Conference Workshop Speaker Bios
Lou Bellande
Louis E. Bellande attended Augustana College and the University of Illinois, and, thereafter, received his law degree from DePaul University in 1967. Lou became a partner at the firm of Pretzel, Stouffer, Nolan and Rooney, Chartered, where he had a business and estate/probate practice. In 1982, he left that 50 person firm to begin a solo practice for about 8 years. He then helped form a firm of believers that has ranged from 5 to 2 partners and he continues to practice in Chicago loop. Lou has served on the boards of insurance companies, businesses, churches, and ministries. For seven years he served as the chairman of the Christian Business Men's Committee of Central Chicago, where he remains active.
He has written and spoken about numerous Christian and legal issues. He has presented seminars on various Christian and secular topics for various groups such as professional athletic teams (The Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Montreal Canadians) and businessmen's meetings and conventions around the country. In his professional capacity, Lou represents many clients, including a television broadcasting and production company, for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, churches, estates, ministries and families. Lou and his wife, Bonnie, live in suburban Chicago.
Byron Borger
Byron, along with his wife, Beth, own and operate Hearts & Minds bookstore in Dallastown, PA, which they have run for 29 years. Before opening their independent bookstore, they worked in campus ministry for the Coalition for Christian Outreach in Pittsburgh, PA. They are active in a Presbyterian church in York, PA and have three children, ages 29, 24 and 18. Byron enjoys being involved in conversations about how the Christian faith influences public life, hearing how people relate their faith to their work, citizenship and leisure. He blogs regularly about books at: www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes.
Jeffrey Brauch
Jeff Brauch received his B.A. with distinction from the University of Wisconsin in 1985. He received his J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 1988. After graduating from law school, Brauch was a law clerk for Justice William Callow of the Wisconsin Supreme Court during the 1988-89 term. He then worked five years as an associate with the Milwaukee law firm Quarles & Brady, where he specialized in commercial litigation. In 1994, Brauch joined the faculty of Regent University School of Law, where he currently serves as dean.
Dean Brauch has taught Civil Procedure, Christian Foundations of Law, Appellate Advocacy, International Human Rights and other courses. He has regularly directed Regent’s Summer Program in International Law and Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
Brauch has published two books, A Higher Law (2008) and an earlier edition, Is Higher Law Common Law (1999). He has also published eighteen articles on topics related to international human rights, integration of faith and law, and ERISA litigation. Brauch and his wife Rebecca were married in 1987, and they have four children: Cyndi, Melissa,
Christina, and Jeffrey.
Whitman Brisky
Whitman Brisky is a 1975 Graduate of Northwestern Law School where he served on the Board of Editors of its Law Review. Since then he has practiced in business and employment law in the Chicago area, representing primarily small businesses and religious organizations. He has been a member of the firm of Mauck & Baker, LLC since 2005. Mr. Brisky is married, lives in Glenview, Illinois and has three grown daughters. Mr. Brisky came to faith more than 30 years ago hearing a sermon entitled “Has Anybody been Saved Here Lately?” He is currently worshipping at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mt. Prospect, Illinois where he serves as an usher.
Dr. Stanley W. Carlson-Thies Carlson-Thies is founder and president of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance (www.IRFAlliance.org), which works to safeguard the religious identity and faith-shaped sevices of faith-based organizations. He previously served as Director of Social Policy Studies at the Center for Public Justice. He was on the initial staff of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and in 2009-2010 served on the church-state taskforce of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
He consults widely with faith-based organizations and with federal and state agencies. His publications include The Freedom of Faith-Based Organizations to Staff on a Religious Basis, with Carl Esbeck and Ron Sider (Center for Public Justice, 2004), and Revolution of Compassion, with Dave Donaldson (Baker Books 2003).
He received the William Bentley Ball Life and Religious Liberty Defense Award from the Center for Law and Religious Freedom (Christian Legal Society) in 2004.
Terrance S. Carter
Terrance Carter, as the Managing Partner of Carters, practices in the area of charity and not-for-profit law, and has been recognized as a leading expert by Lexpert and The Best Lawyers in Canada. Mr. Carter is also a registered Trade-mark Agent and acts as legal counsel to the Toronto office of the national law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP on charitable matters.
Mr. Carter is Chair of the Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and past Chair of the Charity and Not-for-Profit Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA), a past director and founding member of the Christian Legal Fellowship.
Mr. Carter has written numerous articles and been a frequent speaker on legal issues involving charities and not-for-profit organizations. He is a co-editor of Charities Legislation & Commentary, 2011 Edition (LexisNexis Butterworths), a contributing author to the Primer for Directors of Not-for-Profit Corporations (Industry Canada), and The Management of Nonprofit and Charitable Organizations in Canada (LexisNexis Butterworths),and co-author of Branding & Trade-Marks Handbook for Charitable and Not-For-Profit Organizations (LexisNexis Butterworths). Mr. Carter is also the editor of, and a contributor to, Charity Law Bulletin, and Anti-Terrorism and Charity Law Alert, and the websites www.charitylaw.ca, www.churchlaw.ca, www.carters.ca, and www.antiterrorismlaw.ca, as well as Chair of the annual Church & Charity Law™ Seminar.
Samuel B. Casey
Sam is the Managing Director and General Counsel for Jubilee Campaign, Law of Life Project. He served for two years (2009-2010) as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Advocates International, and held the position as the Executive Director of the Christian Legal Society from 1994 to 2008. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and his J.D. from the University of San Francisco. In his varied career, Sam served as law clerk to California Supreme Court Justices Raymond Sullivan and Wiley Manuel and as a deputy district attorney for the city and county of San Francisco.
He has served as Dean of the Trinity Law School in Anaheim, California, as General Counsel of the Western Center for Law and Religious Freedom, and as an adjunct faculty member at Talbot Theological Seminary. He was formerly a partner in the national firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. He is a trained and experienced reconciliation teacher, mediator and arbitrator and has been advocating in cases involving the free exercise of religion and the sanctity of innocent human life for many years. As a pro-life advocate, he has appeared on various radio and television talk shows and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.
Tom Ciesielka
Tom Ciesielka is President of TC Public Relations, has worked in public relations, marketing and business development for more than 25 years and has enjoyed working with clients ranging from law firms to distinguished authors to national and local companies.
In its service to the legal community TC Public Relations has handled publicity for litigation cases, medical malpractice cases, government disputes, civil rights and free speech cases. Tom has secured media placements for his clients in outlets such as: CNN, The New York Times, National Public Radio, USA Today and Good Morning America. He has worked directly with such household names as Verizon Wireless, Disney Television and Yale University Press. He has also served New York Times’ best-selling authors including Andrew Greeley and John Maxwell and has helped promote nationally respected law firms such as Mauck & Baker and The Thomas More Society Pro-Life Law Center.
Ciesielka graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in communications and moved to Chicago shortly thereafter. A Philadelphia native, Tom currently lives with his wife on Chicago’s North Side in Portage Park.
Kimberlee Colby
Kim Colby has worked for the Center for Law and Religious Freedom since graduating from Harvard Law School in 1981. She has represented religious groups in numerous appellate cases, including two cases heard by the United States Supreme Court. She has also filed numerous amicus briefs in federal and state courts. She assisted in congressional passage of the Equal Access Act.
An acknowledged expert on religious issues in public schools, Ms. Colby has prepared several CLS publications including Religious Released Time, A Guide to the Equal Access Act, and Teachers & Religion in Public Schools. Ms. Colby is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Her major was American History with a particular focus on slavery in colonial North America. She is married to Robert Colby and has two sons, Robby and Douglas.
Clay Cook
Clay Cook, executive director of Priority Associates in New York City since July 2010, has worked with Campus Crusade for Christ for the past fifteen years and before moving to the city led ministries in Alabama and East Asia.
Clay graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Chemistry and Biology and is currently pursuing a Masters in Biblical Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is married to Lyn Cook and has twin 6 year old daughters, Hope and Emma. Clay enjoys jazz music, golfing, and college football.
Sylvia Chen
Sylvia Chen is a senior patent operations counsel at Motorola Mobility and manages an administrative team. Prior to joining Motorola, Sylvia was an associate attorney at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP in Washington, D.C., and a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sylvia earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1994 and has a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana. Sylvia is interested in leadership issues in the law profession, particularly related to minority and gender factors. She is married with three children and her biblical hero is Daniel, though she says she is much more like Gideon.
Cynthia Cummingham
Cynthia Cunningham is a litigation paralegal at the law offices of Mauck & Baker, LLC in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, Cynthia’s professional experience includes higher education publishing, real estate title insurance, church administration, and music publishing.
Cynthia has a B.A. in Liberal Arts, and is currently a social science graduate student. Cynthia is a Planning Commissioner for the City of Country Club Hills, Illinois; and she is very active in her church, Kingdom Church International in Park Forest, Illinois. Cynthia has taught new members and new Believer’s classes for her church. Cynthia has managed and travelled nationally with renowned Christian speakers and recording artists. Cynthia lives in Country Club Hills, IL with her husband, Anthony. She has five grown children who all live in the surrounding suburbs of Country Club Hills, IL.
Kristine Cummings
Kristine is a Certified Family Law Specialist in solo practice in Sacramento, CA. She has been involved with CLS since her first year of law school in 1989, and currently serves as Sacramento chapter Secretary/Treasurer.
Besides living an adventurous life with her husband and 5 children, her other passion is sharing with others the joys and challenges of being a Christ-honoring professional woman in the 21st century.
Hon. Samuel Der-Yeghiayan
Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan is a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. Judge Der-Yeghiayan was nominated by the President of the United States as a Federal Judge and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in 2003. He is noteworthy of being the first Armenian immigrant Federal Judge in the history of the United States. Judge Der-Yeghiayan earned his B.A. from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri in 1975 and received his Juris Doctor Degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center (University of New Hampshire Law School) in Concord, New Hampshire in 1978. In 2000, Judge Der-Yeghiayan was appointed as a U.S. Immigration Judge and was assigned to the Chicago Immigration Court where he served until his appointment to the federal bench in 2003. Since joining the federal bench, Judge Der-Yeghiayan has presided over numerous complex and high-profile cases, both civil and criminal. Judge Der-Yeghiayan has, on many occasions, served as the Acting Chief Judge of the United States District Court in Chicago. In addition, in 2009, Judge Der-Yeghiayan had the privilege of serving on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals by designation. In 2008, Evangel University presented Judge Der-Yeghiayan with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Judge Der-Yeghiayan and his wife have been married for 37 years, attend an Assemblies of God church, and have been blessed with two children and two grandchildren.
Jeffrey S. Fowler
Jeff is the husband of one, father of two and grandfather of four (and would be happy to show you pictures). Jeff is a partner in the Chicago firm of Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg, Ltd., a firm that concentrates exclusively in the representation of employers in labor relations, employment litigation, employee benefits and business immigration. Jeff received his J.D., summa cum laude, from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago where he served on the Law Review Board and was a member of the School’s national moot court team. After graduating from law school, Jeff practiced labor and employment law with Mayer, Brown & Platt until 1994 and at Laner Muchin since then. Jeff is active in community and social affairs, having served as soldier, a police officer, an emergency medical technician, a deacon in his church and as a volunteer attorney and Board Member of Administer Justice, a Christian Legal Aid provider in Chicago’s western suburbs. Jeff has been active with the Christian Legal Society since 1998, having served the Northern Illinois Chapter as its President, Vice-President, and Secretary and currently as a Board Member.
Joal Hill
Joal Hill is the Director of Research Ethics and Chairman of the Institutional Review Board at Advocate Health Care in Illinois and teaches research ethics at Midwestern University in Downers Grove. She joined Advocate in 1999 after having held an Associate Faculty position in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In addition to clinical consultation and education she has authored hospital policy on patient rights, advance directives, organ transplant, and HIV testing.
Ms. Hill received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Memphis State University, a JD from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), and an MPH from Columbia University (New York). She received her PhD in Medical Humanities at the Institute for Medical Humanities in Galveston, Texas and was co-recipient of the Harry Hunt Ransom Fellowship in the Medical Humanities in 2003. She is also a member of the New York State Bar.
From 2002 through 2004 Ms. Hill was a regular contributor to “Care and Compassion,” an ethics column in The Lancet. In 2000 she co-authored, with Thu Tram T. Nguyen and Thomas R. Cole, the chapter “Visible Lives: Life Stories and Ritual in American Nursing Homes,” in Caring for the Elderly in Japan and the US: Practices and Policies, ed. Susan Orpett Long (New York: Rutledge).
