Kristina Stanger Receives 2018 Gertrude Rush Award

Nyemaster Goode attorney Kristina Stanger received the 2018 Gertrude Rush Award presented by the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys (IOWA) and the Iowa Chapter of the National Bar Association.

Presented annually since 2003, the Gertrude Rush Award honors an attorney “who manifests the pioneering spirit of Gertrude Rush, demonstrates leadership in the community and in the legal profession, and demonstrates concern for human and civil rights.” Gertrude Rush became the first African-American woman admitted to the practice of law in Iowa in 1918 and was a co-founder of the National Bar Association in 1924.

Stanger is an experienced commercial litigator, with a practice focused on creditor rights and bankruptcy. Her litigation experience includes both plaintiff and defendant work in a variety of contexts, including commercial and contract claims, business torts, property damage, construction and real estate litigation.

Stanger’s contributions to the community are numerous. She serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa National Guard and was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the United States Army in 2000 through the Officer Candidate School program. She served in Iraq from 2003-2004.

The first and only female commander of the Iowa National Guard’s Officer Candidate School, Stanger has served as a planner for the State Emergency and International Exercise and is now the Chief of Plans and Operations for the Iowa Army National Guard. She is also active with lobbying and mentoring programs within the military organization and has given speeches and authored articles regarding civil and military law matters. She is also a Camp and Cookie Mom for her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop, a volunteer at St. Francis of Assisi Church and assists her husband, a 28-year Army veteran, with a nonprofit focused on supporting families of fallen service members and raising awareness on mental health.

She is a graduate of Drake University Law School and earlier this year was named the school’s Recent Alumna of the Year.