2013 National Convention Program - Alpha Chi

Alpha Chi’s Featured Convention Speakers
Justice William C. Koch
William C. Koch, Jr., was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in June
2007. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Koch spent 23 years on the
Tennessee Court of Appeals. He served as presiding judge of the Middle Section of
that court from 2003 to 2007.
Throughout his career, Justice Koch has been committed to public service. Before
taking the bench, Justice Koch served as counsel to and legal advisor to Governor
Lamar Alexander. He also served the state as commissioner of the Department of
Personnel and as deputy attorney general.
Justice Koch received his undergraduate degree from Trinity College. He earned
his juris doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law and went on to receive
his LL.M. in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia School of Law.
For the past 14 years, Justice Koch has taught constitutional law at Nashville School of Law, where he has been
named Fourth Year Instructor of the Year three times. He has also served as adjunct instructor at Vanderbilt
University School of Law for 13 years. Justice Koch was named Tennessee Appellate Judge of the Year in 2002. He is
president of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court. Justice Koch will speak to delegates during the opening
banquet on Thursday evening.
Leigh G. Hildebrand
Leigh G. Hildebrand, a 1997 graduate of Westminster College and lifetime member
of Alpha Chi through the Missouri Delta chapter, has been chosen to receive the
2013 Alpha Chi Distinguished Alumni Award. She will address convention delegates
during breakfast on Friday.
As senior assistant parliamentarian to the U.S. Senate, Hildebrand advises the
presiding officer of the Senate on all aspects of Senate procedure and interprets
the standing rules and orders, relevant constitutional and statutory provisions,
precedents and unanimous consent agreements. She enjoys holding one of the few
non-partisan positions on the Hill and being able to truly focus on what is best for
the Senate as an institution. In the 111 th Congress, she was chosen as a Senior
Congressional Stennis Fellow and spent the Congress studying the issue of
balancing campaigning and governing with the other selected fellows and current
and historical political experts.
Previously Hildebrand worked as a staff attorney for the litigation division of the
Federal Election Commission representing the Commission before United States
District Courts. She received her J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law
and is an avid Bulldog fan. During her studies, she interned at the Athens-Clarke County Attorney’s Office and served
as a certified lay advocate for the Protective Order Project dealing with domestic violence cases.
Hildebrand’s undergraduate degree is from Westminster College, where her studies were focused on political science
and international studies. During college, she spent her summers as an intern for U.S. Representative Marion Berry
and U.S. Representative Blanche Lincoln.
She is a native Arkansan, hailing from Stuttgart, a small agricultural community in Southeast Arkansas and the rice
and duck capital of the world. She is an elder at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, and enjoys escaping her
busy lifestyle in Washington, DC, by spending time on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.