Board of Directors | FBA San Diego

FBA San Diego - Board of Directors (2025)

Kim Gregg

President of Board

Kim Gregg serves as Career Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Anthony J. Battaglia, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California. Prior to clerking for Judge Battaglia, Kim joined the U.S. Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program as an Attorney Advisor for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Miami Immigration Court. She was born in the Philippines and raised in Harlingen, Texas, but has called San Diego home since her family’s move there in 2011. Kim earned her law degree and graduated valedictorian from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2017.

Kim served as the San Diego FBA’s VP of Legal Education for two years, coordinating over thirty panel presentations for the Chapter. In 2023, she was a recipient of the FBA National’s Younger Federal Lawyer Award. In addition to her role with the FBA, she is a lifetime member of the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego.

Kelly A. Reis

President-Elect

Kelly A. Reis is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office and serves as the office's civil rights coordinator. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office through the Attorney General's Honors Program, Kelly was a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Janis L. Sammartino. Kelly earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in art history from the University of Nevada, Reno and received her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law. While in law school, Kelly served as the editor-in-chief of the San Diego Law Review and on the associate board of the school’s appellate moot court program.

Betsey Boutelle

Treasurer

Betsey Boutelle is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she represents the United States in a wide array of federal civil cases at the trial and appellate levels. Prior to joining the government, Betsey was an employment litigator at DLA Piper LLP and Paul Hastings LLP. Betsey has been a member of the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court and the Lawyers Club of San Diego. She has also served for several years as a member of the San Diego Federal Daycare Board of Directors, which works to ensure the continuous operations of the Barry Ted Moskowitz Childcare Center and to maintain federal families’ access to quality childcare and preschool. In 2023, Betsey was recognized with the National FBA’s Younger Federal Lawyer Award. She earned her B.A. in history and international studies from Yale University and received her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Lillian Glenister

Secretary

Lillian (“Lilly”) Glenister is an associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm’s Business Trial Practice Group. Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Lilly served as a judicial law clerk to several judges at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, including U.S. District Judge Michael M. Anello and U.S. Magistrate Judges William V. Gallo (Ret.) and Jill L. Burkhardt.

Lilly earned her B.A., summa cum laude, in journalism and political science from San Diego State University and received her J.D., magna cum laude, from California Western School of Law. Lilly is active in the San Diego legal community. She currently serves on the executive committee as Vice Chair for the San Diego County Bar Association’s New Lawyer Division and is an associate in the Hon. William B. Enright American Inn of Court.

Armilla Staley-Ngomo

Vice President of Strategic Engagement

Armilla Staley-Ngomo is an appellate attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. As a federal public defender, she represents post-conviction clients charged with committing criminal and immigration offenses before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to joining Federal Defenders, Ms. Staley-Ngomo worked as a federal public defender in the Central District of California and the District of Nevada, and as a litigation associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP and Caldwell Leslie & Proctor, PC (now King & Spalding LLP). She also served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California. Ms. Staley-Ngomo earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science and Spanish, from Whittier College. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and was an editor of the California Law Review and the Berkeley Journal of Black Law & Policy. Ms. Staley-Ngomo is active in the San Diego legal community and is Co-Chair of the Lawyer Representatives for the Southern District of California.

Melissa Holmes

Vice President of Professional Advancement

Melissa Holmes is the Assistant Chief Deputy County Counsel for the Torts and Civil Rights Litigation Teams at the County of San Diego Office of County Counsel. In addition to assisting with the management of litigation teams, Melissa defends civil cases brought against the County and its employees. Since joining the County in 2015, Ms. Holmes has served as lead defense counsel in eight jury trials and one bench trial venued in the United States District Court, Southern District of California. Prior to joining the County, Melissa worked for private firms representing public entities in the Bay Area and served as a Judicial Law Clerk for a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of California. Melissa also serves as a Lawyer Representative for the Southern District of California.

Dakota Hickingbottom

Vice President of Court Engagement

Dakota Hickingbottom is an associate at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, where she practices general civil litigation. Prior to joining Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, Dakota served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, United States District Judge for the Southern District of California. Dakota earned her B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Film, Television, and Digital Media. She earned her J.D. from California Western School of Law, graduating magna cum laude. While in law school, Dakota was the Executive Lead Article Editor of the International Law Journal and a member of the California Western Law Review.

