Staff Bio

Gwen Franks joined the Udall Foundation in late August 2022 after serving as an attorney with the U.S. Army Materiel Command Legal Center in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, from October 2010 through November 2014 and February 2020 through August 2022. Prior to that, she was Assistant Chief Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Gwen has also served as Regional Counsel for the Federal Transit Administration, Region X, in Seattle, Washington, and as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Thurston County in Olympia, Washington.

Gwen holds a Juris Doctor from Tulane University’s School of Law as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. She is a member of both the Arizona and Washington State Bar Associations and has been active in the community including through the Junior Leagues of Tucson and Olympia and the Pierce County Center for Dialogue and Resolution.