Law, Politics, and Policy

College of Arts & Science

Larkin Reynolds (CAS ’18) joins Moye White LLP as partner and will anchor the firm's technology, privacy and cybersecurity practices. (Winter 2020)

Kyra Stephenson-Valley (CAS ’16, ’17) was one of the organizers and a speaker at the recent 2020 March on Washington. She's currently the Policy Advisor at National Action Network's Washington, DC Bureau, and a founding member of Concerned Citizens of DC, a youth-led civil rights movement. (Summer 2020)

Joanna B.H. Mauck (CAS ’14) has joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a branding and communications specialist in the Human Resources Directorate located at IDA’s Alexandria, VA headquarters. (Winter 2023)

Shomik Ghosh (CAS ’13) has been hired by New Jersey law firm Spiro Harrison as a new partner to drive its next stage of expansion. As a New York litigator, Shomik has become the new head of its established NYC office. (Spring 2022)

Quemuel Arroyo (CAS ’12, WAG ’20) was presented with the National Youth Award by the Dominican president for representing Dominicans in the diaspora. (Spring 2023)

Diana DiLeonardo (CAS ’10) has joined Cona Elder Law PLLC in Melville, New York as an associate focused on litigation. (Winter 2023)

David Kramer (CAS ’10, GSAS ’11) was recently promoted from senior associate attorney to partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP. (Spring 2021)

Mandy Li Weiner (CAS ’10) is joining Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff PC as an associate. Mandy will focus her practice in litigation with an emphasis on premises liability, personal injury and Labor Law claims. Prior to joining Foran Glennon, Mandy gained experience in insurance coverage and commercial litigation. (Fall 2020)

Madeline Greenblatt (CAS ’09) is an attorney at Farrell Fritz and has been selected to the New York Metro Rising Stars list. (Fall 2021)

Jennifer Karnes (CAS ’09) was promoted to Member of the boutique New York City law firm Anderson Ochs LLP. Jennifer’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, real estate litigation, including cooperative and condominium law, and employment litigation. (Winter 2023)

Sara K. Harris (CAS ‘09) was recently elected to Jackson Walker LLP firm’s partnership in the Dallas, TX office. (Winter 2023)

Matthew Baker (CAS ’08) was elevated to partner at RMO LLP. (Spring 2020)

Jared Markowitz (CAS ’08) is one of three attorneys promoted to partner at Mound Cotton. (Winter 2022)

Ronald Park (CAS ’08) has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in the Consumer Financial Services Practice. (Winter 2020)

Marcie Cleary (CAS ’07) has been promoted to partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC. (Fall 2020)

Steven M. Shparber (CAS ’07) has joined Clark Hill's Washington DC office as a Member in the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources practice group. Steven began his career as an Attorney-Advisor in the FERC’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, and advises on energy regulatory issues, independent power production and renewable energy. (Summer 2020)

Rebecca Borgese (CAS ’06) has been elected to Riker Danzig's new counsel. (Winter 2020)

Dina Weinstein (CAS ’06) has been elevated to counsel at law firm Pryor Cashman. (Spring 2022)

Jaclyn Grodin (CAS ’05) has joined the New York City office of Goulston & Storrs as Counsel in the firm’s Litigation Group. She joins the firm from the New York State Office of the Attorney General (NYAG) where she served as an Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in the Investor Protection Bureau since 2018. (Fall 2021)

Naomi Moss (CAS ’05) has been promoted to partner at Akin Gump. (Winter 2020)

James Fitzmaurice (CAS ’04) was elected partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

Judy Mok (CAS ’04) has been named partner at the national law firm of Ballard Spahr. (Summer 2021)

Beth R. Myers (CAS ’04) has joined Burns & Levinson LLP in Boston as a partner in its Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. She has also been elected to the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Board of Directors. She was previously a partner at Powers, Jodoin, Margolis & Mantell LLP in Boston and brings over 10 years of experience in employment-related disputes to the firm. (Winter 2021)

John Ngo (CAS ’04) has been added as counsel in the Reed Smith LLP's Global Corporate Group and SPAC team in New York. has been added as counsel in the Reed Smith LLP's Global Corporate Group and SPAC team in New York. (Spring 2021)

