Ballard Scholarship

Developing the next generation of bond lawyers through mentorship and education from experienced professionals.

About the Program

Since 2012, through the Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program and the Robert H. Hilderbrand Fund, NABL provides five scholarships to current law students to attend our Essentials conference each year. The scholarship program was renamed in 2014 to honor the legacy of longtime NABL member Frederic L. “Rick” Ballard, Jr. who dedicated himself to educating young bond attorneys.

“Through the Ballard Scholarship program and free NABL membership for all law students, we continue to help develop the next generation of bond lawyers. The Essentials provides attendees with an immersion course in public finance law and a great opportunity to learn from experienced faculty and meet fellow new public finance lawyers.” – Linda Wyman, NABL COO

2023 Recipients

Congratulations to the 2023 Frederic L. Ballard Jr. Memorial Scholarship recipients joining us at The Essentials in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 19-21, 2023.


Mia Qu

University of Washington
School of Law

Wyatt Savant

Loyola University
New Orleans College of Law

Anna Wilbourn

University of Denver
Sturm College of Law

Britt Wirth

University of Colorado
Law School

Remembering Frederic L. Ballard, Jr.

We renamed our existing scholarship program to honor longtime member Frederic L. “Rick” Ballard, Jr. who passed away in 2014. Our decision to bestow this honor on Mr. Ballard stemmed from his longstanding commitment to educating young bond attorneys.  As Mr. Ballard’s contributions to NABL touched so many of its members, we are confident that the Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program will become part of his enduring legacy.

In recognition of the newly named program, the law firm of Ballard Spahr LLP made a generous donation in his memory to the Scholarship fund. NABL invites all of its members to support the continued funding of the Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program. Contributions should be made to NABL’s affiliated 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, the Robert H. Hilderbrand, Jr. Fund, which oversees and administers the scholarships.  Those interested in contributing to the scholarship fund can download the form below and email it to Linda Wyman, NABL’s Chief Operating Officer.  Donations to the fund are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

Donation Form  
Online Donation

Our Donors:

Past Recipients

*Denotes a current NABL member.

Note: The Ballard Scholarship did not award any recipients in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Christopher Halm, Fordham University School of Law, Class of 2022
  • Kalen Hilliker, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Class of 2023
  • Jonathan Lee, University of Florida Levin College of Law
  • Christen Richardson, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Class of 2024
  • India Whaley, University of South Carolina School of Law

  • Caron Byrd, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
  • Shaunita Felder, Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT
  • Naphtalie Librun-Ukiri, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL
  • Gilbert Morales, Georgia State University Law School, Atlanta, GA
  • Saied Quadri, UCLA Law School, Los Angeles, CA

  • Shweta Jayawardhan- University of Washington, School of Law
  • Mae Meierhenry- University of South Dakota, School of Law*
  • Samuel Noblin- Mississippi College, School of Law
  • Tiffaney Sporl- Tulane University Law School
  • Mikell Washington- American University, Washington College of Law

  • Dalton Kelley- University of Denver
  • Brian King- Texas Southern University
  • Brian Peltier- University of St. Thomas School of Law *
  • Ashley Terrazas- University of Texas School of Law
  • Andrew White- Loyola University of Chicago School of Law 

  • Portia Bailey-Bernard  – Indiana University School of Law
  • Christa Childers – Florida State University College of Law**
  • Jacqueline Hensley – University of Oklahoma College of Law**
  • Andrias Jones – University of Texas School of Law
  • Taylor Stockemer – University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law

  • Jennifer Binger –  Stanford Law School
  • Joshua Bonney –  Elon University Law School**
  • Madison Coburn – University of Mississippi
  • Christa Freeman – Howard University**
  • Nicole Perez – Rutgers University

  • Lauren Box – Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law **
  • Jalecia Coley – Florida A&M
  • Vera Gurova – Stetson College of Law**
  • Alexandra Rock –Northwestern University**
  • Adam Tamzoke – Indiana University **

  • Jessica Diaz – University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
  • Tom Hoffman – Saint Louis University School of Law
  • George Miles – University of Connecticut School of Law
  • Adam Parker  – University of North Carolina Law**
  • Caitlyn Smith – University of Alabama Law **

  • Noah Allen – University of South Carolina School of Law
  • Jacob Bedingfield – American University Washington College of Law
  • Felicia Hamilton – Southern University Law Center
  • Rachel Orr – New York University School of Law **
  • Roman Zhuk – University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law

  • Nathan Canova – Drake Law School **
  • Jered Davidson – University of Oklahoma Law **
  • Laura Kurtz – Widener University School of Law **
  • Michael Logan – University at Buffalo Law School **
  • Karla Turner – Vanderbilt University Law School