Charlotte School of Law hosted four distinguished leaders within the higher education and legal communities and within the Infilaw Consortium on January 7, 2015. Laura Palmer Noone and Carolyn Warner, members of the Infilaw National Policy Board, Shirley Mays, Dean of the Arizona Summit, and the Honorable Shirley Fulton, member of Charlotte School of Law’s board, participated in a series of targeted conversations during the day.
All members of Team Charlotte were invited to attend an interactive conversation entitled “The Infilaw Value Proposition: Growing the vision through entrepreneurial leadership.” During the discussion, the panel shared their personal connection to Infilaw’s mission and experiences of using their individual skills, talents, and backgrounds to drive innovation and move forward Infilaw’s vision. The goal of the session was to inspire each member of Team Charlotte to use their individual leadership skills to foster innovation and entrepreneurial growth within the organization.
In addition to the open discussion, the panel led intimate sessions with key CharlotteLaw faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The first, “Lean in, Push Back, or Lay Low?” was a round-table conversation discussing the personal challenges and triumphs as women leaders. The second, “The Infilaw Value Proposition: Building the Next Generation of Future Legal Leaders” each member of the panel shared their perspective, as leaders within the Infilaw Consortium, of the Infilaw value proposition and Infilaw’s role in developing future legal leaders.
Aretha Blake, Director of CharlotteLaw’s Center for Professional Development noted “The experience we at CharlotteLaw had with these exemplary leaders impacted our desire to achieve the mission as well as rejuvenated our vision for the future.”
The entire day proved to be successful in connecting CharlotteLaw faculty, staff, students, and alumni to the mission and vision of the Infilaw Consortium.
Below are brief biographies of the guests:
Laura Palmer Noone possesses more than 26 years of experience in for-profit higher education including serving as the Chief Academic Officer and President of University of Phoenix. She then became President and CEO of Saras Education, Inc., where she provided professional management and consultation to institutions of higher education, including enrollment and retention support, technology and distance learning capacity. Most recently, she served as President and CEO of Potomac College in Washington DC, where she brought the college to profitability and gained approval for the college’s first master’s degree.
Carolyn Warner, president and CEO of Corporate Education Consulting, has been active for more than three decades on both state and national levels as a respected and knowledgeable public policy and educational leader. Warner has a comprehensive understanding of the relationship of fiscal, social, political and educational issues to key concerns of government, business and the nonprofit sector. She currently co-chairs the Arizona Skill Standards Commission and her fourth book – The Words of Extraordinary Women – was recently published.
Shirley Mays became Dean of Arizona Summit Law School in August, 2010, after serving a lengthy tenure as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. Mays currently serves on the boards of The Greater Phoenix Urban League and Tanner Community Development Corporation and is ex-officio on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Arizona. She is an active member of Links Inc., Jack & Jill of America and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
The Honorable Shirley L. Fulton spent over 20 years in the Mecklenburg County Court System as Senior Resident Superior Court Judge, Resident Superior Court Judge, District Court Judge and Assistant District Attorney. While on the bench, Shirley led the courts in developing a system-wide strategic plan, successfully campaigned for bonds to build the current Mecklenburg County Courthouse, and developed programs to address the needs of non English speaking court participants. A well-respected community leader, Judge Fulton has served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Task Force, as Chair of the Board of Advisors for the Charlotte School of Law and as President of the Mecklenburg County Bar.
Charlotte School of Law, along with the University of North Carolina Charlotte hosted the inaugural Queen City Mock Trial Competition on Saturday, January 24, 2015.