Meagan Galligan (CAS ’03) is now an elected NY State Supreme Court Justice for the Third Judicial District after previously being Sullivan County’s first-ever female District Attorney. (Spring 2023)

Paul Davis (CAS ’03) has been elected to the partnership of Morrison & Foerster; he is a member of the Corporate Department and part of the Private Funds Group. (Winter 2021)

Lisa Featherson (CAS ’02) has been promoted to Chief People and Development Officer at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. (Summer 2022)

Michael LeVine (CAS ’02) serves as Diplomatic Security Service Liaison at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. (Fall 2022)

Diana B. Kruze (CAS ’01) has been welcomed to Judicate West, one of California’s leading providers of private dispute resolution services, as one of its roster of neutrals. (Summer 2021)

Zachary H. Thomas (CAS ’01) was recently recognized as a 2023 Georgia Super Lawyer. Attorneys are selected for Super Lawyer based on peer review, independent research, and professional achievements. (Winter 2023)

Dina Hamerman (CAS ’99) has been named to the 2023 Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation for her work as partner and executive director at White Plains, NY-based law firm Yankwitt LLP. (Summer 2022)

Nora Q.E. Passamaneck (CAS ’98) is a Denver-based Intellectual Property Litigation lawyer and will be elevated to partnership as of January 1, 2021. (Winter 2021)

Marsha Indych (CAS ’97) was just elected partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, effective Feb. 1, 2020. Marsha is one of 13 attorneys elected in the new partnership class. (Winter 2020)

Nan Eileen Mead (CAS ’95) completed six years of service representing the 1st Judicial District on the NYS Board of Regents. She is now the Director of Outreach and Communications at The Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College. (Fall 2022)

Angie Garasia (CAS ’94) is celebrating her 10 year milestone rating as a Super Lawyer in New Jersey. Attorneys are selected as Super Lawyer based on peer review, independent research and professional achievements. (Spring 2023)

Melba V. Pearson (WSUC ’94) edited Can They Do That? Understanding Prosecutorial Discretion, on the topic of prosecutorial discretion which has now been published. (Winter 2020)

Margarita Bejerano Wallach (WSUC ’94) is the office managing partner for the New York office of McCarter & English LLP, and co-chair of its Trademark practice. (Fall 2020)

Debra Brookes (WSUC ’93, STEINHARDT ’95, SPS ’91) is Deputy Virtual Currency Chief at the NYS Department of Financial Services. (Winter 2022)

Stephanie Thomas (WSUC ’92) is the first Black Secretary of the State in Connecticut. (Fall 2022)

Andrea Glenn Loigman (CAS ’91) recently joined the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice as Executive Agency Counsel and Supervisory Attorney for the Assigned Counsel Plan in the Bronx and Manhattan. (Spring 2023)

Carolyn Walsh Parry, Esq. (CAS ’90) has opened her own family law practice in The Woolworth Building. (Fall 2020)

Adam E.B. Brecht (WSC ’89) will be inducted into A.M. New York's Manhattan Power List in a ceremony and dinner on April 18 at Bryant Park Grill. Mayor Adams, State Attorney General Letitia James and Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris are among those who'll also be inducted that evening. (Spring 2023)

Bill Packer (WSUC ’89) recently joined Longbridge Financial as their Chief Operating Officer for his work as counsel at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP. (Summer 2022)

Gary Stein (WSC ’83, LAW ’86) is publishing Justice for Sale: Graft, Greed, and a Crooked Federal Judge in 1930s Gotham, which examines Judge Martin T. Manton’s misconduct in the context of the culture of corruption and organized crime that permeated New York City in the first part of the twentieth century. (Spring 2023)

Karl Zielaznicki (WSUC ’82) is now a Partner at Troutman Pepper Sanders Hamilton LLP in New York specializing in Intellectual Property (Trademarks). (Winter 2023)

David Pecoraro (WSUC ’81) was elected to represent the 5th Congressional District of NY as a Democratic National Convention Delegate pledged to Joseph R. Biden, Jr. after 30 years of teaching high school math. In 2022, Mr. Pecoraro was elected to the Queens County Democratic Committee representing the 31st Assembly District and was appointed by the Queens Boro President to serve on Community Board 13 in Queens. (Fall 2022)

Virginia (Ginny) McCarthy (WSUC ’79) has retired after an almost forty year career as an attorney. Her last position was General Counsel of the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts. (Spring 2023)

Dr. George Hruza (CAS ’78, GSM ’82) was elected to the International League of Dermatology Societies (ILDS) Board of Directors at the World Congress of Dermatology in Singapore in July 2023 to represent North America. The ILDS represents dermatology societies from one hundred countries. He is also a declared candidate for the Missouri State House of Representatives in 2024. (Fall 2023)

Steve Rolandi (WSC ’76, WAG ’80) is an adjunct Professor of Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) and Pace University. He serves on numerous association boards in Washington, DC and New York State. (Spring 2023)

Alfred Malefatto (WSUC ’75) has been selected as 2020 Florida Super Lawyers in the area of environmental law. He shares this designation with only 5% of all attorneys in Florida. (Summer 2020)

Mark Kernes, (WSUC ’71), has published his first book, "Preachers Vs. Porn: Exposing Christianity's War on Sexxx," which explores the attacks ultrareligious people have made on adult entertainment businesses. (Winter 2023)

Dr. Bertram Spector (ARTS ’69, GSAS ’72, ’76) has authored a new book, International Negotiation And Good Governance: A Researcher-Practitioner's Perspective, that will be released in October 2023 by Routledge. (Summer 2023)

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

Kevin Mahoney (CIMS ’06) will testify in the South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. hearing. He is the President and Founder of FindTape. (Winter 2020)

Gallatin School of Individualized Study

Elizabeth Gyori (GAL ’13) was awarded a 2020 Skadden Fellowship to undertake a public interest law project focusing on vindicating the rights of public housing tenants facing privatization of their units for two years with Legal Services NYC's Tenants Rights Coalition. (Winter 2020)

Daan Erikson (GAL ’09) was elected partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP, where he practices copyright and trademark law. (Winter 2023)

Kelly Borukhovich (GAL ’04) has been assigned to the Joint Staff as a Middle East Political Military Planner in the Strategy, Plans, and Policy Directorate within the Pentagon. (Winter 2023)

Graduate School of Arts & Science

Marisa Grimes (GSAS ’18) was elected to become a member of the Democrats Abroad delegation representing Vice President Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, where she will take part in the process of nominating America’s next President and Vice President. Ms. Grimes is a Biden Delegate for Americans living overseas in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. (Summer 2020)

Elizabeth Fitch (GSAS ’04) has been promoted to shareholder at Hallet & Perrim, P.C. (Spring 2021)

Giancarla Sambo (GSAS ’98) has been admitted to practice before the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in a ceremony that included Chief Justice John Roberts and the other eight justices. Giancarla is also admitted to practice law in New York, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Her primary focus is on Entertainment Law. (Summer 2020)

Mark L. Maiello. PhD, (GSAS ’86) was appointed to the New York City Nuclear Disarmament & Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Committee by Mayor Eric Adams on February 6, 2023. (Winter 2023)

Paul Dietze (GSAS ’80) has been added to the Life Sciences Industry Team at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP. (Winter 2020)

Frank M. Sorrentino (GSAS ’72) has a new publication, “Presidential Power and the American Political System”, which discusses the influence of the presidency and the prominence of bureaucracies based on case studies of the FBI and CIA to explore the question of accountability in American politics. (Winter 2020)

School of Law

Umair Karowadia (LAW ’20) has joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Houston office as an associate in the Tax Planning & Business Transactions group, where he focuses on entity formation, governance, internal restructuring, and business succession planning. (Summer 2021)

Eric Sorkin (LAW ʼ18) recently joined Archer & Greiner as an Associate. Eric is a member of the firm’s estates & trusts group, where he represents clients in all aspects of estate, trust, and related tax matters, including planning for both simple and complex estates, and probate litigation. (Summer 2023)

Tiffany Sillanpaa (LAW ’18) co-authored a journal article exploring international trade aspects of IP Law in the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (JEPA). Available to read the full journal article with WestLaw UK or WestLaw International. (Summer 2020)

Sam Lacy (LAW ’17) has joined Maslon LLP in Minneapolis as a litigation associate. (Spring 2023)

Justin Sommerkamp (LAW ’15) was elected partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.  (Winter 2023)

Dan Gibbons (LAW ’14) has been promoted to counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. (Summer 2021)

