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Board Members

ANNA SWIFT
ETLAW President
A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, magna cum laude, with an undergraduate degree in public relations, Anna Swift serves as a group supervisor (supervisory attorney-adviser) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) after having served as an attorney-adviser herself for the agency.  She has been licensed to practice law since 2014 and has been a member of ETLAW since 2015, having previously served in such roles as community outreach chair in 2018 and secretary from 2019-2021 before becoming president-elect.  Now, as president, Anna intends to utilize her legal and public relations backgrounds to advance ETLAW’s mission of empowering female lawyers in the East Tennessee region–her vision this year being to reconnect the group to its roots and to enhance the organization through the creation of new traditions like a mentoring program.
Anna is mother to two (boy and girl) and owner of multiple pets (more than she cares to admit, but she is definitely a dog lover).  Her hobbies are varied and include reading, singing, and yoga, to name a few.  Anna regularly finds herself inspired by thought leaders and aspiring to apply their positive attributes to her leadership style.

 

ALLISON STARNES-ANGLEA
ETLAW President-Elect

Before joining the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law in 2017, Director Allison Starnes-Anglea practiced law in Tennessee. She practiced civil law with a local firm for five years and went on to work for the Department of Human Services for the State of Tennessee for two years. While in private practice, she actively participated in service opportunities for the benefit of local veterans and the elderly, and she served two terms as the board of directors’ president for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of East Tennessee. In 2018, she was recognized as an “Attorney for Justice” by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Allison received a B.S. from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She went on to receive her J.D. in 2010 from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where she was awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Award for Pro Bono Service for her efforts with Memphis Area Legal Services. She is an active member of the Knoxville Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and ETLAW.

JENNIFER D. FRANKLYN 
ETLAW Secretary

Jennifer Franklyn is Corporate Counsel and a Regulatory Compliance Associate at Realty Trust Group, LLC, where she manages legal advice and day-to-day legal matters to support RTG’s provision of customized healthcare real estate solutions through advisory, development, transactional, operational, and compliance services. Jennifer also has a hands-on role in healthcare real estate regulatory compliance engagements with health systems, focusing on compliance with the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the False Claims Act.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2016. She is licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee and is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Prior to joining RTG, Jennifer worked for a state-wide litigation firm, where she practiced primarily civil defense litigation.

Jennifer is involved in the Knoxville Bar Association, where she serves on the Publications committee and prepares a monthly q-and-a column featuring new attorneys in the KBA’s monthly publication, DICTA. When she is not working or engaged in professional pursuits, Jennifer and her spouse, Garett, enjoy traveling, trying new restaurants, cheering on the Tennessee Volunteers and the Memphis Grizzlies, and enjoying the natural beauty of East Tennessee.

 

COURTNEY WALKER
ETLAW Treasurer

Courtney Walker is an associate at Gentry Tipton McLemore, PC, where she practices law in the areas of banking, business law, commercial real estate, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, creditor’s and debtor’s rights, and litigation.

Courtney received her undergraduate degree in agribusiness management, in cursu honorum, magna cum laude, from Tennessee Technological University. She graduated magna cum laude from Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, where she was Valedictorian of the full-time class.

Courtney is active in several professional and community organizations, including the Tennessee and Knoxville Bar associations, Tennessee FFA Foundation and TnAchieves. Courtney and her husband, Bob, can be found traveling, hiking, camping or enjoying a good Sunday brunch with their two kids and labradoodle.

STEPHANIE COLEMAN
ETLAW Historian

Stephanie Coleman is a partner at Owings, Wilson & Coleman in Knoxville, Tennessee. Stephanie graduated summa cum laude from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, with a B.A. in 2005. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2008. While there, she was named to the Order of Barristers, achieved Dean’s List, and received Certificates of Excellence in Contracts II and Contract Drafting. She also argued for the Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Team at the National Competition in New York. She was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 2008 and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in 2009.

As a partner at Owings, Wilson & Coleman, Stephanie provides general counsel services to businesses throughout East Tennessee. As a day-to-day resource for the companies with which she works, Stephanie reviews contracts, assists in collections, and advises on employment law issues including unemployment claims and issues related to the ADA, FLSA, and FMLA. She has drafted employment handbooks, policy and procedure manuals, and affirmative action plans and serves as a resource to ensure compliance with local and federal laws and regulations.

CHRISTINA MAGRÁNS-TILLERY

 

ETLAW Corporate Compliance Chair

 Christina Magráns-Tillery is a staff attorney with the City of Knoxville Law Department where her work focuses on litigation and municipal legislation relating to zoning and land use including issues related to the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She also serves as the advising attorney for the City’s Plans Review and Building Inspections Department and Economic and Community Development. She assists the Knoxville Board of Zoning Appeals, the Historic Zoning Commission, the Design Review Board, the Construction Appeals Board, the African American Equity and Restoration Task Force, and the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission. As Cuban attorney, Ms. Magráns-Tillery serves as the Knoxville Latino Bar Association’s inaugural president. She is an adjunct professor at the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, the Compliance Chair for the East Tennessee Lawyer’s Association for Women (ETLAW), a board member of the Equality Coalition for Housing Opportunities (ECHO), and co-chair of the Knoxville Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion in the Profession Committee. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law and currently resides in Knoxville with her husband, their baby, and their three rescue dogs.

KATIE JONES
ETLAW Programming Chair

Professor Katie Tolliver Jones joined the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) in August of 2017. Before joining the faculty of LMU Law, Professor Jones worked at the law firm of Holbrook, Peterson, Smith, PLLC in Knoxville, Tennessee. While at the firm, she focused on estate planning and civil litigation.

In 2010 Professor Jones was selected by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation for one of two national fully-funded, two-year public service tax fellowships. As a public service fellow, she worked as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands to set up a low-income tax clinic serving eight counties in Appalachia. Professor Jones represented clients in administrative proceedings, negotiated settlements with the IRS, and represented clients in complex Federal Tax Court litigation. She also handled matters involving housing law, domestic violence, family law, juvenile law, elder law, disability law, and employment law and taught continuing legal education seminars. Professor Jones worked for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands for a total of 10 years, having begun as a volunteer and law clerk.

Professor Jones grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and completed her undergraduate studies at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She graduated with honors in political science and sociology with a minor in social and economic justice.

Professor Jones earned her J.D. at the University of Tennessee College of Law. During law school, she received authorization from the IRS to represent clients in administrative hearings and litigation. She was also licensed as a student attorney by the Tennessee Supreme Court to handle other types of cases. She represented clients in the domestic violence clinic and the education law practicum and served on the Tennessee Law Review.

Professor Jones enjoys legal writing and strives to help students use their individual strengths to succeed and develop the skills needed to practice law.

In her spare time, Professor Jones volunteers for community organizations and enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, Tar Heels basketball, and travelling. She is fluent in conversational and written Spanish.

COURTNEY READ
Membership Committee Chair

Courtney Epps Read is a partner with Watson, Roach, Batson & Lauderback P.L.C., practicing in the areas of governmental tort liability defense litigation, healthcare liability defense litigation, employment defense litigation, and real estate broker defense litigation. She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in politics from Wake Forest University in 2007. Courtney received her J.D. from the Wake Forest University Law School in 2010.

In addition to serving on the board of ETLAW, Courtney currently serves as co-chair of the Knoxville Bar Association Functions Committee, an interviewer for the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, and a member of the development committee for the Tennessee Theatre. Courtney is also a graduate of the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law Class of 2019 and a past president of Nucleus Knoxville. Courtney and her husband, Josh, can be found running, snow skiing, hiking, wakeboarding, and traveling when not otherwise working.

BIANCA WHITE
Community Outreach Chair

Bianca White is an assistant professor of law and assessment librarian at Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law. Bianca teachers courses in legal research, bar skills, and labor and employment law. Additionally, she has worked with law libraries as a legal research attorney since 2011. Prior to this experience, she worked as a labor and employment attorney.

Bianca graduated cum laude and with honors from University of Memphis School of Law. Since law school Bianca also graduated summa cum laude with her M.B.A and summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee with a Masters in Information Science.

