About Us

E-mail address: searlecenter@law.northwestern.edu
Phone: (312) 503-1811
Fax: (312) 503-1800

Executive Director
Henry N. Butler, a leading public policy analyst and law and economics specialist who has devoted much of his career to improving the country’s civil justice system through judicial education programs, has been named the first executive director of the Searle Center at Northwestern University School of Law.

He comes to Northwestern from Chapman University where he was the James Farley Professor of Economics in the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics and a professor of law. Prior to his tenure at Chapman, Butler was the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Distinguished Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Kansas. Before that he was a professor at George Mason University School of Law, and he spent one year as a John M. Olin Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. He received a PhD in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Richmond, Virginia.

Assistant Director
Jen Donahue, manages development and communications initiatives for the Searle Center. Her diverse background incorporates international organizational development, higher education project management, and corporate consulting. Jen is a graduate of New York University and former Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow.

Coordinator
Derek H. Gundersen, coordinates both the day-to-day organization of the Searle Center, and more specifically, the logistics for the Center's academic conferences. He has been an employee of Northwestern University School of Law since 1996, and was the 2006 recipient of the John F. Chetlain Employee of the Year award.

Research Associate
Samantha Zyontz provides research support, including data management, for the Searle Center 's research initiatives. Sam comes to Northwestern with seven years of experience in intellectual property litigation consulting from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Navigant Consulting, Inc. She received her M.S. in Managerial Economics and Strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her B.A. in Economics from the College of William & Mary in Virginia .