Student Scholarship in Public Service
Lukas Parrish
Lukas currently attends the University of Missouri – Columbia where he is in his final semester of its accelerated Master of Public Affairs program. Outside of school, he serves as a Management Intern with the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) in Kansas City. As part of his work with MARC, Lukas plans and facilitates workshops, presents overviews to regional partners, produces monthly newsletters, and plans networking events. Prior to his time with MARC, he served as a legislative intern with the State of Missouri and a Graduate Research Assistant with the Institute of Public Police. He recently graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Following graduation from his master’s program, Lukas hopes to continue working in local government and aspires to become a city manager.
Lauren Palmer, Lukas’ boss at MARC, told us:
“Lukas is among the most impressive interns I have supervised during my career. He has great instincts, asks thoughtful questions, and produces high quality work. He also lent his vocal talent to sing excerpts of opera and show tunes for a trivia challenge as part of a team-building event. It’s not surprising that Lukas’ team won.”
Student Scholarship in Law
Walter Jackson
Walter Jackson graduated from Wake Forest University in 2020 and currently attends the University of Missouri School of Law. For the past year and a half, Walter has interned with the Cole County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Jefferson City. While interning, Walter conducted legal research and represented the state in preliminary hearings. Walter is involved in many extracurricular activities at the University of Missouri School of Law. He acted as the Treasurer of the Black Law Students Association in 2022, has been a Class Representative for the Board of Governors since 2021, and acted as the Communications Director for the Federalist Society in 2022. Outside of law school, Walter enjoys live music, horseback riding, and going on runs. Upon graduation, Walter plans to join the Army JAG corp.
Dean Paul Litton from Mizzou Law School noted:
“Mizzou Law has been so fortunate to have Walter as part of our community. He is thoughtful in all senses: he thinks deeply about ideas and is so kind and considerate to others. Fellow students gravitate to him because of his thoughtfulness. With his passion for developing his advocacy skills and for serving others and our country, I know Walter will be a successful leader.”
Education
Professor Kathy Kiely
Professor Kathy Kiely has been a tireless advocate for freedom of the press in troubled areas around the world. Professor Kiely holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree from American University, and was a Knight Fellow at Stanford University. She joined the University of Missouri in July 2018 as the Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies. Prior to her work at the University of Missouri, Professor Kiely covered Congress and national politics for USA TODAY, headed Washington bureaus for several newspapers, was a White House correspondent for the New York Daily News, and was an inaugural Press Freedom Fellow for the National Press Club’s nonprofit Journalism Institute. As part of her duties as Lee Hills Chair, Professor Kiely maintains a public presence in international, national, and local media to raise and cultivate awareness of threats to press freedom everywhere. In 2022, Professor Keely was funded by a State Department grant to lead a small team of Missouri School of Journalism professors to Niger to train journalists who labor under restrictions of a sometimes suspicious government and the possibility of kidnapping by terrorists.
As one nominator stated:
“At any given moment, Kathy is working to support journalists in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Mexico, the Philippines, Pakistan, and a handful of other countries. What always stands out is her ability to work persistently on multiple levels for engagement with different audiences. With students especially, she successfully draws them into the global stakes of the issues and people she is introducing them to, while also drilling down on the importance of journalism fundamentals.”
Public Service
Dean Bob Bailey
Dean Bob Bailey earned his juris doctor degree from the University of Missouri in 1979 and joined the University of Missouri Law School’s staff immediately after. While working at the law school part-time, Mr. Bailey served as a Municipal Judge for the City of Columbia from 1983-87. Mr. Bailey continued to work as Associate Municipal Judge until 2005. In 1987 he returned full-time to the University of Missouri Law School where he currently serves as Assistant Dean Emeritus and Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution Senior Fellow. Mr. Bailey has done work as an arbitrator throughout his career and is a member of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service’s Arbitration Panel, American Arbitration Association Panel, and is a NASD Board of Arbitrators member. In 2021, Mr. Bailey served as Co-Chair of the Missouri Bar’s Special Committee on Lawyers of Color. Mr. Bailey was honored with the Legal Champion award by Missouri Lawyers Media in 2022 for his work on the Missouri Bar’s Special Committee. In March of 2023, he was welcomed to the Missouri Military Academy’s Board of Trustees. He’s served in the U.S. Army, helped start Mizzou’s Veteran’s Clinic, chaired the Regional AIDS interfaith Network and served as a commissioner with the National Conference of Uniform State Law on the Veterans Court Drafting Committee.
Former student and current managing partner at Husch Blackwell, Jeff Simon, stated:
“Some say that in addition to passing the Bar Exam, to become a Missouri lawyer you have to know Bob Bailey. He has taught thousands of law students since 1979 and regularly follows up with Mizzou Law graduates to continue his mentoring. He would tell you, however, his most important commitment has been to his wife, Sharon, their two children and four grandchildren.”
Law
Gabe Gore, St. Louis Prosecutor
Mr. Gabriel Gore is an experienced prosecutor and trial attorney. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1994. Mr. Gore was a law clerk to the Honorable John R. Gibson of the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, and served as Assistant Special Counsel in the Office of Special Counsel for John C. Danforth. Mr. Gore was a partner with the Dowd Bennett law firm, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP, and an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP. After the unrest in St. Louis following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, he served on the Ferguson Commission where he was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon. Mr. Gore served on the Board of Governors at his alma mater, Missouri State University, for nearly 8 years. In May 2023, Governor Mike Parson appointed Mr. Gore as Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis. Within the first few months of being Circuit Attorney, he grew the trial staff by more than 60%, cleared more than half of the pending backlog, and tapped a flood of prosecutors from other jurisdictions who helped get the office back on track.
Edward Dowd, Jr., nominated Gore for this award and stated:
“Gabe’s appointment as St. Louis Circuit Attorney has paid instant dividends. There is a sense of restorative justice in the community. There is hope that St. Louis can once again be a safe place to live, work and recreate. Much of this is because of the public service that Gabe is performing.”