WLA Board of Directors
PRESIDENT: Monique D. Abby
Assistant Circuit Attorney | St. Louis CIty Circuit Attorney's Office | Email Monique
Monique D. Abby is a seasoned attorney and devoted public servant with over two decades of legal experience in Missouri. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Ms. Abby earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Business from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and returned home to complete her Juris Doctorate at Saint Louis University School of Law. Throughout her distinguished career, Ms. Abby has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice, equity, and community empowerment. She currently serves as an Assistant Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis. Her prior roles include Public Defender for the State of Missouri, Municipal Judge, Municipal Prosecutor, and founder of her own successful private law firm. An active leader in the legal and civic communities, Ms. Abby currently serves as the President of the Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater St. Louis and is a Past-President of the Mound City Bar Association. She also serves on the Board of Governors for the Eastern District of Missouri with The Missouri Bar. Her community involvement extends to organizations such as the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Gateway Metropolitan Chapter, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, St. Louis Alumnae Chapter.
Ms. Abby’s exemplary service has earned her numerous honors, including the 2025 Presidents’ Award from NCNW, the 2024 Business Month Emerald Award from Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., the 2018 Missouri Lawyers Media Public Service Award, and the 2018 NCNW Missouri Visionary Leaders Award for Community Service. She also received the Ronda F. Williams Service Award from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2015. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Ms. Abby is a passionate mentor, actively guiding pre-law and law students, and participating in youth programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. Above all, she is the proud mother of Alexis, a graduate of Hampton University.
PRESIDENT ELECT: Ellen Bruntranger
Associate| Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch | Email Ellen
Ellen Bruntrager is a St. Louis native. Ellen earned her bachelor's degrees in political science and Spanish from the University of Missouri - Columbia. Then, Ellen earned her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2021. While at SLU Law, Ellen was president of the Women Law Students' Association. Ellen is an associate at Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch. Ellen represents individuals and litigates disputes regarding civil rights law, employment, and special education. In her free time, Ellen enjoys hiking, indoor cycling, and wrangling her overactive dog Maeve. Ellen is extremely proud of her work with the WLA and is passionate about empowering women in the legal profession.
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Stephanie Black
Attorney | Gray, Ritter & Graham | Email Stephanie
Stephanie Black is a trial attorney at Gray, Ritter & Graham, where she represents individuals in catastrophic injury cases, including FELA and rail-related matters. Inspired by her family’s ties to the railroad industry and her father’s work as a union officer, Stephanie’s passion for justice runs deep. After graduating summa cum laude from Southeast Missouri State University, where she was a finalist for Woman of the Year, Stephanie earned her law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law. There, she excelled as President of the Trial Team and was recognized as Best Advocate in a Chicago trial competition. Stephanie launched her career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Madison County, IL, earning “Rookie of the Year” honors in 2012, and has since built a reputation for securing remarkable results for her clients, including multimillion-dollar verdicts in high-stakes railroad cases. Known for her strategic insight and relentless dedication, Stephanie takes pride in advocating for the underdog and leveling the playing field.
VICE PRESIDENT: Eli Sullivan
Associate | Husch Blackwell LLP | Email Eli
Elisa (Eli) Sullivan is a labor and employment attorney with Husch Blackwell. Eli earned her Master’s in Higher Education from University of Oklahoma in 2017 and her J.D. from Saint Louis University in 2022. While at SLU Law, Eli served as co-president to the Women Law Students’ Association, where she was dedicated to helping female law students connect with other students, lawyers, judges, and practitioners in the St. Louis area. Raised in a legal family, she wants to ensure new attorneys have outlets for guidance and mentorship. If selected, Eli will continue WLA’s initiatives of cultivating mentorship and of building a strong legal community.
SECRETARY: Eisha Ahmed-Petersen
Attorney | Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, St. Louis County | Email Eisha
Eisha Ahmed-Petersen graduated from Loyola University Chicago and earned her law degree from St. Louis University. She currently serves as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in St. Louis County, where she exclusively prosecutes sex crimes, child abuse cases, and homicides. Eisha has tried over 20 cases, including seven homicide jury trials during her tenure as a prosecutor. Prior to her current role, Eisha was hired by Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce as an Assistant Circuit Attorney. She also has prior experience in family law and immigration law.
In addition to serving on the Executive Board of the Women Lawyers Association of Greater St. Louis, Eisha serves on the boards of the St. Louis County Bar Association, the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis, and the Northside Youth and Senior Services Center of The Greater Ville Neighborhood. Eisha is a Barrister member of the Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court and is a Missouri Bar Leadership Academy alumni. Eisha speaks four languages fluently and resides in Webster Groves with her husband, Kevin Petersen, and their three children.
TREASURER: Zoe Hall
Associate | Summers Compton Wells, LLC | Email Zoe
While her time with the WLA has been short, she has managed to get quite involved with many WLA events, such as coordinating sponsorships for this year’s Casino Night, volunteering at the December Holiday party, signing up her firm for WLA memberships, and attending as many WLA sponsored CLEs and mentorship luncheons as possible. This past spring, Zoe also spoke on a three-person cannabis panel for a CLE hosted by the WLA and co-sponsored by her law firm. It was such an empowering experience to be trusted by the WLA to provide an engaging and enlightening CLE to its members, and she is still so grateful to have had the opportunity. Zoe is a second year transactional associate at Summers Compton Wells, where she started her legal career as a law clerk the summer after her first year at SLU Law. Her practice is primarily focused on regulatory compliance for financial institutions, non-profit business law, and the emerging cannabis industry. When she is not attending WLA events, you can find Zoe at St. Louis sporting events, TruFusion (a class based membership gym, where she would love to attend a class together!), and trying out new New York Times’ cooking recipes in her Shaw neighborhood apartment. If elected, Zoe hopes to use her position as an opportunity to connect with and empower women lawyers in the St. Louis community that she would otherwise not have an opportunity to get to know. Zoe is aware of the incredible opportunities that the WLA can provide for young women lawyers like herself. Whether elected or not, it is her mission to get as many young women lawyers involved in the WLA and help make their involvement beneficial and wonderful to all WLA members, both old and new
MEMBERS AT LARGE:
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Jenna DeBarry | Attorney |Padberg Appelbaum Knepper | Email Jenna
Jenna DeBarry is an attorney at Padberg Appelbaum Knepper, where she represents personal injury victims throughout Missouri. Jenna was born and raised in St. Louis and attended Bishop DuBourg High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminology with a minor in Psychology, magna cum laude, from Missouri State University. Jenna received her law degree from St. Louis University School of Law. While in law school, Jenna developed a passion for helping others through working as a clerk at a personal injury firm. This allowed her to make connections in the legal community, eventually leading her to WLA. By serving on the Board, Jenna hopes to continue fostering the environment of mentorship, inclusion, levity, and friendship she has always found at WLA. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, at the lake, or with her dogs, Peanut and Butter.
Rebecca McLaughlin | Associate | Dowd Bennett LLP | Email Rebecca
Rebecca McLaughlin is an associate attorney at Dowd Bennett LLP with a versatile, high-stakes practice. She has represented criminal defendants alleged to be involved in multi-million dollar fraud schemes, as well as Fortune 500 companies accused of employment discrimination and retaliation. Rebecca has developed a niche of conducting interval investigations for her corporate clients, handling time-sensitive, delicate matters involving allegations of sexual harassment, research misconduct, and misuse of company funds. Rebecca is a Georgetown University Law Center graduate and was previously a clerk for the Hon. Audrey Fleissig and Hon. John Ross in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Rebecca currently serves as the Chair of the WLA’s Mentorship Committee, where she hosts lunches featuring impressive women from the legal community who share their insights and experiences with female attorneys that are in the earlier stages of their practice. Rebecca is also a marathon runner; a member of two book clubs; and a murder mystery fan.
“WLA has given me the opportunity to learn and receive mentorship from some of the most impressive, caring attorneys that our bar has to offer. It is a strong, welcoming community that has also gifted me great friendships. If chosen for member at large, I would be grateful to have the opportunity to volunteer my time in helping to support the organization’s important mission.”
Morgan Murphy | Partner| Zevan Murphy LLC | Email Morgan
Morgan Murphy is a trial attorney and managing partner of Zevan Murphy LLC in St. Louis. She represents individuals who have been harmed by the negligence of others and focuses on medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases throughout Missouri and Illinois. Morgan is a graduate of Washington University School of Law, where she was a board member of the Women’s Law Caucus. Morgan has proudly served on the WLA board since 2022. In that role, she has planned and moderated the annual legislative luncheon for the past several years, giving WLA members the opportunity to address female legislators in the state, and coordinated numerous social events.
Danielle Smith | Senior Counsel, Prosecutor Engagement | Prosecutors Alliance| Email Danielle
Danielle Smith is Senior Counsel for the nonprofit, Prosecutors Alliance. With 20 years of legal experience spanning prosecution, civil litigation, legislative policy, and strategic program development, she brings a wide-ranging and solutions-oriented perspective to the legal profession. Danielle earned her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2005 and her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2002.
She began her legal career in civil litigation before expanding into public-sector innovation, where she has strengthened cross-agency partnerships and enhanced programs at the intersection of behavioral health, housing, and public safety. She serves on several nonprofit boards and regularly speaks on justice, leadership, and mental health.
Sarah Thompson | Associate | Watters Wolf Bub Hansmann | Email Sarah
Sarah Thompson is an associate trial lawyer who focuses her trial practice in the areas of insurance coverage law, as well as construction defect and premises liability litigation. Sarah takes pride in her writing skills advocating for her clients with the written word as evidenced by her work as a writer and editor for the St. Louis University Law Journal while a law student. In addition, her work as a teaching fellow for the university’s Introduction to Legal Studies fine-tuned both her writing and oral presentation skills preparing her for representing clients throughout both the pre-suit investigation and all stages of litigation, including trial. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys outdoor activities, baking, and spending time with her husband and their four pets.
Libby Rathert | Associate | Littler Mendelson P.C. | Email Libby
Elizabeth (Libby) Rathert represents employers in state and federal court in a variety of labor and employment litigation. Libby has a broad range of litigation experience and has successfully litigated cases from inception through summary judgment and trial. Prior to joining Littler, Libby spent two years in litigation at a mid-sized regional defense firm, where she handled a wide variety of matters at every stage of the lawsuit. She has also second chaired numerous trials to verdict.
While in law school, Libby worked as a legal extern at a semi-governmental agency where she focused her practice on labor and employment matters. In addition, Libby interned at two boutique regional law firms where her work included workers’ compensation and personal injury matters.
Claire Bruntrager
Administrative Director
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2025-2026 Installation Gala