Our Board of Directors

Krista Selnau Camarda
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

Krista Selnau Camarda is the Senior Director of Development and Communications at Women's Congressional Policy Institute, a nonprofit and nonpartisan public policy organization in Washington, DC and is Founder and Principal Consultant at Krista Selnau Camarda Consulting, where she specializes in fundraising optimization, strategic planning, and pro bono and volunteer engagement. At WCPI she leads development strategies and operations, manages a major gifts portfolio, and oversees the communications strategy.

Krista received her B.A. summa cum laude from Curry College and earned her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, where was an active member of the Health Law Moot Court team. She received her certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University and her certificate in Planned Giving from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Krista has spent the last decade-plus in public interest law and nonprofit development. Prior to joining Curry College, Krista was the Director of Major & Planned Giving at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a year round residential camp and center in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic for seriously ill children and their families. Previously, she was a Senior Portfolio Manager of Fellowships at Equal Justice Works, where she oversaw Fellows and stewarded Fellowship sponsors on the East Coast, securing $2.5 million in support annually. She also served as Co-Chair of the DEI Council's Education & Awareness Committee.

As a lawyer, Krista founded and managed the Veterans Medical-Legal Partnership at Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Augusta, Maine with VA Maine Healthcare System from 2015-2018. She practiced veterans law and coordinated Pine Tree’s veterans pro bono projects. She also served as Co-Chair of the Veterans Law Section in the Maine State Bar Association. From 2013–2015, Krista was an Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by Walmart and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, and hosted by Legal Aid of Arkansas. Her Fellowship project expanded the Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s Medical-Legal Partnership to include a legal clinic focused on the unmet needs of children with cancer or sickle cell disease and their families. Before that, Krista co-founded and coordinated a pro bono medical-legal partnership for children in rural Northwest Arkansas.

Krista has guest lectured on medical-legal partnerships at Berkeley School of Law and Georgetown University. She has written about and presented extensively on medical-legal partnerships nationwide.

In her free time, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington Council of Lawyers and as Co-Chair of the Mentoring Program and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Capital Gift Planning Council and as Chair of the DEI Committee.

As a survivor of childhood cancer and an amputee, Krista is passionate about empowering and supporting young people in achieving their goals.

Krista first became involved with Ms. JD as a presenter at Ms. JD’s 12th Annual Conference on Women in Law: When Women Lead and later as a Board Member. She was honored to serve as Board Secretary in 2021 and as Board Chair from 2022-2023.

Kanysha Phillips
BOARD CHAIR

Kanysha Elaine Phillips is an experienced litigator who focuses on M&A-related litigation, contract disputes, securities litigation, antitrust litigation, and shareholder derivative suits. Kanysha spent the first five years of her career at Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP, a top 10 Big Law from in New York City. Kanysha has experience preparing high-level officers for depositions and congressional testimony. Kanysha also led one of the largest document review and productions that the litigation department at Davis Polk has ever conducted.

Kanysha has been involved in Ms. JD since she was a Ms. JD Fellow in 2018. Since then, Kanysha has raised over $150,000 for the organization, in large part by securing an annual $50,000+ donation to Laddher Up. Kanysha served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Ms. JD from 2021 – 2023.

Kanysha takes pride in giving back to the community. She has taken on a range of pro bono cases, one of which led to the early release of an incarcerated individual from Rikers Island, NY. Kanysha also spent three years teaching a mock trial class to underprivileged youth in the Bronx, NY. Kanysha won the 2020 Pro Bono award at Davis Polk for her pro bono practice and donated the money she won to Ms. JD.

During law school at Howard University School of Law, Kanysha successfully fought against big banks that pushed individuals into predatory investment opportunities. Her advocacy resulted in the successful return of thousands of dollars back in the hands of mom-and-pop investors. Kanysha received her J.D. with honors. Kanysha has taught numerous students informally and formally in her roles as Civil Procedure Research Assistant, Constitutional Law Teaching Assistant, and as a Legal Writing Dean’s Fellow. Kanysha has spent time at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and on Capitol Hill. Prior to law school, Kanysha volunteered on numerous political campaigns across Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. In that capacity, Kanysha secured over $100,000 in donations for various campaigns.

Kanysha is not shy to taking on leadership opportunities. She was Vice-President of the Gamma Epsilon Philadelphia City Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, President of the La Salle College Democrats, a Senator for the Students Government Association, and Treasurer for her law school class. Kanysha has won numerous awards and scholarships. Kanysha has a Bachelors of Arts (BA) from La Salle University where she double-majored in Economics and Political Science.

