Matina Kolokotronis, ‘89, is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Sacramento Kings and is the only woman in the National Basketball League to have held the titles of COO and President of Business Operations. As COO, Kolokotronis develops and implements the long-term strategy of the organization, designing business operations and establishing policies that promote the Sacramento Kings’ culture and vision. Kolokotronis’ leadership was essential to the development of the award-winning Golden 1 Center as well as its adjacent, $500 million development project, Downtown Commons in Sacramento, California. The Golden 1 Center is 100 percent solar-powered, and the arena was ranked No. 6 in the world in 2021. Their sustainability efforts continue into its food and beverage department, which sources 90 percent of its ingredients from local vendors, reducing its carbon footprint and supporting the local economy. 

Her professional background includes sports and government law, community affairs, and contract negotiations. Prior to joining the Sacramento Kings, she worked as an associate with Miller, Owen, and Trost PC, and an associate with Carpenter, Snodgrass, and Associates.  

Her involvement with the Sacramento Kings began in 1996 when she received an unexpected phone call from Geoff Petrie – the general manager of the Sacramento Kings at the time – who offered her a position after learning of her ability to read and write Greek. Kolokotronis served as a legal consultant, negotiating player and staff contracts, for the Sacramento Kings business and basketball operations teams. In 2004, she transitioned to director of the Sacramento Kings Foundation and oversaw strategic development and fundraising activities. Several years later in 2010, she served as the organization’s President of Business Operations, and in 2016, transitioned to her current role as Chief Operating Officer.  

Kolokotronis earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Loyola University Chicago and a Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. After graduating, Kolokotronis gave back to her alma mater, McGeorge School of Law, by working as an adjunct professor, educating students on Sports Law for seven years.  

In 2015, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Kolokotronis to the California Citizens Compensation Commission (CCCC). Kolokotronis was one of seven members serving a six-year term. As a member of the CCCC, she was tasked to set the salaries and fringe benefits for members of the California State Legislature and other state officials.  

In 2019, the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation presented Kolokotronis with the 2019 Paradigm Award. This award is presented to a distinguished Greek American whose career and accomplishments are a testimony to the Foundation’s mission of promoting leadership and education. 

In 2023, Kolokotronis was a keynote speaker at the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco Youth Adult League (YAL) Conference. She shares that her Greek Orthodox faith and Greek community provided her with a spiritual foundation to pursue her goals. In 2023, she also became a member of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. 

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is the first in a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary. 

Brian Tippens, ‘00, is the Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact Officer at Cisco. In this role, Tippens oversees the leadership of Cisco’s inclusive work such as social justice, advocacy, accessibility, and community impact, to advance Cisco’s purpose of powering an inclusive future for all. 

Notably, Tippens previously served as the Chief Diversity Officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and President of the HPE Foundation. In addition, he was a member of HPE’s Political Action Committee (PAC) and AI Ethics boards, and a member of HPE’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Executive Council. 

He is a World Economic Forum (WEF) Contributor, a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), and has served as a director or advisor to organizations including Operation HOPE, the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC), Corporate Eco Forum (CEF) and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME).  

Tippens was born in West Oakland, California. During his undergraduate career, he attended San Francisco State University, then transferred to the University of San Francisco, where he studied Management Information Systems (MIS). He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 2000. 

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is the first in a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary. 

Eric Barnum, ‘94, always knew he wanted to make a difference in the world. He just wasn’t sure how to go about it. As he envisioned the future, there were three directions he could take: medicine, the ministry, or the law. He didn’t have the scientific inclination for medicine or the temperament for the ministry, but he saw law as an incredibly powerful tool that could be used to correct some of the injustices in the world.  

McGeorge School of Law provided Barnum with the gateway through which he could achieve that dream. He chose McGeorge because of the excellent curriculum, the high bar passage rate and because he would receive the high caliber legal training needed to be a difference-maker. While there, he worked at the law school’s Community Legal Services Clinic representing the indigent, was president of the Black Law Students Association, helped with voter registration drives and sat on the board of the National Black Law Students Association as Western Region Director. 

After graduation, Barnum was the founding president of the McGeorge Black Alumni Association and the first Chair of the McGeorge Alumni Diversity Board. He served on the Board of Directors of the McGeorge Alumni Association from 2005 to 2012 and the Dean’s Council from 2019 to the present day. In 2021 the Eric and Daisy Barnum Scholarship Fund was founded to provide financial assistance to McGeorge students from historically underrepresented communities. 

