Susan Brichler Trujillo
Board Member

Susan Brichler Trujillo, partner and the Phoenix chair of the Health Law
Practice Group, practices in the areas of Health Law and Litigation &
Dispute Resolution at Quarles & Brady. She works with clients across the pharmaceutical drug
and device distribution chain, helping manufacturers, wholesalers,
pharmacies and durable medical equipment providers operate successfully
within their highly regulated industry. She also represents health care
clients including retail pharmacies, pharmaceutical distributors, pharmacy
benefit managers, hospitals, behavioral health providers, residential care
providers and licensed professionals.

Joseph G. Adams 
Board Member

Joe Adams, a partner at Snell & Wilmer, represents clients in commercial litigation with a focus on shareholder disputes and intellectual property matters.

He has broad experience in securities and shareholder litigation, corporate governance matters, partnership and LLC disputes, employee benefits litigation, and class actions.  His clients include public companies, start-ups and emerging companies, officers and directors, shareholders and owners of companies, and individuals.  Joe serves as Chair of the firm’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation Group.

He frequently represents clients before regulatory agencies such as the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Labor (DOL), and state regulatory agencies.  He also advises clients on compliance issues and oversees internal investigations regarding financial restatements, accounting issues, and instances of alleged wrongdoing raised by whistleblowers.

In the intellectual property area, Joe represents clients in cases involving trademark and copyright infringement, false advertising and unfair competition disputes, and the liability of web site operators.  Earlier in his career, he practiced in the Trademark and Advertising Practices Group in a large Silicon Valley law firm.  

Suzanne Porter
State Bar of Arizona

Suzanne Porter currently sits as Bar Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona.  Prior she was the Founder and Managing Attorney of NewMarket Law LLC, a firm specializing in alternative business structure (ABS) strategy and compliance. Prior to launching NewMarket Law, Suzanne held roles in global law firms, academia, in-house, and court leadership. In 2020, just weeks after the Arizona Supreme Court voted to modernize its legal ethics rules, she joined the court to help build the first ABS program in North America. Since then, Suzanne has worked with applicants, licensees, and other stakeholders leveraging regulatory reforms to improve innovation in the delivery of legal services and expand access to justice. Suzanne is an active member of the legal community, serving as a resource to the Arizona Supreme Court, the State Bar of Arizona, and the Arizona Bar Foundation where she currently holds a number of Board and Committee appointments. She is also a member of the National ABS Law Firm Association, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and the Arizona Women Lawyers Association. Suzanne earned her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law, and her B.Sc. and LL.M. from the University of Toronto. She is licensed in Arizona, New York, Ontario, and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Mr. Broberg currently is a shareholder at the firm Tiffany & Bosco where he focuses intra-corporate disputes, contract disputes, real estate disputes, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, and trade misappropriation. Mr. Broberg devotes much of his time to the Arizona High School Mock Trial program, where he drafts the case problems, coaches, and coordinates and judges the tournaments, Lance has been involved in the Arizona Mock Trial program for over 20 years. Before joining Tiffany & Bosco, Lance served as a judicial clerk in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Arizona. He received his bachelor’s in political science from ASU and his law degree from the U of A.

Craig Lewandowski
Board Member

Craig is a Managing Director in KPMG’s Phoenix, Arizona Audit Practice with more than 27 years of experience primarily serving Securities and Exchange Commission registrant clients in the for-profit higher education, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, consumer, retail and financial services businesses.

Craig’s experience includes several years providing assistance to companies during the initial public offering process including audit and advisory services for accounting and financial reporting matters and internal control over financial reporting. Clients served include 20 of the Fortune 100.

Heather Baker-Mushkatel
Mushkatel, Gobbato & Kile, PLLC

Heather Baker-Mushkatel holds a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As a partner at Mushkatel, Gobbato & Kile, PLLC, she specializes in family law and criminal defense while supporting colleagues in probate and guardianship matters. She has extensive courtroom experience in criminal jury trials, family bench trials, and other evidentiary hearings. Heather actively engages with the legal community through volunteer work and leadership. She has served in multiple roles with the State Bar of Arizona and the West Maricopa County Bar Association and currently serves on the State Bar of Arizona’s Board of Governors.

Russell, a native southwesterner was born in Albuquerque, NM and moved to Tucson AZ at the age of six. He graduated from Flowing Wells High School, and then graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law. 

