Two Tennessee judges were elected to the Tennessee Conference of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Executive Committee at the organization’s recent August conference, which was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perry County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Katerina V. Moore and Jefferson County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Dennis “Will” Roach II were elected to the Committee, which is the governing board of the TCJFCJ. They join nine other Tennessee judges already on the Committee, including the conference’s newly elected officers: Judge Tim Irwin, President; Judge Andy Brigham, Vice President; and Judge Rob Philyaw, Secretary/Treasurer.
Judge Moore was elected to the Perry County bench in 2014. She did her undergraduate work at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee, and earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2006. After graduation, Judge Moore went to work for the Spitzer Firm in Hohenwald. In 2010, she left to open her own firm, The Moore Firm, in Linden.
Although Perry County has been home to Judge Moore for over two decades now, she had to traverse a continent and an ocean to get there. Judge Moore was born in Ukraine and first came to Tennessee as part of a foreign exchange program in 1996. When the program was finished, she returned to Ukraine, only to come back to Tennessee in 1999 to attend Lambuth. Shortly thereafter, she met her husband, Robby, with whom she has two children. She was proud to become a United States citizen in 2008.
During her time on the bench, Judge Moore has taken a leading role in establishing several initiatives to aid Perry County youth. She helped found and currently chairs Perry County Youth Centers, for instance, which is a nonprofit that provides a variety of services to children in need. She helped create the Perry County Disciplinary Board to handle minor juvenile violations and truancy issues. She was also instrumental in the creation of the Perry County Drug Prevention Coalition. In addition to these efforts, Judge Moore is a member of the Tennessee General Sessions Conference Education Committee and the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education.
Judge Moore is excited to put her experience and knowledge to work on the TCJFCJ Executive Committee and hopes, in particular, to be able to assist in matters affecting rural communities throughout the state.
“I am looking forward to working with the other committee members to benefit the state and our conference to the best of my abilities,” she said. “If there is an issue that arises that could use my input, especially in rural Tennessee, I hope to be of assistance.”
Judge Roach was first elected to his position on the Jefferson County bench in 2014. He received his undergraduate degree from Carson-Newman University in 1994 and law degree from Liberty University School of Law in 2007. He also spent time studying history and theology at Oxford University in England and Vanderbilt University Divinity School. After graduating from law school, he was in private legal practice for seven years with the firm of Roach, Robinson & Miller.
Judge Roach grew up in Rutledge, Tennessee, in Grainger County, the son of two high school teachers. His father, Dennis “Coach” Roach, represented the 35th district of Tennessee in the state House of Representatives for 20 years.
Judge Roach is the proud father of three children and the proud grandfather of one. He is very active in his church and enjoys reading, smoking cigars, and being in the woods and at the ocean in his spare time.
“The judges on the executive committee are genuinely concerned for the well-being of the children of our great state, and it is a privilege and honor to close ranks with those who have mentored me for the past seven years,” Judge Roach said about his election to the Executive Committee.