Hon. Paul Herbert
Judge Paul Herbert is a lifelong resident of Columbus, Ohio and has been licensed to practice law for 23 years. Judge Herbert and his wife Barbara have two grown daughters. Judge Herbert graduated from The Ohio State University in 1983 and worked his way through night law school graduating from Capital University Law School in 1987. After a brief time in the private practice of law, Judge Herbert became an Assistant County Prosecutor. After several years, Judge Herbert served as Chief of the Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk’s Office where he eventually assumed and was elected Clerk of Court in 1996. Judge Herbert was elected to the Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus, Ohio in 2003 and was re-elected to that position in 2009. While serving on the court, Judge Herbert started a specialized program in the Fall of 2009 focusing on human trafficking victims charged with the misdemeanor offense of solicitation. The results have been nothing short of miraculous. Women in Columbus, Ohio now have a safe path to exit this vicious lifestyle, they are being reunited with their families, not committing new offenses, furthering their educations and giving back to the community in significant ways.
Dr. Dennis Hollinger
Dennis Hollinger is President and the Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA. Prior to assuming his present role in 2008 he served as President and Professor of Christian Ethics at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, PA. Over the years Dennis has served in administrative, pastoral and seminary teaching ministries and has served as an adjunct or visiting professor at several seminaries internationally. He is also a visiting professor of Christian Ethics at Trinity International University, in the graduate program in Bioethics.
Dennis is a frequent speaker in churches, pastors’ conferences, seminaries, colleges and academic forums. He is the author of four books, including The Meaning of Sex: Christian Ethics and the Moral Life (Baker), Head, Heart, Hands: Bringing Together Christian Thought, Passion and Action (Inter Varsity Press), and Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World (Baker). He has authored nearly seventy articles and has served as the co-editor for the Eerdmans book series, Critical Issues in Bioethics.
Dennis received the B.A. from Elizabethtown College, the M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Drew University, and did post-doctoral studies at Oxford University. He and his wife Mary Ann live in Beverly, MA and have two adult daughters and one grandchild, Ella Grace.
Natalie Lange
Natalie Lange is an associate for The Prinz Law Firm, P.C. where she represents executive employees in matters ranging from negotiations of employment contracts and separation agreements to employment discrimination or retaliation claims. Practicing also in the area of general business law, Ms. Lange drafts corporate documents to help entrepreneurs launch their businesses and build their dreams.
In representing physicians, Ms. Lange identifies issues in physician employment agreements and guides her clients through the negotiation process. Ms. Lange also advises clients in connection with strategic planning and career development. Ms. Lange completed her undergraduate studies at Arizona State University, where she double majored in Economics and Justice Studies. After graduation, Ms. Lange joined the Americorps Teach For America Program (TFA). Upon completion of the TFA Program, Ms. Lange was hired to work as a legal assistant for Mauck & Baker, LLC where she learned what it means to practice as a Christian attorney. After her experience with Mauck & Baker and after observing the inequities in social justice that many of her TFA students experienced, Ms. Lange was inspired to pursue her juris doctorate at Northern Illinois University College of Law.
Natalie Lange grew up in Belvidere, Illinois and still attends church in the area. As a member of Heartland Community Church in Rockford, Illinois, Ms. Lange enjoys volunteering with the children’s LAUNCH program where she teaches young children about the Lord. Currently, Ms. Lange lives in the Wicker Park area of Chicago, Illinois.
Brent McBurney
Brent was appointed President and CEO of Advocates International (“AI”) on November 5, 2010 and assumed that position effective January 1, 2011. Prior to joining AI, he served the Body of Christ through the Christian Legal Society (“CLS”) where he was Director of Legal Aid Ministries, Director of Attorney Ministries and Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Lawyer magazine. Brent was on the staff of CLS from 2004 through 2010.
Prior to joining CLS, Brent served for a number of years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington. In addition, Brent served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert H. Hodges, Jr. on the United States Court of Federal Claims. He has considerable ministry experience with his church, Christ Our Shepherd, Prison Fellowship International and Advocates International, among others.
Brent received his BA in Russian Language and Political Science in 1992 from Baylor University and his JD in 1999 from George Mason University School of Law, where he was CLS Chapter President, Student Bar Association representative, a member of the GMUSL American Inn of Court, and the Jessup International Moot Court team. Brent is licensed to practice law in New York and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and a number of other federal courts.
Brent and his wife Elizabeth reside in Northern Virginia with their son, Ian, and daughter, Sarah Louise.
Candace McCune
Candace is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in civil practice in Colorado including insurance defense litigation and the past 10 years in family law. Her practice is now limited to mediation, arbitration and Christian conciliation. Candace is a Certified Christian ConciliatorTM through Peacemaker Ministries with extensive experience in Christian mediation and arbitration of family law cases, contract disputes, court case settlements, and other focus areas under the Christian Conciliation Guidelines. She conducts trainings on conflict coaching, mediation and arbitration for Peacemaker Ministries and others and has taught the Negotiations and Conflict Management course at Colorado Christian University. Candace is a member of the Colorado Bar Association Family Law Section and serves as a director of the Christian Legal Society.
Hon. Susan J. McDunn
Judge McDunn is a seventeen-year veteran trial judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago, Illinois. She lives in downtown Chicago, and is a life-long Chicago evangelical Catholic Christian active in her church, the cathedral of the Archdeiocese of Chicago. She graduated in 1980 from DePaul University College of Law near the top of her class. Prior to becoming a judge, she served as a law clerk for the Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and was an attorney in private practice, including with the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis.
Michael Mosher
Michael P. Mosher became involved with the Christian Legal Society in the early 1970s as a student at DePaul University Law School. In 1976, he helped to establish a faith-based legal aid clinic known as the Austin Christian Law Center. Michael then started the law firm of Mosher & Associates in 1984, focusing on tax-exempt religious, charitable, educational organizations. In 2010, the law firm became Mosher & Wagenmaker, LLC, continuing to represent hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout the United States and in many foreign countries. Michael teaches the “Law of Nonprofits” at three universities in Chicago, which is part of his strong commitment to encourage attorneys and others to learn about the importance and effect of nonprofit organizations that improve the quality of society. Michael and his wife Susan have been married since 1972, and they have three adult children and one grandchild - so far.
Jhan Moskowitz
Mr. Moskowitz is the North American Director of Jews for Jesus. He holds a DMin from Trinity Divinity School. In the past he has chaired the Harvest Committee (committee of local Messianic congregations and ministries in the Chicago area), lead workshops and devotions for Christian Legal Society’s Law Student Ministries and has been an invited speaker for Promise Keepers. Mr. Moskowitz has also had published articles in the Jews for Jesus newletter and The Alliance Witness.
Amy Parrish
Amy J. Parrish is an associate attorney with Mauck & Baker, LLC, in Chicago, representing congregations and individuals in every aspect of the exercise of their religious liberties and ministries, including negotiations, administrative proceedings and litigation in state and federal courts. In addition, Amy is an Allied Attorney of and has been commissioned as a Blackstone Fellow by the Alliance Defense Fund. She received her J.D. in May, 2005, from Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana. Amy is married to the Rev. David Parrish, and they are the proud parents of two young children.
David Schlachter
David D. Schlachter serves as Vice President of the The Institute of Christian Conciliation for Peacemaker Ministries, overseeing the delivery of mediation and arbitration services for the resolution of conflicts and disputes for individuals, businesses, and organizations, as well as serving as a mediator and arbitrator. He oversees the delivery of assistance and intervention services to churches experiencing conflict and working with denominational groups to prepare their staff to deliver church assistance and intervention services.
He is also part of the team reaching out to businesses and organizations seeking workplace conflict resolution training and services. He is on the teaching staff for conciliator training provided by Peacemaker Ministries, including foundational training for conciliators and advanced training through the Certification Program.
A Certified Christian Conciliator™ and University of Denver Law School graduate, David practiced law for 26 years in Denver, Colorado, specializing in business, real estate, and commercial litigation, before joining the Peacemaker Ministries staff. He has taught biblical peacemaking in his church, for Peacemaker Ministries, and internationally. He has been married to his wife, Carol for 37 years, and has three adult children and a granddaughter.
H. Robert Showers
Rob formed Simms Showers LLP, originally a Baltimore, Md.-based law firm, in 2002 as a principal partner and heads up the Northern Virginia/Metropolitan D.C. office. His practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation and nonprofit, tax exempt and business law. Rob has started and run a couple of nonprofits including National Law Center for Children and Families and NonprofitChurchlaw.org. Rob has lectured extensively nationwide and written articles on church and nonprofit law, sexual misconduct, and child sexual exploitation. He presently is the Co-author of the Nonprofit Church Law newsletters with national distribution. He is the co-author of Legal Hotspots in the Church and Nonprofits (2003), a series of Child Protection and Risk Management memos for churches and nonprofits, and numerous law review articles including Church Law in Virginia (pending 2010). In 1977, Rob graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University with honors in History. In 1980, he graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law where he served with distinction on the Law Review and Moot Court Board.
Theresa Sidebotham
Theresa Sidebotham is an attorney with Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons, LLP, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her practice focuses on religious institution law, education law, and litigation. She served as a Judicial Clerk for the Hon. Alan M. Loeb and the Hon. David M. Furman of the Colorado Court of Appeals. Theresa was named, a 2010 “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Colorado Law Week.
Theresa frequently speaks on issues of education and religion and has authored many articles, including A New Ruling Likely Requires Revision of Activity Releases, RJ&L News Release, April 2011, Serving Children with Disabilities, Juvenile Law Benchbook for Colorado, July 2009, “Looking After Orphans” at New Life Church, RJ&L First Freedom, October, 2009, and An Overview of Special Education Law — Part II, The Colorado Lawyer, March 2009.
Theresa earned her B.A. in Literature from Wheaton College and received her J.D. in 2005 from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law where she graduated 1st in her class. She is a member of the El Paso County and Colorado Bar Associations and the Christian Legal Society.
Hon. Robert Spence
Judge Robert Spence graduated from Taylor University in 1977 and from John Marshall Law School in 1980. From 1980 to 1995, he served as an assistant state’s attorney in Kane and DuPage Counties, and then as an assistant attorney general under Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan from 1995 to 2001, as the Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Bob to fill a vacancy on the bench in 2001 and he was elected as a Circuit Judge in 2004. He has served in the Family Division for over 5 years, the Criminal Division for 2 years, and most recently, in the Law Jury Division for 3 years. Bob has been married to his wife, Janet, for almost 30 years. They have two daughters, Katy (19 and a student at Taylor) and Carley (24 and currently doing a one-year internship with International Teams in Turkey). Bob and Janet live in Batavia, Illinois, and they are active members of Christ Community Church in St. Charles, where Bob served as an elder and practices his passion for leading short-term mission trips to Mexico and Nicaragua.
Gideon Strauss
Gideon Strauss is the CEO of the Center for Public Justice (http://www.cpjustice.org/) and editor of its publication Capital Commentary (http://www.capitalcommentary.org/).
Gideon was active in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa during his teens and twenties, and served as an interpreter for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/).
He is married to Angela (a student at Fuller Theological Seminary) and father to Tala and Hannah (students at Gordon College). Gideon worships at Grace Pasadena (Presbyterian).
Bruce Strom
Attorney Bruce Strom is one of the nation’s leading advocates for justice for the poor. A graduate of the University of Illinois College Of Law, Bruce had a successful career in private practice as the senior partner of a multi-office law practice. As a litigator he argued cases all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In 2000 he began Administer Justice as a part-time information-only clinic in response to training and encouragement from John Robb. In 2002 he left the private practice of law to join the ranks of the poor he was serving so Administer Justice could be a full-time, full-service organization. Bruce’s wife Helen and twin sons, Joseph and Daniel, are all involved in carrying out Administer Justice’s mission to administer justice through a comprehensive program of educational outreach, legal assistance, financial counseling and conflict resolution services to empower the powerless, give hope to the hopeless and show mercy and compassion to those in need.
Today Administer Justice has served more than 18,000 low-income clients in need of protection from fraud, abuse, homelessness and lack of support. More than 200 volunteer attorneys join with more than 400 non-attorney volunteers in delivering legal help and gospel hope to the widow, the fatherless, the alien and the poor fulfilling Administer Justice’s call from Zechariah 7:9-10.
Mary Swedo
Mrs. Swedo is recognized as a Pennsylvania Certified Paralegal (Pa.C.P.) through the Keystone Alliance of Paralegal Associations and is currently working on achieving national paralegal registration through the NFPA® PACE™ credentialing program. She has thirty years of combined legal assistant/paralegal experience, serving in both the private sector and as an independent contractor. She has also earned distinguished specialized certificates from The Washington Online Learning Institute in both Intellectual Property and Corporate Law. During her early career, she worked as an independent contractor, preparing original court transcripts for the Carroll County and Howard County, Maryland Circuit Court systems. She also has a background in personal injury, Social Security disability, workers compensation, domestic, collections, labor relations/arbitration, landlord/tenant matters, litigation, bankruptcy/creditors’ rights and some estates and trusts matters. In her current role as corporate paralegal at Adhesives Research, Inc., Mrs. Swedo focuses on corporate law, contracts and intellectual property matters.
