Brenda Burgy serves as our Director of Law Communications. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in journalism, cum laude, from Ohio University, Brenda was a television anchor, producer, and reporter for Your Hometown Stations in Lima, Ohio. She then served as the Public Relations and Marketing Director for Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center, the largest employer in the region. Most recently, Brenda owned her own Public Relations and Marketing Consulting agency serving clients throughout northwest and west central Ohio. She has served on numerous boards and is committed to serving the communities where she lives and works.  While in television, Brenda frequently covered news worthy events at ONU and now enjoys sharing the success stories of our students and alumni. 

Deanna Cira is the director of law administration and student services, where she manages the daily business of the law school. Cira came to Ohio Northern University in 2013 with a strong background in business and education. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in education. Among her many responsibilities, she oversees the detailed day-to-day operations of the College of Law which includes finance, budget, building safety and emergency management, student organizations, employment, continuing legal education, and event planning. She enjoys the tight-knit, family environment within the law school and watching the tremendous personal and professional growth that occurs from the time a graduate student enters the program to when they graduate.

Jean-Marie Kamatali teaches in the areas of human rights, immigration law, transitional justice and law reform. He is former dean of the law school at the University of Rwanda. He also participated in the legal and institutional rebuilding and reform of post-genocide Rwanda. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame Law School, Kent State University, and Indiana University Indianapolis and South Bend. He has also taught at the University of Leuven in Belgium. He is a regular consultant for the U.S. Government and the United Nations. His media appearance and op-ed contributions include NPR, Voice of America, Democracy Now, C-Span and New York Times.

Melissa Kidder graduated from Ohio Northern University in 2005 with a BFA and degrees in musical theatre and criminal justice. Rather than going into theatre, she decided to go to law school and graduated from the Pettit College of Law in 2008. She began her career as a staff attorney at the Ohio 3rd District Court of Appeals and then came to ONU as assistant director of academic support. Having an opportunity to practice law, she went to work for Eastman & Smith Ltd. as an associate attorney in the estate planning section. She was thrilled to return to ONU as director of legal research and writing, and now serves as the director of legal clinics and externships and assistant professor of law.

Lauren A. Newell joined the ONU Law faculty in 2012. Prior to joining the faculty, she practiced corporate law with Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP in New York City.  Newell teaches and writes in the areas of business and securities law, dispute resolution, and marijuana law. She is qualified as a nonpublic arbitrator of securities industry disputes through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Newell received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Georgetown University and her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Liannie Parahoo joined the Ohio Northern University Legal Clinic in December 2017. Prior to ONU, she practiced at a small firm in Barbourville, Ky., in various areas including state and federal criminal defense, personal injury, bankruptcy, appellate work and social security disability. She was an active member of the Criminal Justice Act panel representing indigent defendants at the federal level. She previously taught as an adjunct professor at Union College (Ky.) and Southeast Community College. Parahoo received her JD, with honors, from Roger Williams School of Law and her BS, magna cum laude, from Union College (Ky.).

Hailey Russell is the director of law admissions, where she specializes in enrollment management, financial aid and data analytics. Russell came to Ohio Northern University in 2017 with a background in statistics and education. She received her B.S., summa cum laude, from Wright State University and her M.Ed., summa cum laude, from Tiffin University. Together with her admissions team members, she spends her days actively recruiting and retaining law students for the college.

Jane Ward joined the College of Law in 2015 and has been employed at ONU since 2007. Previously, she worked at Wright State University and University of Memphis. She earned an MA in journalism from the University of Memphis and a BA in communications from the University of Memphis.