Bashar Ahmad
Partner - Boutin Jones
Bashar Ahmad, '08

Bashar Ahmad is a litigation partner at the Sacramento-based first Boutin Jones Inc., where he specializes in business litigation, real estate litigation, and healthcare litigation. He is also a member of the firm's insolvency and creditors' rights group. Bashar graduated from McGeorge in 2008, with Great Distinction. Bashar joined the McGeorge Diversity Board to make McGeorge a better institution for its students, faculty, and staff by advising and helping the Dean navigate through difficult diversity and race relations issues, especially given the most recent events surrounding those issues.

Legal Consultant and Corporate Attorney
Bindhu Varghese, '10

Bindhu Vargese, '10, is a legal consultant and corporate attorney for small and large start-ups, most recently consulting for a women-focused start-up, The Jane Club, as it transitions from a co-working space to a global brand and digital community. She is part of the Diversity Board to help guide McGeorge towards its goals of becoming an anti-racist institution so that students are equipped to become impactful leaders and agents of change in dismantling systems of oppression in our society. It is her hope that students be provided a supportive and inclusive environment for learning throughout their time at McGeorge. Outside of work, Bindhu is married and raising two toddlers in Los Angeles, manages a real estate investment portfolio, and uses her spare time teaching others to cook, and participates in both national and local political engagement.

Bindhu Vargese
Associate Attorney - Yempku & McNamara
Cornelle Jenkins, '15

Cornelle Jenkins, '15, is currently an associate attorney with Yempuku & McNamara in Sacramento, CA. He joined the Diversity Board to use his experiences as a law student and attorney of color to help fellow McGeorge students of diverse backgrounds thrive in the legal field. Outside of his position at Yempuku & McNamara, Cornelle has helped establish numerous nonprofit startups and is currently working to establish a nonprofit that provides at-risk and foster youth with mentorship and professional development opportunities. Cornelle aspires to help other overcome their circumstances and find true happiness in their careers and lives.

Cornelle Jenkins
Daphne Copenhaver
Area Compliance Officer - Kaiser Permanente
Daphne Copenhaver, '15

Daphne Copenhaver, '15, is Area Compliance Officer for Kaiser Permanente. Her responsibilities include the oversight and execution of the Ethics & Compliance (E&C) Program, including advising and directing all employees, contractors, and vendors on E&C Program matters. Ms. Copenhaver began her career in healthcare administration in 2005 as a consultant with a management consultancy firm. She then moved in-house and worked as an internal consultant and corporate manager within the health care industry before transitioning into a consultant role with the California State Assembly.

Co-Founder and Partner - Politicom Law LLP
Darrin Lim, '04

Darrin Lim,'04, is the Co-Founder and Partner of Politicom Law LLP, a U.S. political compliance law firm located in Sausalito, California that supports various organizations with campaign finance, lobby disclosure, and ethics laws. The firm is a minority and woman-owned firm with diversity as part of its DNA. Mr. Lim formerly served on the Steering Committee for the Council on Government Ethics Laws and was a Communications Director for a California state legislator. As a first-generation law school graduate, he knows first-hand the struggles of being a diverse lawyer and therefore seeks to amplify the concerns of diverse lawyers to empower them to become better lawyers.

Darrin Lim
Eric Barnum
Partner - Baker Hostetler, LLP
Eric Barnum, '94

Eric Barnum, '94, is a partner at Baker Hostetler, LLP in Atlanta, GA. He practices in all areas of employment law and litigation. He has extensive experience in multiparty complex civil litigation, as well as non-compete and trade secrets litigation. Mr. Barnum regularly litigated federal cases and advises clients on issues of employee classification and wage payments under the Fair Labor Standards Act, providing sophisticated and creative advice to help clients achieve business objectives. Mr. Barnum is co-leader of the firm's Litigation Associate Training Program, and frequently conducts training and educational seminars for lawyers and human resource professionals on a variety of issues. In addition to his professional work, he is very proud of his role as a youth mentor and motivator.

Senior Legislative Counsel - Electronic Frontier Foundation
Ernesto Falcon, '15

Ernesto Falcon, '15, has spent his adult life connected to technology. Even before law school, he became Vice President of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge (PK), where he was successful in leading the organization's efforts to defeat in 2014. The following year, PK and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) scored a major victory for consumers by rallying the Internet community to defeat the . After eight years in Washington DC, he returned to his home state of California to attend law school at McGeorge School of Law and continue his work for digital rights advocacy. Ernesto has rejoined the fight for consumers and Internet freedom at EFF as a Senior Legislative Counsel with a primary focus on intellectual property, open Internet issues, broadband access, and competition policy.

Ernesto Falcon
Gerry Latasa
Associate Attorney - Black and Rose
Gerry Latasa, '13

Gerry Latasa, '13, is an associate attorney with Black and Rose practicing workers compensation defense. He currently sits on the McGeorge Alumni Association Board of Directors and is an active member and Secretary of SacLEGAL, Sacramento's LGBTQ+ Bar Association. As a member of the Diversity Board, Mr. Latasa seeks to ensure that McGeorge continues to be a welcoming and accommodating environment for all students - especially BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities. He hopes to continue working with faculty, staff, and community members to improve the quality legal education offered by McGeorge School of Law and to maintain its inclusive nature.

Kristine Kwong
Partner - Musick, Peeler & Garrett
Kristine Kwong, '92

Kristine Kwong, '92, is a partner at the Los Angeles office of Musick, Peeler & Garrett in its Transactions group. She represents both public and private sector agencies in international business operations with an emphasis in employment and labor matters. Ms. Kwong believes that lawyers are in a unique place to effectuate change, so when she was asked to serve on the Diversity Board sho whole-heartedly accepted. She hopes to ensure that McGeorge and other organizations with influence continue to reflect the diversity of the population, which is vital to ensuring social progress.

Attorney - Legal Affairs Office, California Secretary of State
Lexi Howard, '15

Lexi Howard is an attorney in the Legal Affairs Office of the California Secretary of State. For four years before that, Lexi was in private practice as a real estate and business attorney for a Sacramento law firm. Before, during, and after law school, Lexi was a public policy advocate and contract lobbyist, Before law school, Lexi worked for 26 years for a national title insurance and financial services corporation.

Lexi is the 2024 Chair of the McGeorge Diversity Alumni Board and is a founding and sustaining contributor to the McGeorge Virtual Food Pantry. She also serves on the McGeorge Capital Center Advisory Board, the Board of SacLegal, Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, as a founding member and advisor to the Disability Inclusivity Bar Association of Sacramento (DIBAS), and on the Board of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. Lexi is also a mentor to law students as well as for high school students in the Law and Public Policy Academy at C. K. McClatchy High School.

Lexi was an evening/part-time student at McGeorge and earned her J.D. in 2015 with a Certificate in Capital Lawyering. While at McGeorge, Lexi was a student in the first term of the Legislative & Public Policy Clinic. Lexi served on the Student Bar Association as Vice President for the Evening Class and as Evening Class Representative; for the Capital Lawyering Association for Students (then known as the Government Affairs Student Association) as President and Vice President; and as Chair of the Lambda Law Students Association.At graduation, Lexi received McGeorge’s Outstanding Student Service Award and was selected by classmates as the Evening Class Commencement Speaker.

Lexi Howard
Mark Slaughter
Supervising Attorney - Sacramento County Public Defender's Office
Mark Slaughter, '02

Mark. K. Slaughter, '02, is the Supervising Attorney of the Juvenile Division of the Sacramento County Public Defender's Office. He has worked in the Sacramento County Public Defender's Office for 15 years and has handled cases ranging from traffic infractions to homicides. Mr. Slaughter was instrumental in developing and starting a collaborative Driving Under the Influence Treatment Court in Sacramento County. He is currently working with Juvenile Justice partners to develop a Juvenile Trauma Response Court to support youth who have experienced significant trauma and find themselves in our juvenile justice system. Mr. Slaughter is a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association, Wiley Manuel Bar Association, SacLEGAL bar association, and he previously served as a Board of Directors member in each organization. He is also a member of the NAACP and the Black Public Defender's Association. He collaborates with Sacramento ACT on immigration justice issues and is active in the Racial Justice Taskforce with St. Mark's Church.

Staff Attorney - 91³ÉÈ˵¼º½ Justice Institute
Mishael Pine, '03

Mishael Pine, '03, is part-time staff attorney with 91³ÉÈ˵¼º½ Justice Institute in its New York Office. Prior to attending law school, she worked as an ICU nurse for several years before returning to school to obtain her law degree. Throughout her years as an attorney, she has volunteered for several nonprofit organizations including Access to Justice where she provided pro bono services to indigent litigants and the Queens County Bar Association Foreclosure Program representing clients in foreclosure settlements. Her passion to assist communities lacking resources has driven her desire to join McGeorge's Diversity Board where she hopes to parlay that passion into creating positive change for McGeorge's diverse students.

Mishael Pine
Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion - University of South Carolina Law School
Professor Susan Kuo

Susan Kuo is a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she serves as Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion as well as the Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She serves as a Commissioner for the City of Columbia Municipal Election Commission. In past years, she has served as a board member for East Point Academy of South Carolina (South Carolina's First Chinese Immersion School), the ACLU of South Carolina, and the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council.

Professor Susan Kuo
Tia Boatman Patterson
Associate Director for Housing, Treasury, and Commerce - White House Office of Management and Budget
Tia Boatman Patterson, '94

Tia Boatman Patterson ’94 is Executive Director of the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) and has served in that capacity since 2014. She is Board Chair of the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) and a member of the National Housing Conference’s National Advisory Council and the Freddie Mac Housing for Tomorrow Council. Prior to her appointment at CalHFA, Mrs. Boatman Patterson served as General Counsel for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. She expects that as part of the Diversity Board, collaboration with alumni, administration, faculty, staff and students will empower McGeorge to make a stronger stance in the fight against injustice.

Partner - Law Offices of Amy Oppenheimer
Vida Thomas, '93

Vida Thomas, '93, is an AV-rated attorney who has practiced law for over 25 years. In that time, she has conducted well over 200 workplace investigations and is experienced in complying with Title IX, Title Five, the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, and the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights. She has considerable experience investigating matters within a union setting and is particularly adept at investigating complex involving high-profile employers and individuals. A founding member of the Association of Workplace Investigations (AWI), Vida co-chaired the AWI Best Practices committee and helped establish the AWI guidelines for conducting workplace investigations. Clients have complimented Vida's knack for making the law accessible, explaining complex legal concepts in a way that is both thorough and easy to understand. She believes training is most effective when it provides concrete, useful tips for navigating today's complicated and highly regulated workplace.

Vida Thomas

  • Andrew Blan, '19
  • Kirsten Brown, '08
  • The Hon. Jack Duran, Jr. '02
  • Dustin D. Johnson, '04
  • Douglas E. Love, '95
  • Russell McClain
  • Maricar Pascual, '16
  • Joshua C. White, '21