Conference Updates

As in previous years, Thursday night of the conference is designated for members of
presidential administrations to have dinner together independently. These mini reunions,
dubbed “class dinners” are organized by volunteers from the different administrations
represented. Please be sure to contact your class dinner organizer to let them know if you
will join them for dinner and if you will bring a guest.

Class dinner organizers:

Biden Administration:

Jill Steinberg (NDGA)- steinbergj@ballardspahr.com
Lane Tucker (Alaska)- lanetucker@gmail.com
Rebecca Lutzko (NDOH) – Rebecca.lutzko@gmail.com

Trump (1) Administration:

Jay Town (NDAL) – jay.town@grayanalytics.com

Obama Administration:

Tim Purdon (North Dakota) tpurdon@robinskaplan.com

Bush (2) Administration:

Don Washington (WDLA)- dwashington@joneswalker.com
Debra Wong Yang (CDCA) -dwyang925@hotmail.com

Clinton Administration:

Donna Bucella -dbucella@comcast.net

Prior Administrations:

Jack Selden (NDAL) – jseldon@bradley.com

Welcome to the Willard

NAFUSA is excited to host our 2025 annual conference at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. Regarded as one of the top historic hotels in America, the luxury Beaux-Arts hotel is two blocks east of the White House at 1401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW and has a rich history spanning over two centuries. The hotel has been the site of many important events in American history and has housed hundreds of notable guests. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in the 1860’s that “the Willard Hotel more justly could be called the center of Washington than either the Capitol or the White House or the State Department.”

The current hotel was founded by Henry Willard in 1847 on the site of the first six buildings to be constructed at that location and used as a hotel. He combined and transformed the buildings into a grand four-story hotel.

The present 12 story structure opened in 1901, suffered major damage in a fire in 1922, and by 1968 had fallen into severe decline and closed. After gaining new owners with a 73-million-dollar restoration project and a goal to make the restoration as historically accurate as possible, the 389 room Willard Hotel reopened in 1986, once again an elegant and important hotel.

The Willard has hosted numerous U.S. Presidents and notable guests. Abraham Lincolnstayed there for ten days before his inauguration in 1861. The hotel hosted the 1861 peace conferences aimed at preventing the war. It served as a temporary residence for Vice President Calvin Coolidge. Martin Luther King finished his “I Have a Dream” speech in his hotel room there. Charles Dickens and Buffalo Bill stayed there. Ulysses S. Grant famously held court in the lobby (a beginning of the term “lobbyists.”)

In addition to many fine restaurants and bars, the Willard houses the iconic Round Robin Bar which has been nicknamed the “Oval Office of Bars.” The bar has been a meeting place for D.C.’s political and social elite since 1847 – and is famous for its oak lined walls and its signature drink, the Mint Julip.

NAFUSA conference attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about the Willard’s rich history while enjoying its luxurious amenities. The hotel has a famous History Gallery which guests can visit, and the concierge has pamphlets with more information and a guide to significant areas within the hotel.

Be sure to register for the conference starting next week and use the link to reserve a room at the Willard for your stay.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE NAFUSA 2025 CONFERENCE

NAFUSA 2025 conference registration is now open. The NAFUSA opening reception, sponsored again this year by our generous sponsor Guidepost, will be Wednesday October 8 at 6:00 p.m. It will be hosted by King & Spalding LLP on the penthouse floor of their Washington, D.C. offices located at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., a short walk from the conference hotel.  Please click the link below to register and book a hotel room in the NAFUSA block at the Willard hotel.

If you have any issues booking your room or want to extend your stay please contact Lisa Rafferty.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE AND BOOK HOTEL ROOM

2025 NAFUSA CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Flag presentation for Mike Cody family

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.

New NAFUSA Members in July

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.

2025 Annual Conference Updates

Registration for NAFUSA’s 2025 Annual Conference will open Monday, August 4! Watch your emails for registration information including a link to register for the conference and a link to reserve a room in the conference hotel – The Willard – to take advantage of NAFUSA’s lower block rate. It will also include information about signing up to play golf on Wednesday morning, October 8 at the Army Navy Country Club across the river in Arlington. Registration information, including links, will also be available on the NAFUSA website, NAFUSA.org, early next week.

There are 28 slots available for golf on Wednesday morning. The fee charged includes transportation to and from the course. Golf at the Army Navy Country Club is exclusive to members and their guests so this is a very special opportunity (thanks to NAFUSA president, Donna Bucella). If you’re interested, I suggest that you register for the conference as soon as possible and sign up for golf at the same time you do since spots are limited.

Dates and times to add to your calendars:

The NAFUSA opening reception, sponsored again this year by our generous sponsor Guidepost, will be Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. It will be hosted by King & Spalding LLP on the penthouse floor of their Washington, D.C. offices located at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., a short walk from the conference hotel.

Class dinners will be Thursday, October 9 at 6:00 at restaurants tbd. Watch your newsletter for names of class members organizing the dinners. If you’re interested in being part of the planning, let us know.

September 15 is the last day to reserve a room at the Willard at the special block rate. If you want to extend your stay before or after the conference dates, you will be able to do so at the negotiated rate if rooms are available.

We look forward to seeing you and your spouse/guest at the conference! Please contact me or Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty if you have questions or difficulty registering.

Bobby Christine Named U.S. Judge Advocate General

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.

New NAFUSA Members in June

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.

Bradford Award Winners for 2025

NAFUSA will present the 2025 Bradford Award to this year’s winners at the annual
conference in Washington, DC on October 10. The award, named in honor of former U.S.
Attorney J. Michael Bradford, recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding
performance in handling an investigation and prosecution, or series of prosecutions, that
have had a significant impact and merit special recognition. NAFUSA annually solicits
nominations from current U.S. Attorneys of AUSAs in their offices whose work merits this
recognition.

This year, a committee from NAFUSA’s Board of Directors selected two AUSAs from the
many impressive nominations submitted. The winners, Margaret (“Maggie”) Lynaugh and
Brandon Thompson, are from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New
York (SDNY). Maggie and Brandon were nominated for the award in large measure for their
joint prosecution of five individuals who used a Bronx daycare as a front for their fentanyl
trafficking business, resulting in the poisoning of four children under two years old and,
tragically, one infant’s death. These outstanding AUSAs have also brought significant
prosecutions against fake online pharmacy schemes with victims in all 50 states and a
groundbreaking case with the Food and Drug Administration, including a first-of-its-kind
prosecution of a defendant selling counterfeit Ozempic medication through social media
platforms.

Maggie Lynaugh has been an AUSA in the SDNY since 2021. During that time, she has
served in the office’s general crimes, narcotics, illicit finance and money laundering and
securities units. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, she clerked for U.S. District
Court Judge Barbara S. Jones in the SDNY. She also worked in private practice for over ten years, primarily focusing on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Maggie is a
graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School

Brandon Thompson joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY in 2022 and has served in the office’s general crimes, narcotics, complex frauds and cybercrime units. Prior to joining the DOJ, he clerked for First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey R. Howard and also for U.S. District Court Judge Gregory H. Woods III in the SDNY. Brandon also worked in private practice for two years focusing primarily on white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. Brandon is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School

Congratulations and honorable mention to the following outstanding nominees:

Chauncey Bratt

Middle District of Florida

 

Andrew Grogan

Northern District of Florida

 

Kaitlin Teresa Farrell

Eastern District of New York

 

Robert W. Schumacher

Eastern District of New York

 

Danielle Bateman

Eastern District of Pennsylvania

 

Elizabeth C. Warren

District of South Carolina

 

Thomas J. Hanlon

Eastern District of Washington