Criminal Justice Society Officers
Emily Gause
President
Criminal Justice Society President, Emily Gause, received a Bachelor of Arts in both Criminal Justice and Sociology from Washington State University. She became interested in law school while attending her first criminal justice class and learning about the court system. Throughout her college career, she continued to become active in her sociology and criminal justice clubs and pursued courses specifically targeted at furthering a career in law.
Specifically, Emily is passionate about juvenile advocacy and hopes to one day enhance current criminal justice policies to prioritize rehabilitation and restoration techniques rather than incarceration and “tough-on-crime” tactics. Emily spent a summer interning with the Northwest Defender Association’s juvenile unit prior to law school and the experience motivated her to make a difference in protecting the due process rights of indigent children. Further, this past summer Emily worked at the Attorney General’s Office in the Department of Social and Health Services and was assigned to juvenile dependency cases. Additionally, she had a part-time clerkship with the Honorable Judge Schapira in King County Juvenile Court. In her spare time, Emily volunteers with the King County Partnership for Youth Justice (also known as diversion), which offers first time juvenile offenders an alterative to formal court processing.
At Seattle University Law School, Emily has not only become active in the Criminal Justice Society, but serves on the Student Bar Association, Street Legal Youth Advocates of Washington’s Executive Board, and Moot Court Board. She is also a member of Woman’s Law Caucus, Public Interest Law Foundation, and Phi Alpha Delta. Emily is also an admission ambassador to incoming students.
Emily’s mission the Criminal Justice Society is to enhance the preexisting foundation and goals of the organization and encourage activity among members. She believes that communication and systematic planning are essential to running the organization smoothly. The Criminal Justice Society has been an extremely active and successful club thanks to Donna Larsen, founder and past president. Emily only hopes to continue this success with the help of the superb new members. | • Back To Top
Trasa Stalnaker
Vice-President
Trasa Stalnaker joined the Criminal Justice Society because she wanted to collaborate with other students who have a similar desire to make a positive impact on the criminal justice system. Prior to law school, she studied psychology and criminal justice while volunteering at a domestic violence shelter. She also interned at the Victim Services Program of the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office in Oregon.
As a result of her academic and professional experiences, she recognized the justice system’s vital role in protecting the fundamental rights of individuals in addition to facilitating the psychological healing of victims traumatized by criminal offenses.
Trasa’s interests are victim advocacy as well as criminal rehabilitation and prevention. Thus, she hopes to utilize her degree to combat the repeating patterns of criminal behavior and victimization. As the vice president of this academic year, her goal is to promote the professional aspirations of students who have an interest in the field and enrich their academic experience with current criminal justice issues that afflict the community. | • Back To Top
Eric Holte
Secretary
Prior to law school, Eric attended the University of Kansas, majoring in Philosophy with a focus on Feminist Theory. His interest in criminal justice was piqued by volunteering for The Defender Association the summer before he started law school. At Seattle University School of Law Eric has been involved in a number of organizations, including the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) and Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington (SYLAW) as a Section Representative in each (2008-09), the Student Bar Association (SBA) as Public Interest Representative (2009-10), and the Criminal Justice Society as Secretary (2009-10). He hopes to one day work as a public defender. | • Back To Top
Donna Larsen
Liaison Officer
Donna Larsen was a 1L when she started the SU Criminal Justice Society in the fall of 2007 and was president of the club until May 2009. Her hope was that the club would provide education, opportunity and camaraderie for students interested in the criminal justice field. In the past Donna has been a volunteer Protection Order Advocate for the King County Prosecutor’s Office at the Kent Regional Justice Center and a Crime Victim Advocate at the Lane County DA’s Office.
She enjoys attending trials and keeping up with the latest Puget Sound crime news. Before getting into law school she started a website to blog the trials she attended called Trial Diary and was interviewed on Court TV, KOMO News 4, Q13’s Morning Show, The Seattle Times, The Globe and Mail, and The Province.
Donna is interested in diversion programs and hopes becoming a lawyer will allow her to study and implement newer diversion program such as drug courts and prostitution courts in areas that don’t currently have any. | • Back To Top
Beverly Ibsen
Fund Raising Chair
Founding CJS vice-president, Beverly Yuodelis is a graduate of the Fairhaven College Law and Diversity Program (LDP). She joined the Criminal Justice Society (CJS) because of her passion for social justice and her desire to make positive reforms in the legal system. This year one of her goals is to help build CJS into a valuable resource for SU law students interested in making a difference in the field of criminal justice.
Beverly is very interested in how advocates for social justice can work within government to create change. Beverly has worked as a intern for the Washington State House of Representatives and the Washington American Civil Liberties Union and is interested in pursuing future internships in the field of criminal justice.
Some of Beverly’s interests in legal scholarship include Critical Race Feminism and Civil Rights and Liberties. Beverly will use her law degree (expected 2010) to work for greater access to justice and help address the unmet needs of marginalized groups in our society. | • Back To Top
Lidice O’Brien
Public Relations
Lidice O’Brien works as a Rule 9 for a Criminal Defense Law Firm in downtown Seattle. She spends most of her days attending hearings for Plain and Gross Misdemeanors in King County and surrendering areas. Her interest in Criminal Law derives from the “hands on” opportunities to litigate and represent individuals which are made available by the very nature of this area of law. Currently a 3L, she is excited about sharing her interest and experience in Criminal Law with other law students and members of the Criminal Justice Society. | • Back To Top
Connie Tremain
Treasurer
Profile to come. | • Back To Top
Position Open
Events Coordinator
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