I came right back to Nebraska after GULC and practiced litigation at Kutak Rock LLP for 19 years. I always wanted to run for office, and I got that opportunity and ran for Nebraska Attorney General in 2014. I ended up in 2nd place in a highly-contested primary. I never thought I would be a judge, but I was confirmed by the Senate to a lifetime federal district court appointment in 2019. I hope to see the Class of 2000 in force at our upcoming 25 year reunion!

Excited to be back in DC to celebrate my 25th reunion at GULC! During law school, I was the Editor in Chief of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, and I have continued to work in this field since graduating. I started by spending a year at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, looking at human rights norms that prevent the removal of foreign nationals. I then spent nearly eight years at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, a global immigration law firm, in their New York, Brussels and San Francisco offices. I switched gears and joined the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a Staff Attorney, working on immigration-related appellate matters for five years. About 10 years ago, I returned to private practice and started a boutique immigration law firm based in Oakland, California. My firm focuses on employment-based immigration, representing employers and skilled workers across industries, as well as family-based immigration, assisting U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents in reunifying with loved ones.

Outside of work, I enjoy running, hanging out with my two kids (ages 7 and 13), and our annual holiday in Maui.

Looking forward to celebrating our 25th reunion in October! Excited to catch up with everyone and hear about the incredible journeys we’ve all taken since graduation. It will be wonderful to reconnect, share memories, and make new ones together.

Since getting my LL.M. in 2000, I worked for over five years as a business and finance associate at Washington, D.C. firm Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells), then moved in-house to a large D.C.-based nonprofit Conservation International where I served as associate general counsel for a couple of years, and in 2006 I joined the Inter-American Development Bank also in D.C., where I currently supervise the legal work in operations in several South American countries, and also provide institutional legal support to venture capital and innovation hub IDB Lab. I am also cochair and a member of the board of UK-based nonprofit ALIFDO, the Association of Lawyers in Intergovernmental Finance and Development Organisations. Among the things I appreciate the most about D.C. is the vibrant cultural life that this cosmopolitan city offers, and the quality of life that one can lead with beautiful parks and the outdoors. Wolfgang (Bergthaler, LL.M.’00) and I are happy to be raising our daughters here. I can’t wait to see my fellow Class of 2000 LL.Ms. at our 25-year reunion!

Since graduating 25 years ago (holy cow!), I have primarily focused on a life of diplomacy. I did start at a law firm, working for O'Melveny & Myers in Century City directly out of law school practicing corporate entertainment law, but then pivoted my career in 2003 to join the US Department of States. Since then, I've lived and worked in New York (kind of like a foreign country for a Califonian like me), Vienna, Madrid, Kabul, Luxembourg, Rome and am now based in Brussels. I have two teenage kids who live in Rotterdam and come often to Brussels. I have kept in touch with many of my GULC friends and am excited to see everyone at the reunion!