Meet AYLA’s 2023-24 Board Candidates

New Officers, Directors to Take Office on July 1

The following candidates are running for officer and director positions on the 2023-24 AYLA board of directors.

Electronic ballots will go out on Friday, April 14, and voting will conclude at the annual Bench Bar Conference on May 5. The new board will take office on July 1, 2023.

The only contested race in this year’s AYLA election is for the office of secretary. Candidates for secretary are Lena Proft and Gracie Wood Shepherd. All other candidates are running unopposed.

Sarah Harp, President

Harp is AYLA’s current president-elect and will take over as president on July 1, 2023. She has previously served as a director, secretary, and treasurer of AYLA. Harp is an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Texas AG’s Office. She received AYLA’s Outstanding Committee Chair Award in 2020-21.

Sarah Harp

Emily Morris, President-Elect

Morris is running unopposed for president-elect. She is AYLA’s current treasurer and has previously served as a director and secretary for AYLA. Morris cur- rently serves as corporate counsel to PowerSchool, focusing on major commercial contract negotiations. Prior to this role, she acted as principal attorney of The Morris Law Firm, PLLC, with a focus on corporate and real estate matters for small business owners. Morris is dedicated to the Austin legal community, as demonstrated by her substantial service to the Austin Bar, AYLA, and the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association.

Emily Morris

Jenna Malsbary, Treasurer

Malsbary is running unopposed for Treasurer. She has served as a director on AYLA’s board for four years (two terms) and has worked diligently on multiple AYLA committees, including Community Service Days, Membership, Pro Bono, Holiday Program, Tailgate, Austin Bar Equity, and MLK Day of Service. Malsbary is also a member of the TYLA board of directors and serves as a TYLA rep on the AYLA board.

Jenna Malsbary

Lena Proft

Proft is running for secretary. She has been involved in AYLA since 2018. She has served as AYLA’s government attorney liaison and as a director on the board. Proft is also a co-founder of AYLA’s Health and Wellness Committee. She is passionate about community service and lawyer wellbeing, and wants to continue her service to AYLA and the bar by serving as AYLA’s next secretary.

Lena Proft

Gracie Wood Shepherd

Shepherd is running for secretary. She practices family law at Friday Milner Lambert Turner. She attended Texas A&M University and Baylor Law School. Shepherd was a member of the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy’s Class of 2019 and is currently serving as a co-chair for this year’s Leadership Academy committee.

The four unopposed director candidates below will join David Holmes, Joseph Keeney, Meghan Kempf, and Samantha McCoy, whose terms expire in 2024.

Gracie Wood Shepherd

Ben Evans

Evans is running unopposed for a director position. He is a partner at Cain & Skarnulis PLLC who focuses his practice on resolving commercial litigation disputes. He attended The University of Texas at Austin and Baylor Law School. He is currently chairing the executive committee for the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy as project lead.

Ben Evans

Jillian French

French is running unopposed for a director position. She was born and raised in Austin along with her four sisters. She has a spoiled fur baby (pug) and enjoys cross-stitching as a hobby. French first joined AYLA when she was in law school. She is now board certified in family law, which is her sole practice area. French is currently serving as the Solo/Small Firm liaison to the AYLA board.

Jillian French

Michelle King

King is running unopposed for a director position. A native Austinite and Texas Tech Law graduate, King is an attorney at McCreary Veselka Bragg and Allen, and practices with their Appraisal District Litigation team. She currently serves on the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy committee and graduated from the Leadership Academy’s Class of 2022.

Michelle King

David Woolbert

Woolbert is running unopposed for director. He runs a solo firm that primarily focuses on personal injury law. Woolbert graduated from St. Mary’s with a JD/MBA. He is a current co-chair of AYLA’s Crawfish Boil committee. He also serves on the Leadership Academy committee and is a member of the Leadership Academy’s Class of 2022.

David Woolbert