20 July 2021
Stephanie White-Thorn is the new Executive Director for the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness (CREF). Stephanie originally hails from Kansas City, Missouri. She attended the University of Redlands, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and she received her Master of Arts from the University of Nevada, Reno. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri in 2007. Before attending law school, she was the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Missouri. In this role, she designed and administered programs to increase the access, entrance, retention and matriculation of underrepresented students.
Stephanie has relocated to Mid-Missouri after spending the past seven years in Anchorage, Alaska, where she was a practicing litigator in the areas of family law, business law, employment discrimination, real estate and estate planning. Prior to her time in Alaska, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Governmental Affairs Division, State of Missouri, where she was responsible for interpreting state and federal laws, managing a complex and high-volume caseload, educating stakeholders, and providing risk assessment advice to boards and commissions regarding policies and procedures. Also, as an Assistant Attorney General, she collaborated with Lincoln University faculty and administrators to create the Legal Bootcamp Series to demystify the law school experience and to increase the number of minority students applying to Missouri law schools. She is a proud graduate of the Missouri Bar Leadership Academy and most recently was the Alaska Bar Association’s delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates.
“I am delighted to join the Commission, which since its inception has elevated the issues of diversity, fairness, equal access and impartiality in the legal and judicial system. I have spent my entire professional and personal life committed to diversity, equity and inclusion work. This role will allow me to combine my administrative background and legal knowledge. I am ready to get started, and I can’t wait to meet with all of you soon.”
Stephanie White-Thorn is married to Dr. E. Andre Thorn, who is the Director of the Center for Academic Success & Excellence at the University of Missouri.
Stephanie has relocated to Mid-Missouri after spending the past seven years in Anchorage, Alaska, where she was a practicing litigator in the areas of family law, business law, employment discrimination, real estate and estate planning. Prior to her time in Alaska, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Governmental Affairs Division, State of Missouri, where she was responsible for interpreting state and federal laws, managing a complex and high-volume caseload, educating stakeholders, and providing risk assessment advice to boards and commissions regarding policies and procedures. Also, as an Assistant Attorney General, she collaborated with Lincoln University faculty and administrators to create the Legal Bootcamp Series to demystify the law school experience and to increase the number of minority students applying to Missouri law schools. She is a proud graduate of the Missouri Bar Leadership Academy and most recently was the Alaska Bar Association’s delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates.
“I am delighted to join the Commission, which since its inception has elevated the issues of diversity, fairness, equal access and impartiality in the legal and judicial system. I have spent my entire professional and personal life committed to diversity, equity and inclusion work. This role will allow me to combine my administrative background and legal knowledge. I am ready to get started, and I can’t wait to meet with all of you soon.”
Stephanie White-Thorn is married to Dr. E. Andre Thorn, who is the Director of the Center for Academic Success & Excellence at the University of Missouri.