Davis-Dunnings Bar Association elects new board members

The Davis-Dunnings Bar Association, that provides support to African-American attorneys in mid-Michigan through networking and professional development opportunities,  announced its new executive board members.

Takura Nyamfukudza was elected president. A criminal defense and appellate law attorney, the Cooley Law School graduate is active in the community serving as chairperson, director, treasurer mentor and volunteer for organizations across the greater Lansing area and 12 years in the United States Army.

Nyamfukudza is recognized in Super Lawyers, Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Up and Coming Lawyers,” Ingham County Bar's “Top 5 Under 35” and the Davis-Dunnings' "Rising Star Awards."
Kristen Simmons was elected vice president. She is an assistant attorney general and served as the legal advisor to both the Lansing Police Department and Public Safety Committee in Lansing.

Simmons graduated from Cooley Law School and worked as an adjunct professor for Lansing Community College and American Intercontinental University. She is also an executive board member of the Lansing Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and on the Diversity Inclusion Board for the State Bar of Michigan.

Robert Easterly, a litigation and business attorney for Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC, was elected treasurer. The Michigan State University College of Law graduate has assisted on the Community Coalition for Youth for five years and  as treasurer of the Larry Mitchell Trice Senior Outreach Center for seven. Easterly has also held multiple positions within the Office of Multicultural Student Services at Washington State University.

Taneashia Morrell, a staff attorney at Lansing’s Legal Services of South Central Michigan was elected secretary. a graduate of Cooley Law School, Morrell volunteers at the Lansing Rescue Mission Women's Shelter, PEP Tutoring, Rock Camp for Girls Los Angeles and Lily of the Valley Orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico.

Criminal defense attorney Brian Jackson was elected community outreach chair. An alumnus of Howard University School of Law,  Jackson holds "Know Your Rights" presentations and teaches youth about their rights during police encounters.

He is also on the Shabazz Public School Academy board and is a volunteer advocate for students facing suspension and expulsion.

The Davis-Dunnings Bar Association sponsors the upcoming Otis M. Smith Scholarship Banquet on April 28, where Paulette Brown, immediate past president of the American Bar Association, will be the keynote speaker.