Bianca maintains an active law license in Tennessee and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Knoxville Bar Association. She has presented CLEs on a number of topics from legal research to discovery.

ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS/CO-CHAIRS

BAILY BOWERS
Programming Committee Member

 

LYNDSEY LEE
Corporate Compliance Committee Member

 

SARAH KEITH
Community Outreach Committee Member

 

Sarah Keith is an Assistant District Attorney General for the 7th Judicial District, Anderson County.  She graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Political Science from Tennessee Tech University in 2003 and her J.D.  with a concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2006.  She became a member of the Tennessee Bar in 2006, the United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee in 2022, and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in 2011.  Prior to joining the 7th District, she worked in the 6th Judicial District in Knox County and the 10th Judicial District, handling cases in Bradley and Polk Counties. She was named the 2012 MADD Prosecutor of the Year.  She was named a “Top Attorney” in criminal prosecution by Cityview Magazine in 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2020. She has worked in general prosecution and at other times specialized in Child Abuse, Career/Gang, and DUI. She has additionally worked in private practice handling both criminal defense and civil matters.

Sarah has participated as a faculty member for the TNDAGC New Prosecutors Training and Trial Advocacy School programs, the “Cops in Court” training program, and at the American Prosecutors Research Institute training seminar, “Protecting Lives, Saving Futures.”  She has also provided training for the Knoxville Police Department Law Enforcement Academy, Knox County Sheriff’s Department Regional Law Enforcement Academy, Cleveland State Law Enforcement Training Academy, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, McGhee-Tyson Airport Security, the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, the Tennessee Gang Investigators Association, and the TDOC Security Threat Group/Investigation and Intelligence Annual Training.  Sarah has served as an adjunct instructor of Legal Ethics at South College in Knoxville. She serves on the Tennessee Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure.  She has been a member of the Tennessee Gang Investigators Association, South College Criminal Justice Advisory Board, the National District Attorneys Association, the Hamilton-Burnett Chapter of the American Inns of Court, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Child Protective Investigative Team, the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, the East Tennessee Council on Children and Youth, the Knox County Schools Criminal Justice Program Advisory Council, Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Anderson County Bar Association,  and the Knoxville Bar Association.  She serves on the Judicial Committee and is the Chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the KBA.

She and her husband Joey live with their two floofy feline roommates, Clyde and Scotch.  She enjoys travelling, kayaking, hiking, going to brunch after kayaking or hiking, and watching the Tennessee Volunteers sports teams and the Atlanta Braves.

PAST PRESIDENTS OF ETLAW

ETLAW is fortunate to have benefited from the leadership of numerous accomplished attorneys, who are listed below.  Prior to 2009, terms on the ETLAW Board of Directors followed the fiscal year.  Now, the Board of Director terms are on the calendar year, with elections held at the Annual Meeting in December.

2022: Kathryn Ellis

2021: Allison Jackson

2020: Katie Logan Waldrop

2019: Elizabeth Carroll

2018: Loretta Cravens

2017: Alyssa Minge

2016: Catherine Anglin

2015: Laurie Ball

2014: Jamie Ballinger-Holden

2013: Rebecca Franklin

2012: Terry Woods

2011: Karen Crutchfield

2010: Wynne Caffey

2009: Deb House

2007-08: Justice Sharon Lee

2006-07: Morna McHargue Erwin

2005-06: Heather Anderson

2004-05: Heather Anderson

2003-04

2002-03: Sharon Frankenberg

2001-02: Nanette Landon

2000-01: Elaine Burke

1999-2000: Victoria Bowling

1998-99: Bridget Bailey

1997-98: Ginny Schwamm

1996-97: Lucinda Albiston

 

1995-96: Sally Lighter

1994-95: Dania Leatherman

1993-94: Sharon Frankenberg

1992-93

1991-92: Wanda Sobieski

1989-90: Wanda Sobieski

1988-89: Kitty Grubb

1987-88: Margaret Klein

1986-87

1985-86: Margaret Klein

1984-85: Patty Wheeler

1983-84: Patty Wheeler