Past Events

State governments' disparate approaches to today’s notions of liberty invite us all to explore the bounds and force of liberty itself. The 2023 Program on Law and State Government Fellows invite you to join them to discuss legal concepts of liberty, both hidden and apparent.

The fellowship symposium is organized and presented by the 2023 PLSG Fellows:
Forrest Manning (J.D. anticipated May 2024)
Ashley Rosenblatt (J.D. anticipated May 2024)

Registration closed

SPEAKER INFO

Karen E. Bravo
Dean and Professor of Law
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Karen E. Bravo was appointed Dean of the law school on July 1, 2020. She joined the faculty in 2004, after practicing corporate law with international law firms in New York and Massachusetts and working with the ABA in the Republic of Armenia. She has taught, among other subjects, public and private international law, international trade law, and business courses. A well-known international law scholar, and expert in the study of human trafficking, Dean Bravo’s research interests include labor liberalization, personhood, slavery, and human trafficking. She is the founder and leader of the Slavery Past, Present and Future project. The interdisciplinary initiative brings together scholars of slavery from a multiplicity of disciplines. Dean Bravo co-proposed (2013) and co-led (2015-2018) IUPUI NextGeneration 2.0, the campus -wide leadership development and leadership succession-planning program dedicated to the preparation of women and underrepresented faculty and staff for positions of leadership and opportunities for advancement in higher education. She currently serves on the Advisory Board. Dean Bravo was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (1995-1997) and was a staff member and Articles Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems. In 2004, she received the Jerome Lipper Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of international law from New York University School of Law. In 2008, she received an Indiana University Trustees’ Teaching Award. In 2020, she was recognized as an Indianapolis Business Journal Woman of Influence.

Cynthia Baker
Clinical Professor of Law, Director, Program on Law and State Government
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Cynthia Baker is the founding Director of the Program on Law and State Government (PLSG) and a Clinical Professor of Law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. Under her leadership, the PLSG serves students interested in the confluence of law, state government, and governance through courses, externships, and fellowships. She teaches state and local government law, government finance, higher education law, and the PLSG’s externship course. Before joining academia, Professor Baker served as a lawyer for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Robert D. Rucker of the Indiana Court of Appeals, now retired from the Indiana Supreme Court. She earned her J.D. from Valparaiso School of Law where she served as a note editor and contributing author to the Valparaiso Law Review and graduated magna cum laude.

Forrest Manning
2023 Fellow, Program on Law and State Government
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Forrest Manning is a 3L law student with an anticipated graduation date of May 2024 whose fellowship research focuses on the contours of liberty around the topics of transportation, driving laws, and urban planning. He plans to explore how state governments’ administrative and legal structures influence personal liberty, including looking at ongoing efforts by various state governments to change those infrastructures.

Ashley Rosenblatt
2023 Fellow, Program on Law and State Government
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Ashley Rosenblatt is a 3L law student with an anticipated graduation date of May 2024 who is researching liberty in the context of privacy and economic freedoms. Her scholarship will focus on ESG measures and how states across the nation are laying the groundwork through this new lens of economic liberty. She will also explore how policy makers and lawyers are responding to related economic development issues such as non-compete agreements, K-12 educational policy, and the expanding role of state governments related to individual citizens' right to privacy.

Forrest and Ashley collectively bring experiences from the Indiana State House, service as an elected member of a local school board, participation in our law school's intramural moot court competition, law student leadership and service, and variety of professional and other work experiences to this year's endeavor. They are using their fellowship year to explore how vastly different and deeply held beliefs about liberty play out in approaches to quintessential state government areas of regulation such as K-12 education, workforce development, economic issues, and public health.

Jessica Allen
Chairwoman
Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission

Jessica Allen joined the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission in 2014. She spent several years as an attorney for the Commission advising applicants on Indiana’s laws, assisting staff with alcohol related questions and procedures and servicing as the agent’s administrative hearing judge on appeals of denied permits and violation hearings. In 2021, Jessica was appointed a chairwoman of the Commission. She oversees permit applications and serves as executive director for the agency. Prior to joining the Commission, Jessica worked for the City of Indianapolis as a Deputy City Prosecutor where she was involved in local licensing enforcement matters. Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree from Butler University and her J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of law, both in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tyler Burgauer
Adjunct Professor
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Tyler Burgauer currently serves as Deputy General Counsel at the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. He brings experience from several state agencies, namely, as a staff attorney for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and as a civil engineer for the Indiana Department of Transportation. Mr. Burgauer also teaches Criminal Procedure: Investigation as an adjunct professor at IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law, his alma mater where he applies his knowledge as a former public defender and police officer. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Purdue University.

