See what our alumni have been up to!

Week of March 9th-13th

Robbie Wright

Class of 2013

Robbie graduated CWU in 2013 with a BA in Law and Justice, Magna Cum Laude. He worked as an armed civilian contractor from 2013-2015. He attended law school at Gonzaga University School of Law from 2015-2018. He clerked for Judge Raymond F. Clary of Spokane County Superior Court. He won the Regional Championship of the National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Robbie published a Law Review Article in the Gonzaga Law Review. He graduated Gonzaga Law in Spring 2018, Summa Cum Laude and passed the Washington State Bar Examination in July 2018. He began practicing law at David J. Crouse & Associates in Spokane, Washington as a litigation attorney in August 2018 and has worked there ever since.
 

Week of March 2nd-6th

Joseph Nagel

Class of 2006

Joseph Nagel has worked at Pioneer Human Services for the last twelve years, and as of the last two years, as the Director of Service Enriched Housing.  Pioneer Human Services is a social enterprise that provides people with criminal histories an opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives through housing, employment, and treatment.  In this role, he oversees four Regional Managers that support programs from Bellingham to Tacoma and one that oversees Wa State.  Our buildings are dedicated to providing housing and supportive services to people with criminal histories, and many programs are connected with Coordinated Entry or affiliates of the criminal justice system.  Joseph has over ten years of affordable housing experience that ranges from case management supporting residents in housing to guiding and overseeing the development of new programs and approaches.  

Joseph enjoys a healthy work/life balance, especially with a wife and three children at home.  He enjoys restoring old jeeps and recreating with the family in the great outdoors.  Thankfully, his family is supportive of his continuing education, employment, and home remodeling projects.  In the summer of 2012, he began remodeling the second floor of his home, without knowing that he was accepted into the Law and Justice Master’s program, all while opening a new Emergency Housing program in Skagit County.  His positive attitude, tenacity, and compassion for the people he serves is a testament to the family and team he leads.

Week of February 24th - 28th

Stephanie Mills

Class of 1996

Stephanie graduated in 1996 with a BA in LAJ.  Starting a career in the legal field can be difficult without experience so she worked as a receptionist and held a few other titles along her career path.  She began working as a Paralegal in 1997 for a plaintiff's worker's compensation firm in Tacoma.  She changed jobs in 2000 and started doing personal injury work.  She didn't enjoy PI as much as she did worker's compensation so she changed offices and have continued her 20+ year-long worker's compensation paralegal career.

Depending on the firm you work for, it can be a monetarily rewarding career for an individual with just a Bachelor's degree.  Along with increased pay of course comes increased responsibilities.  In some instances, your role becomes more of a life counselor than a legal advisor.  Your clients are looking to you for answers about their future.  Anytime anyone is involved in a legal battle, tension and stress is high and you are the one the client takes their disappointments out on.  The flip side of this scenario can also be very rewarding as well.  You definitely need a thick skin to succeed in this business.     

Week of February 17th - 21th

Matthew Hanson

Class of 2000

Matt is the leader of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn’s Condemnation & Real Estate Valuation team and is a member of the firm's Real Estate Litigation practice team. In connection with his active condemnation practice, Matt advises and represents both municipal agencies and property owners regarding substantive and procedural eminent domain law. In addition to his significant experience in condemnation law, Matt is also an active real estate litigator, representing and counseling clients in all aspects of real property litigation, commercial litigation, and commercial landlord-tenant law, including lease negotiations, disputes, workouts, and unlawful detainer actions.

As a proven trial attorney, Matt has considerable experience representing clients in mediations, arbitrations, and in trials, including a number of multi-week jury trials. Matt has tried cases in King, Pierce and Snohomish County Superior Courts, and has successfully argued cases before the Washington State Court of Appeals. Matt has led 98% of cases to settlement before they reach trial.

Matt is a frequent guest speaker on legal issues involving eminent domain law and has served as author and editor for a number of state and national legal treaties on the topic. He is a past president of the Puget Sound Chapter of the International Right of Way Association and currently serves the Association as its chair to the International Ethics Committee. Since 2013, Matt has been selected every year for inclusion in Washington Super Lawyers magazine.

Week of February 10th - 14th

Lori Hoctor

Class of 2002

She currently operates her own law firm in Goldendale WA.
Went to Law school Ohio Northern University
 Was the first female and youngest person to be elected prosecuting attorney in Klickitat county.
She is married to a cattle rancher, has four girls, runs a cow-calf operation there in Klickitat county and operates her own law office in Goldendale. 

Week of February 3rd - 7th

Eric Lund

Class of 1995

Prior to joining the Tukwila Police Department, Commander Lund grew up in Tukwila and attended Foster High School where he graduated in 1991. Commander Lund attended Central Washington University and graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Justice.
Commander Eric Lund started his law enforcement career in 1996 as a police officer with the Tukwila Police Department. During his career, he has served as a patrol officer, a narcotics detective, a field training officer, as well as an Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC) instructor.
In 2009, Commander Lund was promoted to the rank of sergeant, where he supervised patrol squads in the Patrol Division between 2009-2014. Between 2014-2017, he supervised the Traffic Unit. As a sergeant, he also supervised the Field Training Officer program and the EVOC program. Commander Lund held several leadership positions in the Tukwila Police Officer’s Guild, including managing the off-duty program. In July of 2017, he was assigned as an acting commander, overseeing the Professional Standards Unit. In November of 2017, he was appointed to the commander position permanently. He has also been the department commander from Tukwila assigned to the Valley SWAT Team which is comprised of officers from 6 cities in south King County. In January 2020 Commander Lund moved to the patrol division where he currently supervises 32 officers and 4 sergeants.
 

Week of January 27th - 31st

Jessica Lautz

Class of 2002

Dr. Jessica Lautz is Vice President of Demographics & Behavioral Insights at the National Association of REALTORS®. The core of her research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. Through management of surveys, focus groups and data analysis, she presents new and innovative ways to showcase results. Jessica discusses research findings in major media outlets and international presentations.
Jessica received her Doctorate of Real Estate from Nottingham Trent University in the U.K. She also has a Master’s in Public Policy from American University and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Law and Justice from CWU.
 

Week of January 20th - 24th

Max Anderson

Class of 2010

Max Anderson is a corporate security professional and specializes in conducting threat assessments and investigations on fixated persons, hostile individuals and serial stalkers. He is a graduate of Tulane University Law School’s Payson Center for International Development in New Orleans, Louisiana. He holds an M.S. in International Development as well as a B.A. in Law & Justice with a Specialization in Law Enforcement from CWU. Max has successfully mitigated threats to executives and their family members in the US and abroad. Prior to Concentric, he served six years in the Washington Army National Guard and completed a combat deployment to Balad, Iraq from 2008-09. Max has extensive international experience in Australia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. He has also supported security operations for global events, such as Super Bowl XLIX and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. He currently leads Concentric’s Person of Interest program and manages the company’s 24/7/365 Global Security Operations Center (GSOC).

Week of January 13th - 17th 

Korin Zeigler (formerly Shachaf)

Class of 2011

Korin graduated from CWU with a double major: Law & Justice and Sociology. She was on the equestrian team during her time at CWU and is so glad to see it is thriving. After graduation, she worked at a private law firm in Woodinville, WA. She decided to attend law school when she could not move up the ladder anymore. Korin got accepted at Gonzaga University and graduated Cum Laude. She passed the Bar in Montana and went on to accept a position in Livingston, Montana as a contract Deputy County Attorney.
When her contract was up, she followed her husband to Missoula and worked as a Public Defender. She recommends working as a Public Defender to anyone interested in practicing law. When the position in Livingston opened up full time, she was asked to apply and return as Deputy County Attorney. Korin visits Ellensburg often and is proud to be a Wildcat!
 

Week of January 6th - January 10th

Tracy McKenzie

Class of 1993

While completing his degree, Tracy McKenzie joined the Ellensburg Police Department as a Reserve Officer.  Along with approximately 8-10 other Law & Justice students, he attended EPD’s Reserve Academy by taking classes in the evenings for approximately 4 months.  At the end of the program, they underwent Field Training and were approved to patrol the city as a supplemental resource to the full-time officers.  This small department with its limited resources was the foundation of his Law Enforcement career, which has allowed him to become the officer he is today.  Tracy was a Reserve Police Officer for the Ellensburg Police Department from 1990-1992.

     Due to the close partnership between the Ellensburg Police Department and the Central Washington University Police Department, he spent the summer of 1992 as a Provisional Police Officer (a temporary, full-time commission) for CWU PD.  

     In January 1994, after working in the CWU Registrar’s Office as an Admissions Counselor, Tracy moved to Southern California and was hired by the Orange County Marshal’s Department as a Court Services Officer for 18 months before attending the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy in July 1996.  He then worked as a Deputy Marshal from January 1997 to September 1998 as a Jailer and Bailiff prior to lateralling over to the Newport Beach Police Department.

     He has been with the Newport Beach Police Department for 21 years and has worked a number of assignments including; Patrol, Motorcycle Officer, DUI Enforcement Officer, Field Training Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Burglary Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Defensive Tactics Sergeant and Training Manager.  Tracy is also a part-time Arrest and Control Techniques Instructor at the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy and Founder of the Orange County Force Instructors Association.

Week of December 23rd - December 27th, 2019

Jess Liebert

Class of 2017

Jess graduated from CWU in June 2017. By November 2017, she got her first job with her dual-Bachelor’s degree in LAJ and Psychology working at Echo Glen Children’s Center as a Juvenile Rehabilitation Counselor Assistant until July 2018. From there, she was offered an opportunity to work for Child Protective Services after-hours, for a year. Jess was promoted to a Child Family Welfare Specialist with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families on July 2019. She feels as though she has found a niche and absolutely loves going into work everyday, advocating for children and helping parents get their lives back on track. Jess is considering returning to school to complete a J.D. or become a GAL/CASA in order to further her career. 

Week of December 16th - December 20th, 2019

Keith Johnston

Class of 2006

Keith graduated from CWU with a bachelor's degree in Law & Justice and a minor in Sociology. He was initially hired by the Mount Vernon Police Department and worked as a patrol officer from 2006-2014. He then lateraled to Bellingham Police Department in 2014 for further career opportunities and advancement. He was promoted to Detective in 2015 and his current assignment is with the Special Victims Unit. Keith is married and has two daughters.