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2024

Difference Makers

  • Stacy L. Leeds, Phoenix, AZ
  • Marc L. Miller, Tucson, AZ

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

  • Mary L. Smith, Lansing, IL

Making a Difference through Community Service

  • Lynn M. Allingham (posthumously), Anchorage, AK

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work

  • The Arizona Bar Foundation

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

  • Hon. Leslie Miller, Tucson, AZ

Lynn M. Allingham (posthumously)

Anchorage, Alaska
Making a Difference through Community Service

Lynn M. Allingham served on the ABA Board of Governors as a Goal III Woman Member at Large from 2019-2022. She was admitted to practice in Alaska and Washington State.

Her participation in the American Bar Association began in law school when she served as the University of Washington Law School Delegate to the ABA Law Student Division Assembly and continued in the ABA Young Lawyers Division where she served as a District Representative on the Executive Council.

She also served as a Division Director and on the Executive Council of the GPSolo Division, where she served as a member and Chair of the GPSolo Book Publications Board and a member of the Programs Committee.

She served as Alaska Bar Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates for over 20 years, including service on the Select Committee of the House of Delegates. She served as an At-Large Delegate to the House. She served on the Commission on IOLTA for three years and served on the board of the ABA YLD Fellows and was a Life Fellow and past State Co-chair of the American Bar Foundation. She participated in ABA Day in Washington, DC for numerous years, and served as Alaska State Captain for much of that time.

She served as the ABA's Alaska State Membership Chair for many years and was awarded the Outstanding State Membership Chair Award.

She served on the board of directors of the Anchorage Bar Association and served two terms as president of that organization.

She had a solo law practice in Anchorage, AK with an emphasis on business and intellectual property law. She began her law practice as an associate at the law firm of Guess & Rudd in Anchorage, AK. She also served as Assistant US Attorney in the Alaska US Attorney's office and worked as General Counsel at the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, a non-profit Alaska Native Corporation.

The Arizona Bar Foundation

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work

The State Bar of Arizona created the Arizona Bar Foundation as a separate 501(c) 3 organization in 1978, charging it with the mission of promoting access to justice for all Arizonans. The Foundation strives to fulfill this mission by preparing Arizona youth for civic responsibility and providing access to justice for Arizonans most in need.

Through the support of volunteers and the provision of technical and financial assistance to probation and resource officers, teachers and administrators, private attorneys and judges, and legal service attorneys and advocates, the Foundation works to level the playing field, so that all in Arizona have knowledge and access to the justice systems. The three key avenues of promotion are collaboration, outreach, and recognition.

Collaborating with the State Bar, local bars, law firms, libraries, the Court, and legal aid entities, the Foundation amplifies their efforts to increase access to justice. The Foundation’s Law-Related Education (LRE) programs and collaborative initiatives utilize statewide outreach to raise awareness of volunteer opportunities.

Each month, the Foundation recognizes a volunteer who has assisted a program or offered their expertise. Their annual award luncheon recognizes those who have made significant contributions toward advancing justice. With “promoting’ as core to its mission, the Foundation’s accomplishments are thanks to the efforts of its volunteers, partners, and supporters.

Will A. Gunn

Washington, DC
Keynote Speaker

Will A. Gunn is the General Counsel and Vice President for Legal Affairs for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). In 2009, he was appointed by President Barack Obama as the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and served in that role for five years. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with military honors and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School where he served as President of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. He also holds an LL.M in environmental law from George Washington University, a Masters in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, and a Masters in Ministry (with a focus on Leadership) from Lancaster Bible College. In 2003, Will was selected as the first-ever Chief Defense Counsel for the DoD Office of Military Commissions. In that role, he established an office that defends detainees brought before military commissions at the Guantanamo Prison Camp. He served as a White House Fellow during the George H. W. Bush Administration and after retiring from the Air Force as a colonel in 2005, Will served as CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. Will chaired the ABA’s 2021 National Law Day commemoration; the ABA Youth at Risk Commission; and the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity. He was a founding Director of the Air Force Academy Way of Life Alumni Group and served as the Vice Chair of the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates. He is also a minister in his local church, and he has received numerous awards including an honorary doctorate from Nova Southeastern University and the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau’s Outstanding Alumni Award. Most recently, he was appointed by the Secretary of Defense as a member of the Military Justice Review Panel.

Stacy L. Leeds

Phoenix, Arizona
Difference Maker Award

Stacy Leeds is the Willard H. Pedrick Dean and Regents Professor and Foundation Professor of Law and Leadership at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. She is a scholar of Indigenous law and policy and an experienced leader in law, higher education, economic development, and conflict resolution. She holds law degrees from the University of Wisconsin (LL.M.) and University of Tulsa (J.D.), a business degree from the University of Tennessee (M.B.A.), and an undergraduate degree in history from Washington University in St. Louis (B.A.).

Leeds was the first Indigenous woman to serve as a law school dean. She was Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law (2011-2018) and the inaugural Vice Chancellor for Economic Development at the University of Arkansas (2017-2020). In addition, Leeds was an administrator and professor at the University of Kansas and the University of North Dakota and a William H. Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a recipient of the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence Award.

Hon. Leslie Miller

Tucson, Arizona
Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

Judge Leslie Miller began her work in the ABA as the Law Student Division representative from her law school. During her involvement as a Young Lawyer, she sat on the Executive Council and Chaired National Community Law Week, bringing that event to Tucson as a week-long series of programs in both schools and the community. Leslie initiated the charter for the Pima County Young Lawyers affiliate and served as Chair of the Arizona Young Lawyers.

Judge Miller was President of the Pima County Bar Association, the Morris Udall Inn of Court and the Arizona Judges Association and was elected to the State Bar of Arizona Board of Governors.

Leslie worked as a Public Defender, City Magistrate and Superior Court Judge. Judge Miller was instrumental in establishing the Pima County Drug Court, one of the first in the country. She taught at the National Drug Court Association drug court training and assisted in evaluating drug courts around the country. Leslie helped write and pass legislation in Arizona to support drug courts and served as the first President of the Arizona Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Continuing her commitment to engage with the community, she established the “Courthouse Gallery” which showcases the art work of local school students with rotating exhibits on the ground floor of the Courthouse. At the end of each exhibit, the students tour the Courthouse, watch proceedings, speak with judges and enjoy a reception. Judge Miller was also a leader in developing the first public service center in the Court library to assist pro se litigants.

A member of the Judicial Division since her judicial appointment, Leslie has served as Chair of the Judicial Division and the National Conference of State Trial Judges. Her main initiative as Division Chair was the Judicial Mentor Program in which diverse lawyers who were interested in a judicial position were paired with appropriate judges who served as mentors. Leslie visited the meetings of the bars of color to raise awareness and recruit participants.

Leslie served two terms on the ABA Board of Governors, on numerous ABA committees and commissions, and is currently serving as Chair of Meetings and Travel. In that capacity, she has worked to reinvigorate the Annual Meeting through a new “Mentor Program” for first time attendees, an Association wide welcome reception and free “ABA Expert” programs targeted at solo, small firm and young lawyer attendees and other events and programming.

She has been a Delegate in the House of Delegates for more than 20 years and has served as Chair of the Credentials and Admissions Committee and the Resolution Impact and Review Committee and Vice Chair of the Drafting and the Steering Committee of the Nomination Committee as well as a member of Scope.

Judge Miller has also been active in the National Association of Women Judges, the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and the Minority Bar Association as well as numerous civic organizations including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Tucson International Mariachi Conference, YMCA, YWCA and Susan Komen.

Mary L. Smith

Lansing, Illinois
Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

Mary Smith served as President of the American Bar Association (ABA) from 2023-2024 and was the first Native American woman in this role.

Mary is an independent board member and former CEO of a $6 billion national healthcare organization, the Indian Health Service. Mary currently serves on the board of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT), a global biopharmaceutical company and on the board of HAI Group, a leading member-owned insurance company for the affordable housing industry. Mary is also Vice Chair of the VENG Group, a national consulting firm.

She has served at the highest levels of government, both at the federal and state level. Mary served on the senior team of the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice and was General Counsel at the Illinois Department of Insurance. Earlier in her career, Mary served in the White House as Associate Counsel to the President and Associate Director of Policy Planning.

In her private sector experience, she served in a senior role at Tyco International (US) Inc., a $40 billion public company, where she managed a $60 million budget. Mary also served as Special Counsel & Estate Trust Officer at the Office of Special Deputy Receiver; a Partner in the Chicago office of Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman, a women-owned firm; and an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C. where she specialized in governmental investigations and securities class actions.

In bar activities, Mary is a past ABA secretary. She was the first Native American to serve as one of 13 commissioners on the Commission on Women in the Profession. She has held leadership positions in both the ABA Section of Litigation and the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Responsibility. She also served as an ABA representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Mary has also served in leadership roles in state and local bars. Mary served on the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents and is a past president of the National Native American Bar Association. She was co-chair of the Litigation Section in the District of Columbia Bar Association and also served on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Bar Association.

In her civic activities, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of Chicago, C200, The Chicago Network, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the International Women’s Forum, and the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Mary founded and serves as President and Chair of a foundation named after her mother and grandmother, respectively, the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, to train Native American girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (www.carolineorasmithfoundation.org).

In 2024, Mary was selected to Forbes 50 over 50.

Mary graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law, cum laude and received a B.S. in mathematics and computer science, magna cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago. Mary served on the Law Review and clerked for the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson III in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. 

2023

Difference Maker

  • Barbara Glesner Fines, Kansas City, MO

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

  • Russell E. Lovell II and David S. Walker, Des Moines, IA

Making a Difference through Community Service

  • Judge Odell G. McGhee, Des Moines, IA

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work

  • Iowa-Nebraska NAACP Legal Redress Committee, Des Moines, IA

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

  • Kelly J. Adams, Chadds Ford, PA

Kelly J. Adams

Alpha Omega Law Firm, LLC
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

Kelly Adams is a sole practitioner licensed in the state if Pennsylvania and the 3rd Circuit United States Court of Appeals.

Her firm, Alpha Omega Law Firm, is located in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Kelly joined the GPSolo section in 2015 as a diversity board fellow. Since then, she has served the Diversity Board as a member, Chair and Diversity Director. As Diversity Director, Kelly has been committed to activating diversity within the legal profession. This work is especially important to Kelly, as the law lays the foundation of what behavior is acceptable. Therefore, the legal profession needs diversity, since the law affects everyone. She has had the privilege of starting the “Activate Diversity” Series, sponsored by the Diversity Board, that educates, challenges and empowers members of the legal profession to notice our differences, embrace them and include them in the very important work that attorneys do.

In addition to the Diversity Board, she has also served on the Publications Board and enjoyed the privilege of writing an article for the GPSolo Magazine.

Personally, Kelly has three sons, Elijah, Joshua and Caleb who are the joys in her life. She is committed to having a balanced life that allows her to have an involved presence in their lives as well as meet the demands of a challenging career. Occasionally, she takes meetings in the football parking lot to achieve this. She also travels as a motivational speaker for young people with the mission to encourage them to follow their dreams, embrace their identity and empower them to overcome obstacles they may face on their journey. Most recently, she traveled to South Africa where she spoke to over 600 learners, one of which she sponsored as the learner’s dream is to become an “advocate”. Licensed to practice law since 2013, Kelly is committed to using this privilege to practice law as a means to add value to this profession and impact lives by knocking down the barriers of ignorance and encouraging love and kindness among humanity. 

Barbara Glesner Fines

University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
Kansas City, Missouri
Difference Maker Award

Barbara Glesner Fines is the Dean of the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1986.  She served as Executive Associate Dean from 2008 to 2016 and as Interim Dean from January 2017 until she was appointed Dean in June of 2018.  Endowed as the Rubey M. Hulen Professor of Law, Glesner Fines received her master of law degree from Yale University and her J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Professor Glesner Fines is an expert on professional ethics, family law, and legal education and has authored numerous articles and books on these subjects.  She has taught a range of courses from Property and Federal Income Tax to Family Law and Civil Procedure. Her drive to create community-connected legal education has led to the creation of several innovative programs at the School of Law.  She helped to found the UMKC School of Law Child and Family Law Program, which is currently ranked as one of the top four programs of its kind in the United States.  She is also one of the founding faculty members of the Entrepreneurial Lawyering: Solo & Small Firm Practice Program, which prepares students with critical law practice management skills.