Cynthia M. Jordano (CAS ’11, LAW ’14) has been promoted to partner at leading insurance recovery law firm Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP. (Fall 2021)

Joshua Montazeri (LAW ’14) has joined Fox Rothschild LLP in New York as an associate in the Entertainment & Sports Law Department. (Spring 2020)

Christopher Nairn-Kim (LAW ’14) has been elected by Davis Polk as a partner of the firm, effective July 1, 2022. (Summer 2022)

Adam C. Saper (LAW ’14) was recognized by the Miami Chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers with the "Gregg Wenzel Outstanding Young Lawyer Award" for 2020. Adam also achieved Board Certification in Criminal Trial Law, the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar for competency and experience in a legal specialty, a recognition earned by only seven percent of eligible attorneys. (Fall 2020)

Vanessa Richardson (LAW ’13) was elected partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, with her practice focusing on complex commercial litigation. (Winter 2023)

Patricia Carreiro (LAW ’13) joined Carlton Fields as an associate in Miami. She is a member of the firm's Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice. (Winter 2020)

Karin Dryhurst (LAW ’13) has been made partner at WilmerHale. Her practice focuses on government and internal investigations, enforcement actions, and government-facing and qui tam litigation. (Winter 2022)

Vaughn Morrison (LAW ’13) was promoted to partner at Troutman Pepper.  Morrison represents financing parties, utility companies, sponsors and corporates in the acquisition, development, construction, financing and operational management of renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects. (Winter 2021)

David Schiff (LAW ’13) has been elected by Davis Polk as a partner of the firm, effective July 1, 2022. (Summer 2022)

Spencer Ricks (LAW ’12) has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins. He is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses on advising entrepreneurs heading startups and other emerging companies through various stages of growth and development. (Fall 2020)

David Siegel (LAW ’12) has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in New York, effective January 1, 2023. A member of the Structured Finance Practice and Finance Department, he represents banks and other financial institutions, issuers, borrowers, and sponsors in a variety of securitizations and other structured asset-based financing transactions. (Fall 2022)

Jason M. Frosch (LAW ’11) joined the New York, NY law office of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP as Partner, where he focuses on real estate litigation with a concentration in matters involving the Loft Law. (Winter 2023)

Gabriel Bedoya (LAW ’11) was elected by Honigman LLP to serve a four-year term on the firm's board of directors. He is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, serves as Co-Leader of the Emerging Companies Group, and is the firm’s Assistant Hiring Partner for Associates and Summer Associates. (Winter 2022)

Guillermo Bayas Fernandez, Esq (LAW ’11) is a member of Barcelona and New York Bar Associations. He is Partner in the Litigation and Arbitration area at AGM Abogados, but will also be part of the firm’s French Desk team. (Summer 2020)

Michael Mix (LAW ’11) was promoted to Partner at Morrison Cohen, LLC. He is also a partner in the Business Litigation department and a member of the White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement practice group. (Winter 2022)

Dominique L. Windberg (LAW ’10) of nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. has been elevated to principal. Dominique is an attorney in the firm’s San Francisco office and represents public and private employers in labor and employment law matters. (Winter 2023)

Annie Nazarian Davydov (LAW ’10) has been promoted to partner at law firm Lowenstein Sandler. (Winter 2021)

Helam Gebremariam, Esq. (LAW ’10) and Alexandra Denning (LAW ’17) became partners of the Cravath Firm on January 1, 2021. Their election to the partnership was announced in October 2020. (Winter 2021)

Beth George (GAL ’01, LAW ’10) has rejoined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s privacy and cybersecurity practice as a partner in the San Francisco office. (Fall 2021)

Dohyun Kim (LAW ’10) has been promoted to partner––Do practices M&A. (Summer 2020)

Hanno Witt (LAW ’10) has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins in Munich, Germany, effective January 1. He is a member of the Corporate Department who advises financial investors and corporations on national and cross-border M&A and joint venture transactions, restructurings, and general corporate law. (Fall 2020)

Scott French (LAW ’09) has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles, effective January 1, 2020. He is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses on corporate and securities law with an emphasis on late-stage emerging company transactions, including venture financings, M&A, and capital markets transactions. (Fall 2020)

Roberto Reyes Gaskin (LAW ’09) has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins in Paris, France. He is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses on a range of capital markets transactions, public company representation, and financial regulatory matters for issuers, underwriters, sponsors, family offices, and alternative capital providers. (Fall 2020)

Zachary Goldman (LAW '09) has been made partner at WilmerHale. His practice focuses on financial crime, financial technology and national security issues, with a particular focus on financial sanctions, anti–money laundering (AML), cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology, and other novel payment technologies. (Winter 2022)

Michael Lavine (LAW ’09) was promoted to Of Counsel in Jones Day's IP Litigation practice. (Winter 2022)

Kabaye Liku (LAW '09) has been promoted to partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, & Jacobson LLP. (Winter 2020)

Jaime Vasquez (LAW ’09) was recognized as Lawyer of the Year in Tax Litigation and Controversy by US News’ Best Lawyers in America San Antonio-based. He was one of three Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys nominated by their peers to be recognized for the award. (Summer 2020)

Sloane Ackerman (LAW ’08) received a Cornerstone Award. Each year Lawyers Alliance for New York presents Cornerstone Awards to outstanding business and transactional lawyers who have provided superior pro bono legal services to nonprofits that are improving quality of life for low-income New Yorkers. (Winter 2021)

Matthew Edwards (LAW ’08) has been promoted from senior associate to partner at Ain & Bank. (Spring 2021)

Alice Ferot, Esq. (LAW ‘08) is with the law firm, AXS Law Group, which won The Daily Business Review’s 2021 Florida Legal Award for Best Commercial Litigation Department of the Year. (Spring 2021)

Ali Metzl (LAW ’08) is a shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office, as its chair of diversity, inclusion and equity. (Fall 2020)

Chaim Theil (LAW ’07) has been elected partner at the international law firm of Sidley Austin LLP. His practice focuses on private equity, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring transactions. (Spring 2022)

Tzung-lin Fu (LAW ’06) has joined Bet Tzedek Legal Services as its Vice President of Legal Programs. (Summer 2020)

David Mehretu (LAW ’06, CAS ’97, SPS ’95) has been elevated to principal at Meyers Nave. Mehretu sits in the firm’s Oakland office. (Winter 2022)

Paul Schockett (LAW ’06) has been promoted to partner––Paul practices in the Firm's tax group. (Winter 2020)

Dustin S. Whittenburg (LAW ’06) has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. (Fall 2021)

Charbel Barakat (LAW ’05) was recently appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and also appointed to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. Charbel currently serves as Vice President and Chief Regional Counsel for a national homebuilder. (Summer 2023)

David E. Blabey (LAW ’04) was elected to partner at Kramer Levin. He is a member of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice in New York. (Winter 2022)

Elliott Blanchard (LAW ’04) is a partner in the Corporate & Securities practice group at Neal Gerber Eisenberg (NGE). Blanchard joins from Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP in New York. (Fall 2021)

J. Javier Gutierrez (Law ’04) has been selected as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer. This is Javier's sixth consecutive year being selected by Super Lawyers. (Fall 2022)

Rehan Hasan (LAW ’04) is a business and tax attorney at Hasan, LLC and was listed as “highly commended” by Chambers USA for the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Lawyer of the Year award. (Fall 2020)

David Tobon (LAW ’04) joined the law firm of Becker, Glynn, Muffly, Chassin & Hosinski LLP. (Summer 2020)

Tracy Udell Zemba (LAW ’04) became the Chief Equal Employment Opportunity Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February 2022. The Bank's EEO Office investigates concerns related to discrimination and harassment. Before taking over this role, Tracy was employment counsel with the Bank for approximately 10 years. (Fall 2022)

Allen J. Falke (LAW ʼ01) was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (2024 Edition) in the field of Tax Law. (Summer 2023)

Sabine Istjan (LAW ’01) has been appointed the judge of the Higher Regional Court in Vienna. (Spring 2021)

Jacoba Brasch, Esq. (LAW ’00) is the President-elect of the Law Council of Australia. On 1 Jan 2021, he became President of the LCA. (Winter 2021)

Lori B. Rassas (LAW ’00) was appointed to serve a two-year term on her local community board as of April 1. (Spring 2021)

Rachel Weissmann (LAW ’00) has been promoted to counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. (Summer 2021)

Iris E. Bennett (LAW ’99) joined Steptoe & Johnson LLP as a partner in the firm's White-Collar Defense Group. Based in Washington, DC, Iris represents Fortune 100 clients in internal investigations, corporate compliance, antitrust, fraud, and federal mandatory and voluntary disclosures. (Winter 2022)

The Honorable Noel L. Hillman (LAW ’98) graduated in May 2020 with an LL.M. in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law. Judge Hillman has served since 2006 as a United States District Judge in the District of New Jersey and was elected a Member of the American Law Institute in the fall of 2019. In addition to Duke and NYU, Judge Hillman holds a law degree from Seton Hall School of Law (J.D. 1985). (Summer 2020)

Peter Lowy (LAW ’97) has joined the Board of Directors of the Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that serves as the pro bono arm of the Houston Bar Association. He is a shareholder in the Houston office of national law firm, Chamberlain Hrdlicka. (Summer 2020)

Josh Mogin (LAW ’97) has joined Thompson Coburn as a partner in their Los Angeles office. Josh was previously a partner at Raines Feldman LLP in Los Angeles. (Winter 2022)

Zev Gewurz (LAW ’96) has been named to the 2021 top “Lawyers in Real Estate” list by Connect CRE for his exemplary work in the real estate industry and contributions to the community. He is the co-chair of the Real Estate Group and International Investors Group at Goulston & Storrs. (Winter 2022)

Mario Verdolini (LAW ’90) received the Cornerstone Awards from the Lawyers Alliance for New York. The awards are given to outstanding business and transactional lawyers who have provided superior pro bono legal services to nonprofits that are improving quality of life for low-income New Yorkers. (Fall 2022)

John Bennett (LAW ’89) was recently featured as a Band 1 attorney in the Chambers USA 2020 Guide, a publication ranking the leading lawyers and law firms across the U.S. Mr. Bennett is a Principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey office of Jackson Lewis P.C. His entire practice is devoted to representing employers in all areas of labor and employment-related matters. (Summer 2020)

Bill Burke (LAW ’88) is pleased to have represented and assisted Brandywine Conservancy in acquiring and preserving over 577 acres of land in Lower Oxford and West Nottingham Townships, Chester County. (Spring 2021)

Fred Green (LAW ’88) received the Cornerstone Awards from the Lawyers Alliance for New York. The awards are given to outstanding business and transactional lawyers who have provided superior pro bono legal services to nonprofits that are improving quality of life for low-income New Yorkers. (Fall 2022)

Allen Grunes (LAW ’86) is returning to Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder in its Corporate & Business Department. (Winter 2020)

Tom Clark (LAW ’85) has returned to Henderson Franklin as a stockholder. He is a Florida Bar Board Certified Health and Tax Law specialist. (Winter 2021)

Ira Cohen (LAW ’85) was Appointed Chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Federal Bar Association (2021-2022). (Winter 2022)

Mark Eagan (LAW ’85) joined Goulston & Storrs as a director in the firm's Real Estate Group in New York. (Spring 2020)

Eric Solomon (LAW ’84) have most recently served as a Partner and then Senior Counsel at Steptoe & Johnson. (Spring 2023)

Michael A. Lampert (LAW ’84) received the 2020-2021 Gerald T. Hart Outstanding Tax Attorney of the Year Award from the Florida Bar Tax Section. (Winter 2022)

Linda Ujifusa (LAW ’83), Rhode Island State Senator for Dist. 11, became one of the first two Asian Americans ever to be elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly. (Winter 2023)

Bruce P. Ely (LAW ’81) has been appointed as a Senior Fellow and a special consultant to Bloomberg Tax & Accounting. He is the first Senior Fellow appointed by Bloomberg Tax & Accounting to consult on its state tax publications. (Fall 2023)

Dennis McBride (LAW ’80) was elected Mayor of the City of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Milwaukee's oldest suburb in April 2020. He previously served as President of the Wauwatosa Common Council and spent 24 years as Senior Trial Attorney and Supervisory Trial Attorney in the Milwaukee office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Summer 2020)

Thomas J. McNamara (LAW ’80) has been named to the 2020 and 2021 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. (Fall 2021)

Hon. Betty E. Staton (LAW ’79) was awarded the New York State Bar Association, Civil Rights Committee, Haywood Burns Memorial Award in a ceremony on May 25, 2023 at CUNY Law School. (Spring 2023)

Lawrence Miller (LAW ’79) received a Cornerstone Award. Each year Lawyers Alliance for New York presents Cornerstone Awards to outstanding business and transactional lawyers who have provided superior pro bono legal services to nonprofits that are improving quality of life for low-income New Yorkers. (Winter 2021)

Brenda Berkman (LAW ’78) was interviewed by Preet Bharara for his Stay Tuned podcast. (Winter 2020)

John Ambrecht (LAW ’74) was named Super Lawyer for 2020. This is the 14th time Ambrecht has been selected as a Super Lawyer, an honor he has received every year since 2007. (Summer 2020)

Ben Geizhals (LAW ’74) has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for its 2023 edition. (Summer 2022)

Gary Matsko (LAW ’73) was recognized by the 2022 Massachusetts Super Lawyers for attaining a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. (Fall 2022)

Liberal Studies

Thomas Kowalski (LS ’82) will participate as Chair of "Patent Fundamentals Bootcamp 2020: An Introduction to Patent Drafting, Prosecution, and Litigation" for the Practising Law Institute in New York on June 2-4, 2020. (Winter 2020)

School of Professional Studies

Rafael Hernandez (SPS ’17) accepted an Executive position with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development in Fort Worth, Texas. Rafael was recently an FHA Asset Manager at Walker & Dunlop in Needham, Massachusetts. (Winter 2020)

Kiran Nasir Gore (SPS ’04, GAL ’06) has a legal practice on international dispute resolution and public international law and has co-edited/co-authored a new book International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues (Kluwer Law International, 2023). (Fall 2022)

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development

Ross Iosefson (STEINHARDT ’11) was appointed Program Specialist with the Library of Congress' Integrated Support Services Directorate in Washington, D.C. (Summer 2022)

Jessica Maroney Shillito (STEINHARDT ’03) has been elected to the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals' (ALFDP) 2020 Board of Directors. (Winter 2020)

Aysha Schomburg (STEINHARDT ’99) has been appointed as the new hehad of the U.S. Children's Bureau by President Joe Biden. (Spring 2021)

Shefali Razdan Duggal (STEINHARDT ’96) has been named US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Shefali is a political activist who has served many roles on boards of multiple non-profits and NGOs over the years. (Fall 2022)

Myra Salwen Demeter (STEINHARDT ’73, '86) was appointed a City of Beverly Hills Planning Commissioner. (Summer 2021)

Stern School of Business

Prof. Stanislav E. Shmelev (STERN ’21) has been named as one of the top four most promising young economists in the world by the Institute for New Economic Thinking in New York and the Handelsblatt Newspaper. He created the Environment Europe Foundation with an aim to promote sustainability worldwide and facilitate sustainability transition in governments, cities, regions, and businesses. (Summer 2022)

Katherine Davis (STERN ’16) has recently joined Birmingham, Alabama-based Founders Advisors as a senior associate. (Summer 2021)

Courtney Rizzo (STERN ’15) is serving as a political appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration and was recently promoted to Senior Advisor for Operations at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (Summer 2022)

Douglas L. Tang (STERN ’05) has been named partner at New York-based law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Douglas is in Patterson Belknap’s Employee Benefit and Executive Compensation practice group. (Winter 2022)

Steve L. Conteaguero (STERN ’03) joined Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. (Fall 2020)

Josh Marks (STERN ’03) has joined the Atlanta office of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP. (Summer 2021)

Joseph Patrick Discepola, Esq. (STERN ’03) has launched his own personal injury law firm in South Florida. (Fall 2020)

Vincent Barragan (STERN ’00) was recently elected to the Montgomery Township Committee in New Jersey and is serving as the first Latinx committeeperson in the Township's history. (Winter 2023)

Ali Panjwani (STERN ’98) has been named co-chair of Pryor Cashman's Corporate Group. (Winter 2021)

Derek Dizhi Huang (STERN ’94) is currently the Deputy Secretary General for UN IGO and the Deputy Secretary General of the ISCAHR Court, as well as Colonel General and Deputy Secretary General for ICTO and a permanent member of the Council of Europe. (Spring 2023)

Jason J. Smith (STERN ’94) has founded Smith Legacy Law LLC, a national law firm in Greenwich, Connecticut, to meet the sophisticated legal needs of private-wealth clients at all stages of life. (Summer 2021)

