Great Lakes Bay Leadership

Anca Pop is the new Regional Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, in Bucharest, Romania. Anca will assist justice sector personnel and law enforcement authorities throughout the region to enhance their capacity to enforce intellectual property rights, monitor regional trends in intellectual property rights protection and computer crimes, and provide expert assistance in support of U.S. Government intellectual property and computer crime policies and initiatives in the region. Anca has served as an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the District of Arizona for over eight years where she prosecuted a wide variety of federal criminal cases. She also served as a judicial clerk for Chief Justice Stephen Markman at the Michigan Supreme Court and as a Prehearing Attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Anca has been the President of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan – Great Lakes Bay Region, from 2013 until 2017. Throughout her career, Anca has been active with the Federal Bar Association, including sitting on the board of the Tucson Chapter, American Inns of Court, Bay City Morning Rotary Club, and several other local organizations and boards.

Anca graduated from Babeş‐Bolyai University College of Law in Romania in 2002. She received her second law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law in 2006. She speaks five languages and enjoys traveling.

Katherine S. Gardner is an attorney with Gafkay Law, located in Frankenmuth, where she practices in the area of estate planning, probate and labor and employment law. She graduated cum laude from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2001, and received her Master of Law degree in Taxation from Cooley in 2005, with an emphasis in employee benefits. She practices in both state and federal courts, including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Gardner serves on the Pro Bono committee of the Saginaw County Bar Association, and was the Saginaw Bar Association Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2012. She is a member of the Great Lakes Bay Chapter of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She also currently serves on the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and the Character and Fitness Committee for the State Bar of Michigan.

Donna Mallonee practiced law in Saginaw, Michigan, from 2005 to 2010, focused on contract and consumer protection law. Together with a small group of local attorneys, she worked to re-establish the WLAM Great Lakes Bay Region in 2009 and served as President in 2010. Donna is a 2004 graduate of Michigan State University – College of Law and is currently with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. She holds a Masters of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and Certified Internal Auditor. She has served as Past Treasurer and Past Secretary of the Information Technology Law Section, State Bar of Michigan. She is a volunteer attorney for the Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS)in Chicago, Illinois, and was a pro bono attorney for the Legal Services of Eastern Michigan (LSEM)

Julie A. Gafkay is currently serving as the President of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (2017-2018). She was admitted to practice law in Michigan in 1995. From 1996-2003, she worked as an associate attorney in Flint, Michigan with a civil rights firm. She established her own statewide practice in Saginaw County (Frankenmuth, MI) in 2003. She specializes in employment discrimination and personal injury cases.

Julie A. Gafkay graduated from Michigan State University, James Madison College, in 1992 and graduated from Whittier Law School, with honors, in 1995.

Julie A. Gafkay was admitted to practice in the US Supreme Court in 2010. She has argued several cases before the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Julie A. Gafkay has served on numerous professional organizations and boards during her career. She was the President of the Saginaw County Bar from 2012-2013. She served as the President of the Great Lakes Bay Region, Women Lawyers Association from 2009-2010. She has served on the Character & Fitness Committee for the State Bar of Michigan since 2012. She currently sits on the local rules advisory committee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was an adjunct profession at Saginaw Valley State University from 2011-2014. She is also a member of Michigan Association of Justice, American Board of Trial Advocates, and a speaker for National Business Institute.

In addition, Julie A. Gafkay serves on several community boards including the Frankenmuth Farmers Market, Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce, Frankenmuth Area Fine Arts Council, and Frankenmuth Community Foundation. She is a member of the Frankenmuth Morning Rotary and served as President from 2010-2011.

Julie A. Gafkay was selected a Women In Law by Michigan Lawyers’ Weekly in 2012. She has been named to Michigan SuperLawyers from 2011-present. In 2015, she was selected for top 50 Women Lawyers in Michigan by SuperLawerys. In 2015, she was selected as the recipient for the Community Service Award by the Saginaw County Bar Association.

She is married to Willie Beck. She and her husband live in Frankenmuth with their two children, Wesley (15) and Maggie (11).