Professional Staff
Harrison M. Pittman, B.S., J.D., LL.M.
Research Assistant Professor of Law, Center Director
(479) 575-7640
hmpittm@uark.edu
Harrison M. Pittman has an extensive background in agricultural law and has served in multiple capacities at the Center since 2001. He received his J.D. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, after attending Mississippi State University and graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He earned an LL.M. in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law's Graduate Program in Agricultural Law. Harrison has authored articles on numerous subjects, including the National Organic Program, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, the constitutionality of corporate farming laws, pesticide regulation and litigation, agritourism, states' recreational use statutes, legal issues associated with the structure of the livestock industry, agricultural bankruptcy issues, environmental regulation of agriculture such as the application of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to agriculture, and the Packers and Stockyards Act. He has authored annotations for American Law Reports, including Validity, Construction, and Application of State Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Regarding Corporate Farming and Validity, Construction, and Application of Right-to-Farm Acts. Harrison is an active member of the American Agricultural Law Association, has contributed to the Association's monthly newsletter, The AgLaw Update, and serves on the Association's membership committee. He is a frequent presenter on various agricultural law and policy topics, including environmental law, the impact of globalization and the World Trade Organization on U.S. agriculture, conservation programs, legal liability issues in agritourism operations and other landowner liability issues, agricultural liens, the future of farm commodity programs, and the interrelationship between local food systems and public health issues. He is an active member of the Arkansas Bar Association, where he founded the Agricultural Law Section and later served as interim chair and chair. Harrison has taught at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law as part of the Ben J. Altheimer Distinguished Professorship for Agricultural Law and served as a Visiting Professor for the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Agriculture Committee of the American Bar Association's Section on Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice. Among other activities with the Agriculture Committee, Harrison moderated A Conversation With Marc L. Kesselman, USDA General Counsel: The Administration's 2007 Farm Bill Proposals that was held at the Venable LLP in Washington, D.C. Harrison also serves as faculty advisor for students involved with the Journal of Food Law & Policy.
Shannon Mirus, B.S.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
(479) 575-2364
smirus@uark.edu
Shannon Mirus grew up in northeast Arkansas among fields of rice and soybeans. She has focused her studies in agriculture and law at the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business, a Juris Doctor, and has completed graduate coursework for an advanced law degree in agricultural law. As a Staff Attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center, Shannon coordinates legal education outreach efforts through the Cooperative Extension Service, including a new eXtension Community of Practice for Agricultural Law. She has been involved with Arkansas Women in Agriculture, Inc. since its creation and currently serves on the Board of Directors. She also works with Annie's Project, a program designed to empower farm women to be better business partners through networking and by managing and organizing critical information. Shannon's primary research areas include agritourism, landowner liability, risk management and renewable fuels. She is licensed to practice law in Arkansas.
Elizabeth Springsteen B.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
(479) 387-2331
erspringsteen@uark.edu
Beth Springsteen was raised on a small family farm in Ida, Michigan. She attended Michigan State University, where she was an active competitor, president, and captain of the Mock Trial team that participated in competitions across the Midwest. She also interned in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Virginia M. Morgan, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. After graduating from MSU in 2004, Beth returned home and commuted to law school at the University of Toledo, where she graduated cum laude in May of 2007. While in law school, she volunteered as a coach of the Ida High School Mock Trial Team and continued to assist with the MSU team. In addition, she interned at the Michigan prosecutor's offices of Monroe and Lenawee counties, with the United States Attorney's Office in Toledo, and for the Honorable David A. Katz of the Northern District of Ohio. From 2005-2008, she was also employed by the Toledo law firm of Cosme, D'Angelo and Szollosi. She has completed her classwork for the Agricultural Law LL.M. program and is currently finishing her thesis. Beth is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Ohio.
Rusty W. Rumley, B.S., J.D.
