Annapolis, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced appointments to the District 1 Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission, which comprises Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. Heather Stansbury will serve as chair.
“Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester County residents deserve diverse, talented, and knowledgeable representation on their Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission,” said Gov. Moore. “These appointees reflect our commitment to those principles, and I am grateful that each appointee has raised their hand to serve.”
There are sixteen Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commissions established by executive order. The commissions advertise judicial vacancies, seek recommendations for judicial candidates from their own membership, bar associations and members of the general public, set closing dates for the submission of the judicial applications, and evaluate applicants based on their integrity, temperament, legal knowledge, and professional experience.
Governor Moore’s appointees to the District 1 Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission include:
Heather Stansbury, Chair
Heather Stansbury has been a family and municipal law attorney with Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy and Almand, P.A. for the past 20 years. She also serves as the general legal counsel to the Town of Ocean City and has been the attorney for the Worcester County Board of Education since 2017. She previously served on the boards for the Ocean City Paramedic’s Foundation; the Rackliffe House Trust; Diakonia, a non-profit emergency transitional housing service in Ocean City; and was a member of the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore. She also served as the vice chair for the board of trustees for Atlantic General Hospital. Stansbury served as a member of the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for District 1 for Governors O’Malley and Hogan from 2009 to 2022 and as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Joseph F. Murphy, chief judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals from 2004 to 2005.
She earned her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Carolyn Mathers
Carolyn Mathers is a partner with Fine and Mathers, P.A. She has worked with the firm for more than 30 years. Her practice primarily focuses on family law, but she also handles criminal law and private civil mediations. Prior to joining Fine and Mathers, she worked as a public defender in Baltimore City and in Wicomico County. She is a certified mediator.
Mathers earned her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law.
Kelly McFadden
Kelley McFadden is a criminal defense attorney for her solo practice. She has served the lower Eastern Shore as a criminal defense attorney for the past 14 years. Earlier in her career she served as a public defender in Baltimore City. McFadden formerly served on the board of directors of the YMCA Henson Center and is currently a volunteer with the March of Dimes. She is active in the Wicomico County Bar Association and previously served as president.
McFadden earned her J.D. from the Delaware School of Law, Widener University.
Amy L. Taylor
Amy Taylor is a partner with Robertson & Robertson, P.A. Her practice focuses on civil litigation. Prior to joining her current firm, she worked as a civil litigation attorney with Hearne & Bailey, P.A. and Otway Russo, P.C. Taylor also served as a law clerk with Williams, Moore, Shockley & Harrison, LLP. She is a past president and board member with Village of Hope and is a past president of the Wicomico County Bar Association. She currently serves on the Maryland Woman’s Bar Association’s Trial Courts Judicial Selection Committee.
Taylor earned her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Megan E. Tawes
Megan Tawes has served as prosecutor on the lower Eastern Shore for the past nine years. She currently serves as the Assistant State’s Attorney for Somerset County. Prior to becoming a prosecutor, she worked as a staff attorney with the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau and as an associate with Williams, Moore Shockeley & Harrison, LLP. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Leah J. Seaton, Circuit Court for Wicomico County. Tawes currently serves on the board of the Greater Crisfield Action Coalition and the Life Crisis Center.
She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, graduating cum laude.
Ashley A. Bosche
For the past 23 years Ashley Bosche has worked as a partner with Cockey, Brennan & Maloney, P.C. Her practice primarily focuses on civil litigation and municipal law. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Arrie W. Davis, Maryland Court of Special Appeals. She is a past president of the Wicomico County Bar Association and a past chair of the Delmarva Zoological Society, Inc.
Bosche earned her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law, magna cum laude.
Gorman A. Getty
Gorman Getty has worked as an attorney with Perdue Farms, Inc. for the past thirteen years, where he currently serves as the deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer. Prior to joining Perdue, he was an associate with Miles & Stockbridge for six years. He also served as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Frederick Shareer, Court of Special Appeals.
Getty earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Kendra E. Hayward
Kendra Hayward has worked as a prosecutor in Somerset County for the past 18 years. Since 2017, she has served as the Deputy State’s Attorney. She has also worked as an adjunct professor with both the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Sojourner Douglass College. Hayward served as a law clerk to the Honorable David W. Young, Baltimore City Circuit Court, and at the Baltimore City Department of Planning. Hayward is a volunteer with the Somerset County Pro Se Legal Clinic and is a former member of the Town of Princess Anne Ethics Committee.
She earned her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Lili Chi-Fang Tsai, Ph.D.
For the past thirteen years Dr. Lili Chi-Fang Tsai has worked as a professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She has taught classes at the Department of Criminal Justice and the School of Graduate Studies. Since 2024, Dr. Tsai has also served as the executive director of the Futures Institute.
She earned an M.A. in criminology from the National Taipei University and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University.
Reena J. Patel
Reena Patel has worked as an attorney on the lower eastern shore for the past ten years. She is currently a senior associate with Batie Law, LLC, where her practice has focused on civil, and particularly probate, litigation. Prior to living in Maryland, Patel was an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Attorney General in the Northern Mariana Islands. She was promoted to first assistant and subsequently, chief of the civil division.
Patel earned her J.D. from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
Christine W. Powell
Christine Powell has been an assistant public defender in Worcester County for nearly 20 years. Prior to joining the Public Defender’s Office, she served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Baltimore County. Before attending law school, she worked as a statistical and crime analyst for the Baltimore County Police Department and was a reference analyst with the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
Powell earned her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2000.
Roscoe R. Leslie
Roscoe Leslie has served as the Worcester County attorney since 2020. Prior to joining public service, he spent nearly fourteen years as a local government and litigation attorney with both Webb, Cornbrooks, Wilber, Forhis, Douse, Leslie & Mathers, LLP and Venable, LLP. He is also a former associate professor at Wor-Wic Community College. Leslie currently serves on the Maryland State Bar Association’s State and Local Government Section Council and is currently the president of the Ocean Velo Club.
Leslie earned his J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law in 2006.
Robert C. Mock, Jr., Ed.D.
Robert Mock is the vice president for strategic initiatives and the chief of staff for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He is also a professional consultant, and has owned RBM & Associates, LLC since 1999. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Dr. Mock was the president of Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte Campus located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He earned a Ed.D. in higher education administration and M.A. in interpersonal & organizational communication from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