This past year she was instrumental in launching the Self-Help Legal Clinic in collaboration with Legal Aid of Western Missouri.  Retired attorneys volunteer in the clinic, working with law students, to provide free brief advice and assistance to members of the public through the Leon E Bloch Law Library at the School of Law.  The program has continued through the COVID-19 crisis by shifting to an online delivery of legal services.

Iowa-Nebraska NAACP Legal Redress Committee

Des Moines, Iowa
Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work

The Des Moines NAACP Legal Redress Commitee recruits volunteer attorneys to assist members of the Des Moines community in obtaining valuable legal resources. We partner with existing legal organizations with legal redress matters in order to share resources and recruit new members. The Legal Redress Committee also seeks to implement professional and educational development initiatives for law students and new attorneys in the community.

Russell E. Lovell II

Drake Law School
Des Moines, Iowa
Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

Drake University Law Professor Emeritus Russell Lovell taught constitutional law, employment discrimination and civil rights law, and remedies from 1976-2014, and served ten years as Associate Dean (collaborating with co-honoree Dean David Walker) and directed Drake’s Clinical Programs from 1995-1999. Russ mentored more than eighty Public Service Scholars as founder/director of Drake’s Public Service Scholarship Program. Drake University honored him as its Outstanding Professor for Experiential Learning for his creation of a practice observation experience of an actual Iowa jury trial for the entire 1L class—and Bloomberg Law, in 2023, recognized it as 1 of the 10 most innovative Law School programs.

It was during Russ’s clerkship for Federal Appeals Judge Floyd Gibson that he first helped break down racial barriers in an Arkansas school desegregation case. Thereafter Russ served as Director of Litigation for the Legal Services Organization of Indianapolis, specializing in Federal Court civil right litigation. His prison reform advocacy secured a Federal Court injunction closing a 48-cell “dungeon-like” solitary confinement unit in Indiana’s maximum-security prison and played a major role in the 1972 landmark Supreme Court due process ruling in Morrissey v. Brewer that guaranteed parolees a fair hearing before their paroles could be revoked.

2023 is Russ’s fiftieth year as an NAACP pro bono civil rights lawyer! His proudest accomplishments were his service as lead counsel on not one, but two, NAACP pattern and practice employment discrimination cases that were resolved by comprehensive Consent Decrees that integrated the Indiana State Police Department in the 1970’s and the Des Moines Fire Department in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Russ served as NAACP co-counsel on key remedies stages of the Indianapolis and Kansas City school desegregation cases, including successful advocacy before the Supreme Court in Jenkins v. Missouri in 1989. Since 2014 Lovell and Walker have filed nine NAACP Amicus Briefs in the Iowa and Nebraska Supreme Courts. Their advocacy has reinvigorated Iowa’s jury trial jurisprudence, expanded jury service eligibility to more than 160,000 former prisoners who had their citizenship rights restored, and resulted in enactment of the Des Moines Unbiased Policing Ordinance.

To use the words of former Drake Law Dean Alan Vestal, “the NAACP has repeatedly honored Russ Lovell for his unwavering civil rights commitment at every level of the NAACP”—Local (Des Moines), State (both Indiana and Iowa), 10-state central US Region (50th anniversary of Brown v. Board in Topeka, Kansas), and the Foot Soldier in the Sand Award at the 2005 National Convention. The Notre Dame Alumni Association awarded him the Fr. Louis Putz social justice advocacy award in 2023. In 2022 he was elected an American Bar Foundation Fellow. In 2020 Russ received the Iowa National Bar Association’s Journey Award for “demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” In 2018 the ACLU of Iowa honored Russ with its Louise Noun Award from for “having displayed uncommon courage on behalf of civil liberties in the state.” In 2013 the Iowa Juneteenth Celebration honored Russ as its “Iowa Citizen of the Year.”

Hon. Odell G. McGhee

Des Moines, Iowa
Making a Difference through Community Service

Judge Odell Gene McGhee was born in Liberty, Mississippi, on July 11, 1952. When he was thirteen years old his parents moved the family to Chicago, Illinois during the early “rural flight” to larger cities in 1960s. After finishing junior high and high school in the Chicago Public School System, he attended the University Of Illinois and transferred to Cornell College, Mount, Vernon, Iowa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Secondary Education After graduating from Cornell College in 1974 he attended the Drake University School of Law and received a Juris Doctorate Degree in 1977. Judge McGhee studied in Europe in his junior year of college at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the University of Arhus in Denmark. He has also taken classes at Cornell University, Itaca, New York and at the University of Nevada at Reno. Judge McGhee is licensed to practice law in the local, state and federal courts. He was elected to the national board of the National Bar Association and was president of the Iowa National Bar Association for over ten years. He was elected regional chair of the National Prosecutor Association and chaired several committees. He has served several terms on the Executive Board of the Iowa State Bar Association and on several special committees (Grievance, Bench Bar, Jury Instructions, Minority issues, and Criminal Law) of the Iowa State Bar Association and on the Executive Board of the Polk County Bar Association. He served four terms on the Iowa Supreme Courts Commission on Continuing Legal Education, and was a temporary examiner with the Iowa Board of Law Examiners. Judge McGhee was also on the Executive Board of the Young Lawyers Division of the Iowa State Bar Association. Judge McGhee was elected Vice President and President of the Iowa Judges’ Association in 2011 and served on the Executive Board for five years. He was the first African American to be elected to the Executive Board and the first to be elected president.

As a member of the Iowa community Judge McGhee was selected or appointed to the Des Moines Waterworks Commission (Chairman and Member), the Des Moines Housing Authority (Chairman and Member), the Hillside Development Commission(member), the Des Moines Playhouse (member), The Corinthian Garden Senior Citizen and Handicapped Apartment Complex (Chairman, Vice Chair, and member), The Corinthian Baptist Church Trustee Board (Chair, vice-chair and member), the Salvation Army Advisory Council (member and chair of the basketball program), the Metro Arts Board(member), the United Way of Iowa Board (member), the Drake University Board of Counselor for the Law School (member), The National Poetry Society (vice-chair), the Langston Hughes Theatrical Troupe (director and member), the I’ll Make Me a World in Iowa Committee (member), The Morris Scholarship Fund (chair, vice chair, and member), Minister of Outreach, Corinthian Baptist Church, the NAACP Legal Redress Committee(chair and member), the Council for International Living, The Community Scholarship Program, and the Iowa task Force on Men. He has further actively supported the Boys Scouts and other charitable organizations. He attends the Corinthian Baptist Church where he serves as Drama Minister and directs the breakfast program.

Since Judge McGhee’s graduation from Drake University, he has worked as Executive Program Developer/Planner with the Iowa Commission on the Aging where he developed a statewide legal delivery system for older Iowans. As part of his responsibilities he wrote a guide on elderly concerns, that was titled “ Legal Answers for Older Iowans”. A major part of his responsibilities was the drafting of legislation pertaining to elderly and handicapped rights and lobbying for senior citizens. After leaving the Elderly Commission in mid- 1979, Judge McGhee was employed by the Iowa Department of Environmental Quality as an Administrative Hearing Officer. His responsibilities included conducting all contested hearings, writing opinions and supervising the legal and technical support staff. He was Iowa first statewide African American Hearing Officer. He heard cases concerned with pollution issues of the water, land and air of Iowa. He was also periodically assigned to hear contested cases from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Merit Employment Commission. In 1981, he was assign to direct litigation for the air and water sections of the Compliance Division of the Commission. In December of 1982 he started working at the Polk County Attorney’s Office. At the Polk County Attorney’s Office he supervised the drug and vice dockets for five years and was the lead attorney for the prosecution of felonies in the general crime bureau. In 1986 he was assigned to the Major Offense Bureau where he was special assistant assigned to direct dockets dealing with white-collar crimes and vehicular homicide. He prosecuted fifteen murder cases with that division. For five years he was specially assigned to the Civil Division, where he developed an expertise in defending discrimination suits filed against Polk County. He was also appointed Special Assistant U.S. Attorney working with the drug division. As part of his responsibilities he lectured at the Iowa State Police Academy and the Des Moines Police Academy. While an Assistant Polk County Attorney, he worked part time as a certified mediator with the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board and the Polk County Mediation Center. He was also an adjunct professor of Law periodically teaching business law, torts, criminal law, and constitutional law at The Drake Graduate School, the Des Moines Area Community College and Simpson College.

In February of 2002 Judge McGhee was appointed the Polk County Associate District Court where he was initially assigned a civil docket. He is only the fifth African American Judge to be appointed to the District Court in the State of Iowa. He has a special interest in young people and equal justice for all under the law. He has served on the juvenile, criminal trial, probation, alcohol/drugs, and domestic abuse dockets, with a special interest in trial and substance abuse. Judge McGhee retired from the Iowa Judiciary and was appointed a Senior District Court Judge in 2020.

Judge McGhee directs the Langston Hughes Company of Players, a local minority theatrical troupe that presents the history of African-America through music, dance, and the written word. The group dramatizes the experiences of Black Americans by presenting vignettes from four distinct segments of their history: Slavery, Jim Crow, Harlem Renaissance and modern times. The troupe is made up of approximately 25 members, with six to ten performing in each production.

Judge McGhee is a champion of the regular man. He has spent his life championing causes and issues that will make the average person’s life easier and successful. The above list is only a part of his many accomplishments. He has taken an interest in young minority students and has spent many, many hours working with the youth at his church and also in a multitude of programs including the Polk County Youth Offender’s Program, The Boy’s Scouts, The Salvation Army Basketball Program, and programs in the Des Moines Public School. He is known throughout Iowa for his presentations on the African American Experience. Recently he made presentations at Simpson College, Drake, DMACC, Cornell College, Iowa State University, Valley High School, and at several churches in Des Moines. It is obvious that Judge McGhee takes the needs and the plight of young children seriously.

As central spokesman and counselor to the Committee to Build a Monument to the Founders of the National Bar Association, he worked with federal, state and local officials and private enterprise to erect a $2.1 million dollar national memorial named “The Monumental Journey” and dedicated to the founders of the National Bar Association. The Monument, by nation renowned artist, Kerry James Marshall, was commissioned by Iowa National Bar Association and the Des Moines Public Art Commission. It now stands on the Des Moines Riverwalk at Grand Ave. and 1st Street in Des Moines.

Judge McGhee is married to Jacqueline Easley, an executive director at Mercy Hospitals, and they have two children, Carey and Ty.

Some of McGhee’s Achievements and Awards

  • I.O.W.A. Gertrude Rush Award-2022
  • Cornell College Distinguished Alumni Award-2022
  • Iowa State African American History Award-2021
  • YWCA Making A Difference Award-2021
  • National Bar Association, Distinguished Jurist Award 2021
  • The African American History Museum of Iowa History Maker 2020
  • Iowa African American National Hall of Fame 2019
  • Iowa National Bar Association Man of Achievement 2019
  • IOWA NAACP Spingarn Award For Community Excellence 2018
  • Drake University Law School Hall of Honor 2017
  • Iowa National Bar Association Man of the Year 2016
  • Jack and Jill of America Hero Award 2013
  • NAACP Special Recognition for Achievement Award, 2003
  • I’ll Make Me a World In Iowa Heritage Legacy Award,2005
  • Iowa Commission on the Status of African Americans, Lifetime Achievement, 2007
  • Alpha Phi Alpha, Lifetime Award of Merit, 2008
  • Beth El Jacob/Rob Borsellino Community Service Award, 2007
  • Alpha Phi Alpha Midwest Region Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007
  • Iowa State University/ Society of Professional Journalists, “Champion of the First Amendment” 2009
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, 2013
  • Brother to Brother Community Achievement Award, Drake University, 2013

David S. Walker

Drake Law School
Des Moines, Iowa
Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

David S. Walker is the retired Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law, Emeritus, at Drake Law School, where he twice served as Dean of the Law School, from 1987-1996 and again from 2003-2008, and taught courses in corporate and business law. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Iowa and the Executive Committee of the NAACP Des Moines Branch. With his colleague Russell E. Lovell, II, Walker is Co-Chair of the Legal Redress Committee for the Des Moines Branch as well as the State NAACP in Iowa.

Walker is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He has served as Chair of the ISBA Business Law Section, Chair of its Corporate Laws Committee, and Chair of the Section’s Legislative Committee. Since 1992 he has been appointed by successive Iowa Governors to be one of Iowa’s three Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He has served on several Drafting Committees and is a member of and past Chair of the ABA-ULC Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Unincorporated Organization Acts. He has been the Chair of the Iowa Commission since the year 2000. In that capacity he has sought introduction of, and appeared before Iowa House and Senate Subcommittees on, more than thirty Uniform Acts or amendments to them, in the business, commercial, trust and estate, family law, and other areas.

He has worked with Professor Lovell and NAACP State Conference President Betty Andrews on many initiatives, including anti-racial and ethnic profiling bills introduced in the Legislature; on Unbiased Policing Ordinances adopted by the cities of University Heights, Des Moines, Coralville, and Iowa City; on fair chance for employment (“Ban the Box”) bills; on jury selection and management legislation and best practices set by State Court Administration; the Iowa Governor’s Executive Order restoring the right to vote for persons previously convicted of a felony; revision of selected Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure, including Rule 2.18(5)(a), which now makes eligible for jury service a person previously convicted of a felony if the person’s citizenship rights have been restored; and Fair Cross-Section presentations to State Public Defenders, the State Bar Association, criminal defense lawyers, and the Iowa Judges Association.

On behalf of the NAACP Walker and Lovell have co-authored eight Amicus Curiae Briefs addressing issues in cases before the Iowa Supreme Court. The issues in these cases have included a challenge to the constitutionality of pretextual traffic stops (written in collaboration with the ACLU of Iowa); the constitutional right to an Impartial Jury drawn from a fair cross-section of the community served by the trial court; the authority of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to adjudicate complaints in a public hearing, which a private corporation claimed had been ousted by an employee’s arbitration agreement; and the validity of “Ban the Box” ordinances passed at the local level.

2022

Difference Maker

  • Scott C. LaBarre, Denver, Colorado

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

  • Alexandra Oprea, Harlem, New York 

Making a Difference through Community Service

  • Kelly A. Waters, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work

  • Ohio Justice Bus, Columbus, Ohio 

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

  • David H. Lefton, Cincinnati, Ohio 

2021

Difference Maker

  • Aurora Abella Austriaco, Chicago, IL

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

  • Haley Moss, Coral Gables, FL

Making a Difference through Community Service

  • Alan O. Olson, Des Moines, IA

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

  • Bob Carlson, Butte, MT

2020

Difference Maker

  • Phyllis W. Kotey, Miami, FL

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers

  • Harold F. Pryor, Jr., Fort Lauderdale, FL

Making a Difference through Community Service

  • Veronica L. Robinson , Fort Lauderdale, FL

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work

  • Anthony C. Musto, Hallandale Beach, FL

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession

  • Louis J. Boston, Jr., Kensington, MD

2019

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Laura V. Farber, Pasadena, CA

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Katrina J. Eagle, San Diego, CA

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Stephen B. Rosales, Belmont, MA

2018

Difference Maker Awards

  • J. Michelle Childs, Columbia, SC
  • Jean H. Toal, Columbia, SC

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • I.S. Leevy Johnson, Columbia, SC

Making a Difference through Community Service Award 

  • Elizabeth S. Hilbun, Houston, TX

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Andrea E. Loney, Columbia, SC

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • David D. Farr, Houston, TX

2017

Difference Maker Award

  • Dr. Artika R. Tyner, Saint Paul, MN

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Alphonse A. Gerhardstein, Cincinnati, OH

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Eileen Sullivan, Phoenix, AZ

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • LaJune Lange, Minneapolis, MN

2016

Difference Maker Award

  • Jill P. Meyer, Cincinnati, OH

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, Cincinnati, OH

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Robert S. Tintner, Philadelphia, PA

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Angela Vigil, Miami, FL

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • William K. Weisenberg, Columbus, OH

2015

Difference Maker Awards 

  • Daniel J. Hogan, Boston, MA
  • Paul W. Lee, Boston, MA

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • George W. B. Haley (posthumously), Silver Spring, MD

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Judge Allen J. Webster, Jr. Los Angeles, CA

2014

Difference Maker Award

  • Harry Gee, Jr. Houston, TX

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Former Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson, Austin, TX

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Lisa M. Tatum, San Antonio, TX

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), San Antonio, TX

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Colonel, Retired Will A. Gunn, Fort Belvoir, VA

2013

Difference Maker Award

  • John M. Rosenberg, Prestonsburg, KY

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Judge Bernice B. Donald, Memphis, TN

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Palmer Gene Vance II, Lexington, KY

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), Minneapolis, MN

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Marcia Milby Ridings, London, KY

2012

Difference Maker Award

  • Justice Steven Gonzalez, Olympia, WA

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Justice Mary Yu, Olympia, WA

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Judge Karen Overstreet, Seattle, WA

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Tarrant County Bar Association, Fort Worth, TX

2011

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Alice E. Richmond, Boston, MA

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • James Bell, San Francisco, CA

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Alan C. Page, Minneapolis, MN

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • James P. Hadden, Philadelphia, PA

2010

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Richard Pena, Austin, TX

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Roger N. Braden, Edgewood, KY

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Award

  • Hon. Matthew J. Perry, Jr., Columbia, SC

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Award

  • Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (a joint pro bono program of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas), Dallas, TX

2009

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Holly J. Fujie, Los Angeles, CA

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Dr. Edgar S. Cahn, Washington, DC

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Barbara J. King, Albany, NY

2008

Difference Maker Award

  • Governor Bill Richardson, Santa Fe, NM

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • Briggs F. Cheney, Albuquerque, NM

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • Margaret Holt Baird, Burlington, NC

Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers Awards

  • Justice Petra Jimenez Maes, Santa Fe, NM
  • Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds, Minneapolis, MN

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Award

  • Patricia L. McCabe, Van Nuys, CA

2007

Making a Difference through Service to the Profession Award

  • C. Dale McClain, Worcester, PA

Making a Difference through Community Service Award

  • William T. Robinson, III, Florence, KY

Making a Difference through Breaking Barriers Award

  • Judge Pamila J. Brown, Ellicott City, MD

Making a Difference through Pro Bono Work Awards

  • Wendy Demchick-Alloy, Montgomery County, PA
  • Mary Coyne Pugh, Montgomery County, PA
  • Harvey F. Strauss, Maple Glen, PA

2006

Professional Achievement Award

  • Honorable Janine P. Geske, Milwaukee, WI

Diversity Achievement Award

  • Ulice Payne, Jr., Brookfield, WI

2005

Professional Achievement Award

  • Michael S. Greco, Boston, MA

Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Honorable William T. Hogan, Jr., Boston, MA

Diversity and Professional Achievement Award

  • Honorable Sandra L. Lynch, Boston, MA

2004

Diversity Achievement Awards

  • Catherine Endo Chuck, Los Angeles, CA
  • Gary Farwell, Los Angeles, CA
  • Diane M. Goodman, Encino, CA
  • Lorraine Loder, Los Angeles, CA
  • Marilyn H. Nelson, Beverly Hills, CA
  • Maria Villa, Torrance, CA

Diversity & Professional Achievement Award

  • Paula J. Frederick, Atlanta, GA

Lifetime Achievement Award

  • General Earl E. Anderson, Vienna, VA

2002

Diversity Achievement Awards

  • James M. Durant, III, Vandenberg, CA
  • Laura V. Farber, Pasadena, CA
  • Harry Hathaway, Los Angeles, CA
  • Mary Pat Toups, Laguna Woods, CA