Professor of Law and J. Philip Johnson Faculty Fellow, University of North Dakota School of Law
Michael S. McGinniss is Professor of Law and J. Philip Johnson Faculty Fellow at the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he joined the faculty in 2010 and served as the Dean from 2019 to 2022. He chairs the executive committee for the Federalist Society's Practice Group on Professional Responsibility and Legal Education.
Before entering the legal academy, Professor McGinniss served for twelve years as a Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court of Delaware. He currently teaches courses on Professional Responsibility, Advanced Legal Ethics, Civil Procedure, and Federal Courts. He also serves as Faculty Advisor for the North Dakota Law Review and the UND Law Federalist Society student chapter.
Professor McGinniss’ research and scholarship interests are wide-ranging and include lawyer and judicial ethics, lawyer discipline and regulation of the profession, constitutional law (especially First Amendment, separation of powers, and federalism), and cultural challenges faced by conservatives in the law schools and the legal profession. His most recent law review article, Declaring Independence to Secure Integrity: The Supreme Court Justices' Code of Conduct, was published in the Federalist Society Review. His article Expressing Conscience with Candor: Saint Thomas More and First Freedoms in the Legal Profession, was published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.
Professor McGinniss has spoken to Federalist Society lawyer and student chapters across the country about judicial independence and ethics, especially relating to the federal courts and the United States Supreme Court Justices. In addition, he has spoken to several chapters about rising challenges to ideological diversity and targeting of conservative viewpoints in law schools and the legal profession. Although he is very pleased to speak on these and many other topics that may be of interest to lawyer and student chapters, in 2026-2027, he has particular interest in speaking on the topic “Lawyer Discipline as Political ‘Resistance’: Separation of Powers, Federalism, and the Rule of Law,” concerning his work-in-progress on the weaponization of professional disciplinary processes against conservative lawyers for political and ideological purposes.
Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, USTelecom
Diana Eisner joined USTelecom from Frontier Communications where she served as Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs and helped develop the communications company’s regulatory strategy on broadband deployment, robocalls and cybersecurity, among others. Previously Eisner worked as an associate attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
General Manager / CEO, Golden West Telecommunications
Denny served as General Manager of Sioux Valley Telephone and Hills Telephone Company in 1997 until he became the Eastern Region Manager at Golden West. In 2008 he became the General Manager and CEO of Golden West Telecommunications.
Denny graduated from South Dakota State University and went on to obtain his Master of Science from the University of South Dakota. Denny and his wife, Bonnie, have two sons and live in Wall, SD.
Senior Counsel, Chairman Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission
Danielle rejoins Commissioner Carr’s office following a year in the private sector where she led on state and local government relations matters for a nationwide telecommunications infrastructure provider. Before her first stint with Commissioner Carr’s office in 2021, Danielle was an Associate Attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer. After attending the University of Virginia for her undergraduate degree, Danielle earned her J.D. cum laude from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where she was Associate Editor of the Catholic University Law Review. She also earned a certificate from the Columbus School of Law’s Law & Technology Institute.
Broadband Policy Director, Public Knowledge
Alisa Valentin, Ph.D., is the Broadband Policy Director at Public Knowledge where she focuses on ensuring all consumers have access to affordable, reliable broadband. Before joining Public Knowledge, Alisa was the Senior Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy at the National Urban League where she advocated for policies that empower Black communities and other communities of color as consumers, workers, and business owners. Alisa previously worked as the Special Advisor to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and as the Communications Justice Fellow at Public Knowledge.
She is also an adjunct professor at Norfolk State University where she teaches media law and public policy courses. In 2023, she received the 2023 Donald H. McGannon Award presented by the UCC Media Justice Ministry for her expertise and consistent work to bring more diverse perspectives into policy-making on technology, media, and telecommunications.
Alisa received her Ph.D. in Communications from Howard University, her M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, and her B.S. in Telecommunications from the University of Florida.
Alisa is from Tifton, Georgia and considers herself a semi-professional holiday decorator and travel content creator.
Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, USTelecom
Diana Eisner joined USTelecom from Frontier Communications where she served as Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs and helped develop the communications company’s regulatory strategy on broadband deployment, robocalls and cybersecurity, among others. Previously Eisner worked as an associate attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
General Manager / CEO, Golden West Telecommunications
Denny served as General Manager of Sioux Valley Telephone and Hills Telephone Company in 1997 until he became the Eastern Region Manager at Golden West. In 2008 he became the General Manager and CEO of Golden West Telecommunications.
