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Brenda Simpson
Brenda Simpson is an Associate Attorney with the Legacy Law Group in Hot Springs. She graduated cum laude from the William H. Bowen School of Law in 2014 and was the recipient of the 2014 Student Public Service Award and Dean’s Certificate of Distinguished Service. She earned her Master of Arts in Organizational Management from George Washington University in 2005, her Master of Business Administration from Webster University in 2003, and graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from Saint Leo University in 1996. Brenda retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Force Support Officer in 2010 after twenty-four years of service. She is a combat veteran having served in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. Her military decorations include the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters. Brenda served as a Commissioner on the Arkansas Veterans Commission from 2013-2015.
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Dusti Standridge
Dusti is a resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she has practiced law since 2005. At first, Dusti’s practiced focused on insurance defense, and then plaintiff’s work. She soon knew that family law, including parent defense in child welfare cases, was a practice area that she both enjoyed and in which she thrives! Dusti has represented hundreds of parents, as well a a large number of children. She currently serves on the American Bar Association National Steering Committee for Parent Representation. She then expanded her trial practice to included appellate practice, whereby she written more than 100 appeals. Dusti is the current Sebastian County Bar Association President, and she is a member of First United Methodist Church, the Euper Lane PTA, and the Arkansas Bar Association. She has presented Continuing Legal Education for attorneys in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Maine, and the National Conference in Washington, D.C. Dusti graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Public Relations and a B.A. in Government. She completed her Master in Public Administration and her Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas in 2005. She is married and has two children. Her most recent favorite personal achievement is taking advantage of the good physical health God gave her to complete her first marathon (all 26.2 miles) in Fort Smith in 2019, and she is actively training to run more marathons.
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Judge Sam Terry
Judge Sam Terry, a native and resident of Fort Smith, holds B.S.B.A. (2002) and J.D. (2005) degrees from the University of Arkansas. He is currently serving as a District Judge, having been appointed to that position by Governor Asa Hutchinson in July, 2019. He has an extremely broad range of legal experience, having engaged in civil litigation representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He is a former deputy prosecuting attorney for Sebastian County, and served as law clerk to Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes. He also served as a Trust Officer and Asst. Vice President at First National Bank of Fort Smith. In that position, he handled a wide range of complex legal and business issues, including financial planning and the administration of trusts and estates. Judge Terry was previously appointed to serve as Special Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of Arkansas. He is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty under Forty Class of 2018 and a member of the Arkansas Bar Association since 2005, including serving as a member of the House of Delegates. He is also an active member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
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Wendy Scholtens Wood
Wendy Scholtens Wood is from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and attended Vanderbilt University where she played basketball and was a Kodak All-American. She graduated in 1991 and played professionally in Tokyo, Japan. She has been inducted in to four sports halls of fame (Tennessee 1999, Arkansas 2004, Vanderbilt 2009, and Fort Smith Southside High School 2013). In 1996, Wendy graduated, with honors, from the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She practiced law for ten years at the Barber Law Firm. Since 2006, she has clerked for the Honorable Larry Vaught at the Arkansas Court of Appeals. She is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, Pulaski County Bar Association, and Rotary Club 99. Since 1996, Wendy has been married to Paul, an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration. Wendy and Paul have two daughters: Madeline, a freshman at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and Anna, a freshman at Little Rock Central High School. Wendy and her family are long-time, active members of St. James United Methodist Church. Wendy and Paul are also proud supporters of the Little Rock School District. Wendy is a member of the board of directors of Alzheimer’s Arkansas.
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STUDENTS |
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University of Arkansas School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and the University of Arkansas School of Public Service
Nate Arrington
Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Nate Arrington was raised in Springdale, Arkansas where he graduated from Springdale High School in 2014. He received his B.A. of Economics from Arkansas State University in 2018 and is currently a second-year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Since 2015, Nate has been heavily involved with the Young Democrats of Arkansas and has served as 1st District Director, Vice President of Colleges, and Convention Committee Chair. He currently serves as the organization’s Chief of Staff. Through his work with the Young Democrats, Nate has planned and executed voter registration drives, organized statewide conventions, and started multiple chapters all across the state.
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Jennifer Browne
Jennifer Browne graduated from Hendrix College with a degree in business and economics. She obtained a Juris Doctor from the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and is a board member for the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. Her public service interests include the advancement of women and girls, promotion of women in politics, and fair elections. Jennifer is a student at the Clinton School of Public Service.
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Kara Butler
Kara began her professional life as an instrumental band director and general music teacher with degrees from University of Illinois, in Champaign/Urbana. She came to the University of Arkansas as a Graduate Assistant, earning her Master of Music Degree. Then she had three children and stayed home with them during their formative years while also teaching private music lessons, assisting in running a small Walmart vendor company, and teaching as an adjunct at Northwest Arkansas Community College. She enjoys promoting the arts, as well as actively dancing and performing music in the Northwest Arkansas Community. Her passion for assisting people in the community led her to law school. Now a 2L at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, she has done over 100+ hours of pro bono work and continues to assist pro se litigants with paperwork and procedures at the Benton County Help Desk. She also continues to volunteer with the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice after completing an externship with them this past summer.
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Caleb Conrad
Caleb Conrad is a third-year law student at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Caleb serves as an Associate Editor on the UA Little Rock Law Review and works as a student attorney in the school’s Delta Clinic, which provides free direct representation to low-income residents in the state’s southeast region. Always looking for experience in new areas of law, Caleb is currently a law clerk at Friday, Eldredge, & Clark, where he has found that he enjoys working on employment and products liability issues. If you don’t catch him in the law library, you might find Caleb leading Sunday worship services at Asbury United Methodist Church, where he has served as the Director of Praise and Worship for over a year, or organizing community events as the Secretary of the Democratic Party of Pulaski County. \When he needs to relax, Caleb listens to true crime podcasts or watches The Office. Caleb is very recently married and lives with his wonderful wife, Ashley, in Little Rock.
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Derick Dillard
Derick Dillard was born and raised in Rogers, AR. During his childhood, Derick was active in various sports and activities, including attaining the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 122. After graduating from Rogers High School, Derick attended Oklahoma State University, where he earned an accounting degree, with a minor in economics. At OSU, he played trumpet in the Cowboy Marching Band and served as the mascot, "Pistol Pete." After college, he served as an international missionary for two years in Nepal, where he taught ESL and helped lead various community development projects in remote Himalayan villages. Upon arrival back to the States, he began working as a tax accountant at the Walmart home office. It was at that time, that he married the love of my life, Jill, where they have been married for five years and have two sons, Israel and Samuel. After Israel was born, Derick and his family moved to El Salvador to serve as missionaries for two years, before taking a one-year assignment in the missions department at Cross Church, where they are members. Derick currently lives in Lowell, AR while attending law school at the University of Arkansas.
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Justin Gunderman
Justin Gunderman is from Plumerville, Arkansas. In 2019, Justin graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Currently, Justin is a first-year law student at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville.
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Elizabeth Hall
Liz Hall is a first-year student at the Clinton School of Public Service. She has a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation of the Blind as well as a BA in International Studies with an emphasis on Middle Eastern Studies, both from UALR. She is a veteran of the United States Navy and also served as an Americorps VISTA.
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Wesley Manus
A Little Rock native, Wes served twelve years domestically and abroad in the U.S. Air Force before moving back to Arkansas. He has also worked in international development, academic, healthcare, and public service consulting roles. As a concurrent student of the Clinton School of Public Service and UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, Wes has a passion for public service. He has served in leadership roles in the military and now as a student, including Law Review, Student Veterans, and student government. Wes’s interests after graduation are focused on his passion for public service at the intersection of law, government, sustainable enterprise.
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Dana McGee
Dana McGee is a first year law student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She currently serves as the 1L representative for the Black Student Law Association. She received a B.A. in Political Science and Criminology at the University of Arkansas in which she served as a full term Associate Justice on the Associated Student Government Judicial Branch. She served as the Social Action Chair and the Treasurer of the Lambda Theta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. As an intern for the Washington County Juvenile Court and Drug Court, Dana’s passion for criminal law grew. Additionally, while studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science, she was inspired by global political events and developed a strong interest in international law and politics.
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