Officers and Board Members
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.
Viviana Ruiz LL.M. ’15
President
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.
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.
Tony Chan J.D. ’03
Programming Co-Chair
Tony Chan is a Partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice and Global Co-Leader of the Life Sciences & HealthTech Sector at Orrick where he focuses on representing private equity and strategic clients in the life sciences, healthcare, investment management and tech sectors on complex domestic and cross-border corporate transactions. Tony regularly advises on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, growth equity, and venture capital transactions, as well as on corporate governance, joint ventures and corporate finance matters. In addition, Tony maintains an active pro bono practice, representing nonprofit organizations such as APAI Vote, Chefs Stopping Asian American Hate and the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance. Tony has also taught Takeovers, Mergers and Acquisitions at Georgetown Law School since 2015.
Rajib Pal J.D. ’03
Programming Co-Chair
Raj Pal is a counsel in the Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy practice at Sidley Austin LLP, where he advises clients in U.S. trade remedy (e.g., antidumping and countervailing duty) proceedings and related litigation, World Trade Organization dispute settlement proceedings, investor-state arbitrations, and other complex matters related to international trade and investment. Raj is also involved with the firm’s Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries, as well as other pro bono efforts related to trade adjustment assistance, election protection, and asylum. Prior to law school, Raj spent two years as a financial analyst in the U.S. Economic Research Group at Goldman Sachs. Raj received his J.D. from Harvard Law School cum laude in 2003, and B.S. from Yale University summa cum laude in 1998.
Milana Karayanidi LL.M. ’16
Programming Co-Chair
Milana Karayanidi is a Programming Committee member at HLSA-DC. She is a managing associate at Dentons US LLP, where she advises on sanctions, export controls, and other aspects of international trade.
Soo Jin So
J.D. ’24
Programming Co-Chair
Soo Jin So is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins LLP. At Harvard Law School, she was involved in the Harvard Asia Law Society, International Law Journal, and the Judicial Clinic. Prior to law school, Soo Jin worked in consulting across New York, Singapore, and South Korea. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College.
Alice Chen
J.D. ’24
Communications Co-Chair
Alice Chen is a transactional tax associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins LLP. 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.
Natalia Romanova
LL.M. ’25
Communications Co-Chair
Natalia Romanova recently completed her LL.M. at Harvard Law School, focusing on corporate law. She previously worked at the IMF in Washington, D.C., gaining experience in international finance and legal matters. Natalia is passionate about alumni engagement and is excited to contribute her skills and experience to the HLSA-DC board.
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.
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.
Chang Liu J.D. ’15
Community Co-Chair
Chang Liu is Counsel in the World Bank’s Office of Suspension and Debarment, where he participates in the review of sanctions cases to determine whether to suspend or debar respondents from eligibility for World Bank–financed contracts. Prior to joining the World Bank, Chang practiced at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kobre & Kim LLP, advising clients on white-collar defense, internal investigations, and complex cross-border commercial disputes. In addition to his legal practice, Chang regularly speaks on the World Bank’s Sanctions System and broader issues of integrity and anti-corruption at academic institutions and international conferences. While at Harvard Law School, he served as an Executive Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal and Vice President of the China Law Association. Chang holds a B.S. in Economics and Urban Studies from Trinity College (CT).