The Military Spouse JD Network is a volunteer-run organization dedicated to supporting military spouses in the legal profession. An active Board of Directors oversees the myriad of MSJDN’s programs and initiatives that are then put into action by committee leadership. These volunteers work tirelessly on advancing the organization’s goals, meeting member needs, and improving the lives of military families. MSJDN is very pleased to introduce its new leadership for the 2021-2022 year!
President: Kristen Jones
Kristen Jones is a graduate of Dartmouth College and George Mason University Law School. She has taken two bars and has practiced law in four states. She now lives in her forever home of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and serves as an Assistant Attorney General for the Equality State. Kristen is mom to two young boys and is married to an Airman stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. She is passionate about sustainability.
President-Elect: Lyndsay Lujan
Lyndsay Lujan is currently a labor attorney for the Army Office of The Judge Advocate General. From August of 2017 to April of 2019 she was the program manager for the Army JAG Corps’ Military Spouse Attorney Hiring Program and one of the assistant chiefs for the Army Legal Career Program. Prior to joining the Office of The Judge Advocate General, Lyndsay was a domestic violence prosecutor and served as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Albemarle County and the City of Chesapeake in Virginia. Lyndsay received her JD from William & Mary Law School and her BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego. Lyndsay is married to an Army active-duty Judge Advocate and his career has taken them to Virginia, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Washington state.
Immediate Past President: Dawn Gile
Dawn Gile is a licensed attorney with an active litigation practice, in addition to being an Army wife and mom of three girls. A member of MSJDN since 2012, Dawn previously served on the Board as MSJDN’s membership director, in addition to having served as an intake coordinator for the Justice for Military Families committee, the pro bono initiative of the MSJDN Foundation. Dawn is presently a partner with MacDonald Law Group, LLC, where her practice focuses on the defense of corporations, insurance companies, and individuals in matters involving complex civil litigation. She also serves as the secretary of the Vigilant Torch Association, an organization dedicated to supporting current and former members of the special operations community as well as their families. She has long devoted her time to serving the families of her husband’s military unit, including having twice served as its family support network leader. In July 2020, Dawn will begin her term as the alumni trustee on the Board of Trustees for Rockford University, after serving over a decade as a director for its alumni association. A graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Rockford University, Dawn is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. She enjoys spending time with her family at their home in Maryland and volunteering in her community.
Treasurer: Sara Morgan
Sara has been involved with MSJDN since 2017 and previously assisted with the Homefront to Hired initiative before becoming Treasurer. Sara lives in Nashville, where she practices commercial litigation at Bass, Berry & Sims. Her practice includes representing hospitals, healthcare providers, and other companies on a variety of issues, including contract disputes, healthcare fraud and abuse, and general business litigation.
Sara’s husband is in the Army and is almost finished with two years of geo-baching at Fort Irwin, California. When he officially moves back home to Fort Campbell, Sara is excited to begin re-exploring all of their favorite Nashville restaurants, breweries, and music venues together.
Treasurer-Elect: Jennifer Clark
Jennifer spent twenty-three years in the Army, first as a Military Intelligence officer and then as a Judge Advocate, retiring from the Army in July 2020. She is currently a senior counsel at the Export-Import Bank of the US. Jen grew up living in New Jersey and Japan and earned her B.A. from Virginia Tech. She has a J.D. from the College of William and Mary and LL.M.’s from the Judge Advocate General Legal Center and School, and George Washington University. Jen currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her active-duty husband, three lovely daughters and her sweet pup, Bilbo.
Governance Director/Secretary: S. Claire Gibson
Claire has been a licensed attorney since 2011 and a member of MSJDN since 2013. A New York City native, Claire earned her bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and her juris doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School. She is the principal attorney at The Gibson Law Practice PLLC, a New York City intellectual property boutique providing domestic and international trademark and copyright portfolio management. With her active duty Marine husband currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, Claire splits her time on the East Coast between New York and coastal North Carolina. She serves as a mentor in MSJDN’s Mentoring Program and on the summit planning committee for the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.
Communications Director: Rebecca Bartlett
Rebecca Bartlett has been a member of MSJDN since 2014. She owns The Law Office of Rebecca L. Bartlett, a law firm dedicated to serving military veterans seeking VA disability compensation benefits. She is also a founding partner in Bartlett James, LLC, which provides transparent, neutral third-party investigative services to military, government, and corporate clients. In addition to her law degree from Loyola College of Law New Orleans, she holds a Master’s in Social Work from Tulane University, with a Certificate in Disaster Mental Health. Rebecca is educated and experienced in working with survivors of all types of trauma. Rebecca is married to an active duty Navy pilot, with whom she has two daughters and a dog named Frank. She is also the daughter of two military veterans and is the granddaughter of military veterans. She and her family currently reside in Virginia. Rebecca also volunteers her time by representing military veterans seeking disability compensation through The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program and serving as a member of the Junior League of Hampton Roads. Rebecca is admitted to practice law in Florida (active), Alabama (inactive), and Washington State (inactive). In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, golf, and yoga.
Community and Events Director: Rachael Fielder
Rachael is an attorney licensed in Missouri and a native of Kansas City, MO. She is an Army wife and mom to two girls and two cats. Rachael and her family currently reside in Belgium. She is an aspiring space lawyer and currently pursuing an LL.M. in Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Rachael has been a member of MSJDN since 2013 and continues to serve on the State Licensing Committee. She is dedicated to volunteering her time, currently with Legal Aid Chicago. Previously, she worked as an Assistant District Attorney and volunteered her time to many causes including the Legitimation Station in Columbus, GA, East Alabama Humane Society, and the Girl Scouts of Nation’s Capital. Rachael is passionate about animal rights, yoga, and traveling the world.
Membership Director: Svetlana Lovejoy
Svetlana is currently a corporate law attorney at SRD Legal Group. She has previously worked for the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and SR Education Group. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2008 and from Seattle University School of Law in 2011. Originally from Russia, Svetlana grew up in the Seattle-area and is married to a Marine Corps Judge Advocate. The military has taken her family to Virginia, North Carolina, and California, and she currently resides with the Washington, DC area with her husband and three kids.
State Licensing Director: Nicolle Vasquez Del Favero
Nicolle originally hails from Miami, and is a proud Florida Gator. A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, Nicolle began her career in Hawaii as a Skadden Fellow advocating for domestic violence victims affiliated with the military. Today, Nicolle works as a civilian attorney with the Office of the General Counsel for the Department of the Navy. Nicolle has been a member of MSJDN since 2017, serving on the pro bono committee and as the co-director for Virginia’s State Licensing Committee. Nicolle also volunteers her time as the co-chair of the Wills For Heroes program with the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference, as the board secretary for the Military Spouse Advocacy Network, and as a founding board member for Project Makeover, Inc. Currently, Nicolle resides in Norfolk, Virginia with her husband, a Marine Corps reservist, and their two rescue pups, Casper and Josie Belle.
Homefront to Hired Director: Jacqueline “Jacky” Blanchard
Jacqueline Blanchard is licensed in Illinois. Jacky earned her law degree from Northern Illinois University College of Law, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She is currently a prosecutor, and previously practiced medical malpractice defense. Originally from a northern suburb of Chicago, Jacky currently resides in central Illinois with her husband, an active-duty Coast Guard Boatswain’s Mate, and their two dogs.
Jacky is committed to MSJDN’s mission of improving the lives of military spouses in the legal profession.
Pro Bono Director: Samantha “Sam” Arrington Sliney
Samantha “Sam” Arrington Sliney is an active-duty Air Force JAG currently assigned to Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She is also a military spouse married to an Army soldier and a mom to a boy and girl. A member of MSJDN since 2018, Sam previously served as the Lead Intake Coordinator for the Justice for Military Families project, the pro bono initiative of the MSJDN Foundation, for two years. She also serves as the President-Elect of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and the Immediate Past-President of the Fayetteville Women Attorneys. Sam is also an active member of the Air Force Barrier Analysis Working Group, the Women’s Initiative Team, where she champions initiatives that seek the elite barriers to female military service. A graduate of North Carolina Central University School of Law (J.D.), Western Michigan University Thomas Cooley Law School (LL.M.) and Methodist University (B.A.), Sam is admitted to practice law in Florida and the District of Columbia.
Federal Government Hiring Director: Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson is a Senior Attorney at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, also known as the “government’s watchdog.” Kate joined the federal government with GSA in 2015, as the inaugural director of the Executive branch CXO Fellows Program in the Office of Executive Councils, Office of Government-wide Policy. In 2016, she joined OPM Office of the General Counsel as an attorney-advisor, carrying both litigation and policy portfolios. While at OPM, she practiced before the MSPB, the EEOC, the FLRA, and acted as agency counsel with DOJ attorneys in the federal courts, including the large-scale class action litigation surrounding the 2015 OPM cyberbreach incident. In addition, she worked on a wide range of policy initiatives including federal regulatory amendments, Executive Orders on federal personnel policies, and organizational transformation issues following the transition of the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) to DoD.
Aside from agency work, Kate has participated in the DOJ Pro Bono Program for the past 4 years, representing DC residents in landlord-tenant court. Kate holds a Masters of Public Administration and Policy from American University (MPAP), a JD from the University Of Dayton School Of Law, and both a BA and MA from Ohio University in Political Science. She is licensed in Georgia, North Carolina, and DC.
Development Director: Beverley Griffin
Beverley Griffin is an attorney with a solo practice, concentrating in the general practice of law with specialization in estates and probate matters, education law, mental health law, veteran’s matters, and administrative and policy concerns. As an elected official in Massachusetts, Beverley serves on two local school boards as well as the board for her state school committee association. A graduate of Northeastern University and Vermont Law School, she is a member of the Massachusetts Bar, the Federal District Court of Massachusetts, and a certified Court Conciliator. A charter member of MSJDN, Beverley considers MSJDN as “a life jacket” she discovered during one of her husband’s numerous deployments. Beverley has served many times as a Command Family Ombudsman for her husband’s US Navy Reserve units throughout his career. She is an active volunteer in her community, having served as the Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader, Sunday School teacher, PTO mom, Band Parent and others (often all at the same time!) and is now serving as chair of a $30M school building project after having finished serving as chair of a $92M school building project. Married to Robert Dunne, a retired Federal Agent and a Navy Mustang currently on active duty, Beverley and Bob are the proud parents of four wonderful children – a son and three daughters. Beverley has actively participated in many of the MSJDN programs throughout the years including Homefront Rising and Making the Right Moves and has benefited greatly from the information provided but most importantly from the support and friendship of MSJDN members.