Staff Attorney
(479) 575-2636
rrumley@uark.edu
Rusty Rumley was born and raised on the family farm in Cogar, Oklahoma. He graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma State University in 2004 with a B.S. in AgriBusiness and in 2007 received his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma. While attending the University of Oklahoma he was a member of the American Indian Law Review and worked part-time for Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation. Rusty has completed his classwork for the LL.M program in Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas and is currently completing his thesis on special use valuation for estate planning purposes. His primary areas of interest are in estate planning, taxation, business organizations, and alternative dispute resolution. Rusty is licensed to practice law in the state of Oklahoma.
Sally J. Kelley, B.A., M.A.T., M.A.
Research Professor, Librarian
(479) 575-7647
skelley@uark.edu
Sally J. Kelley, Center Librarian since its inception in 1988 and Research Professor, holds a B.A. and M.A.T. from Indiana University and an M.A. in Library Science from the University of Chicago. She provides reference service for the Center attorneys and those requesting information through the Center. She created the Center web site in 1995 and developed its agricultural law portal. She continues to manage the web library, which combines the portal with bibliographies and other research aids which she prepares. She also coordinates the Center's participation in the AgNIC network and performs agricultural law collection development. Sally is recognized for her expertise in conducting Internet legal research and has given numerous presentations on this subject. Her articles on Internet legal research have appeared in such periodicals as the Internet Lawyer and Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing. Other publications include bibliographies on agricultural and environmental law.
Ann B. Winfred
Publicity Director and Webmaster
(479) 575-7646
awinfred@uark.edu
Ann Winfred has many years' experience as a certified Paralegal Assistant and as the manager of a large court reporting firm. She served as assistant to the Director of the American Agricultural Law Association for two years while that association was housed at the University of Arkansas and was instrumental in organizing the successful AALA 2001 Annual Educational Conference in Colorado Springs and in creating the AALA Membership Directory. When the AALA relocated, Ann’s talents in publication and editing earned her a promotion to the position of Publicity and Information Specialist for the Center. Ms. Winfred was the spearhead in the design and building of the Center’s Web site and is responsible for designing and implementing new additions and substantive changes. She edits, formats, and publicizes all Center publications; posts all material to the Web site; prepares Web and print editions of the Center’s annual report; writes and issues press releases and announcements; maintains the calendar of Center events, attorney publications and presentations; administers the Center’s listserv; and manages the day-to-day business of the Center.
Jennifer Fiser, B.S., M.S., J.D., LL.M.
Research Associate
Jennifer Fiser graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. She received her Master's degree in Agronomy from Purdue University. While in graduate school, her research focused on the monitoring of E. coli in the environment. Prior to law school, Jennifer was a research technician in Purdue University's Food Science Department where she worked on projects involving pathogen detection and biosensor development. During law school, Jennifer served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Food Law & Policy and her comment, Harvey v. Veneman and the National Organic Program: Can Organic Be Synthetic?, was published in the Spring 2007 issue. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas School of Law in May 2008 and received her LL.M. degree from the Graduate Program in Agricultural Law in May 2009. Jennifer assumes a variety of tasks at the Center, including extensive legal research, editing of Center research publications and case summaries, and maintenance of Center web site content. She is licensed to practice law in Arkansas.
Paul Goeringer, B.S., J.D., LL.M.
Research Associate
Paul Goeringer was raised on his family's farm in the small town of Bessie, Oklahoma (population 194), a suburb of Cordell, Oklahoma (population 2,908). Upon graduation from Cordell High School, Paul attended Oklahoma State University where he majored in Agricultural Economics. After graduation from OSU in 2004, Paul was selected by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources to serve as the Frank D. Lucas Scholar in Washington DC, where he spent the summer working on agricultural issues and constituency services for the Honorable Frank D. Lucas of Oklahoma and trying to figure out mass transit. After returning home from DC, he began law school at Oklahoma City University School of Law and became active in the Agricultural Law club. During his third year of law school, Paul transferred to the University of Oklahoma's College of Law and graduated with honors in May of 2007. He also worked for Johnston & Associates in Chickasha, OK during his third year of law school. Paul is licensed to practice law in the state of Oklahoma and is an LL.M. candidate in the Graduate Program in Agricultural Law.