Shawn Fields
Associate Professor
California Western University School of Law

Shawn Fields is an Associate Professor at California Western School of Law where he teaches Civil Procedure. Interested in policing and Fourth Amendment issues, Professor Fields has authored numerous law review articles including The Fourth Amendment without Police, and the book Neighborhood Watch: Police White Spaces in America. Professor Fields earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

Jon Ford
State Senator
Indiana General Assembly

State Sen. Jon Ford has served Hoosiers in western Indiana at the Statehouse since he was elected in 2014. As a state senator, Ford represents Senate District 38, which includes Vigo and Clay counties and portions of Sullivan County. Ford serves as chair of the Senate Committee on Elections and as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Family and Children Services. He is also a member of the Senate Committees on Appropriations and Public Policy. Ford’s civic involvement goes beyond his service in the General Assembly. He is a former member of several organizations, including the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, Vigo County Youth Soccer, Leadership Wabash Valley, March of Dimes of Wabash Valley and the Swope Art Museum. Ford has also served as chairman of the Indiana Arts Commission. Professionally, he works in business development for a local nonprofit organization. He served as co-owner and president of All State Manufacturing for 17 years and is a former board member of the Indiana Manufacturers Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Misericordia University in business administration and marketing. Ford and his wife, Kirsten, reside in Terre Haute with their two sons.

Lee Little
Adjunct Professor
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Lee Little is a Research and Instruction Librarian and Adjunct Professor at IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law. His current research focuses on the impact of religious organizations on community development historically. Mr. Little earned his J.D. from IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law and his M.L.S from IU School of Informatics and Computing.

Justin Moed
State Representative
Indiana General Assembly

Justin Moed was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2012. He serves as the Democratic Whip in the Indiana House of Representatives and is the ranking minority member of the Public Policy Committee. Moed also serves on the Local Government and Agriculture and Rural Development committees. Moed began his work at the Statehouse as a doorkeeper and worked his way up to senior policy analyst before deciding to run for office. Thanks to years of experience as a staff member in the Indiana legislature, Moed understands both the challenges and possibilities that come with state government. Since being elected, he has worked to put people and solutions first. His focus is on strengthening neighborhoods and helping his constituents navigate the ins-and-outs of government to solve problems. Moed is known to work across party lines to find common ground on important issues such as economic development, tackling the abandoned housing crisis, holding government accountable, and promoting mass transit. Moed is a graduate of Butler University and a homeowner on the south side of Indianapolis. He is highly involved with the local community, and owns and manages an urban farm. He is an active member of many community groups and organizations, as well as an appointed member of the IUPUI Board of Advisors, the White River State Park Commission and the State Tourism Council.

Stevie Pactor
Staff Attorney
ACLU of Indiana

Stevie presently serves as a Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Indiana. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the late Judge Michael Kanne of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and later joined Sidley Austin LLP's complex commercial litigation group in San Francisco. She came back to her Hoosier roots to serve as a law clerk to Judges Tanya Walton Pratt and Jane Magnus-Stinson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. In her pre-lawyer life, Stevie worked as a Central Asia program officer for the United States Department of State. She speaks French (pretty well), Uzbek (decently), and Russian (poorly). She currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, and she is a board member of the Indiana Federal Community Defenders. Stevie is a 2014 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and she holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Jon Sullivan
Local Government Consultant
Berry Dunn

Jon Sullivan is a Local Government Consultant. He has earned his Master’s in City, Urban, and Regional Planning from Ball State University. Jon also earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Bostin and a Mater’s of Political science and Government from Northeastern University

Kate Shelby
Chief Legal Officer
Indiana Department of Transportation

Kate Shelby is the Chief Legal Officer and Deputy Commissioner of IT, Legal, and Compliance with the Indiana Department of Transportation. Ms. Shelby has vast public sector experience, including time spent as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Marion County and Deputy Attorney General for the State of Indiana. In the private sector, Ms. Shelby has worked for Eli Lily & Co. and has served as General Counsel for Resultant. Ms. Shelby earned her J.D. from IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Justin Swanson
Partner and Principal
Bose McKinney & Evans LLP
Bose Public Affairs Group

Justin Swanson is a partner with Bose McKinney & Evans and the chair of the firm's Cannabis practice group. He is at the forefront of the cannabis industry and has developed a unique multi-dimensional government affairs practice that leverages his public policy expertise with traditional legal skills to effectively advance the interests of his diverse set of clients from small towns to Fortune 500 companies. In 2019, the Indiana Lawyer recognized Swanson as an Up-and-Coming Lawyer, an award bestowed on just 15 attorneys statewide each year. Swanson was also included in the 2021 and 2022 Best Lawyers in America® Ones to Watch Lists, a recognition honoring attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. Swanson is also a principal at Bose Public Affairs Group LLC, where he is a member of the state and local government relations team.

Parking:

Parking is available for a nominal fee at the campus Gateway Garage, located on the corner of Michigan and California Streets (Address is 525 Blackford Street). Parking is also available for a nominal fee at the Natatorium Garage two blocks west of the law school.

Special Accommodations:

Individuals who need special assistance should call (317) 274-1914 no later than one week prior to the event. Special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs.