NAFUSA Annual Conference Scheduled for October 2026 in St. Louis

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NAFUSA’s 2026 Annual Conference will take place October 14-16, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri. The prestigious Ritz Carlton hotel will serve as the venue for the event, bringing together former U.S. Attorneys, legal professionals, and distinguished guests from across the country.

The Ritz Carlton is located in the trendy arts and garden district of Clayton, MO and offers an elegant setting for NAFUSA’s annual gathering. Attendees can expect world-class accommodations, state-of-the-art meeting facilities, and exemplary service, all contributing to a memorable experience in one of America’s historic cities.

The conference will feature prominent speakers from the legal and public policy sectors, sharing insights on current issues facing the justice system and legal practitioners. Interactive panels will address current topics of interest to our members such as law enforcement challenges, compliance with Department of Justice regulations and the evolving role of U.S. Attorneys.

As with previous conferences, the 2026 conference will provide a unique platform for former U.S. Attorneys and professionals to reconnect, share experiences, and foster new collaborations. Attendees can participate in social events including receptions, dinners, and opportunities to experience St. Louis’s rich cultural and historical offerings.

More information about the conference offerings will be available on the NAFUSA website in the next few months and registration details and hotel accommodation information will be available on the NAFUSA website in mid-2026. NAFUSA members and 2026 conference sponsors are encouraged to mark their calendars and prepare for an engaging and impactful gathering. The 2026 Conference Sponsor Brochure is now available on the NAFUSA website.

The Passing of Oklahoma City Bombing Prosecutor Joseph Hartzler

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The legal community was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Joseph Hartzler who
led the prosecution team following the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma City. He died on December 18, 2025, at the age of 75. NAFUSA
members who toured the Oklahoma City Memorial during the 2024 Annual Conference will
recall that the bombing claimed 168 lives and injured many more. Hartzler, who was at that
time an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Springfield, Illinois, submitted his name volunteering to
assist with the case to then Attorney General Janet Reno, who later named him to lead the
prosecution team investigating the bombing. Hartzler and the assembled team of
prosecutors secured the conviction of Timothy McVeigh, who committed the deadliest
domestic terror attack to that time in American history. After a two-month trial, McVeigh
was convicted of 11 counts of murder and conspiracy. He was sentenced to death and
executed in 2001.

Hartzler attended American University Washington College of Law where he met fellow
classmate Lisa Harms. They married in 1981 and together they had three sons, Alex, Adam and Matthew, all of whom were the joy of his life. Hartzler was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988, but he refused to let the disease slow him down, and he led the
successful McVeigh prosecution from a wheelchair. He is survived by his wife, three sons
and their wives, and five grandchildren.

His son Matthew paid tribute to his father recalling that the successful prosecution of
Timothy McVeigh provided a measure of justice to the victims and their families. He added
that his father’s role in the trial was “… a watershed moment for disability visibility…in an
era when disability was often hidden, he navigated the federal courthouse in front of a sea
of cameras, challenging national perceptions of capability in his motorized scooter.”

NAFUSA Membership Statistics

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During 2025 NAFUSA membership increased. We welcomed many new members, many
from the Biden administration, and sadly lost a few. We look forward to continuing to grow
our membership in 2026 and to have them join NAFUSA members and guests at the 2026
annual conference which will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, October 14-16.

The current breakdown of active NAFUSA members by administration is as follows:
Biden – 53
Trump – 79
Obama – 58
G.W. Bush – 81
Clinton – 42
G.H. Bush – 23
Reagan – 39
Carter – 15
Ford – 7
Nixon – 5
Happy Holidays to all our NAFUSA members!

2025 Conference Highlights

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The Opening Reception for NAFUSA’s 2025 Annual Conference on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 was a wonderful treat for conference attendees. The view of Washington, D.C. at night from the penthouse offices of King & Spalding, our gracious hosts for the evening, was breathtaking. We should also recognize John Richter, immediate past NAFUSA president and partner at King & Spalding, for ensuring that the weather was perfect for enjoying the impressive skyline, drinks and great food with fellow members and guests on the penthouse veranda.

Again this year, the sponsor for the conference’s opening event was Guidepost Solutions. We cannot thank Guidepost enough for their generosity and continued support of NAFUSA and this well attended event. The opening reception has been one of the highlights of conferences for many years, and this year did not disappoint. The food was beautiful, abundant and delicious, service impeccable, and beverages top shelf. Thanks to the good folks from Guidepost for sponsoring this year’s reception and for joining us at the reception.

 

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2025 Bradford Award winners Margaret Lynaugh and Brandon Thompson, from the Southern District of New York, presented a review of the case for which they were nominated – the prosecution of Herrera Garcia and three others who operated a fentanyl packaging and distribution facility out of a Bronx daycare.

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Conference attendees enjoyed a cocktail reception in the Willard Hotel’s beautiful Crystal Room before the conference’s closing dinner. This year’s keynote speakers were former Attorney General John Ashcroft and former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, led in a “fireside chat” by incoming NAFUSA president Catherine Hanaway. The two discussed the challenges faced by DOJ employees following the attacks on 9-11. Their remarks were a sobering reminder of that difficult time, but also an inspiring tribute to the work done by DOJ on behalf of the nation.

 

 

Jay Bilas Educates NAFUSA Members on the Changes Happening in College Sports

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A definite highlight of the 2025 NAFUSA conference was the hour spent listening to four-time Emmy nominee Jay Bilas, an ESPN college basketball analyst who has repeatedly been named the BEST analyst in college basketball by Sports Illustrated and other sports media. The feedback from many conference attendees was that Bilas more than deserves that accolade, and more than one attendee claimed to have come to D.C. just to hear his presentation.

In a question/answer session with NAFUSA president-elect Tim Purdon, Bilas – a former Duke basketball star and a lawyer – shared his perspective on the changing face of college athletics. The conversation was fast-paced and touched on many of the controversial issues facing college athletes, university sports programs and sports fans. He discussed the impact of NIL (name, imaging and likeness) and the ability of college athletes to change schools through a “portal.” He talked about how the money is divided between the universities themselves, the coaches and athletes, and the impact sports media such as ESPN has on the game, from the perspective of a lawyer and former college athlete. His insightful comments about the impact on, and benefit to, college athletes themselves was perhaps the most thought-provoking part of his presentation, especially when considering the staggering amounts of money paid to many coaches and sports programs based on the performance of these college students. His strong background as a college athlete, sports analyst and lawyer was clear in his ability to give real examples of how the changes in collegiate sports could benefit college athletes as well as create challenges.

Many thanks to Jay Bilas for sharing his time and expertise with NAFUSA members and for his candid and thoughtful responses to Tim’s (and the audience’s) questions. He deserves an Emmy.

Election of New Officers and Directors

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NAFUSA members attending the 2025 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. elected a
slate of new officers and directors on Friday, October 10 in the general meeting at the
conclusion of conference programming. Former President Elect Catherine Hanaway (ED Missouri) was elected President for 2025-2026 replacing outgoing President Donna Bucella. Tim Purdon (North Dakota) became President Elect; Don Washington (WD Louisiana) became Vice President; and Rick Hartunian (ND New York) became Secretary. Members elected Jeff Taylor (District of Columbia) to the position of Treasurer. Jeff had been serving a term as a Board Member in the class of 2026.

Members also elected six new members to the Board of Directors, including Erin Nealy
Cox (ND Texas), a current member of the outgoing class of 2025 who was elected to serve an additional year on the Board filling Jeff Taylor’s vacated position. In addition to Erin, the newly elected directors are Rich Roper, Nick Trutanich, Ken Wainstein, Steve Dettelbach, Josh Levy and Jill Steinberg. The newly elected directors will serve a term of three years. In accordance with NAFUSA policy, three of the new board members previously served in a Democratic administration and three in a Republican administration.

Rich Roper served as U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Texas from 2004-2008 before leaving to join Holland and Knight where he practiced for 17 years. He is currently a partner in Dallas/Ft. Worth based Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP, leading the firm’s White Collar and Investigations practice.

Nick Trutanich served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada from 2019 – 2021.
After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 2005, he worked in private
practice and as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Manuel Real. After serving as an AUSA in the Central District of California for 6 years, Nick joined the Nevada Attorney General’s Office in 2014 until being sworn in as U.S. Attorney in January 2019. In March 2021 he joined the Fox Corporation as its Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.

Ken Wainstein served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2004 until 2006,
when he was confirmed as the DOJ’s first Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
In March 2008, he was appointed Homeland Security Advisor by President Bush and later
was named Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland
Security. In April 2025 he became a partner in the firm Mayer Brown as leader of its Global
Investigation & White-Collar Defense practice and member of its National Security and
Congressional Investigations practice.

Steve Dettelbach served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio (NDOH).
After graduating from Harvard Law School, he clerked for a federal judge before joining the
DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in 1992. He served as an AUSA in the Maryland and NDOH
offices between 1997 and 2006, during which time he was detailed for two years to
Chairman Patrick Leahy of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He was sworn in as U.S.
Attorney in 2009 and served until 2016 when he rejoined the firm BakerHostetler. In July
2022 he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as ATF Director, the first confirmed director
since the departure of NAFUSA member Todd Jones in 2015. In April 2025 he rejoined
BakerHostetler as a partner on the White Collar, Investigations and Securities Enforcement
and Litigation Team.

Josh Levy served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from May 2023 to
January 2025. He previously served as First Assistant AUSA in that office. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was as associate and later a partner in the law firm Ropes and Gray. After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office he rejoined the firm in its litigation and
enforcement practice.

Jill Steinberg served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia from February
2023 until January 2025. After graduating from Duke University Law School in 1998, she
became an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. In 2001 she joined Rogers & Hardin
LLP as an associate before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of
Georgia in 2008. She served in several positions in the DOJ, including the Office of the
Deputy Attorney General and the National Security Division until leaving in 2021 to join
Ballard Spahr as partner. She rejoined the firm in 2025 after her resignation as U.S.
Attorney.