As a management-side labor and employment attorney, Barnum spends his days making sure that everyone who is employed by one of his clients enjoys a workplace that is fair, equitable, and free of harassment and all forms of discrimination. For his practice, Barnum has garnered a plethora of recognitions, including Chambers USA, The Legal 500 United States, The Best Lawyers in America®, Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers®, Minority Corporate Counsel Association Outstanding Outside Counsel, and Georgia “Super Lawyer.” 

Beyond the office, as a person of faith, Barnum continues to give back to our communities, whether it be through his service on the Board of Stewards at Turner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Marietta, GA; the Board of Directors of Communities in Schools of Atlanta; the Corporate Board of Directors of the Boys and Girl Club of Metro Atlanta; as a Southeast Regional Board Member of the Anti-Defamation League; a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta or a member of his beloved Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. “Leveling the playing field for kids and communities who don’t have the opportunities that I had has always been very important to me.” he says. “There are people who have it really rough. I must do something with my law degree. It’s how I was raised.” 

Barnum understands that without the solid foundation of support from his wife Daisy and son Emanuel, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to do all that he does, and for that he is eternally grateful. 

As a law student, Barnum imagined himself as the next great civil rights lawyer or Thurgood Marshall debating cases before the Supreme Court. One might argue that he has had an even greater impact on his community, one matter at a time. 

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is the first in a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary. 

The Hon. Morrison C. England, Jr., ’83, was nominated by President George W. Bush to the position of United States District Court Judge, for the Eastern District of California, on March 21, 2002. Confirmed by the United States Senate to that position on August 1, 2002, he received his commission and assumed the office on August 2, 2002. A member of the Judge Advocate Generals Corps for the United States Army Reserve, his military service concluded upon his confirmation to the United States District Court. Judge England served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District of California from 2012 to 2016 and assumed senior status in 2019.    

Before his federal judgeship, Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Judge England as a Sacramento Municipal Court Judge in 1996, and he was elevated to the Sacramento Superior Court in 1997. First presiding over dependency and delinquency matters in the Juvenile Division, he was then assigned to a General Trial Court presiding over criminal and civil matters.   

In addition to court proceedings, Judge England was chair of the Superior Court’s Technology Committee, a member of the Superior Court’s Executive Committee, and a member, then Vice President of the Executive Board of the California Judge’s Association. Before his appointment to the Sacramento Superior Court, he was a partner with the firm of Quattrin, Johnson, Campora & England. 

Appointed by United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Judge England is currently a member of the Judicial Council of the United States on Information Technology and previously served multiple terms on the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules for the United States. Additional long-term committee work for the United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Eastern District of California includes the Information Technology Advisory Council, the Ninth Circuit Courts and Community Committee, the State-Federal Judicial Council, the Committee for Public Information Community Outreach, the Judicial Advisory Committee, and the Technical Users Group Committee.   

Additionally, Judge England has traveled abroad to Afghanistan, Bosnia, The Republic of Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Morocco, and Pakistan as part of an exchange with the judiciary of each of those countries. The exchanges, which included discussion on issues of the Rule of Law and Intellectual Property, were sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Commerce, the United States Patent and Trade Office, and the Department of Justice. 

Judge England was a member of the University of the Pacific Board of Regents for nine years. Dedicated to serving McGeorge School of Law, he was a member of the Alumni Board of Directors, an Adjunct Professor of Law, a member then former President of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court, and served on the Kennedy Inn Executive Committee.  

In addition to his prodigious professional committee work, Judge England participates in educational outreach programs, hosts student groups to observe live proceedings in his courtroom, and annually presides in the Open Doors to Federal Courts program hosted by the Eastern District of California.      

In 2006, 2007, and 2014, Judge England was honored as “Judge of the Year” by the Capitol City Trial Lawyers, the Sacramento County Bar Association, and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), respectively. In January 2016, he was named a Distinguished Alumni from the University of the Pacific and the ninth recipient of the University’s Medallion of Excellence Award. 

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is the first in a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary. 

Kim Wilford, ‘94, serves as Chief Legal Counsel for the popular social fundraising platform GoFundMe, Inc. She is responsible for contracts, data security and privacy matters, our IP portfolio, litigation process, payments, and other risk management issues in this role. The platform, GoFundMe, has seen exponential growth in the last 11 years recording more than $15 billion raised from over 200 million donations to support personal causes and nonprofits worldwide.

Wilford was recognized as one of the top 20 general counsels in the world by the Financial Times in 2021. The honor recognizes corporate legal officers who have taken innovative approaches to a traditional role. 