He has practiced law in Yavapai County since 1989, and has operated his solo practice in Chino Valley since 1993. In 2023 Russell expanded his office and services into Prescott Valley and began a lifelong dream of mentoring midlevel providers.

Russell received his JD, cum laude, in 1988 from James E. Roger’s College of Law at the University of Arizona. (Go Wildcats!). Russell regularly participates in and facilitates continuing legal education seminars  

From the beginning of his career Russell felt called to serve his community and in 2015 he was named “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year” for Yavapai County. 

Russell serves as the District 4 member of the Yavapai County Board of Health. In addition he has served on many civic and non-profit boards over the years including: Vice-President of the Yavapai Bar Association and as President of the Prescott Audubon Society. He currently serves on the boards of: Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona SonShine, and his local church board.

Russell and his wife have five children and many grandchildren! In his spare time Russell enjoys natural history, rockhounding, camping, hiking, and birding. He has observed over 700 species of birds in North America.

Shawn Friend
Maricopa County Superior Court

Shawn Friend is a Deputy Court Administrator for the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County. Prior to that, Shawn served as the Director of the Law Library Resource Center at the Court, providing legal research and information services to the Court and the citizens of Maricopa County.

Before her current roles with the court, Shawn received her J.D. cum laude from Arizona State University and practiced as an attorney for ten years in Arizona, including six years with the Maricopa County Office of the Legal Defender. After earning her master’s in library and information science from the University of Arizona, she worked in public libraries, was the Assistant Chair of the Paralegal Studies program at Daytona State, then became head of reference at Florida Coastal School of Law.

Hon. Rachel Hernandez
Maricopa County Superior Court

Mignonne Hollis
Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation

Currently the executive director of the Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation, Mignonne graduated from Tombstone Union High School, attended the University of Arizona, and went on to earn her MBA from the University of Phoenix. In her effort to support economic development in Arizona, Mignonne co-writes a weekly newspaper advice column for business owners, serves on Canyon Vista Medical Center board of trustees, Chairs the public policy committee of the International Economic Development Council and serves as the President of the Arizona Association for Economic Development. She has served on the Arizona Commerce Authority Board. In 2014 She was named economic developer of the year and in 2017 her organization was named small organization of the year. Most recently appointed the to National Small Business Association Advisory Board as well as the International Boundary and Water Commission. Mignonne is the founder of Aerospace Arizona Association and through this association has formed the UAS Center For Innovation at the Benson Airport. Mignonne is dedicated to making an economic impact not only in rural Arizona, but throughout the entire state.

Will Knight
National Homelessness Law Center

Will Knight is a directly impacted Colombian-American immigrant, movement organizer, and litigator who has dedicated his career to advocating for the most vulnerable in our society.  Will joined the Law Center in March 2023 as its new Decriminalization Director, where he wields deep personal and professional experience combating systems of oppression to help end our governments’ inhumane treatment of the unsheltered and precariously housed in a growing national housing crisis.   

Will received his B.S. cum laude from Georgia State University and his J.D. from Arizona State University, where he graduated second overall in his law school class. He also sits on the Commissions on Access to Justice and Diversity, Equality, and Justice in Arizona’s Administrative Office of the Courts, teaches evidence as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, and chairs the Attorney Mentor Program Committee at the State Bar of Arizona.  

In 2024, Will coordinated the nationwide amici curiae campaign in support of the unhoused plaintiff-respondents in Grants Pass, culminating in forty-three merits briefs undersigned by 1,169 different individual and institutional amici, including service providers, legal service organizations, academic experts, elected leaders, governments, and faith-based institutions, to name only a few.

Kerry Melcher
Open Door

As a third-generation Realtor, Kerry Melcher was born into the real estate industry.

Now, with more than 33 years of experience in real estate, Melcher plays an integral role as head of sales and brokerage at Opendoor. She joined Opendoor as its director of business development, and served as general manager of Phoenix. She was also instrumental in growing Opendoor’s team in the region, doubling office space in Scottsdale and nearly doubling staff – all while helping agents and brokers learn how Opendoor could help them better serve their customers. Prior to Opendoor, Melcher owned a boutique real estate practice that specialized in Center City Phoenix real estate. She took on several leadership roles outside her practice to help strengthen her local real estate community. Melcher was appointed the director and president of the Phoenix Association of Realtors, before joining Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service as a director of MLS strategy. At ARMLS she ran product, marketing, licensing, support and strategy. She also served as chairman of the board. Melcher played an integral role in helping develop the Opendoor Agent Partner Program – a program that provides agents high-quality referrals, and helps them provide more certainty for their clients.

James Melendres
Snell & Wilmer 

James Melendres is a trial lawyer and crisis adviser who represents companies and executives in complex, high-stakes criminal, civil, and regulatory matters nationwide.

A leader, James chairs Snell & Wilmer’s Litigation, Investigations, and Trials Practice Group. He also chairs the firm’s Investigations, Government Enforcement and White Collar Defense Industry Group and co-chairs the Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy Industry Group.

As a trial lawyer and crisis strategist, James leads high-stakes internal investigations and defends companies and executives in complex federal and state criminal, civil, and regulatory matters. He has extensive experience litigating complex civil matters, including multi-party disputes, parallel proceedings, and high-exposure cases involving significant financial, regulatory, and reputational risk. He also advises clients on managing enterprise cybersecurity risk across the full incident lifecycle, including data breaches, cyberattacks, and related enforcement actions.

James is frequently called upon to guide clients through bet-the-company crises and public-facing enforcement matters. He has appeared on CBS, CNBC, and MSNBC, and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Prior to joining Snell & Wilmer, James served as a federal prosecutor for nearly a decade and led high-profile and complex matters, including the prosecutions of former Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus and the leader of the Tijuana Cartel. He also served in the leadership offices at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and in his role as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, James helped manage the DOJ National Security Division and counseled senior DOJ officials on a wide variety of matters – from high-profile cyber investigations and related litigation to the strategic use of trade sanctions to counter cyber-related national security threats.

Richard Parks
Yuma County Public Defender 

Mr. Parks is currently the Deputy Chief Public Defender for Yuma County.  He was a attorney advisor for the Foundation's Mock Trial program and became the district coordinator in 2022. Mr. Parks also serves as member of State Bar Criminal Rules and Procedure Committee and the APDA Leadership Council, APDA Faculty since 2019.

Mr. Parks graduated from Capital University College of Law in 1985. He served on Law Review and was Law Review Symposium Editor. He is a member of the Order of the Curia.

Following graduation, Parks began as a trial Deputy Public Defender in Maricopa County. He has represented those accused of serious felony offenses in both public and private practice. He joined the Yuma County Public Defenders Office in 2018.

Hon. Michala Ruechel
Navajo County Superior Court

Michala Ruechel was born in Portales, New Mexico. Michala's family moved to Tuba City when she was three years old, where she graduated from High School. She then obtained her law degree in 1985 from Arizona State University, and moved to Navajo County.

In 1993, she became the Commissioner for the Superior Court's Child Support Division and served as a Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore until 2006 when was appointed as Navajo County Superior Court Judge for Division IV by Governor Janet Napolitano. In November, 2008 and 2012, Judge Ruechel was elected by the citizens of Navajo County to continue her service on the Superior Court Bench in Division IV.

Ms. Varela currently works at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.  Prior to working at the County, she served as the Executive Assistant United States Attorney for U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino.  She served as both a line AUSA and the Phoenix Civil Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Before working at the U. S. Attorney's Office, Ms. Varela worked on civil rights and election law cases at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.  She started her legal career in Arizona at Community Legal Services in the housing unit.  Ms. Varela received her B.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University, and her J.D. and Masters in Religious Studies from Yale Law School and Yale Divinity School, respectively.  She is a native of Arizona and grew up in Tempe and attended Tempe High School.

Joel England
Ex-Officio/State Bar's CEO

Joel F. England currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the State Bar of Arizona.

Before coming to the Bar, Joel was the Chief Judge of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Camp Verde, Arizona. He was responsible for the overall administration of the Court and presides over criminal and civil cases as well as an alternative disposition Wellness Court.

Prior to his current position, he served for over 21 years in the United States Air Force. He held a variety of positions, including service as a prosecutor, defense counsel and as a deployed combat operations attorney advising on the law of armed conflict. His final assignments included serving as the Chief of Professional Responsibility for the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps and as the General Counsel for the 56^th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base. During his tenure at Luke Air Force Base, his team was recognized as the Arizona Corporate Counsel In-House Legal Department of the Year in 2016.

Joel graduated with academic distinction from the United States Air Force Academy with a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies. He holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona College of Law, where he graduated summa cum laude and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. Joel is a member of the Arizona, California, and District of Columbia bars.