Brown v. Board of Education - Planning Committee

	Rhonda Hunter Rhonda Hunter is the 95th President of the Dallas Bar Association, and the Dallas Bar Association's first African-American President in its 131 year history. Ms. Hunter attended Dallas Public Schools, received her B.A. in Government from the University of Texas and her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University. She has her own law firm where she specializes in family law. Ms. Hunter is the choreographer and Assistant Director of the Bar None musical variety show, which raises money for the Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Law Fellowship at the Dedman Southern Methodist University School of Law. She is also a co-founder of the Dallas Bar Association's Minority Attorney Busines Development Initiative, which works towards the goals of providing training and increasing business development for ethnically diverse lawyers.

	Paul Stafford Paul K. Stafford, earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Texas A&M University in 1990. Mr. Stafford earned a Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1994. Mr. Stafford is licensed by the State of Texas and the Federal District Court, Northern District of Texas. Between 1994 and 1998, Mr. Stafford served first as an Assistant District Attorney in Denton County, Texas, followed by service as an Assistant District Attorney in Dallas County, Texas. While in Dallas, Mr. Stafford served as a felony prosecutor in the Organized Crime Division. Mr. Stafford has been practicing in the area of general civil litigation / insurance law since 1998, practicing at Amis & Bell in Arlington, Texas before joining Werstein, Smith & Wilson in January, 2002. Mr. Stafford is currently a Senior Trial Attorney in the Dallas office of Hughes & Luce L.L.P. Mr. Stafford is an active member of the Dallas Bar Association, serving on its Board of Directors in 2001, 2002 and 2004 - 2005. Mr. Stafford is co-chair of the Minority Participation Committee. Mr. Stafford also served as 2002 President of the J. L. Turner Legal Association. In addition to being an active member of the State Bar of Texas, Mr. Stafford is an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, having taught Insurance Law and Trial Advocacy. In addition, Mr. Stafford is a 2003 American Marshall Memorial Fellow. Mr. Stafford is married to Telea Johnson (Texas Tech ’94) and has two daughters, Camryn Estelle and Kendall Mae.

	Tonya Parker Tonya Parker is a 1994 graduate of the University of North Texas and a 1998 graduate of the Dedman SMU School of Law. She is an associate attorney in the litigation section of the law firm of White & Wiggins, L.L.P. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the J.L. Turner Legal Association's President's Award in 2003 and the Dallas Bar Association's Outstanding Minority Bar Leader Award in 2002.

	Aaron Ford Dr. Aaron D. Ford is an associate in the Dallas and Fort Worth (by appointment) offices of Bracewell & Patterson, LLP. He focuses his practice in the areas of School Law and Public Law. Prior to joining Bracewell & Patterson, Dr. Ford served as a judicial law clerk to a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit and a federal judge in the United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan. In addition to Dr. Ford's academic studies in the field of education, he has taught secondary school mathematics and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Education Law. Dr. Ford is also fluent in Spanish.

	Hon. Merrill Hartman The Honorable Merrill Hartman is judge of the 192nd Judicial District Court in Dallas County, Texas. Judge Hartman attended SMU and is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. Judge Harman founded Dallas' first, free volunteer neighborhood legal clinic for the poor in 1983. He has received numerous awards, including the American Bar Association's Pro Bono Publico Award in 2001 and the American Jewish Committee's Judge Learned Hand Award in 2000. He is active in the United Methodist Church, serving as adjunct staff to the General Board of Discipleship and as a Sunday School teacher.

	Dwight Francis Mr. Francis is a 1992 graduate of Virginia Law School.

	Darrell Jordan Darrell Jordan is a senior partner in the Dallas firm of Godwin Gruber, LLP specializing in commercial litigation of all types. He has more than 35 years experience in civil litigation and is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has a B.A. from the University of Texas and a LL.B. from Southern Methodist University School of Law (1964). Darrell has served his profession as President of both the Dallas Bar Association (1982) and the State Bar of Texas (1989-1990) and in the House of Delegates (1986-1998) and on the Board of Governors (1995-1998) of the American Bar Association.

	Michael K. Hurst Michael K. Hurst is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Godwin Gruber, LLP. Michael is a graduate of South Texas College of Law and the University of Texas at Austin. He handles a wide variety of business lawsuits, including breach of contract, business disparagement, deceptive trade practice, breach of warranty, employment issues, oil and gas, construction, and real estate disputes. He has received numerous awards and honors, including being selected as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics in 2003.

	Sid Stahl Sid Stahl received his undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University. In 1991, after 33 years as a successful attorney with the Dallas law firm of Geary, Stahl & Spencer having practiced in the litigation, corporate, real estate, banking, securities and governmental areas, Mr. Stahl established a solo practice limited to Mediation and Arbitration. Mr. Stahl has now mediated over 1,600 civil cases with an 80% settlement rate. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor on the faculty of the Dedman School of Law at SMU where he teaches Dispute Resolution. In 2003, he was named one of Texas' Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly magazine. Mr. Stahl is a member of the Dallas Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of St Paul and Zale Lipshy University Hospitals. Mr. Stahl has received numerous awards, including the YWCA's Mentors and Allies Award, Torch of Conscience Award from the American Jewish Congress, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from SMU School of Law.

	Susan Stahl Susan Stahl is a graduate of Ballinger High School in Ballinger, Texas and Southern Methodist University. She is active in a number of civic, cultural and community service activities in Dallas. She serves on the Boards of Directors of SMU Center for Notable Women, Texas CASA, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Children's Medical Center, Children's Medical Center Foundation, The Volunteer Center, Dallas County Community College District Foundation, Bryan's House, Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas, and the Greater Dallas Community Relations Commission. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of the Association for Retarded Citizens, Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, Mental Health Association of Dallas County, ArtsPartners, Community Builders, Center for Non-Profit Management, Jewish Family Services, and AIDS-ARMS. She has received numerous awards and recognition during the last twenty years and was most recently honored with the Community Leader Award from Camp Fire, Inc.

	Jennifer Lewis-Williams Jennifer Lewis Williams graduated from the University of Kansas in 1994 with a B.A. in Creative Writing English and received her J.D. from Washburn University School of Law in 1998. Ms. Williams, who was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, played as a child with the Brown children, who were the subject of Brown v. Board of Education. Ms. Williams is a contract attorney for the Court of Appeals, Fifth District of Texas at Dallas and handles one of the court's criminal dockets. She has been a member of the Dallas Bar Association since 1999, and has been an active member of the Publications Committee and Minority Participation Committee. She is also a member of the Dallas Women Lawyer's Association and J.L. Turner Legal Association. In addition to her law practice, Ms. Williams writes fiction and poetry and has won several first place writing awards.

	Johnese White Howard

	Paula J. Miller Paula Miller is a solo practitioner. She has a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University. Prior to opening her solo practice, she was a partner at Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal in Dallas. She has been honored as the Outstanding Children's Justice Project/LAMP attorney by the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and has received the Social Responsibility Award from the Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Her practice is devoted to civil litigation and mediation. She is the co-founder of the Dallas Bar Association's Minority Attorney Business Development Initiative.

	Rodolfo Rodriguez, Jr. Rodolfo Rodriguez is an attonrey with Godwin Gruber, LLP. He is a fromer General Counsel to a major regional airline and former in-house counsel with a major international airline. He has extensive experience with litigating business and employment disputes. He has served on the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and the Texas Minority Counsel Steering Committee for the State Bar of Texas. He served on the Board of the Dallas Bar Association from 1993-1994 and as Chair of the Judicial Investiture and Bylaws Committees.

	Edward B. Cloutman, III Edward B. Cloutman, III reeived his undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University and his law degree from Lousiana State University. His practice is limited to plaintiffs' civil rights (including employment, voting rights, school desegregation, and police misconduct cases), represetnation of employees and labor unions, and employment arbitration. He is Board Certified in Texas as a Labor and Employment Law Specialist. He is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, and American Bar Association. He has served as a Chair and Board Member of the State Bar of Texas Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities and the State Bar of Texas Labor Law Section.

	Kevin Wiggins Kebin B. Wiggins is the Co-Founder and Partner of White & Wiggins, L.L.P. His principal areas of practice are commercial litigation, labor and employment litigation, real estate, and civil appeals. Mr. Wiggins served on the Fifth District Court of Appeals from 1992-1993. He has been a mediator in Dallas County since 1993. He has mediated matters involving employment discrimination, family law, brach of contract, commercial litigation, and personal injury.

	Joel Winful Joel K.B. Winful is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Southern Methodist University School of Law. Mr. Winful is employed by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in the Civil Section, where he has worked since1998. Mr. Winful is an active member of the Dallas Bar Association, serving on its Board of Directors in 2002 and 2003. Mr. Winful is Chair of the Pictorial Directory Committee; Vice-Chair of the Minority Participation Committee; and serves as a Director of the Community Service Fund. Mr. Winful also served as 2003 President of the J.L. Turner Legal Association. Mr. Winful sits on the Board of Directors of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Mr. Winful received the Dallas Bar Association's Outstanding Minority Bar Leader Award in both 2001 and 2002.