Meet our Student Fellows

Mayesha Alam

Mayesha’s interest in the Richmond Legal Business Design Fellowship stems from her interest in innovative business design. As a JD/MHA student, her interests fall into a niche space where healthcare, law, and business intersect. There is great demand for innovation within healthcare to transform the patient experience and improve quality outcomes all across the board. While the business and legal aspects of healthcare are not unique in most capacities, the push to develop new care models is too often a matter of life or death. The Legal Business Design Fellowship provides her not only with the opportunity to understand the innovative business space more profoundly, but also to engage actively in the space she is interested in. Mayesha is excited for the events the Business Design Fellowship has planned and can't wait for other students to learn more about the Business Design Hub! 

Something most people don't know about Mayesha is that she loves to develop and test fusion recipes in her free time. She comes from an extremely mixed family with different culturally driven cuisines and traditions – which really just means that Thanksgiving is truly unique at their house. Finding a way to blend flavors that don't typically interact can be quite the challenge. She loves trying crazy ideas – so if you have something in mind or want to try something new, give her a shout! 

Chris Evangel

Following over 35 years in financial services, Chris arrived at Richmond Law a bit later in his career. Still, Chris says, "I have learned that the business of law is business." The Design Fellowship program is the bridge of the two, understanding that one cannot exist without the other. A good lawyer striving to be a great lawyer requires success in the law business – a value for the benefit of our clients.

Brian Krach

Brian likes to say that he has lived life in reverse! His path to law school (and higher education itself) was preceded by 20 years in the professional world. And he kept a foot firmly planted in both the business and educational arenas by maintaining his boutique insurance practice while attending law school. 

Brian is thrilled to be a founding member of the Legal Business Design Hub. It is the perfect vehicle to thoughtfully engage with innovative legal entrepreneurship ideas while also creating a supportive community of fellow students and practitioners. He is especially looking forward to creating meaningful content for other Richmond Law peers who are interested in starting a solo practice. 

Ahuna Johnson

Prior to pursuing law, Ahuna served as the Deputy Director for the Spotsylvania County Department of Social Services, overseeing all aspects of service delivery for several years along with building out a sustainable structure to address increasing needs for services across the agency. She specializes in evaluating programs and building out service structure in a mutually beneficial manner. She's now using her in-depth knowledge of the system to help children and families working with DSS across the Commonwealth.

Since her arrival at Richmond Law, Ahuna has represented individuals with the Virginia Parole Board in the Children's Defense Clinic, tried cases with the Fredericksburg Public Defender's Office, served on the Richmond Law Honor Council, served as President of the National Lawyers Guild, been a member of the Criminal Justice Society, been an inaugural member of First Generation Law Students, and volunteered with the Richmond Women's Law group. She is committed to moving the legal profession into a more sustainable paradigm that works for the client and firm.

Ahuna believes that the best way to address the practice of law moving forward is to plan thoughtfully for the business side of any size firm and use this fellowship as an opportunity to bring the business of law and the practice of law together.

Camera Elliott

Camera Elliott is currently in her second year as JD/MBA candidate at the University of Richmond. Prior to law school, Camera attended the University of Georgia and worked for six years in various roles at an insurance company in Columbia, South Carolina. Camera enjoys traveling abroad, kayaking, hiking with her dog, and breweries. 

Charlie McCarthy

Charlie McCarthy is currently in his second year as JD/MBA candidate at the University of Richmond. Prior to law school, Charlie attended the University of Virginia and was commissioned as a naval officer upon graduation in 2015. He served two tours as a Surface Warfare Officer as the First Lieutenant aboard USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) and the Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer aboard USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), completing deployments in both the South China Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. Charlie enjoys surfing, cycling, and adventuring with his fiancé and dog. While stationed in Hawaii, he lived out of a tent on a beach in the North Shore of Oahu for six months. 

Charmaine Nyman

Charmaine grew up on a small family farm in a little town in the middle of Pennsylvania. Her love of agricultural and rural roots are why, upon graduation, she plans to return to Pennsylvania to practice. The University of Richmond Law School has allowed her to engage in multiple pro bono service projects that fill her time while she is not in the library studying.

Charmaine is excited to be a founding member of the Richmond Legal Business Design Hub. She thinks that it is vital as up-coming lawyers to be able to understand that a firm is more than servicing clients. The legal profession includes law firms, and law firms are businesses. So it is important as future lawyers that we are able to understand strategy and operations and how to not only set ourselves apart in the associate fields, but also how to service clients in a way that creates value. The Richmond Legal Business Design Hub is all about technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and design. Charmaine is proud to be a part of this fellowship which will set the stage for Richmond Law lawyers to possess skills which will further set them apart in the legal field.