Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel congratulated outstanding Department of Attorney General staff recognized for contributions to the State of Michigan.
Assistant Attorneys General Daniel Ping and Kirsten J. Silwanowicz and Assistant Solicitor General Kyla Barranco were selected as 2026 Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Ping joined the Department in 2018 and was appointed as an Appellate Specialist in 2024. His diverse practice has included criminal appeals, consumer protection, constitutional litigation, and special projects. A member of the State Bar’s U.S. Courts Committee and a councilmember of the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, Ping previously clerked at the Michigan Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Before that, he provided legal aid to residents of New York City’s adult homes. Ping graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2011.
Silwanowicz currently serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Health, Education, and Family Services Division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, where she represents state agencies dedicated to improving the health, education, and well-being of Michigan residents. She provides strategic legal counsel on complex governmental matters while advancing the mission of protecting the public interest. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Detroit Mercy Law, where she earned her law degree.
Silwanowicz is deeply involved in the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) and the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). She currently serves as President of WLAM. She is also a past President of the WLAM Wayne Region and an active leader within the NAWL.
Barranco joined the Department in 2016 as an Assistant Attorney General in the State Operations Division and was appointed as an Assistant Solicitor General in 2024. Her practice has encompassed reproductive rights litigation, civil rights litigation, employment law, tort defense, and other special projects. She has briefed and argued cases in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Michigan Court of Appeals, as well as co-drafted briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. She was a co-recipient of the WMU-Cooley Law Review’s Distinguished Brief Award for Rouch World, LLC v. Department of Civil Rights. Barranco serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore and is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. Barranco earned her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law.
In further news, Donald McGehee, Division Chief of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, recently received the 2026 Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (MCRUD) State Champion of the Year Award.
McGehee is the Division Chief of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, which provides general legal counsel to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, Bureau of State Lottery, Michigan Gaming Control Board, Michigan Sheriffs’ Coordinating and Training Counsel, Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The division also provides legal counsel on firearms issues and investigates and handles complaints concerning Michigan’s bottle deposit law.
McGehee was first appointed as an Assistant Attorney General in 1985 by former Attorney General Frank J. Kelley and has served under five Attorneys General.
Assistant Attorney General Jenna Astolfi was recipient of the Detroit Bar Association’s Barristers President's Awards as part of its 2026 Young Lawyer Awards.
Astolfi is an Assistant Attorney General with the Assistance with Convictions & Expungements Division. Prior to joining the Department in 2024, she served as a staff attorney at the William Booth Legal Aid Clinic, where she advocated for indigent clients in a variety of matters, and co-taught University of Detroit Mercy Law School's Family Law Clinic. Prior to that, she clerked for the Honorable Carla Testani in the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County. Astolfi is active with the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Detroit Bar Association. She earned her J.D. and B.A. from Wayne State University.
Assistant Attorneys General Daniel Ping and Kirsten J. Silwanowicz and Assistant Solicitor General Kyla Barranco were selected as 2026 Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Ping joined the Department in 2018 and was appointed as an Appellate Specialist in 2024. His diverse practice has included criminal appeals, consumer protection, constitutional litigation, and special projects. A member of the State Bar’s U.S. Courts Committee and a councilmember of the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, Ping previously clerked at the Michigan Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Before that, he provided legal aid to residents of New York City’s adult homes. Ping graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2011.
Silwanowicz currently serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Health, Education, and Family Services Division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, where she represents state agencies dedicated to improving the health, education, and well-being of Michigan residents. She provides strategic legal counsel on complex governmental matters while advancing the mission of protecting the public interest. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Detroit Mercy Law, where she earned her law degree.
Silwanowicz is deeply involved in the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) and the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). She currently serves as President of WLAM. She is also a past President of the WLAM Wayne Region and an active leader within the NAWL.
Barranco joined the Department in 2016 as an Assistant Attorney General in the State Operations Division and was appointed as an Assistant Solicitor General in 2024. Her practice has encompassed reproductive rights litigation, civil rights litigation, employment law, tort defense, and other special projects. She has briefed and argued cases in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Michigan Court of Appeals, as well as co-drafted briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. She was a co-recipient of the WMU-Cooley Law Review’s Distinguished Brief Award for Rouch World, LLC v. Department of Civil Rights. Barranco serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore and is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. Barranco earned her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law.
In further news, Donald McGehee, Division Chief of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, recently received the 2026 Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (MCRUD) State Champion of the Year Award.
McGehee is the Division Chief of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, which provides general legal counsel to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, Bureau of State Lottery, Michigan Gaming Control Board, Michigan Sheriffs’ Coordinating and Training Counsel, Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The division also provides legal counsel on firearms issues and investigates and handles complaints concerning Michigan’s bottle deposit law.
McGehee was first appointed as an Assistant Attorney General in 1985 by former Attorney General Frank J. Kelley and has served under five Attorneys General.
Assistant Attorney General Jenna Astolfi was recipient of the Detroit Bar Association’s Barristers President's Awards as part of its 2026 Young Lawyer Awards.
Astolfi is an Assistant Attorney General with the Assistance with Convictions & Expungements Division. Prior to joining the Department in 2024, she served as a staff attorney at the William Booth Legal Aid Clinic, where she advocated for indigent clients in a variety of matters, and co-taught University of Detroit Mercy Law School's Family Law Clinic. Prior to that, she clerked for the Honorable Carla Testani in the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County. Astolfi is active with the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Detroit Bar Association. She earned her J.D. and B.A. from Wayne State University.
