Like the foundation of law, Heather, too, has adopted a rather utilitarian role in our world (that is, creating the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people). Between her occupation as an associate attorney and attempting to progress New York law through participation in multiple law associations, she finds time to not only volunteer her law services, but also to act as an alumni advisor for students.
Graduating Summa Cum Laude from Gannon University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Political Science, she received the Archbishop John Mark Gannon Award of Academic Excellence, Academic Excellence Award for Political Science, and the Greek Medal of Honor Leadership Award. “Academically, the environment created in [Gannon’s] political science department of open, factually supported discourse prepared me for law school and a career in the legal profession,” she states. “Gannon is a safe place to explore your intellectual interests.”
While at Gannon, Heather was a member of the Gannon Knight staff and honed skills that she took with her to State University of New York at Buffalo – where she earned her Juris Doctor – and held the position of Editor-in-Chief and Publications Editor for the Buffalo Journal of Gender, Law, and Social Policy, as well as the Publications Editor for the Buffalo Law Review. Still, her undergraduate Gannon years were highlighted by the lifelong friendships made within the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority.
Heather is currently an associate attorney at Calihan Law PLLC in Rochester, New York – a firm that deals largely with complex commercial and business disputes. She holds the honors of the membership chair for both the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys and the Women’s Bar Association, the conventions co-chair for the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, a member of the Monroe County Bar Association and the University at Buffalo Law Alumni Assiciation, a pro bono attorney for the Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County, Inc., and an alumnae advisor for her sorority chapter at SUNY Brockport. “Get involved,” she advises, “and keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date!”
(Published June 2014)