Melanie is beginning her term as President after serving two terms as Secretary of the Division. She was the Director of District 15 for 6 years. During her tenure as Director, the district grew from 10 members to more than 50 members, an accomplishment of which Melanie is very proud.
Melanie is employed in the Law Office of Neil Norquest in McAllen. She received her CLA certification in 1994, as well as successfully completing the TBLS Specialty Certification exam in Civil Trial Law. Prior to her involvement in the legal profession, Melanie was a music major at Abilene Christian University and attended the University of Texas-Pan American.
Melanie is married to Benjamin Villareal, Jr., has three children and two stepchildren, the oldest of whom is a junior in high school.
Wendi Rogers
CLA-President-Elect
Wendi is a senior litigation paralegal with the law firm of Frederick H. Shiver in Dallas. She has been a litigation paralegal for nine years, specializing in personal injury trial law. She is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law through TBLS and holds the CLA certification from NALA. She is a frequent speaker and author on litigation topics and issues affecting the paralegal profession. She is an instructor at Southeastern Paralegal Institute in Dallas and serves as a Coordinator for the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA). She is NALA's NFPA Representative and a Director at Large. She is LAD's Public Affairs Sub-Committee Chair, the District Director for District 2, the Board's liaison to NFPA, and was Board Advisor to the 1995Ð1996 Annual Meeting Committee.
Wendi and husband Steve have been married for six years. They live in a small town outside of Dallas with their golden retriever Shasta. They enjoy traveling and outdoor sports such as jogging, softball, mountain biking, snow skiing and scuba diving.
Ellen Lockwood
CLA-Treasurer
Ellen is employed by the firm of Wheatley & Onion in San Antonio, specializing in business litigation. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Southwestern University and taught middle school choir and orchestra. She received her legal assistant certification from Southwestern Paralegal Institute in Houston and received her CLA certification through NALA in 1993. She has served as District Director from District 5 since 1995 and is currently President-Elect of the Alamo Area Professional Legal Assistants Association. Ellen has three cats and two dogs and enjoys reading, musicals, and traveling.
Lisa Sprinkle
CLAS-Parliamentarian
Lisa has been a legal assistant for over 11 years and has been free-lance with her own firm called Legal Works since 1990. She has a B.S. degree in Psychology, and a certificate of completion from El Paso Community College in Legal Assistant Studies. She holds the CLA and CLAS designation from NALA and received her Board Certification in Civil Trial in 1994. She has served as District Director from District 16 since 1994 and she has been a part-time instructor in the paralegal program at El Paso Community College since 1985.
Kelly Cavin
CLAS-Secretary
Kelly Cavin, CLAS is employed by the firm of Sprouse, Mozola, Smith &Rowley in Amarillo. She received her B.S. degree in Floriculture from Texas A&M and has held the CLAdesignation since 1985. She also holds the CLAS designations in both Civil Trial and Corporate and Business Law. She received her Board Certification in Civil Trial in 1994. She represents District 7 on the Division's Board.
Kelly has been a legal assistant since 1983, practicing mainly in complex litigation and insurance defense. She is the proud owner of three cats and enjoys working in her yard.