The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
The LGBTQ+ Bar’s “Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates” seeks to provide interested legal professionals with the tools they need to end up on the other side of the bench. This intensive workshop welcomes legal professionals from all backgrounds and parts of the country, and particularly encourages attorneys of color, transgender attorneys, and women attorneys to participate. The LGBTQ+ Bar believes diverse perspectives bring diverse experiences to the bench – and diverse experiences lead to better judgments.
Our Judicial Nuts & Bolts Academy offers serious candidates planning to seek a judicial position in the next three years – either through appointment or election – with a foundation in those processes, as well as small-group mentoring from current LGBTQ+ judges with experiences in elections as well as nomination and appointment procedures.
Attendees will have significant small-group time with current judges for conversation about the pathway to the specific jurisdictions identified as being of interest, as well as networking time with other prospective candidates. Our faculty will include groundbreaking LGBTQ+ federal judges as well as esteemed LGBTQ+ state and municipal judges, and will dedicate significant discussion time specifically to the federal nominations process.
The Judicial Nuts & Bolts Academy is held in conjunction with the Lavender Law® Conference & Career Fair. Only registered Conference attendees are eligible to attend the Academy. This program is not open to current law students who are JD candidates.
Please email programs@lgbtqbar.org with any questions.
2026 Faculty:
Judge Daniel J. Anders has spent nearly two decades on the bench as one of Pennsylvania’s most distinguished and innovative jurists — and as a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ representation in the American judiciary. Appointed to the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County in July 2007 by Governor Edward Rendell and unanimously confirmed by the Pennsylvania State Senate, Judge Anders made history at the moment of his appointment as the first openly LGBTQ+ person nominated by a Governor and confirmed by the State Senate as a judge in Pennsylvania. He was also the first openly gay man to seek public office in the City of Philadelphia.
Today, Judge Anders serves as the Administrative Judge of the Trial Division of the First Judicial District, an appointment made by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In that role, he leads a team of 65 judges responsible for managing all criminal and civil actions filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.
The Honorable Matthew W. Jannusch was appointed as an Associate Judge with the State of Illinois, Circuit Court of Cook County. He was sworn into office on October 4, 2021.
Before ascending to the bench, Judge Jannusch was an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for nearly 20 years. He held assignments within the State’s Attorney’s Office in the Felony Trial Division, Domestic Violence, Mortgage Fraud, Public Corruption, Financial Crimes, and was a supervisor in the Child Support Enforcement Division.
Judge S. Kerene Moore was elected to the 15th Judicial District Court for a six-year term on November 5, 2024. Her term began on January 2, 2025. She presides over general civil provider cases, OWI cases, and the specialized Sobriety Court docket. Judge Moore received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 2002. She attended the University of Michigan Law School and was awarded her Juris Doctor degree in 2005.
Prior to her election to the 15th District Court, she served as the Director of Conviction Integrity and Expungement at the Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and as a judicial attorney and juvenile referee in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court. She started her legal career as an attorney for the Legal Services of South Central Michigan where she represented individuals who could not afford an attorney for over 12 years. In 2019, Judge Moore transitioned to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, where she served as an administrative law examiner.
Judge Christa Moseng has been an Administrative Law Judge for Minnesota since 2021 and is the past chair of MNclusive, an LGBTQIA+ resource group for state employees. She graduated with her B.A. from Grinnell College and her J.D. with Distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law. While in law school, she was a senior managing editor of the Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice. Judge Moseng has nearly a decade of experience in public utility matters and rulemaking. She is known for her technical expertise, deep commitment to public service, excellence in legal writing, and commitment to inclusion and equity, particularly for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Joe Charlet is Deputy Chief Oversight Counsel to Ranking Member Richard J. Durbin on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Under the Chair’s leadership, Joe has led the confirmation process for over 30 executive and judicial nominees throughout the 117th and 118th Congresses. He has also supported the confirmation process for several other nominations before the Committee, including the nomination of now-Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Prior to serving the Chair, Joe was previously Counsel to then-Ranking Member Feinstein. Under her leadership in the 116th Congress, Joe led the minority process for several judicial nominees and supported the minority process for the nomination of now-Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett.