President: Elizabeth James
Elizabeth is from Winnetka, IL. She attended the University of Michigan and received her bachelor’s in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. After graduating, Elizabeth worked as a Capital Markets paralegal at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She returned to Kirkland & Ellis LLP this past summer as a summer associate. This school year, Elizabeth will be a teaching assistant for Torts and a research assistant for Communication & Legal Research. She is excited to be a member of the Journal of Law and Social Policy. Outside of law school, Elizabeth likes spending time with friends and family, keeping up with pop culture, and spending time outdoors including hiking and skiing.
Fun Fact: Elizabeth has been waterskiing since she was three years old!
Vice President: Clare McGraw
Clare is from Salt Lake City, UT. She attended the University of Michigan and received her bachelor’s in Political Science and International Studies. After graduating, Clare worked as a Capital Markets paralegal at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She returned to Kirkland & Ellis LLP this past summer as a summer associate. Outside of law school, Clare likes to explore new cafes and bakeries, go on walks, and watch reality TV.
Fun Fact: Clare started taking film photos when she graduated high school and would love to learn how to develop film!
Treasurer: Nastasya Muller
Nastasya is from Chicago, IL. She attended the University of Illinois Chicago and received her bachelor’s in Finance. After graduating, Nastasya worked in the Finance Department at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. This past summer, she worked at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP as a summer associate. In addition to the WLC, Nastasya is the Treasurer for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Outside of law school, Nastasya likes to run along the lakefront trail, work out, and try new restaurants.
Fun Fact: Nastasya is obsessed with herbal tea and matcha!
Communications Director: Grace Beedles
Grace is from Cleveland, OH. She attended The Ohio State University and received her bachelor’s in Political Science and Strategic Communication. This past summer, Grace was selected for the Associate Corporate Counsel Diversity Internship Program and worked as a legal intern at McDonald’s Corporation. In addition to the WLC, Grace is a teaching assistant for Communications and Legal Reasoning and the Director of Events for the Black Law Students Association. She is excited to be a member of the Journal of Law and Social Policy. Outside of law school, Grace enjoys trying new restaurants, baking, and working out.
Fun Fact: Grace bakes a different dessert each week!
Co-Director of Alumnae Relations: Theresa Ross
Theresa is from Troy, MI. She attended the University of Michigan and received her bachelor’s in Public Policy with a minor in Sociology. After graduating, Theresa worked in digital fundraising for political campaigns in Washington DC for four years. This past summer, she worked at the Seigle Clinic for Immigrant Youth and Families at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Theresa is excited to be a member of the Journal of Law and Social Policy. Outside of law school, she likes to read, cook, and walk along the lake.
Fun Fact: Theresa is a big Michigan football fan and attended the Rose Bowl in 2024!
Co-Director of Alumnae Relations: Maple Zhang
Maple is from Heilongjiang, China. She attended Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and received her bachelor’s in Financial Statistics. After graduating, Maple worked as a litigator in Shanghai. This past summer, she worked as a summer associate for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. In addition to the WLC, Maple is a member of the moot court team. She is excited to be a member of Northwestern University Law Review. Outside of law school, Maple likes to swim and watch Netflix.
Fun Fact: Maple has a family of three Garfield cats!
Co-Director of Community Engagement: Maha Khan
Maha is from San Jose, CA. She attended the University of Washington Seattle and received her bachelor’s in Law, Societies, and Justice. After graduating, Maha worked with CODEPINK, an anti-war non-profit organization, where she coordinated our Peace in Ukraine campaign, CODEPINK Congress, and a book tour for our co-founder. This past summer, Maha worked as an intern with the Cook County State Attorney's office in the Civil Litigation Division, where she worked with the Civil Rights and Labor and Employment teams. In addition to the WLC, she is a member of the Muslim Law Students Association. She is excited to be a member of the Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property. Outside of law school, Maha loves fashion, reading, and trying new restaurants
Fun Fact: This summer, Maha got to have pizza in jail!
Co-Director of Community Engagement: Abbey Mizer
Abbey is from St. Joseph, IL. She attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received her bachelor’s in Political Science. After graduating, Abbey worked as an HR advisor for small businesses. This past summer, she worked as a summer associate at King & Spalding and in Amazon's legal department. In addition to the WLC, Abbey is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Society and FIRSTGEN. Outside of law school, she likes hot yoga and spending time with friends and family.
Fun Fact: Abbey has a family cat named Toeby because has 26 toes!
Co-Director of Membership: Myah Friedman
Myah is from Denver, CO. She attended San Diego State University and received her bachelor’s in Marketing. After graduating, she worked as an account manager at Dell Technologies. This past summer, Myah worked as a summer associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. In addition to WLC, she is the Director of Sponsorships for the Black Law Students Association. Myah is excited to be a member of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Outside of law school, she likes to play tennis and try new restaurants.
Fun Fact: Myah is hoping to get a dachshund next year!
Co-Director of Membership: Sarah O’Leary
Sarah is from Sussex, WI. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her bachelor’s in Political Science and International Studies with a certificate in Global Health. After graduating, Sarah worked as a legislative analyst at a government affairs firm. This past summer, she worked as a summer associate at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. Sarah is excited to be a member of the Northwestern Law Review. Outside of law school, she enjoys playing her cats, Aspen and Bijou.
Fun Fact: Sarah is on a mission to find the best coffee shop in Chicago! Her current favorites are Hexe Coffee Co., Four Letter Word, and Sawada!
Co-Director of Mentorship: Natalie Long
Natalie is from Indianapolis, IN. She attended Georgetown University and received her bachelor’s in History and Government. After graduating, Natalie worked as an associate at a market research consultancy firm. This past summer, she worked as a summer associate for ICE Miller LLP. Natalie is excited to be a member of the Northwestern Law Review. Outside of law school, she likes to read, work out, watch TV, and spend time with family and friends.
Fun Fact: In seventh grade, Natalie was in a professional theatre production and missed three months of school!
Co-Director of Mentorship: Li Guan
Li is from Shanghai, China. She attended Shanghai Jiao Tong University and received a bachelor’s in Communications and Media Studies. After graduating, Li earned a PhD in Psychology at Cornell University. This past summer, she worked as a legal intern at the National Institute for Workers’ Rights and as a summer clerk for the Northwestern University Law Review. In addition to WLC, Li will serve as Co-President of the High Tech Law Society. Outside of law school, she enjoys finding new spots to fly her drone.
Fun Fact: Li used to be a competitive swimmer!
Co-Director of Professional Development: Joy Zhang
Joy is from Jinan, China. She attended Vanderbilt University and received her bachelor’s in Economics and History. This past summer, she worked as a judicial extern at the Supreme Court of Guam and received a scholarship from the National Asian and Pacific American Bar Association. In addition to WLC, Joy is the Competitions Director for the Moot Court Team. She is excited to be a member of the Northwestern University Law Review. Outside of law school, Joy likes reviewing movies, watching sports, and going to classical music concerts at CSO.
Fun Fact: Joy loves writing and mailing postcards to people she knows and has sent 40+ postcards from Guam during her time on the island!
Co-Director of Professional Development: Alyssa Painter
Alyssa is from Columbus, OH. She attended The Ohio State University and received her bachelor’s in Finance. After graduating, Alyssa worked in consulting. This past summer, she worked as a summer associate at Arnold & Porter LLP. In addition to the WLC, Alyssa is a member of Moot Court Society and trial team. This year, she is excited to be a member of the Journal of Criminal and Criminology. Outside of law school, Alyssa enjoys running and cooking.
Fun Fact: Alyssa has run a half marathon.
Co-Director of Symposium: Katherine Powell
Katherine is from Chicago, IL. She attended Princeton University and received her bachelor’s in African American Studies. Katherine is pursuing a JD-PhD. After graduating, she worked in compliance at a large law firm in DC before moving back home to start graduate school. This past summer, Katherine was selected for the Associate Corporate Counsel Diversity Internship Program and worked as a legal intern for ADM. In addition to WLC, she is a teaching assistant for Criminal Law, a Co-Vice President of Membership for FIRSTGEN, and a member of the Black Law Student Association. Katherine is excited to be a member of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Outside of law school, she loves to read, sew and knit. Katherine loves being able to create her own clothing from scratch.
Fun Fact: Katherine absolutely adores Thai food and has a running ranking of all her favorite spots in/around Chicago.
Co-Director of Symposium: Laura Zajac
Laura is from Wilmette, IL. She attended Northwestern University and received her bachelor’s in Social Policy and Art History. After graduating, Laura worked in Chicago Public Schools at the district level and in fundraising at an educational non-profit in Chicago. This past summer, she worked as an in-house legal intern at Reyes Holdings. Laura is excited to be a member of the Northwestern Law Review. Outside of law school, she loves crafts and other creative things including painting, drawing, knitting, and DIY projects.
Fun Fact: Laura’s last name means “hare” in Ukrainian.