Center for Excellence in Advocacy Staff
The Center for Excellence in Advocacy promotes the continuing development of unparalleled advocacy skills through teaching, scholarship and research.
Stetson Law is ranked first in the nation for trial advocacy by U.S. News and World Report. Effective advocacy is one of a successful lawyer's most important skills, and Stetson's commitment to teaching advocacy is unmatched.
As you will see below, we have a robust team of dedicated professors and professionals with a diverse mix of backgrounds, skills, and experience to help serve our clients.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at 727-562-7317.
Elizabeth Boals
Associate Professor of Law, Professorship of Excellence in Trial Advocacy, and Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy
Liz Boals teaches Evidence, Criminal Law, and a variety of Advocacy courses and serves as the Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy. Prior to her appointment at Stetson University College of Law in 2020, Professor Boals taught at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) for 15 years. At AUWCL, she served in administrative positions including as the Assistant Dean of Part-time and Online Education, Director of the Criminal Justice Practice and Policy Institute, and Associate Director of the Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program.
Professor Boals has published a variety of advocacy case files and books on criminal procedure and expert testimony. She is the recipient of multiple teaching and community leadership awards and is a long-time member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) teaching faculty. Professor Boals lectures frequently both domestically and abroad on topics related to expert witness testimony, eye-witness identification, and trial skills.
Before transitioning to a full-time teaching position, Professor Boals was a labor and employment litigation attorney for the U.S. Department of Commerce and in private practice. Professor Boals began her legal career as a public defender in the Office of the Public Defender in Alexandria, Virginia, handling a felony caseload from trials in Circuit Court through appeals to the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Director of Trial Advocacy and Practitioner-in-Residence
Mr. VanDerZee attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, earning a B.A. in 1993. Following DePauw, he graduated with honors from Stetson University College of Law in 1996. While at Stetson, Mr. VanDerZee was a member of Stetson’s #1 ranked Trial Team.
After graduating from Stetson, Mr. VanDerZee joined the State Attorney's Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, covering Orange and Osceola Counties. For the next five years, he was the lead prosecutor in over 100 jury trials, including three years as a lead felony prosecutor. In 1997, he was awarded the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Prosecutor of the Year Award for his work in prosecuting DUI offenses and providing alcohol education to college groups.
Following the attacks of 9/11, Mr. VanDerZee joined the United States Air Force JAG Corps, earning his commission in December 2001. During his first tour, he was the Officer in Charge of Legal Assistance and Operations Law, Military Justice, Administrative Law, and the Base Tax Office, as well as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. For his contributions, he was awarded the Wing Staff Company Grade Officer Award in 2003. In his next assignment he was appointed as a Circuit Trial Counsel. He was the lead prosecutor representing the Air Force in over 100 high-profile courts-martial throughout the United States. He was a sought-after instructor and speaker throughout the Circuit on issues of trial advocacy and evidence techniques.
Following active duty, Mr. VanDerZee joined the Reserves and established the VanDerZee Law Group, where he practiced criminal defense and family law. He is licensed to practice in all Florida State Courts, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. Mr. VanDerZee joined Stetson Law School as the Director of Trial Teams and a Professor of Practice in August 2021.
Practitioner in Residence and Director, Advocacy LLM & Professional Development Programs
Katherine (Kate) Donoghue earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College with an All-Academic Honor in 2007, and her Juris Doctor Magna Cum Laude from Fordham Law School in 2010. While at Fordham, Kate was a member of Fordham’s Trial Advocacy Team and Champion of the 2009 Lone Star Classic Mock Trial Tournament.
Following graduation, Kate practiced complex commercial litigation in New York, with a particular focus on contract and land-use disputes. Kate subsequently transitioned into public service advocacy where she initially represented abused and neglected children in juvenile court and then spent six years as an Assistant State's Attorney prosecuting felony cases on behalf of the State of Connecticut at both the trial and appellate levels. As a prosecutor, Kate was appointed as a Domestic Violence Coordinator and to Connecticut’s Human Trafficking Task Force. During her ten years of legal practice, Kate was also employed as an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at Fordham Law School.
In 2020, after her family relocated to Florida, Kate transitioned to full-time academia. She was a Professor of Legal Studies at Keiser University where she received the “Rising Star” Award, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Legal Studies at Franklin University, before joining Stetson Law School. At Stetson, Kate teaches Jury Selection and Trial Advocacy, as well as courses in Stetson’s Masters of Law in Advocacy Program. Kate has been published by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and the Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law and has received multiple awards in recognition of her hard work and dedication to Stetson, including Stetson Law Employee of the Year and Stetson Trial Team Coach of the Year.
Carson Sadro earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of South Florida in 2016, and her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 2020. As a member of South Carolina’s nationally ranked Trial Advocacy Program, Ms. Sadro was a National Trial Competition Regional Champion and competitor at Baylor Law School’s prestigious Top Gun Competition. She also served as the Associate Editor-in-Chief for the ABA Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Journal and as a legal intern for the Special Victim’s Unit at the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Following graduation, Ms. Sadro served as an Assistant State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, covering Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties. As a prosecutor, Ms. Sadro was appointed to the Community Problem Response Unit and worked in conjunction with the Gang Unit to address violent crimes involving firearms and gangs. She subsequently returned to Tampa, Florida and transitioned into civil litigation, practicing at a respected local commercial litigation firm, with a particular focus on complex business disputes in state and federal courts.
Ms. Sadro is licensed to practice in Florida and the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. Ms. Sadro joined Stetson’s Trial Team as a Coach in 2023 and later joined Stetson Law School as the Associate Director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy in 2025.
