Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals
Richard Dietz has served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for eight years.
Judge Dietz comes from a mountain family of railroad and telephone workers. From an early age, his parents encouraged him to study hard and to get an education. He succeeded, becoming the first in his family to attend college. He went on to graduate first in his class from Wake Forest University School of Law and later earned a master’s degree from Duke University School of Law.
As a lawyer, Judge Dietz became one of the most accomplished appellate advocates in North Carolina. He has personally argued in the U.S. Supreme Court—something only a handful of lawyers in the State have ever done—and is a board-certified specialist in appellate practice. He handled cases in a wide range of constitutional areas including gun rights, religious liberty, and the free speech rights of students.
Before joining the Court of Appeals, Judge Dietz was a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, a 650-lawyer international law firm with its roots in North Carolina. He also served as a law clerk for two highly regarded federal judges—Judge Emory Widener on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Samuel Wilson on the U.S. District Court in Virginia—and served as a research fellow in international law at Kyushu University in Japan.
Judge Dietz joined the Court of Appeals in 2014 and is now the third-most senior judge on the 15-member court. He has distinguished himself on the Court by writing thoughtful opinions that are concise and easy for the public to read and understand.
Judge Dietz is happily married to Kelley Dietz, who is both the love of his life and his most trusted advisor. Kelley is a former Capitol Hill staffer and political appointee of President George W. Bush who now works in higher education.
Vice President of Marketing and Communications, John Locke Foundation
As Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Donna shares the foundation’s message of freedom, free markets, and limited government across media platforms. She co-hosts Carolina Journal Radio, a weekly syndicated radio show produced by JLF and heard on more than a dozen stations across North Carolina. Donna came to JLF in 2003 after freelance writing for Carolina Journal and contributing to projects for the North Carolina Education Alliance. Her career has been spent in marketing, public relations, and broadcasting, and includes time at UNC-TV and The Arizona Republic, the daily newspaper serving metropolitan Phoenix. Donna is a graduate of Arizona State University and is married to Rick Martinez. She and Rick co-host “You Don’t Say,” a daily radio talk show heard on NewsRadio 680 WPTF in the Triangle.
General Counsel, Prospera Group
Dranias serves as NeWay Capital LLC’s General Counsel, handling all corporate legal matters. Prior to this, he was Senior Litigation Counsel with the Government Accountability & Special Litigation Unit of the Arizona Attorney General. He also serves as Policy Advisor and Research Fellow with the Heartland Institute, as an expert and Speaker’s Bureau member with the Federalist Society, a Law and Civil Liberties Speaker for Students for Liberty, a Council of Scholars member with Compact for America Educational Foundation, as well as an Adjunct Instructor teaching Business Ethics and Law at Grand Canyon University.
Previously, Dranias served as President & Executive Director of Compact for America Educational Foundation where he led national efforts to organize the states to propose and ratify a federal Balanced Budget Amendment. Prior to that, Dranias was General Counsel, Policy Development Director and Constitutional Policy Director at the Goldwater Institute. Dranias led the Institute’s successful challenge to Arizona’s system of government campaign financing to the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he was an attorney with the Institute for Justice for three years and an attorney in private practice in Chicago for eight years, where he served as Young Lawyers Section co-editor of the Chicago Bar Association Record and earned the Oliver Wendell Holmes Award for his service.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Wake County District Court Judge, North Carolina
Appeals Referee, North Carolina Employment Security Commission
Senior Research Assistant, Supreme Court of North Carolina
Member, Moore & Van Allen PLLC
A former North Carolina state representative and senator, as well as Supreme Court justice and law school dean, Bill Whichard applies his extensive judicial and legislative experience in advising and mentoring MVA litigation attorneys, focusing on appellate litigation for Moore & Van Allen clients.
He also assists with evaluating new matters, developing arguments, reviewing pleadings and documents, and supplying other trial support, giving MVA clients seasoned counsel that can materially affect dispute outcomes.
He has also served as a mediator and arbitrator in major, multimillion-dollar litigation.
Mr. Whichard has lectured and written extensively on North Carolina politics, law and history. Further, his commitment to public service and community betterment has earned him numerous honors and recognitions during his distinguished career.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Wake County District Court Judge, North Carolina
Appeals Referee, North Carolina Employment Security Commission
North Carolina Court of Appeals
Senior Research Assistant, Supreme Court of North Carolina
Member, Moore & Van Allen PLLC
A former North Carolina state representative and senator, as well as Supreme Court justice and law school dean, Bill Whichard applies his extensive judicial and legislative experience in advising and mentoring MVA litigation attorneys, focusing on appellate litigation for Moore & Van Allen clients.
He also assists with evaluating new matters, developing arguments, reviewing pleadings and documents, and supplying other trial support, giving MVA clients seasoned counsel that can materially affect dispute outcomes.
He has also served as a mediator and arbitrator in major, multimillion-dollar litigation.
Mr. Whichard has lectured and written extensively on North Carolina politics, law and history. Further, his commitment to public service and community betterment has earned him numerous honors and recognitions during his distinguished career.
North Carolina Court of Appeals
Wake County District Court Judge, North Carolina
Appeals Referee, North Carolina Employment Security Commission
North Carolina Court of Appeals
Senior Research Assistant, Supreme Court of North Carolina
Member, Moore & Van Allen PLLC
A former North Carolina state representative and senator, as well as Supreme Court justice and law school dean, Bill Whichard applies his extensive judicial and legislative experience in advising and mentoring MVA litigation attorneys, focusing on appellate litigation for Moore & Van Allen clients.
He also assists with evaluating new matters, developing arguments, reviewing pleadings and documents, and supplying other trial support, giving MVA clients seasoned counsel that can materially affect dispute outcomes.
He has also served as a mediator and arbitrator in major, multimillion-dollar litigation.
Mr. Whichard has lectured and written extensively on North Carolina politics, law and history. Further, his commitment to public service and community betterment has earned him numerous honors and recognitions during his distinguished career.
North Carolina Court of Appeals
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
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