Wilford’s first in-house role at KLA-Tencor was a change that unlocked her passion for strategic advising and business operations. Collaborating with cross-functional teams and having the opportunity to guide risk management and overall business growth while helping the company adhere to various global regulatory requirements and industry standards fueled her drive to become a general counsel. 

As WageWorks’s General Counsel, Wilford said she worked with another incredible team in a highly regulated and rapidly evolving space. For over a decade, she was a strategic business partner in developing and analyzing operational goals for their consumer-directed benefits business, planning around growth objectives, and eventually helped lead the company through its initial public offering. She also founded and led our social responsibility committee which annually drove financial and volunteer contributions for more than thirty philanthropic organizations.

While her journey has been one of extreme highs and certain transformational lows, she has always worked to make excellence a habit and to make herself proud. Her education at McGeorge School of Law provided her with the foundation needed to move through every difficulty and seize every opportunity. 

“I am extremely appreciative and honored to be an Alumni of Distinction,” Wilford said. 

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is the first in a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary. 

Capt. Michael A. Lilly, USN (Ret.) graduated with honors from McGeorge School of Law (JD, 1974) and from UC Santa Cruz (BA, 1968). He had a distinguished career as Hawaii’s Attorney General and as a successful trial attorney for 45 years. He was licensed in Hawaii and California, appeared twice before the U.S. Supreme Court, and specialized in commercial, wrongful termination, and personal injury litigation. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

As Attorney General, he was the State’s Chief Law Enforcement and Legal Officer. He was Chairman of the Governor’s Crime Committee, President of the Hawaii Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Director of the Western States Drug Information Network, and founder and member of the Vice President’s National Narcotics Border Interdiction System office in Hawaii. 

After returning to private practice, he won the largest wrongful termination jury verdict in State history ($2.1 Million). He also won Hawaii Supreme Court cases on wrongful termination, the right to campaign for political office, land reform, and open government. After protracted class action litigation, he obtained an exemption for vaccinated guide dogs from Hawaii’s animal rabies quarantine, for which he was awarded the National Access Partners Award from Guide Dog Users, Inc., the Helen Kinau Wilder Friendship Award from the Hawaiian Humane Society, and the Eye of the Pacific Guide Dog Foundation’s Mirikitani Recognition Award. He also was awarded the National Society of the DAR’s 1999 Outstanding Community Service Award. He represented the trustee in the James Lull Bankruptcy, the largest Ponzi scheme in state history, recovering tens of millions of dollars of hidden assets for Lull’s victims. 

Lilly is a Founding Director Emeritus of the USS Missouri Memorial Association, Inc. which operates the battleship as a memorial and tourist attraction.  He is on the Governor’s Advisory Board on Veterans Affairs, the Maui County Ethics Board, the Fundraising Chair of Guide Dogs of Hawaii, Inc., and a member of the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus Network. For nine years he served on the Honolulu Ethics Commission. He is a past member of the Secretary of the Navy’s Retiree Council (2009-2012), Trustee of Menlo College, President of the Navy League’s Pacific Region and Honolulu Council, Chairman and President of Diamond Head Theatre, President of the Association of the United States Navy’s Pearl Harbor Chapter, and member of the McGeorge Law School Alumni Board. He authored Nimitz at Ease, a book on how Admiral Nimitz’s relationship with his grandparents helped Nimitz win the Pacific War. He also authored If You Die Tomorrow, a layman’s book on estate planning, and is a frequent speaker on legal topics.

Lilly is a Vietnam War combat veteran. His personal decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and two Meritorious Service Medals. Lilly retired as a surface warfare Navy Captain after 30 years of service, active and reserve, including five commands. He is married to Cindy Walter and has four children. They reside in Kula, Maui.

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is the first in a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary. 

Tia Boatman Patterson, ‘94, is the President and CEO of the California Community Reinvestment Corporation. With years of executive leadership experience in both the public and private sectors, she previously served as the Associate Director of Housing, Treasury, & Commerce in the Executive Office of the President’s Office of Management & Budget.  

From 2014 to 2021, she served as the Executive Director of the California Housing Finance Agency where she brought about positive organizational change and significantly grew loan production. She simultaneously served as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Senior Advisor for housing from 2019 to 2020.  

From 2015 to 2021 she was a director on the National Council of State Housing Agencies Board, serving as Board Chair from 2018 to 2020.  

Patterson was general counsel for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency from 2009 to 2014. She is recognized nationally and in the state of California as a policy expert in affordable housing, community development, small business, and economic development having served as a special assistant to four Speakers of the California State Assembly.  

Patterson received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Diego State University, and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the state of California and the District of Columbia. 

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is part of a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary.