Nancy Abudu - Nancy G. Abudu is the Deputy Legal Director for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Voting Rights Practice Group. In that role, she leads a team of lawyers, community organizers, and technical experts in protecting and strengthening the voting rights of minority communities and other politically vulnerable populations. Prior to joining SPLC, Nancy was the Legal Director for the ACLU of Florida and a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. She has litigated a variety of civil rights and civil liberties issues in federal and state courts, including legal challenges to state felon disfranchisement, proof of citizenship, and voter photo ID laws; and has pushed for greater enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, and other federal laws. Her practice areas also have included prison conditions, free speech, reproductive rights, immigrants’ rights, LGBT rights, privacy and government surveillance, and education issues. In addition, Nancy has worked as a staff attorney with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, and an associate with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York. She served as an international election observer in Albania, is a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Election Law, and is a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program based in Washington, D.C. She also has published numerous articles and two book chapters, including in the most recent fourth edition of the ABA’s America Votes. She received her B.A. from Columbia University, her J.D. from Tulane Law School, and has won several awards and honors of recognition for her civil rights work. She is admitted to practice in Florida, Georgia, New York, the U.S. Supreme Court, and several other federal and state courts.
Diana Adams - Diana Adams is Executive Director of Chosen Family Law Center, Inc, a nonprofit serving LGBTQ, polyamorous, platonic and non-nuclear families and offering professional training on cultural competency & legal skills for serving these communities. Diana is also Owner of Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC, a boutique LGBTQ family law and mediation firm based in New York City and Frankfurt, Germany, serving primarily same-sex couples, platonic co- parents, polyamorous families, and non-nuclear families. Diana is Director of the Euro LGBT Family Law Institute, sponsored by the National LGBT Bar and National Center for Lesbian Rights, connecting top lawyers in LGBTQ family law in Europe with leaders in the US and worldwide, in an effort to create a worldwide legal support movement for LGBTQ families. www.ChosenFamilyLawCenter.org www.DianaAdamsLaw.net Find her on Twitter & Facebook @DianaAdamsEsq.
Yemi Adegbonmire - Yemi Adegbonmire is a Los Angeles based intellectual property and entertainment attorney and a member of 2019 The National Black Lawyers Top 100. Described by her peers as jetsetting, vivacious, fresh faced and an advocate for the arts, Yemi Adegbonmire navigates the City of Angels with the wit and intellect of a lawyer and the heart and creativity of an artist. As a former legal executive at The Walt Disney Company, Yemi advised clients on regulatory issues arising from digital marketing, privacy policies and global content distribution. She also provided counsel on intellectual property licensing, and best practices related to social networking websites and user-generated content. A citizen of the world, Yemi is native of Baltimore, Maryland, Yemi spends her summers in Lagos and her winters visiting various wonders of the world. Yemi is a graduate of The Bryn Mawr School for Girls and of Johns Hopkins and Wake Forest Universities. Yemi hired the first Executive Director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, is a former member of GLAAD's Los Angeles Leadership Council, and currently sits on Lambda Legal's National Board of Directors. Yemi is currently the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Bail Project. The Bail Project (TBP) is a nation nonprofit with 20 locations across the nation. The Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release before trial contingent on paying bail. TBP enables its clients to return home to their families and communities while awaiting their court dates. TBP is on year 2 of a five-year plan to scale The Bail Project's Community Release with Support model across America and turn the tide on mass incarceration. It is our mission to restore the presumption of innocence in America and ensure that freedom truly is free again.
Arielle Adler - Arielle's practice focuses on corporate bankruptcy and creditors' rights matters, including bankruptcy-related litigation. She brings unique, multidisciplinary experience to her bankruptcy practice. She previously represented management clients in a wide range of labor and employment matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Her ability to analyze complex issues and business operations and strategies benefit her clients both inside and outside of the insolvency environment. Arielle served as senior law clerk to the Hon. Stacey L. Meisel and as a term law clerk to the Hon. Rosemary Gambardella, both of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. She is Chair Elect of the LGBT Rights Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is an active member of the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and the National LGBT Bar Association. Her pro bono experience includes serving as a court-appointed attorney for clients in guardianship proceedings and drafting an employee handbook for a nonprofit organization focused on empowering students to attend and succeed in college.
Gabriel Arkles -
Sophia Arredondo -
Charlie Arrowood - Charlie Arrowood (they/them) is an attorney licensed in New York state. They primarily provide transition-related legal services to transgender clients, including name and gender marker change assistance and guidance regarding health insurance coverage and employment matters. Charlie is the Vice Chair of the LGBTQ Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, a member of the National Trans Bar Association, and previously served as the Director of Name & Gender Recognition at Transcend Legal. They are a parent of two and graduate of Tulane University (B.A. History, 2009) and New York Law School (2013).
Susan Baker Manning - Susan Baker Manning is a highly experienced litigator, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP's first Senior Pro Bono Trial Lawyer. In this role, Susan leads large impact litigation matters in support of at-risk individuals and underrepresented groups, such as those seeking access to housing, healthcare, education, and other public benefits, as well as those fleeing persecution in their home countries. She also focuses on expanding the firm's long-standing commitment to civil liberties work across numerous issues, deepening relationships with clients and current partner organizations, and forming alliances with new ones. Susan has dedicated thousands of hours to pro bono service throughout her career. She has made a meaningful impact on the protection of First Amendment, human, and civil rights. Susan's work in recent years has included representing some of the largest businesses in the country in an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges showing how discrimination against same-sex marriage is bad for business, representing several U.S. Senators in a case involving access to the asylum system, and presenting expert analysis by several former surgeons general regarding the fitness of transgender people for military service. Her other pro bono victories include successfully representing a domestic violence shelter in an action to protect its clients following public disclosure of its confidential shelter location; a Guantanamo Bay-related case that received international attention; obtaining asylum for individuals fleeing persecution; and numerous civil rights cases. Susan's pro bono work builds upon her two decades of practice as an intellectual property litigator specializing in patent, trademark, and copyright cases. She has considerable experience at the trial court level (including matters heard by government agencies such as the International Trade Commission), and has argued numerous cases before U.S. Courts of Appeal. Susan has represented name-brand technology companies in matters involving a variety of technology areas including in the software, Internet, hardware, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and architecture spaces. Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Susan was a partner in the litigation practice of another international law firm.
Cynthia L. Barrett - Cynthia L. Barrett, Esq., practices law in Portland, Oregon, focusing on special needs and LGBT estate/life planning. Ms. Barrett served as president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Multnomah County Bar Association, and has made many CLE presentations over the past twenty years on estate, special needs, and LGBT planning issues. She and her partner Karen L. Johnson were married in 2014.
Brian M. Basinger -
Justin Becker - Justin Becker has experience in a variety of international trade legal issues, including anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings, national security reviews, and trade policy work. His experience includes major investigations and reviews before the Department of Commerce (DOC) and investigations before the International Trade Commission (ITC). He has appeared before the Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has argued before a Chapter 19 NAFTA panel. Justin also counsels U.S. and foreign clients on national security and international legal issues, including transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Prior to joining Sidley, Justin worked for the DOC in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance. In this role, he provided legal advice to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance in the International Trade Administration concerning the administration of both U.S. and international anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws. He gained experience working on matters before the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement panels. He also clerked for the Honorable Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida He currently serves as a co-chair of Sidley's DC diversity committee and dedicates a portion of his practice to pro bono matters, and in particular LGBT-related matters.
Laura Bennett - Laura Bennett is counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement in Washington D.C. Prior to joining the SEC, Laura was counsel in the Washington D.C. office of King & Spalding LLP, where she served as chair of the firm’s LGBT Affinity Group. She previously served on the board of directors of Rainbow Families, a non-profit organization that provides social and educational programming for LGBT families in the Washington D.C. area, from 2015-2017 and served as the vice chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission for Howard County, Maryland from 2013-2015. Laura earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 2001 and her law degree from the George Washington University Law School in 2004.
Richard Best - Richard R. Best is the Regional Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Atlanta Regional Office in February 2018. He was previously the Regional Director of the Salt Lake Regional Office, serving from July 2015 to February 2018. Before coming to the Commission, Mr. Best was a Chief Counsel in the Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Mr. Best was also a Director, Senior Trial Attorney and Trial Attorney at FINRA. Mr. Best previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney. He was a supervisor in the Office’s Rackets Bureau where he managed high-profile public integrity and organized crime prosecutions, among other matters. Mr. Best received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and a law degree from the Howard University School of Law.
Ru Bhatt - Ru Bhatt is a Partner in the Associate Practice Group and has been a member of Major, Lindsey & Africa's New York office since 2008. Ru specializes in placing attorneys of all levels in top-tier national, international, regional and boutique law firms. He also places attorneys in prominent in-house positions at companies and financial institutions. Ru distinguishes himself by taking pride in acting as a career counselor and a strong advocate for his candidates by helping them identify opportunities that are consistent with their diverse career goals. In his free time, Ru follows his passion for music as a DJ and is actively involved in fundraising efforts for local and national LGBT charity organizations.
Edward Bibko - Edward Bibko is the General Counsel, EMEA and Asia, for Jefferies. Previously he was a law firm partner specializing in cross-border listings onto the London Stock Exchange. Edward is US- and UK-qualified and has advised on capital markets transactions for more than 25 years. In addition to acting as co-chair of the US Lawyers in London Forum, he is on the Court of the Worshipful Company of Solicitors and is currently shortlisted for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s General Counsel of the Year award. Edward lives with his wife and an elderly cat, and enjoys mixing cocktails.
Dean Mary Anne Bobinski - Mary Anne Bobinski is dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. Before joining Emory Law, Mary Anne Bobinski was a professor at the Allard School of Law, where she served as dean from 2003 to 2015. Previously she was the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Law and director of the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center. Professor Bobinski's research and teaching interests include torts, health law, health care finance, bioethics, legal aspects of HIV infection, and reproductive health law issues. She is a co-author of Health Care Law & Ethics (Wolters Kluwer) and the co-author/co-editor of a two-volume book series on medical ethics. Bobinski has also published a number of law review articles and book chapters on health law topics. She is a past president and board member of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and a past member of the Canadian Public Health Officer's Ethics Advisory Committee. She has served as a visiting scholar at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, the University of Sydney Law School, the Melbourne Law School and the Faculty of Law at Oxford University, where she also held a Plumer Visiting Research Fellowship at St. Anne’s College. Bobinski recently completed a new edition of Health Care Law & Ethics (Wolters Kluwer) with her co-authors and is working on a research project focused on the contested nature of the physician-patient relationship, with a particular focus on legal responses to conflicting values or norms.
Mary Bonauto - Mary Bonauto has been the Project Director for Civil Rights at GLAD since 1990. During that period, she has been co-counsel in the Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut marriage equality litigations and was the prevailing counsel in Goodridge, the first state supreme court decision to require marriage equality (2003-2004). She was also co-counsel in federal court litigation successfully challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. In 2014, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Candace Bond-Theriault - Candace Bond-Theriault (she/her/hers) is the Senior Policy Counsel for Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice, and the Democracy Project Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force. She works through a black queer feminist lens to create change and shift culture towards intersectional liberation through increasing abortion access, contraceptive equity and ensuring religious perspective don't harm civil rights protections. Candace received her LL.M. degree with a focus on gender and legislation from the American University Washington College of Law, her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law, and her B.A. in Human Rights with a focus on race, gender, and sexuality from the College of William and Mary. She is a yoga teacher, writer, makeup enthusiast, and aspiring optimist. Her writing has appeared in the SELF magazine, Blavity, Rewire, Ms. Magazine, the Advocate, the Grio, Medium, and the Huffington Post.
Jess Braverman - Jess Braverman is the Legal Director at Gender Justice in Minnesota. Jess attended NYU Law School, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow with a focus on LGBT civil rights. Jess came to Gender Justice from the Hennepin County Public Defender's office, where she spearheaded the office's Special Litigation Unit focusing on racial profiling in policing. Jess was also an attorney at the Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Project, representing young people in delinquency and child protection cases in Brooklyn, New York. Jess was formerly a board member of Crux, the LGBT rock climbing nonprofit in NYC.
Hal Brewster - Hal Brewster focuses his practice on litigating political law matters. In his previous job, Hal was a member of multiple trial teams that tried cases to verdict in state and federal courthouses around the country. He has experience preparing witnesses to testify at trial, drafting direct and cross examination outlines, creating graphics for opening statements and closing arguments, and researching evidentiary issues and drafting related motions in limine and bench briefs. For several years, Hal helped to represent several top aides to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the various investigations and inquiries stemming from the Secretary’s use of a private email account during her tenure at the State Department. Hal also maintains an active pro bono practice. In partnership with the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project, Hal has successfully represented survivors of domestic abuse in their petitions for protections from their abusers in hearings and trials in D.C. Superior Court. In this capacity, Hal served as lead trial counsel in a six-day trial before Judge Julie Becker that resulted in his client receiving primary physical and legal custody of her five minor children as well as a sizeable allocation of the marital property. Prior to his law career, Hal spent four years as an active duty U.S. Army officer. As a scout and sniper platoon leader, Hal led 40 specialized soldiers in more than 150 combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star medal for service. Following his time in the army, Hal published five articles in The New York Times blog, “At War,” about his experiences in Iraq.
Kylar Broadus - Broadus is the founder of Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) exists to advance justice for all trans people of color. We amplify Trans POC stories, support our leadership, and challenge issues of racism, transphobia, and transmisogyny. TPOCC envisions a world where trans people of color can live and work in safety, where health and economic equity are basic rights, and we are celebrated for our visibility and leadership in our workplaces, homes, and communities. His portfolio of work includes his diversity, equity and inclusion work, legal and political consulting. He is on the team of The Chapel Law Group, LLC with offices in Jefferson City and Kansas City, Missouri.
Yuliya “Jay” Brodska - Yuliya ‘Jay’ Brodska is a rising 2L student at Fordham Law School, where they are a Chair of OutLaws and member of the Media and Entertainment Law Society. Jay was born in Dnipro, Ukraine and immigrated to America at the age of 5. They were raised in Staten Island, NY and earned their bachelors degree in Economics from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Prior to law school, Jay interned with the EEOC office in New York and volunteered with the LGBT Bar Association, where they served as a translator for Russian-speaking clients seeking asylum.
Denise Brogan-Kator - Denise Brogan-Kator is the Chief Policy Officer at Family Equality, joining the organization in 2012. Previously, she was the Executive Director at Equality Michigan and the Managing Director for the Rainbow Law Center in Southeast Michigan. She is the first openly transgender law student to matriculate at the University of Michigan Law School (and later returning as the first openly transgender adjunct law professor). In addition to her JD, she has an MBA from the University of Colorado. She currently lives in Florida with her wife, mother-in-law, and 5 cats. She has three grown daughters and two grandchildren who are, collectively, the lights of her life.
Benjamin Brooks - Benjamin Brooks is the Assistant Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health. He has a passion for bringing quality healthcare to our community by working with our researchers, providers, and patients to create evidence-based policies that capture opportunities to build health equity. Before joining Whitman-Walker, Brooks worked training providers in LGBT cultural competencies and providing technical assistance and capacity building to HIV providers across the country. He is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law with a law degree and Tufts University School of Medicine with a master's degree in public health.
Bria Brown-King - Bria (they/she) identifies as a queer, intersex, masculine presenting black person. They are currently living in Delaware, but was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bria’s intersex variation is Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, CAH for short. Bria works as the Program Coordinator for InterACT. Bria started doing advocacy work as a youth member with interACT where they published articles for the ACLU, TeenVogue, and Them Magazine. They were also the first out intersex person to speak about intersex issues on the steps of the Supreme Court.
Daniel Bruner - Daniel Bruner (he/him/his) is Senior Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health and the Whitman-Walker Institute in Washington, DC. For more than 23 years, he has specialized in HIV and LGBTQ legal and policy issues, including health care discrimination; cultural competency among health care professionals; transgender health care and discrimination against transgender and nonbinary individuals; medical privacy; and coordination of medical and legal services to patients to enhance health (medical-legal partnerships). He has published on HIV policy and law and has given many presentations at national legal and medical conferences on legal and policy issues related to LGBTQ health and wellness and HIV treatment and prevention. Dan received his B.A. (summa cum laude) from Rice University and his J.D. (magna cum laude) and Master's in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. He was an associate and then a partner at the public interest law firm Spiegel & McDiarmid from 1981 to 1995 and joined Whitman-Walker's staff in 1995. From 2004 through 2014, he was Whitman-Walker's Director of Legal Services. He taught HIV law and public interest law at American University's Washington School of Law from 2000 to 2005, and has received awards from the American Bar Association's HIV/AIDS Project Committee, the LGBT Bar Association of DC, and the Washington Council of Lawyers.
Sasha Buchert - Sasha Buchert (she/her) is a Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal working in their new Washington D.C. office. Before joining Lambda Legal, Sasha served as Staff Attorney and Policy Counsel at Transgender Law Center where she engaged in litigation and policy advocacy that was focused on helping transgender and gender-nonconforming people find meaningful employment, obtain competent health care coverage and secure accurate identity documents. Before joining Transgender Law Center, Sasha worked for Basic Rights Oregon, the largest LGBT rights advocacy organization in the state. Sasha was the first openly transgender person to be appointed to an Oregon state board, and from 2012-13, she served as the chair of the Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board. She holds a J.D. from Willamette University. Sasha served proudly in the United States Marine Corps.
Joan Burda - Joan M. Burda has a solo law practice concentrating in estate planning and LGBTQ issues in Lakewood, Ohio. She is the author of the award-winning book, Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Third Edition (ABA 2015) as well as Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Clients: A Lawyer's Guide (ABA 2008) and An Overview of Federal Consumer Law (ABA 1998) -- out of print but a real page turner. Joan writes about LGBT legal issues, estate planning and other topics for various online and print publications. She is a featured speaker on LGBT legal issues at national and international conferences and workshops. Joan is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the National Lesbian and Gay Bar Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law and teaches LGBT Legal Issues and Wills, Trusts and Future Interests. In her spare time, she reviews books for the New York Journal of Books. Joan graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree, which means she took what she wanted and skipped all the boring classes. She received her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law‚ a school located on a bluff overlooking Malibu--not at all conducive to studying so it's a good thing the first two years were in a converted warehouse in Anaheim. Speaking of which - during law school, Joan worked as a security officer (aka a "mouseifer") at Disneyland. She lives in Lakewood, Ohio with her spouse, Betsy.
Lisa Burke - Lisa R. Burke currently serves as the Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Program Coordinator and as a SOGI/LGBTQ Resource Navigator at the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. She began her public sector career in the Bail Unit in Hudson Vicinage in 1990 and joined the staff of the Administrative Office of the Courts in 2004 following six years in higher education administration. She has extensive academic and professional background in diversity issues, the delivery of related trainings, and the development of SOGI/LGBTQ-focused diversity and inclusion-informed best practices in the courts. Some of her areas of academic and professional expertise and interest including gender, race, culture, sexuality, age, religion, ability, and human rights and the intersections of these sometimes seemingly conflicting aspects of identity and experience. Lisa is an active and engaged member of the NJSBA and enjoys involvement in several sections and committees. A published author of both academic and creative works, she also has experience as a PK-16 teacher and expertise in adult education, having designed, developed, and taught a variety of college-level courses and court-based professional development and continuing legal education (CLE) trainings. She has presented nationally and published on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, human rights across cultures, gender in complex humanitarian crises, law-related education, communication in cyberspace, and LGBTQI and SOGI access to justice issues. Among her many professional endeavors, Lisa is a member of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and the New Jersey State Bar Association. As an NJSBA member she is active and engaged in a number of sections and committees including the LGBT Rights Section, Minorities in the Profession Section, Immigration Law Section, and the Government, Public Sector, and Public Interest Legal Professionals Special Committee. A graduate of New Jersey City University and Columbia University, she also has undertaken post-graduate courses through the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs certificate program in diversity and inclusion and is currently pursuing additional advanced studies through the Washington University at St. Louis School of Law.
Paul Burke - Mr. Burke is a shareholder, director, and general counsel of Ray Quinney & Nebeker, which is one of the oldest and largest firms in the Intermountain West. Mr. Burke was honored by the Utah Bar Commission as the Utah's Lawyer of the Year for 2019. Previously he was recognized in 2012 as the Utah State Bar's Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year for his service to the public, the legal profession, and the LGBT community. Mr. Burke serves on the Board of Directors of Equality Utah. He was honored in 2015 by Utah Pride as a "Utah Hero" for his public advocacy on behalf of Utah's LGBT citizens. His work defending the rights of an abused lesbian teenager was chronicled in the book "Saving Alex" and the recent Lifetime movie "Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story." In addition to his civil rights work, Mr. Burke maintains a complex civil litigation practice with an emphasis in the realm of labor and employment law. He also advises other law firms on professional ethics and risk management, and he defends lawyers accused of ethical misconduct or malpractice.
Marla Butler - Marla Butler is a Partner in the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property practice groups of Thompson Hine LLP. Marla represents clients in the medical, semiconductor, power, networking and other high-tech industries in high-stakes commercial litigations, arbitrations and trials. Marla has developed a deep understanding of technology and is skilled at building and leading diverse teams of lawyers, scientists and economists, which enhances her ability to devise and implement successful litigation and trial strategies and to simplify complex technology concepts for judges, juries and arbitrators. She has received distinctions from Benchmark Litigation, Super Lawyers, Savoy and Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation as a leader in Litigation, Intellectual Property and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Marla is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Litigation Counsel of America. Marla is also on the Board of Directors of Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys and the National LGBT Bar Association. She is a former board member of Lambda Legal.
