Alumni Association Board welcomes new leaders, members

Mitchell Hamline School of Law is proud to welcome new leaders and members of the Alumni Association Board, a key group of individuals who serve the community of more than 23,000 law school alumni and foster involvement, philanthropy, and connections with students and one another. The board’s leadership is helmed by President Caroline Moos ’19 and President-Elect Alisha Marie S. Nair ’10 and welcomes 11 new alumni, bringing the board to 20 total members.

Caroline Moos is an associate at Lathrop GPM practicing civil litigation. Prior to joining Lathrop, she clerked for the Hon. Lucinda E. Jesson on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and worked as an associate at Robins Kaplan and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. She received Mitchell Hamline’s Student Award of Merit in 2019.

“Serving as president of the Alumni Association Board is a humbling opportunity to give back to a community that has given me so much,” said Moos. “I’m excited to work with my fellow board members to strengthen alumni engagement—in Minnesota and beyond—and ensure our alumni community continues to mentor, support, and inspire future Mitchell Hamline graduates.”

The Alumni Association Board is responsible for several annual keystone events, including the Alumni Awards—which this year are being recognized at the Mitchell Hamline Celebration on Oct. 1—the annual Hon. Steven E. Rau Memorial Lecture, and alumni-hosted receptions with President and Dean Camille M. Davidson throughout the U.S., as well as supporting other alumni events throughout the year like the Justice Esther M. Tomljanovich Celebration of Women in Law Tea. The board also gives the annual Student Award of Merit to deserving graduates and supports alumni volunteer opportunities, such as mentorship.

Alisha Marie S. Nair, president-elect of the board, has more than 15 years of legal experience in litigation, regulatory enforcement, and public service. She is senior litigation counsel with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline, teaching trial advocacy. She is committed to nonprofit, alumni, and community leadership and also currently serves as parliamentarian of the Howard University Alumni Association and president of the Peachtree City Firefighters Foundation.

“After serving on the Alumni Association Board for the past four years, I am honored and excited to step into this new leadership role,” said Nair. “I believe strong, thoughtful governance is essential to moving any organization forward, and I look forward to working alongside President Caroline Moos and our fellow board members to deepen alumni engagement, strengthen our alumni community, and build meaningful connections between our graduates and Mitchell Hamline.”

Nair, based in Georgia, continued, “As an out-of-state alumna, it is especially meaningful to give back to a law school and community that have played such an important role in shaping my career and commitment to service.”

In addition to Moos and Nair, returning members of the board include Kevin Cassidy ’16, McKaia Dykema ’23, Sarah Soucie Eyberg ’11, Amber Goodwin ’21, Nicole Harris ’19, Katherine Raths ’22, and Evan C. Tsai ’07.

Director of Alumni and External Relations Barbara Klas ’91, who coordinates the Alumni Association Board, said, “It is an honor to help strengthen the connections among our 23,000-plus alumni around the world, students, faculty, and the broader legal community. I’m passionate about creating meaningful opportunities for our alumni to stay engaged, give back, and help shape the future of Mitchell Hamline that helped shape all of us.”

The board’s 11 new members are enthusiastic about supporting their alumni community and alma mater through service to the law school. They come from a wide variety of class years, locations, experiences, and practice areas.

“The Alumni Association Board provides an exciting opportunity to continue fostering my connection with the school and with my fellow alumni,” wrote one new member, Marcelo Neblett ’20, in his personal statement to join the board. A second-generation attorney and second-generation Mitchell Hamline graduate, Neblett’s connection with the law school started with his parents: his father was an adjunct professor, and his mother was a fellow alum. He currently serves as a senior assistant county attorney in the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office Civil Division, where he is the lead attorney for the property tax appeal team.

Joining him on the board are:

Clint Campion ’99 is an owner of Clendaniel Heyman Campion (formerly Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans & Filippi) in Anchorage, Alaska.

Libby Christu ’21 serves as corporate legal counsel at Securian Financial in Minneapolis. She also has taught as an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline.

Dena Ehrich ’04 is vice president and associate chief intellectual property (IP) counsel for 3M’s Transportation and Electronics Business Group in St. Paul, Minn. She also serves as corporate secretary for 3M Innovative Properties Company.

Ashley Pattain ’25 is the director of compliance and regulatory affairs at Canvas Health in Minneapolis and the founder of Pattain Legal Help, a low-bono and pro bono family law practice.

Reen Reinhardt ’24 serves as revisor of statutes for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Tony Stauber ’19 is a partner at Gustafson Gluek in Minneapolis, where he practices antitrust law representing consumers and small businesses in class action lawsuits.

Amy Taber ’04 is a former practicing attorney, who retired from being AVP, assistant general counsel at Prime Therapeutics in Minneapolis and remains deeply engaged in the legal profession and larger community.

Jessica Tanem ’24 is a principal at FS Vector in San Diego, Calif., where she advises financial services companies such as banks and fintechs on the regulatory, compliance, and strategic dimensions of building and scaling their businesses.

Samantha Zuelke ’20 is an associate attorney with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath in Minneapolis. She previously clerked at the Minnesota Court of Appeals for Judges Tracy M. Smith, Randall J. Slieter ’86, and Peter M. Reyes, Jr. ’97.

Valerie Alexander ’25 is the co-founder of And Justice For All, a national nonprofit law firm based in Chicago dedicated to representing people who have been wrongfully convicted and driving substantive change in the criminal justice system.

“Mitchell Hamline invested in me, and serving on the board feels like one small way I can give back and invest in my alma mater, which I hold so dear,” wrote Alexander. A nontraditional student who attended Mitchell Hamline later in life through the blended-learning enrollment option, she fondly remembers her law school experience and the incredible relationships she was able to form because of it.

“Serving alongside other Alumni Board members would give me the chance to help strengthen that sense of community—that same feeling I had when I was there and that made such an impact on me. I want to help ensure that current students and alumni feel connected to something that lasts well beyond graduation.”

New Alumni Association Board members