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RACHEL BUZHARDT
Rachel Buzhardt is Assistant General Counsel at the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Prior to working at SCDMV, Rachel was a law clerk for the Honorable Jerry D. Vinson at the South Carolina Court of Appeals, where she also worked as a staff attorney. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law.
MARK FESSLER
Mark Fessler is the Deputy Director of Litigation and Training at South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS). He graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 2008. His practice has focused predominantly on housing and housing law issues facing low-income tenants and homeowners. He was named SCLS New Lawyer of the Year in 2012. He became SCLS’s lead foreclosure attorney in 2015, and he became head of the Housing Unit in 2018, which position he held until August of 2022 when he stepped into his current role. He also has been a member of the SC Bar’s Consumer Law Counsel and formerly served as a member of the Legal Services Corporation’s Eviction Study Advisory Board, where he helped to advise a congressionally-directed study aimed at investigating the unmet legal needs surrounding eviction in the United States.
DANA FIELDS, J.D., L.L.M.
Dana Fields graduated from Queens College with a degree in psychology. She was a SC police officer for six years before going to Thurgood Marshall School of Law. After law school she attended the University of Torino and obtained her LL.M. in International Crime and Justice. She worked with the United Nations International Crime and Justice Research Institute after graduation for a year. She returned to South Carolina and at the end of 2010 opened a small private practice where she practices mostly criminal and immigration law with a focus toward assisting juveniles.
D. MICHAEL MATHISON
D. Michael Mathison (Mike) is the Juvenile Justice Resource Attorney at the Children’s Law Center at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Before joining the Children’s Law Center, Mike spent seven years with the Richland County Public Defender’s Office as a juvenile defender and juvenile reentry attorney. A 2014 graduate of USC Law, Mike earned CALI awards for excellence in Constitutional Law and the Juvenile Justice Clinic. Mike’s work has primarily focused on improving outcomes for youth at the intersection of South Carolina’s education and juvenile justice systems. He resides in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife and their three children.
MAGGIE PARHAM MURDOCK
Maggie Parham Murdock is the Director of Medically Related Boards for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. She is a 2008 cum laude graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Order of Wig and Robe. She served as research editor of the South Carolina Law Review, Volume 59. She was awarded the CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Business Crime, Contracts I, Contracts II, and Property I. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Political Science from Furman University in 2000.
Following Law School, Maggie worked for Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, LLP from 2008 to 2010 and for Wyche, P.A. from 2010 to 2015. In 2015, she joined the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control as a Senior Consultant for the Certificate of Need Program. From 2017 to 2021, she served as Director of that program. In 2021, she served as Interim Chief of the Bureau of Healthcare Planning and Construction.
From 2021 to 2023, Maggie served as Administrator of LLR’s Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Podiatry Examiners. She assumed her current position in 2023.
JESSICA REED
Jessica Reed was born and raised in Summerville, South Carolina. Jessica is currently the Assistant General Counsel at the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of South Carolina and earned her Juris Doctor degree from Appalachian School of Law. In her spare time, Jessica likes to spend time with her beloved cats.
TECHNICAL SERGEANT MARQUEL WHITE
Technical Sergeant Marquel White is an Active-Duty U.S. Air Force recruiter with 18 years of dedicated service, bringing a wealth of experience from an original career field in Aerospace Propulsion (2A631) and Recruitment services (8R000). A native of Holly Hill, South Carolina, TSgt White has built a strong educational foundation with an associate’s degree in aviation, an associate’s degree in human resource management, and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in organizational management. Now serving in the Sandhills area of Columbia, SC, TSgt White is passionate about mentoring and guiding the next generation, helping individuals navigate opportunities, and building successful careers in the United States Air Force.
ADAM WHITSETT
Adam Whitsett is the General Counsel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. In that role, he advises SLED on all legal matters and coordinates all SLED litigation. He is a former Assistant Attorney General with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office where he represented the State of South Carolina, various state agencies, judges, and other entities on civil and regulatory litigation matters and appeals throughout the state. Adam has presented at numerous CLEs and seminars around the state on various topics including state and federal firearms laws, South Carolina concealed weapons permits, and Constitutional Carry; South Carolina FOIA; South Carolina’s expungement laws, the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry; video poker and gaming machine litigation; and other 4th Amendment issues related to investigations, interrogations, and searches. Before the Attorney General’s Office, Adam was a litigator at The Finney Law Firm, Inc. Adam graduated with honors from The Citadel in 2003 and obtained his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2006.
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