Denny graduated from South Dakota State University and went on to obtain his Master of Science from the University of South Dakota. Denny and his wife, Bonnie, have two sons and live in Wall, SD.
Senior Counsel, Chairman Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission
Danielle rejoins Commissioner Carr’s office following a year in the private sector where she led on state and local government relations matters for a nationwide telecommunications infrastructure provider. Before her first stint with Commissioner Carr’s office in 2021, Danielle was an Associate Attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer. After attending the University of Virginia for her undergraduate degree, Danielle earned her J.D. cum laude from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where she was Associate Editor of the Catholic University Law Review. She also earned a certificate from the Columbus School of Law’s Law & Technology Institute.
Broadband Policy Director, Public Knowledge
Alisa Valentin, Ph.D., is the Broadband Policy Director at Public Knowledge where she focuses on ensuring all consumers have access to affordable, reliable broadband. Before joining Public Knowledge, Alisa was the Senior Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy at the National Urban League where she advocated for policies that empower Black communities and other communities of color as consumers, workers, and business owners. Alisa previously worked as the Special Advisor to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and as the Communications Justice Fellow at Public Knowledge.
She is also an adjunct professor at Norfolk State University where she teaches media law and public policy courses. In 2023, she received the 2023 Donald H. McGannon Award presented by the UCC Media Justice Ministry for her expertise and consistent work to bring more diverse perspectives into policy-making on technology, media, and telecommunications.
Alisa received her Ph.D. in Communications from Howard University, her M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, and her B.S. in Telecommunications from the University of Florida.
Alisa is from Tifton, Georgia and considers herself a semi-professional holiday decorator and travel content creator.
Special Counsel, Wiley Rein LLP
Michael Showalter is a Special Counsel at Wiley Rein LLP. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2016.
President and General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation
J. Christian Adams is the President and General Counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation. He served from 2005 to 2010 in the Voting Section at the United States Department of Justice Voting Section. President Trump appointed Adams to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. President Trump also appointed Adams as a Commissioner to the United States Commission on Civil Rights where he also now serves with a term through 2025. He has been involved in election law lawsuits in 33 states and the territory of Guam. He has represented multiple presidential campaigns in election litigation. He has a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a member of the South Carolina and Virginia Bars.
Associate Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court
Nicholas Bronni was appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on December 20, 2024, and he began his service on January 1, 2025.
Before being appointed to the bench, Justice Bronni served as the Solicitor General of Arkansas. In that role, he successfully argued two cases in the United States Supreme Court: Delaware v. Pennsylvania, 598 U.S. 115 (2023), an original jurisdiction case concerning unclaimed property; and Rutledge v. PCMA, 592 U.S. 80 (2020), an ERISA preemption case. Justice Bronni also successfully argued numerous cases before federal and state appellate courts, including Arkansas Times v. Waldrip, 37 F.4th 1386 (8th Cir. 2022) (en banc), which upheld Arkansas's law barring state contractors from boycotting Israel; and Arkansas State Conf. NAACP v. Arkansas Bd. of Apportionment, 86 F.4th 1204 (8th Cir. 2023), a landmark case holding that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is not privately enforceable. As Solicitor General, Justice Bronni received the National Association of Attorneys General's 2024 Best Supreme Court Brief Award for his multistate amicus brief in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, 601 U.S. 346 (2024).
Justice Bronni received his law degree with magna cum laude honors from the University of Michigan Law School. At Michigan, he was an editor of the Michigan Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, and with special departmental honors from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University.
Prior to returning home to Arkansas, Justice Bronni was a Senior Litigation Counsel with the Appellate Litigation Group at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He was also an associate with Gibson Dunn and Crutcher LLP in Washington, DC. Justice Bronni clerked for the Honorable Jay S. Bybee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Attorney
Maya M. Noronha is a civil rights attorney.
As special counsel for external affairs at First Liberty Institute, Maya worked for the largest legal organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty for all Americans.
Previously, Maya worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as acting chief of staff of the Administration for Children and Families; principal advisor to the Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families; and senior advisor to the Director of the Office for Civil Rights and regulatory reform officer. She provided advice on federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of conscience, religion, race, color, national origin, limited English proficiency, sex, disability, age, and health information in both health care and human services.
