Welcome new staff colleagues

The School of Law is excited to welcome new staff members this fall.

Ellen Douglas is assistant dean of academic success and bar preparation. She has nearly 20 years of experience in this area. Ellen joined the School of Law in fall 2018 as an adjunct professor teaching Bar Exam Fundamentals. Ellen is also a founding employee of Themis Bar Review; she has focused on developing the online course platform to utilize the best practices in online education to ensure that all learning styles are considered and that students are set up for success in law school and on the bar exam. 

Prior to Themis, Ellen worked for BarBri Bar Review as the program manager for the Law School Prep Program and as the director of chapter operations for Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International.

Breanna N. Kantor is the interim director of experiential learning and professional development. She has been an adjunct professor at the School of Law since 2019. Previously, Breanna served as assistant general counsel for the Board of Education of the City of Chicago, litigating labor and employment matters within the Chicago Public School district. She also has practiced in criminal defense, juvenile advocacy, and civil rights litigation, providing direct representation throughout Illinois and Cook County in cases with a focus on innocence, police misconduct, and other mitigation.

Breanna gained experience representing clients in state and federal cases at The Cochran Firm Chicago. She also worked as a criminal defense staff attorney with Cabrini Green Legal Aid, where she regularly argued before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board as appointed counsel for juvenile parole revocations and worked with stakeholders to improve the Illinois youth aftercare system.

John Osterlund is managing director of advancement at the School of Law. In this role, John will work closely with the School of Law and institutional leaders to significantly increase the School’s base of six- and seven-figure donors. He will also recruit and manage two new fundraising positions for the School of Law.

John brings 30 years of development experience to Loyola. Most recently he served as senior vice president of development for Easterseals, where he managed a team of 12 in planned and major gifts, foundations relations, and direct response. 

John also served as vice president for development and college relations at Monmouth College and as chief development officer of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He helped plan and launch a $75-million endowment campaign at Monmouth and partnered with Cardinal Blasé Cupich to finalize a $425-million campaign for the Archdiocese. John began his development career at Rotary International, where he worked for nearly 25 years in various roles. As chief development officer, he managed a global team of 145 and helped lead three significant campaigns. (November 2022)