Nevin Caple -
Alejandra Caraballo - Alejandra Caraballo currently serves as a staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) where she handles all stages of impact litigation to advance the rights of transgender people. Alejandra previously served as the Staff Attorney of the LGBTQ Law Project at New York Legal Assistance Group where she represented clients in a variety of civil legal matters such as immigration, family law, name and gender marker changes, and anti-discrimination litigation. Alejandra currently serves as the Secretary of the LGBTQ Rights Committee of the New York Bar Association and as a Board Member of the Translatina Network. Alejandra was appointed as the first openly trans community board member in Brooklyn and currently serves as the Housing Committee Chair. Alejandra received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School where she externed in the Helping Elders through Litigation and Policy (HELP) clinic and the Safe Harbor Asylum Law clinic. Alejandra received her B.A. in Government and World Affairs with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Tampa. In her spare time, Alejandra can be found playing guitar, creating electronic music, and brewing beer.
Sunu Chandy - Sunu P. Chandy is the Legal Director of the National Women’s Law Center. She oversees the Center’s litigation efforts, providing strategy across the NWLC to create better outcomes for women and girls at school, the workplace, and the healthcare sector. She helped to create the Center’s Legal Network for Gender Equity and build the policies and procedures guiding the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. She also provides guidance for the Center’s policy positions towards greater workplace equality. Until August 2017, Sunu served as the Deputy Director for the Civil Rights Division with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led civil rights enforcement including in the areas of language access, auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and sex discrimination cases under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Before that, Sunu was the General Counsel of the DC Office of Human Rights (OHR) and in that role oversaw the agency’s legal decisions following civil rights investigations of discrimination in employment, education, housing and public accommodation matters. Previously, Sunu was a federal attorney with the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for 15 years and litigated cases including based on sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination, as well as race, national origin, disability, age and religion based discrimination cases. At EEOC, Sunu led several outreach and training initiatives including as a member of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI) Regional Working Group. Sunu began her legal career as a law firm associate representing unions and individual workers in New York City at Gladstein, Reif and Megginniss, LLP. Sunu earned her B.A. in Peace and Global Studies/Women’s Studies from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and more recently, she completed her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from CUNY/Queens College. Sunu has served on the boards of directors of several organizations including the Audre Lorde Project, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective and LeGal (the LGBTQ attorneys’ organization in New York City). Sunu currently serves on the board of directors for the Transgender Law Center and volunteers with Split This Rock, a national social justice poetry organization.
Tiffany Chang - Tiffany Chang is a counsel in Crowell & Moring's Orange County office, where she practices in the Antitrust Group. Tiffany focuses on claims recovery in large antitrust and tort settlements. In addition to her active recovery practice, Tiffany advocates for the LGBTQ+ community through at Crowell & Moring. As a counsel and a member of the firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group, Tiffany dedicates a significant part of her practice to pro bono advocacy in the LGBTQ+ space, and is currently representing a gay man from Cuba seeking asylum under the Violence Against Women Act. Tiffany is also a member of Crowell & Moring’s Asian American & Pacific Islander affinity group, the Women’s Leadership Initiative, and the firm’s Diversity Council. Outside of Crowell & Moring, Tiffany is an active member of the Orange County legal community. She is a founding board member of the Orange County Lavender Bar Association and maintains Emeritus status with OCLBA as well as with the Orange County Equality Coalition, and is a member of the Orange County Bar Association.
Puneet Cheema - Puneet Cheema is a Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT+ people and people with HIV. Puneet is a member of the LGBT/HIV Criminal Justice Workgroup, and Lambda Legal’s representative in DC’s Sex Worker Advocacy Coalition. Puneet has extensive litigation experience and works to expand and protect the rights of LGBTQ people through litigation, policy, and advocacy in all areas, including access to health care and accurate identity documents, workplace discrimination, and discrimination in schools. She has been lead counsel for Lambda Legal in Family Equality v. Azar, and Equality Arizona v. Hoffman, and counsel in Zzyym v. Pompeo, County of Santa Clara v. Azar, and Eller v. Prince George’s County Public Schools.Prior to joining Lambda, Puneet served as a Trial Attorney in the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice (DOJ) where she played a leading role in the DOJ’s investigation of the Baltimore Police Department and was part of the team that litigated the DOJ’s case against Sheriff Joseph Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona.
Marcy Chell - Marcy Chell, LICSW is a Program Manager at the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency. She has worked in Child Welfare, in both DC and NYC, for 15 years. Marcy also worked for the District of Columbia Public School System for 5 years; allowing her time to foster from CFSA and adopt 2 teenagers. She’s also a proud grandmother of a 2 year old. Marcy is a strong advocate for the LGBTQ population and commits to providing the best foster family experience for youth who identify as such, who have to enter foster care. She is thrilled to take part in this Conference.
Alexander Chen - Alexander Chen is a Clinical Instructor and the Founding Director of the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. Alexander's work focuses on expanding the rights of LGBTQ+ people through impact litigation, policy advocacy, and direct representation at both the national and local levels. He also teaches the Law School's inaugural course on Gender Identity and the Law. Previously, Alexander served as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the nation's leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations. At NCLR, Alexander engaged in LGBTQ+ impact litigation and policy advocacy in education, employment, health care, housing, prisons, and juvenile justice and child welfare settings. Alexander was a member of the litigation team in the transgender military cases Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump, as well as the landmark Ninth Circuit transgender prisoner surgery access case Edmo v. Corizon. He also co-drafted AB 2119, a bill that made California the first state to guarantee access to transition-related health care for trans youth in foster care. Alexander received his B.A. from Oxford University, his M.A. from Columbia University, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was the first openly transgender editor of the Harvard Law Review and worked on trans issues at the Department of Justice, the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. He clerked on the Ninth Circuit for the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, and in the Southern District of California for the Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel.
Jeena Cho - Jeena Cho is an attorney with JC Law Group PC and the co-author of best-selling book, The Anxious Lawyer, An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation (ABA). She is a regular contributor to ABA Journal and Above the Law where she covers resilience, work/life integration, and wellness in the workplace. She regularly speaks on lawyer well-being, stress/anxiety management, diversity & inclusion, productivity, mindfulness, and meditation.
Arli Christian - Arli is a Campaign Strategist with the National Political Advocacy Department of the ACLU and advocates for legislative and administrative policy changes to further transgender rights. Prior to joining the ACLU Arli was the State Policy Director at the National Center for Transgender Equality, and holds a particular expertise on identity document gender change policies. Arli speaks English and Spanish and has a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and a law degree from American University Washington College of Law.
Susan Cirilli - Susan M. Cirilli is an attorney with Offit Kurman. Her practice focuses on employment matters involving the ADA, FMLA, and Title VII claims. Ms. Cirilli litigates cases involving hostile work environment and discrimination. She assess issues surrounding discrimination and harassment, and represents employers in fact finding conferences and mediations before the PHRC and the EEOC. Ms. Cirilli is admitted in the Middle District and Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as the Federal Court for the District of New Jersey. She earned her B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from University of Vermont and her J.D. degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
Currey Cook - M. Currey Cook is the Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project and Counsel with Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV. Cook advocates across the country for LGBTQ youth and youth living with HIV in child welfare and juvenile justice settings and youth experiencing homelessness via impact litigation, law and policy reform and education. Before joining Lambda Legal in 2013, Cook was the Co-Director of the Bronx office of The Children's Law Center New York, served as a consultant to The National Juvenile Defender Center in Washington, D.C , worked in Burundi on an American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative to assist with reintegrate former child soldiers into the community, and was a visiting professor for the Child Advocacy Clinic at Rutgers Law School Newark. Prior to moving to New York in 2008, Cook lived in Anchorage, Alaska and was an attorney with the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) for twelve years. Cook worked as a juvenile defense attorney and guardian ad litem and later as supervising attorney of OPA's Child Advocacy Section. Cook was the recipient of the Alaska Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award for a Public Sector Attorney in 2006 and a Light of Hope Award for his advocacy on behalf of abused and neglected children in Alaska. Cook has served as chair of the New York City Bar Association's Family Court and Family Law Committee and is currently a board member of the National Association of Counsel for Children. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Journalism (Broadcast News) and received his law degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia in 1994.
Alex Cooper - Alex Cooper is a survivor of conversion therapy. She is the co-author, with Joanna Brooks, of the the memoir, Saving Alex: When I was 15 I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay And That's When My Nightmare Began. Cooper's story was made into the Lifetime movie Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story, which premiered in September 2019.
Amy Crawford - Amy Crawford is the Deputy Chief of the Civil Actions Bureau of the Cook County (IL) State's Attorney's Office. Before that, she was a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, where her pro bono focus was on LGBTQ rights. Between two stints at Kirkland, she clerked for Judge Philip Simon of the Northern District of Indiana and spent six months working on the 2008 Obama campaign. In 2015, she ran for Alderman on the North Side of Chicago. Before law school, she worked in corporate finance and nonprofit fundraising. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago Law School.
William Crosby - William (Bill) Crosby, Jr. is Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Managing Attorney at Interpublic Group, a New York based advertising and marketing company with over 50,000 employees worldwide. At Interpublic, where he has been since 2002, Bill oversees global litigation and manages the Latin American practice. He was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell from 1993 until 1995 and at Kay, Collyer & Boose (now defunct) from 1995 until 2002. Bill also serves as a member of the commercial panel of arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association. He has served as arbitrator in nearly 200 matters, involving such areas as franchising, intellectual property, hotel and restaurant management, and general commercial disputes, both domestic and international. Bill is a frequent speaker on arbitration related issues, as well as litigation and compliance issues. He organized and moderated a presentation at last year's Lavender Law Conference focused on increasing the numbers of LGBT-identified arbitrators and mediators. He is an active member of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL), where he has served for several years as a board member and as a member of its Judiciary Committee, which interviews and evaluates judicial candidates in New York. Bill is a 1990 graduate of Yale College and a 1993 graduate of Stanford Law School.
Cynthia Cubbage - Cynthia Cubbage has 20 years of experience dedicated to serving children and families through non-profit work and county government agencies. She has provided mental health services to children and families. She has held leadership and management positions that involve child advocacy efforts, analyzing public local policies, and developing innovative programming for youth/children. Her passion and interest focus on working with multi-racial/cultural adoptive families, birth parents, children and & teens, LGBTQ youth, and aging-out youth in the foster care system. She has provided trainings nationally and internationally on adoption issues and has worked as a team developing adoption competent publications and therapeutic materials. Cynthia and her wife are parents by adoption of two beautiful children.
Dean Larry Cunningham - Larry Cunningham became the Dean of Charleston School of Law in June 2020, bringing a national reputation in legal education, assessment, and student learning to the position. As Dean, he serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the school, leading the academic, student support, and operational units of the Law School with the singular goal of promoting student success. Dean Cunningham joined Charleston School of Law from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was a professor from 2008 to 2020 and served in several administrative posts. Dean Cunningham received his J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Prior to entering academia, he was a prosecutor and a law clerk to a federal judge. His husband and their puggle live in downtown Charleston.
Alphonso David - Alphonso B. David, an accomplished and nationally recognized LGBTQ civil rights lawyer and advocate, is the president of the Human Rights Campaign. Mr. David is the first civil rights lawyer and the first person of color to serve as president of HRC in the organization’s nearly 40-year history. Mr. David has significant litigation and management experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. He has been at the forefront of the movement for LGBTQ equality for more than a decade and worked at both the state and national level. In 2015, Mr. David was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve as Counsel to the Governor. In this role, he has functioned as the Governor’s chief counsel and principal legal advisor, and managed all significant legal and policy deliberations affecting New York State, including evaluating proposed legislation; implementing laws and policies and formulating the State’s posture in both affirmative and defensive litigation. Prior to his appointment as the Governor’s Chief Counsel, Mr. David served for four years in the Governor’s cabinet as the Deputy Secretary and Counsel for Civil Rights, the first position of its kind in New York State. In this capacity, he was responsible for a full range of legal, policy, legislative and operational matters affecting civil rights and labor throughout the State. Mr. David also previously served as Special Deputy Attorney General for Civil Rights for the Office of the New York State Attorney General, where he managed Assistant Attorneys General on a variety of civil rights investigations and affirmative litigation, including employment and housing discrimination, fair lending, immigration, reproductive rights and anti-bias claims. Further, he previously served as Deputy Commissioner and Special Counselor at the New York State Division of Human Rights. Prior to working in the public sector, Mr. David served as a staff attorney at the Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund. At Lambda Legal, Mr. David litigated precedent-setting civil rights cases across the nation affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals as well as those living with HIV and AIDS. He handled both affirmative and defensive matters relating to marriage, parenting rights, discrimination in schools and access to health care. In addition, Mr. David served as a litigation associate at the law firm Blank Rome LLP. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Clifford Scott Green in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. For the past decade, Mr. David has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law. He began his work in academia with Fordham University Law School and continued at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and Temple University School of Law.
Jon W. Davidson - Jon W. Davidson has been one of the nation’s leading lawyers fighting for LGBTQ civil rights for more than 30 years. He currently is Chief Counsel at Freedom for All Americans and Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, the national bipartisan campaign to secure full nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people nationwide. In that capacity, he assists LGBTQ impact litigation attorneys with strategic thinking, development of arguments and litigation strategies, editing of briefs and pleadings, and preparation for oral arguments. He also assists LGBTQ movement groups with legislative lawyering. He previously was the national Legal Director of Lambda Legal, the largest and oldest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ people and those living with HIV, a position he held for 12 years, and he worked there from 1995-2017. As the organization’s Legal Director, he was the architect of the organization’s national legal strategy and supervised its 31 attorneys and 16 policy advocates, trainers, Help Desk analysts, and legal assistants, in all six of its offices across the country. Davidson has worked on a broad range of LGBT and HIV-related legal and policy matters throughout his career, including being co-counsel in the cases that brought marriage equality to California, Nevada, Virginia and then the entire nation and that increased legal protections for employees, students, consumers, families, prisoners, and immigrants. He was honored with the National LGBT Bar Association’s highest award in 2010. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School, Davidson previously was a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Irell & Manella and a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. He also has taught courses on LGBT rights, constitutional law, youth law, and pretrial civil litigation at UCLA Law School, the USC Law Center, Loyola Law School, and the former Whittier Law School.
Leonor Davila - Leonor V. Davila is an Associate Director in the Ethics and Legal Compliance Team at Intel Corporation. Leonor is also a member of Intel’s GAT Diversity and Inclusion program, and she Co-Chairs Intel’s Santa Clara Pro Bono Program. Prior to joining Intel, Leonor was an attorney at the U.S.A. Federal Trade Commission. In 2019, the Women Competition Professionals recognized Leonor as a top 40 competition professional in the Americas. Leonor earned a JD/MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a B.A. from UC San Diego.
Rachana Desai Martin -
Ceyenne Doroshow - Ceyenne Doroshow (pronounced Kai-Ann) is a compassionate powerhouse performer, activist, organizer, community-based researcher and public figure in the trans and sex worker rights’ movements. As the Founder and Executive Director of G.L.I.T.S., she works to provide holistic care to LGBTQ sex workers while serving on 10 international boards including SWOP Behind Bars, Lysistrata, SOAR Institute, Caribbean Equality Project, NYU Law, NYTAG, Transgender Justice of San Francisco, the Leslie-Lohman Museum, and many more. As an international public speaker, her presentations include The Desiree Alliance, Creating Change, SisterSong, Harm Reduction Coalition and the International AIDS Conferences. She was a featured emcee for Toronto Pride and MOMA/PS1’s Sex Workers’ Festival of Resistance, lifting her voice as a trans woman of color. Ceyenne has been heavily featured in the media, has performed on television in Showtime’s OZ, for the documentaries Red Umbrella Diaries and Miss Major. She is also featured in PRIDE: a Netflix documentary that will premiere this fall. Known for her skills in the kitchen, Ceyenne co-authored the Caribbean cookbook Cooking in Heels, while incarcerated on prostitution charges. She is currently working on her second memoir, titled Out of the Fire and into the Pen. She is additionally about to start her own podcast titled Tea & Crumpets with co-host Shear Avory along with others including you, global village. Ceyenne’s belief in life is to inspire yourself to inspire others.
Douglas Dreier - Doug Dreier is a litigator who represents and advises a range of corporate clients on both sides of the "v." Doug helps companies navigate commercial litigation, arbitration, and federal and state regulatory proceedings. Through his pro bono work, he has been involved in a range of legal matters relating to LGBTQ rights, including filing amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeal, and U.S. District Courts and preparing comments to oppose the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' proposed rule that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ prospective parents.
AC Dumlao - AC Dumlao uses they/them pronouns. They are a queer transgender non-binary first-generation American and child of Filipino immigrants. As an activist and educator, their focus is on centering and uplifting underrepresented and multiply marginalized people and their communities. AC is the Program Manager at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) where they manage TLDEF's Name Change Project, which connects low-income TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary) people with volunteer lawyers providing pro bono representation during the legal name change process in civil court. Additionally, AC leads TLDEF's Education department and is the lead trainer for trans cultural competency presentations and workshops. AC was recently seen at The Wing for an advance screening and talkback with Lisa Ling for the CNN Original Series' episode "This is Life with Lisa Ling: Gender Fluidity." In 2017, AC was profiled by NBC Asian America for the inaugural 'Redefine A to Z' list of Asian-American & Pacific Islander "emerging voices and breakout stars." For their expertise on LGBTQIA+, trans, and non-binary issues, AC has been featured by Allure Magazine and The Daily Beast, been published by The Huffington Post and Vice Media, and been quoted by INTO, Business Insider, Mic.com, The Advocate, NYU's ScienceLine, and more. For their activism, they have received honors from Parity and the New York State Comptroller. They were named a 2019 NYC Pride Community Hero, and were seen on the lead float in the NYC/WorldPride March on June 30, 2019. AC is an alum of Vassar College and resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Maddy Dwertman -
Lynly S. Egyes - Lynly S. Egyes is the Legal Director at Transgender Law Center. Prior to joining TLC, Lynly was the Legal Director at the Sex Workers Project (SWP) at the Urban Justice Center. During her eight years at SWP, Lynly provided legal services to sex workers and survivors of trafficking. Lynly launched SWP’s LGBT anti-trafficking program and created SWP’s Rapid Court Response Program in response to the police profiling of Translatina women in Queens. In 2014, Lynly began volunteering in Family Detention Centers representing sex workers, trafficking victims and LGBTQ community members. Prior to her work at the Sex Workers Project, Lynly managed the student leadership program at the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). At GLSEN, Lynly worked with high school and middle school students throughout the United States who were organizing to create safe schools for LGBTQ youth. Lynly is a trained facilitator with over 15 years of experience facilitating trainings through out the Untied States and Mexico. She authored chapters in, Broadening the Scope of Human Trafficking and Social Work Practice and co-authored the report, Immigration on ICE: A Report on Immigration Home Raids Operations.
William Eskridge - William Eskridge is the John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence at the Yale Law School. On the marriage issue, he authored "The Case for Same-Sex Marriage" (Free Press 1996) and is the coauthor (with Christopher Riano) of "Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws" (Yale Press July/August 2020).
James Esseks - James D. Esseks is Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project. The ACLU works to ensure equal treatment of LGBT people and people living with HIV through litigation, legislative lobbying, policy advocacy, organizing, and public education. James is counsel in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens, and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda, in which the United States Supreme Court will address whether anti-LGBT discrimination is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII. Previously, James was counsel in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that won the freedom to marry nationwide; in United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act; in Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, about whether a Virginia school board can bar a boy from the common restrooms because he is transgender; and in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, about whether a business open to the public can turn away LGBT customers based on its religious or artistic objections. James and the ACLU have also worked extensively to fight the recent spate of anti-LGBT and specifically anti-transgender bills in the states and to fight the use of religion as an excuse to harm LGBT people.
Stacy Ettinger - Stacy J. Ettinger is a partner in K&L Gates' Washington, D.C. office and focuses her practice on public policy. She has over 20 years of experience working in Congress and the executive branch. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Ms. Ettinger served as a senior legal and policy advisor to Senator Charles Schumer, including as Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and as Deputy Staff Director of the Joint Economic Committee. Prior to joining the Senator's legislative team, she served as a senior legal advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ms. Ettinger advised agency officials on the interpretation and application of U.S. and foreign trade rules, supervised dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization, and represented the United States in international trade negotiations.
Randi Ettner - Randi Ettner PhD is a clinical and forensic psychologist. She is the Secretary of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), an author of the Standards of Care, Chair of the Committee for Institutionalized Persons, and recipient of the WPATH Distinguished Education and Advocacy Award. Dr. Ettner has written four books on transgender issues, including a medical and surgical text, numerous peer-reviewed articles and research, and was an internationally syndicated columnist. She was the lead expert in the lawsuit that overturned Medicare’s exclusion of surgery, has been instrumental in the passage of anti-discrimination laws, provided testimony that helped establish legal precedent for the rights of transgender individuals in the workplace and appropriate treatment for prisoners, including the first case that mandated surgery for an incarcerated transwoman. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows, including Oprah, regarding transgender issues. Dr. Ettner has served as a consultant to corporations, including Walgreen’s and Tawani Enterprises. She was chief psychologist at the Chicago Gender Center, and is the president of New Health Foundation Worldwide. She is the honoree of Randi and Fred Ettner Transgender Health Fellowship at The University of Minnesota Program in Human Sexuality, and is a member of the University of Minnesota’s Leadership Program. Dr. Ettner was invited to present evidence based care of transgender people to the Director of the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, and has received a commendation from the United States House of Representatives for her work in gender related issues.
Chinyere Ezie - Chinyere Ezie is a Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she advocates for racial justice, gender justice, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI) rights, and challenges governmental abuses of power. She is also the originator of #BoycottPrada, a viral campaign challenging racism in the fashion industry that led to a landmark settlement. Prior to joining the Center for Constitutional Rights, Chinyere worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center where she brought cases defending the rights of LGBTQI Southerners. She also served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she litigated employment discrimination cases and secured a $5.1 million jury verdict and historic injunction on behalf of workers who were subjected to religious harassment. Chinyere is a William J. Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, where she was an Alexander Hamilton Scholar and served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Gender and Law. She was also named one of the nation's Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40. Chinyere is a frequent speaker at law conferences and her advocacy has been reported on by the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and NPR, among others.
