Our Leadership Team
The HLSA of Washington, D.C. is an alumni volunteer managed organization. We thank our Officers and Board Members for their dedication and support of HLS alumni activities.
For more information about our leadership team or to get involved, please email us at info@washingtondc.hlsa.org
Tony Chan J.D. '03
President
Tony Chan is a partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity group at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP, where he advises strategic buyers and sellers, as well as financial sponsors and their portfolio companies, in complex corporate transactions. With significant experience with international and cross-border matters, Tony focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, including private equity and growth equity transactions, as well as corporate finance, emerging company formation and financing, public company governance, and general corporate matters for clients with an emphasis in the life sciences, investment management, and technology sectors. In addition to his practice, he is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, where he teaches Mergers and Acquisitions. He also serves on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art - Arlington and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of DC.
Joh
n Dey J.D. '14
Vice President
John T. Dey is Senior Counsel in the Office of Law and Policy in the Legal Division of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Prior to joining the CFPB, John was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Ropes & Gray LLP, where he was a member of the firm’s Litigation and Enforcement practice group. While at Ropes, John maintained an active pro bono practice, in which he has worked on the landmark marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges and other constitutional and administrative law challenges to federal and state government actions, investigated conditions at a maximum security state prison facility, and represented low-income clients in family law and Social Security benefits matters. At HLS, John was a member of BLSA and served as co-president of HLS Lambda, was an editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and Harvard International Law Journal, and served as a student attorney with Harvard Defenders. During his law school summers, John interned with the Access to Justice Initiative and the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. John holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College.
Bruce Ferguson J.D. '81
Treasurer
Bruce Walker Ferguson is President Emeritus of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, a liberal arts university in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. Earlier he taught as a Professor of Practice at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, a graduate research university in Abu Dhabi. An educator, entrepreneur and investor with a lifelong interest in technology-based innovation, Ferguson has been an early-stage investor in more than a dozen technology companies, and is a co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer of Orbital Sciences, a space technology company that merged with Alliant Techsystems and was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2018. He was an associate at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago after receiving his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an Ed.M. degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an A.B. degree in Government from Harvard College.
Matthew Kelly J.D. '97
Secretary
Matthew Kelly is a Senior Attorney in the Office of the Solicitor, Department of the Interior where he advises policy and program officials on implementation of the United States’ trust relationship with federally recognized Tribal Nations in areas including climate resilience, trust land acquisitions, natural resource development, Indian gaming, and political and economic self-determination. Before joining Interior, Matthew was a partner in a Native-owned law firm, representing Tribal interests before Congress, the courts, and federal agencies. Matthew holds a B.A. Hons. in anthropology and linguistics from Columbia University, and an A.M. in anthropology from the University of Chicago, where he studied the historic development of federal Indian policies.
Daniel V
ail J.D. '96
Programming Co-Chair
Daniel Vail is a Senior Counsel in the Office of Civil Rights at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In this capacity he helps interpret and enforce federal anti-discrimination laws for CFPB applicants and employees. Recently, he served on a detail as Chief Counsel to EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels. Before joining the Bureau in May 2015, Daniel spent almost 15 years at the EEOC. He worked in the Appellate Services Division of the EEOC’s Office of General Counsel, where he served as Acting Assistant General Counsel and as an Appellate Attorney, litigating on behalf of the Commission in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Daniel graduated from Harvard Law School in 1996 and Hamilton College in 1993. He also has an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University.
Louis Lopez J.D. '96
Programming Co-Chair
Louis Lopez is the Vice President of Litigation at AARP Foundation, where his portfolio includes labor and employment, consumer protection, and economic justice. Louis has a long history of employment law and policy experience, having served in executive, leadership, investigative, and litigation roles where he oversaw complex cases and matters. Previously, he served in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division — first as Deputy Chief of the Employment Litigation Section and later as Chief of the Policy and Strategy Section. Louis also served in other government positions, including as Associate Special Counsel at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel; Legal Advisor to the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Counsel to the EEO Officer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He also worked in private practice at law firms; as Director of Human Resources, Facilities, and Security for Washington Post Digital; and as Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School. Louis is the Chair of the ABA’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities and a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He received a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Kansas, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an LL.M. in Labor and Employment Law from Georgetown Law School. While in law school, Louis worked as a Student-Attorney with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, an Editor on the inaugural issue of the Harvard Latino Law Review, and a reporter with the Harvard Law Record.
Milana Karayanidi LL.M. '16
Programming Co-Chair
Milana Karayanidi is a Special Legal Consultant at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP. She advises clients on screening of foreign investments by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), U.S. export controls, and U.S. economic sanctions, including in the context of complex corporate transactions and internal investigations. Milana’s practice focuses on renewable energy companies and companies driven by tech & innovation. She holds a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.
Viviana Ruiz LL.M. '15
Communications Co-Chair
Viviana Ruiz is an Attorney* at Mayer Brown, LLP. Viviana has extensive experience in developing and managing global intellectual property portfolios for clients in the entertainment, media, pharma, food, beverage, chocolate, confectionery, spirits & wines industries. She holds an LL.B., magna cum laude, from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico), and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. Viviana is also an IP Law Specialist graduate of Universidad Panamericana (Mexico), where she graduated top of her class. In addition to her HLSA-DC Board service, Viviana serves as Co-President of the HLS Recent Graduate Network.
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* Practice limited to matters and Proceedings before Federal Courts and Agencies. Admitted only in California and Mexico - Not admitted in DC.
Alice Chen
J.D. '24
Communications Co-Chair
Alice Chen is a law clerk* in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins LLP, where she focuses on transactional tax and technology transactions. During law school, she worked at San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, and International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. She also served as co-treasurer of the Women’s Law Association and as a resident tutor at Cabot House. Before law school, Alice worked for two years as a software engineer at Two Sigma Investments, a quantitative hedge fund. Alice holds a B.S. in computer science from Cornell University.
* Not admitted to practice in any jurisdiction. All work supervised by a member of the DC Bar.
Leslie Callahan J.D. '86
Community Co-Chair
Leslie Callahan is an Associate Professor in the Fundamentals of Lawyering Program at George Washington University Law School. Prior to joining GW’s program in 2022, she taught legal writing at Notre Dame Law School in South Bend, Indiana, where her family had relocated in connection with her spouse’s academic career. Before moving to the midwest, she was a commercial litigator with Morrison & Foerster in New York and had clerked for the U.S. district court in Atlanta. While in law school, she was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. Leslie is originally from Philadelphia, is a Bryn Mawr College alum, and has enjoyed reconnecting with HLS through her son’s experience as a ’23 grad.
Joshua Lee J.D. '18
Community Co-Chair
Joshua Lee is an associate in the D.C. Office of Baker Botts L.L.P., representing clients in all aspects of environmental law, including litigation, regulatory counseling and advocacy, and corporate transactions. Joshua also maintains an active pro bono practice, matters ranging anywhere from appellate advocacy in civil rights issues to corporate counseling for non-profit organizations. He returns to the Washington, D.C. community after clerking for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. While in law school, Joshua served as the Managing Editor for the Harvard Environmental Law Review and was a Chayes International Public Service Fellow. Prior to law school, Joshua served in the South Korean Army. He received his undergraduate degree in environmental studies and Spanish literature from Dartmouth College.
Ti
mothy R. McTaggart J.D. '85
Community Co-Chair
Tim McTaggart is the General Counsel for Forethought Advisors LLC, a start-up lobbying firm with a focus on housing finance, fintech and financial services legislative and regulatory issues. Tim also separately maintains a law practice with McTaggart law firm in Washington, D.C., where he addresses financial services issues, general corporate law issues for financial services companies as well as custody, and privacy issues. Tim has served as an expert witness and previously led financial services groups in the D.C. offices of major law firms, including Pepper Hamilton, Willkie Farr, and Nixon Peabody as a partner for 20 years. In addition, Tim served as the Bank Commissioner for the state of Delaware and as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, as well as a lawyer for the Federal Reserve Board. Tim has served as a mentor to HLS students, as a HLS class agent, as a HLS reunion committee member, and as a member of the board of directors of the Harvard Club of Washington, D.C. for two terms. An active volunteer, Tim has served as the General Counsel and Director of the Women in Housing & Finance group; as President, Vice President, and Director of the Chevy Chase Recreation Association (which included a national historic landmark structure); as Finance Committee member and Director of the Audubon Naturalist Society of Chevy Chase, MD; as Secretary and Director of CCBCCC, children's pre-school in Chevy Chase, D.C.; and in other nonprofit roles. McTaggart is a Harvard College economics graduate who taught introductory economics at Harvard College.