Sarah Almond Pike

Vice President of Public Relations

Sarah Almond Pike earned her B.A., First Class Honors, in International Development and Gender Studies from McGill University in Montreal. She received her J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law where she was an editor of the California Law Review and served as a student representative on the faculty hiring committee.

Sarah is a former Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw. Previously, Sarah served as a Public Interest fellow with Employee Rights Center and as an associate with Haeggquist & Eck. Outside of the FBA, Sarah has been a member of the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court and a volunteer with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program’s Domestic Violence Restraining Order clinic.

Michelle Camacho

Vice President of Legal Education (Criminal)

Michelle Camacho is a criminal defense attorney in San Diego. Her practice focuses on all criminal matters in both federal and state courts. Michelle serves on the CJA Criminal Defense Panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District. She also serves as Chair of the Criminal Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association and President of the American Constitution Society San Diego Lawyer Chapter. Michelle earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego, and her J.D. from California Western School of Law.

Hannah Ohara

Vice President of Legal Education (Civil)

Hannah Ohara is a business and tort litigation attorney at Jones Day in San Diego. Hannah represents clients in complex civil litigation in a range of practice areas, including trade secret misappropriation, commercial disputes, antitrust, unfair competition, intellectual property, and consumer fraud. Hannah also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing refugees seeking asylum and assisting individuals facing domestic violence with applications for temporary restraining orders. Prior to joining Jones Day, Hannah served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo. Hannah earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in Communication Studies and Spanish from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Hannah is also an active member of the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court.

Evangeline Dech

Vice President of Professional Engagement

Evangeline (Eva) Dech is a Colorado native who is a proud HBCU graduate, magna cum laude, from Xavier University of Louisiana. She moved to San Diego in 2015 for the beach and to attend law school at California Western School of Law, where was editor of notes and comments for Law Review and graduated summa cum laude in 2018.

Following graduation, Eva practiced consumer protection law at Kazerouni Law Group until she clerked for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Daniel E. Butcher from 2020 to 2022. She currently is in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Apart from legal work, she serves on the board of directors as the chair of the nominating committee for Just in Time for Foster Youth (an organization near and dear to her heart).

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Jessie Agatstein

Vice President of Membership

Jessie Agatstein is an appellate attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. As a federal public defender, she represents clients at all stages of appeal and, as applicable, in post-conviction proceedings. She also chairs her office’s law student internship program. Before joining Federal Defenders, she was a fellowship attorney at Disability Rights Advocates; before that, she was a law clerk for Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Goodwin Liu on the California Supreme Court. She attended Yale Law School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she received a Master in City Planning. She lives in Golden Hill, alongside her husband, dog, and urban chickens.

Blake Eaton

Vice President of Community Outreach

Blake Eaton is a trial attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. As a federal public defender, he represents clients charged with committing federal criminal and immigration offenses before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Prior to joining Federal Defenders, Mr. Eaton served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable John B. Owens, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Texas at Dallas and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Kristin Lahaszow

Vice President of Fundraising

Kristin Lahaszow is an associate with Jones Day, where her practice focuses on business and tort litigation. Prior to joining Jones Day, Kristin served as a Judicial Law Clerk to Chief Judge Dana M. Sabraw in the Southern District of California. Kristin is a graduate of San Diego State University and University of California Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of the Law). Prior to attending law school, Kristin worked as a criminal defense investigator for the County of San Diego Office of the Alternate Public Defender in both the adult and juvenile divisions. In addition to her role with the FBA, Kristin is a member of the Enright Inn of Court and serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Voices for Children.

Blake Currey

Immediate Past President

Blake Currey is a Career Judicial Law Clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Elected to the San Diego FBA’s Board of Directors in 2020, Blake served as the President-Elect in 2023 and as the Vice President of Public Relations in 2021 and 2022. In his public relations role, he jumpstarted the FBA’s award-winning Monthly Update Series and established the Public Relations Committee—which produces the organization's Member Spotlight Series, Judicial Profiles, and other content. Previously, Blake contributed to the Special Events Committee and the Law Clerk Committee in 2019 and 2020. Born and raised in San Diego County, he earned his B.S. in finance from San Diego State University and received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. Blake began his involvement with the FBA as a finalist in its 17th Annual Thurgood A. Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition held in Washington, D.C.