Helen Hamilton Day 2020

Speaker Information

Shannon Roers Jones, Attorney and Majority Caucus Leader – ND House of Representatives
Shannon Roers Jones is a North Dakota native dedicated to serving the people of District 46. Raised near Horace, N.D., Shannon’s parents instilled in her the values important to North Dakotans: hard work; service; and sacrifice. As a mother, attorney and independent voice, Shannon is committed to bringing these values to Bismarck. Shannon received her undergraduate degree from the College of St. Benedict, where she studied business guided by the Benedictine values of respect for all people, stewardship and service. After graduation from the College of St. Benedict, Shannon attended the University of St. Thomas, earning a Master’s in Business Administration.  After working in the real estate industry for five years, Shannon returned to North Dakota and graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law. Known for her independent leadership and commitment to public service, Shannon has been actively involved in service organizations including the United Way, Jeremiah Program, and Churches United for the Homeless as well as being on the board of directors for Face It Together. Additionally, Shannon is involved with the Cass County United Republican Committee and is a member of the District 46 Executive Committee. Shannon also serves on the Board of Directors for the F5 Project. Shannon resides in south Fargo with her husband Ross and their daughters Olivia, Kendall and Kate.

Andria Pinkerton, Attorney – Community Violence Intervention Center
Andria is an attorney with CVIC. She represents victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in civil cases, including family law matters and protective order hearings. Andria graduated from UND School of Law in 2014 and clerked for Judge Remick in Polk County, MN prior to working at CVIC. Andria is involved in the community as the Internal Advisor on the Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals Board of Directors, Vice President of the Greater Grand Forks County Bar Association, and sits on the Global Friends Coalition Board of Directors.

Levi Andrist, Attorney – GA Group
Levi engages in an active government relations practice, working with state and local decision makers to create solutions on his clients’ behalf. He has a broad array of  legislative and executive branch lobbying experience. Levi attended the University of North Dakota School of Law where he graduated with distinction, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and served as editor in chief of the North Dakota Law Review. He then served as law clerk to Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle of the ND Supreme Court. Before law school, Levi graduated summa cum laude from Concordia College with a bachelor of arts degree in music. He also interned on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Bethany, spent summers performing as Burning Hills Singers in the Medora Musical, and now enjoys serving on the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation's board of directors. He is an active member of the State Bar Association of North Dakota and has received its outstanding chair award for his leadership as chair of the Pro Bono committee. Levi is also an Eagle Scout. ​Levi and Bethany are proud parents of three children. They are active members of Lord of Life Lutheran Church and enjoy the arts, food, fitness, being outside, gardening, and family. Levi is a native of Crosby, North Dakota.

Mac Schneider, Attorney – Schneider Law Firm
Mac Schneider is an attorney at the Schneider Law Firm with offices in Fargo and Grand Forks where he practices in the areas of administrative law, personal injury, and class action / multi-district litigation. From 2008 to 2016, Mac represented Grand Forks' District 42 in the North Dakota Senate. He was a member of the Judiciary, Energy and Natural Resources, and Industry, Business & Labor Committees, serving as minority leader during the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions. In the Legislature, he helped craft the state's first anti-human trafficking law, close loopholes that inhibited the prosecution of sex offenders, and authored North Dakota's "John School" law, which requires those convicted of soliciting prostitution to attend an offender education program. Mac is a 2008 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center where he represented victims of domestic violence in District of Columbia Superior Court as a member of the Domestic Violence Clinic. He received his undergraduate degree in history in 2002 from the University of North Dakota, a year in which he was selected as a captain of UND's football team. He is a board member of Grand Forks' Community Violence Intervention Center, and lives in Fargo with his wife Crystal and two daughters, Merritt and Cameron.

Ruth Buffalo, Representative – ND House of Representatives
Ruth Buffalo is originally from Mandaree, North Dakota and grew up on the Ft. Berthold Reservation.  She is a citizen of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation. She was elected in 2018 to serve in the North Dakota House as a Representative for District 27 in south Fargo. Ruth is a public health professional and educator.  Her life’s passion is improving the quality of life for all people.  She serves on advisory councils focused on women's health, leadership development and local food systems. Former chair of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition and founder of the FM MMIW HT Taskforce.

Tim Purdon, Attorney – Robins Kaplan
Former United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota, Tim Purdon has made his career leading complex criminal investigations and high stakes civil litigation from both the plaintiff and defense counsel’s table.  His path has uniquely positioned him to rewrite the odds for businesses facing government investigations, for real people caught up in “once-in-a-lifetime” lawsuits with powerful interests, and for American Indian Tribes embroiled in complex historic disputes.  Tim has a twenty-year track record in private practice and in public service as a passionate champion for his clients and as an incisive strategic thinker.  The essence of who Tim is as a lawyer was captured in 2011 by the editorial page of his hometown newspaper.  Reflecting on Tim’s relentless fight as U.S. Attorney for increased public safety in Indian Country, they wrote that Tim’s efforts “confirmed Purdon's passion and seriousness about trying to make a difference for those less fortunate, for the voices of so many that have been muted for years….” “State’s Largest Minority has Huge Impact,” Bismarck Tribune (March 20, 2011). Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP, Tim served as North Dakota’s U.S. Attorney from 2010-2015.  In that role, he was the chief federal law enforcement official in North Dakota with responsibility for prosecuting all federal crimes in North Dakota and defending the United States in civil litigation.  As U.S. Attorney, Tim placed special emphasis on the issues of increasing public safety on the American Indian reservations in North Dakota and on working with law enforcement partners to counter the new threat from organized crime that emerged as a result of the oil boom in western North Dakota’s Bakken region.  Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Tim spent 15 years representing North Dakotans -- trying cases across the state, leading class actions lawsuits, and arguing complex appeals. He has been a partner at Robins Kaplan LLP since 2015 and serves as the Chair of the firm’s Government and Internal Investigation Group and the American Indian Law and Policy Group.

Erica Thunder, North Dakota Labor Commissioner
Erica Thunder was appointed North Dakota Labor Commissioner by Gov. Doug Burgum, effective June 3, 2019. As Labor Commissioner, Thunder leads the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights, which is responsible for enforcing the state’s labor and human rights laws and for educating the public about the laws. The department also licenses employment agencies operating in the state and can verify the status of independent contractor relationships. Thunder previously served as judicial systems administrator for the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, working to improve relationships with state, tribal and federal agencies in a wide range of areas. She also played a key role in the Commission’s substantial progress in strengthening tribal partnerships, one of the Burgum-Sanford administration’s five strategic initiatives. Thunder earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2011 from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. She received her law degree and Indian law certificate in 2014 from the UND School of Law, where she was vice president of the Criminal Law Association and secretary of the Student Bar Association. Prior to joining the Indian Affairs Commission, Thunder served the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin as a staff attorney and project facilitator for its Department of Social Services. She also served as a staff attorney for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in western North Dakota, where she is an enrolled member.

Kristie Wolffe, Executive Director – North Dakota Women’s Network
Kristie Wolff is the Executive Director of the ND Women’s Network. Kristie has an extensive background in marketing, grassroots education, advocacy, and coalition work. Kristie found her true passion when she began working in the nonprofit sector, where she has spent over half of her career. Prior to working a the ND Women’s Network, she managed a tobacco prevention program at a statewide nonprofit, where a primary focus of her work was public education and policy regarding emerging tobacco products and nicotine use among youth. Kristie was instrumental in the passing of a state law in 2015 that restricted North Dakota minors from purchasing electronic cigarettes. Kristie lives in Mandan with her husband Jeremy, her two sons and her fur babies. Kristie loves music and rarely passes up an opportunity to see a rock show.

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