Seth Flaum (STERN ’91) has joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a partner in the firm's New York office. Seth will be part of the firm's technology transactions group where he will focus on representing life sciences clients. (Summer 2022)

Dr. David K.A. Mordecai, Ph.D. (STERN ’87) and Samantha Kappagoda of Risk Economics® made a critical contribution to the Colorado Attorney General’s findings that the Aurora, CO Police Department engages in racially biased policing. As a result of these findings, Attorney General (AG) Philip J. Weiser is pursuing a legally binding consent decree with the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Rescue outlining the steps his office believes necessary to remediate and mitigate deficiencies uncovered by the investigation. (Fall 2021)

Maria Hermida (STERN ’87) has been named the General Counsel at global nonprofit Accion, overseeing all legal areas of their work. (Spring 2022)

Philip C. Wade (STERN ’82) is serving his 2nd term as Mayor of the Village of Bainbridge, NY. (Spring 2021)

Geri Eisenman Pell (STERN ’81) is a Private Wealth Advisor and CEO of Pell Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. She is a 12x Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisor and a Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisor among many other accolades. She has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business News and most recently Yahoo! Finance. (Winter 2022)

Charles Selcer (STERN ’77) has been elected chair of the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy. Selcer is a founding shareholder of Schechter Dokken Kanter Andrews & Selcer Ltd. in Minneapolis. (Winter 2022)

Tandon School of Engineering

Li Li (TANDON ’99) was named partner at Slater Matsil LLP in Dallas, TX. (Winter 2020)

Tisch School of the Arts

Alexa Whiteside (TSOA ’12) was selected for Variety's Legal Impact Report 2022: Up Next recognizing entertainment attorneys who've had an impact on the entertainment industry in 2022. The report was published in the 20th of April 2022 edition of Variety magazine. (Spring 2022)

Caroline J. Manne (TSOA ’07) was hired by McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in the firm’s national Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Commercial Litigation practice groups in Washington. (Summer 2020)

Kimberly Diane Curtis (TSOA ’03) was appointed to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s State Historical Records Advisory Board, a gubernatorially appointed board that serves as the central advisory body for historical records planning and related projects developed and carried out by the state. (Winter 2021)

Justin Whittaker (TSOA ’99) recently formed his own boutique law firm, Whittaker Law, LLC, in Cincinnati, focusing on business litigation, business formation, employment law and estate planning. (Spring 2021)

Isabel Dichiara (TSOA ’94) is the Executive Director of the Westchester County Bar Association. (Winter 2020)

Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service

Bojan Francuz (WAG ’22) was selected as a member of the inaugural class of Carnegie Ethics Fellows by the Carnegie Council on Ethics in International Affairs. The two-year fellowship aims to develop the next generation of ethical leaders from business, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. (Winter 2023)

Hassan Naveed (WAG ’16) was appointed as the executive director of the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), overseeing the office’s interagency efforts to combat hate crimes using community-based programs and provide support to victims of such crimes. (Spring 2023)

Rashawn Davis (WAG ’17) was recently hired as the new Executive Director at the Andrew Goodman Foundation. (Summer 2023)

Nahyun Brianne Yoo (WAG ’16) was selected for the 2023 Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leaders Program which cultivates the next generation of leaders in national security and foreign policy over the course of a year. (Spring 2023)

Jayson Browder (WAG ’15) is included on the Middle East Policy Council's (MEPC) 40 Under 40. MEPC is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank whose mission is to provide policymakers and the public with credible, comprehensive information and analysis on political, economic, and cultural issues pertaining to U.S.-Middle East relations. (Fall 2021)

Morgan Monaco (WAG ’14) recently took over as President of the Prospect Park Alliance and was appointed Prospect Park Administrator by NYC Parks. (Spring 2023)

Alexandros Hatzakis (WAG ’14) has been promoted to Associate Executive Director at FPWA, an anti-poverty policy and advocacy organization committed to economic opportunity and upward mobility, which is celebrating its 100th year anniversary. (Winter 2022)

Victoria Hernandez (WAG ’00) has joined the Urban Resource Institute (URI) as Chief Development Officer. She will expand URI’s philanthropy, fundraise for events, and draft grant proposals for government programs at the local and national levels. (Summer 2022)