Raised on a cattle and wheat farm in Southwest Kansas, Eric Melgren was in the first generation of his family to attend college.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Wichita State University, where he served as student body president.  After college, he worked for a few years in business management before attending law school at Washburn University, where he was a member of the Law Review and graduated in the top 5% of his class.  Following law school, he was a law clerk for Federal Judge Frank Theis in Wichita for 2 years.  Then, for 15 years he was with the Wichita firm of Foulston & Siefkin where his practice focused on tax and business matters.  In March 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Melgren United States Attorney for the District of Kansas.  He served in that position until September 2008, when the U. S. Senate confirmed President Bush’s nomination of Melgren as a judge in the U.S. District Court in Kanas.  He sits in the chambers where he clerked for Judge Theis.  Melgren has been active in the community, including serving as Chairman of the Board of the United Way of the Plains, Chairman of Leadership Wichita, and President of the Wichita State University Alumni Association.  He has also served as President of the Wesley E. Brown Inn of Court, and President of the Federal Bar Association Chapter for the District of Kansas and Western Missouri.  Judge Melgren also was appointed as the Tenth Circuit representative to the Defender Services Committee of the Judicial Conference for the United States, and served as the Judicial co-chair of a national Judicial/Executive Branch task addressing problems relating to Southwest Border prosecutions.

Fun Fact: Eric was a member of our Rotary club 1994-2002.