Walt McCarter, B.S., J.D.
Research Assistant
Walt McCarter graduated magna cum laude from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business. He will receive his J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in May 2009. While in law school, he has been a member of the American Constitution Society, Media, Entertainment & Sports Law Association, and a member of the 2008-2009 Board of Advocates. He has also clerked at Bassett Law Firm in Fayetteville, Arkansas from May 2007-present. Prior to attending law school, he worked as a research assistant for the University of Arkansas Southwest Research & Experiment Center in Hope, Arkansas and as a production supervisor at Atkins Prepared Foods in Atkins, Arkansas.
Misti Sharp, B.S.
Research Assistant
Misti Sharp graduated from the University of Arkansas magma cum laude with a degree in Agricultural Business Management and Marketing and minors in Spanish and Global Agriculture. She plans to work towards Masters and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics with the goal of becoming a professor and working in the areas of agricultural and environmental policies and international development. She served as secretary then president of the professional agriculture sorority, Sigma Alpha, and also served as vice-president of the Agribusiness Club. Misti took part in a service project in Belize where she was the group leader of the agricultural development group that created a school farm for a rural elementary school in Pomona. She presented an undergraduate honor's thesis titled, Arkansas Producer's Attitudes Towards the 2002 Farm Bill and Preferences for the 2007 Farm Bill, at the annual American Agricultural Economics Association meeting in Portland, Oregon. She was selected as the Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Department Outstanding Junior in 2006 and Outstanding Graduating Senior in 2008. She worked for the Center last summer on the Farm Bill digitization project and is currently working on digitizing the articles cited in Prof. Drew Kershen's Agricultural Law Bibliography published on the Center website.
Megan Cunningham, B.S.
Research Assistant
Originally from Carl Junction, MO, Megan Cunningham graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Agricultural Business Management and Marketing with minors in Communication and Global Agriculture. Megan interned in Washington, D.C. for Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas where she focused on legislation relating to food insecurity issues. She also completed an internship in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland. As an undergraduate Megan was a Bumpers College Ambassador, a University Ambassador, and a member of the Agribusiness Club and the Dean's Advisory Board. She worked in the Bumpers College Deans Office and for the Division of Agriculture and plans to pursue graduate work in International Agriculture. Megan is working on digitizing the articles cited in Prof. Drew Kershen's Agricultural Law Bibliography published on the Center website.
Erimar von der Osten, lic. iur., LL.M.
The primary focus of Erimar von der Osten's research at the Center is international agriculture and trade, sustainable agriculture, agroecology, water scarcity, open source life cycle inventory and assessments, and forestry. After completing his legal studies in Germany and graduating with honors from the University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, Erimar worked for a New York law firm, headed the legal and compliance department of a securities industry firm, became a Member of the NYSE, and managed a Wall Street Broker Dealer and Futures Commission Merchant operation. In Frankfurt, Germany, he was appointed to the executive board of a German bank, supervised offices throughout Europe and in the U.S., and was instrumental in the building and financing of several German software companies. Erimar established the first general clearing firm of the German Agricultural Futures Exchange in Hannover, advocated agricultural market participants in Europe to strengthen their risk management systems in anticipation of Basel II, and established a joint venture operation with a federated agricultural cooperative. He has addressed these topics, inter alia, as a speaker at the German Bankenforum organized by the European Business School, where he became a curator of the Endowed Chair of Corporate Finance and Capital Markets. As an executive board member of a German agricultural association, Erimar pursues private property issues in East-Germany and covers these issues in editorials (e.g., WSJ-Europe). In 2006 he was the recipient of the Leland Leatherman endowment that honors academic scholarship in the area of agricultural cooperative studies.