U.S. Attorney Leary Announces New Leadership Team Members

MACON, Ga. – Three Assistant U.S. Attorneys have been promoted to leadership positions within the Middle District of Georgia, completing the executive team assembled under U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bowen Reichert Shoemaker is the new Civil Division Chief, making her the first female non-interim Civil Division Chief in the Office’s history; Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Keyes is now the Deputy Criminal Chief; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth “Beth” Howard is the new Senior Litigation Counsel (SLC) for the Criminal Division. These three attorneys join First Assistant U.S. Attorney Shanelle Booker, Criminal Chief Leah McEwen, Columbus Branch Chief Amy Helmick, Appellate Chief Mikki Schieber, and Civil Division SLC Lance Simon to comprise the legal leadership in the office. The team includes many historic firsts for the Middle District of Georgia, including FAUSA Booker who is the first black woman and first female to hold the highest non-appointed position in the office; SLC Simon who is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to command a leadership role in the District; and the greatest number of women attorneys to hold leadership positions.

“It is crucial to assemble a team of top-tier and diverse attorneys to pursue vigorous justice on behalf of the citizens now and in the years to come,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Alongside the many dedicated and skilled attorneys and staff in the office, these dynamic leaders will help to ensure a strong future of equal justice for all in the Middle District of Georgia.”  

Civil Division Chief Bowen Reichert Shoemaker joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2018. Since then, she has specialized in high-exposure tort claims and cases brought under the False Claims Act on behalf of the citizens. Prior to joining the office, Civil Chief Shoemaker was a trial attorney for an Atlanta law firm handling multi-district litigation and complex commercial cases. Born and raised in Georgia, she graduated magna cum laude from both the Mercer University School of Law and the University of Georgia, and clerked for the Honorable Hugh Lawson, U.S. District Judge. Civil Chief Shoemaker is highly involved in the Macon community, and currently serves on the board of trustees for Historic Macon, Macon Arts Alliance, Stratford Academy and is a member of the Macon Rotary Club. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Mercer Law. In 2021, she was named a “40 Under 40” by the UGA Alumni Association in 2021.

Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes joined the office in 2018. He has prosecuted a broad range of federal criminal cases, to include drug trafficking organizations, violent crime and offenses related to terrorism. He has served as the Project Safe Neighborhood Coordinator, National Security Cyber Specialist, District Election Officer and Deputy Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council. Before joining the office, he was on active duty in the U.S. Army prosecuting members of Al-Qaeda in military commissions in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From 2016-2017 he deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve where he served as legal advisor to a battalion of over 800 soldiers operating throughout Kuwait and Iraq. He began his career at a law firm in Atlanta and holds four degrees from the University of Georgia, which include his law degree, a master’s degree and two undergraduate degrees. In addition to his duties with the office, he serves in the U.S. Army Reserves, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command as a judge advocate. Recently, he became qualified as a paratrooper upon graduation from the U.S. Army Airborne School.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth “Beth” Howard is the new Senior Litigation Counsel (SLC) for the Criminal Division. SLC Howard joined the office as a criminal prosecutor in 2014, and she has prosecuted a broad range of crimes, to include complex white collar fraud and public corruption, child exploitation, human trafficking, violent crime, and wiretap prosecutions. Among other duties, she currently serves as the office’s Financial Fraud Coordinator, and she previously coordinated the office’s law clerk program. Prior to joining our office, SLC Howard worked as an Assistant Solicitor General in Macon, focusing on domestic violence prosecutions. She earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Mercer University; while in law school, she twice worked as a law clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District. Born and raised in Florida, SLC Howard has resided in the Middle District of Georgia for 18 years.

The Middle District of Georgia encompasses 70 of Georgia’s 159 counties, and includes Albany, Athens, Columbus, Macon and Valdosta with a population of approximately 2,045,000 people. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the District, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, fraud, firearms, illegal gangs and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.