08/25/2026
I just finished my final year in the ABA YLD Leadership Academy, and looking back, the whole journey started with a last minute trip to the 2024 ABA Spring Conference in Omaha, Nebraska.
I sat in on the YLD Council meeting and happened to be seated next to Ashley Weathers and Jared Nelson. Jared's encouragement is the reason I applied to the Leadership Academy in the first place. That same meeting is where I met Darnell Barton, Esq. and Valerie Desroches, who later gave me the push I needed to go out on my own as a solo practitioner. They have become lifelong friends. Guidance from Dashawn R. Cason, Esq. was also instrumental in that decision while he and I chatted at the Omaha Zoo.
Then Chair Tamara P. Nash welcomed me with open arms and introduced me to Dani Borel and Brandon Riches, and from there the Leadership Academy became one of the most rewarding and genuinely life-changing experiences of my career.
My Leadership Academy class, NaTonia D. Trammell, Esq., Jehan Senai Worthy, Esq., Donta Dismuke, Alexander Cyr, Brianna Weiner, Esq., and Alex Pearlstein, made the experience what it was, and I owe a lasting debt of gratitude to DeShauna N. Lee, Esq., ACC and Jared Nelson for their guidance, leadership, and friendship along the way.
I just finished my final year in the ABA YLD Leadership Academy, and looking back, the whole journey started with a last minute trip to the 2024 ABA Spring Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. I sat in on the YLD Council meeting and happened to be seated next to Ashley Weathers and Jared Nelson. Jared's e...
