Leadership

Phil Catanzano is co-founder of Education & Sports Law Group. Prior to starting Education & Sports Law Group, Phil was Senior Counsel at Holland & Knight for seven years and an attorney at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for almost a decade before that, where he investigated institutions accused of discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, or race/ethnicity, among others. 

Phil’s practice includes advising institutions with regard to disability law issues on campus (including digital accessibility), helping institutions comply with the federal laws around gender and racial/ethnic equity, and maintaining a safe campus. Phil serves on the faculty at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he teaches courses regarding higher education law, disability law, and the intersection of speech and harassment.

Priya Harjani serves as the Senior Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Northwestern University. In that role, Priya helps manage the Office of General Counsel and advises leadership and administrators on a broad range of legal issues. She first joined Northwestern University in 2004 and previously held the roles of Assistant General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Senior Associate General Counsel. She has also taught a graduate level course entitled “Law and Ethics of Higher Education” in Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel at Northwestern, Priya was an attorney with a large law firm in Chicago where she was a commercial litigator. 

Priya has been a NACUA member since 2004. She has served as a member of the Committee on Program for Annual Conference, Committee on Legal Education, Board Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusivity, Committee on Strategic Planning, and Committee on Membership and Member Services with leadership roles as Chair and Vice Chair of the NACUANOTES Editorial Board. She also is a frequent moderator and presenter at NACUA workshops, conferences, and webinars on a variety of topics. 

Priya received her undergraduate degree from University of Illinois graduating summa cum laude and her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. 

Anthony Hightower, a NACUA member since 2006, is Interim Vice President for Audit, Compliance, Ethics, and Risk Management at Augusta University, Georgia’s health sciences university. He previously served as Senior Associate General Counsel with Augusta University. Anthony has served on numerous NACUA Committees and participated as a panelist or moderator at several NACUA conferences. He served as Chair of NACUA’s 2025 Spring CLE.  He is currently serving on NACUA’s Committee on Virtual Programming and as a member of NACUA’s Committee on Board Operations.

Anthony has broad and deep experience in higher education. His legal experience includes, but is not limited to employment, transactional, student and medical privacy, student affairs, disability, EEO, and Title IX. Anthony worked as an Attorney and Supervisory Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights in Dallas Texas and Washington, D.C., managing a team of attorneys and investigators. He also served as the Director of the Offices of Equity Access & Diversity at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Additionally, his experience includes private law practice and serving as an adjunct instructor at Clark Atlanta University. Anthony’s civic contributions include serving as an elected member of the Georgia House of Representatives and a city councilman in College Park, Georgia and has served as an Assistant Scout Master with his son’s Boy Scout troop.  

Anthony received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Clark Atlanta University, his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa, and a Master’s Degree from Harvard University, where he received the Kennedy Fellowship.

Art M. Lee is the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the University of Arizona. Mr. Lee works on the full range of issues and matters across the entire University of Arizona enterprise, including transactional, student and employment, international, health sciences, expressive activity, and information security and privacy, among other areas. 

Mr. Lee joined the University of Arizona in 2013 as an Associate General Counsel. Previously, Mr. Lee served as an Associate General Counsel with Arizona State University for over nine years. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Legal Staff Associate Attorney at the University of Colorado. Before his practice in higher education, Mr. Lee was in private practice as an Associate with an insurance and employment defense law firm in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Lee is active with the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and has been active within the community, including serving as a past president and past member of the board of directors of both the Arizona Asian American Bar Association and the Colorado Asian Pacific American Bar Association. 

Mr. Lee graduated from the University of Chicago in 1990 (A.B. Politics, Economics, Rhetoric & Law) and the University of Colorado School of Law in 1993 (J.D.). Mr. Lee is admitted to practice law in the State of Arizona and the State of Colorado and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. 

Lorena Peñaloza became Chief Campus Counsel for the University of California (UC), Riverside, one of the ten campuses in the UC system, January 2023, after serving as the Chief Campus Counsel of UC Santa Cruz for nearly six years. She provides advice to the campus on a broad range of legal issues, including employment, land use, police, student safety and conduct issues. She reports jointly to UCR Chancellor Jack Hu and UC system Senior Vice President and General Counsel Charles Robinson and serves on their respective leadership teams. 

Lorena previously worked for the Office of General Counsel for the California State University system, where she first served as a litigator and then as University Counsel for two of the system’s twenty-three campuses. Prior to joining CSU, she served as Assistant City Attorney with the City Attorney’s Office for the City of Santa Ana and began her legal career with the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel in Maryland through the Presidential Management Fellowship program. 

Lorena has been a NACUA member since 2008. She has served on several committees, including the inaugural Campus Counsel Leadership Intensive Advisory Group, the Board Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusivity, and co-chaired the winter 2024 Higher Education Employment Law CLE workshop. She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco. 

Steve Sandberg serves as general counsel at Brigham Young University, where he directs the university’s legal, compliance, and risk management and safety functions. He also serves as general counsel at three other institutions sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—BYU–Hawaii, BYU–Idaho, and Ensign College. 

Before joining BYU’s legal team in 2006, Steve clerked for Judge Kleinfeld on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and worked as an associate at Morrison & Foerster. Steve received his B.A. in English from BYU and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Anne E. Bilder is General Counsel for the University of Northern Iowa, joining the office in January 2024. As UNI’s chief legal officer, Ms. Bilder manages the Office of General Counsel as well serving as a member of President Mark Nook’s Senior Leadership Team and the President’s Cabinet.  

Prior to coming to UNI, Ms. Bilder served as Senior University Legal Counsel in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). Her principal practice areas included employment law, student affairs, legal issues related to campus programs for children and youth, Title IX, privacy and cybersecurity and diversity issues. Before joining OLA, Ms. Bilder was Senior System Legal Counsel in the Office of General Counsel for the University of Wisconsin System (OGC) where she was an attorney since 1998, and handled a broad range of legal issues affecting System administration and its many comprehensive and associate degree-granting institutions. While at the OGC, Ms. Bilder served as Co-Chair of the UW System President’s Task Force on Sexual Violence and Harassment.

In addition to working as a university attorney, Ms. Bilder has taught courses in privacy law and higher education to law and graduate students.

Ms. Bilder was recently elected to a three-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). Ms. Bilder also is the Chairperson of the NACUA Solo & Small General Counsel Office Affinity Group. A long-term active member of NACUA, she has served on many NACUA committees and has given presentations at annual conferences. In addition, she has spoken at other national higher education and law conferences, as well as to a wide variety of statewide and regional audiences on topics, including employment law, Title IX, student privacy, student discipline and diversity.

Ms. Bilder is a graduate of Carleton College and the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she was a member of Law Review. She also has a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She is admitted to practice law in both Iowa and Wisconsin.

Youndy C. Cook joined the University of Central Florida Office of the General Counsel in April 2002, and became the Vice President and General Counsel in December 2020. Prior to joining the University, she practiced labor and employment litigation in Tampa, Florida. Ms. Cook works across the University and its direct support organizations on a wide variety of issues, including governance, employment matters, litigation, student affairs, public records, compliance, policies, regulations, and contracts. Ms. Cook received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law. Ms. Cook has maintained Florida Bar certification as a Specialist in Education Law since 2012. When Ms. Cook joined UCF’s Office of the General Counsel in 2002, she also joined NACUA and has been an active member since then, serving on various committees over the years. Ms. Cook is a member of the Board of Directors of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Inc. She is also active in the Florida Bar, where she has served on the Education Law Committee and has joined the Corporate Counsel Committee. 

James (Jim) A. Keller, Partner and Co-Chair of Saul Ewing LLP’s Higher Education Practice, serves as a trusted advisor to dozens of institutions of higher education throughout the country. Jim advises his clients on critical issues of internal and external compliance and risk management, and defends them in litigation of all types. Jim leads teams in both proactive and reactive internal investigations across a wide swath of issues, including compliance with the Clery Act, Title IX, Title VI, student deaths, hazing, and research misconduct. Jim has also provided training to administrators, students, and employees in all of these areas. Jim also serves as general counsel to several colleges and universities that do not have inside counsel.  He serves on Saul Ewing’s Executive Committee.

Christopher Lott serves as the Deputy General Counsel at Duke University.  In addition to providing leadership for the Office of Counsel, Mr. Lott advises on admissions, antitrust, athletics, harassment/discrimination, disability, diversity, financial aid, student and academic affairs, FERPA/privacy and Title IX.  He also manages complex civil litigation for the University and serves as the University’s Antitrust Compliance Officer.

Prior to joining the Office of Counsel in 2014, Mr. Lott worked in the education practice group at Hogan Lovells in Washington D.C., where he represented universities, school districts, and other companies in the education sector. Mr. Lott is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Duke University School of Law. In between, he served as a Team Leader in AmeriCorps* National Civilian Community Corps.

Hope Murphy Tyehimba is a Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at The Johns Hopkins University, where she is co-lead of the Student Affairs and Employment Matters Practice Group.  At Hopkins, Hope advises on matters involving students and employees, including, discrimination, harassment and retaliation, affirmative action, diversity, equity and inclusion, privacy issues, progressive discipline and student conduct, sexual misconduct and violence, disability-related accommodations, campus safety, admissions, and policy review.

Prior to joining Hopkins, Hope served as general counsel at North Carolina Central University, a constituent institution in the University of North Carolina System, where she was chief legal advisor to the Board of Trustees, chancellor, vice chancellors and other senior campus administrators. Hope’s other experiences in higher education include serving in assistant general counsel roles at NCCU, North Carolina State University and East Carolina University. Before transitioning to higher education, Hope worked as an assistant attorney general at the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office and as a senior associate in private practice.

Hope received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Juris Doctorate degree from The University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was a member of the Holderness Moot Court, a recipient of the Gressman & Pollitt Oral Advocacy Award and a member of The Order of Barristers.

Jennifer Zimbroff serves as the Deputy General Counsel and Managing Attorney at Stanford University. Prior to joining Stanford in 2014, Ms. Zimbroff served as Assistant University Counsel in Princeton University’s Office of the General Counsel. Ms. Zimbroff also practiced labor and employment law and litigation at the Los Angeles offices of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP. 

Ms. Zimbroff received her B.A. degree with honors from Stanford University and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law where she was an extern in the Duke University Office of Counsel. 

Venus D. Boston is the Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the University at Lincoln University in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. She previously served as the Deputy Chief Legal Counsel and Adjunct Professor of Business Law at the College of Economics and Finance at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). Prior to her work in higher education, Venus worked for the Washington County Public School District in Eastern North Carolina where she served as the Family and Community Engagement Coordinator and Legal Advisor. 

Venus has been a NACUA member since 2014. As a volunteer, she has served as the leader of the African American Affinity Group, as well as a member of the Board Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusivity and the Committee on Strategic Planning. In 2023, she was a recipient of NACUA’s First Decade Award. 

Additional honors include the Winston Under 40 Award for Outstanding Young Leaders in the Winston-Salem community as well as the NCCU 40 Under 40 Award. 

She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a three-time honors graduate of North Carolina Central University (NCCU), earning a Bachelor of Arts in English (2004), a Master of Public Administration (2006), and a Juris Doctorate from NCCU School of Law (2012).

Mark C. Brandenburg is General Counsel at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He has served in that role since 2005. Prior to joining The Citadel, , Mark spent ten years in private practice, and also served as an Adjunct Professor of English at The Citadel, teaching Legal Writing and Rhetoric of Law, and coaching the mock trial team. He began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable William L. Howard, Sr., both on the Circuit Court and at the South Carolina Court of Appeals. 

Mark has been a NACUA member since 2005. During this time, he has been a longtime member of the NACUANOTES Editorial Board, serving as its vice chair 2024-2025. His additional committee service includes terms on the Committee on Legal Resources Library, the Committee on Strategic Planning, and the Committee on the Program for Annual Conference. He has also spoken at several conferences and workshops and serves as the leader of the Military Colleges Affinity Group. 

Mark attended The Citadel as the Star of the West Scholar, receiving a B.A., summa cum laude, in English in 1990. He attended Duke Law School as a South Carolina Law Alumni Scholar, and received his J.D. in 1993. 

Guilherme M. Costa serves as the Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation of Bentley University. Prior to joining Bentley University in 2023, Guilherme served as the Interim Senior Vice President and University Secretary (and previously as the Senior Associate Vice President and Deputy University Secretary) of Syracuse University, the Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees of Ithaca College, General Counsel of the South Dakota Board of Regents, and the Deputy General Counsel (and previously as the Associate General Counsel) of the University of Idaho.   

Guilherme joined NACUA in 2010 and has served several terms on the Committee on Membership and Member Services and the Journal of College and University Law Editorial Board. He has also spoken at several NACUA programs.  

Guilherme earned his undergraduate degrees in business administration and political science from the University of Florida, his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School, and his master’s degree in Adult/Organizational Learning and Leadership from the University of Idaho. 

Melissa Jackson Holloway serves as Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the nation’s largest Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Greensboro, N.C. At North Carolina A&T, Melissa provides legal counsel as the university’s senior attorney and maintains responsibility for the supervision and administration of the Division of Legal Affairs, Risk, and Compliance which consists of the Office of Legal Affairs, the Office of Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance, the Title IX Office, and the Office Internal Auditing. Before joining N.C. A&T in 2019, she spent three years as Deputy General Counsel at Ball State University, six years as General Counsel at North Carolina Central University, and eight years as Chief Legal Affairs Officer at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Prior to entering the practice of higher education law, Melissa spent four years as an associate with Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Melissa is a 2022 alum of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Millennium Leadership Initiative 2022 cohort, serves on several local non-profit boards, and is a life member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. 

Melissa has been a NACUA member since 2001. During her 22 years as a NACUA volunteer, she has served as a member of the Committee on Program for Annual Conference, Committee on Board Operations, Board Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusivity, with leadership roles as Vice Chair of Committee on Legal Education and Vice Chair and Chair of Committee on Membership and Member Services. Melissa is also a frequent moderator and presenter at NACUA workshops, conferences, and Lawyers New to Higher Education workshop. Additionally, she currently serves as an instructor for the Fundamentals of FERPA online course. Melissa served as an at-large member of the NACUA Board of Directors from 2016-2019 and is a 2020 recipient of NACUA’s Distinguished Service Award. 

Melissa holds a B.A. from Syracuse University, an M.A. from Binghamton University, and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. 

Darryl W. Lunon, II is the Associate Vice Chancellor, Senior Counsel, and Chief of Staff to the General Counsel at Vanderbilt University. In this role, Darryl advises the General Counsel and university leadership on strategic initiatives, oversees operations within the Office of the General Counsel, and leads the university’s Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management functions. Before joining Vanderbilt, Darryl was Deputy General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Prior to Georgia Tech, Darryl held a dual appointment at Pennsylvania State University, serving as both Chief Legal Officer and Director of Compliance of the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) and Associate General Counsel in the university’s Office of General Counsel. At Penn State, Darryl established ARL’s first legal and compliance program. In addition to his legal career, Darryl is a decorated combat veteran in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps. He has served for over 14 years, including two overseas deployments.

Darryl joined NACUA in 2017 and has served on the Committee on Virtual Programming, the Committee on Legal Education, and the Portfolio Review Task Force. He has also spoken at several NACUA workshops and webinars. He is a 2025 recipient of the NACUA First Decade Award.  

Darryl received two undergraduate Bachelor of Science degrees: General Science from Morehouse College and Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his Juris Doctor from Mercer University School of Law, and an Executive Master of Business Administration (alternative) from Harvard Business School.   

LaKeisha C. Marsh is a Partner at Akerman LLP and serves as the chair of the firm’s Government Strategies Practice Group and Higher Education and Collegiate Athletics Practice. Prior to her current role, LaKeisha served as a Senior Attorney at Miller Canfield, Associate Vice President & Counsel at TCS Education System, and Associate Director at the NCAA. 

A NACUA member since 2008, LaKeisha has served on the Committee on Program for Annual Conference, the Committee on Virtual Programming, the Committee on Membership and Member Services, and the Committee on Legal Education. She has also been a frequent speaker and discussion leader at NACUA conferences, workshops, and virtual programming. 

LaKeisha earned her BA from Clark Atlanta University and her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. 

Abbey V. Richards has been part the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at the George Washington University since 2003, starting as a law clerk and working her way through the ranks to her present Senior Counsel role. She regularly advises senior leaders on a wide range of issues impacting higher education. Her principal areas of focus include non-profit governance and compliance, business and banking transactions, non-profit taxation, international issues, conflicts of interest, research compliance, and general contract review. In addition, for several years she taught a course in Higher Education Law and Politics at Drexel University’s Graduate School of Education.   

Abbey joined NACUA in 2005. During this time, she has served on several committees including multi-year terms on the Committee on Finance and Audit, the Committee on Strategic Planning, the Committee on Membership and Member Services, and the Committee on Program for Annual Conference. She has also spoken several times at NACUA conferences and workshops.  

Abbey holds a B.A. in International and Area Studies from the University of Oklahoma and both a J.D. and an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University.