Cameron Faber - Cameron Faber is an accomplished General Counsel with over thirty-five years' experience in litigation and corporate work, both in-house and in law firms. His experience includes leading the law department of a major nonprofit corporation, managing claims and litigation, corporate governance, privacy and HIPAA law, risk management, compliance in highly-regulated industries, and corporate and real estate transactions.
Mieko Failey - Mieko Failey, Esq. (she/her) is the Director of Legal Services at the LGBTQ Center Long Beach where she oversees LBGTQ-specific legal services for the greater Long Beach area, including comprehensive direct legal services to LGBTQ survivors of violence. Mieko began working in anti-violence in 2007 and has a concentration in LGBTQ anti-violence legal issues. From 2011 to 2018, Mieko served in various legal advocacy roles at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, including as Supervising Attorney for the Legal Services Department where she oversaw domestic and sexual violence legal service provision. In her role as Supervising Attorney, Mieko supervised a wide range of legal issues, including domestic and sexual violence, hate violence, stalking, human trafficking, and other forms of violence. She has served hundreds of LGBTQ survivors and trained thousands of service providers locally, across the state, and nationally, including judges, court personnel, law enforcement, attorneys, mental health providers, and physicians. Mieko’s legal advocacy is focused on overcoming barriers in access to resources for LGBTQ survivors, who are disproportionally impacted by violence. During law school, Mieko interned with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California’s LGBT Student Rights Project and The Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, advocating for those who were wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced as juveniles. Mieko was a recipient of the Post-Graduate Loyola Law School Public Interest Legal Fellowship, which enabled her to provide legal advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ youth survivors of violence at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Mieko currently serves on the Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council where she is Co-Chair of the LGBT Domestic Violence Issues Committee. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Family Violence Appellate Project, is a Board Member of the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ), and serves as regular training faculty for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Mieko has received local and national recognition for her advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ communities, including The Donald L. Snow Award from The LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles; The Student Leadership Award from The National LGBT Bar Association; The Dean’s Service Award from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; and the Women of Distinction Award from California State Assmeblymember Patrick O’Donnell. In 2019, Mieko was named a “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association. Mieko received her Bachelors in Sociology with highest distinction from UC Berkeley and received her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School with a Public Interest Concentration.
Praveen Fernandes - Praveen is Vice President for Public Engagement at Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC). He comes to CAC from The Raben Group, where he was a Principal, advising non-profit clients on issues including LGBTQ equality, criminal justice, wealth inequality, digital equity, and judicial nominations. Before the Raben Group, Praveen was a political appointee in the Obama Administration, serving as Senior Counsel and Advisor to the General Counsel at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). At OPM, he focused on LGBTQ issues, particularly the federal government’s policies relating to transgender employees and the federal government’s implementation of U.S. v. Windsor, the Supreme Court decision that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. Additionally, he worked on issues relating to workforce diversity, parental leave, contracting, national security, and workplace discrimination. Praveen has also worked at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, Justice at Stake, the Human Rights Campaign, Patton Boggs, Ropes & Gray, and the President’s Commission on Human Radiation Experiments (a bioethics advisory committee tasked with preparing and presenting a report to President Clinton). He began his career on Capitol Hill, where he served on Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s Labor Committee staff. Praveen earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and his M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health. While in law school, he was a Note and Comment Editor on the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation. He graduated with honors from Brown University, where his undergraduate concentration was in Biomedical Ethics. In 2010, Praveen was named on the National LGBT Bar Association’s “Top 40 Under 40” list.
Brett Figlewski - The Rev. Brett M. Figlewski, Esq., joined the LGBT Bar Association of New York (LeGaL) as its first Legal Director in 2015. A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and Middlebury College, Brett worked for a decade as a family law litigator for LGBT victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking, including advocacy for Fair Access to Family Court and co-authorship of the article, “Trafficking and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Young Men and Boys”. Brett oversees LeGaL’s vital Helpline and network of drop-in clinics, which assist thousands of members of the community each year; an attorney referral system and placement of pro bono cases; and education and outreach for the organization’s members and the wider community. Brett was part of the legal team which represented Brooke B. in her landmark 2016 N.Y. Court of Appeals case recognizing the rights of LGBT parents, and he continues to focus on litigation and advocacy for the full legal protection of LGBT families. Brett was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 2018.
Judge Tara Flanagan - Judge Tara Flanagan joined the Alameda County Superior Court in January of 2013 after winning election in June 2012, and is now in her seventh (7th) year of service to Alameda County, California. After serving her first two years as a judge in Family Law and four years in the Criminal Law Division, she now hears Juvenile Dependency matters. Her extra-judicial duties include prior service on the board of the Alameda County Bar Association’s ‘Legal Access Alameda’, where underserved members of the community get help accessing the justice system, and also as a board member of the International Association of LGBTQ Judges. Previously, as an attorney, Judge Flanagan was a civil litigator, a Los Angeles County prosecutor and later a legal aid attorney helping families that suffered from domestic violence. As an attorney, she was a sought-out speaker about LGBTQ domestic violence. She also served on the board of directors of many D.V., LGBTQ, and women lawyers’ organizations. Prior to the practice of law, Judge Flanagan was a competitive athlete. She completed her undergraduate degree while on an athletic scholarship (basketball) and later took up the sport of rugby, where she was selected to the USA Women’s National Rugby Team, and played in two World Cups for the USA. Now retired from athletic competitions, Judge Flanagan enjoys long-distance bicycling, her dog, and traveling with her partner, a television director.
Diana Flynn - Diana Flynn is the Litigation Director of Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV. Ms. Flynn is a long-time director of highly-regarded national litigation and legal counsel programs and has achieved great success in both the federal and non-profit sectors. An experienced lawyer and federally-qualified Senior Executive, Ms. Flynn has led the litigation efforts on cases that have helped lay the legal foundation for some of the most important principles of constitutional and civil rights law. Ms. Flynn was appointed Litigation Director at Lambda Legal in the Spring of 2018. In that role, she directs and manages all the organization’s litigation efforts across the nation and leads the attorneys and support staff responsible for those activities. In addition to her leadership of the program, Ms. Flynn serves personally as counsel on the litigation teams of some of Lambda’s most significant cases, including the challenge to the Trump Administration’s military trans ban, and the efforts to secure fair and equal treatment for trans students in the Drew Adams case. Prior to her arrival at Lambda in the Spring of 2018, Ms. Flynn served for many years as the Chief of the Appellate Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Under her leadership, the Section established the Division records for appellate success and productivity. She led the Section in its filing of more than 2,500 briefs, and its litigation success rate of well over eighty percent. While at DOJ, Flynn personally led the legal counsel project that laid the groundwork for the Holder Justice Department’s application of sex discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination based on transgender status. She also managed the Civil Rights Division’s efforts in connection with the Defense of Marriage Act litigation and worked with the Office of the Solicitor General and the Civil Division on the Windsor, Proposition 8 and Obergefell cases in the Supreme Court. Ms. Flynn is currently serving a second term as Commissioner of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, an appointment made by the ABA’s President. Flynn is a graduate of the Yale Law School and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Rochester.
Christian Fuscarino - Christian Fuscarino has deep roots in New Jersey, growing up in Belmar and spending much of his youth in and around Asbury Park. Fuscarino has been an activist and organizer in the LGBTQ community for over a decade. He credits his positive experiences in Asbury Park as helping influence him to become an activist. In 2016, PolitickerNJ named Christian the 2nd most influential advocate in New Jersey politics and later that year The Observer listed him on the Power List 100. At GLSEN, Christian worked with high school Gay Straight Alliances (GSA) for several years. In 2007, Christian joined the Pride Connections Center of New Jersey as a program developer serving gay inner-city youth. That same year, he won a student Emmy award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his End the Silence public service announcement. In 2008, Christian founded The Pride Network, a national leadership development non-profit. In 2013, Christian joined Alan van Capelle, former Executive Director of Empire State Pride Agenda, by serving as his digital strategist at Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice. They focused on mobilizing Jews to advance social issues by speaking out against injustice and inequality. One of the organization’s greatest accomplishments was a campaign that resulted in California Governor Jerry Brown signing The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Christian served as the Communications Director for the Educational Alliance until 2016. The Alliance is a non-profit organization that aims to break the cycle of poverty for low-income children and families through preschool, after school and college prep programs. Fuscarino's volunteer work has received numerous accolades, including recognition from the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly, Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Donald Payne, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, and Governor Jon Corzine. Media outlets such as CBS News, Sirius XM and Genre Magazine have featured Christian in groundbreaking stories. Hofstra University honored Christian, an alum, as their 2012 Man of the Year for his work developing a safe-campus space for LGBTQ students while earning his BA in digital media and LGBTQ studies. Christian recently moved back to New Jersey from Brooklyn where he was living with his partner, Aaron Williams, a tennis instructor, now serving in the Marines.
M. Geron Gadd - M. Geron Gadd (pronouns: she/her) joined AARP Foundation in September 2019 as a Senior Attorney specializing in systemic litigation to protect the rights of older adults with disabilities, those neglected in congregate care settings, and those affected by unscrupulous commercial practices. This work includes advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ older adults who face social isolation and financial insecurity. Geron began her legal career in private practice in New York and Florida, representing corporate clients in intellectual property, securities, construction, and related commercial disputes. In 2011, Geron returned to Alabama, from which her family hails, to focus on public interest litigation on behalf of people with disabilities and in various civil rights matters. Prior to joining AARP Foundation, Geron served as Legal Director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, where she has lead class counsel in a class action resulting in a consent decree requiring the Alabama Department of Mental Health to timely provide court-ordered psychiatric services. Geron earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Southern Methodist University, a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Rahwa Ghebre-Ab - As Lionsgate’s Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs and the Company’s lead employment counsel, Rahwa is a fast-rising executive who works closely with Lionsgate senior management, the Company’s Human Resources team, its various film & television productions, and employees at all levels to address the Company’s day-to-day employment needs, support its M&A and other strategic growth initiatives around the world, and ensure compliance with its commitment to a diverse, inclusive, and respectful work environment. Rahwa provided employment legal support for Lionsgate’s May 2018 investment in and partnership with 3 Arts Entertainment, the first-ever collaboration between a major Hollywood studio and a leading talent management and production company. During the year she also helped facilitate the continuing integration of the Good Universe production and distribution company into Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group and is a key executive in the ongoing integration of Lionsgate and Starz following the biggest acquisition in the Company’s history. She has also helped direct legal and employment matters related to Lionsgate’s recent launch of offices in Mumbai, India, Beijing, China, and Toronto, Canada, as the Company continues to globalize its operations. In addition, she provides legal support and employment counsel to Lionsgate’s numerous film & television productions, joint ventures and SVOD platforms. As employment counsel, Rahwa has played a prominent role in developing and overseeing the implementation of practices and policies that create a safe, tolerant, diverse and inclusive work environment for Lionsgate employees. Last month Lionsgate was one of 109 public companies included in Bloomberg’s second annual Gender Equality Index for its leadership in forward-looking diversity policies and practices. Rahwa was promoted to Senior Vice President in August of 2018. A graduate of The University of Michigan—Ann Arbor with a B.A. degree in History in 2005 and a J.D. degree recipient from the University of Chicago Law School in 2009, Rahwa began her career as an employment litigator at the law firm of Baker McKenzie in Chicago. She joined Lionsgate in 2014. She serves on the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel’s “Women Who Lead” Board and as Pro Bono Counsel for Holy Trinity Eritrean Orthodox Church.
Judge Linda Giles - A graduate of McGill University (B.A., Economics, 1974) and New England School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1977), where she served as Case Comment Editor of the Law Review, Judge Giles was engaged in the private practice of law, specializing in trial practice, before joining the bench. In 1991, she was appointed as the first openly lesbian judge in Massachusetts to be an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court by Governor William F. Weld; and, in 1998, she was elevated to the Superior Court by Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci. Judge Giles has served as chair of the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Gender Equality Advisory Board and president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. She has participated in many educational programs on a variety of topics, such as gender equality, the enhancement of the judicial system, and access to justice. She teaches “Trial Advocacy” at Suffolk University Law School and is a former member of the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal. Judge Giles is a recipient of the Massachusetts Judges Conference’s Judicial Excellence Award (President’s Award), the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Public Service Award, and Boston College Law School’s Lambda Student Association’s “Courage in Coming Out” Award.
Daphne Goldman - I am a Trust and Estates attorney and for almost 15 years have been employed by PNC Bank, National Association, as in-house counsel supporting its Wealth Management business. In this role, I provide legal advice generally pertaining to trust, estate and guardianship administration, other fiduciary questions and fiduciary litigation, as well as with regard to specific trusts and estates. Prior to joining PNC, I practiced for almost 14 years as a member of the Blank Rome LLP Private Client Group and Trusts and Estates Department. I have lectured on a variety of topics relating to Trust and Estates law and fiduciary litigation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and have authored or co-authored a number of articles on such topics.
Holly Goldmann - Holly Goldmann is the Director of External Affairs at Casa Ruby, which provides a wide range of social services and programs for LGBTQ populations in the Washington, D.C. area, including support services for survivors of violence, housing services, and non-clinical social services.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan - Omar Gonzalez-Pagan is a Senior Attorney in the New York Office of Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people and people living with HIV. Gonzalez-Pagan has played an instrumental role in protecting the rights of LGBT people under federal civil rights laws in education, employment, health care, and housing. As counsel for Lambda Legal, Gonzalez-Pagan helped obtain two landmark decisions - the first and second appellate rulings in the country - holding that Title VII covers sexual orientation discrimination in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College and Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc. And as lead counsel in Smith v. Avanti, he obtained the first court decision in the country holding that the Federal Housing Act's sex discrimination prohibition covers discrimination against LGBT people. Gonzalez-Pagan has also played a key part in advancing the constitutional rights of LGBT people across the United States. As part of the legal team in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, he helped secure the freedom to marry for same sex couples and their families across the United States. He is also a key architect behind Lambda Legal's efforts to secure the ability of transgender people to obtain accurate identity documents, serving as lead counsel in the cases challenging the discriminatory birth certificate policies of Kansas, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee. Presently, Gonzalez-Pagan represents two same-sex couples and their children in two cases (Kiviti v. Pompeo and Mize v. Pompeo) challenging the U.S. Department of State's policy treating the children of married same-sex couples as non-marital children and denying them birthright citizenship. Prior to joining Lambda Legal, Gonzalez-Pagan worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Assistant Attorney General, a Special Assistant District Attorney, and an Associate General Counsel to the Massachusetts Inspector General. Gonzalez-Pagan is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Cornell University.
Gary Greener - Gary counsels students on all aspects of career development and the job search process. He also interacts with employers and engages in outreach to increase job opportunities for UCLA students. Prior to joining UCLA in 2014, Gary worked for 14 years at Southwestern Law School where he served as the Senior Associate Dean for Career, Admissions and Financial Aid Services. He also has ten years of experience as a practicing lawyer, and served as the hiring partner for a 50-lawyer law firm, Breidenbach Buckley, et al. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, a law degree from Southwestern Law School, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Heron Greenesmith - Heron Greenesmith monitors anti-LGBTQI rhetoric as a Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates and is an adjunct faculty member at Boston University School of Law. Heron has worked in progressive advocacy spaces for over a decade with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. Heron is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and American University, Washington College of Law. Heron is admitted to the New York and Massachusetts bars. They are a former board secretary of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, a former board member of the National LGBT Bar Association, a former Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
Sharita Gruberg - Sharita Gruberg (she/her) is the Policy Director for the LGBTQ Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress. In that role, she leads the organization's federal policy work advancing LGBTQ equality and combating discrimination. Prior to joining American Progress, Sharita worked for the Women's Refugee Commission, the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration, and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Sharita earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar and writing program director for the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, and she also received the Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies Certificate from the Institute for the Study of International Migration. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Women's Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sharita also serves on the board of the Capital Area Immigrant Rights Coalition and was recognized by the National LGBT Bar Association as one of the 40 Best LGBTQ+ Attorneys Under the Age of 40 in 2019.
Mary Grace Guzmán - Mary Grace Guzmán of Guzmán Legal Solutions advises lawyers, law firms, and law students on their professional responsibilities and risk management needs. She also teaches legal ethics and professional responsibility at JFK Law School. She works with lawyers and law firms regarding legal ethics issues such as conflict of interest issues, fee disputes, and advises lawyers and law firms as outside ethics counsel to manage risk. Ms. Guzmán recognizes that a lawyer’s or law firm’s needs are best met by preventing legal ethical issues before they arise or managing an ethical issue once identified.
Tyler Hagenbuch - Political law attorney Tyler Hagenbuch advises clients engaged in activities across the political spectrum. When clients participate in this highly regulated field, Tyler helps them navigate their political and ethical compliance requirements in a way that achieves their strategic goals and protects their reputational interests. Tyler also has extensive experience in voting rights and voter participation laws, and regularly counsels organizations around activities such as campaigns for voter registration and get-out-the-vote and the development of election-related technology products.
Kevin Hall - Kevin Hall is the Managing Partner of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP’s Columbia, South Carolina office, and serves as a member of the Firm Management Committee. Kevin also has represented multiple clients in constitutional challenges arising from state and federal campaign finance laws and state criminal domestic violence statutes. He served as successful amicus counsel for the South Carolina Equality Coalition in its challenge to the constitutionality of South Carolina’s criminal domestic violence statutes. On the political law front, Kevin has successfully represented multiple statewide elected officials in cases in the original jurisdiction of the South Carolina Supreme Court, before legislative ethics committees, and in impeachment proceedings brought by the South Carolina House of Representatives. Kevin is active in South Carolina politics and public policy. He has served as legal counsel to the South Carolina Republican Party, Governor Mark Sanford, Senator Lindsey Graham, Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Jim DeMint, and Representative Trey Gowdy, among others. Kevin served as co-chair of the Republican Party's Victory 2008 Committee, and was elected as an alternate delegate in 2008 to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most recently, Kevin successfully challenged South Carolina's "no promo homo" law, resulting in the overturning of the Anti-LGBTQ Curriculum provision of the state’s Comprehensive Health Education Act.
Marci Hamilton - Marci A. Hamilton is the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program Professor of Practice, and Fox Family Pavilion Resident Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the founder, CEO, and Academic Director of CHILD USA, www.childusa.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic think tank at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to prevent child abuse and neglect. Before moving to the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Hamilton was the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Hamilton is the leading expert on child sex abuse statutes of limitations and has submitted testimony and advised legislators in every state where significant reform has occurred. She is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge University Press), which advocates for the elimination of child sex abuse statutes of limitations. She has filed countless pro bono amicus briefs for the protection of children at the United States Supreme Court and the state supreme courts. Her textbook, CHILDREN AND THE LAW, co-authored with Martin Gardner, will be published Fall 2017 by Carolina Academic Press, formerly Lexis/Nexis. Hamilton has been a vocal and influential critic of extreme religious liberty, advocating for the vulnerable about overreaching. Hamilton successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) at the Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores (1997), and defeated the RFRA claim brought by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against hundreds of child sex abuse survivors in Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki (7th Cir. 2015). She has represented numerous cities dealing with church-state issues as well as claims brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA). The author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, she is also a columnist for Verdict on Justia.com. Hamilton has been honored with the 2018 Pennsylvania State University Department of Philosophy Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2017 University of Pennsylvania Law School Louis H. Pollak Public Service Award, the 2016 Voice Today, Voice of Gratitude Award; the 2015 Religious Liberty Award, American Humanist Association; the 2014 Freethought Heroine Award; the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award, 2012; the E. Nathaniel Gates Award for outstanding public advocacy and scholarship, 2008; and selected as a Pennsylvania Woman of the Year Award, 2012, among others. She is also frequently quoted in the national media on child abuse and neglect, statute of limitations, constitutional, RFRA, RLUIPA, and First Amendment issues. Hamilton clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professor Hamilton is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, B.A., summa cum laude; Pennsylvania State University, M.A. (English, fiction writing, High Honors); M.A. (Philosophy); and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif.
Emily Hansbarger - Emily Hansbarger is a rising 3L at Charleston School of Law, where she restarted her LGBTQ+ organization, Alliance for Equality, her 1L year (2018-2019). She has worked directly with a dean at her school to have inclusive language on their applications and for there to be gender neutral bathrooms. Emily continues to push for LGBTQ+ inclusivity at her school. Her 2L year she held a spot on the Law Student Congress board and currently holds the position of Co-Chair. Emily earned a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from Aurora University, graduating early, in December 2017. She aspires to work with civil rights, post law school.
Dr. Keith Hansen - Dr. Keith Hansen is the Chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Law. Dr. Hansen is an expert on the medical treatment of transgender children and testified against proposed legislation in South Dakota that sought to criminalize such care.
John T. Hendricks -
Jessica Hernandez - Jessica Hernandez is an attorney at Alcock & Associates, P.C. with over 18 years of legal experience, focusing on criminal defense and personal injury. Jessica is an Arizona native, originally from Superior, Arizona. She graduated with honors from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, in the top 10% of her class. Jessica’s legal experience includes two prestigious federal judicial clerkships with judges on both the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to her experience as a criminal defense attorney and civil litigator, she also worked as a prosecutor with the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. Throughout her career Jessica has handled felony and misdemeanor cases of all types. She has a passion for defending the rights of individuals and communities whose voices too often go unheard, in particular the LGBT and Latino communities.
Michael Hui - Michael J. Hui is an experienced litigator and trial attorney, and has committed his career to defending employers. He focuses his practice on wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions; single-plaintiff lawsuits; and complex litigation in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration. Michael has also appeared and argued before several California Courts of Appeal. Michael’s significant representations include defending international corporations in high stakes sexual harassment matters, winning summary judgment on numerous occasions, and co-chairing civil and administrative trials. In addition, Michael helps employers navigate the ever-changing landscape of California employment law. Michael frequently counsels clients on how to comply with their legal obligations and best practices to avoid costly and avoidable lawsuits.
Nan Hunter - Early in her career, Georgetown Professor Nan Hunter specialized in constitutional and civil rights law as a member of the national legal staff of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. She has taught as a full-time or visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School, Harvard Law School, the University of Miami Law School, and UCLA Law School, in addition to Georgetown. From 1993 to 1996, she was Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Professor Hunter's scholarship has been published in many law journals, and several of her articles have been selected for reprinting in anthologies. With William Eskridge, she wrote the first casebook to conceptualize sexuality and gender law as embodying a dynamic relationship between state regulation, sexual practices, and gender norms. Her most recent law and social movement scholarship focuses on the ramifications of the same-sex marriage campaign for democratic theory.
William Isasi - William Isasi represents governments and companies in various industries on all aspects of antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings and World Trade Organization (WTO) litigation. He joined the firm after serving as an Assistant Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement & Compliance. In this role, he provided extensive legal advice on trade enforcement to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement & Compliance, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and other Department officials. Mr. Isasi has argued before international tribunals including the WTO Appellate Body and panels, and the NAFTA Chapter 19 binational panel pertaining to the 2001 Softwood Lumber from Canada antidumping investigation. He managed legal services for several complex antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, including the recent countervailing duty investigation of Sugar from Mexico. He also managed a number of significant WTO disputes for the Commerce Department including the China CVD 1 (DS 379) and China CVD 2 (DS 437) disputes.
Matthew Israel - Matt is an attorney with Intel Corporation who currently supports Intel’s marketing, performance analysis, and sports groups. Matt has a wide variety of legal experience both inside and outside of Intel, including technology transactions, IP counseling, gaming, entertainment, new technologies, privacy, and commercial law.
Alesdair Ittelson - Alesdair represents individuals who expand our conceptions of sex and gender and who have experienced discrimination in institutional settings such as schools, hospitals, and juvenile justice facilities. Alesdair has worked with a wide variety of entities including governments, universities, and health care organizations on reducing liability and raising up the voices of youth populations. Prior to joining interACT, Alesdair was the recipient of a Skadden Fellowship and worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, where he represented trans youth throughout the South.
Mike Jackson - Mike Jackson is Assistant General Counsel/Senior Director for Microsoft’s Global Workplace Investigations Team (WIT) and serves as an At-Large Board Member on the National LGBT Bar Association's Board of Directors. As a member of the WIT leadership team, Mike leads a team of seven ethics and compliance attorneys responsible for conducting complex workplace investigations for the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, Mike helps lead the WIT team’s data governance and data reporting strategy. Prior to Microsoft, Mike was Director, Employee Relations Counsel at Target Corporation where led the employment team for Target’s Central US region (which stretches across 23 states and include over 500 stores). Before Target, Mike led the Employee Relations and Labor Relations functions for all of Smucker’s US manufacturing facilities and, prior to that role, he was global labor and employment counsel at McDonald’s Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. In 2019, Mike was recognized by the LGBT Bar as one of its 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers under 40, and was also recognized as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow. Mike is a proud Buckeye (graduate of The Ohio State University) and lives in Seattle, Washington with his husband.
Judge Mike Jacobs - Judge Mike Jacobs has served as a judge on the State Court of DeKalb County since June 2015. He is one of only two openly bisexual or pansexual judges (state or federal, trial or appellate) in the United States. Prior to his judicial service, Judge Jacobs served ten and a half years in the Georgia House of Representatives. He was chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Oversight Committee (MARTOC), the joint House and Senate committee that oversees the management, budget, and fiscal affairs of Metro Atlanta's transit system. Judge Jacobs also served as chairman of one of the two subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee. In 2010, he received the Allen Thornell Political Advancement Award from Georgia Equality for passing a stronger anti-bullying law for public schools. Judge Jacobs received his law degree in 2003, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was the executive articles editor of the Georgia Law Review. He received his bachelor's degree in 1997 from Georgetown University. Judge Jacobs serves on the boards of directors of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, Atlanta Bar Association Judicial Section, and Leadership DeKalb. He also serves as the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia's representative on the Judicial Council of Georgia's Committee on Access to Justice. In 2019, Judge Jacobs was recognized by the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia at its annual awards gala with the award for Outstanding Service to the Stonewall Community. Judge Jacobs and his wife Evan are the proud parents of three children, Jonah, Eli, and Samantha.
Bryanna Jenkins - Bryanna Jenkins, a proud Baltimore native, is a December 2019 graduate of DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, IL. She is the founder and first executive director of the Baltimore Transgender Alliance. She organized the first Baltimore Trans March of Resilience. Her legal writings examine the intersections of racial, gender, and queer identities under the law. Her article Birth Certificate with a Benefit: Using LGBTQ Jurisprudence to Make the Argument for a Transgender Person’s Constitutional Right to Amended Identity Documents was published in the Winter 2019 edition of the CUNY Law Review.
Ashland Johnson - Ashland Johnson is a civil rights lawyer, sports inclusion policy expert, and former Division I athlete. Recently, she served as the Public Education Director for the Human Rights Campaign, executing public education campaigns on the intersection of race, sexual orientation, sports, gender, and faith. Ashland also served as Athlete Ally's Policy Director, working with sports leaders to promote LGBTQ inclusion on the field and under the law. Prior to joining the Athlete Ally team, she served as Policy Counsel for the National Center for Lesbian Rights where she worked with the first national LGBTQ Sports Project to promote LGBTQ inclusion. Ashland has written and presented extensively on sports inclusion, and on the intersection of sports, race, and gender. Ashland was named as one of the best LGBTQ lawyers under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. She currently serves on the national Board of Directors for the Point Foundation.
Jennedy Johnson - Jennedy S. Johnson is an Assistant General Counsel at PECO Energy Company. In this role she advises senior management in all areas of regulatory law, including utility and administrative law and ethics. She also represents the company in matters before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Johnson is a pro bono coordinator for PECO, and also maintains a substantial pro bono practice. She volunteers with numerous organizations including the Homeless Advocacy Project, the SeniorLAW Center, the Nationalities Service Center, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the Homeless Advocacy Project and Women's Way. Ms. Johnson is a member of the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She earned a JD cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh, and a BS from Pennsylvania State University.
Barbara Jones - Barbara Jones is a member of the State Bar of California and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. She has been a Senior Attorney with AARP Foundation Litigation's unit since 2004 where she has worked on a broad spectrum of cases impacting low income adults. She has filed amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs on behalf of AARP in a variety of cases in the Supreme Court including multiple patent cases impacting low-income adults' access to health care. While at AARP Foundation, Ms. Jones served as co-counsel in 23 age discrimination class action cases. She has also worked on Social Security, investor fraud, housing, government benefit and arbitration cases. Prior to working for the AARP Foundation, Ms. Jones worked as a Research Attorney for the San Mateo County Superior Court, taught legal research and appellate brief writing at Santa Clara University, School of Law and worked as an attorney for the California Rural Legal Assistance where she served as the state wide employment/labor coordinator. Among the government benefit cases Ms. Jones has argued are: Rosales v. Thompson, 321 F.3d 835 (9th Cir. 2003) (a foster care case described by one commentator as the most significant Title IV- E event since passage of the Child Welfare Act of 1980); California v. Shalala, 166 F.3d 1019 (9th Cir. 1999) Anderson v. Superior Court, 68 Cal.App.4th 1240 (1998) Land v. Anderson, 55 Cal.App.4th 69 (1997).
Courtney Joslin - Courtney Joslin is a Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law. She is a leading expert in the areas of family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus on same-sex and unmarried couples. She is a co-author (with William N. Eskridge Jr. & Nan D. Hunter) of the textbook--Sexuality, Gender, and the Law. She is also co-author (with Shannon P. Minter & Catherine Sakimura) of a leading treatise--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family Law. Professor Joslin served as the Reporter for the Uniform Parentage Act (2017) which, among other things, permits and regulates surrogacy.
Richard B. Katskee - Richard B. Katskee is Legal Director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, where he litigates cases under the First Amendment’s Establishment, Free Exercise, and Free Speech Clauses. Previously, Richard was a member of the Supreme Court & Appellate practice at Mayer Brown LLP and was Deputy Director of the Program Legal Group in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (where he led development of policy implementing federal antidiscrimination laws). Richard received his J.D. from the Yale Law School, his A.M. in political science from Harvard University, and his A.B. with highest distinction and high honors from the University of Michigan. He clerked for Judges Stephen Reinhardt (Ninth Circuit) and Guido Calabresi (Second Circuit). He has taught church–state law at the American University Washington College of Law and ethics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard College. He is a member of the American Law Institute, an adviser to the Restatement of the Law: Children and the Law, and a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the National Museum of American Religion and formerly served on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Science Education.
Anastasia Kaup - Anastasia Kaup is a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group at Duane Morris LLP and advises clients in a broad array of financing transactions. Anastasia's clients include financial institutions, private equity sponsors and portfolio companies, investment funds, asset managers, and other financing counterparties. Anastasia structures, negotiates, and documents complex financing transactions domestically and internationally at all levels of the organizational structure, with specific focuses on fund finance, sponsor finance, and financing in distressed situations. Anastasia is a 2020 National LGBT Bar Association "Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40" Award recipient who has been involved with LGBTQ+ community advocacy, volunteer work, and education initiatives for nearly two decades. Anastasia has contributed pro bono legal services to and volunteered with numerous community and non-profit organizations including Out in Finance, Lambda Legal, and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Anastasia is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Utah.
Ayesha Khan - Ayesha N. Khan has represented a party or an amicus curiae in more than thirty U.S. Supreme Court cases, over one hundred appeals, and scores of trial-level matters. She was the Legal Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State for fifteen years and later served as a Deputy Chief in the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. She left the federal government several years ago to go into private practice. As the Principal at Rock Creek Law, LLC, Khan litigates civil rights cases ranging from employment-discrimination disputes to First Amendment challenges. She also consults to a diverse array of civil rights organizations, providing mentorship to junior attorneys and strategic advice on cases. Khan is also a Partner with the Potomac Law Group, PLLC, where she oversees the firm's appellate practice, which represents commercial and individual clients in state and federal appellate courts nationwide. Khan is admitted to practice in D.C. and Maryland, every federal circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She received her JD from the University of California at Berkeley and her BA from the University of Michigan. She can be reached at khan@rockcreeklaw.com and akhan@potomaclaw.com; or (202) 836-7136.
Mik Kinkead - Mik Kinkead (he/him) is a white transgender man who has worked as a staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York and as the Director of Prisoner Justice at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP). He currently works as the staff attorney for the Rikers Island Civil Re-Entry Project at The Legal Aid Society. In this capacity Mik provides civil legal services to reduce the collateral consequences of detention and incarceration. He has taught a weekly Know Your Rights class for TGNCNBI people in the NYC jails since it opened 2015. Mik has also taught CLEs across the US on working with TGNCNBI people as colleagues and in prison and jail contexts and has authored or co-authored six publications on TGNCNBI people and their rights in prison and jail contexts. Mik is a member of the New York City Jails Action Coalition and the New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement.
Vonda Kirby Pardo - Vonda Kirby Pardo is product and commercial counsel at Google. In this hybrid role, she advises on commercial deals and issues, including those related to Google’s unified mobile development platform, Firebase, and counsels the Material Design team, which has a mission to enable developers and designers to build high-quality digital experiences. She joined Google in April, during the pandemic, after working as an associate general counsel at Facebook. During her time at Facebook, Vonda worked closely with various client teams on commercial-related matters in connection with the development and supply of components for augmented and virtual reality devices. Prior to Facebook, she worked as commercial counsel at GE Appliances, which is where she began her in-house career. Before moving in-house, Vonda spent seven years in private practice as a commercial litigator. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her wife, who is pregnant with their first child due this December, and their two dogs.
Paula Kohut - Paula A. Kohut is a partner in Kohut, Adams & Randall, PA in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her principal practice areas are estate planning, trust and estate administration, business law and asset protection. Paula is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She received her B.A. degree, from the University of California at Irvine in 1980 and her J.D. degree, with honors, from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1983. She is a Council Member and Vice Chair of the Estate and Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, and a member of the North Carolina Commission on Inclusion. She also serves on the Board of St. Jude’s Wilmington Foundation, Inc.
Sydney Kopp-Richardson - Sydney Kopp-Richardson is the Director of SAGE's National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative, working to reshape the housing landscape nationally and increase the availability of safer LGBT elder housing through policy advocacy, research, and housing development. Previously, Sydney worked in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City in direct service, organizing and advocacy, and policy analysis around affordable housing development. Through an anti-racist framework, Sydney centers the needs of LGBTQ communities, people involved in the justice system, people living with mental health challenges, and others living in the margins. Sydney has developed anti-violence curriculum and policy recommendations for LGBTQ communities and infuses this into her work in housing development and sexual violence prevention in New York City nightlife venues. Sydney brings a reverence for the expertise and legacies of LGBTQ elders in the formation of policies and programming developed to serve them in the fight for collective liberation, and she brings this to SAGE's national housing initiative.
Jay Larry - Jay Larry advises domestic and international privately- and publicly-held companies active in the energy industry with regard to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Jay has also counseled special purpose acquisition companies in connection with their acquisitions of target companies. Jay represents issuers in capital markets transactions, including private and public offerings of debt and equity securities and tender offers. He also provides guidance in connection with Exchange Act reporting and corporate governance matters, including compliance with the rules of the NYSE and NASDAQ. Jay is a member of the board of the National Trans Bar Association and interned at the Transgender Law Center in 2015. In 2018, he published "The Transgender Marriage Dilemma" with the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society.
Melissa Lauderdale-Ward - Melissa Lauderdale-Ward is an experienced leader with over 20 years of experience with energy companies. She brings experience in legal operations, policy advocacy to support business growth, compliance programs for regulated industries, legal support for competitive energy companies, and employee development. Melissa currently serves as Chief of Staff to Thomas O'Neill, Exelon's General Counsel and Director of Legal Operations. In that role she leads the operational side of the Exelon Legal Department where she has overseen an organizational assessment, streamlined processes, upgraded technology, and increased focus on talent development. In her prior role, Melissa served as Assistant General Counsel at Constellation. Melissa led a team that provides regulatory and compliance support to Constellation's electricity, natural gas, distributed energy, natural gas and energy efficiency businesses. This included maintaining all licenses and making hundreds of compliance filings as well as counseling her clients on compliance matters, advocating for regulatory policy to support business needs, and supporting strategic transactions. Prior to joining Exelon, Melissa worked for Integrys Energy Services, a retail energy supplier, where she had responsibility for state and federal government and regulatory affairs, compliance, and utility contracts. Her team delivered policy improvements that millions of dollars in O&M reductions and business opportunities. Melissa served as President of the Retail Energy Supplier Association (RESA). RESA is the main trade association for retail suppliers. In that role, she lead the Board of Directors, supervised the staff, developed policies and procedures, and spoke to the media. She has served on other trade association boards, and done extensive public speaking. She has also provided leadership for diversity efforts at both Constellation and Integrys. Melissa obtained her Bachelors of Arts from the Plan II Honors Program, Masters of Public Affairs and Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a Masters of Laws from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She is a member of Texas and the District of Columbia Bar Associations. Melissa and her wife, C.J., have a 14-year-old son and they live in Pikesville, Maryland. Melissa is a member of the Maryland Youth Equality Alliance. Melissa uses she/her/hers pronouns.
Jennifer Lav - Jennifer Lav (she/her/hers) is a Senior Attorney in the National Health Law Program's D.C. office, where she works on issues related to Medicaid, long-term care services and supports, behavioral health care, and federal health care reform. Before joining National Health Law Program, Jennifer was a staff attorney and then a managing attorney at Disability Rights D.C. at University Legal Services (DRDC), the Protection & Advocacy Program for the District of Columbia. While at DRDC, she supervised the agency's mental health advocacy, focusing on increasing access to community-based services for youth and adults, investigating abuse and neglect in facilities, and protecting and expanding autonomy and choice for District residents with disabilities. She also served as class counsel in several longstanding cases against the District government on behalf of District residents with disabilities. Prior to joining DRDC, Jennifer was a staff attorney at the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and a clinical lecturer at the University of Alabama School of Law. Her work in Alabama focused on special education and Medicaid advocacy. Jennifer received her B.A. from Hampshire College and her J.D. from Columbia Law School. Upon graduation, she clerked for Judge Myron H. Thompson, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama.
Robert Leckey - Robert Leckey is a full professor at the Faculty of Law, where he teaches constitutional law and family law. He served as director of the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law from August 2014 to June 2016. On 1 July 2016, he began a five-year term as Dean of the Faculty of Law. From 2002 to 2003, he served as law clerk for Justice Michel Bastarache of the Supreme Court of Canada. From 2003 to 2006, he undertook doctoral studies in law at the University of Toronto as a Trudeau scholar. His dissertation, which received the Alan Marks Medal for best graduate thesis in 2006, was published as Contextual Subjects: Family, State, and Relational Theory, by University of Toronto Press in 2008. In 2005-2006, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Centre de recherche en éthique de l’Université de Montréal (CRÉUM). He joined the Faculty of Law in July 2006 and was named a William Dawson Scholar by McGill University in 2011. During his sabbatical leave in 2012-2013, he was a special visitor at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. He has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 2003 and an advocate of the Barreau du Québec since 2020. From 2017 to 2020, he was a solicitor of the Barreau du Québec. From 2008-2011, he chaired the McGill Equity Subcommittee on Queer People. In 2010-2011, he served as director of research for the Inquiry Commission on the Process for Appointing Judges (the Bastarache Commission). From 2011 to 2015, he was the president of Egale Canada. From 2011 to 2016, he chaired its Legal Issues Committee. Robert Leckey has received the Prix de la Fondation du Barreau du Québec (2007); the Canadian Association of Law Teachers' Scholarly Paper Prize (2009); the McGill Law Students’ Association’s John W. Durnford Teaching Excellence Award (2009); the Canada Prize of the International Academy of Comparative Law (2010); the Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2010); and the Principal’s Change-Maker Prize for his public engagement through media in 2020. In 2014, he was selected for membership in the Global Young Academy.
John LeCrone - John LeCrone (he/him) is an accomplished employment partner and trial lawyer at n Davis Wright Tremaine (“DWT”). John is a vigorous advocate for his clients, representing employers and management in wrongful discharge, harassment, and discrimination litigation; wage and hour class actions, trade secrets/unfair competition and ERISA; and in proceedings before federal and state administrative agencies. His clients include top media and entertainment companies, health care organizations, aerospace, manufacturing, along with hospitalisty and retail chains. John spearheaded the establishment of DWT’s LGBTQ+ affinity group in and currently serves as its co-chair, focusing his attention and energy on building a community where other lawyers feel welcomed and supported. His immediate goal was to create a transformative space, where attorneys could bond over helping promote one another, provide valuable insights, and encourage connections that would lead to more successes. This included starting the first internal LGBTQ mentorship program, connecting with outside LGBTQ+ organizations, and offering scholarships to LGBTQ+ law students to strengthen the firm’s pipeline of LGBTQ+ talent. Hse also spearheaded the firm’s annual LGBTQ “Coming Out” events for local area law students, clients, and in-house counsel in Los Angeles (2018), New York City (2019), and Seattle (2020), with more in the pipeline. He aimed to have his initiatives ensure that “our community knows they have a seat at the table.” In addition, John mentors 3-4 LGBTQ attorneys within the firm, and has been active in Lambda Legal’s Liberty Circle, doing development and supportive work for important cases and legal issues within the community. His efforts resulted in John being named one of the “Top Minority Attorneys in Los Angeles” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, as well as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in employment law by Best Lawyers in 2020.
Sophia Lee - Sophia Lee, Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Blank Rome LLP, is a trusted adviser to her clients, helping them to meet their business objectives through the legal process. She handles commercial, environmental, products liability, and toxic tort matters in the energy, chemical and other industries. She advises clients on regulatory concerns as well as on matters of constitutional significance. Ms. Lee also has experience with coordinating a national docket consisting of hundreds of toxic tort cases; managing government investigations and inquiries; and developing litigation and information management policies and best practices. She also provides guidance and education to her clients on matters relating to diversity and inclusion. Ms. Lee has advocated for meaningful diversity and inclusion throughout her legal career and serves as Chair of Blank Rome's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and on its Recruiting and Retention Committee. She is an active member of the Forum of the Executive Women; a board member and past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania; a board member and past co-president of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group; and a past diversity chair for the Philadelphia Bar Association. Ms. Lee also previously served as vice chair of the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs. Prior to rejoining Blank Rome, Ms. Lee served as chief litigation counsel at Sunoco, Inc., in the litigation department of another Am Law 100 firm, and as a federal judicial law clerk to the late Honorable James McGirr Kelly, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She received her J.D. and LL.M. from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she was a member of the Temple Law Review and the Moot Court Honor Society, and her B.A. from Cornell University.
Nona Lee - Nona Lee is in her 21st season with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020, and serves as Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, overseeing all legal matters for the organization and managing the Legal Department. She is also the chair of D-backs For Change, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Diversity & Inclusion / Social Justice Initiative. Lee is also active in the community and in the sports industry. She is the founder of the Phoenix Women's Sports Association, an Arizona non-profit organization whose mission is to help girls and women find their power through sports. In addition, she currently serves as a member of the board of directors and Immediate Past President of the Sports Lawyers Association, as well as Co-Chairing the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Nominating & Governance Committee and Strategic Planning Committees for the SLA. Lee also serves on the boards of the National LGBT Bar and Blvck Womxn Worldwide, as well as on the advisory boards for the Phoenix Chapter of Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University School of Law, and the Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State University Law School. In addition, Lee serves on the American Arbitration Association’s commercial and sports law panels, and is a member of the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel. Lee also serves on the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Next Council. Lee has received several awards including, most recently, the 2017 Positively Powerful Women Award for Global Leadership, being named a Sports Business Journal Game Changers in 2018, and being honored in 2019 as a Woman of Distinction by Achieving My Purpose, as well as by the Arizona State Bar as Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year.
