Volunteers of the Year
Lawyers Board 2024 Volunteers of the Year
Nancy Norman
Congratulations to Nancy Norman, Chair of the 21st District Ethics Committee, one of two recipients of this year's Volunteer of the Year Award.
Ms. Norman is a 1990 graduate of William Mitchell School of Law. During the first 8 years of her career, she worked with the Steele, Renville and Chippewa County Attorney's Offices. In 1998, Ms. Norman joined the Anoka County Attorney's Office, where she has practiced ever since. For the first 20 years of her career, she practiced mostly criminal law. In 2010, Ms. Norman moved to the civil division in the Anoka County Attorney's Office.
Since very early in her career Ms. Norman has volunteered her time and energy to district ethics committee work. When she was with the Chippewa County Attorney's Office in 1995, she joined her first DEC. More recently, she volunteered as an investigator in the 21st DEC for six years before becoming the Chair in 2019.
As Chair, Ms. Norman has actively recruited and maintained committee membership, including non-lawyer members. She implemented an effective mentorship program for new committee members, and works to ensure the committee runs smoothly, collegially and always produces high quality work.
Ms. Norman has three kids, one granddaughter and, per her own reporting, an amazing husband. Ms. Norman wanted to make sure we also point out that she has an amazingly committed group of volunteers who have made her life and her time as DEC Chair fun and rewarding.
Thank you and congratulations to Nancy Norman on her Volunteer of the Year award.
Lawyers Board 2024 Volunteers of the Year
Maren Koncilja
Congratulations to Maren Koncilja, a public member on the 2nd District Ethics Committee, one of two recipients of this year's Volunteer of the Year Award.
Ms. Koncilja is a senior paralegal at Collins, Buckley, Sauntry, and Haugh, a St. Paul law firm, where she recently celebrated her 8th anniversary. She is in her sixth year as a public member volunteer on the 2nd DEC. In addition to serving on the 2nd DEC, she is also a Rule 114 qualified neutral and a Master yoga instructor.
Ms. Koncilja brings to her investigations significant knowledge and experience from her years working in litigation, as well as curiosity honed from travels to places like Iceland, Slovenia, and Ireland. Her dedication to the DEC knows no bounds: she even attended a DEC meeting a day after having knee surgery. The Chair of the 2nd DEC reports that the committee greatly benefits from Ms. Koncilja's hard work and insights. She is a model “DEC" member who sets the standard for a dedicated volunteer. Ms. Koncilja is unafraid to take on investigations with challenging fact patterns and personalities. She also has a knack for being able to stand up to lawyers who think they can bully or influence a public member, and deals well with difficult complainants.
Ms. Koncilja has been married for 20 years and lives in St. Paul. She has a daughter, two bonus sons, and two beloved cats. She is also a wonderful recruiter, having recruited her dad to join the DEC!
Congratulations and thank you to Maren Koncilja on her Volunteer of the Year award.
Click here to view list of prior Volunteers of the Year
