ’87**^ Robert Schweitzer ’93 S. Mark Sciarrotta ’96** Charles E. Shafer ’77** and Judith W. Shafer Miss Breanna Shafer Robert M. Shafer ’79** Alison Share ’08 and Jami Westerhold JD/MSL’08 M. Jane Sheehan, Esq JD/MSL’87 Alexandra B. Sherertz JD/MELP’12 Alexander (Sandy) Shriver ’95** Christopher M. Smith ’14 Mr. Don A. Smith and Mrs. Rachel C. Smith P’02 Karen and Fernando Sotelino P’09 Adam G. Sowatzka JD/MSEL’97 Ms. Elizabeth Steele Kemp ’87 and Edith Stickney Steven F. Stitzel ’79 Hilary ’01 and Karl Stubben M. P. Sweeney, C.P.A. ’80 Robert D. Taisey, Esq.* Matt and Nikki Tashjian William E. Taylor JD/MSL’83 Richard K. Teitell ’77 and Laura Teitell David Thelander ’87** Christopher A. Thompson ’98 and Nicole A. Alt ’98 Lydia Bottome Turanchik ’98 and Stephen Turanchik Richard L. Vanderslice JD/MSEL’01 Lindi von Mutius ’08 Margaret I. Waldock JD/MSL’92 Alma Walls ’01 Scott M. Watson JD/MSEL’06 Donna Watts ’83 and John Monahan ’83 John S. Webb, Esq. ’92 Rob^ and Nora Webber Robert F. Weisberg JD/MSEL’01 Vice President Mary L. Welz^ Lisa M. Werner JD/MSL’93 and Alan Pike John Westerman ’82 Stephanie^ and Stephen Willbanks Sean B. T. Williams ’10 Mara Williams Oakes Karen Willis ’95 and Marty Collins Katie Rowen ’05 and Jen Willis JD/ MSEL’05 Kinvin**^ and Deborah Wroth Barbara J. Yarington ’94 Andrew John Yoon ’99 Peter H. Zamore ’79 Michael E. Zeliger JD/MSEL’96 Frederick N. Zeytoonjian JD/MSL’92
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
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REPORT OF GIVING F Y 2018
PRESIDENT’S SOCIETY
The President’s Society honors Vermont Law School’s most generous supporters, those distinguished alumni and friends whose lifetime contributions have reached $25,000 or more.
Anonymous (8) Jessie-Lea Abbott David M. Anderson Richard* and Beth Ayres Glenn J. Berger, Esq. ’78*^ and Rachel S. Cox Melvyn† and Maxine Bergman P’94 Mr. and Mrs.† Arthur W. Berndt Ms. Margaret C. Bowles Judson ’89 and Carol Burnham The Byrne Foundation Leslie A. Cadwell ’94* J. Scott ’80 and Cathy Cameron** Wick R. Chambers ’78 David P. Chang† Caryn J. Clayman ’83 Jim ’91* and Joni ’91 Clemons Ms. Amy Cohen** David N. Cole ’86 Ed** and Nancy Colodny Colleen H. Connor ’85* and Brian P. Kelahan Julien Cornell† Mr. and Mrs. Whitney Debevoise* Eli W. Debevoise† Thomas† and Ann T. Debevoise** Christopher L.* and Ann B. Dutton Professor Stephen Dycus^ and Elizabeth R. Dycus Ms. Shannon K. Ehrich Warren Ms. Gillian C. Ehrich Mr. Perez C. Ehrich** Terry M. Ehrich† ** Joel T. ’94 and Carolyn Faxon Anthony M. Feeherry, Esq. Carl and Judy Ferenbach
Alden L. Fiertz The Estate of Beverly F. Fiertz ’86† Stuart Fiertz Robert B. Fiske, Jr. P’90* Janice A. Forgays, Esq. ’85** Edwina Gillis† The Estate of Ben Gingold† Maxine Jo Grad ’85 Sheppard** and Joan Guryan Mickey Haggerty ’77 Mr. and Mrs. Jon Hanson Robert Haydock† ** Mrs. Elizabeth D. Healy Harold H. Healy† Professor John W. Hennessey†** and The Honorable Madeleine Kunin Heather** and Patrick Henry Stephen T. Hesse ’89 Nicholas E. Heyl ’88** Michael O. Hill ’84* The Honorable Philip H. Hoff†** Mr. Lawrence S. Huntington Barbara Mulligan Huppé ’88 The Honorable James M. Jeffords† Jeff Johnson ’82 and Mary Kehoe P’14 Gerard E. Jones** and Emily G. Jones James Kalashian ’83 and Pat DeLuca ’84 Edmund H. Kellogg† Max** and Paige Kempner Patrick ’03 and Cara Kenney Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kimball P’86** Barbara G. Kirk† John M. Kirk† Professor Kenneth Kreiling^ and Ms. Blanche Podhajski Susan G. Lacoste MSEL’03 P’11
DOUGLAS MEREDITH LEGACY SOCIETY
Vermont Law School recognizes the following donors as members of the Douglas Meredith Legacy Society for including VLS in their estate plan through a will or living trust, creating a charitable remainder trust (naming VLS as the remainder beneficiary), entering into a charitable gift annuity agreement with VLS or naming VLS as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement plan.
Anonymous (9) Caryn J. Clayman ’83* Ed** and Nancy Colodny Colleen H. Connor ’85* and Brian P. Kelahan Thomas M.† and Ann T. Debevoise** Mr. Perez C. Ehrich** Terry M. Ehrich†** Robert A. Fasanella ’86 Lillian and Ben Gingold† Mickey Haggerty ’77 Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs Randy A. Hertz**
James† and Sally† Hill The Honorable Philip H. Hoff†** and Joan Hoff Barbara Mulligan Huppé ’88 R. Scott Johnston ’82 and Marsha G. Ajhar ’81 Gerard E. Jones** and Emily G. Jones Roger† and Frances Kennedy Michael Kessler ’80 and Christine Kessler Alex Manning ’06 J. Michael McGarry III, Esq. L. Douglas Meredith† Marc**^ and Chris Mihaly P’13
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*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
Gerry and Bill ’82** Leckerling Mr. Adam J. Lewis Crea S. Lintilhac Dunbar Lockwood ’83† Mrs. Irene L. Lockwood† Mr. Dan Lufkin Edwin A. Malloy† ** Lori** and Timon Malloy** Edward C. Mattes, Jr. ’83** The Matule Family* Alice and George** McKann J. Michael McGarry III, Esq.** William D. McGuire Bernard Mendik† Kevin R. ’87* and Lori J. Mendik L. Douglas Meredith†** Marc*^ and Chris Mihaly P'13 Phoebe A. Mix ’79** Gail H. Nichols ’80** Marjorie Northrop Friedman ’99 and Peter J. Friedman Mr. Dwight D. Opperman† Anne Debevoise Ostby ’88* R. Allan Paul, Esq.** and Elsie E. Paul Pamela J. Pescosolido ’90* E. Miles Prentice III, Esq.** Robert D.** and Catharine B. Rachlin Mr. and Ms. Stephen Ramsey Mrs. Evelyn Redlich Norman Redlich†** The Estate of Marcus T. Reynolds† Bill Reynolds ’87 Laurance S. Rockefeller† Elizabeth Ross†** Robert L. Sand ’87**^
Francis E. Morrissey ’88† Daniel G. Murphy ’81 Andrew H. Neisner ’84† Katherine E. Nunes† The Honorable James L. Oakes† and Mara Williams Oakes Margaret L. Olnek ’92 J. Brian Potts ’81 Elizabeth Ross† Charles E. Shafer ’77** and Judith W. Shafer Robert M. Shafer ’79** Dean Jeff Shields†** and Genie Bird Shields
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
Jay A. Scherline, Esq. ’76† and Lorrie L. Scherline Robert Schweitzer ’93 Charles E. Shafer ’77** and Judith W. Shafer Robert M. Shafer ’79** Dean Jeff Shields†** and Genie Bird Shields The Estate of Janice C. Shields† Mr. John W. Shields† Mrs. Anna Simon Mr. Don A. Smith and Mrs. Rachel C. Smith P’02 Ms. Elizabeth Steele Peter D. Sudler Robert D. Taisey, Esq.* Richard K. Teitell ’77 David Thelander ’87** Bill T. Walker, Esq. ’76** Lucy McVitty Weber ’85 The Estate of Patricia H. Weisberg† John Westerman ’82 Ann W. Wick Hilton A. Wick†** Mara Williams Oakes Norman† and Jeanne Williams Mary G. Wilson** Kinvin^** and Deborah Wroth Charles B. ’93†** and Anna K. ’94†** Yates Mr. Craig Yates Dr. Fran Yates** Jean and Jeffrey Young
Denton Shriver† Gus and Cameron Speth Kemp ’87 and Edith Stickney William E. Taylor ’83 David Thelander ’87** Harry F. Waggoner ’00 Robert Weisberg ’01 Professor Burns Weston† Hilton A. Wick† Norman and Jeanne Williams† Mary G. Wilson** Dr. Fran Yates** Jean and Jeffrey Young
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
DONOR LIST Anonymous (37) Randall S. Abate JD/MSL’89 and Nigara Abate Jen Abdella ’07 and Charlie Benjamin Kevin E. Aberant, Esq. ’94 James E. Abraham JD/MELP’11 Chris Adamo ’04^ Steve ’82 and Lisa ’82 Adler Adour and Helen Aghjayan P’16 Eben M. Albert ’08 Candi Jones Alfred JD/MSEL’05 Sandra Allen JD/MSL’88 Eric Alletzhauser JD/MSL’92 Richard D. Allred ’79 Jack Alsup JD'09/MSEL’06 Mrs. Esther D. Ames P’07 Sam Ames JD'07/MELP’09 Julia Anastasio MSEL’96 Dirk Anderson ’93 Samuel H. Angell ’95 Steve ’79 and Ellen Ankuda Lori Anthony ’97 Abby Armstrong ’84^ Robert ’10 and Diana ’10 Arnell Robin D. Arnell ’89 P’10 Mack A. Arnold ’82 Al Arpad ’02** William Askin JD/MSL’93 Chuck ’85 and Jennifer Marindin ’87 Assini Bradford T. Atwood JD/MSL’90 Vice President Lorraine Atwood^ Peter L. Ault P’85 Edison Avilés-Deliz LLM’18 Jeffrey B. Axelrod JD’85/MSL’87 Richard* and Beth Ayres Robert E. Bailey ’87 Steve Baker ’88 Jenny and Joe Ballway James D. Bandler Margaret F. Barnes ’18 Joseph W. Barry III MSL’92 Professor Margaret Martin Barry^ and H. Patrick Barry JD/MELP’14 William J. Barry ’88 and Mary C. CampbellBarry Dr. Marilyn Bartlett ’91 David H. Battle ’78 Edna Y. Baugh ’83* Jim and Carol Baum James L. Beausoleil, Jr. JD/MSL’94 Bill Becker P’15 Colin G. Beckman ’14 Robert and Ini Beckman P’14 Joshua L. Belcher JD/MSEL’08 and Sarah E. Belcher Adam JD'06/MSEL’07 and Kayte Bellusci Patricia G. Benelli ’85 Barbara and Bill Bennett P’99 Clark H. Bensen ’78 Robert R. Bent ’81 and Jacqueline A. Hughes ’81 Glenn J. Berger, Esq. ’78* and Rachel S. Cox Nancy Goldwarg Berger ’78 John D. Bernetich P’11 Professor Laurie J. Beyranevand ’03*^ and Benjamin Jervey MERL’17^ James L. Bickford ’78 Andrea Berlowe JD/MSL’93 and Jonathan Binder ’92 Veronica C. Boda ’78 Brent Bohan JD’10/MSEL’07 Yvonne P. Bolton JD/MSL’84 and Michael J. Appleton Mr. William Bonn^
Michael W. Borkowski ’76 John D. Bosley ’89 Elizabeth A. Bower ’18 Heather S. Bowman ’98 and Tobin Acebedo Chantelle**^ and Andrew Brackett^ William P. Brady ’80 Jessica A. Brandt MSEL’07 and Benjamin J. Rau JD'07/MELP’08 Roberta S. Bren ’78 Joseph Brennan*^ Sheila A. Brennan P’97 Brad Brewster ’78 Richard L. Breyer P’17 Brenda Brickhouse ’18 Jaclyn A. Brilling ’79 and Michael J. Horgan, MD Claudia Horack Bristow ’78 Connor ’08 and Sarah Brockett Elizabeth Bailey Brodeur JD/MSEL’95 Richard O. Brooks and Mollie B. Brooks Charles ’93 and Tracy Brown R. David Brown ’04 Paul Bruhn Robert '90 and Theresa Brunelli Peter ’82 and Tia Bullard Joel R. Burcat ’80 Dan Burke JD/MELP’11 Judson ’89 and Carol Burnham Helene J. Busby ’07 Ingrid Busson-Hall JD/MSEL’99 Elizabeth J. Byrne ’90 Valdir Cabral ’18 David B. Cabrera JD/MSL’91 George Cacoulidis, Esq. ’88 Leslie A. Cadwell ’94* and Ron Rupp Shannon M. Callahan JD/MSEL’04 Ed ’93 and Melissa ’93 Callaway J. Scott ’80** and Cathy Cameron Joe Campagna ’05 Kristin L. Campbell JD/MELP’15 Professor Celia Campbell-Mohn and Mr. Frederick Campbell-Mohn Lisa M. Campion JD’11/MELP’08 Deb Carlson ’88 Dave Carpenter JD/MSEL’97 James and Kathleen Carr P’17 Richard C. Carroll ’89 and Karen E. Carroll ’88 Ashley Carson Cottingham ’06 and Carroll Cottingham Jared K. Carter ’09^ Peter H. Carter ’78** and Deborah M. Carter Lauren E. Case ’94 Robert W. Casey, Jr. P’15 Barbara Cate Laurie J. Catron ’81 The Chaiken Family Wick R. Chambers ’78 Michael Jay Chernick ’91 Edward J. Chesnik ’76** Mrs. Stephanie B. Chiarella^ Dana M. Christensen ’12 Nesha R. Christian-Hendrickson ’08 Mason Chuang JD/MSEL’05 YoungJae Chung ’08 J. Lee Clancy, Ph.D. MSL’92 George W. Clark ’13 Peter M. Clark ’07 Scott D. Clausen ’03 Caryn J. Clayman ’83* Mary Stubblefield Clemmensen ’13 Jim ’91** and Joni ’91 Clemons Chris ’93 and Liz Cocoma Jill and Jamie ’80 Coffrin
Mary Eva Colalillo ’76 Richard Colbert ’90 and Sarah Colbert Alexa A. Cole ’98 Professor Liz Ryan Cole^ and Professor Charles Cole Nancy J. Colfax ’79 Peter B. Colgrove ’84 Daniel E. Collins MSEL’95 Monica R. Collins MSEL’03^ Torend L. Collins JD/MELP’09 Christian Colwell ’91 and Kathleen Bradley Colwell JD/MSL’91 Colleen H. Connor ’85* and Brian P. Kelahan Joe Cook ’97 Thomas N. Cooper ’81 and Susan H. Cooper ’81 Amy Hanks Cornelius ’02 Christa Cornell Tom Cors ’99 and Mary Faith Mount-Cors Robert ’92 and Maura Costello Mr. Paul Coteus and Mrs. Carol Coteus P’14 David R. Cowles ’88 John ’78 and Janet Craven Jeffrey C. Crawford ’87 and Shirley J. Hoeppner-Crawford ’87^ Elaine Crockett ’80 John Milton Cross Jr. ’79 Jessica Crouse MFALP’18 Cynthia Crowe ’83 Dona M. Cullen JD’78/MSEL’96 Scott M. Cullen ’97* and Carrie G. Cullen ’98 Robin C. Curtiss ’86 Adam ’98 and Andrea ’97 Daly Mollie A. Dapolito ’12 Peter F. Davis ’97 Polly deVeau Davis JD’91/LLM’10 Timothy B. Davis MSEL’99 Patricia Dederick ’83 Jan Peter Dembinski ’99 Tim and Diane Denny P’18 Ashley ’11 and James ’09 DeVerna Bryanna Kleber Devonshire ’17 Charles E. Di Leva ’78 Marcelo Dias ’18 Bill Dietrich MSEL’02 Michael L. DiGiulio ’14 Charles J. DiMare ’77 Philip K. Dodd ’82 Kathleen Lennon Doster ’98 Robert C. Downey JD/MSL’93 Andrew Dressel ’07 Priscilla B. Dube ’80 Mr. Joseph C. Duggan and Ms. Teresa K. Duggan P’07 John P. Dumville Brian Dunkiel JD/MSEL’96* and Leslie Halperin Ms. Suzan Dunkiel (Marshall) P’96 Tom ’85 and Susan Durkin P’14 John R. Durrance ’76 and Amy Marie Davenport* Christopher** and Ann Dutton Lucie Bourassa Dvorak ’95 Michael H. Dworkin P’13^ Professor Stephen Dycus**^ and Elizabeth R. Dycus Douglas Ebeling ’97 Professor John Echeverria*^ and Carin Pratt Jonathan Eck ’06 Patrick M. Egan ’76 Dr. Carmen C. Ein P’15 Martin D. Eng ’06 Mr. Seth A. Eschen ’81 and Janet Eschen William S. Eubanks II, LLM'08^
GIVING BY CLASS YEAR 1976
21.21% PARTICIPATION
1977
10.53% PARTICIPATION
1978
40.96% PARTICIPATION
1979
19.74% PARTICIPATION
1980
21.65% PARTICIPATION
1981
12.5% PARTICIPATION
1982
17% PARTICIPATION
1983
25.42% PARTICIPATION
1984
12.73% PARTICIPATION
1985
9.91% PARTICIPATION
*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
1986
11.02%
DONOR LIST CONTINUED
PARTICIPATION
1987
14.17% PARTICIPATION
1988
18% PARTICIPATION
1989
9.38% PARTICIPATION
1990
10.73% PARTICIPATION
1991
10.37% PARTICIPATION
1992
8.38% PARTICIPATION
1993
20.38% PARTICIPATION
1994
8.24% PARTICIPATION
1995
8.44% PARTICIPATION
1996
8.38%
Janice D. Evans ’89 Jamie L. Ewing LLM’03 Christine A. Faris ’81 Laura J. Farkas ’11 Robert A. Fasanella JD’86/MSL’83 Tom Federle ’96 Jennifer Feeley Hyzer ’02 and Cameron Hyzer Jacqueline E. Feldman ’82 and Richard J. Feldman ’82 Steve Feldman ’93 Jamey Fidel JD/MSEL’01 Weston E. Finfer ’18 Joy Dickstein Finkel ’84 Caroline ’04 and Heather Fisher-O’Neill Robert B. Fiske, Jr. P’90* Mary E. Fletcher '92 Mr. Philip B. Flynn and Ms. LoisGrace Golde P’18 Susan Boyle Ford ’84** Janice A. Forgays, Esq. ’85* Edgar and Janis Forrest P’14 Andrew ’14 and Emily Migliaccio ’14 Fowler John and Elizabeth Fowler P’14 Susan L. Fowler ’80 Robert J. Fox ’83 Michael J. Franco ’85 and Mary C. Franco Steven Freihofner, Esq. ’80 Thomas French ’93 C. John Friesman Denyse Coyle Galda ’83 David L. Galgay, Jr. ’87 Mario F. Gallucci ’90 Joshua Galperin ’08 and Sarah Kuebbing Susan L. Garcia JD/MSL’91 Peter JD/MSEL’99 and Victoire Gardner Newt Garland Crombie and Deborah Garrett P’09 Paul W. Garrity ’94** John and Susan Geismar P’18 Michael I. Getz LLM’13^ Arunesh Ghosh ’15 Edward Gillis ’92 and Linda Mandell Gillis JD/MSL’94 Robert and Betty Gilson P’13 Clare A. Ginger MSL’83 Kristin Hines ’10 and Nicholas ’12 Gladd Suzanne Fay Glynn ’78 Richard A. Goldberg ’78 Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Golian P’98 Paul D. Golian ’98 John R. Gonzo ’90 Mary Elena Goodan Professor Oliver Goodenough**^ and Senator Alison Clarkson Ethan J. Goodson ’18 Christine Gardner Gould ’02 and Peter Gould JD’02/MSEL’99 Thomas D. Graham JD/MELP’13 Robert D. Gray P’18 Alan and Fran Greenglass P’15 Susan Greenspun Schwartz ’83 Del Greer JD/MELP’09 Beverley Griffin Dunne ’83 P’16 Joseph T. Griffo ’07 and Shannon Vallance Griffo JD/MSEL’07 Dan ’80 and Dana Grossman Sheppard** and Joan Guryan Susan L. Hamilton ’88 and Edwin C. Krebs Tom S. Hanson ’95 Christopher ’77 & Martha Harold P’12 Harris Family ’76 Cammie Hart P’02 Timothy J. Hart and Jennifer C. Looney Jennifer B. Hartman ’14 Melissa J. Harwood MELP’12^ David T. Hasbrook ’87 and Joanne E. Hasbrook Kathleen A. Hassey ’84
Kathryn V. Hatfield JD/MSL’93 William Hatfield JD/MSL’93 Taylor Hawes ’97 The Honorable Katherine A. Hayes and Mr. Thomas Franks Karen A. Heggen ’91 Todd M. Heine ’11, JD, LLM, Master 2 Droit Job C. Heintz JD/MSEL’95 Lou Helmuth ’84 and Lisa Steindler Gary L. Helton MERL’15 Larry D. Henin ’78 Jonathan C. Heppell ’99 Jennifer L. Hernandez JD’07/MSEL’03 and Arturo A. Hernandez ’07 Stuart JD/MSL’83 and Janet Hersh Jane Hershey and Joel Van Lennap P’18 Michael Hervey ’18 Demaris Page Hetrick JD/MSEL’96 Aaron J. and Barbarina M. Heyerdahl Nathaniel D. Hibler ’18 Michael O. Hill ’84* Shelley Hill ’81 Robert K. Hilton ’93 and Karen Hilton Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Hines P’10 Judge Sam Hoar and Mrs. Eve Hoar Lisa Hodge P’18 Kevin Hogan ’91 Maureen T. Holland ’89 Jonathan M. Holter ’06 Neil Holzman MELP’13 Andrew D. Homan ’14 Angie D. Homola MELP’15 Jefferson C. Hooper ’89 John and Jill Hornickel P’15 Rachel H. Houseman ’93 Jerry Howe MSL’83 and Jodi Frechette Kurt M. Hughes ’84 Don C. Hunter ’78 Mr. Raymond L. Hurt and Mrs. Kathy F. Hurt P’01 Jason Hutt ’98** and Maria O'Donnell Martha and Anthony Iarrapino P’03 Joslyn Wilschek ’03 and Anthony Iarrapino ’03** W. Matthew Iler, Jr. ’93 Sarah E. Jackson MSEL’03 J. Jacumin ’04 Professor Eric Janson Jessica E. Jay ’97 Associate Dean Shirley A. Jefferson ’86^ W Owen Jenkins ’77 William and Mary Jo Jesmer P’13 Professor Gregory Johnson^ Jeff Johnson ’82 and Mary Kehoe P’14 Richard A. Johnson, Jr. ’97 Mr. Stuart R. Johnson Keith Johnston ’04 Scott Johnston ’82 and Marsha Ajhar ’81 Bob and Shirley Jones P’10 Harold V. Jones* Professor Kevin B. Jones^ Laurice E. Jones ’98 Terri A. Jones JD/MSL’93 Joanne Jordan JD/MSL’90* Byron S. Kalogerou ’86* Katrina Kamantauskas-Holder ’88 and Darwin Holder ’89 Howard ’01 and Karolina Kanner Bruce Kaplan MSEL’03 Megen Karakelian LaVine ’96 Edward T. Keable ’86 and Scot M. Rogerson Peggy and Robert Keach P’14 Dan S. Kearney, Jr. JD/MSEL’07 and Staci Kearney Peter V. Keays ’13 Melanie M. Kehne JD/MSL’93 Max** and Paige Kempner
PARTICIPATION
*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
1997
9.25% PARTICIPATION
J. Patrick ’93 and Diane Kennedy Dianne Kenney ’91 Malissa and Bill Kenney P’18 Patrick ’03 and Cara Kenney Bethany Kent^ John R. Keough ’80 and Diane P. Keough Aaron J. Kesselman ’18 John W. Kessler ’88** Michael Kessler ’80 and Christine Kessler Richard A. Kessler ’78 Susan Kidd MSL’83 Gail Killefer ’80** Patricia ’98 and Paul Killigrew Brian and Gayle King P’18 Dylan J. King ’17 Byron Kirkpatrick ’06 Catherine J. Flinchbaugh ’08 and Michael A. Klass ’08 Elizabeth C. Kline ’84 Ruthann M. KlineSmith P’10 Karen Weidner and Kurt Klotzbuecher P’12 Eula Lee Kozma JD’08/MSEL’05 and Joshua B. Sattely ’08 Professor Kenneth Kreiling^ and Ms. Blanche Podhajski Carly Kruse ’08 Sophia S. Kruszewski ’13 William C. Kuehn ’88 Steven A. Kunzman JD’81/MSL’84 Michele Kupersmith ’82 Rick Kurth ’76 Adam JD/MSL’84 and Stephanie Kushner Michael Kushner ’04 Andrey A. Kushnir ’93 and Anne S. Tarpinian JD/MSL’93 Brittany A. LaBerge ’18 Susan G. Lacoste MSEL’03 P’11 John ’87 and Claudine Lanahan Alison R. Landis LLM’13 Kelly S. Lanier ’01 Michele D. LaRose^ Professor Mark A. Latham**^ Jennifer Lawrence*^ Lazaropoulos Family P’15 Thomas F. Leary JD/MSEL’98 Joan Sarles Lee ’80 Jennifer J. Leech '18** John and Gloria Leinbach P'11 Julia A. LeMense LLM’03 Christopher ’78 and Jennifer Leopold Franz Lepionka ’02 and Jen Lacroix Edmond O. LeSesne Kevin O. Leske JD/MSEL’99 and Jen Leske Richard A. Levitt JD/MSEL’99 and Alexis (Greenwold) Levitt ’00 Cynthia Lewis^ and Jon David Lutz Monica Litzelman MELP’12^ Randall M. Livingston ’82 Elizabeth A. Lohman MERL’15 John and Susan Louchheim Edward J. Loughlin ’93 Jonathan and Jessica (Frohman) Lubetsky MSEL’02 Mr. Raymond B. Ludwiszewski Puspa L. Luitel ’16 Greg and Therese Lyons P’18 Judge and Mrs. Joseph Maccario ’77 Elizabeth C. MacDonough ’98 Ms. Catherine MacKenzie*^ Jerry Magee MELP'08 Mr. and Mrs. Fred Maier P’81 Philip L. Maier ’81 Marc A. Majors ’03 Kathryn A. Mallek MELP’15 Julie Malloy Lori** and Timon** Malloy Ellen E. Maloney P’94
Margaret A. Mangan ’86 Zachary Manganello ’08 Andrew J. Marchev ’18 Mimi Marchev P’18 Margaret Marro Mickel Gregory J. Marsano ’18 Peter Marshall ’88 Jeffrey '79 and Deanna Martin Brittmy C. Martinez ’19 David M. Martini ’78 Edward G. Martoglio ’82 Kirk Marty '96 Sarah E. Mason '08 Edward C. Mattes, Jr. '83** Bob Maxwell ’86 James C. May^ and Natalia E. May ’09^ Karen McAndrew, Esq. Michael G. McCann ’94 Ellen Young McClain ’81 Jane E. McCloskey ’83 Beth McCormack^ Suzanne A. McCrory David M. McCullough ’07 and Melissa C. McCullough Kathryn McCullough^ Lawrence F. McGovern ’80 Mr. and Mrs. Barnabas McHenry Thomas McHenry*^ and Elena Phleger Jennifer McIvor ’07 Mr. William E. McKay and Mrs. Carol McKay P’94 Jeremy McLean JD/MSL’93 Jim McLeod ’83 David JD/MSL’91**^ and Nancy Mears Rachel E. Meche ’18 David JD/MSEL’97 and Erin JD/MSEL’97 Meezan Kevin R. JD’87/MSL’86* and Lori J. Mendik John ’85 and Barrie Mercer Christopher N. Meritt ’19 Katherine Toan Merlin ’08 William H. Meub III ’78 Sharon D. Meyers ’79 and Andrew L. Meyers Bob Miessau ’93 Marc**^ and Chris Mihaly P’13 Dr. Rom Stevens and Dr. Marianne Mikat-Stevens P’17 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Mikolop P'00 E. David Millard ’79 and Jan Millard Daniel Miller JD/MSEL’98 Elizabeth* and Eric Miller John D. Miller, Jr. ’09**^ Mark E. Miller ’83 Ronald Miller David and Lori Minikowski P’15 Jodi I. Mintz JD/MSEL’99 Edward Montoya ’92 and Carmen A. Redlich-Montoya Brian T. Moore ’99 Parker Moore ’04 James Moreno JD’88/MSL’93 and Sarah Nicklin Christine Moeling Morgan JD/MSEL’95 Maureen Moriarty^ Daphne Moritz JD/MSL’90 Hannah Morris^ Amara Whitcher Morrison JD/MSL’87 Jim and Gretchen Morse Dr. Jill Mortensen P’14 Doris E. Muench P’18 Andrew Robert James Muir ’12 John and Debra Mulcahy P’18 Evan Mulholland LLM’05 and Elizabeth V. Mulholland ’07 Douglas A. Mulvaney ’83 Sarah N. Munger ’18 Christine E. Munion JD/MSL’94 Meg Munsey ’05
1998
14.29% PARTICIPATION
1999
9.77% PARTICIPATION
2000
3.25% PARTICIPATION
2001
3.66% PARTICIPATION
2002
5.56% PARTICIPATION
2003
13.29% PARTICIPATION
2004
7.22% PARTICIPATION
2005
7.91% PARTICIPATION
2006
7.04% PARTICIPATION
2007
10.82% PARTICIPATION
*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
2008
12.83% PARTICIPATION
2009
5.07% PARTICIPATION
2010
4.02% PARTICIPATION
2011
4.74% PARTICIPATION
2012
3.75% PARTICIPATION
2013
5.76% PARTICIPATION
2014
4.78% PARTICIPATION
2015
3.52% PARTICIPATION
2016
3.31% PARTICIPATION
2017
2.07% PARTICIPATION
2018
13.97%
DONOR LIST CONTINUED Jennifer Murphy ’07 William K. Murphy ’76 Michael Myers ’93 Donald P. Nagle ’88 David J. Nathanson ’88, Matthew M. Nathanson, and Alyssa A. Nathanson Constance Neary ’89* Peter Herbst ’05 and Kathryn Nedelman Herbst ’05 Dana T. Nelson LLM’03 Professor Katharine F. Nelson Sandra A. Nelson ’96 Betsey S. Neslin ’80 The Honorable Harry M. Ness ’76 Grace G. Newcomer Jim and Diane Neyenhouse P’18 Gail H. Nichols ’80** Shirley H. Nichols P’80 Kelly E. Nokes JD/MELP’15 Sean^ and Andrea Nolon Karis L. North ’95* Marjorie Northrop Friedman ’99 and Peter J. Friedman Gerald and Judith Nuhfer P’04 Katie and Jonathan Oakleaf P’10 Daniel J. O'Brien Garry M. O'Brien ’88 Jeanne O'Brien ’86 Keely O'Bryan JD/MSEL’99 Becca O'Connor ’00 Daniel J. O'Connor ’13 Patrick O'Donoghue ’93 Karen Oelschlaeger ’16 Gretchen A. Oldham ’09 Margaret L. Olnek ’92 Jessica L. Olson ’07 Tony Oposa Susan E. Oram ’83 Anne Debevoise Ostby MSL’88* George H. Ostler ’83 Elise N. Paeffgen ’09 Nicole G. Paquette ’98 Justin M. Park JD/MSEL’08 Lorin E. Parker ’03 Todd K. Parker MSEL’06 W. Bruce Pasfield ’84 David C. Patterson ’76 and Patricia M. Patterson Nadege (Charles) Paulson ’02 and Kyle Paulson ’00 Christian H. Pedersen ’99 Frederick V. Peet ’93 Joseph Perella ’88 Pamela J. Pescosolido ’90* Christine G. (Berry) Peters ’00 Ian R. Peterson ’16 Donna Petrangelo P’12 Lisa Phipps MSEL’99 Joseph ’80 and Patricia Pinto Angela K. Pitha JD/MSEL’98 David M. Pocius ’03 Alex S. Polonsky ’98 Jeffrey O. Polubinski ’13 Professor Brian Porto^ Lisa Anastasio Potter ’94 E. Miles Prentice III, Esq.** Matthew D. Pritchard ’18 Ms. Jane Chewning Prugh P'08 Rebecca S. Purdom JD/MSEL’96 John C. Putney ’81 Lafmairta A. Quattrone MELP’18 Courtney A. Queen ’06 and Mathias Rosenfield Jeffrey Z. Qureshi ’98 and Danielle Qureshi William R. Raap Charlotte C. Rand ’17 Curtis and Susan Rand P’17
Mr. Richard O. Redder and Mrs. Eleanor C. Redder P’83 Todd M. Rego and Lori A. Rego P'18 Sandi and Paul Reiber Christopher M. Reid ’99 and Tara A. Reid ’98 Bill Reynolds ’87 Lamar S. Rhodes ’04 Jerome J. Richards ’83 Rowland Richards ’96 and Monica J. Richards Daniel ’03^ and Britt Richardson Ellery R. Richardson ’13 Caleb B. Rick ’88^ Ebony Riggins ’06 Diane and Tom Ritland P’13 Jennifer A. Robbins ’02 Jessie (Marshall) Roberts ’80 Christian ’85 and Cheryl Robin Samuel A. Rockwell ’13 E. Mabry Rogers Gabor Rona ’78 Julie A. Rosen ’08 Donna and David Rosenbaum P’18 Jeffrey Rosenthal ’78 and Lea Ann Rosenthal P’12 Tony Rospert ’03 Mollie D. Roth ’96 Catherine '82 and Patrick Rothwell Craig Evan Royce P’04 David Royer ’94 Abel Russ '10 and Jessica Scott ’10^ Donna L. Russo-Savage ’89 Richard A. Sadlock ’86 Nussrathullah W. Said ’16 Christopher P. Salotti ’94 Stephen Salvo ’77 Ann Sand Robert L. Sand ’87**^ Gail Sanderson ’87 Mrs. Brinna B. Sands and Mr. Frank E. Sands Marc E. Santora MSEL’03 Timothy ’03 and Bethany Sargent Laura A. Savall ’18 Professor Anna Saxman ’85^ and Mr. Robert Halpert ’83 Gary M. Schaff ’76 Charles R. Schaller ’90 Donald G. Scheck ’77 Lorrie L. Scherline Paul D. Schierer ’83 Lois Schiffer Chris Bullard and Todd Schlossberg ’90 Daniel Schramm ’08 and Amanda Frayer Jared Ezra Schroder ’14 Robert & Carol Schwartz P’10 Robert Schweitzer ’93 Mr. Collins J. Seitz and Gail Murray Seitz P’07 Mark Seltzer JD’08/MSEL’05 Susan E. Senning JD/MSEL’08 and William A. Senning ’06 Geoffrey Sewake JD/MELP’09 Charles E. Shafer ’77** and Judith W. Shafer Robert M. Shafer ’79** David LLM’06 and Carol Shanks Alison Share ’08 and Jami Westerhold JD/MSEL’08 M. Jane Sheehan, Esq JD/MSL’87 Robert Sheftman ’78 and Elisabeth Sheftman ’85 Kim Shelton ’06 Stacy M. Shelton ’16 Alexandra B. Sherertz JD/MELP’12 Elizabeth A. Shienbrood MSL’94 and Eric R. Shienbrood Nathaniel Shoaff ’07 Alan M. Shoer ’83 Alexander (Sandy) Shriver ’95** Peter Shumlin Morris L. Silver ’86 and Torrin D. Silver John P. Simpson ’96
PARTICIPATION
*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
Robert V. Simpson Jr. ’78 Ann Sisson ’98 Emily K. Slagle JD/MELP’12 Samuel E. Slaiby ’76 James ’79 and Linda ’79 Smiddy Christopher M. Smith ’14 Mr. Don A. Smith and Mrs. Rachel C. Smith P’02 Morgan Allen Smith ’15 Taylor Smith MELP’14 Susan I. Smoot MSL’92 Adrienne Soler ’87^ and Peter Sigle Daniel ’09 and Mariah Sotelino Karen and Fernando Sotelino P’09 Adam G. Sowatzka JD/MSEL’97 Dr. and Mrs. Donald Spicer P’96 Darren Springer JD/MSEL’05 and Stephanie Young JD/MSEL’05 Cory Steckler JD/MELP’11 and Elizabeth Newbold ’11 Ms. Elizabeth Steele Gabriela Steier ’17 Mary F. Stewart ’93 Kemp ’87 and Edith Stickney Steven F. Stitzel ’79 Charles Storrow ’82 Alan W. Strasser JD/MSL'93 and Cristina Cunha-Strasser Cody D. Stryker JD/MERL’18 Paula M. Stuart MSEL’01 Hilary and Karl Stubben ’01 Student Philanthropy Ambassadors Laura Subin Timothy Sullivan JD/MSEL’05 and Dana Barile ’04
Allen ’77 and Andrea Susser Steve ’83 and Cheryl Swartout M. P. Sweeney, C.P.A. ’80 Saundra J. Swift ’87 and Henry R. Swift Philip Tabas^ Robert D. Taisey, Esq.** Serena L. Tang ’19 Andrea and Derek Tarolli P’18 Matt and Nikki Tashjian Stacy A. Tatman ’13 Richard W. Taussig ’11 William E. Taylor JD/MSL’83 Professor Peter R. Teachout^ and The Honorable Mary M. Teachout Richard K. Teitell ’77 and Laura Teitell Margaret Stolfa ’91 and Kurt W. Terwilliger ’90 Kathryn R. Thomas JD/MELP’13 M. Kate Thomas ’13 Christopher A. Thompson ’98 and Nicole A. Alt ’98 Claire Z. Thorp MSEL’95 David Thurlow^ Kassie R. Tibbott ’18 Beverly S.K. Tom ’90 Travers Collaborative Law and Mediation Offices Vicki Leonhart JD/MSL’82 and Al Trefts Mr. & Mrs. George J. Trimper Jr. ’76 Paul D. '78 and Lynn W. Trimper Tom ’79** and Nancy Truman Thomas H. Trunzo, Jr. ’80 Lydia Bottome Turanchik ’98 and Stephen Turanchik Brian R. Turner ’06
Charles and Nancy Turner P’06 Rebecca R. Turner ’08 Bradley E. Tyler ’78 Anthony Q. Vale MSEL’95 Margaux J. Valenti ’13 Chase Van Gorder ’84 Tammara M. Van Ryn MSL’90 Richard L. Vanderslice JD/MSEL’01 Michelle T. Delemarre ’91 and Ronald L. Vavruska ’91 Anne Buck Vernon P’17 Mr. P. Aarne Vesilind P’08 James ’82 and Paula Vicenzi Lindi von Mutius ’08 John W. Vorder Bruegge ’92 Ms. Sarah W. Vorder Bruegge P’92 Derk Wadas ’97 Margaret I. Waldock JD/MSL’92 Shaun P. Walsh JD/MSL’93 Richard L. Walton, Jr. ’78 P’12 Shengzhi Wang ’16 Paul A. Ward, Jr. ’81 Jonathan and Susan Wasserman Samantha R. Waterman ’98 Donna Watts '83 and John Monahan '83 Mr. Barry Waxman and Mrs. Elsa Waxman Rodney and Mary Anne Weaver P'13 John S. Webb, Esq. ’92 Robert F. Weisberg JD/MSEL’01 Gilbert G. Weiskopf ’86 Craig Wells MSEL’95 Vice President Mary L. Welz^ Lisa M. Werner JD/MSL’93 and Alan Pike John Westerman ’82 Emily ’04 and Michael Wetherell
Laurie E. Wheelock JD’10/MSEL’07 Sherri P. White-Williamson JD/MERL’18 Steven ’07 and Rebecca ’07 Whitley James H. Wick Maureen Wilkerson Stephanie^ and Stephen Willbanks Nancy Lee Willet MSL’87 Mara Williams Oakes Ms. Ann M. Williams Joel W. Williams LLM’16 Sean B. T. Williams ’10 Katie Rowen ’05 and Jen Willis JD/MSEL’05 Karen Willis ’95 and Marty Collins C. Willoughby, Jr. ’79 Bob '86 and Sheryl Willson David A. Winston ’78 Professor David A. Wirth^ Henry M. and Deborah E. Woerner P’18 Rebecca J. Wolfe MELP’16 Dinah G. Wolff ’91 Christopher S. and Jacqueline M. B. Wren P’99 Daniel Wright ’96 Kinvin**^ and Deborah Wroth Kenneth and Judith Yalowitz Barbara J. Yarington ’94 Cheri Ruch Yasuda ’87 Andrew J. Yoon ’99 Peter H. Zamore ’79 Jennifer C. Zegarelli ’03 Michael E. Zeliger JD/MSEL’96 Carlos Z. Zequeira MSL’84 Frederick N. Zeytoonjian JD/MSL’92 Patricia Zimmerman ’86
FOUNDATIONS, CORPORATIONS, AGENCIES, AND OTHER SUPPORTERS Aladdin Food Management Services Alameda Support Foundation Allstate Foundation AmazonSmile Foundation Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar Barrister's Book Shop Behavior Therapy & Psychotherapy Center Ben & Jerry's Foundation, Inc. The Boeing Gift Matching Program Boston Red Sox The Braxton Fund, Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc. Bromley The Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation The Chicago Community Trust City of Burlington Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley
Distinctive Enterprises Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Fore-U Golf Center The Frank and Brinna Sands Foundation, Inc. General Electric Foundation Google Employee Giving Granite United Way Green Mountain Club Hanover Consumer Co-op Heinrich Boell Foundation Jane's Trust Foundation Jephson Educational Trust The Johnson Family Foundation The JPMorgan Chase Foundation Leidos LexisNexis Local Independent Charities of America
*= TRUSTEE DURING FY 2018 **=
McGuireWoods LLP Nationwide Insurance Nuveen Benevolent Trust Oarsmen Foundation Overhills Foundation Prohibition Pig Public House at Queechee Gorge Raytheon Company RBC Capital Markets Sap! Schwab Charitable Fund Seidel Cohen Hof & Reid LLC Sharon Trading Post Sheridan Ross Charitable Foundation Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP Stonecutter Spirits Summit Wealth Group, LLC Sumptuous Syrups of Vermont
TRUSTEE EMERITUS/FORMER TRUSTEE
The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Foundation The Mary W. Harriman Foundation The Pennywise Foundation The Quechee Club Thomson Reuters Toxics Action Center Triskeles Foundation Verizon Vermont Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Vermont Bar Foundation Vermont Community Foundation Vermont Simple Beauty Vermont Student Assistance Corporation WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, LLC Wild Hart Distillery Yankee Publishing, Inc.
†= DECEASED ^ = FACULTY/STAFF
9
YOUR PHILANTHROPY MAKES AN IMPACT.
ANNUAL FUND DOLLARS
IN FISCAL YEAR 2018, ALUMNI, PARENTS, FRIENDS, FOUNDATIONS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RAISED OVER $4.2 MILLION FOR VERMONT LAW SCHOOL. THE IMPACT OF THESE GIFTS TOUCHES OUR STUDENTS IN EVERY FACET OF THEIR EXPERIENCE AT VLS. LEARN MORE BELOW ABOUT HOW WE PUT YOUR DOLLARS TO WORK TO HELP OUR STUDENTS REALIZE THEIR ASPIRATIONS.
44%
VERMONT LAW SCHOOL OPERATING BUDGET
40.79%
11.9%
THESE GIF TS PROVIDE ESSENTIAL BUDGET RELIEF FUNDS FOR VLS—INCLUDING FINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS—AND OPERATING SUPPORT FOR THE CLINICS THAT HELP STUDENTS GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WHILE REPRESENTING REAL CLIENTS.
44.06% - AREA OF GREATEST NEED • • • • •
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
48.27%
44.06%
GIF TS TO OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS ALLOW VLS TO STRENGTHEN OUR PROGRAMS TO MATCH THE CHANGING LEGAL L ANDSCAPE AND GIVE OUR STUDENTS THE SKILLS THEY WILL NEED TO ENTER THEIR CHOSEN FIELD.