Lura Unger
Lura finds her membership in the local and national CLS to be an important part of growing as a Christian and serving others. She is the coordinator of the all-volunteer Wichita Christian Legal Aid program which serves three low income areas of Wichita
She enjoys being with family and friends, serving in her church, the beauty of nature, walking, reading, going to operas, and learning stained glass techniques. One of her favorite places in Kansas is the gorgeous Flint Hills and she loves to visit with people about the wonders and fascinations of many other places in the state.
Lura enjoys the opportunity God has provided her to serve the needs of the clients and attorneys at Shultz Law Office in Wichita, Kansas, and has been with the firm as a legal secretary/legal assistant and office coordinator since 1992. She started in the legal profession in 1983 while a young homemaker and mother of two. She graduated in 1971 from Kansas State University and received certification as a Professional Legal Secretary in 1991. Although home economics extension and family and child development was her college major, she finds that the consumer education and working with families have supplemented her interest in the legal issues that the field of law provides.
Jeffery J. Ventrella
Jeffery Ventrella serves as senior counsel and senior vice-president of stragetic training for the Alliance Defense Fund at its Team Resource Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Since joining ADF in 2000, he has headed the ADF Blackstone Legal Fellowship, a unique legal internship program that has graduated more than 700 outstanding law students. Mr. Ventrella also leads the ADF National Litigation Academy, which has trained more than 1,300 allied attorneys across the nation in litigating constitutional law cases.
He regularly lectures in churches, campuses, and conferences throughout the United States and has lectured on six continents. Mr. Ventrella has testified before a Senate subcommittee concerning the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment and his professional writings have appeared in legal journals, law reviews, and periodicals. His book, The Cathedral Builder: Pursuing Cultural Beauty (2007) is part of ADF’s Blackstone Core Curriculum Project.
Prior to joining the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) in 2000, Mr. Ventrella litigated for nearly 15 years, concentrating his work in complex commercial and insurance litigation, financial litigation, environmental and natural resource litigation, and appellate advocacy. He is a member of the Idaho State Bar and is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.
After graduating first in his high school class, he received the B.M.E. degree (magna cum laude) from the University of Northern Colorado. He then attended law school, and after serving as the Production Editor for the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, he received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Mr. Ventrella is married, and with his wife, Heather, enjoys the challenge of rearing four very active boys and one beautiful daughter: Jefferson, Chandler, Kirklan, Jackson, and McKenzie.
Sally Wagenmaker
Sally's practice focuses on providing legal services to nonprofit organizations, including churches and other faith-based organizations. Her firm represents clients owning specialized properties such as houses of worship, schools, and social service centers in real estate matters including property tax exemptions, shared occupancy arrangements, and property transfers. Sally’s corporate and tax work includes development of new tax-exempt entities, providing guidance for effective nonprofit governance, and other operational legal issues. In addition, she regularly advises and counsels the firm’s nonprofit clients on employment matters including contracts, employment policies, unemployment insurance, and compliance with other employment laws particularly as they relate to nonprofit issues such as volunteers and clergy. Sally also regularly teaches on nonprofit law topics including governance issues, tax reporting, legal audits, and real estate issues. She previously worked in legal aid in Chicago’s west side neighborhood of North Lawndale and in other private law firms where she concentrated on employment law.
Sally has been actively involved with CLS since law school and is an avid national conference attender. She currently serves as President of her local CLS chapter in Chicago as well as national board member. Both professionally and personally, Sally has worked and volunteered with numerous other community organizations, including the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, the Cabrini-Green Legal Aid Clinic, and the Lawndale Christian Health Center. She is a member of the IRS TE/GE Advisory Council for the Great Lakes Region. Sally also serves as a volunteer mediator with the Center for Conflict Resolution, a state-funded Chicago organization that provides court-referred and other mediation services. Sally is married to Dan Wagenmaker, and they have two children. They are long-time members of Lawndale Christian Reformed Church.