2000s
Angela Albers, JD ’00, was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott as the Wood County [TX] criminal district attorney for a term that expires Dec. 31, 2020. Albers, of Mineola, TX, was the first assistant district attorney for the Wood County criminal district attorney’s office. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and the Wood County Bar Association. She is a child sponsor for Compassion International among other roles.
Brian Brisco, BA ’00, JD ’10, was admitted as an equity partner at Cantey Hanger LLP in Fort Worth.
Jeff Elkins, BA ’01, MDiv ’05, launched a series of detective novels, The Adventures of Watkins and Howe. The series’ first two books — Grab and Steal — were published in February and March. They are Elkins’ 10th and 11th novels in the past five years. Elkins lives near Baltimore with his wife and five kids. He is chief script engineer for SIMmersion Immersive Simulations. Contact at jffelkins@gmail.com.
When tasked with growing a presence in North Texas for Atlanta- based SunTrust Bank, Dallas-Fort Worth Market President Julia Harman, BBA ’01, recruited top talent to the firm, which led to the hiring of multiple Baylor graduates. Four of the seven commercial banking and private wealth teammates hired in Dallas over the past two years are Baylor Bears. (Pictured left to right: Austin Tabor, BBA ’14, commercial banking; Nathan Chapman, BBA ’99, private wealth advisor; Harman; Brian Losak, BBA ’04, MSEd ’05 investment strategist; and Julie Harding Woidneck, BBA ’07, commercial Banking). “While SunTrust didn’t set out to purposefully make the office bleed green and gold, a strong dedication to identifying and cultivating top talent with a particular focus on those that fit the firm’s entrepreneurial and purpose-driven culture naturally led there. Sic ’em, Baylor Family!” Harman writes.
Dion McBay, MBA ’01, was appointed vice president of sales for Valent USA LLC. McBay leads the sales team and directs the sales process for Valent’s products and services across North America. He also serves as their executive lead to the customer channel and support global initiatives of Valent’s parent company, Sumitomo Chemical. McBay previously worked with Bayer Crop Science and Monsanto.
Matthew Nielsen, JD ’01, joined Bracewell LLP’s Dallas office as a partner in the white-collar defense group. He previously was a partner at Stanton LLP, a litigation boutique in Dallas. Nielsen joined Stanton LLP in 2017 from Andrews Kurth LLP.
Jennifer Adams, JD ’02, joined Hogan Lovells’ Houston office as a partner in its environment and natural resource practice. Adams joins the firm from Koch Companies Public Sector, where she served as chief counsel of litigation for eight years, focusing on complex environmental matters throughout the U.S.
Jaffus Hardrick, EdD ’02, was appointed as the 14th president of Florida Memorial University (FMU). The board originally tapped Hardrick to serve as interim president in July 2018. An award-winning academic executive, Hardrick came to South Florida’s only historically black university after 12 years as assistant provost for academic affairs and vice president of human resources at Baylor, followed by 10 years at Florida International University (FIU) as vice provost for access and success and vice president of human resources. Hardrick earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a Master of Education in counseling from Prairie View A&M University, and a doctorate in educational administration from Baylor.
Brook Kibler Bell, BA ’03, of Meridian, TX, joined the estate planning and probate section of the Fort Worth law firm Harris, Finley & Bogle PC, where she assists clients in all phases of probate, heirship, and trust administration and litigation proceedings. She is also an adjunct professor teaching the Probate & Estate Planning Clinic at Texas A&M University School of Law. Contact at bbell@hfblaw.com.
Bret Hefton, BBA ’03, is moving to JLL Dallas’ tenant rep team. A former NTCAR Young Citizen Award winner and D CEO Power Broker with Avison Young, Hefton has been in commercial real estate for 15 years. He has completed $800 million in transactions.
Brandon Cope, BA ’04, MSEd ’12, was named superintendent of Riesel [TX] Independent School District. Cope is a Riesel graduate and served as principal of Riesel’s secondary school. He started teaching in 2009 at Waco’s Cesar Chavez Middle School. Cope also served as assistant principal at Waco High School, principal at Crestview Elementary School, director of the Greater Waco Advanced Health Care Academy and director of the Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy.
Michell Morris Adams, BA ’05, writes, “After losing my husband to cancer, my young children and I are moving to Waterford, Ireland, where I will be pursuing a second degree in computer forensics from Waterford Institute of Technology.” Contact at michelldadams@hotmail.com.
Will Dixon, JD ’05, was appointed Navarro [TX] County criminal district attorney by Gov. Greg Abbott for a term that expires Dec. 31, 2020. Dixon had served as an assistant district attorney for the Navarro County criminal district attorney’s office, where he was a felony prosecutor and misdemeanor chief.
Jenny Palmer, JD ’05, joined the law offices of Mike Head and Justin Weiner in Athens, TX. Palmer, a former assistant district attorney, primarily focuses her practice on the areas of family law, guardianship, wills, probate, juvenile and misdemeanor criminal law.
Brent Hockaday, BBA ’05, of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP was named to the 2019 Texas Rising Stars list published by Super Lawyers. He is a senior associate in Bell Nunnally’s litigation and labor, employment and benefits groups.
Melissa Smith, BSEd ’05, was promoted to principal of Vanston Middle School in Mesquite, TX, where she has been assistant principal for six years.
Dr. Katie L. Treadwell, BA ’05, MSEd ’08, co-authored Crisis, Compassion and Resiliency in Student Affairs: Using Triage Practices to Foster Well-Being. Treadwell supervises student conduct and community standards at the University of Kansas.
Nicole Been, MSEd ’06, of Muscogee, OK, a former graduate assistant with Baylor Women’s Basketball, directed a free youth basketball clinic March 10 as part of Native American Heritage Day, hosted by the Big 12 Conference at the 2019 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament in Oklahoma City. Been is an assistant professor and faculty athletic representative at Langston University and a PhD candidate at Oklahoma State University.
R. Heath Cheek, JD ’06, of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP was named to the 2019 Texas Rising Stars list published by Super Lawyers. He focuses on trials and disputes. Cheek has served in various board or leadership positions for the Dallas Museum of Art, State Fair of Texas Development Team, Cotton Bowl Council, North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, Republican Lawyers of Dallas, Christian Legal Society, and others.
Arthur R. Mathisen, MHA ’06, is president of Memorial Hospital in Conway, AR. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Mathiesen was the president and chief executive at Copley Hospital in Morrisville, VT, for the past three years after retiring from the military.
Dr. Cara F. Wade, BA ’06, was promoted to senior vice president of Leadership Worth Following (LWF) LLC, a Dallas-based leadership consulting firm. She has more than 10 years of experience at LWF. Wade has shared her passion for studying workplace gender issues and work-life balance. Wade earned both her PhD in experimental psychology and Master of Science in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Steven Einhorn, JD ’07, joined the Brown Rudnick LLP’s New York office as a partner in its tax practice group. He was previously at Proskauer Rose LLP.
Alexis Barboza Guzman, BS ’07, of Tomball, TX, earned a PhD in healthcare management from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health in May 2019.
Tad Allen, BA ’08, JD ’13, is a shareholder in Harrell, Stoebner & Russell PC, a law firm with offices in Temple and Killeen, TX. He focuses his practice on civil litigation, including personal injury.
Brett Bayne, BA ’08, is an attorney with McAngus Goudelock & Courie, a regional insurance defense firm in South Carolina. He was honored by SC Lawyers Weekly with Leadership in Law and Lawyer of the Year awards. Bayne is a litigation attorney and certified circuit court arbitrator based in the firm’s Columbia office. He teaches trial advocacy at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Law and has served as the faculty advisor and head coach of the USC School of Law Mock Trial Bar, which has won nine regional and national championships.
Dr. Bobbilynn Hawkins, MHA ’08, is retiring from her role as professor at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and director of spinal cord urology, urodynamics and female urology at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center-Downtown Division. Known for her groundbreaking urological research, Hawkins is the nation’s first African American full professor of urology and the sixth female urologist to be certified by the American Board of Urology. She also was the first female urologist in the U.S. Army and served more than 30 years as a military command surgeon.
Kristopher D. Hill, JD ’08, of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP was named to the 2019 Texas Rising Stars list, published by Super Lawyers, for a sixth consecutive year. He is a partner, practicing in the litigation, and labor, employment and benefits practices.
Jency Allison Weeks, BSEd ’08, MSEd ’09, signed with Metropolis Artist Agency, a major acting agency in New York City. Weeks has been in shows such as TNT’s Dallas, CMT’s Nashville and REELZ’s Murder Made Me Famous. She also had a small role in Jurassic World. Find @JencyAllisonWeeks.
Scott Bullard, PhD ’09, was appointed as the 11th president of Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, NC. He was previously senior vice president and dean of the college at Judson College in Marion, AL. Bullard holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from North Carolina’s Campbell University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University and a PhD in theology from Baylor. Bullard was a teaching assistant at Duke and a development officer for the nonprofit group Stop Hunger Now before attending Baylor.
Christopher Dunn, BA ’09, was appointed global head of client satisfaction within BNP Paribas Asset Management’s newly formed client experience team in Paris. Dunn joined from Greenwich Associates, where he was a vice president within its investment management practice.
Ashley Killough, BA ’09, received an outstanding young alumni award from the Baylor Line Foundation. A reporter and producer for CNN covering Congress, she is based in the network’s Washington bureau. Killough earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and spent a year in Armenia on a Fulbright grant. Contact at ashley.killough@gmail.com.