Tamara P. Nash

Where are you from? How have your experiences throughout your upbringing influenced your passions and aspirations today?

I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. Late in high school, my family relocated to Iowa. I attended law school in South Dakota and never left. I am a first-generation college graduate and lawyer. My path to the law is unlikely and filled with extraordinary plot twists, leaps of faith, and many unexpected mentors who invested in me and became my champions. Through my journey, I have developed a passion and commitment to serve the profession and community and advocate for and empower those who are vulnerable or overlooked in our community. This work is our responsibility as a profession, and personally is my way to repay those who changed the course of my life.

What drives you?

I am driven by being an example of the possibility of opportunity and investment. Through the opportunities and investments various people made in me at different times, I was able to invest in myself and redefine my future, goals, and dreams. I want to inspire the same in my brothers, nieces/nephews, or anyone unsure of their potential. I am also driven by using my knowledge and skill to help. It’s our obligation as humans taking space on this earth, to leave it a little better than how we found it.

What does social justice mean to you?

Social justice is the work to ensure all people receive equal rights, opportunities, and access no matter who they are. It requires honoring the dignity and value of all humans, acknowledging and addressing systemic inequalities, and meaningful change.

What do you feel is the greatest challenge to social justice today?

One of the challenges to social justice today, is technology and social media. Today, bad actors are able to generate and spread content (whether misinformation or harmful information) to millions of people in a matter of seconds. The current culture around social media is 24-7 access and content is generated by anyone so it is often unfiltered and easily weaponized. This is especially dangerous in light of the advances of generative AI, the decline in social media literacy, and the current culture around misinformation.

What is a piece of advice to give law students and young lawyers that want to make a meaningful impact on civil rights and social justice in today’s world?

Receiving a legal education is an extraordinary honor and practicing law provides us a unique honor and responsibility. So, leverage all of your skills, tools, and talents to make change. Remember, everyone’s contribution to change may look differently based on situation or circumstance. What matters is you find the path you can best contribute.

What CRSJ project(s) are you working on? Or, what have you undertaken in CRSJ that you found most rewarding to have worked on? Are there any upcoming events or projects you want us all to know about?

Currently, I have the honor of serving as CRSJ Special Counsel. In this role, I help support several committees including: Disability RIghts, Elder Affairs, Health Law and Ethics, and Rights of Immigrants. I also have helped support the Section’s Council on Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion. I have enjoyed all our work this year! I would encourage folks to check-out the Section’s virtual programming on the ABA website and attend the 2025 Thurgood Marshall Awards, which will be virtual this year (scheduled for July 31, 2025 at 6:30pm ET). This year’s honoree is Maya D. Wiley, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund.

What do you do to relax in your spare time?

In my spare time, I try to spend as much time as possible with my baby brothers and my niece, Harper (10) and nephew, Hutton (1). I also love to read and bake (cupcakes specifically).

What is one thing most people do not know about you that you feel they should?

My 2024 top recorded album on Apple Music and Spotify was Hamilton: An American Musical

Biography

Professor Tamara P. Nash, Director of Experiential Learning/Lecturer at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law (Vermillion, SD)

Tamara P. Nash serves as the Director of Experiential Learning and Lecturer at the University of South Dakota Knudson of Law (Vermillion, South Dakota). Nash formerly served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota where her practice focused on felony firearm and narcotics prosecutions in both state and federal court. She has also served as a Deputy State’s Attorney for Union County, South Dakota, and a judicial law clerk for the Second Judicial Circuit of the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Nash maintains a strong commitment to serving the legal profession. She is a former President of the South Dakota Young Lawyers Section (2018-2019). She holds several State Bar of South Dakota appointments, including being South Dakota’s young lawyer representative to the ABA House of Delegates (2021-2025). Nationally, Nash recently served as Chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (2023-2024). She also serves within the ABA Sections of Civil Rights and Social Justice and Litigation and the Standing Committee of Bar Leadership. Nash graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from Wayne State College (Nebraska) where she graduated with honors and magna cum laude. She later earned her Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law where she graduated with honors.