New Members in October

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Trini Ross, former U.S. Attorney (USA) for the Western District of New York (WDNY), is a new
NAFUSA member. She began her legal career as an appellate attorney for the New York
Supreme Court and later served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in the WDNY from
1995 to 2018. Trini was sworn into office as USA in October 2021 and served until 2025, the
first African American woman to lead that office. She joined the firm Harter Secrest &
Emery LLP as partner in its Buffalo office on October 6, 2025, and leads the firm’s Government and Internal Investigations team.

NAFUSA also welcomes new member Ryan Buchanan, former USA for the Northern District
of Georgia (NDGA) 2022-2025. During his tenure as USA, Ryan served on the AGAC and was co-chair of its Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee and led the Foreign Influence and Nation-State Threats Working Group. Ryan began his legal career as clerk for U.S. District Judge Inge Prytz Johnson in Alabama. He joined McGuire Woods in Atlanta as an associate before becoming an AUSA in NDGA in 2010 and rejoined the firm as a partner in 2025 after leaving office.

Finally, NAFUSA welcomed new member Mac Schneider in October. Mac served as U.S.
Attorney for the District of North Dakota from 2022 to 2025. He graduated from the
University of North Dakota – where he was a starting center on UND’s 2001 national
championship football team – and received his J.D. from Georgetown University. Mac
served two terms in the North Dakota Senate, where he was elected Assistant Minority
Leader and later Minority Leader. He joined Fredrikson & Byron as an officer in its Litigation
Group in May 2025.

Former NAFUSA Member Pat Ryan Dies

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Patrick “Pat” Ryan, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma during the
Clinton Administration and former NAFUSA member, passed away unexpectedly on
September 18, 2025, while vacationing with family and friends in Aruba. He was 79.
Pat is remembered as the U.S. Attorney during the Oklahoma City bombing prosecutions
and for his work with both the prosecutors in those cases and with the survivors and
families of the victims of that deadly bombing. He was also well known for wearing his
signature cowboy hat during the months he spent in Denver attending the trials of Timothy
McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols, who were convicted for their roles in the
bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19,1995. Pat, who was
sworn in as U.S. Attorney in June 2025, shortly after the bombing, said he wore his white
cowboy hat to remind the people back home in Oklahoma that, “Ok, we’ve got a guy there
who’s from Oklahoma, who is one of us, who is fighting for us.” Pat served as U.S. Attorney
until October 1999.

Pat received his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1969 and then served four years in
the United States Air Force, including two years as the Chief Military Justice for Southeast
Asia from 1972 to 1974. At the time of his death, he was a Director of the law firm Ryan
Whaley Attorneys in Oklahoma City.

A flag is being flown over the Department of Justice in his honor. His cowboy hat is on
display at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

 

New NAFUSA Members in September

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NAFUSA welcomed four new members in September, all of whom served during the Biden
Administration, bringing the total number of NAFUSA members from that administration to
51. We look forward to welcoming them at NAFUSA’s 2025 Annual Conference in D.C. this
month.

Kenneth “Ken” Parker, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio (SDOH) from
2021 to 2025, joined NAFUSA in September. Ken served as a judicial law clerk for Federal
District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel for two years following graduation from the Indiana
University Maurer School of Law in 1997. From 1999 to 2021, he served as an Assistant
United States Attorney (AUSA) in the SDOH until nominated by President Biden in September 2021 to be the U.S. Attorney and subsequently Senate confirmed. Ken joined the Taft Law Firm as a partner in its Cincinnati office in September 2025.

Also joining in September was Nikolas “Kolo” Kerest, who served as the U.S. Attorney for
the District of Vermont from 2021 to January 2025. Following graduation from Cornell Law
School in 2000, Kolo clerked for Judge Fred Parker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit. He worked in private practice at Ropes & Gray in Boston for three years and
then at Pierce Atwood LLP in Portland, Maine before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an
AUSA in December 2021. After his resignation as U.S. Attorney in 2025, he joined the law firm Stris & Maher LLP as a partner.

We are also happy to welcome new lifetime member, Roger Handberg. Roger served as
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) from December 2021 to February
2025, after having served as an AUSA in that district since 2002. Following graduation from
Harvard Law School in 1994, he worked as an associate at King & Spalding in Atlanta for
five years before leaving to join the Florida Attorney General’s Office in 1999. Roger is
currently a shareholder at Gray Robinson in Orlando, Florida.

Tessa Gorman, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington (WDWA), also
joined NAFUSA in September. Tessa began her career with the DOJ in the Honors Program
in 1998 after serving as law clerk to Federal District Judge Douglas Woodlock in
Massachusetts following graduation from law school at the University of California,
Berkeley. She became an AUSA for the WDWA in 2001 rising to the level of First Assistant
and served as “Acting” U.S. Attorney twice before being appointed U.S. Attorney by
Attorney General Garland and later by the district court judges in her district.