In the area of election law, Maya has advised officials elected to or candidates for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Governor, state legislature, city council, and magisterial district judge. She practiced law at Baker Hostetler LLP, where she was on the Political Law and Federal Advocacy Teams, advising clients on voting rights, redistricting, election integrity, campaign finance, financial reporting, ethics compliance, as well as conducting trial and appellate litigation. She also has delivered legislative testimony, planned continuing legal education conferences on election law, and published about voting rights and election administration.
In addition to addressing the Federalist Society, she has delivered remarks to the White House Initiative on Asian American Pacific Islanders, United States Senate, Women in Government Relations, Georgetown University, George Mason University School of Law, the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, and Arizona State University Cronkite School of Journalism.
Maya is in Phi Beta Kappa, a member of the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, and a John Carroll Scholar. Forbes Magazine recognized Maya as one of its 30 under 30 in Law and Public Policy.
She serves concurrently on the Federalist Society’s Free Speech & Election Law Executive Committee and the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Election Law.
Education
· J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 2011
· A.B., Georgetown University, 2005
Adjunct Professor of Law; Director, N.Y. Census and Redistricting Institute, New York Law School
Jeff Wice is a Distinguished Adjunct Professor and Senior Fellow at New York Law School where he directs the New York Elections, Census & Redistricting Institute and teaches classes on redistricting, election law, and the census. He is now working on his sixth redistricting cycle. In past years, he served as a redistricting counsel to New York State Legislativbe Leaders and as counsel to three New York City Districting Commissions and to numerous counties and localities across New York and the nation.
During the 2000 census cycle, Professor Wice served as counsel to President Bill Clinton’s members of the U.S. Census Monitoring Board. He is the co-editor/author of the National Conference of State Legislatures' 2020 Redistricting Redbook, a comprehensive handbook on the census and redistricting.
‘’City & State NY’ recognized Professor Wice as one of New York’s “Top 50 Over 50” in 2022 and just last month as a "New York legal trailblazer" for his efforts promoting fair representation and the census. He is a graduate of the George Washington University and Antioch School of Law.
Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, USTelecom
Diana Eisner joined USTelecom from Frontier Communications where she served as Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs and helped develop the communications company’s regulatory strategy on broadband deployment, robocalls and cybersecurity, among others. Previously Eisner worked as an associate attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
General Manager / CEO, Golden West Telecommunications
Denny served as General Manager of Sioux Valley Telephone and Hills Telephone Company in 1997 until he became the Eastern Region Manager at Golden West. In 2008 he became the General Manager and CEO of Golden West Telecommunications.
Denny graduated from South Dakota State University and went on to obtain his Master of Science from the University of South Dakota. Denny and his wife, Bonnie, have two sons and live in Wall, SD.
Senior Counsel, Chairman Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission
Danielle rejoins Commissioner Carr’s office following a year in the private sector where she led on state and local government relations matters for a nationwide telecommunications infrastructure provider. Before her first stint with Commissioner Carr’s office in 2021, Danielle was an Associate Attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer. After attending the University of Virginia for her undergraduate degree, Danielle earned her J.D. cum laude from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where she was Associate Editor of the Catholic University Law Review. She also earned a certificate from the Columbus School of Law’s Law & Technology Institute.
Broadband Policy Director, Public Knowledge
Alisa Valentin, Ph.D., is the Broadband Policy Director at Public Knowledge where she focuses on ensuring all consumers have access to affordable, reliable broadband. Before joining Public Knowledge, Alisa was the Senior Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy at the National Urban League where she advocated for policies that empower Black communities and other communities of color as consumers, workers, and business owners. Alisa previously worked as the Special Advisor to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and as the Communications Justice Fellow at Public Knowledge.
She is also an adjunct professor at Norfolk State University where she teaches media law and public policy courses. In 2023, she received the 2023 Donald H. McGannon Award presented by the UCC Media Justice Ministry for her expertise and consistent work to bring more diverse perspectives into policy-making on technology, media, and telecommunications.
Alisa received her Ph.D. in Communications from Howard University, her M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, and her B.S. in Telecommunications from the University of Florida.
Alisa is from Tifton, Georgia and considers herself a semi-professional holiday decorator and travel content creator.
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