Dinsmore Partners Jill Cranston Rice & Danielle Waltz Elected to DRI Leadership

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is pleased to announce that two of its partners have been elected to national positions in DRI, the largest bar association for civil defense attorneys and in-house counsel. Jill Cranston Rice of the Firm’s Morgantown, West Virginia office has been elected to serve as its Second Vice President, and Danielle Waltz of the Charleston, West Virginia office has been elected as a National Director on DRI’s Board of Directors.

Jill Cranston Rice, who last week completed a three-year term on DRI’s Board of Directors as a Regional Director representing Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia, will move into the officers’ rotation and become President of DRI in 2026. Jill is a member of the Firm’s Board of Directors and co-chairs the Health Law and Public Policy Practice Group. Over the years, Jill has demonstrated unwavering dedication to DRI through her involvement in many aspects of its work. This has included The Center for Law and Public Policy, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, service as its West Virginia State Representative and her leadership of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia, including as its President. 

Receiving a similarly impressive honor, Danielle Waltz was elected as a National Director of the organization and will serve a three-year term. Danielle recently joined Dinsmore in the Charleston office and plays a pivotal role in public policy affecting the state’s economic development efforts. She has also assumed leadership of the Firm’s government relations practice. Danielle has been a longstanding and active member of the DRI Construction Law Committee, most recently serving as its Committee Chair. In addition, Danielle chaired DRI’s inaugural wind energy seminar, served on the 2019 nominating committee and chaired DRI’s 2018 Annual Meeting Steering Committee. She also currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Center for Law and Public Policy’s Third Party Litigation Task Force.

“This is the professional honor of a lifetime,” Jill said. “I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead an organization that has been so influential on my personal and professional life and is truly dedicated to mentoring the next generation of legal talent. Even more exciting is that this journey includes my partner and dear friend Danielle, whose roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic is both contagious and inspiring.”

“I cannot express how excited I am to join the DRI Board with such well-respected attorneys from around the continent,” Danielle said. “I also cannot wait to watch the organization continue to grow and thrive with Jill’s collaborative leadership and vision. She is a remarkable leader who always creates more room at the table.”

These are the results of the National Election, held last week at the DRI Annual Meeting in San Antonio, and Dinsmore congratulates all of the following leaders:

Jill Cranston Rice of Morgantown, West Virginia, was elected as the new Second Vice President and Sara M. Turner of Birmingham, Alabama, was elected to the Secretary-Treasurer position.

Four new National Directors were elected. Jody C. Corbett of Phoenix, Arizona; Mario J. Delano of Wall, New Jersey; Stacy L. Douglas of Irvine, California; and Danielle M. Waltz of Charleston, West Virginia.

Four new Regional Directors were also recognized. Matthew J. Lavisky of the Southeast Region; Matthew T. Nelson of the Central Region; Rachel Tallon Reynolds of the Northwest Region; and Aleksandra (Aleks) Zivanovic of the Canadian Region.