Patricia A. Markus ’92
Data-driven: Focused on healthcare regulatory and data privacy issues for nearly thirty years, Markus is a partner at Nelson Mullins in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I am intrigued by the potential of data to improve health—but we must use it fairly,” she says. Leading by Listening: As president of the American Health Law Association, 2023 to 2024, as in her legal practice, she found that “attentive listening leads to better results.” Burning Question: “We spend almost 20 percent of GDP on healthcare, yet we have the worst health outcomes among wealthy industrialized nations,” she says. “It’s crucial to figure out how to deliver timely, quality, and affordable healthcare to people who currently aren’t being served.”
Lance B. Lee ’97
Full Circle: After twenty years practicing law in South Korea, Lee returned to Georgia in 2024 as a partner in the International Arbitration practice at Atlanta-based Arnall Golden Gregory LLP. He had served as an attorney in the US Army JAG Corps in Georgia. Two Worlds: Named among the top fifty dispute lawyers in Asia, he credits his upbringing in the US and South Korea for his success in working across different cultures. Capital and Community: With major Korean companies, including Hyundai and Kia, making significant investments in Georgia, he sees opportunities and challenges. “The technology is here to stay,” he says. “The question is, how can this be a win-win where the community here really benefits from all this investment?”
Camille Nightingale ’08
Hard Times: As an associate attorney at a Seattle bankruptcy firm, Nightingale saw the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. She enjoyed the intellectual challenge, but found the parade of human misery and the combative, competitive aspects of legal practice soul-crushing. Life Lessons: She decided to change direction by turning a passion for antiques and vintage items into an online business, while staying home to raise her sons, who are now aged five and eight. “I think every experience teaches me something,” she says. Academic Ambition: Currently completing a master’s degree in Law Librarianship at the University of Washington in Seattle, she is applying to PhD programs that will foster her wide-ranging intellectual curiosity. She now has plans to investigate “how technology has changed the way we form communities and combat loneliness.”
Bryan Barash ’13
Cannabis Connection: Barash is vice president for marketing, external affairs, and deputy general counsel at Dutchie, a cannabis technology company whose software powers more than 6,500 dispensaries throughout the United States and Canada. Political Apprenticeship: As general counsel to former Massachusetts State Senate President Harriette Chandler for eight years, he negotiated high profile initiatives, including the “Grand Bargain” to raise minimum wage and provide paid family medical leave. He counts Chandler as an indispensable mentor. “I owe so much to her and the lessons she taught me,” he says. Leadership and Lobbying: Believing that “cannabis reform is an important social justice issue of our time,” he advocates at the highest levels for cannabis legalization as secretary of the US Cannabis Council and co-chair of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform.
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