Notes from Our Alumni CLASS ACTION
Brian Senger is now vice president and general counsel at SPS Commerce, which provides cloud- based supply chain management software to retailers, suppliers, third-party logistics providers and partners.
Michael Harralson is deputy judge for the Leech Lake Band
trafficking in persons, rule of law and justice/security sector issues. This assignment will likely continue until summer 2025.
of Ojibwe, with a primary assignment to the joint
jurisdiction Wellness Courts with the Leech Lake Band and Cass and Itasca Counties. He also hears other cases in Leech Lake Tribal Court. Michael celebrated the second anniversary of ReNew Earth Running (RER), a nonprofit he founded to restore land to the stewardship of Tribal Nations and Indigenous leadership.
Dave and Amy Bauch Griggs met second week of 1L year and 18 years later became parents. Dave and Amy are thrilled to introduce Sasha James Griggs to their friends at the School of Law and feel so privileged to be her mom and dad.
Andrea Specht is now executive director for the American Craft Council, a national nonprofit that connects and galvanizes diverse craft communities and traditions to advance craft’s impact in contemporary American life. Andrea lives in St. Paul’s West Side neighborhood with husband Joe Ford and Walt the Whippet.
Caroline Simonson was appointed to Moss & Barnett’s Board of Directors. Caroline is a member of the firm’s multifamily and commercial real estate finance and real estate teams.
2004 Send your 2004 class notes and photos to Liz Odette (tinlizzieo@ gmail.com) or Susan Beltz (beltzsm@gmail.com). ______________________________ In August, Natasha Merz was appointed interim assistant commissioner of the newly merged Aging and Disability Services Division of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. On November 7, classmate and retired nurse and attorney Eileen Weber was quoted in a news story on Minnesota Public Radio for her efforts to get out the vote during the midterm elections: “Doorsteps, phone calls, tours: Campaigns make crunchtime appeals.” Cory Wessman’s firm is now “Veritage Law Group,” a name that conveys the firm’s mission: to implement an estate plan unique to a client’s faith beliefs, family relationships and community commitments—the components that comprise one’s true heritage. Cory’s practice focuses on estate planning for Minnesota, Arizona and Wisconsin residents and planning for high-net-worth clients. Alexandra Gannon ’20 practices at the firm. 2005 Send your 2005 class notes and photos to Kerry McAndrew (kerry@kmcandrewlaw.com). ______________________________ Heidi Bassett joined the Larkin Hoffman litigation team
(Bloomington, MN). Heidi handles cases involving unfair competition, disputes arising out of closely held businesses, real estate litigation and trusts and estates disputes. Jenni Lohse joined Aware Recovery Care, Inc. as Chief Legal Officer. Aware Recovery Care helps people “Recover Where You Live,” transforming the home into a treatment center and delivering addiction services to those in need.
Bill Josten works for the Thomson Reuters Institute, overseeing thought leadership for law firms and corporate law departments around the world. He coaches volleyball, softball and golf for his daughters at Presentation of Mary School in Maplewood. Bill would love to hear from you at wjjosten@gmail.com. Drew Nelson and Alex Demarco went fishing. Drew sent this picture of Alex’s nice sauger.
Luke Cragg now practices at Heacox Hartman Koshmrl Cosgriff Johnson Lane & Feenstra, where he represents employers and insurers in workers’ compensation claims. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, daughter, two cats and a dog, and assists the Eagan High School mock trial team.
2006 Send your 2006 class notes and photos to Ian Dobson (imdobson@live.com).
Marisela Maddox Smookler moved to Tel Aviv for a year to complete a conflict resolution and mediation masters at Tel Aviv University and explore the Israeli life with her two very curious sons (ages 12 and 7). Here they are overlooking the Dead Sea.
Congratulations to Chris Huether, a partner at Leuthner and Huether, Ltd., who was awarded an Advocacy Achievement Award by Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM) for his work as a judicare attorney. Joe Johnson reports that his company, Ostra Cybersecurity, just closed its Series A financing with Rally Ventures and is excited to partner with them for the next stage of their growth. I don’t know what that means, but I’m always proud of Joe. Rebecca McConkey-Greene is very honored to become the associate judge for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s tribal court. Jessica Monson won the Hazeltine Club Championship again this year. Off the links, she is general counsel and vice president for legal at Caribou Coffee.
______________________________ Greetings class of 2006! I hope all is well with each of you. We have a bunch of updates for this issue. Thanks to everyone who submitted. Stephanie Boucher’s son Niko graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Political Science. Niko interns for the City of Brooklyn Park in economic development and affordable housing. Steph and Jeff traveled to Bulgaria, and Jeff worked on Knights Templar charities in Jerusalem. Adam Brown is now the Business Development and Marketing Manager at Fafinski Mark & Johnson. Contact Adam about any of the FMJ attorneys or to discuss business development, marketing, professional development or any other law firm/legal entity management topic. Here’s Adam and his family over MEA.
2007 Send your 2007 class notes
and photos to Chuck Berendes (chuckberendes@gmail.com). ______________________________ Jonathan Bakewicz i s now vice president for legal at NeueHealth, which is Bright Health’s value-based provider organization.
Allison Maxim is now a partner in the family law group at Collins, Buckley, Sauntry & Haugh (St. Paul). Congratulations, Allison!
Mary (Beckey) Rosen was elected a fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers. Since ACCFL’s founding in the 1990s, 300 fellows have been elected. Beckey also continues to co-chair the American Bar Association Letter of Credit Subcommittee and is a legal committee member of the International Chamber of Commerce. Jessica Slattery is currently on assignment in Dakar, Senegal as the deputy political chief at the U.S. Embassy covering domestic politics and democratic transitions, human rights,
Nina Berglund was doing environmental litigation and
Chuck Berendes continues to practice immigration law in La Crosse, WI. He spends his spare time working with local charitable organizations (that allow beer at board meetings), driving kids to and from this and that and building the biggest, baddest garage on the block.
Terry Dunst retired from his law firm, Bakke Norman, and is currently doing pro bono work for Catholic Charities of Wisconsin helping Afghan refugees file for asylum. Terry notes that Bakke Norman has supported him in this new endeavor. David Fischer is the new president of St. Paul’s Outreach, a Catholic missionary organization that serves college students and young adults. Beth Forsythe was reappointed to the Management Committee at Dorsey & Whitney.
moved to real estate transactions through 2021. In Nina’s words, that was a mistake. She’s back doing environmental litigation and she loves it! She’s super involved in her kids’ lives and doesn’t plan to change careers again. Andrea Dahly was living in Texas working for the American Athletic Conference and now has a new position as the associate director of athletics compliance at Bemidji State University. She ensures compliance with conference and NCAA rules and is the Title IX coordinator.
Emily Piper joined the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation board of directors. Emily is the vice president of government and external affairs at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit substance-use and mental health treatment provider.
Page 32 St. Thomas Lawyer
Spring 2023 Page 33
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