College of Law MVPs

 

By Micaela Myers

 

Climb Wyoming CEO Katie Hogarty

As a University of Wyoming College of Law student, Katie Hogarty took part in the Defender Aid Clinic representing people unable to afford counsel. She even argued a case in front of the Wyoming Supreme Court — something not many law students get the chance to do. Those experiences, combined with more traditional legal education, prepared her for an impactful career. 

“As a law student with dyslexia, I so appreciated opportunities to engage in meaningful applied work,” says Hogarty, who grew up in Sheridan and earned her Juris Doctor from UW in 2007.  “My time at UW helped me build leadership skills and kick-started my career in policy.”

Her first legal job was in Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s administration as a health and human services policy analyst. Hogarty credits that experience for introducing her to Climb Wyoming, where she then worked as program director and business liaison. 

“The insight that came from shaping state-level policy helped prepare me for my work with our Wyoming communities — building relationships with employers and local leaders as well as agencies like the Department of Family Services and Workforce Services,” she says. 

Serving as CEO of Climb Wyoming since 2021, Hogarty now leads national best practices in breaking the generational cycles of poverty. With locations in Teton County, Sweetwater County, Casper, Gillette, Laramie and Cheyenne, Climb provides single mothers across the state with free job training and placement as well as holistic support. It helps women to start careers they love and to transform their lives, families and communities. The organization prides itself in being innovative and outcomes-based.  

“Over the last 40 years, we’ve worked with over 12,000 moms and 25,000 of their children,” Hogarty says. “We’ve saved the state of Wyoming nearly $130 million in reduced benefits alone. Our data show that, when we combine job services with mental health support, the long-term impacts on communities and families are very strong.”

She also serves on the Wyoming Workforce Development Council and as co-chair of Equal Justice Wyoming through the Wyoming Judicial Council. 

Hogarty leads Climb with UW alumna Molly Kruger, who is Climb’s chief operating officer. Their success as a leadership team comes from a shared passion for creating lasting multi-generational change. Hogarty’s law training also informs her relationship-driven leadership style. 
As Climb gears up for its 40th anniversary in 2026, Hogarty wants to ensure its stability into the next 40 years as well as to grow workforce training and statewide partnerships. 

“We have such strong partnerships across the state and offer solutions to Wyoming’s needs. Climb provides an educated, motivated and reliable workforce,” Hogarty says. “My experience at UW gave me access to brilliant professors who were judicial, nonprofit, policy and thought leaders. They brought me into the fold and took me seriously. Nearly 20 years later, I am so grateful for the quality of education UW provided. It has informed who I am as a leader and as a Wyomingite.”

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Judge Herman Walker and Attorney Lynda Limón

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Herman Walker and family law attorney Lynda Limón now live 3,000 miles away from the University of Wyoming, where they first met. But they’ve remained close to UW over the years, continuing to mentor the next generation of College of Law students at the annual Summer Trial Institute. 

“I really enjoy that connection, and I love teaching future attorneys because we are both products of mentoring,” Walker says. 

“I get to learn from these young law students as well,” says Limón, who grew up in Cheyenne and also completed her undergraduate degree at UW. In addition to their solid legal education, they appreciated the hands-on clinics and the mentorship they received from professors. 

They fondly recall their adventures as well. “I’m a city boy, so coming to Wyoming was truly a new experience for me,” says Walker, who came to UW from Arizona. “I remember hunting my first deer but getting ticketed because the hunters I went with didn’t tell me you couldn’t move it before you tagged it. There I was, a law student, and I’d already violated the law!”

Luckily, they gave Walker a pass, and he ate well the rest of his time in Laramie. 

Upon law school graduation in 1992, the pair embarked on a new adventure in Alaska, where Limón chose to specialize in family law.
“I realized how important family law is and the difference you can make for families and children,” she says.

They both worked in private practice while raising their two daughters, DuPree and Lucero. In 2015, Walker was appointed to serve as a judge on the Anchorage Superior Court 3rd Judicial District. 

“Becoming a judge made me realize the importance of the separation of powers,” he says. “More important is realizing the gravity of the decisions I make on people’s lives. It’s a completely different appreciation for the rule of law.”

Walker and Limón continue their educations and participation in legal associations — such as the International Academy of Family Lawyers, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the American Bar Association — but they are also committed to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. They both love to travel, and Walker serves on the board and executive committee Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the board of the Anchorage Performing Arts Center. Limón is an endurance athlete and serves on the board of the Gold Nugget Triathlon and the board of Cyrano’s Theatre Company. She was also named Glamour Magazine’s Inaugural Mother of the Year in 2024. 

“You just can’t sustain being a lawyer or judge without taking care of yourself,” Limón says. “When I speak at UW’s Summer Trial Institute, I’m always talking about self-care.”

Limón loves seeing UW’s College of Law grow and expand, especially the new legal clinics and experiential offerings. “Our university is just so supportive of students,” she says. 

Walker adds: “I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I hadn’t taken the leap of faith and moved to Laramie. I had wonderful classmates who we’re still friends with today. I learned how to hunt, ride horses and fish. I had so much fun in law school, and it was just an amazing experience.”

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Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments Director Stacia Berry

Over 100 years ago, Stacia Berry’s family homesteaded 20 miles northeast of Cheyenne, and they’ve been working the land ever since. That connection motivated Berry to go into law, specializing in agricultural issues.

“I think the thing that brought me to this field was wanting to protect folks like my dad,” she says. 

“I thought about law in a policy sense — our ability to understand and craft laws that recognize their impacts on people who are maybe out on tractors or moving cattle and not able to make it to a comment session or to participate in a legislative hearing. My goal was to gain knowledge and couple that with my agricultural heritage to see what I could do to help protect an industry that has given me a lot.”

 

After graduating from the University of Wyoming College of Law, Berry began her career at Hageman Law, where Harriet Hageman and Kara Fornstrom mentored her in water and natural resources law. 

“I was able to work with ag producers in private practice, which is really a passion for me,” Berry says.

Next, she served as the deputy director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture for seven years before returning to private practice, this time at Koch Law, where Berry again worked in natural resources and agriculture as well as succession planning, trusts and estates.

In February 2025, Gov. Mark Gordon appointed Berry as director of the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments. Her office is the administrative arm for both the Board of Land Commissioners and the State Loan and Investment Board, managing the state’s trust lands and administering grants and loans for communities around the state. It also contains the state’s forestry division. The lands include 3.5 million surface acres of state land parcels and 3.9 million acres of mineral parcels, which are leased out for a variety of purposes, including energy development and grazing leases. The income produced by the land leases funds public institutions including the state’s schools.

“I am honored and excited to serve the people of the state of Wyoming in this capacity,” Berry says. 

She hopes to provide those she serves with the best information possible to manage the state’s assets as well as to focus on customer service and common-sense application of the policies, procedures and laws. 

Her time at UW gave her a strong foundation from which to achieve these goals. 

“I had really great mentors, and those relationships have continued over time. I’m really grateful for them,” Berry says.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science with options in business and communications in 2008. Some of Berry’s standout experiences include being recognized with the UW Outstanding Graduating Female Spitaleri Award, serving as president of the Tri Delta sorority and taking an active role in student government. After earning a master’s degree in Colorado, she returned to UW for law school, graduating in 2012.  

Berry is now raising her three boys on the same ranch where she grew up. 

“I think the people make Wyoming very special,” she says. “It’s a fantastic place to be.”