Ruby Garrett
BOARD MEMBER

Ruby Garrett is a trial and investigations attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Washington D.C. Over the course of her career, she has led the strategy and execution of high-profile, complex, and sensitive cases involving civil disputes, internal investigations, and white-collar defense. She has argued and won favorable results in trial courts for her clients and guided them through their most difficult and thorny investigations, including those initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. Ruby is the ultimate client advocate, counseling clients throughout the duration of the litigation and meticulously crafting the narrative in preparation for trial.

Ruby has previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Honorable LaShann DeArcy Hall of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Ruby received her J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School where she served as editor-in-chief of The University of Chicago Legal Forum and president of the Black Law Students Association. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and served as captain of the cheerleading team.

Ruby currently serves on the Family Justice Law Center Board (an organization fighting for families harmed by the child welfare system) and the Legal Services Corporation’s Emerging Leaders Council (an organization providing grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans).

Ruby is invested in expanding pathways for women navigating legal careers; she was therefore honored to join Ms. JD as a board member in 2022.

Kara Michels
BOARD MEMBER

Kara Michels is a Partner at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago, Illinois, where she focuses her practice on intellectual property enforcement, defense, counseling, and portfolio management. Kara represents clients in trademark, patent, and copyright litigation matters in federal court and in trademark matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Kara assists companies with online brand enforcement and in reclaiming domain names under the Uniform domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

Kara is passionate about mentorship in the legal profession. She is an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she teaches Advanced Legal Writing for Intellectual Property Practice, and coaches Loyola’s Vienna Vis Moot Team. Kara is also a member of the International Trademark Association and sits on the Association’s International Amicus Committee.

Kara holds a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law (2017) as well as a B.S. and B.A. from Purdue University (2013). Kara first became involved with Ms. JD as an attendee of the LaddHer Up conference and then as a Board Member.

Nazia Khan
BOARD MEMBER

Nazia Khan is a corporate and securities attorney at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, where she passionately represents public and private companies across various industries including, but not limited to, life sciences, healthcare, cannabis, technology, transportation and food and beverage. Ms. Khan has extensive experience representing investment banks and domestic and international companies in securities offerings including, but not limited to, initial public offerings, including initial public offerings of SPACs, as well as private securities offerings. She also has extensive experience with listings to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq and compliance related matters.

Ms. Khan graduated with honors and a concentration in Business Law from California Western School of Law and cum laude with a B.S. in Finance from George Mason University. Ms. Khan is passionate about supporting the advancement of women in the legal industry and serves as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity mentor.

Ashlei Ferguson
BOARD MEMBER

Ashlei Ferguson is Corporate Counsel at Microsoft, where she conducts complex workplace conduct investigations. As the front-line attorney/investigator, she leads and manages complex workplace investigations and make determinations regarding workplace behavior including company policies related to discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Prior Microsoft, Ashlei began her career with the District of Columbia Government at the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Office of Human Rights. Ashlei holds a J.D. from Florida A&M University’s College of Law and a B.A. in Public Relations, with a minor in Business Administration, from the University of Florida.

She is also a member of the American Bar Association and National Bar Association. She previously served on the Executive Board of the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the Women’s Law Division of the National Association (GWAC), and is the co-chair of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s 2022 Sources of Success Program Co-Hort. Ashlei volunteered on Georgetown Law Workplace Law Program and volunteers with various community centered organizations in the Washington, DC area.

Gabrielle McKenzie
BOARD MEMBER

Gabrielle McKenzie is an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, where she spends the majority of her time working in the firm’s International Disputes and Resolution Group, building her international human rights pro bono practice, and serving as a mentor to junior associates. She is passionate about helping women and girls succeed in any career they choose to pursue.

Gabrielle graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Long Beach with a dual degree in Sociology and Linguistics. She received her J.D. with Pro Bono Distinction from Stanford Law School, where she was a senior editor on the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, social chair and gala chair of the Stanford Black Law Students Association, social chair of the Women of Color Collective, and an active member of the International Law Society, Workers’ Rights Pro Bono, Youth and Education Advocates, and Women of Stanford Law. While at Stanford, she also served as a Douglass Fellow with the Human Trafficking Institute, participated in a Human Trafficking Field Study in Thailand, and spent several quarters in Stanford’s International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic.

Gabrielle is an avid traveler who loves to explore new places and cultures. In her spare time, she enjoys playing soccer, drawing, painting, learning new languages, and spending time with her two puppies Zhu Li and Bucky.

Roshal Marshall
BOARD MEMBER

Roshal Marshall is Managing Chief Counsel, Enterprise Data Privacy, Security & Technology Law at McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK), a Fortune 9 company, and one of the world’s largest providers of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, health information technology products and services with revenues of $272 billion in 2022.

At McKesson, Roshal leads a team of lawyers providing advice to the enterprise and affiliated business units on a broad range of healthcare and technology-related matters. Prior to joining McKesson, Roshal held several positions, including Associate General Counsel at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and as an Associate in the Litigation Practice Group at Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan LLP.

Roshal has also held several advisory positions for various Fintech and Healthtech companies, and serves as a Member of the Data Privacy and Integrity Committee for the Department of Homeland Security.

Roshal earned a J.D. from Emory University Law School and a B.A., cum laude, from Lawrence University.

Steven Rice
BOARD MEMBER

Steven is an accomplished professional with over 15 years of nonprofit experience. He is currently building his business as a nonprofit consultant, dedicated to helping organizations thrive. Steven's passion lies in empowering his clients to reach new heights by offering a wide range of custom-tailored services to meet their needs. From expert data management to crafting effective fundraising strategies, and from seamless project management to flawlessly executed events - he's got it all covered.

Previously, he served as the Vice President of People at a start-up nonprofit where he spearheaded and established systems and processes in human resources, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and database implementation. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at a mid-size national nonprofit, where he built fundraising systems, coordinated and led multi-million dollar fundraising campaigns, and provided strategic input on donor/board engagement.

Steven is passionate about social impact causes and enjoys learning and empowering those around him. He earned his Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science from Morehouse College. In his spare time, you can find him learning Italian, exploring the DC food and wine scene, and traveling with his wife.

Ashley Gherlone
BOARD MEMBER

Ashley Gherlone is an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the bankruptcy and restructuring group in New York, NY. Ashley has represented public and private companies, creditors, private equity sponsors, agent banks, independent directors and purchasers in chapter 11 proceedings and out-of-court restructuring matters. She is also a member of Simpson Thacher’s Women’s Committee and Connections Selection Sub-Committee.

In addition to proudly serving on the Ms. JD Board of Directors, Ashley serves as an Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., a non-profit international environmental advocacy group. Ashley received her J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as an Online Executive Editor for The Georgetown Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She received her B.A. magna cum laude from Elon University where she studied Environmental Studies, International Studies and English Literature. At Elon, Ashley completed two semesters abroad in Copenhagen and Costa Rica, served as the chair of the Elon University Honor Board and was a Periclean Scholar.

Ashley first became involved with Ms. JD when she attended the LaddHer Up retreat in the spring of 2023. Ashley dedicates her free time to being active, practicing yoga and hiking with her dog, Honey.

Sherene Thomas
BOARD MEMBER

Sherene Thomas is the Development Manager for DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), a nonprofit legal service organization and fellowship program based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining DCALF, Sherene was a Portfolio Manager at Equal Justice Works, where she oversaw more than 80 public interest Fellows and stewarded the relationships with their law firm, corporate, foundation, and individual sponsors. During her tenure at Equal Justice Works, Sherene secured more than 6 million dollars in funding for the fellowship program.

Sherene began her career working as an Administrative Law Judge for the State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity and previously worked as a District Outreach Director for Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She is passionate about advocating for justice and has served on the Board of Directors and Legal Panel for the ACLU of Florida and as Legislative Chair for the Orlando Chapter of the National Congress of Black Women.

She received her B.S. in Psychology and Criminology and her MPA from Florida State University and her J.D. from Barry University School of Law. Sherene first became involved with Ms. JD as an attendee of the 2021 conference.

Rara Kang
BOARD MEMBER

Rara Kang is an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP, where she focuses her practice on commercial litigation and disputes and provides expertise as a full-service litigator in a wide range of industries, including consumer products and services, energy, oil and gas, apparel, food and dietary supplements, and real estate. Rara’s experience spans all phases of litigation, from advising on pre-suit litigation risk management to guide business decisions, through fact investigation, discovery, and dispositive motion practice, to trial and post-trial motions. Rara’s practice includes defending companies in consumer fraud litigation involving claims of false labeling and advertising, responding to pre-suit claims under the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and counseling companies on drafting online terms and conditions to mitigate litigation risk. She also has experience representing clients in a variety of matters involving California-specific issues, such as the California Environmental Quality Act and the Health & Safety Code, and the California Air Resources Board.

Before joining her current firm, Rara was a judicial intern for the Honorable Paul L. Friedman for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was also a legal intern at the Department of Justice in the Criminal Fraud Section, Securities and Financial Fraud Unit. Rara earned her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. in political science and communication studies from the University of California Los Angeles.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS