2024 Distinguished Alumni Awards
April 4, 2024
The Distinguished Law Alumni Awards honor alumni who have obtained distinction in their professional or academic careers. Those honored share the same characteristics of leadership, progressive thinking, high standards, uncompromising integrity, commitment, courage, and confidence. Their careers serve as models for WashULaw students and alumni.
2024 Dean’s Medal Award
The Dean’s Medal is a rare honor and recognizes an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the law school, including inspiring others and enhancing the school’s progress.
2024 Dean’s Medal Honoree
Howard Cayne, JD ’79
Employer: Retired Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP
Howard Cayne is a retired partner of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, where he counseled financial and other institutions on a broad range of litigation, regulatory, compliance, and transactional matters. He has played a prominent role in much of the most significant federal banking litigation of the past four decades, and he has served as trial counsel in a number of cases resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in total judgments against the United States. Before joining Arnold & Porter in 1984, Howard served as a senior attorney in the Enforcement and Compliance Division of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Howard’s broad litigation experience includes the defense and prosecution of multibillion-dollar breach of contract actions involving the federal government, as well as litigation and settlement of major class and derivative actions against large financial institutions. He also represented plaintiff utilities in prosecuting claims against the federal government arising out of the United States’ failure to remove spent nuclear fuel stored at commercial nuclear power plants and dispose of it in accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. He served as an adjunct instructor in banking law regulation and enforcement at Boston University. Among the wide array of actions led by Howard over the course of his career, the matter of which he is most proud is the successful representation of fellow alumnus Andrew McCabe, JD ’93, former Acting and Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in an action involving wrongful termination and other claims, the settlement of which, in the words of Mr. McCabe, “encourages the men and women of the FBI to continue to protect the American people…without fear of political retaliation.”
Howard earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester in 1976. He was elected as a member of the Washington University Board of Trustees in 2010, serves as the chair of the law school’s Board of Advisors since 2014 and with his wife Caroline, served on Washington University’s Parent Council.
Howard and Caroline established and endowed the Howard and Caroline Cayne Distinguished Professorship in the School of Law. In addition, they have established and supported numerous funds to honor Law faculty and other members of the Washington University community, including Law professors Mike Greenfield and Dick Helmholz, former Law Dean Kent Syverud, former Brown School Dean Eddie Lawlor, and former Chair of Music Dolores Pesce.
The couple has three children, Allison Cayne, AB ’07, MSW ’17; Elizabeth Rosen ’AB 11; Brian Cayne; and five grandchildren: Lee, Teddy, Palmer, Elliott, and Sam. The family has deep ties with Washington University, so much so that both daughters married Washington University School of Medicine faculty! Daniel Ludwig (Allison) completed his radiology residency (2019) and fellowship (2020) at the School of Medicine, and Max Rosen AB ’10, MD ’15 (Elizabeth) earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from WashU; both currently are assistant professors at the School of Medicine.
2024 WashU Law Distinguished Alumni Awards Honorees
The WashULaw Distinguished Alumni Awards honor alumni who have obtained distinction in their careers and exemplify characteristics of leadership, integrity, commitment, courage, and confidence.
2024 Distinguished Alumnus
Gregory A. Hewett, JD ’94
Employer: Principal, GH Consulting
Greg Hewett is a trusted leader, problem solver, and growth driver with experience in public and private companies of all sizes and across diverse industries. Greg serves on the board of directors, as chair of the audit committee and as a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee of Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE: GOLF), the global leader in the design, development, manufacture and distribution of performance-driven golf products, and steward of the Titleist and FootJoy brands. He also serves on the board of directors of Nice Holdings, the parent of Evertrak, which is the leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of composite railroad ties composed of recycled plastic and glass.
As the principal of GH Consulting, Greg is a trusted advisor to corporate boards, executive teams, institutional investors and fund managers on strategy, capital structure, investments, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and tax structuring. Previously, Greg served as a Senior Managing Director (Partner) of The Blackstone Group, L.P., where he led a multidisciplinary team responsible for complex transactions on behalf of Blackstone funds/businesses and third-party clients. Prior to joining Blackstone, Greg served as an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston and at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette and practiced law at the international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.
Greg’s daughter Hope is a sophomore in the Washington University Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Greg also serves on the Board of Advisors of the Washington University School of Law, on the University’s Institutional Conflicts of Interests Committee, and on the Board of Trustees of The Carver Project. Greg earned his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Tulsa.
2024 Distinguished Alumnus
Harry Joe, JD ’75
Employer: Partner and Member, JMA Firm PLLC
Harry J. Joe graduated from the Washington University School of Law in 1975 and returned to Dallas, Texas where he became a prominent and distinguished practicing attorney in the field of Immigration and Nationality Law. He was among the first attorneys in Texas to receive certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Immigration and Nationality Law. He established prominent corporate immigration law practice groups at the Dallas law firms of Jenkens and Gilchrist, Winstead, and Jackson Lewis. He was a founder and is a member of JMA Firm PLLC, a Global Business Immigration Law Firm in Dallas.
Harry has served as a member of Washington University School of Law Board of Advisors since 2005. Harry attributes his love for the school to the fact that the Dean of Admissions reached out to him in the late fall of 1971 and encouraged him to apply for admission, informed him his 1L class had the nation’s highest number of women and minority students, and promoted the school’s continuous commitment of inclusivity and outreach to its alumni following graduation. As to the latter, Harry felt very close to Professor Emeritus David Becker who became his mentor in life. In addition to his service to the law school, Harry has served as the Dallas-Fort Worth Eliot Society Regional Chair for Washington University and was the recipient of the Regional Cabinet Award.
Harry’s commitment of service extended beyond his beloved institution. He currently serves as the Vice-Chair and Designated Chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the University of North Texas where he earned his undergraduate degree. He also serves as member of the Board of Visitors of the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law and previously as member of the Board of Directors for the Park Cities Presbyterian Church Foundation in Dallas. Harry’s civic service has included Chairman and Member, City of Dallas Judicial Nominating Commission and City of Irving Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem.
Harry is married to Elizabeth Royse Joe, his wife of 54 years, and they have three children, David, Jason, and Carolyn, and six grandchildren. Harry’s hobbies include golf, fly-fishing, and reading history.
Susan Beth McCollum, JD ’15
2024 Distinguished Young Alumna
Valerie Boisgard, LLM ’15
Employer: Partner and Member of BOISGARD Law Office, Paris
Valérie is a French attorney and a member of the Paris Bar since March 1999, specializing in white collar crimes and press law. She graduated from the Paris II University, Robert Schuman Strasbourg III University and the Institute of Criminology of Paris. Her interest in comparative law which was reflected in her choice of essays (“Surrogate motherhood in German, English and French Law” and “Is the Internet a vehicle for criminal irresponsibility?”) naturally led her to apply to the Washington University School of Law online program for foreign lawyers in 2013. She graduated with the first cohort in 2015.
After 20 years working with the G.W. Goldnadel Law office as a senior attorney, Valérie created her own law firm in Paris in 2019. She plans on opening a secondary office in Nice. In the context of a growing movement in favor of criminalization of business law, she counsels and represents business leaders in contractual or statutory situations that could potentially present a criminal risk. As a trial attorney, she has been involved in sensitive and high-profile cases such as the “Angolate” (also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua affair), the Clearstream Scandal or the Elysée Poll trial. As a criminal attorney, Valérie also represents victims before criminal courts and, in particular, the parents and brother of the first individual killed in the terrorist attack of January 2015.
Valérie is member of the “Association des avocats pénalistes” (Association of Criminal Lawyers) The Association fights for respect for individual freedoms and against any attack on fundamental principles and any infringement of the rights of the defense that may result, in particular, from the enactment or application of the law and regulatory texts in France.
These goals can be summed up in this sentence “Every woman, every man deserves to be understood. To be a lawyer is to move from the abstraction of this evidence to the reality, often disturbing, but always fascinating, of the truth of beings.” Hervé Témime, founding member and first president of the association.
Valérie is also a donor member of the association “Toutes à l’école” (All [girls] at school). Faced with the observation that more than half of the world’s out-of-school children are girls, the association offers high-level schooling to the most disadvantaged Cambodian girls in order to lead them to a profession that will bring them freedom and dignity. The care of the pupils is comprehensive: education, food, and medical follow-up (general medicine, vaccinations, dental and ophthalmological care). Support is also provided to families. The level of education of girls is a sign of a country’s degree of freedom and democracy.
Valérie helped to create the Chamber orchestra of the Paris Bar in 1999 where she was a founding member until 2022. This orchestra mainly composed of lawyers played several concerts and merged twice with the London Lawyers’ music for concerts in London and Paris. Valérie’s hobbies aside from violin playing in the Melun Val de Seine Regional Orchestra include riding and diving.
2024 Distinguished Young Alumna
Elizabeth McDonald, JD ’09
Employer: Deputy Chief, Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Elizabeth McDonald is a Deputy Chief in the Disability Rights Section of the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Liz leads the Section’s efforts to enforce the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits the unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities. She started with the Civil Rights Division in 2014 as a trial attorney and joined the Section’s senior management team in 2021.
Liz supervised the trial team in United States v. Florida (S.D. Fla.), a landmark case where the Department secured the opportunity for hundreds of children with disabilities in Florida to receive the services they need to live at home with their families, instead of in nursing facilities. For this work, Liz received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in 2023, the second-highest award given by the Department of Justice. She also has litigated a number of other cases to achieve greater access, inclusion, and equal opportunity for people with disabilities, including in the areas of transportation, education, and medical services.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Liz served as a law clerk to the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and worked as an associate at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. She received her B.A. from Georgetown University in 2004.
During her time at Washington University School of Law, Liz was involved in the Women’s Law Caucus and served as an instructor for the Women & the Law undergraduate class. She also worked as a research assistant to Professor Susan Appleton, who has been an important mentor and friend throughout Liz’s career.
Liz and her husband, Eric Powers, JD ’09, are the proud parents of three children. They are both grateful for the law school’s admitted students housing weekend, where they met nearly two decades ago.
Valérie is a French attorney and a member of the Paris Bar since March 1999, specializing in white collar crimes and press law. She graduated from the Paris II University, Robert Schuman Strasbourg III University and the Institute of Criminology of Paris. Her interest in comparative law which was reflected in her choice of essays (“Surrogate motherhood in German, English and French Law” and “Is the Internet a vehicle for criminal irresponsibility?”) naturally led her to apply to the Washington University School of Law online program for foreign lawyers in 2013. She graduated with the first cohort in 2015.
After 20 years working with the G.W. Goldnadel Law office as a senior attorney, Valérie created her own law firm in Paris in 2019. She plans on opening a secondary office in Nice. In the context of a growing movement in favor of criminalization of business law, she counsels and represents business leaders in contractual or statutory situations that could potentially present a criminal risk. As a trial attorney, she has been involved in sensitive and high-profile cases such as the “Angolate” (also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua affair), the Clearstream Scandal or the Elysée Poll trial. As a criminal attorney, Valérie also represents victims before criminal courts and, in particular, the parents and brother of the first individual killed in the terrorist attack of January 2015.
Valérie is member of the “Association des avocats pénalistes” (Association of Criminal Lawyers) The Association fights for respect for individual freedoms and against any attack on fundamental principles and any infringement of the rights of the defense that may result, in particular, from the enactment or application of the law and regulatory texts in France.
These goals can be summed up in this sentence “Every woman, every man deserves to be understood. To be a lawyer is to move from the abstraction of this evidence to the reality, often disturbing, but always fascinating, of the truth of beings.” Hervé Témime, founding member and first president of the association.
Valérie is also a donor member of the association “Toutes à l’école” (All [girls] at school). Faced with the observation that more than half of the world’s out-of-school children are girls, the association offers high-level schooling to the most disadvantaged Cambodian girls in order to lead them to a profession that will bring them freedom and dignity. The care of the pupils is comprehensive: education, food, and medical follow-up (general medicine, vaccinations, dental and ophthalmological care). Support is also provided to families. The level of education of girls is a sign of a country’s degree of freedom and democracy.
Valérie helped to create the Chamber orchestra of the Paris Bar in 1999 where she was a founding member until 2022. This orchestra mainly composed of lawyers played several concerts and merged twice with the London Lawyers’ music for concerts in London and Paris. Valérie’s hobbies aside from violin playing in the Melun Val de Seine Regional Orchestra include riding and diving.
The Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honorees
The Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award honors individuals who have made a significant impact on the Clinical Education Program, who have dedicated their careers to public service, and who have obtained a distinction in their professional or academic careers.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Clarissa Gaff, JD ’06
Employer: Executive Director, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid
Clarissa Gaff is the Executive Director of Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Inc., which provides legal services to low-income individuals in 65 counties in southern and central Illinois. She began her career with Land of Lincoln in 2006 as a staff attorney, handling a variety of areas of law. Clarissa also served as a Managing Attorney before becoming Executive Director in 2018. She has taught civil practice at St. Louis University School of Law. She currently serves on the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association Board of Directors, where she chairs its Civil Council. She also serves as the Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee, and on the Illinois Supreme Court’s E-Business Policy Advisory Board. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law and a B.A. in English from Goshen College.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Michael Gallagher, JD ’14
Employer: Director of Real Estate Acquisitions, Prelude Capital
Mike Gallagher is the Director of Real Estate Acquisitions at Prelude Capital, a global investment adviser managing over $5 billion of allocations, where he previously served as Assistant General Counsel. Prior to Prelude Capital, Mr. Gallagher advised prominent real estate sponsors and lenders at Proskauer Rose LLP. He teaches at the Washington University School of Law and has taught at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where he lectured on classical cello performance. He earned his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his B.A. from The University of Memphis.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Daniel Glazier, MSW ’80, JD ’81
Employer: Executive Director and General Counsel of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Dan Glazier began his work with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) in 1981 as a Reginald Heber Smith (Reggie) Fellow doing public benefits advocacy. In 1983, he joined LSEM’s Housing Program, where he represented clients with housing issues in state and federal courts, as well as administrative proceedings. He then focused on issues relating to homelessness and directed the Homeless Legal Project at LSEM from 1997 to 2005. He was the co-Managing Attorney of the Housing Program from 1998 to 2005. He has served as the Executive Director & General Counsel since March of 2005.
Dan has served in various capacities for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association Civil Policy Group, as President and Vice President Midwest Project Directors Association, the American Bar Association’s Advisory Board to the Legal Services Delivery Committee of the Section of Litigation and is a member of the following bar associations: Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; Mound City Bar Association; Lawyers Association of St. Louis; and Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis.
He earned his law degree from Washington University School of Law, his Master of Social Work from Washington University Brown School of Social Work and his bachelor’s in social work from Syracuse University. Dan always valued and appreciated his long association with the Washington University Law School Clinical Education Program both as a student and throughout his legal career at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. It has been a rewarding, productive and enriching experience. Dan has been married to Nancy Snow MSW ’82 since 1984 and is a proud father and grandfather.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Beverly Hauber
Employer: District Defender, Missour State Public Defender-St Louis County
Established in 1972, the Missouri State Public Defender System (MSPD) represents indigent individuals charged with felonies and misdemeanors. Today, there are 33 district offices, six appellate sections, and three capital sections. MSPD employs approximately 580 staff dedicated to advocating for those who are often silenced. The St. Louis County office and the Washington University Criminal Justice Clinic have a relationship that started in 1990. For over 30 years, Washington University students have honed their legal skills in hands-on, practical, client centered representation.
After graduating from Mizzou Law School, Beverly began her career with MSPD in 2011. Starting in the Farmington office, she represented clients in the 24th and 32nd judicial districts of the state. Later moving to the St. Louis County office, Beverly continued her zealous advocacy for her clients, while also being a mentor to clinic students. As a former intern of MSPD, Beverly is acutely aware of the impact that a positive internship or clinic experience can have on a law student. In December 2020, Beverly became the supervisor of the office and has worked tirelessly to maintain the important relationship with Professor Peter Joy and the Clinic. Each semester, Clinic students conduct countless preliminary hearings, research, write and argue critical motions, and visit hundreds of clients in the St. Louis County jail. Beverly and Professor Joy have continued to grow and expand the decades relationship between MSPD and Washington University and are looking forward to the next semester of Clinic students.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Thomas John TJ Hill, JD ’03
Employer: Executive Director, Disability Community Resource Center
TJ Hill has more than 20 years of policy experience working with intersectional marginalized communities. He is the Executive Director of the Disability Community Resource Center (DCRC), an Independent Living Center that serves people with disabilities across Western Los Angeles County. TJ came to DCRC from the Association of Community Human Service Agencies where he served as the Mental Health Policy Director for almost 10 years representing non-profit provider agencies in the LA County mental health system. Before that, he worked at the Disability Rights Legal Center, where he served as Director of Options Counseling and Lawyer Referral Service, supervising and coordinating the agency’s legal intake process. Prior to the Disability Rights Legal Center, he was a Congressional Legal Intern for Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa in Washington, D.C. where he worked on special education policy, healthcare and labor issues. TJ earned his law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona. He has also worked as a rehabilitation specialist for adults with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injuries. He currently serves as Board President of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers. He lives with his husband and their daughter in Santa Monica, California.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Travis Hill, JD ’05
Employer: Senior Trial Counsel, Securities & Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office
Travis currently serves as Senior Trial Counsel in the Securities & Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office, where he represents the SEC in complex securities litigation. Travis has spent almost his entire career in public service—beginning in 2006 as an Assistant District Attorney in the Queens District Attorney’s Office in New York City, where he primarily prosecuted domestic violence and violent crimes. Travis then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted violent crimes and financial fraud and argued criminal appeals. In late 2013, Travis returned to New York to join the NY State Office of the Attorney General, where he led some of the office’s most sensitive and complex cases as Chief of both the Public Integrity Bureau and the Real Estate Enforcement Unit. After seven years with the AG’s Office, Travis spent two years in private practice leading sensitive internal investigations and handling complex commercial litigation, as well as pro bono matters involving civil rights and criminal justice. In 2023, Travis returned to public service in his current role with the SEC.
Travis earned his law degree from Washinton University School of Law in 2005 and was a Spring 2004 participant in the Criminal Justice Clinic. Over the course of his career, Travis has tried 28 jury trials in state and federal courts and argued multiple criminal appeals, as both a prosecutor and defense counsel.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Maxine Lipeles
Employer: Senior Lecturer in Law Emerita, Washington University School of Law
Founding Director, Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic, Washington University School of Law
Maxine Lipeles was the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University School of Law from 2000-2019. In the Clinic, interdisciplinary teams of students supervised jointly by attorneys and engineers/scientists handle pro bono environmental and community health cases for non-profit organizations and individuals. Maxine also taught Environmental Law.
Prior to Washington University, Maxine practiced environmental law as a partner at Husch & Eppenberger (now known as Husch Blackwell) and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Environmental Protection Division, and clerked for the late Judge William H. Orrick, Jr. of the federal district court for the Northern District of California. She has received the Greensfelder Lifetime Achievement and Career Award from Washington University’s International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Sierra Club’s William O. Douglas Award, St. Louis University Law School’s Clarence Darrow Award, and the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center’s Environmental Service Award.
Maxine earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her law degree from Harvard Law School. Since retiring from Washington University in 2019, Maxine has practiced public interest environmental law on a part-time basis and is enjoying time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Jessica Mayo, JD ’12
Employer: Co-Director & Attorney, Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project
Jessica Mayo co-founded the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action (MICA) Project with law school classmate, Nicole T.S. Mejía (Cortes), AB ’06, MSW ’12, JD ‘12. She continues to work at the MICA Project as a Co-Director and Attorney. Jessica works with clients from around the world, including Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Jessica graduated first in her class from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis in May 2012.
Jessica’s areas of expertise include refugee and asylum law, family-based immigration, and removal (deportation) defense. She has a special interest in radical systemic transformation efforts to overcome oppression and infuse the legal system with dignity. Habla Español.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Alicia McDonnell, JD ’95
Employer: Former Prosecutor, Retired
Alicia McDonnell practiced law in Massachusetts as an Assistant District Attorney where she prosecuted hundreds of cases, focusing on gun and drug crimes. She became a supervisor training other Assistant District Attorneys and managing the caseload of the Dorchester District Court, the busiest district court in Boston. She later worked for the Boston Police Department as a staff attorney prosecuting discipline and corruption cases brought by Internal Affairs against sworn and civilian employees, as well as teaching at the Police Academy and handling general litigation matters on behalf of the Department.
Alicia returned to St. Louis in 2011 and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Washington University, as well as the Board of Advisors for the School of Law. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Saint Louis Zoo and the Saint Louis Police Foundation. She recently launched a public awareness campaign, Bark to Ban Puppy Mills.com, which hopes to educate people of the horrors of puppy mills and encourage people to adopt rescue/shelter dogs and end the puppy mill industry in Missouri through public pressure on the state legislature. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Rochester in 1990 and her law degree from Washington University School of Law in 1995.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Nicole T.S. Mejia (Cortes), JD ’12
Employer: Co-Director & Attorney, Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project
Nicole T.S. Mejía (Cortes) is a Co-Director and attorney at the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action (MICA) Project. She founded the organization with law school classmate, Jessica Mayo, JD ‘12. Nicole is fluent in Spanish and works with clients on a wide variety of immigration law matters including deportation defense, asylum, and other humanitarian relief. She heads the MICA Project’s outreach efforts to the Latino community in the form of educational presentations and workshops.
Nicole graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in May 2012 with a Masters of Social Work and her J.D. She has experience working with community partners, coalition building, community outreach, and program coordination and evaluation. She is experienced at addressing the non-legal needs of her clients in the context of immigration law. Nicole is passionate about challenging and dismantling systems of oppression and working alongside her clients in their journeys towards justice. Habla Español.
The Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project (MICA Project) is a community organization committed to working with low-income immigrants to overcome barriers to justice. It is the biggest nonprofit in the region providing immigration legal representation, with a staff of 15 and more than 1,000 cases a year. You can find more information about the MICA project at mica-project.org. Jessica and Nicole dedicate their award to their clients, who are unlikely to be recognized with such awards despite their courage and contributions.
Clinic’s 50th Anniversary Award Honoree
Charles Lockhart Nimick, JD ’89
Employer: Chief, Business and Foreign Workers Division
Department of Homeland Security – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services – Office of Policy and Strategy
Charles “Locky” Nimick is the Chief of the Department of Homeland Security/United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Policy and Strategy’s (USCIS) Business and Foreign Workers Division. He was formerly the Deputy Chief of the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office, and prior to that, the Chief of the USCIS Asylum Division’s Training and Quality Branch. Locky joined USCIS from the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, where he was the Chief of the Immigration Unit in the Office of General Counsel. Earlier, Locky worked at the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Board of Immigration Appeals in various staff and management positions. He joined the Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honor Program as a Law Clerk in the New York Immigration Court. Locky has a law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis—where he was a Notes and Comments Editor at the Washington University Law Quarterly—an AB from Princeton University, and a Diplôme Supérieur from the Alliance Française in Paris, France.
