Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership: Washington D.C.

Adrienne Lawrence

Senior Counsel/Senior Manager - Retail Bank at Capital One

Adrienne currently serves as a Senior Manager at Capital One supporting the entire corporate footprint of Capital One’s Branches and Cafés. She is tasked with providing strategic guidance to her business partners on a variety of issues including rolling out new products, managing customer interactions, and ensuring compliance with changes in laws and regulations. In addition to her work as business counsel, Adrienne is an active participant in the Legal Department’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee serving as one of the sub-committee co-chairs. She also volunteers with the department’s pro bono program.

Amanda MacDonald

Partner at Williams & Connolly LLP

Ashlei Ferguson

Corporate Counsel at Microsoft

Ashlei is Corporate Counsel at Microsoft, in the Corporate, External and Legal Affairs group (CELA), where she conducts and reviews workplace investigations. Prior to joining Microsoft, Ashlei served the citizens and employees in the District of Columbia Government as Assistant General Counsel at the Office of Administrative Hearings and as a Human Rights Officer at the Office of Human Rights. Ashlei is a graduate of the University of Florida and Florida A&M University College of Law. Ashlei is a member of the Greater Washington Chapter of the Women’s Law Division of the National Bar Association (GWAC), the Washington Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the University of Florida Association of Black Alumni. Ashlei is a recipient of GWAC’s 2021 Rising Star Award and a participant in the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Sources of Success Program, where she is also Co-Chair of her cohort class. Originally from Miami, FL, Ashlei lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and daughter.

Audrey Jean

SVP, Privacy Officer & Senior Associate GC at AARP

Audrey is a senior legal executive for AARP, the largest social mission tax-exempt organization, serving the fifty-plus and retirement community, with 38 million members. Audrey counsels AARP and leads a team of legal staff on various areas including data privacy, media, IP, innovation, real estate and strategic and commercial transactions. Audrey has prior legal and management experience at Bloomberg BNA, the legal and government news and information division of the global media conglomerate Bloomberg LP, and Discovery, Inc., the largest global non-fiction media company. Audrey began her career in private practice with the law firms Chadbourne & Parke (now Norton Rose Fullbright) and DLA Piper. Audrey holds a BA in History from Princeton University and a JD from Georgetown University. She was recognized by DCA Live as Top 40 Corporate Counsel in 2019 and 2020. Audrey serves on the Board of the Association of Corporate Counsel – National Capital Region, is an Advisory Board Member of the Future of Privacy Forum, a founding member of Chief DC, the leading womens’ executive network, and is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Brionna Denby

Senior Counsel at Cohen Seglias

As a member of the firm’s Government Law & Regulatory Affairs, Internal Investigations, and Title IX Groups, Brionna counsels corporations, educational institutions, non-profit groups, and other entities that are faced with allegations of wrongdoing. She draws on her experience both in the government and in the private sector to help her clients successfully navigate complex investigations and disputes resulting in legally defensible decisions. Brionna is an ATIXA-certified Level One Civil Rights Investigator and regularly counsels and provides training to university boards of trustees on Title IX issues.

Carrie Ricci

General Counsel at U.S. Army

Carrie F. Ricci was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 2021 and was sworn in as the 23rd General Counsel of the United States Army on January 3, 2022. As General Counsel, she is the chief lawyer of the Army ultimately responsible for determining the Army’s position on any legal question. She serves as legal counsel to the Secretary of the Army, Under Secretary, the five Assistant Secretaries, and members of the Army Secretariat. For nine years prior to her appointment, Ms. Ricci served as a Senior Executive with the United States Department of Agriculture, first as an Assistant General Counsel, then as the Associate General Counsel, Marketing, Regulatory, and Food Safety Programs, where she led a team that provided legal services to two Under Secretaries and three agencies. Her preceding assignment was as Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Department of Defense Education Activity. In 2010, Ms. Ricci retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years of active military service. At the time of her retirement, Ms. Ricci served as Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Army, where she advised the Secretary of the Army and other senior Army leaders on legal and policy issues concerning all areas of military personnel management. Other key military assignments include: Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command; Chief, International Law, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM); Administrative Law Attorney, Office of the Judge Advocate General; Trial Counsel and Operational Law Attorney, 4th Infantry Division; and Platoon Leader in Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. In 2020, Ms. Ricci served on the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee, a five member panel of Highly Qualified Experts appointed by the Secretary of the Army to conduct a review of the Fort Hood command climate and assess its impact on its soldiers and units, particularly as it related to preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment. Ms. Ricci is a 1988 ROTC graduate of Georgetown University and later attended law school through the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program, graduating from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1996. She earned a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, and a second LL.M from George Washington University School of Law. She is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida. Ms. Ricci is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and volunteers as a Girl Scout Troop Leader in Fairfax, Virginia, where she resides with her family.

Chimdi G. Tuffs

Partner at Gfeller Laurie

Chimdi (Nwosu) Ginsburg Tuffs represents various employers and entities in complex litigation including employer, professional and executive liability claims, premises liability, trucking liability and product liability matters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York federal and state courts. She draws on her vast courtroom experience as a former prosecutor in Philadelphia, and as a former felony sexual assault and domestic violence prosecutor in New York City, to develop an expertise in investigating and defending negligent security claims in the sexual assault context.

Elizabeth Bower

Partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Elizabeth J. Bower is a partner in the Litigation Department. Liz concentrates her practice on multiparty, multiforum, complex, commercial litigation, as well as significant corporate internal investigations. Liz’s practice focuses on representations of accounting firms and auditors, insurance companies, insurance brokers, audit committees, and other financial institutions and corporations. Liz’s ability to spot and simplify the important issues has enabled her to successfully represent clients across industries in a variety of disputes and board level risks over her twenty year career, including civil securities actions, accounting and other professional liability actions, various contract and business disputes, adversary proceedings in bankruptcies, SEC enforcement actions, PCAOB investigations, FCPA investigations, and data breach and cybersecurity response.

Fiona Moran

Partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Fiona Moran is a partner in the White Collar Defense & Investigations practice group at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. Fiona’s practice focuses on highly sensitive government investigations and enforcement actions. She also represents clients in connection with confidential internal investigations and advises companies on corporate governance and compliance matters, including the design of strategies, policies and procedures to mitigate risk. Her matters have involved allegations of securities fraud, insider trading, foreign corrupt practices, money laundering, antitrust and other financial crimes. Her clients have included major financial institutions, regulated entities, cryptocurrency developers, public companies, senior executives and former government officials. Fiona actively advises a number of entities in the digital asset space in connection with various government investigations. The National Law Journal named Fiona one of its “D.C. Rising Stars” for 2021.

Grace Aduroja

Manager of Women's Initiatives at Williams & Connolly LLP