Alumni Board of Directors and Council

Leadership 2021-2022

21-22 Alumni Association Board of Directors

As a graduate of Detroit Mercy Law, you are part of an alumni network, more than 9,000 strong. Led by the Board of Directors, the Detroit Mercy Law Alumni Association is an active, engaged group that supports a variety of events and programming intended to improve the law school experience for students while enhancing the connection of alumni to their alma mater.

Your time, participation and commitment as a member of the Alumni Association not only supports the school, it helps boost your career opportunities and expands your social and professional network. Get involved. Stay involved. Make a difference.

 

Alumni President Message banner

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    Alumni Association President's Message

    I am thrilled to begin my tenure as the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Alumni Board President for the 2021-2022 term. It is my pleasure, along with the Board of Directors, to represent the more than 8,000 alumni around the globe and connect with our many friends and supporters.

    With the leadership of our President-emeritus, the Hon. Michael J. Riordan, the Law School Alumni Board has had many successes over the past two years, including: creating and endowing the Detroit Mercy Law Alumni Board Endowed Scholarship; creating the Alumni Council – a group of recent Law School alumni; ensuring that programs and services provided to our alumni meet their current needs by revising Alumni Board By-Laws, Committee Structure, and Membership; and holding the first (and hopefully only) virtual Erin Go Law event, which provided an opportunity for our community to reconnect. Our Board intends to build on these successes.

    The Alumni Board looks forward to continuing to build upon these successes and we hope you will join us in this mission.

    Throughout the coming year, the Law School Alumni Board will lead several initiatives designed to raise funds as we invest in the future of legal education. A financial investment in our students will help mitigate their debt and provide tangible support as they navigate their future. Please share your experiences by engaging with admitted students to encourage their choice of Detroit Mercy Law, serving on job-related panels, or mentoring current students.

    Whether virtually or, when the time is right, in person, we hope you will join us at an event, program, or lecture. The presence of alumni and friends means so much to the school. The members of the Alumni Board are here to serve you, and I invite you to join us for the exciting year we have ahead.

    Looking forward to the year ahead with a semblance of normalcy for all of us. We deserve it!

    Kyle R. Dufrane '98
    President
    Detroit Mercy Law Alumni Board
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    Board of Directors

    Mr. Kyle R. Dufrane '98, President
    Complex Litigation
    General Motors     		 Mr. Gregory G. Thiess '79, Co-Secretary
    ADR
    Northern Michigan Resolutions, PLC 
    Hon. Michael J. Riordan '90, President Emeritus
    Michigan Court of Appeals     		 Ms. Ahndia Mansoori '18, Co-Secretary
    Senior Associate Attorney
    Kitch, Drutchas, Wagner, Vlitutti & Sherbrook 
    Ms. Sarah Simmons '18, Vice President
    Sr. Group Counsel, Legal Department
    Yanfeng International Automotive Technology Co. Ltd. 
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    Board Members

    Hon. Michael J. Beale '91
    42nd Circuit Court Judge    		 Hon. Terrance A. Keith '84 (ABLA Liaison) 
    Wayne County Probate Judge 
    Ms. Kristoffer Butler '19 
    Asst. Corporate Counsel 
    Wayne County Corporation Counsel     		 Ms. Christina Nassar '10
    General Counsel - North America
    Rheinmetall Automotive 
    Mr. Keith Driscoll '18
    Intellectual Property
    Dickinson Wright, PLLC     		 Ms. Mylika Radford '13
    Associate 
    Lewis & Munday 
    Mr. Yafeez S. Fatabhoy '18 (Alumni Council 2020)
    Dickinson Wright, PLLC     		 Mr. James E. Tamm '85
    Kerr, Russell and Weber
    Mr. Bernard J. Fuhs '06
    Franchise Litigation
    Butzel Long     		 Ms. Lori Mireles-Smith '18
    Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
    Wayne County Prosecutor's Office 
    313-967-2847 

    Ms. Macie Tuiasosopo Gaines '13
    Member
    Gaines & Gaines

    		 Mr. Kory Steen '18 (Alumni Council 2020)
    Howard & Howard 
    Mr. Marco Gatti '10
    Intellectual Property
    Cummins, Inc.     		 Mr. Matthew L. Vicari '90
    Miller Johnson 
    Ms. Jewel Haji  '19
    Commercial Litigation
    Honigman LLP     		 Mr. Mark A. Wisniewski '90
    Kitch, Drutchas Wagner, Vlitutti & Sherbrook 
    Mr. Kenny Hemler '07
    Corporate Transactions / M&A
    General Motors     		 Mr. Justin Zatkoff '14
    General Counsel
    Zatkoff Seals & Packings
    Ms. Mariah Herfi '21 (Recent Grad Rep)

     

    Detroit Mercy Law Representatives

    Jelani Jefferson Exum
    Dean and Philip J. McElroy Professor of Law
    313-596-0210
    jefferje1@udmercy.edu

    		 April L. Ellison
    Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving
    313-596-0202
    ellisoal@udmercy.edu

Past Board of Directors and Members

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    Past Directors

    Past Directors and Positions Held
    Anthony A. Agosta '97 1st VP 08-09, President 09-10
    Kathleen L. Bogas '75 Treasurer 87-88, Secretary 88-89, 2nd VP 89-90
    Edmund M. Brady, Jr. '66 President 80-81
    Jane Sullivan Colombo '79 1st VP 07-08, President 08-09
    James P. Connolly President 
    Michael G. Costello '85 President 06-08
    Dahlia N. Dallo '03 Secretary 08-09
    Joseph H. Dillon '59 2nd VP 86-87, 1st VP 87-88, President 88-89
    Michael L. Donahue '65 Treasurer 83-84, Secretary 84-85, 2nd VP 85-86, 1st VP 86-87, President 87-88
    Hon. Maggie W. Drake '81 President
    John F. Fellrath, Jr. '52 Treasurer 80-81, Secretary 81-82, 2nd VP 82-83, 1st VP 83-84, President 84-85
    John W. Fitzer '50 Secretary 83-84, 2nd VP 84-85, 1st VP 85-86, President 86-87
    Hon. John H. Gillis '51 1st VP
    Patricia Rossi Galvin '70 2nd VP 80-81, 1st VP 81-82, President 82-83
    Eugene A. Gargaro, Jr. '67 President
    Gregory J. Gamalski '83 Secretary 94-96, President
    William D. Gilbride, Sr. '50 Treasurer 81-82, Secretary 82-83, 2nd VP 83-84, 1st VP 84-85, President 85-86
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    Past Members

    Past Alumni Association Members
    Lori Adamcheski '06 Patrick Hackett '50 Neil A. McQuarrie David A. Riggle '78
    Michael Alanson '76 John P. Hale '94 Patrick McTigue '67 Michael J. Riordan '90
    Stanley Bartnicki '65 Michael J. Hand Marc D. Melamed '04 James A. Rocchio '82
    Michelle A. Borchanian '94 Henry L. Heading Domenic Migliaccio '78 Sanford N. Rosethal '59
    Eugene H. Boyle, Jr. '88 Kenneth Helmer '07 Robert P. Milia '69 William Rush '68
    Charles Browning Daniel J. Henry, Jr. Jerome Moore '56 Charles R. Rutherford '57
    Jeffrey Buehner '95 Denise Hickey '95 Josh Moore Danielle Schoeny '03
    Hon. James Canham '52 Thomas P. Hustoles '73 Michael C. Moran '69 James P. Sheehy '69
    John F. Clark '06 Kenneth Hylton '80 Michael V. Morgan '72 Louis F. Simmons '56
    Mary Susan Connolly '79 Ed Johnson '92 Mark E. Nettleton '95 Paul Spaniolo '08
    Michael Conway '68 Michelle D. Johnson '98 Thomas J. Niemiec '81 Lilliam G. Stenfeldt '80
    Maura D. Corrigan '73 Stephen M. Kelley '81 Nicholas J. Nowakowski '05 Denise Stock '97
    Dennis L. Dabney '00 William G. Kelly '75 Thomas C. O'Brien '69 Michelle Streicher '94
    Hon. Peter E. Deegan '66 Amy M. Kline '01 Robert S. O'Connell Joseph B. Sullivan '57
    Michael R. Dezsi '02 Gene R. Kohut '91 William Ogden '99 Victoria Toensig
    John K. Dickerson Gerald J. LaFave Christine D. Oldani '75 Michael R. Turco '93
    Eric L. Doyle '95 Frederick W. Lauck '69 John P. O'Leary '64 Deborah Tyler
    James F. Finn Edward G. Lennon '88 Roland L. Olzark '59 Dean P. Valente '84
    Hon. Anthony A. Fiorella, Jr. '66 Ellie Levine '09 Marisa C. Petrella '83 Andrew F. Valenti '53
    Rita Foley '99 John Lizza '53 Daniel G. Pikarski '97 Jessica Walker '89
    KennethFrankland '65 Michael Lynn '00 George Pitchford '03 Kelly A. Walters '04
    Michael E. Geraghty '97 Teresa Dillard Malone '87 Myron F. Poe '70 James J. Williams '76
    John F. Gilhool '67 Robert H. Martin '66 Claudia Rast '86 Mark A. Wisniewski '90
    Elliot B. Glicksman '69 Thomas Mayer '55 Maureen P. Reilly '58 Elaine Wright '91
    Scott Gorsline '90 Hon. Renee R. McDuffee '79 Gerald C. Simon '52 Norman L. Zemke
    Barbara K. Hackett '50 Roger P. Mourad '57 I. John Snider '60
    Sheila Jackson '86 Timothy Mulligan '96 Ronald A. Sollish '88

Alumni Council

At the urging of a few young alumni, the Alumni Council was established in fall 2019. It is an initiative designed to better engage and serve Detroit Mercy Law’s most recent graduates. The Council receives its directives from the Detroit Mercy Law Alumni Association and director of alumni relations. The Council seeks to better serve and support recent graduates with programs and communications that are uniquely tailored to their own needs and perspective. It seeks to foster and sustain the active involvement of young alumni in the support of Detroit Mercy Law and the Alumni Board. 

The Council will also act to shepherd the development of volunteers and future leaders in ways that deepen their commitment to the school and prepare them for active roles in alumni and philanthropic affairs.

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    Criteria

    The Council also acts as a voice for young alumni concerns to the Alumni Association and the University. Council members:
    • serve at the pleasure of the Executive Committee for the Detroit Mercy Law Alumni Board
    • serve for a term of two years (must be active during term)
    • may be eligible for re-election to another term at the expiration of their first term.
    • Will be eligible to run for election to the Detroit Mercy Law Alumni Board.
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    Council Members

    Mr. Michael “Mickey” Chichester Jr. '07
    Littler Mendelson P.C.- Labor & Employment Law Solutions     		 Michelle Shembler '19
    Law Clerk to Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris
    US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
    Ms. Rebecca El Badaoui '20
    Bodman    		 Kristin Fernandez (formerly Kristin Crowley) '19
    Chapman Law Group
    Mr. Michael Pereira '18
    Law Clerk
    Michigan Court of Appeals