Nakia White Barr is Secretary of the Board of Trustees at Michigan State University. She previously served as Associate General Counsel at Michigan State University, where she focused on contract, governance and government related matters.

Ms. Barr began her legal career handling complex commercial real estate transactions at large national law firms in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the Office of the General Counsel, she practiced municipal law in Trenton, New Jersey, where she served as Acting Director of the Law Department and Chief Municipal Prosecutor.

Ms. Barr earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as External Student Relations Editor for the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and received the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland at College Park with a B.A. in Government and Politics and a Certificate in African-American Studies.

Her community involvement presently includes service on the board of Highfields, Inc. and membership in the Lansing Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Lansing/East Lansing Chapter of Links, Inc., the Greater Lansing Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and 100 Women Who Care.

Ms. Barr is admitted to practice law in the State of Michigan, the State of New Jersey, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.