NAFUSA lifetime member and president-elect Catherine Hanaway will become the first
woman to hold the position of Attorney General (AG) for the State of Missouri when she
assumes office on September 8. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe announced on August 19
he will appoint Catherine Hanaway to replace and complete the three years remaining on
the term of current AG Andrew Bailey who resigned to become co-deputy director of the
FBI.

Ms. Hanaway most recently has been a partner at Husch Blackwell, including serving as
the elected chair of the firm. She was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
Missouri by President George W. Bush and served from 2005-2009.

Ms. Hanaway first ran for elected office in 1998, winning a seat in the Missouri House of
Representatives where she served until 2005. She was elected Speaker, the first woman to
hold that position. There have been none since. She ran unsuccessfully for Missouri
Secretary of State in 2004.

Governor Kehoe praised her as “…a talented, trusted prosecutor who has a passion for
enforcing the rule of law.”

Ms. Hanaway told reporters that she plans to serve the next three years and then “…if
Missourians will vote for me and believe I earn a full term, then I’d like to serve a full term.”
NAFUSA President Donna Bucella congratulated Catherine on her appointment. “She is a
true public servant who is passionate, committed and thrilled to serve the people of
Missouri.

NAFUSA member and former board member, Ed Stanton, and another former U.S. Attorney from the western district of Tennessee, Larry Laurenzi, presented a flag flown over the Department of Justice in honor of former U.S. Attorney Mike Cody to his widow Suzanna (“Suzi”) Cody on June 6, 2025, at a memorial service held in Memphis.

NAFUSA welcomed five new members in July. They are all former U.S. Attorneys who served in the Biden administration. Welcome!

Damien Diggs was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas in May 2023 and served there until his resignation in January 2025. A graduate of Towson University and American University, where he received his JD, Damien served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in Washington D.C. from 2012 to 2018 and then joined the Northern District of Texas as an AUSA in 2018. He is currently a partner at Winston & Strawn in its Dallas office.

Jason Frierson served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada from May 2022 until January 2025. Prior to his nomination as U.S. Attorney, he served in legal roles in the public and private sector. He was elected to the Nevada State Assembly in 2010 and served there from 2011 to 2014. He was later reelected to a term from 2016 to 2022 and selected in a bipartisan and unanimous vote to serve as speaker from 2017 to 2022. He joined Cornerstone as Principal and Counsel in February 2025.

Brandon B. Brown served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana (WDLA)
from 2021 to January 2025. While U.S. Attorney he served on the Attorney General’s
Advisory Committee. Following graduation from the Southern University Law Center in
2007 he joined the Ouachita Parish District’s Attorney’s Office. From 2012 until his
appointment as U.S. attorney, he served as an AUSA in the WDLA. He joined McGlinchey as a partner in its Baron Rouge office in April 2025.

Jacqueline Romero served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania (EDPA) from 2022 to 2025. The granddaughter of Spanish immigrants, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney in 1998, leaving that position in 2000 to serve as senior counsel for the U.S. Mint. She joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the EDPA as an AUSA in 2006 and served in that capacity until her unanimous confirmation as U.S. Attorney. She joined BakerHostetler’s Philadelphia office in July as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Tara McGrath served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California (SDCA) from October 2023 to February 2025. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2001 and served as a judge advocate while on active duty in the United States Marine Corp from 2001 to 2005. She served as an AUSA in the SDCA from 2008 to 2019, including 2015 to 2018 as a trial attorney in the Office of Enforcement Operations of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. She joined the litigation practice at Perkins Cole as a partner in July.

NAFUSA member Bobby Christine has been named the Judge Advocate General of the
United States Army. As such, he is the senior uniformed lawyer in the United States Army serving as a legal advisor to the military branch and representing its personnel in legal matters. He is a Major General in the Army National Guard and was called up to military service in February of this year, maintaining his role as a district attorney for Columbia Judicial Circuit, Evans, Georgia. President Trump nominated Christine for the U.S. Judge Advocate General post on June 19 and, upon confirmation by the Senate, he assumed the office on July 1, 2025.

Christine served as the United States Attorney for the Sorthern District of Georgia from
November 2017 to February 2021. He was previously an Assistant District Attorney in
Augusta, Georgia; a former magistrate judge in Columbia County, Georgia; and partner at the law firm of Christine and Evans, LLC. On February 1, 2024, Christine was promoted to the two-star rank of major general, making him the first reserve component officer in the JAG Corps to achieve this rank since the Corps’ inception in 1775.

NAFUSA welcomed two new lifetime members in June 2025. E. Martin Estrada served as
the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California (CDCA) from September 2022 to
January 2025. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School. After clerking for a
U.S. District Court Judge and then for a 9th Circuit appellate judge, he served as an
Assistant U.S. Attorney in the CDCA from 2007 to 2014 before leaving for private practice.
After leaving the U.S. Attorney post in 2025, he returned to private practice as a partner with Munger Tolles & Olson in their Los Angeles office handling complex litigation.

Vanessa Waldref served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Washington (EDWA) from 2021 to 2025, the first woman to hold this position. She is a
native of Spokane, Washington and received her Bachelor of Arts degree and JD from
Georgetown University. Following several years in private practice, she served as an
Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2013 to 2020 in EDWA and as a trial attorney in the DOJ’s
Environment and Natural Resources Division. While U.S. Attorney she chaired the AGAC’s
subcommittee on Environmental Justice & Environmental Issues. She is currently a partner
and founding member of Singleton Schreiber’s Washington office.

Additionally, Zachary Myers, former U.S Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, joined
NAFUSA in June. Prior to being nominated by President Biden for the U.S. Attorney post in 2021, he served in that office and in the District of Maryland as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for more than a decade. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he served as chair of the AGAC’s Subcommittee on Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property. Myers, who earned his law degree from Georgetown University, was in private practice at Baker & Daniels in
Indianapolis before starting his career with the Department of Justice. In 2025 he joined
McCarter & English in Indianapolis as partner.

Natalie K. Wight, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, also joined NAFUSA in
June. She served there as U.S. Attorney from September 2022 until February 2025. Earlier
in her career she was an attorney with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for five years before
joining the Northern District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office as an AUSA in 2008. In 2012 she joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in Oregon where she served until being named U.S. Attorney there. She is currently the Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Re-entry Center in Portland, Oregon.

Gerard Karam, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, has joined
NAFUSA as a lifetime member. He served as U.S. Attorney from 2022-2025 after being
nominated by then President Biden. Prior to his appointment he served as General Counsel to the Housing Authority of Lackawanna County, PA and as Chief Public Defender for that county. After stepping down as U.S. Attorney, he joined the law firm Stevens & Lee as a shareholder where he co-chairs the firm’s White Collar Group.

Chris Kavanagh, also joined NAFUSA in May. He served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (WDVA) from 2021 to 2025. Prior to being appointed U.S. Attorney, he served as an AUSA from 2007 to 2014 in the D.C. U.S. Attorneys Office and from 2014 to 2021 in the WDVA. After stepping down as U.S. Attorney, he joined Cleary Gottlieb in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Americas Litigation Group. Since 2011 he has also been an adjunct professor at the UVA Law School.

West Virginia native William Thompson is now a member of NAFUSA. He served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2021 to 2025. Prior to being named U.S. Attorney, he was a Circuit Court Judge in West Virginia’s 25th Judicial District, a position to which he was first appointed in 2007 and elected, then reelected in 2008 and 2016. In May 2025, he joined Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC as Counsel. In addition to his legal work, he serves as Dean of Students at the Appalachian School of Law and is a visiting professor there.

Please welcome the following new NAFUSA members:

Michael Easley, Jr. served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina from November 2021 until February 2025. He is currently a partner at McGuire Woods in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jonathan Scott Ross was appointed United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama in May 2024 after serving as an AUSA in that office for ten years in positions including Senior Litigation Counsel, First Assistant and Acting U.S. Attorney. He resigned in August 2024 to enter private practice and is currently a shareholder with Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham.

Alamdar S. Hamdani served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas from December 2022 until January 2025 after being nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During his tenure he served on the AGAC and chaired the AGAC’s Border and Immigration Subcommittee. He is currently a partner at Bracewell in Houston, Texas.

Stephanie Hinds served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from March 2021 to March 2023. She was appointed by then Attorney General Garland as Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys in in October 2024 and served there until February 2025.

Rebecca Lutzko served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio from June 2023 until January 2025, first as Court appointed and then as the Senate confirmed nominee of President Biden.

Andrew Luger served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota under President Obama from February 2014 until March 2017 and returned to that position under President Biden serving from March 202 until January 2025. After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the second time, he returned to Jones Day as a partner in the firm’s Minneapolis office.

Trina A. Higgins served as the United States Attorney for the District of Utah from May 2022 until February 2025. She is the first woman to hold that position. After leaving office, she joined the Salt Lake City office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as Of Counsel for litigation and appellate practices.

Dena King was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina on November 29, 2021. She served in that position until February 2025. She is
currently a partner at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Joshua (Josh) Levy served as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from May 2023 until January 2025. Following his resignation, he rejoined the firm of Ropes & Gray in its litigation and enforcement practice.

Sandra Hairston was sworn in as United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina in November 2021 after having previously served as Acting U.S. Attorney for that district. She served as U.S. Attorney until January 2025.

Leigha Simonton served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from December 2022 until January 2025. She is currently a member at Dykema Gossett
PLLC in Dallas, Texas.

The NAFUSA Board of Directors met the first weekend in April in Nashville, Tennessee.
Great city! It was the first in-person meeting for the class of 2027 directors elected in the
general membership meeting in September in Oklahoma City. Either in-person or virtually, all but one of our directors was able to attend this meeting.

In addition to financial reporting, organization business and membership updates covered in the meeting, the board voted on the Bradford Award Committee’s recommendation for the 2025 recipient of this prestigious award. There was also spirited discussion of issues of general concern and issues impacting our non-partisan association. The conference committee reported on plans for this year’s conference and panel leaders were appointed for the CLE program areas to be presented at the conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC in October. If you are interested in being a part of the conference planning, please let me or Lisa know or contact any of the NAFUSA officers or directors.

Additionally, there was discussion of recommendations for new directors which will be
presented to the membership for voting in October at the 2025 annual conference.
NAFUSA Directors play an important role in the operation of the organization. They are
instrumental in planning and presenting relevant, timely and interesting programs for our annual conferences, in recruiting sponsors, promoting the organization and seeking new members. It’s not all work, however. Our mid-year meetings are a great opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy the camaraderie and spirit of our shared experiences in interesting and fun locations. Please let us know if you are considering serving on our Board of Directors in the future. It’s a great opportunity to connect with other former U.S. Attorneys and take an active role in NAFUSA.

In what appears to be becoming an annual event, former United States Attorneys from the Northern District of Georgia met over lunch in Atlanta in January. Former U.S. Attorney and NAFUSA member Joe Whitley (1990-1993) gathered together six former U.S. Attorneys who served in that role in subsequent years. Rick Deane (1998-2001), Bill Duffy (2001-2004). David Nahmias (2004-2009), Bjay Pak (2017-2021) and Kurt Erskine (2021-2022) welcomed the latest member to their join their ranks – Ryan Buchanan (2022-2025). Ryan is also one of NAFUSA’s newest members, having joined
in January 2025.