SCHOLARSHIPS LIBRARY RESOURCES STUDENT SERVICES CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, AND PANELS AREAS OF URGENT NEED, NEW OPPORTUNITIES, AND PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED BY THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN
44% - PROGRAMS AND CLINICS • OPERATING SUPPORT FOR CLINICAL PROGRAMS • FELLOWSHIPS • RESEARCH INITIATIVES
ENDOWMENT
10.9%
1,400
# of gifts to the Annual Fund
10
11.9% - STRATEGIC PLANNING FUND
GIF TS IN SUPPORT OF OUR ENDOWMENT GIVE VLS THE ABILIT Y TO OFFER SCHOL ARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS TO STUDENTS WHO ARE POISED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
46%
% of gifts $100 and below
140
# of new donors
• FUNDING OF NEW STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
3
# of new fellowship and scholarship funds established
353%
growth of Leaders’ Circle membership from 2014 to 2018
TRIBUTE GIFTS In memory of Keith T. Aten ’93 Dirk Anderson ’93
In memory of Alison M. Strong ’84 Jane E. McCloskey ’83
In memory of Eloise R. Ault Peter L. Ault P’85
In memory of Professor John P. McCrory Suzanne A. McCrory
In memory of Judge Sterry R. Waterman Jenny and Joe Ballway
In honor of Carl John McKay ’94 Mr. William E. McKay and Mrs. Carol McKay P’94
In honor of Charles L. Becker ’15 Bill Becker P’15
In memory of Robert G. Stevens, RPh Dr. Rom Stevens and Dr. Marianne Mikat-Stevens P’17
In memory of Karen A. Partyka ’78 Veronica C. Boda ’78
In memory of Ernest W. Gibson Grace G. Newcomer
In honor of Trivia Night Elizabeth A. Bower ’18
In honor of Bryn Elizabeth Oakleaf MELP’10 Katie and Jonathan Oakleaf P’10
In memory of Christopher B. Wren ’99 The Braxton Fund, Inc. Kenneth and Judith Yalowitz
In honor of Susan G. Lacoste MSEL’03 P’11 for her unwavering support of VLS Lisa Phipps MSEL’99
In honor of Victoria E. Brennan ’97 Sheila A. Brennan P’97
In honor of Russell C. Prugh ’08 Ms. Jane Chewning Prugh P’08
In honor of Professor Richard O. Brooks Professor Celia Campbell-Mohn and Mr. Frederick Campbell-Mohn
In memory of my beloved husband, Dr. Alfredo J. Quattrone Lafmairta A. Quattrone MELP’18
In honor of Matthew J. Carr JD/MELP’17 James and Kathleen Carr P’17
In memory of my loving mother, Yusma Lafmairta A. Quattrone MELP’18
In memory of Angela J. Prodan JD/MSL’94 Joe Cook ’97
In memory of Daniel F. Caruso ’83 Jerome J. Richards ’83
In memory of Matthew Harnett ’83 Cynthia Crowe ’83
In honor of the Class of 2013 Ellery R. Richardson ’13
In honor of Douglas M. Costle H’91 Robert C. Downey JD/MSL’93
In memory of Frank F. Berk ’78 Jeffrey ’78 and Lea Ann Rosenthal P’12 Robert Sheftman ’78 and Elisabeth Sheftman ’85
In memory of Jessie M. Lafountain Bigwood John P. Dumville In memory of Colonel Kenneth R. Marshall, Esq. Ms. Suzan Dunkiel (Marshall) P’96
In honor of Mackenzie V. Royce ’04 Craig Evan Royce P’04
In honor of Andrew L. Schwartz ’10 Robert & Carol Schwartz P’10 In honor of Professor David B. Firestone Jonathan Eck ’06 In honor of Ann T. Debevoise Lorrie L. Scherline Charles E. Shafer ’77 and Judith W. Shafer In honor of my very smart wife: Jacqueline E. Feldman ’82! Richard J. Feldman ’82 In memory of Dean Geoffrey B. Shields Peter JD/MSEL’99 and Victoire Gardner
In memory of Professor Cheryl Hanna Kim Shelton ’06
In memory of William Gensberg and the tireless pursuit of equality and equity for all Brian Glattstein
In memory of Professor Alexander W. Banks ’87 David T. Hasbrook ’87 and Joanne E. Hasbrook James ’79 and Linda ’79 Smiddy Vermont Community Foundation
In honor of Dean Thomas J.P. McHenry Timothy J. Hart and Jennifer C. Looney Mr. and Mrs. Barnabas McHenry
In memory of Professor Frank Mahady Mr. and Mrs. George J. Trimper, Jr.’76
In memory of Dr. Arthur Loewy and Mrs. Rayna D. Loewy Todd M. Heine ’11, JD, LLM, Master 2 Droit In memory of Allison W. Smith MSEL’07 for her awesomeness Sarah E. Jackson MSEL'03 In honor of Graham W. Jesmer ’13 William and Mary Jo Jesmer P’13 In honor of Brian R. Jones ’10 Bob and Shirley Jones P’10 In memory of my father, James Kessler John W. Kessler ’88 In memory of Albert Feuerstein Patricia ’98 and Paul Killigrew In honor of Mark D. Klotzbuecher ’12 Karen Weidner & Kurt Klotzbuecher P’12 In memory of Myrtle Kurth Rick Kurth ’76 In honor of Anastasios P. Lazaropoulos JD/LLM’15 Lazaropoulos Family P’15
Karen Henderson
In honor of Amy M. Spicer ’96 and her new addition Dr. and Mrs. Donald Spicer P’96
In memory of my parents, Sally and Richard Jacobs, who taught me to give back Jennifer J. Leech ’18 In memory of parents Judge and Mrs. Joseph Maccario ’77
In honor of the Class of 1979 Tom ’79 and Nancy Truman In memory of Erin M. Woolley ’10 Laurie E. Wheelock JD’10/MELP’07 In memory of Joseph Winston, my late father who loved the law David A. Winston ’78 In memory of Philip H. Hoff Paul Bruhn Barbara Cate Christopher ’78 and Jennifer Leopold Julie Malloy Margaret Marro Mickel Daniel J. O’Brien Robert L. Sand ’87 Vermont Student Assistance Corporation In memory of Professor Gilbert L. Kujovich Michael O. Hill ’84 Associate Dean Shirley A. Jefferson ’86 Bruce Kaplan MSEL’03 Patricia ’98 and Paul Killigrew Kevin O. Leske JD/MSEL’99 and Jen Leske Zachary Manganello ’08 James ’79 and Linda ’79 Smiddy Samantha R. Waterman ’98 Vermont Community Foundation In memory of Professor Gilbert L. Kujovich. A loss to Joni, Vermont Law School, and the world E. Mabry Rogers
Jay Ericson
vermontlaw.edu
Vermont Law School 164 Chelsea Street | PO Box 96 South Royalton, VT 05068 802-831-1000 alumni@vermontlaw.edu
ALUMNI PERUSE ARCHIVAL VLS PHOTOS THAT DECORATED THE WALLS OF THE HISTORIC SORO PUB DURING HOMECOMING WEEKEND, JUNE 2018.
FRIDAY, JUNE 28 SATURDAY, JUNE 29
to
ALUMNI WEEKEND
and
save the date...
SOUTH ROYALTON KILLINGTON, VT
2019
No Arguments. No Objections. All Vermont Law School alumni and community members are invited to attend and celebrate this memorable summer weekend. VLS milestones include the classes of 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
REUNION VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
REGISTRATION OPENS IN APRIL.
Vermont Law School will host our annual Alumni V Weekend Golf Tournament at the Woodstock Country Club in Woodstock, 20 19 Vt., on Friday, June 28, kicking off Alumni F Weekend. This year marks TOU AM RN the tournament’s 32nd anniversary; we anticipate connecting with more than 250 alumni throughout the weekend.
EN
GOL
T
I
LU LS A MN
—LET’S MAKE THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENT A GREAT SUCCESS!
WE’LL SEE YOU
IN JUNE!
#SwansFlyTogether
FOR MORE INFORMATION Email Alumni Relations Director Melissa Harwood at mharwood@vermontlaw.edu or call 802-831-1339.
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #375 NASHUA NH