With the traditional presentation of “Last Chance Ethics” on Halloween, Oct 31
2025 at the end of CLE deadline for the Virgina State Bar, Executive Director and incoming
President John Koehler Esq and just over 100 participants the Virginia Mountain Valley Lawyers'
Alliance closed the books on its most successful year. During the last 12 months,
VMVLA hosted 1,595 Virginia Attorneys on its Zoom CLEs and helped those attorneys earn
14,838 hours of CLE. Koehler, exhausted but happy said, “We could not have achieved this
milestone without the support of our members. We really appreciate your support!”
A logistical tour de force, combined with high quality substantive knowledge of Virginia Law it
was no surprise that Koehler was unanimously voted as the new President of the organization
that he founded just a few years ago. It was also not surprising that Koehler was the namesake
for a new award fashioned expressly to honor his legacy and hard work.
Bruce Russell, the first President of the VMVLA was given the inaugural John Koehler Award
for Excellence in Leadership. The Award is for a Virginia Lawyer who leads with integrity and
deep concern for the Rule of Law Touching Destiny and embracing the next generation.
Tim Issacs who has worked so hard to promote the understanding of law and civic engagement
for discussing the Rule of Law was awarded the G. Michael Pace Rule of Law Award. Consistent
with her Presidential theme of making the desert bloom using science and technology law, the
Roscoe [“Rocky’] Bolar Stephenson, Jr. Lifetime Service Award for 2025 was bestowed upon a
true pioneer in law and science for good governance, Dr John Howard MD, MPH, JD LLM and
MBA. Since 2002, Dr John Howard has served as the Director of the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the Centers for Disease Control in the US
Government. Across four US Presidential administrations, Dr Howard has served with the advice
and consent of the US Senate, leading a multimillion dollar agency that is responsible for
advancing the statutory rights to safety and health in ov3r 150 million workplaces in the USA.
Additionally, NIOSH has gained an international reputation for high quality, robust and trusted
information that has become a benchmark worldwide. Dr Howard has been an Arlington
Virginia resident for over a quarter of a century. VMVLA was proud to call hm one of our own.
Outgoing President Dr ilise Feitshans gave brief farewell remarks highlighting the international
alliances in India made during her presidency, and noted that t the extent lawyers have been
analogized to garage mechanics who keep the machinery of justice going and the engine of the
Rule of Law driving society, “this year we have made a pit stop” . She expressed concern about
the future noting that this is an unprecedented teachable moment in our democracy and vowed
her efforts to continue teaching about law and governance using nanotechnologies and related
science.
Newly elected officers include: Hyatt Shirkey President Elect, Ann Louise Mason, Vice
President, Kimberly Pinter Treasurer. In addition to reaching out to law schools abroad to
potentially visit VMVLA and have mentorship networking, 2026 will mark the fourth year that
VMVLA has sponsored the Law and Ethics of Nanotechnology Special Session at
NANOTEXNOLOGY, the annual training institute, school, conference and grantwriting
matchmaking event at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece.
. VMVLA hopes to send a full delegation of at least ten (10) members
to speak and earn CLE credits during the annual event from July 4-11 2026. As VMVLA
prepares for our fall hiatus, we invite our members to send their ideas for CLEs for 2026 (and
perhaps volunteer to be a presenter of a CLE).