M. Dru Levasseur - M. Dru Levasseur serves as Deputy Program Officer for the National LGBT Bar, working to deepen the Bar's programmatic work around the country and increase outreach to and education for constituencies including law schools and students, law firms, and corporations. Previously, Dru was Senior Attorney and Transgender Rights Project Director for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. During almost a decade at Lambda Legal, Dru served as counsel in landmark transgender rights impact litigation, contributed to important amicus briefs, and advocated on behalf of transgender people nationwide. Dru was also instrumental in the creation and development of Lambda Legal's Transgender Rights Project in 2013, as well as Lambda's Trans Toolkit. Prior to joining Lambda Legal, Dru was the first staff attorney at Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and before that, served as a law clerk in the Massachusetts Superior Court. In 2007, Dru co-founded the Jim Collins Foundation, a trans-led national nonprofit that funds surgeries for transgender people in need. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, and his law degree from Western New England University School of Law.
Jennifer Levi - Levi is the director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)'s Transgender Rights Project and a nationally recognized expert on transgender legal issues. She is one of two transgender attorneys leading the legal fight against President Trump's transgender military ban in both Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump. Levi's precedent-setting transgender rights cases include: O'Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (2010), which established that medical care relating to gender transition qualifies for a medical tax deduction; Adams v. Bureau of Prisons (2011), which successfully challenged a federal prison policy excluding medical care for 2019 transgender inmates who came into the system without a transition-related medical plan; and Doe v. Clenchy (2014), in which the first state high court ruled that a transgender girl must be fully integrated into her public elementary school as a girl, including having full and equal access to restrooms. In Doe v. MA DOC, Levi currently represents an incarcerated transgender woman seeking to be transferred to a women's correctional facility who is challenging the exclusion of transgender people from the protections of the American with Disabilities Act. Levi was co-counsel in two landmark marriage equality cases, winning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Massachusetts (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 2003) and Connecticut (Kerrigan v. Department of Public Health, 2008), and recently secured a groundbreaking child-centered parentage ruling at the Vermont Supreme Court in Sinnott v. Peck (2017). Levi is a law professor at Western New England University, co-editor of Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy (2012), and serves on the Legal Committee of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a former law clerk to the Honorable Judge Michael Boudin at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Noah Lewis - Noah E. Lewis is the Trans Health Project director at Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, where he was previously a staff attorney. His work focuses on eliminating barriers to insurance coverage for transgender-related health care. Noah is also the founder and former executive director of Transcend Legal, and has held interim positions at Transgender Law Center, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and ran a solo law practice serving transgender clients. Noah was the first openly transgender student to graduate from Harvard Law School, where he worked to eliminate trans health exclusions in student and staff health plans. Noah is a co-chair of the NYC Bar Association's LGBTQ Rights Committee and is a past recipient of the Committee's Arthur S. Leonard Award recognizing compelling commitment to LGBT equality through the law.
Samuel Light - Samuel M. Light is a litigation associate resident in Fried Frank's New York office. Mr. Light's practice focuses on white collar criminal and regulatory matters, corporate investigations and complex commercial litigation. He has represented clients in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations conducted by the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission, and the New York County District Attorney's Office. Prior to joining Fried Frank, Mr. Light served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ona T. Wang, United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prior to his clerkship, Mr. Light was an associate at a national law firm.
Angela Lim - Angela is the General Counsel of Grasshopper Ventures Group, Inc., an Ag-Tech start up, as well as the Deputy General Counsel of Viz.ai, Inc., a Digital Health start up. She's a co-chair of the NAPABA LGBTQ Network and the founder of the LGBTQ ERGs at Castlight Health, Inc., ("The Family") and Grand Rounds, Inc. ("e-Quality").
Jesse Ryan Loffler - I am a commercial litigation partner at Cozen O'Connor resident in the Pittsburgh, PA and New York, NY offices focusing on matters relating to securities law, shareholder litigation, contract, governmental investigations, insurance, real estate, and bankruptcy or distressed businesses. I also have an extensive pro bono practice serving a diverse range of clients in impact litigation, including matters relating to LGBTQ and political asylum, voting rights, women's access to health care, and transgender rights. In that capacity, I have been involved in LGBTQ civil rights cases on behalf of parties and amici in state and federal courts from the trial level to the United States Supreme Court. I earned my undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University, and earned my law degree, magna cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where I was head editor of the Cardozo Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif. I also sit on the Board of Directors of the National LGBT Bar Foundation and am a former director (and was one of the founding directors) of Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty (CHILD) USA, a non-profit think tank based in Philadelphia dedicated to protecting children and preventing abuse.
Deborah Lolai - Deborah Lolai is the founder and supervising attorney of the LGBTQ Defense Practice at the Bronx Defenders. In her role, Deborah represents LGBTQ clients in criminal cases and related legal matters, provides internal and external cultural competency and best practices trainings, and engages in community organizing and advocacy efforts to empower our LGBTQ clients, and reduce the harm caused by the various systems they navigate. Deborah is a member of the NYC Board of Correction Task Force on Issues Facing Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary and/or Intersex People in Custody. She is currently the facilitator of the NYC LGBT Direct Services RoundTable, which organizes direct service providers in NYC serving LGBTQ clients.
Dr. Izzy Lowell -
Laura Maechtlen - Laura Maechtlen is the National Chair of the Labor and Employment Department at Seyfarth Shaw LLP and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. Her practice is focused on employment litigation and includes the defense of class, collective and multi-plaintiff actions. Laura also has experience litigating against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in systemic actions, both at the early charge stage and in large-scale EEOC pattern-and-practice litigation. Laura is a national leader on issues related to diversity and inclusion in the legal industry, and has held a variety of leadership positions through which she has advocated for systemic improvement in the legal industry in the areas of diversity and inclusion. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the California Minority Counsel Program. She is a previous Latina Commissioner for the Hispanic National Bar Association, President of the National LGBT Bar Association, Chair of the CA Minority Counsel Program, and Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Laura is also a founding member of SeyfarthLife, her Firm’s core initiative focused on health, wellness and resiliency for all personnel. Laura speaks and publishes regularly on a variety of employment law and litigation topics, and issues regarding diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, and has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Reuters, The Recorder, Vogue, The Daily Journal, the Insurance Journal, CIO.com, Employment Law 360, and others. She has also served as a contributing editor to multiple editions of The Fair Labor Standards Act (ABA) and The Developing Labor Law (BNA).
Glenn Magpantay - Glenn D. Magpantay, Esq. is the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), which works at the intersections of LGBT equality, racial justice and immigrants rights. Before, Glenn had a long and distinguished career as a civil rights attorney as the Democracy Program Director at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), where he worked to protect and promote the voting rights and political participation of Asian Americans. He continues to inspire new legal minds and future advocates by teaching Race & the Law at Brooklyn Law School and Asian American Civil Rights at Hunter College/ CUNY. He has published scholarly legal articles, authored a number of reports, and has given commentary to numerous media outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, CNN, and National Public Radio. Glenn attended the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook on Long Island, and as a beneficiary of affirmative action, graduated cum laude from the New England School of Law, in Boston.
Bendita Cynthia Malakia - One of the most sought after legal diversity professionals in the country, Bendita's experience as a large law firm lawyer, in-house lawyer at two Fortune 500 professional services firms, diversity consultant and certified professional coach help her strategically advance diversity at Hogan Lovells and as an officer of the National LGBT Bar Association.
Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. - April 30, 2016, Judge Larnzell Martin, Jr., retired as an Associate Judge of the Prince George’s County, Maryland Circuit Court where he had been a member of that Court beginning in December 1990. He continues to serve as a Senior Judge for the Maryland Judiciary. Judge Martin’s judicial assignments have included service as the Administrative Judge of the District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County, Chair of the Maryland Judicial Conference’s Committee on Family Law, membership on the Judiciary’s Technology Oversight Board and Lead Judge for the Prince George’s County Model Court. December 2014 through 2017, he served as the first Chair of the Maryland Judicial Council’s Court Access and Community Relations Committee. He has also served as an instructor for the Maryland Judicial Institute, now known as the Judicial College. Prior to his May 1988 appointment to the District Court of Maryland, Judge Martin was the County Attorney for Prince George’s County, the first African American to serve in that capacity for any of Maryland’s counties. Judge Martin is a member of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, having formerly served as Secretary. A 1972 graduate of Carleton College, he currently serves on the College’s Board of Trustees and is a former member of his alma mater’s Alumni Council and its Out @fter Carleton Leadership Committee. Judge Martin received his Juris Doctorate in 1975 from Georgetown University Law Center.
Deian McBryde - Deian McBryde is a New Mexico family law attorney and mediator in solo practice. Before becoming an attorney, Deian worked in business, consulting, employee development, technology, and the arts. In a previous life, he produced Lady Bunny’s Absolut Live! tour and other events that popularized the term “gayborhood,” and he served as executive director of OUTMUSIC, the international LGBTQ musicians network, where he launched the first Outmusic Awards to recognize artists working to inspire and create change from within the LGBTQ community. In 2003, Deian was the executive director of Rainbow25, a project sponsored by Absolut to create the world’s largest rainbow flag: 1.25 miles in the original eight colors (including pink and turquoise), hand-sewn by Gilbert Baker and a team of volunteers. In 2003, the Rainbow25 flag stretched across Key West from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, carried by over 3,000 people. As a performer, Deian appeared in clubs, cabarets, and gay pride events around the world. He performed for Stonewall 25 and the Gay Games in New York City, and appeared on the cover of “Girlfriends Magazine,” the national lesbian magazine, as one of 1998’s “America’s Men We Love (Platonically). In modern times, Deian is now a Council Member-at-Large of the ABA’s Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division (GPSolo) and serves on a variety of local and national committees and boards, including the NM Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession. Deian is a member of the Family Law Institute, which shares strategies for representing the LGBT community; however, he is most proud of his standing as “the only licensed attorney in the state of New Mexico to have once had backup dancers.” www.mcbrydelaw.com
Brian McGinnis - Brian J. McGinnis is an Associate in the Labor & Employment Department of Fox Rothschild LLP. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Rutgers University School of Law and a former Executive Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review. A founding member of Fox Rothschild's LGBTQ & Allies Initiative, Brian also serves on the Executive Committee of the Independence Business Alliance, the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce for the greater Philadelphia region.
Ashe McGovern - Ashe McGovern (they, them, theirs) is the Senior LGBTQ Policy Advisor in the Office of the Mayor for the City of New York and Executive Director of the NYC Unity Project. The NYC Unity Project is New York's first Mayoral citywide initiative focused on supporting and empowering LGBTQ communities through innovative policies and programs. Recent initiatives include: funding for permanent housing and supportive services for LGBTQ homeless youth; family support mental health training programs to mitigate family rejection; training and certification for providers in NYC's public hospital system; and the recently announced NYC Unity Works program, which is the largest publicly funded LGBTQ workforce program in the nation, among other key initiatives. Before joining the Mayor's Office, Ashe was the Legislative and Policy Director of the Law, Rights and Religion Project at Columbia Law School and LGBT Policy Analyst at the Center For American Progress (CAP) in Washington DC. Prior to CAP, Ashe was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) where they started the LGBTQ Health and Economic Justice Initiative, a project focused on providing free legal services to low-income LGBTQ New Yorkers. Ashe earned their B.A. from Cornell University, magna cum laude, and J.D. from Cornell Law School, where they received the Freeman Award for Civil-Human Rights. Ashe is co-author and co-editor of Intersecting Injustice: A National Call to Action Addressing LGBTQ Poverty and Economic Justice for All (2018) published by the City University of New York Graduate Center and their work has been featured in a range of media outlets, including The Nation, Slate, Bloomberg Law, Wired, and NPR, among others.
Sharon McGowan - Sharon M. McGowan is the Chief Strategy Officer and Legal Director of Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV. Relying on her litigation expertise and her experience in the Obama administration, Sharon leads the Legal Department’s talented team of over thirty attorneys and paraprofessionals who advocate for our community in courtrooms, statehouses, and other venues throughout the country. As Legal Director, Sharon oversees Lambda Legal’s efforts to resist any attempt by the Trump Administration – or any other opponent of LGBTQ equality – to thwart or roll back our community’s progress toward full formal and lived equality. Sharon joined Lambda Legal in February 2017 as its Director of Strategy, and established Lambda Legal’s Washington, D.C. office. Previously, McGowan served as the Principal Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division in Department of Justice. In addition to supervising attorneys working on a broad range of civil rights appellate matters in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals, McGowan advised Department of Justice leadership on high-profile and sensitive litigation and policy matters relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, and served as co-chair of the Division’s Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Working Group. McGowan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Norman H. Stahl, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Helen G. Berrigan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. McGowan is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia.
Justice Sabrina McKenna - Sabrina Shizue McKenna grew up in Japan and the Philippines with Japanese as her first language. She received her B.A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and her J.D. from the university’s William S. Richardson School of Law (WSRSL). She was then a civil litigator, general counsel to a Japan-based conglomerate, and assistant professor at WSRSL. In 1993, she was appointed a state limited jurisdiction trial judge, and in 1995, a general jurisdiction trial judge. In 2009, she was appointed presiding judge of the Oʻahu family court. Upon her appointment to the Hawaii Supreme Court in 2011, she became the first openly LGBTQ Asian Pacific American justice of a state court of last resort, for which she was awarded the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. She has received various additional awards.
Carrington "Rusty" Mead - Attorney Carrington Madison Mead has been practicing law, as a solo practitioner, since 2004. He is admitted to practice in Florida, and the Florida Northern and Middle District Courts of Florida. He received a bachelor's in Sociology from the University of North Florida with a minor in accounting. His practices areas include: family, military & veteran's benefits and compensation, estate planning, probate and guardianship law, with a concentration in military and LGBT families. Mr. Mead has been recognized by many organizations for his work for the less fortunate, and his advocacy, by multiple organizations both prior and after becoming an attorney. He is a vetted member of the Family Law Institute, co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the National LGBT Bar Association. He is a regular trainer for the International Transgender Institute Association's Board Certification in Transgender Therapy program, and speaks often at colleges and workplaces on legal issues involving the LGBT community. He lives in Jacksonville with his wife, and furry and feathered companions. He has a daughter and son-in-law, and when possible, loves a good weekend of camping and/or fishing.
Emily Meyer - Emily Meyer (she/her/hers) is a Staff Attorney in the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic. She graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2008. After a number of years practicing law in Cincinnati, including both transactional and litigation work, she returned to graduate school to study Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at the University of Cincinnati. An Ohio native, Emily counts herself lucky to have resided all across the Buckeye State including in Dayton, Columbus, Cambridge, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Emily is committed to LGBTQ equality as well as gender and racial justice - and the intersections therein. She is a founding member of both the Cincinnati Women's Fund's Engagement Committee and the YP Board of Cincinnati Works, a local nonprofit working towards poverty reduction by connecting job seekers with employment training and opportunities. Emily is admitted to practice in the State of Ohio and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She is based remotely in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Shannon Minter - Shannon Minter is the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), one of the nation's leading advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Minter was lead counsel for same-sex couples in the landmark California marriage equality case which held that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry and that laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation are inherently discriminatory and subject to the highest level of constitutional scrutiny. Minter was also NCLR's lead attorney in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding student group policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and rejecting the argument that such policies violated a student group's rights to freedom of speech, religion, and association. NCLR represented Hastings Outlaw, an LGBT student group who intervened to help defend the nondiscrimination policy. In 2009, Minter was named a California Lawyer of the Year by California Lawyer. In 2008, he was named among six Lawyers of the Year by Lawyers USA and among California's Top 100 Lawyers by the legal publication The Daily Journal. He also received the 2008 Dan Bradley Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Bar Association for outstanding work in marriage cases and was the recipient of the Cornell Law School Exemplary Public Service Award. In 2005, Minter was one of 18 people to receive the Ford Foundation's "Leadership for a Changing World" award. In 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Degree from the City University of New York School of Law for his advocacy on behalf of same-sex couples and their families. Shannon has also received the Anderson Prize Foundation's Creating Change Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Distinguished National Service Award from GAYLAW, the bar association for LGBT lawyers, law students, and legal professionals in Washington, D.C., Cornell Law School's Exemplary Public Service Award, the Unity Award from Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the Advocacy Award from the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Justice Award from Equality California. Minter serves on the boards of Faith in America and the Transgender Law & Policy Institute. He has previously served on the American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Minter received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1993. He is originally from Texas.
Chris J. Miritello - Since 2017, Chris Miritello has served as chief legal officer and on the executive leadership team of Memphis, Tennessee-based Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLI), a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of copper tubing, fittings, and an array of other products used in plumbing, refrigeration and industrial applications. At the time of his appointment by the Board of Directors, he was among the youngest chief legal officers of a publicly traded company in the United States. As Mueller’s General Counsel, Chris oversees a diverse portfolio of legal issues and risks, including corporate governance, securities regulation and compliance, litigation, M&A, insurance risk management, executive compensation, environmental law, intellectual property, antitrust, labor and employment, and international trade. Prior to joining Mueller Industries, Chris was associated with the New York office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he focused on securities, insurance and general commercial litigation, and internal investigations. A graduate of Harvard College and Fordham Law School, Chris was previously a member of the Harvard Opportunes (Harvard’s oldest coed acappella group) and the Fordham Law Review. In 2017, Chris was the recipient of the Fordham Law Alumni Association’s Rising Star Award. He was also recently honored with the Memphis Business Journal’s Best of the Bar Award, and by the National LGBT Bar Association as one of this year’s Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.
Preston Mitchum -
Connie Montoya - Connie Montoya brings nearly two decades of class action experience to her trial and litigation practice in employment law and consumer protection defense. Connie has litigated in the federal, state and administrative courts of New York and New Jersey in countless class action lawsuits involving claims brought under various federal and state employment and consumer laws. In the field of labor and employment, Connie counsels her clients on a variety of employment issues, focusing on discrimination and harassment matters, including claims relating to discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, pregnancy and disability. She routinely deals with claims involving state and local employment laws, and compliance with the same. As for consumer class action litigation, Connie frequently defends leading financial services organizations against claims arising from various federal regulatory statutes. Before joining Hinshaw, Connie was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Special Federal Litigation Division of the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, where she defended the City and its municipal employees in federal civil rights actions.
Sarah Moore - Sarah Moore is a partner in Fisher Phillips LLP's Cleveland office. She enjoys a robust practice that crosses industries in the private and public sectors and routinely incorporates the insights and best practices from this diversity in experience into her work. And, she thrives on handling highly sensitive and challenging issues and regularly works hand-in-hand with her clients addressing the full spectrum of labor and employment concerns. Sarah regularly handles labor contract negotiation and administration and has taught Labor Law and Collective Bargaining courses at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Cleveland State University’s Nance College of Business Administration. Although she prefers modified bargaining, her work also includes relying on traditional and interest-based models. She has a solid record of achieving client objectives and fostering positive labor relations. While she has handled strike preparation and associated litigation, Sarah prides herself in successfully bringing all the contracts she served as the primary negotiator to conclusion without a strike. Sarah’s litigation experience includes non-competes, breach of contract, workers’ compensation, discrimination, harassment, constitutional claims, and ERISA fund actions. She has also handled lawsuits for educational institutions and political subdivisions that involved issues in employment, labor, student discipline, special education, negligence and wrongful death.
Scott Morgan - Scott Morgan currently serves as the Senior Director of Sales Operations for Legal Professionals & Government at Thomson Reuters, the leading global provider of integrated information-based solutions to business and professional customers. Prior to that position and, for the past 20+ years, Scott held various leadership roles at TR with progressive responsibility beginning his tenure there as a reference staff attorney. Scott was the co-chair for the TR MSP Pride at Work Business Resource Group (BRG) from 2001-2004 & 2011-2018 and was its original co-founder. Since 2019, Scott has served as the co-chair of the Business Resource Group Global Leadership Team for TR. Scott also served on the National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation (NLGLF) board from 2005–2006 and was the NLGLF chair from 2007-2009. Scott was a board member for the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association (MLBA) from 2008-2009 co-chairing the events committee. Scott is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and holds a JD from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Aaron Morris - Aaron C. Morris is Immigration Equality's Executive Director. Prior to becoming ED, Aaron led the organization's law and policy programs. As such, he has supervised Immigration Equality's legal services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and lobbying efforts. Aaron first joined Immigration Equality as a Pride Law Fellow in the summer of 2004. After law school, he volunteered with the organization whenever he could, joining as a staff attorney in 2008. Aaron is a graduate of the American University's Washington College of Law and the University of Oklahoma. Before joining Immigration Equality, he was an immigration staff attorney in the Office of Legal Affairs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Aaron is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the LGBT Bar Association. In 2014, he was named by the LGBT Bar Association as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40. In 2017, he was honored with the Peter M. Cicchinio award for Outstanding Advocacy in the Public Interest.
Chris Mosier - Chris Mosier is a trailblazing athlete, coach, and the founder of TransAthlete.com. In 2020 he made history by becoming the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in the gender with which they identify. Prior to that, in 2015 he became the first openly trans man to make a Men's US National Team. Following the national championship race, he was instrumental in getting the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes changed, and in June 2016 he became the first trans athlete to compete in a world championship race under the new rules, where he was the second-fastest American man in his group. He has been called "the man who changed the Olympics" by the BBC and New York Magazine. Chris is a six-time member of Team USA, All-American, and 2x National Champion. Beyond his athletic accomplishments, Chris is considered the go-to source for policy information and has helped numerous professional and recreational leagues write their guidelines and rules for the participation of athletes who are transgender.
Kate Mozynski -
Elizabeth Munsky - Elizabeth Munsky is the Director of LGBTQ+ Initiatives at the New York City Department of Correction (DOC). A graduate of Stony Brook University, Elizabeth holds a degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies. Elizabeth has built her career on the core values of education, collaboration and introspection. No matter how large or small the system you are trying to change happens to be, in order to create true sustainable change, education and understanding must be your foundation. Education is built on the basis that there is no one teacher and no one student, we must all be open to learning from one another and educating one another. Throughout all of Elizabeth’s roles she has challenged her participants, her colleagues, her employers and herself to look inward and ask ourselves the hard questions we often point at others. Some of her previous work includes the development and implementation of national LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence programming, LGBTQ+ young adult programming; in which Elizabeth brought prominent LGBTQ+ adults back to their high schools to education and empower the current staff and student body through stories of hope and stories of struggle; and regional and national LGBTQ+ responsive training programs, where Elizabeth worked with historically hetero and cis-sexist institutions to build inclusive policies and practices. In her current role she works to build support, affirmation and safety for LGBTQ+ individuals within the DOC's custody as well as LGBTQ+ staff members. To accomplish this some of Elizabeth’s current initiatives are; LGB/TGNC support groups, developing reflective and experiential trainings for all staff members and analyzing current policies to ensure the inclusion, affirmation, support and safety for all LGBTQ+ people in custody. You can reach Elizabeth at Elizabeth.munsky@doc.nyc.gov.
Lauren Mutti - I oversee a team dedicated to providing practical, solution-oriented legal advice regarding traditional labor and employee relations matters for Southern Glazer's in 45 states and Canada. My team manages the Company's employment litigation with a goal towards efficient resolution of disputes. We also provide day-to-day advice regarding matters relating to employment discrimination/harassment/retaliation, wage and hour issues, whistle-blower claims, trade secret protection and other employee relations matters. Additionally, I oversee a team of trained investigators dedicated to investigating and resolving allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and we provide nation-wide training on these topics to avoid such claims. We represent the company in charges before federal and state administrative agencies, and we manage litigation brought by employees. Our team also oversees traditional labor matters relating to the Company's 27 collective bargaining agreements. We participate in collective bargaining, advise regarding CBA drafting and interpretation, manage grievances and arbitrations, and represent the Company before the National Labor Relations Board. Finally, we also manage the Company's affirmative action plans and OFCCP compliance. In addition to my legal work, I also co-chair the Dallas corporate office's diversity council. The Council is dedicated to promoting diversity at Southern Glazer's and ensuring that employees of all backgrounds are included in all aspects of our business. As part of this effort, the Council also oversees the Company's business resource groups and encourages cooperation between them.
David Nahmias - David is a Law Fellow at the Impact Fund, where he leads Impact LGBTQ, an initiative supported by Justice Catalyst to support advocacy for low-wage workers in California. He has trained over 350 attorneys and advocates on LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination and harassment under federal and California law, and has co-authored three amicus briefs on issues related to vulnerable LGBTQ+ groups, including before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also has represented and provided brief service representation to several LGBTQ+, especially transgender and gender non-conforming, workers who have endured harassment including misgendering. He is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico in 2010-2011.
Jean-Marie Navetta - Jean-Marie Navetta is the Director of Learning & Inclusion for PFLAG National, leading its Straight for Equality project which aims to invite, educate, and engage new allies in the effort to achieve full inclusion for people who are LGBTQ+. She has been the lead architect of the project since its 2007 inception. She was the primary author of the guide to being a straight ally (now in its fourth edition), Straight for Equality in Healthcare (2010), be not afraid - help is on the way: straight for equality in faith communities (now in its third edition), and the guide to being a trans ally (now in its third edition). Under her leadership, over 19,000 people have been trained, many in Straight for Equality in the Workplace events across the U.S. in more than 140 major corporations. Jean-Marie is the former Director of Communications for PFLAG where she increased the organization's visibility in outlets including The New York Times and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was also Media Relations Manager for the American Association of University Women, where her work focused on issues such as discrimination in education, pay equity, and Title IX. But Jean-Marie is, most importantly, living proof that Philosophy majors can get real jobs.
Ben Needham - Ben Needham is the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Policy and Political Affairs Department at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). As Director of Strategic Initiatives, Ben oversees legislative and electoral strategy across several programs and departments. Ben helped create the strategy for the HRC Rising program, which is the largest grassroots and electoral organizing program in the organization’s history, working to elect more pro-equality candidates at every level of government. In addition, Ben works with the Human Rights Campaign Governmental Affairs team to develop a strategy to pass the Equality Act, which would codify full federal equality into law for all LGBTQ Americans. Before being promoted to manage the Human Rights Campaign’s policy and political strategic work, Ben was Director of Project One America, HRC’s comprehensive, multi-year effort to expand LGBTQ equality in the South through permanent campaigns in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. Ben managed in-state staff and coordinated with HRC’s senior leadership in Washington, D.C. to make progress on three fronts—changing hearts and minds, advancing enduring legal protections, and building more inclusive institutions for LGBTQ Southerners from the church pew to the workplace. Ben oversaw grassroots and grasstops campaigns on behalf of HRC in these three states, and led and implemented political strategy and public education campaigns to bring about a new era of inclusiveness and equality for LGBTQ people in the South. Ben’s work in the South has led to the passage of 5 LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances in the following communities: Clarksdale, Jackson, and Magnolia, MS; and Birmingham and Montevallo, AL. His work has helped to provide legal protection to over 400,000 residents at work, in housing and public accommodations in Alabama and Mississippi. In addition, there are ten hospitals rated by HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index as having leader statues or rated as top performers on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of their LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees. Ben also helped with the strategy to increase Tyson Foods score on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index from 30 to 100 in just two years, ensuring full workplace equality for LGBTQ workers at every level of the company. Ben is a veteran political strategist with an extensive background in campaigns, issue advocacy, and providing strategy for political parties, progressive organizations, and candidates. He worked as Southern and Western Political Manager for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and on several issue advocacy campaigns such as Houston Votes and, Missouri Cures. His experience with political organizations includes working with Obama for America, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and with several political candidates.
Amy Nelson - Amy Nelson has served as the Director of Legal Services at Whitman-Walker Health, starting in 2008. Amy organized the name and gender change legal clinic in 2012 which continues to serve hundreds of clients in updating their gender markers on identity documents annually. In 2014, Amy was recognized as a "Shero of the Movement" by the DC Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs and honored with Capital Trans Pride's Engendered Spirit award. Amy co-teaches Public Interest Lawyering: Access to Health Care at Georgetown University Law Center. She served on the board of Miriam's House, serving homeless women with HIV, and oversaw its successful transition into N Street Village. A Texas native, she is proud to call DC home for more than 20 years. Amy received degrees from Texas A&M University and the George Washington University Law School.
Mari Nemec - Mari Nemec (she/her) is a rising 2L at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mari was the Manager of Public Affairs at the National LGBT Bar Association. Currently, Mari serves as Secretary of Arizona's PrideLaw Organization, Co-Chair of the National LGBT Bar Association's Law Student Congress, and is a student representative on a committee that seeks to aid LGBTQ+ children in the juvenile court system. After law school, Mari intends to practice family law and continue her work in LGBTQ+ advocacy.
Dean Anthony Niedwiecki - Anthony S. Niedwiecki, a longtime legal educator and activist on behalf of LGBTQ rights, is President and Dean at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previously dean and professor of law at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, he is the second president and dean at Mitchell Hamline, which was formed in 2015 through the combination of William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law. Niedwiecki is the first openly gay president and dean at Mitchell Hamline or any of its predecessor schools. For the last two decades, Niedwiecki has advocated for social and racial justice as an academic, elected official, and community activist. In 2007, he founded Fight OUT Loud, an organization dedicated to helping people counter discrimination and hate directed at the LGBTQ community, and he has received numerous awards for his advocacy on LGBTQ issues. He has served as city commissioner and vice mayor of Oakland Park, Fla., as well as a member of the Broward County, Fla., Resource Recovery and Human Rights boards.
Dale Noll - Dale Noll represents trustees, personal representatives, guardians, and beneficiaries in a wide variety of fiduciary issues, and assists them in their roles as fiduciaries in administering estates, guardianships, and trusts. A particular focus of his practice is the representation of corporate or individual fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and other interested parties in high conflict, complex, and high-profile guardianship, trust, and probate matters at the county probate court and appellate levels. Dale also has experience representing corporate entities and individuals handling issues related to trust administration, incapacity proceedings, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and wills and trusts. Dale has served as board member and as a president of the National LGBT Bar Association and has served in leadership positions in various local organizations.
Sumaya Noush - Sumaya M. Noush counsels health care clients on strategic and operational matters including transactions, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. She helps her clients navigate the daily challenges of running their operations while identifying opportunities for growth in today's rapidly evolving and highly competitive health care market. Sumaya is also well-versed in both clinical and research ethics and routinely advises clients on biomedical ethics and related legal standards. Sumaya is an active contributor to the DBR on Data blog, where she regularly publishes material on a wide range of health care information privacy issues, including HIPAA enforcement efforts and government-issued cybersecurity guidance. Sumaya also authored the Illinois section of the American Health Lawyers Association's current Health Care Fraud Law 50-State Survey. She currently serves on the 2020 Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys Board of Directors and Co-Chairs the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Sumaya is admitted to practice law in Illinois, and she holds two Bachelors in Philosophy and Psychology, a Masters in Bioethics and Public Policy, and a J.D., all from Loyola University Chicago.
Judi O'Kelley - Judi joined the LGBT Bar’s team in 2017, and works on a broad range of programmatic initiatives including building the Bar’s law school affiliate program and supporting the work of the Family Law Institute. Judi brings over twenty years of legal and political experience working for equality within the LGBT community. While in law school, she worked against anti-gay ballot initiatives in Oregon; after graduating and entering private practice, she moved to Georgia and worked on behalf of local and national LGBT groups as a pro bono attorney, drafting and lobbying for successful non-discrimination protections and domestic partnership benefit programs for several Georgia municipalities, including Atlanta and Athens. In 2004, she served as President and Campaign Chair for the campaign for the Athens, Georgia area in opposition to Georgia’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions, and continued grass-roots organizing and local political work after the campaign. Judi also was the lead plaintiff from 2004-2006 in the case of O’Kelley v. Perdue, in which Lambda Legal, the Georgia ACLU, and the law firm of Alston & Bird sought to strike down Georgia’s anti-marriage amendment. Judi then spent over eleven years on the staff and in senior management of Lambda Legal in roles ranging from Southern Regional Director, to Director of Life Planning, to Deputy Director of Development, to Director of Leadership. Along the way she moved to Seattle, Washington, where she is involved with a number of local LGBT groups as the Bar’s West Coast outpost. Judi received her B.A. from the Colorado College in 1990. After receiving her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1996, she served as a law clerk for Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and practiced appellate and employment law in Atlanta for Jones Day and two boutique law firms, before joining Lambda Legal in 2006. Judi has roots in the Washington, D.C. metro area as well as Juneau, Alaska, and is admitted to practice in DC, Alaska, and Georgia. She lives in Seattle with her spouse and twin teenagers, with whom she laughs, cooks, plays video games, and watches Star Trek. Judi has experience speaking on a number of issues related to LGBT rights and the law and is available to speak at future events.
Kathy Ochroch - Kathy Ochroch is a Partner and the Director of Pro Bono Services at Blank Rome LLP. As the Director of Pro Bono, she supervises and coordinates all aspects of the Firm's pro bono program. This includes identifying new pro bono matters and finding opportunities to increase the Firm's pro bono involvement. Ms. Ochroch also works closely with in-house counsel to develop pro bono partnerships between the in-house lawyers and the Firm. Ms. Ochroch also maintains a substantive pro bono practice. She serves as one of the lead attorneys on a capital appeal in which Blank Rome was successful in getting the client's death sentence vacated. She also handles pro bono guardianship cases, transgender name change matters, trusts and estates matters, family law matters, social security disability cases, veterans' discharge cases, and immigration and asylum matters. Ms. Ochroch serves as a child advocate for abused and neglected children and volunteers to represent children who have been the victim of sex trafficking. Ms. Ochroch has received multiple awards for her pro bono work, including being named a 2020 "Champion of Justice" by the SeniorLAW Center. In addition, she has received the "White Hat Award" from the Legal Clinic for the Disabled, the Pro Bono Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Craig M. Perry Community Service Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division, and the "Distinguished Advocate Award" from the Support Center for Child Advocates. Ms. Ochroch serves as the co-chair of the Law Firm Pro Bono Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association. She also is a member of the Board of Directors of Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse, and a member of the Board of Directors of CeaseFirePA. Prior to joining Blank Rome, Ms. Ochroch practiced in the litigation department of another Am Law 100 firm and served as a federal judicial law clerk to the Honorable William H. Yohn, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She received her J.D., with High Honors, from The George Washington University Law School, where she was a member of The George Washington Law Review and the Moot Court Board. Ms. Ochroch earned her B.A., cum laude, from Dickinson College.
Asaf Orr - Developing a passion for social justice at a young age, Asaf joined NCLR in 2012 after years of representing students with disabilities and people living with HIV/AIDS. As NCLR's Transgender Youth Project Staff Attorney, Asaf works to safeguard the rights of transgender and gender-expansive youth to be affirmed and supported. By changing the life trajectories of transgender and gender-expansive youth through litigation, public policy, and advocacy, Asaf hopes to create a future where all children can thrive. For nearly a decade, Asaf worked to advance the rights of the little "t" in LGBT. During that time, he represented transgender youth and their families in a wide range of legal matters including discrimination in schools, child custody disputes, child abuse and neglect, and access to affirming medical and mental health care. He was the lead attorney in Student v. Arcadia Unified School District, which resulted in a historic resolution acknowledging that Title IX protects transgender kids from discrimination in schools. Asaf has authored a number of resources on issues affecting transgender youth. After graduating magna cum laude from Rutgers School of Law in Newark in 2008, Asaf clerked for The Honorable Virginia A. Long on the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Ike Osaki - Isaac (Ike) Osaki is General Counsel of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region of Bank of America. Before assuming his current role, Mr. Osaki was General Counsel, Latin America and head of the legal team supporting the Global Rates and Currencies businesses, the regulatory reform and resolution planning efforts of Global Banking and Markets, and its traded products Agreements and Documentation Group. Mr. Osaki was formerly the Chief Compliance Officer of Global Wealth and Investment Management, composed of Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, co-chief compliance officer of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, the General Counsel of Merrill, and the head of the legal team supporting the fixed income origination businesses at Bank of America, including debt capital markets, leveraged finance, structured finance, credit derivatives, principal finance, leasing, and asset-based lending. Mr. Osaki joined Bank of America as assistant general counsel for Global Corporate and Investment Banking covering M&A advisory services and debt and equity capital markets. Mr. Osaki was an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in its corporate group and before that, the corporate group of Locke Lord. Mr. Osaki is a graduate of Rice University and Columbia Law School. He is a member of the New York and Texas bars and is FINRA Series 7, 14, and 24 registered.
Judge Tiffany Palmer - The Honorable Tiffany L. Palmer is a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, elected in November 2019 to a 10-year term where she serves in the Family Court Division. Prior to her election to the bench, she practiced law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for 20 years in the areas of LGBTQ family law, adoption and assisted reproductive technology law. Judge Palmer is a judicial fellow to the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys. Judge Palmer is the former Director of the Family Law Institute of the National LGBT Bar Association. Judge Palmer is the recipient of a number of honors and awards. In 2019, Judge Palmer received the Leading Practitioner Award from the National LGBT Bar Association, presented annually to honor an attorney for improving the lives of the members of the LGBTQ+ community through outstanding legal work or by leadership in significant impact litigation while engaged in the private practice of law. She was also awarded the 2019 Hazel Frank Gluck Award from the Center for American Women in Politics, presented annually to acknowledge the accomplishments of NEW Leadership™ New Jersey graduates who have emerged as inspiring advocates, candidates and community leaders. In 2018, Judge Palmer received the “Justice in Action Award” from the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia for her legal work on behalf of LGBT rights. In 2014, she received the Rutgers University School of Law Mary Philbrook Public Interest Award for her case work and pro bono service on behalf of advancing the rights of LGBT families in Pennsylvania. From 2000 to 2003, Judge Palmer was the first Legal Director at the Equality Advocates Pennsylvania/Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1998 to 2000, she was the Family Rights Project Attorney through an Equal Justice Works National Fellowship. She graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in 1998. She lives in Philadelphia with her wife of 20 years and their teenage daughter.
Judge Christopher Panos - Christopher Panos presides as associate judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Previously, he served as associate judge of the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City and Family Division Special Master of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City following a private practice of law at Klemkowski & Panos, P.A. A longtime member of the board of directors of the Judicial Institute of Maryland and its curriculum committee, Judge Panos was board liaison, coordinator and faculty member for numerous judicial education courses. He co-moderated the statewide 2017 New Trial Judge Orientation Refresher Course. Additional past memberships include the Maryland Judicial Conference Planning Committee, and the Domestic Violence and Custody Subcommittees of the Judicial Conference’s Family Law Committee. Judge Panos has been a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Baltimore City since 1990. He has co-chaired the Bench-Bar Committee of the BABC since 2017. Judge Panos’ additional bar-related activities include memberships on the MSBA Standing Committee on Professionalism, MSBA Family and Juvenile Law Section Council, past and present BABC Executive Council, and past chair of the BABC Family Law Committee. He is a Maryland Bar Foundation life fellow, a Baltimore Bar Foundation fellow and a member of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. Judge Panos was awarded a Juris Doctor in 1989 from the University of Baltimore, School of Law, a Master of Arts in 1984 from the University of Baltimore, Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts in 1980 from the University of Maryland at College Park, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Michael Pattarozzi - Michael Pattarozzi is an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney, Chicago, Illinois, the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation. Michael has been a prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for over 16 years and is currently assigned to the Felony Trial Division as the First Chair in a felony court room advocating for victims of violent crimes in the southern Chicago suburbs. Michael is actively involved in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group., which is part of the larger Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, and is an member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC).
Eric Paulk - Eric Paulk is a lawyer and advocate working on issues impacting LGBTQ communities and communities of people living with and vulnerable to HIV acquisition. He currently serves as Deputy Director at Georgia Equality and oversees all day-to-day operations, developing and managing local, state, and federal policy and advocacy activities that advance equity and fairness for LGBTQ communities and improves public and private responses to the HIV epidemic. Prior to joining Georgia Equality, Eric served as the Tyron Garner Fellow at Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest organization dedicated to advancing the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV. At Lambda Legal, Paulk’s work focused on HIV law and policy initiatives with an emphasis on legal issues disproportionately impacting Black LGBTQ communities. Eric has spoken at leading law schools and national advocacy conferences on HIV criminal reform, the impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on Black queer youth, and the intersections of race, poverty, HIV, and LGBTQ issues. He serves on the Board of the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, is a former Board Chair of GLSEN New York City and serves on the Fulton County Complete Count Commission. He is also an accomplished author publishing social commentary for online outlets including Huffington Post, Plus Magazine, The Atlanta Voice, The Atlanta Daily World, Project Q Magazine, and others. He is an NLC Fellow, former Victory Institute Victory Empowerment Fellow and Semi-Finalist for the Echoing Green Fellowship for Black Male Achievement. Most recently, Eric was named as one of the state’s top 40 leaders under 40 by Georgia Trend Magazine. Mr. Paulk is a graduate of Morehouse College and received his law degree from Pace University Law School.
Samuel Pearson-Moore - Samuel is the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulations for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) , Office of General Counsel (OGC) and has worked at HUD for 7 years. Recently, Samuel was selected as a fellow for the President's Management Council Interagency Rotation Program meant to identify emerging leaders and expand their leadership competencies. As part of that program, Samuel served for 6-months as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' OGC. Samuel is also the Vice President of HUD's LGBT Affinity Group, HUD FedQ. Prior to his work in the Federal Government, Samuel attended American University Washington College of Law (WCL) where he graduated cum laude and was a member of the Society of Dispute Resolution, an editor for the American University International Law Review, the president of the Lambda Law Society, and the Diversity Chair for the Student Bar Association. Prior to law school, Samuel worked for the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest and graduated with a BA in Political Science from Augsburg College, in Minneapolis, MD. Samuel also served eight years in the United States Army Reserves, including a deployment to Iraq in 2003.
Nathan Peart - Nathan Peart is a Managing Director in our Associate Practice Group based in New York. An expert in cross-border relocation, Nathan works closely with associates to help them make lateral moves into law firms whether in New York City, on the East Coast or internationally. He is focused on providing excellent service to his law firm clients and supporting his candidates through every step of the recruitment process. Nathan is passionate about offering advice and guidance to associates who are interested in learning about the market and have a desire to take the next step in their careers. He is a regular writer and contributor to legal and national publications, including the American Lawyer, Forbes.com and Attorney at Law magazine. Nathan lives in New York City and enjoys going to the gym, cooking and traveling. Originally from London, he has traveled the world, living in Hong Kong, China and Moscow. Nathan speaks fluent Russian and Mandarin.
Kristen Pezone - Kristen Pezone is an employment attorney for Intel Corporation. Among other things, Kristen partners with the Intel Diversity & Inclusion team to support inclusion efforts and is currently focused on disability as well as examining the intersectionality of disability and other communities. Prior to joining Intel, Kristen worked for Marvell Semiconductor and Bingham McCutchen. She is a graduate of Occidental College and received her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law.
Ashwin Phatak - Ashwin is an Appellate Counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center. Before joining CAC, Ashwin was an Attorney-Adviser at the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ashwin also served as a law clerk for Judge Patricia A. Millett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge Beverly B. Martin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Ashwin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2014, where he served as the Developments in the Law editor on the Harvard Law Review and argued in the finals of the Ames Moot Court Competition. He received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Tufts University in 2009.
Dr. Elyse Pine - Elyse Pine, MD is a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist and Trans Youth Lead Physician of the Gender JOY (Journeys of Youth) Program at Chase Brexton Health Care in Maryland. She earned her BA in English and Natural Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH, and her MD at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her pediatrics residency training at the Mount Sinai Hospital in NY and moved to the Baltimore area for fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Pine began working with gender diverse children and adolescents while serving as an assistant professor at University of Maryland Medical Center. Transgender care has been the most interesting, exciting and rewarding part of her clinical practice. The Gender JOY program serves over 1200 transgender and gender diverse youth from ages 4-26. Dr. Pine has published research and clinical articles related to transgender care and lectures frequently. She has served as an expert witness in legal cases involving medical decisions for transgender youth.
Jenn Protas - Jenn Protas is a shareholder at Hoge Fenton and helps employers navigate California’s numerous employment laws and defends employers with an eye toward successful, yet cost-effective resolution. Her practice focuses on matters related to wage and hour advice and litigation, employee leave issues, personnel management, HR investigations and trainings, and defense of wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation litigation. In addition, Jenn has substantial experience drafting employer policies, handbooks, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, separation agreements, and settlement agreements. Her practice also includes housing discrimination matters, and general litigation, including business disputes. Jenn is a frequent public speaker and regularly presents seminars and trainings on such employment issues as: annual legal updates, complex leave issues, complying with California wage and hour laws, and effective management of employees. She also provides legally-mandated anti-harassment trainings (AB 1825) and fair housing trainings at clients’ sites.
Jason Qu - Jason Z. Qu is the Managing Attorney for Nonprofit and Small Business Legal Assistance Programs at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center. Jason trains and counsels nonprofit leaders on a range of matters including corporate governance, tax law, employment law, and risk management, with a focus on both established and start-up organizations. Jason also coordinates legal clinics and certificate training programs, develops online legal resources, and facilitates matches between volunteer attorneys and D.C.-area nonprofits. Before joining the Pro Bono Center, Jason was an associate at a Hogan Lovells LLP where he represented pharmaceutical clients in government regulatory proceedings. Jason holds a JD from Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and an honors degree from the University of Toronto, with high distinction, where he coordinated an incubator for sustainable food and urban agriculture initiatives.
Jill Rose Quinn - Jill Rose Quinn has an extensive legal background, having worked in both the public and private sectors. She has a lifelong dedication to community service. Jill's private practice experience includes working at general legal practices, where she handled a wide variety of case types. Throughout her career, she handled over 4,000 cases and performed appellate work. Jill formed her own practice in 1997 and focused on helping neighborhood residents with financial challenges, family law matters, small business operations, probate and estate planning. Jill is a current candidate for Cook County Circuit Court Judge and is the first transgender candidate for judge in Illinois. Jill is one of the few transgender legal professionals in Chicago. While she is proud of the progress our society has made, Jill knows there remains a long way to go. Being transgender has taught Jill firsthand what it is like to be marginalized and the vital importance of treating all people with fairness, decency and compassion. Her perspective will be a true asset to the bench, and her service as judge will help every person in our community have a court system in which they can have the utmost confidence. She is a member of the National LGBT Bar Association and Chicago LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Robert Raben - Robert Raben, and the seventy or so people who have joined him in the unique public policy firm he created in 2002, works to drive public policy in a humane and sensible direction; to bring diversity and equity to the boardrooms and think tanks and corporations of America; to create a fair judiciary and to influence legislation that will broaden civil rights, reform our criminal justice system, and improve education for all our children. Nearly 30 years of professional experience as an attorney, senior Hill staffer, and Assistant Attorney General have given Robert a nuanced understanding of both the legal subtleties and the political realities of the issues he handles. In addition, he brings an aggressively bipartisan approach to the firm, built during a highly respected legislative career that began on Representative Barney Frank's staff and concluded with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde's endorsement of his Justice Department appointment. Robert served as counsel to Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic counsel for two Subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee; first on the Constitution, then on the Courts and Intellectual Property. In 1999, Robert's reputation and effectiveness caught the attention of the White House, earning him an appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and, subsequently, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs. After a unanimous confirmation vote by a Republican-controlled Senate, Robert was charged with overseeing Attorney General Janet Reno's legislative initiatives and handling extensive Congressional oversight of the department. Since 2002 he has run The Raben Group. He serves on the Boards of The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and former President Barack Obama’s My Brothers’ Keeper Alliance. Past Board Service includes the American Constitution Society, Alliance for Justice, and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project. He is a serial NGO entrepreneur, having formed the Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary, the Friends of the Museum of the American Latino, Green 2.0, Committee for a Fair Judiciary, the March on Washington Film Festival, and the Pasos Graduation ceremony for Latino law students. Robert is a native of Miami, and a graduate of the Wharton School and the New York University Law School.
Jennifer M. Rafferty -
Ryan Rasdall -
Leila Raven - Leila Raven is a queer mama, community organizer, and prison abolitionist working to build safety for people in the sex trades through art, education, organizing, and resources. For the past 4 years, she has worked on campaigns to decriminalize sex work with Decrim NY and previously DecrimNow DC.
Sayre Reece - Sayre Reece is the Senior Strategist for the National LGBTQ Task Force. Reece was the grassroots coordinator for the campaign against Proposition 8 in California (2008) and participated in or managed several ballot campaigns in other states. They were one of the key thinkers contributing to the successful grassroots strategy followed by marriage advocates in the 2012 ballot measures.
Fitzann Reid - Fitzann (Fitz) Reid is Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in San Francisco, CA. She conducts confidential investigations into potential violations of the federal securities laws. She is Co-Chair of the SEC’s LGBT employee resource group, serves on the SEC’s Digital Assets Specialized Working Group, and is member of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Interagency Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Prior to joining the SEC she worked in-house at Wells Fargo Advisors and clerked for two federal judges. As a first generation Jamaican-American who identifies as a gender nonconforming woman, she aims to increase the visibility of underrepresented lawyers working in finance through teaching and mentorship.
Elizabeth "Biz" Reilly -
Antonio Reynolds - A former Assistant United States Attorney, Antonio Reynolds represents companies, as well as their officers and directors, in a variety of civil and criminal enforcement matters before Congress and federal and state agencies. Through his pro bono work, he has been involved in a range of legal matters relating to family law and social justice, including serving as a guardian ad litem in child custody matters and representing youth in immigration matters.
Christopher R. Riano - Christopher R. Riano is the Executive Director for the nation's Center for Civic Education, and a Lecturer in Constitutional Law and Government at Columbia University. He is the co-author with Professor William N. Eskridge, Jr. of "Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws," which is forthcoming from Yale University Press in August, 2020. Previously, Riano served as Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New York for Education, Arts, and Constitutional Law, as the General Counsel of the New York State Liquor Authority, and as a Partner at Drohan Lee LLP.
Ethan Rice - Ethan Rice is the Senior Attorney for the Fair Courts Project at Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the rights of LGBT people and everyone living with HIV. The Fair Courts Project focuses its work on issues of judicial independence, judicial diversity, access to justice, and combating bias in the legal system. Ethan provides education to judges, attorneys, and court staff on access to justice for LGBT people and LGBT legal issues, including bias in jury selection. He has presented to the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges (Transgender Competency), Florida Conference of Circuit Judges (LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care), Kansas Best Practices in Child Welfare Law Series (LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care), Hennepin County, Minnesota Fall Bench Retreat (Anti-LGBT Bias in Jury Selection), and many other judicial and legal organizations. Ethan created a model curriculum for legal trainings on LGBT issues, Moving Beyond Bias: How to Ensure Access to Justice for LGBT People. Prior to coming to Lambda Legal, Ethan served as a staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF). Before joining TLDEF, he was a child welfare attorney in Florida for four years. Ethan is a member of the Judicial Committee of the LGBT Bar of Greater New York, a member of the National Association of State Judicial Educators, and a 2019 Recipient of the National LGBT Bar Association’s Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.
Brad Richter - Brad J. Richter is a partner and chair of the trusts and estates department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, resident in Fried Frank's New York office. Mr. Richter's practice focuses on all aspects of private client representation, including sophisticated tax and estate planning, administration of large estates and trusts, succession and business planning, and formation and operation of charitable foundations. He represents high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, the fiduciaries of estates and trusts, charitable organizations, family business owners, bankers and financial services personnel, private fund sponsors and principals, and others. He also represents clients engaging in litigation with the IRS or with third parties before the Surrogate's Court on contested tax and probate matters. Mr. Richter received his JD, cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the NYU Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College. He is admitted to the bar in New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Richter is a member of the American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate & Trusts Law Section; Taxation Section), New York State Bar Association (Trusts and Estates Law Section; Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section), New York County Lawyers Association (Estates, Trusts and Surrogate's Court Practice Section; previous: Committee on Pro Bono), and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committee on Estate and Gift Taxation; previous: Committee on Surrogate’s Courts).
DuVale Riley - Senior Diversity Recruiter, DuVale Riley, supports ICD&I resource development, training newly hired colleagues, strengthening relationships with national diversity partners and planning strategic diversity recruitment events. DuVale served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2011-13 after completing his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. As a youth development volunteer, DuVale helped expand a sense of civics within the community he served by encouraging youth and community members to express themselves through various clubs and activities.
Victoria Rodriguez Roldan - Victoria is the Senior Policy Manager for AIDS United, where she brings her own unique lens to the fight against the HIV epidemic. Particular areas of expertise and focus are the intersections of issues affecting people living at the intersections of transgender identity, disability and mental illness from a social justice lens. She frequently speaks on discrimination issues impacting the trans and disability communities. She has been profiled in multiple national media outlets and has been published in multiple academic outlets. Prior to joining AIDS United, she was senior policy counsel at the National LGBTQ Task Force where she led the Trans/GNC Justice Project and the Disability Justice Project. She currently serves in the board of directors of HIPS, an organization dedicated to harm reduction for sex work and drug use in the District of Columbia and of Equality New York, New York State’s leading LGBTQ equality organization. Victoria holds a B.A. in psychology with honors from the University of Puerto Rico, and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in the Washington, DC area.
Judge Kristin Rosi - Judge Kristin L. Rosi has been on the bench since 2007 and serves as the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Insurance. Judge Rosi is also a Mental Health Hearing Officer for the Alameda County Superior Court and a Senior Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University. Judge Rosi is an active member of the National Association of Women Judges, serving as the Co-Chair of Administrative Judiciary Committee and Chair of the LGBTQ Committee. She also sits on the Board of the International Association of LGBTQ Judges, serving on their Education committee. Judge Rosi holds a position on The State Bar of California's Council on Access and Fairness as well as a position on the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association’s National Conference of Administrative Law Judiciary. Judge Rosi holds an A.B. from Smith College in Women’s Studies and Psychology, a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where she was a Public Interest Scholar, and will receive her Master’s in Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2020. Judge Rosi lives in the Bay Area and has a seven year old son.
Amir Sadeghi - Amir Sadeghi, National Policy and Partner Strategist, earned his Master of Arts in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. While at NSSR, he focused on political theory, social upheavals, and stages where biopower and state violence clashed. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Central Florida. Previously, he taught debate and public speaking with the Rikers Debate Project at detention facilities on Rikers Island, New York. He is an advocate for people who are incarcerated and answering the severe social costs to the criminal punishment system.
Cathy Sakimura - Cathy Sakimura is the Deputy Director and Family Law Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Cathy also founded and oversees NCLR’s Family Protection Project, which improves access to family law services for low-income LGBT parents and their children, with a focus on families of color. She received her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and her B.A. from Stanford University. In 2012, she was named one of the Best LGBT Lawyers under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. She is a co-author of the book Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family Law.
Bamby Salcedo -
Ramsey Saleeby - Ramsey Robert Saleeby serves as Associated General Counsel and Associate Director for Legal Resources for the Association of Corporate Counsel. In this role, he provides legal counsel to ACC, as well as develops programming for ACC's various global in-person programs. Ramsey is also an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law teaching International Commercial Law, an advanced level law course, and serves on the board of advisors for the Journal of International Commercial Law. Prior to joining ACC, Ramsey served as General Counsel for Armantek, a technology company located in the suburbs of Washington, DC. His experience also includes counseling major financial institutions and the U.S. Government on trade finance and banking law and regulation. He has published and edited numerous books and articles on banking law and practice, with a focus on letters of credit, and served as the case editor for the monthly periodical, Documentary Credit World. He has spoken on these subjects at a number of global conferences, including workshops organized by the Commercial Law Development Program, U.S. Department of Commerce in Baghdad and Istanbul. Ramsey earned a BA from the University of Michigan and a JD degree from the George Mason University School of Law. He is currently an LLM candidate at King’s College London.
Sasha Samberg-Champion -
Rose Saxe - Rose Saxe is a Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT & HIV Project. She has specialized in issues of employment and public accommodation discrimination, denial of medical care, family law issues, and the intersection of civil rights for LGBTQ people, and religious freedom and expression, through litigation and state and federal policy advocacy. She previously co-taught the Columbia Law School Gender & Sexuality Law Clinic. She clerked for Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Janet Bond Arterton on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Rose received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. from Georgetown University.
Murray Scheel - Murray Scheel is a senior staff attorney at Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, DC, the nation's oldest medical-legal partnership, dedicated to queer and HIV health. He focuses on legal services and policy initiatives to address the needs of elderly individuals who are trans, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or genderqueer or living with HIV/AIDS. He came to Whitman-Walker Legal Services in 2013 from the firm of Karp, Wigodsky, Norwind, Kudel and Gold, where he served as a senior associate in civil litigation. Before private practice, he clerked for the Honorable Noël A. Kramer on the DC Superior Court and the Honorable Vanessa Ruiz on the DC Court of Appeals. During law school, he spent a summer internship with the National Lawyers Guild and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission developing draft protocols for the proper treatment of transgender prisoners in the local jails. Scheel graduated with honors from George Washington University Law School in 2003. He is a member of the Maryland and District of Columbia Bars.
Rebekah Scherr - Rebekah Scherr is an associate in Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP’s Corporate Department and a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions practice group. Rebekah’s practice is focused on advising U.S. and multinational clients on a range of antitrust and competition issues, with an emphasis on merger notification compliance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and globally. Rebekah also counsels clients in various industries with respect to general compliance with antitrust laws. Rebekah serves on Paul, Weiss’s Associate Committee, Inclusion Task Force, and as a Leader of the Pride@Work Network. Rebekah also serves on the Membership and Diversity Committee of the National LGBT Bar Association and on the Leadership Committee of OutNext Leadership.
Allison Scott - Allison is a proud Asheville native who attended Reynolds and Erwin High Schools as well as AB Tech. She is particularly passionate about community outreach, politics, activism, cares deeply about Asheville and its citizenry, and works daily at the local level to ensure that Asheville is a welcoming community for its minorities and traditionally marginalized populations. Allison identifies as a trans woman and uses She and Her pronouns. As part of her advocacy work she has developed and led numerous trainings for local organizations including medical practices, schools, churches, and businesses, established name-change clinics for trans people, conducted support groups, participated in panel discussions, interviews, and coordinated with local school systems, news agencies, and politicians regarding equality for LGBTQ people. In 2018 she was chosen by USA Today to be one of the 50 Faces of Pride for NC along with being a featured speaker for Creative Mornings. Allison also served as Chair of CPAC, the Asheville Citizen’s Police Advisory Council, for approximately three years working to help resolve issues that arise between the community and local law enforcement. She currently serves as Treasure for Girls Rock Asheville.
Nicole Seawright - Nicole serves as the City of Philadelphia Law Department Director of Professional Development, Diversity & Inclusion. In her role she reports to the First Deputy City Solicitor on a wide range of diversity and equity initiatives, within an agency comprised of 220 lawyers and 100 administrative staff members. Nicole is the former Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. As director, she guided efforts to cultivate an environment that valued and demonstrated the law school’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Nicole joined Cardozo after several years as a Staff Attorney with the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, a statewide non-profit agency, which provides legal services to low income individuals with mental health conditions. She has served as a member of the NAACP New Haven Legal Redress Committee and Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Multicultural Advisory Council. Nicole has presented nationally on cultural competency topics. She was awarded the 2020 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. She earned a B.A. from Fordham University and a J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law. She is a member of the Connecticut state bar.
Rachel Shalev - Rachel represents clients in high-stakes, complex litigation. She has argued appeals in the Fifth and Ninth Circuits and has been the lead drafter of briefs and dispositive motions in state courts, federal district courts, federal courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Rachel’s experience litigating and advising clients covers a wide range of substantive areas. She focuses in particular on tough questions of constitutional law, administrative law, and statutory interpretation. Rachel maintains an active pro bono practice in the areas of immigrant and women’s rights. Prior to joining Orrick, Rachel served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard of the D.C. Circuit, and Judge William A. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit. Rachel received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as a student director of the Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic and as Essays Editor of the Yale Law Journal. She graduated from Williams College and received master’s degrees from University College London and University of St. Andrews, both of which she attended as a Marshall Scholar.
Randall Shorr - Randy is an attorney in solo practice in Cleveland, Ohio. His law practice focuses on the representation of nonprofit and for-profit developers, housing authorities and lenders in affordable housing and other community development projects throughout Ohio and neighboring states. Randy received JD (cum laude) and MBA degrees from Case Western Reserve University, where he served as an Articles Editor of the Case Western Reserve Law Review. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1986, and established his solo practice in 1994. He has served on the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and on the boards of various nonprofit organizations. Randy has been a frequent speaker at affordable housing conferences and seminars, and currently serves as the liaison between the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law and Diversity Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
Katherine Silver - Tough, fearless, prepared, passionate about winning – these are just a few of the adjectives clients and colleagues use to describe Kathy Silver. A litigation attorney who focuses primarily on commercial litigation and oil and gaslitigation, Kathy has distinguished herself as a skilled trial lawyer who is absolutely dedicated to her clients’ success. As one colleague said, “Kathy Silver’s clients know that she tries very hard on the front end of a case to resolve it without going to trial in order to save them time and money. However, when clients do go to trial, she is one tough litigator, and her clients appreciate it.” Kathy has represented numerous large and small companies in complex commercial and contract disputes, both as plaintiffs and defendants. Kathy has defended a chemical company in high‐profile commercial disputes, including defending a significant matter brought by the Mexican national oil company against several U.S. energy and chemical companies related to claims of conversion of millions of dollars of alleged stolen hydrocarbons. She has handled lawsuits involving contractual and fiduciary duties between joint venturers in a natural gas field; duties owed by operators and working interest owners under joint operating agreements; express and implied covenants in oil and gas leases; royalty disputes; disputes regarding the purchase and sale of hydrocarbons, drainage claims; failed production tubing in a gas well; claims of lease termination, trespass, fraud, fraudulent inducement, and slander of title; and an arbitration involving post‐ closing accounting and title issues related to the purchase of oil and gas properties. In addition, Kathy has developed experience in health care litigation, representing a managed care company in benefit disputes and in disputes with health care providers related to allegations of underpayment of provider claims and breach of in‐ network contracts. Kathy also has developed experience in employment litigation and recently tried an employee theft case and two federal lawsuits involving claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Ames Simmons - Ames Simmons is a queer white trans man serving as Equality NC's Policy Director. He is a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke Law School and a member of the national advisory council for the SAGE/HRC Long-Term Care Equality Index. He provides vision and strategic direction for Equality NC's policy and advocacy agenda with the North Carolina General Assembly and the state's executive branch and administrative agencies. He also works with local governments and federal policymakers to achieve Equality NC's mission of health, equity and safety for all LGBTQ North Carolinians. His work is rooted in community-based efforts prioritizing anti-violence, anti-oppression and transgender justice. Ames attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, and Emory University Law School, where he earned a juris doctor degree. He previously served for almost two decades as in-house counsel at a healthcare consulting company based in Atlanta. Ames is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and Georgia.
Libby Skarin - Libby Skarin is the policy director of the ACLU of South Dakota and has served in this role since 2014. As policy director, Libby develops and implements strategies to advance civil rights and civil liberties throughout the state. Libby helped organize opposition to HB1057 and other anti-trans bills in South Dakota.
Shelly Skeen - Shelly has practiced law in state and federal courts, including the Texas and United States Supreme Courts, for 20 years. Shelly is a mediator and arbitrator as well earning a Diploma in International Arbitration from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London. She is a frequent speaker and author on LGBT law and online free speech. Shelly recently earned an LL.M. in Constitutional Law and Law & Sexuality from UCLA School of Law and is now a Senior Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal, whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and policy work. Shelly also teaches LGBT law as an adjunct professor in Texas.
Paul Smith - Paul M. Smith is also the Vice President for Litigation and Strategy at the Campaign Legal Center. Until 2017 he was in private practice at the firm of Jenner & Block LLP. He had an active appellate practice for several decades, including oral arguments in 21 Supreme Court cases in a wide range of cases but emphasizing civil rights and civil liberties issues. Among his important victories have been Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark gay rights case, and Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n, establishing the First Amendment rights of those who produce and sell video games. Professor Smith also argued a long list of voting rights cases in the Supreme Court. Chambers USA has repeatedly named Professor Smith one of the country’s leading lawyers in appellate litigation, media and entertainment law, and First Amendment litigation for multiple years. In 2010, The National Law Journal named him one of the “Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers,” and the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice gave him its prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award for his work promoting civil rights and civil liberties. He has won similar awards from the American Constitution Society, the DC Bar, the Legal Aid Society of DC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Human Rights Campaign. In 2015 Professor Smith received an honorary degree from his alma mater, Amherst College. He is a board member and former President of the D.C. Bar Foundation, a Trustee of Amherst College, and a board member of EPIC, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Castleton Festival. Professor Smith attended Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal, and then clerked for Judge James Oakes on the Second Circuit and Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Fred Smith Jr. - Fred Smith Jr. is associate professor at Emory University School of Law. He is a scholar of the federal judiciary and constitutional law. In 2019, he was named the law school’s Outstanding Professor of the Year. Smith clerked for Judge Myron Thompson of the Middle District of Alabama; Judge Barrington D. Parker, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Supreme Court. Prior to teaching, he also worked as a fellow for a litigation boutique, Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore LLP in Atlanta. Smith's research focuses on accountability, federal jurisdiction, and state sovereignty. His work has appeared in Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Columbia Law Review, New York University Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review and Fordham Law Review. Notable articles include: “The Constitution After Death,” 121 Colum. L. Rev. (forthcoming); “Abstention in the Time of Ferguson,” 131 Harv. L. Rev. 2283 (2018); "Undemocratic Restraint," 69 Vand. L. Rev. 845 (2017); "Local Sovereign Immunity," 116 Colum. L. Rev. 409 (2016), and "Due Process, Republicanism, and Direct Democracy," 89 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 582 (2014). He has given lectures on related topics across the United States and internationally, including in Istanbul, Shanghai, and Warsaw. He also has been interviewed as an expert by major media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and various affiliates of National Public Radio. Smith earned his JD from Stanford Law School in 2007. At Stanford, he was a member of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic; was a finalist in the annual Kirkwood Moot Court Competition; was a finalist in the American Constitution Society's national Moot Court Competition; served as president of the Black Law Students Association; and served as articles editor for the Stanford Law and Policy Review. In 2004, he received his BA with Honors from Harvard College; his thesis was awarded magna cum laude.
Emily Smith-Reid - Emily Smith-Reid is a Deputy General Counsel at HSBC. She splits her time between two roles: general counsel support for the Global Retail Banking business; and Global Head of competition law for all HSBC business lines and regions. She sits on the Group Legal Risk Executive Committee, which oversees legal risk management across the whole organization. She is also chair of the legal Diversity & Inclusion ambassadors network. Emily joined HSBC in 2001 and prior to that spent c. 7 years at British Telecom in London as senior competition and regulatory counsel. Whilst at BT she also spent 3 years outside of legal, working in purely business roles in new product development and corporate strategy. Emily qualified into the Antitrust, Competition & Trade team at Freshfields in 2000. During this time she worked in their London, Washington, DC and Singapore offices and gained broad experience working for blue-chip clients in a diverse range of industry sectors sectors. Outside HSBC, Emily is a trustee of the international charity Consortium for Street Children. She is married to her wife, Rosalind, and has two children.
Jorge Soto - As Director of Public Policy, Jorge Andres Soto is responsible for advancing NFHA's public policy priorities and directing the organization federal and congressional advocacy. Through local and national coalition-building, Mr. Soto designs strategies to advocate for policies that help protect individuals from housing discrimination, strengthen access to justice for victims of housing discrimination, and remove obstacles to housing opportunity. He leads NFHA's efforts on issues concerning the federal budget and appropriations, housing and housing-related legislation, and executive nominations. Mr. Soto also staffs the Fair Housing & Lending Task Force of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which NFHA co-chairs with NAACP LDF. He also serves on the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center's Policy and Research Council. Mr. Soto is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a double major in History and American Studies.
Tamika Spellman - Tamika Spellman began working with HIPS in June 2017. She started volunteering with mobile services, then as a peer educator and then with the secondary syringe exchange program. She is dedicated to helping and working to create positive policies and laws to help those engaging in sex work and drug use. She’s testified on behalf of HIPS at DC city council hearings, spoken on several harm reduction panels, and is managing SWAC (DECRIMNOW). She also serves as an advisor to the Sex Worker Giving Circle, the Chosen Few, No Justice No Pride, is a member of the Urban Survivors Union, and a board member for the Church Of Safe Injection-Bangor Maine. She also has featured op eds in The Root and Medium, appears in several articles and is the recipient of an award from the Legal Society of Washington D.C. for work on the fare evasion bill. Also advised congressional members Ro Khanna and Ayanna Pressely on proposed legislation. HIPS is extremely honored to have Tamika as our Policy and Advocacy Associate.
John Francis Stephens -
Michael Stevens - As an employee benefits litigator, Michael is keenly aware that every case he litigates for a client not only impacts the individual plaintiff, but can also become precedent for other employees and potential claimants. Thus, Michael views every case as an opportunity to be a business partner for his clients, and his goal is to always best protect their interests over the long term. Michael's practice focuses on ERISA, and he has litigated extensively on behalf of welfare, pension, and severance plans. He is experienced in defending both single-plaintiff and class actions. His practice emphasizes protecting health and welfare plans from medical fraud, and he has both defended health care claims against lawsuits from malfeasant health care providers, and also prosecuted claims on behalf of payors. Michael has more than a decade of experience navigating complex litigation, from pre-complaint negotiations to try to resolve disputes without litigation, through all phases of the litigation life cycle. Michael is experienced in bet-the-company litigation, where millions of dollars can be at stake. While Michael's practice is mostly defense-side, he is also experienced in plaintiff-side work, where existing clients have unique needs requiring counsel who are already familiar with their business operations. In addition, prior to joining Seyfarth, Michael practiced antitrust and competition litigation at another large firm. Michael brings extensive experience in case valuation and measuring damages. He understands that litigation is often a business decision, and he is skilled at preparing case assessments that measure the risk of liability, and the magnitude of damages, weighed against the prospects of future litigation. Michael has successfully resolved large cases where his clients faced eight or nine figures of damages for just pennies on the dollar. Michael has also succeeded in plaintiff-side work for health care plans, recovering large sums of money misspent by the plans' vendors. Michael is committed to pro bono advocacy, especially in the immigration context. He has successfully achieved asylum and lawful permanent residency for LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants from Central America. Michael believes in taking advantage of 21st century technology to ensure that clients are always up-to-date on case developments, and makes extensive use of data visualization technology to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of cases.
Zaylore Stout - Zaylore Stout, Esq. received his B.A. from Cal State Fullerton in International Business Management and J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He served as an outsourced human-resource consultant for 12-years prior to attending law school. Upon graduation he founded, Zaylore Stout & Associates, LLC (ZSA), which handles employment law matters which include sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage & hour disputes. ZSA is a MBE, LGBTBE, and DOBE. Zaylore's a former candidate for city council in St. Louis Park and member of the city's Human Rights Commission. Zaylore is both domestically and internationally published, with his most recent book Our Gay History in 50 States selling thousands since its publication in October 2019. The book highlights the significant people, places, and "queer facts" relating to LGBTQIA history on a state-by-state basis. Zaylore has received many honors during the course of his career including but not limited to the Business of Pride Award through the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the Lavender Magazine Community Award, and serving as the co-emcee for the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers annual gala.
Brennan Suen - Brennan Suen is the LGBTQ program director at Media Matters, where he has worked since July 2015. Brennan and his team monitor and research media coverage of LGBTQ issues and related narratives with a focus on dismantling conservative misinformation harmful to the LGBTQ community. He produces and edits in-depth analysis, rapid response, and data-based studies on media coverage and conducts extensive research into anti-LGBTQ groups and media figures. He has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.
Kasey Suffredini - Kasey Suffredini (he/him) is a nationally recognized campaign strategist and expert on LGBTQ issues and advocacy with 20 years of experience in campaign management, policy development, strategic communications, and grassroots mobilization. With a track record of designing campaigns that change narratives, pass legislation, win ballot measures, and drive momentum on seemingly intractable issues, Kasey’s campaign leadership has resulted in over 100 policy reforms at the state and federal levels. As CEO and National Campaign Director at Freedom for All Americans, Kasey has been the chief architect of bipartisan campaigns to successfully secure a number of national firsts. These wins include passing the country’s first standalone statewide transgender public accommodations law, passing comprehensive statewide transgender nondiscrimination protections for the first time in a Republican-controlled state, and passing comprehensive statewide LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections for the first time in the South. From 2016-2018, Kasey co-chaired the historic, award-winning Freedom for All Massachusetts / Yes on 3 ballot campaign, winning the first statewide popular vote on transgender rights in U.S. history by a landslide two-thirds margin (68-32%). Kasey is a sought-after speaker on issue campaign strategy and LGBTQ advocacy and has been honored by the New Leaders Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Harvard Law School. A transgender attorney, Kasey served as President of the National LGBT Bar Association from 2004-2005 and was a member of its inaugural class of Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 in 2010. Kasey received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He resides in Long Beach, California with his wife, Kristina Bigdeli.
Krisztina Szabo - Krisztina Szabo (she/her/hers) is a Staff Attorney at Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center that specializes in HIV and LGBTQ care and offers wrap-around legal services to achieve optimal health outcomes. Krisztina represents clients on a variety of legal issues, including access to healthcare and public benefits, such as SSI/SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare, and other public assistance programs. Krisztina also facilitates transgender clients' access to gender-affirming care through appealing insurance coverage denials, filing administrative complaints, and challenging discriminatory employee health benefits. In addition, Krisztina helps transgender clients with name and gender on their ID documents, and also offers representation in employment or public accommodation discrimination cases. Prior to joining WWH, Krisztina worked at Ayuda and at the National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project, where she assisted and advocated for immigrant survivors of violence. Krisztina received her law degree from Charleston School of Law and graduated with distinction from the American University Washington College of Law's Law and Government LLM Program. She is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia Bars.
Emmelia Talarico - Emmelia Augusta Smith Ruiz Talarico, started organizing at 19 and is now the director of NoJusticeNoPride.org, a collective of organizers and activists fighting to liberate queer and trans people, Talarico and their staff work endless hours to ensure its success — all without a dime of government dollars. The organization also runs a safe house in D.C. for young trans women of color and sex workers, offering food, housing, counseling, and emotional support that includes a leadership development program for those eager to learn. After the 2016 election, it became clear to Talarico and other non-binary trans folks like them that they would have to fend for themselves. Recently, Talarico helped to raise $40,000 for the organization. All of that money goes directly to the needs of Black and Brown trans sex workers struggling with housing security.
Dr. Suegee Tamar-Mattis -
Aaron Tax - Aaron Tax is the Director of Advocacy for SAGE. He advocates for LGBT-inclusive federal aging policies that account for the unique needs of LGBT older adults. Until June 2011, Aaron served as the Legal Director at Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the leading organization challenging "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) in Congress and in the courts. He started there as a staff attorney in 2006, and for nearly five years at SLDN, he took part in a multifaceted approach to advancing the civil rights of LGBT servicemembers through law, policy, outreach, and education. As the Legal Director, Aaron was responsible for running the legal services program at SLDN, the only organization providing free legal services to service members impacted by DADT and related forms of discrimination, including those who are HIV positive and/or transgender. Prior to joining SLDN, Aaron spent three years working for the Department of the Army in the Office of EEO and Civil Rights, the first two years as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). As a PMF, he worked for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, V Corps, Heidelberg, Germany, and served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where he tried more than two dozen cases. A graduate of Cornell University with honors and distinction and the George Washington University Law School with honors, he currently resides in Washington, DC.
Marcel Taylor -
Jorge Tenreiro - Jorge G. Tenreiro is a Senior Trial Counsel in the Division of Enforcement of the SEC, New York Regional Office. Mr. Tenreiro has significant experience litigating various matters brought by the agency, including fraudulent offerings, pump and dump schemes, and matters in the digital asset space, including by filing and leading the litigation in the SEC’s first two ICO scam cases. Prior to joining the SEC in December 2013, Mr. Tenreiro was a law clerk for the Honorable Julio M. Fuentes for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a law clerk to the Honorable Allyne R. Ross of the Eastern District of New York. From October 2006 to August 2007 and from September 2008 to August 2012, Mr. Tenreiro was an associate in the litigation department of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP. Mr. Tenreiro is a 2006 graduate of Yale Law School where he was awarded the William K.S. Wang Prize for best performance in contracts and Harlan Stone Prize for Moot Court competition semi-finalists. In May 2003, Mr. Tenreiro obtained his B.A., magna cum laude with distinction in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University. He was Phi Beta Kappa and also received the Henry M. Nodelman Scholarship for Excellence in Sciences. Throughout his career, Mr. Tenreiro has devoted significant time to matters of interest to the LGBTQ community. As a law student, Mr. Tenreiro joined a suit in the District of Connecticut against the Department of Defense’s enforcement of the Solomon Amendment, requiring law schools to permit military recruiters on campus despite the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. In 2009, Mr. Tenreiro was co-counsel in lawsuit securing a victory at summary judgment under the ADA on behalf of an HIV+ teenager denied admission to a basketball summer camp on the basis of his HIV-status. In 2011, Mr. Tenreiro authored an amicus brief in support of the law school in the Supreme Court case Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which recognized the school’s ability to impose rules barring discrimination against LGBTQ individuals on law school student groups. In 2012, Mr. Tenreiro co-authored a brief in support of a disabled veteran’s request for same-sex spousal benefits before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Tenreiro served as a member of the LGBT Committee of the New York City Bar.
Dean Kellye Testy - Kellye Y. Testy is the president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admission Council, where she leads the organization in its committed efforts to build a more just and prosperous world. Testy joined LSAC after leading the University of Washington School of Law for eight years as the school’s first female dean. She is a nationally sought-after speaker and consultant on legal and higher education, leadership, diversity and access, and corporate law and governance, and has received numerous honors and awards for her teaching, leadership, and service. Testy earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, and her law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington. She currently serves on the boards of the Washington Law Institute and LSSSE.
Paul Thaler -
Fred Thrasher -
Diane Thu-Thao Rhodes - Diana Thu-Thao Rhodes is the Director of Public Policy, where she oversees Advocates' international, federal and state policy strategy and advocacy efforts on a wide range of reproductive and sexual health/rights/justice issues that affect young people. Since being at Advocates, she has managed the Cultural Advocacy and Mobilization Initiative (CAMI) where she assisted state partners and youth activists in building advocacy strategies and passing proactive sex education policies, including in Colorado and Broward County, Florida; provided policy technical assistance to over 25 state partner organizations and coalitions; as well as leading federal policy work, including direct lobbying and education efforts on the Hill and with the Administration. Her expertise and work at Advocates continues to be working with coalitions, advocates and youth activists on policy analysis, policy advocacy strategy, grassroots campaigns, and youth/adult partnerships. She currently sits as co-chair of the Federal Sex Ed Coalition and serves on the Steering Committee for Take Root: Reproductive Justice in Red States. Diana has been working in social justice movements for nearly a decade - with both grassroots and grasstops stakeholders - primarily around issues that affect women, young people, communities of color, and the LGTBQ community. Prior to Advocates, Diana worked for the Center for Women Policy Studies, working directly with women state legislators and Members of Parliament, facilitating strategic planning sessions and providing policy technical assistance on women's human rights. Her passions lie in facilitating and creating intentional spaces for not only social justice, but also for creativity and radical self-expression. She holds an M.A. from George Washington University in Public Policy with a concentration in Women's Studies, as well as a B.A. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Sociology and Women's Studies.
Karla Torres - Karla Torres serves as Senior Human Rights Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights and leads the Center's work on Assisted Reproduction in the U.S., which focuses on infertility and access to infertility care, including IVF, gestational surrogacy, and embryo personhood and custody disputes. Previously, Karla served as a Program Officer at Equality Now where she worked to expose human rights violations against women and girls in the Americas and to promote legal frameworks to protect against them. Earlier, she was the Assistant Director of the Reproductive Rights Initiative at the New Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network where she managed a national advocacy project to ensure the reproductive and sexual health and rights of children, adolescents, and women in India. Karla received her JD from American University's Washington College of Law and her M.A. in International Politics from American's School of International Service.
Alex Touma - Alex is a partner in the Technology Transactions Practice within the Firm's Intellectual Property Group. Alex specializes in transactions and counseling involving intellectual property and technology. Alex represents companies of all sizes and in a variety of industries including software, semiconductor and mobile technology companies. He also advises companies on technology related matters including development and licensing agreements, manufacturing and supply agreements, distribution agreements, hosting agreements and sourcing transactions. Prior to working at the Firm, Alex served as Senior Counsel for a Bay Area technology startup where he focused on commercial and intellectual property law matters including drafting and negotiating a variety of technology agreements, managing patent and trademark portfolios, and providing general legal advice on intellectual property matters such as open source, trade secret, copyright, patent, and privacy issues. Alex's prior experience also includes working at a leading global law firm as an intellectual property litigation associate representing technology companies. Before starting his law career, Alex obtained a Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science and briefly worked as an automation engineer. This prior experience gives Alex a unique viewpoint, which he is able to leverage in his transactional practice.
Jared Trujillo - Jared serves as the President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, a union of 10 non-profits in New York that represents lawyers, paralegals, and social workers that focus on criminal defense, immigration, juvenile rights, parent defense, and employment. In this role he negotiates collective bargaining agreements, drafts legislation, and he leads the organization’s legislative and advocacy efforts. Additionally, he is a Steering Committee member of Decrim NY, an organization that advocates for the decriminalization of sex work and the empowerment of sex workers.
Sara Tucker - Sara Deskins Tucker is a Partner in the Atlanta office of Womble Bond Dickinson. She focuses her practice on helping life sciences companies defend product liability lawsuits across the country. She also provides consulting advice related to product liability risk and mitigation strategies.
Ilona Turner - Ilona Turner is a mediator and arbitrator and conducts workplace investigations and trainings with the Law Offices of Amy Oppenheimer. Ilona has extensive experience with employment law, having spent 12 years litigating civil rights cases before becoming a full-time neutral in 2018. She was the legal director of the Transgender Law Center from 2012 to 2017. Ilona has authored numerous articles and book chapters on LGBT legal issues and teaches a class on Law and Sexuality at the University of California, Berkeley.
Wayne Turner - Wayne Turner (he/him/his) is a senior attorney in the National Health Law Program's (NHeLP) Washington, DC office, and also teaches a seminar class on LGBT Health Law and Policy at Georgetown Law School. Wayne focuses on consumer protections in Medicaid managed care, Medicaid eligibility methodologies, prescription drug access, and nondiscrimination protections in health care. He is the principal author of several guides for legal advocates, and was the principal attorney in an HIV discrimination case that NHeLP initiated at the HHS Office for civil rights in 2014. Before making the transition to a legal career, Wayne spent more than a decade as an HIV/AIDS activist and is a founding member of the direct-action group ACT UP in Washington, DC. He also served as the primary organizer of DC's medical marijuana Initiative 59, which was approved by 69% of District voters in 1998. Wayne earned his B.A. at Reed College and graduated magna cum laude from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. He is featured in the 2011 PBS documentary, Out in America, in which he describes the impact of the HIV pandemic through his personal experience as a caregiver for his life partner Steve Michael, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1998.
Adam Unikowsky - Adam G. Unikowsky is a partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice at Jenner & Block. Since 2016, he has won eight Supreme Court cases as lead counsel. He also handles high-stakes appellate and district court litigation in numerous areas of law. Mr. Unikowsky litigates cases in the US Supreme Court, appellate courts, trial courts and administrative agencies. At the US Supreme Court, he has won eight cases as lead counsel. In six of those cases, Mr. Unikowsky represented the petitioner and filed a successful petition for certiorari. He has been recognized by "Empirical SCOTUS" as the lawyer in the United States with the highest statistical rate of success in Supreme Court merits cases; he has also separately been recognized by "Empirical SCOTUS" as the lawyer in the United States with the highest statistical rate of success at obtaining grants of certiorari. In 2017, he argued three cases within a 28-day span, leading to unanimous victories in all three. Mr. Unikowsky is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court. He is admitted to practice in the state of New York and the District of Columbia.
Kenneth Upton - Kenneth Upton is Senior Litigation Counsel for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. With more than 30 years of trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts across the country, Kenneth participates in cases involving the misuse of religion, primarily by government and majoritarian denominations, to justify discrimination that harms or disadvantages others, including LGBTQ people. His docket includes litigation concerning the US Department of Health and Human Service's 2019 denial-of-care rule threatening healthcare for marginalized communities, challenges to government-sanctioned religious discrimination in state and federal foster care programs, and suits pushing back against improper exemptions that would allow businesses to discriminate in the provision of goods and services in public accommodations. Prior to joining AU, he served as Senior Counsel for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV.
Kristina Vaquera - Kristina H. Vaquera is a Shareholder in the Norfolk office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses exclusively on labor and employment counseling and litigation. Ms. Vaquera represents employers in federal and state court lawsuits and agency investigations and charges covering a wide range of statutes and subjects, including anti-discrimination and civil rights laws, wrongful termination claims, wage and hour laws, covenants not to compete, leave of absence claims, negligent hire/retention, and breaches of fiduciary duty and contract. Ms. Vaquera has litigated class and collective actions, including FLSA, FCRA, and discrimination class actions. She also represents clients in mediation and arbitration before various national and state entities. As part of Ms. Vaqueras counseling practice, she provides daily counseling and training to management to help employers avoid litigation. She assists clients with employment agreements, handbooks, background checks and drug testing issues, and disciplinary action. She represents employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Department of Labor, and numerous state agencies, such as the Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, Virginia Department of Housing Discrimination, and Virginia Workers Compensation Commission. Ms. Vaquera speaks extensively on various employment topics, including to the Society of Human Resource Managers, Virginia State Bar Labor and Employment Section, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Virginia Employment Commission, International Professional Managers Association, Virginia Government Contract Attorneys Association, PINK! Women Business Owners Conference, Public Media Business Association, and the Retail Association of Hampton Roads. She lives in Hampton Roads with her family.
Judge Javier Vargas - The Honorable Javier E. Vargas is a Judge in the Family Court of the State of New York, Kings County, appointed in 2015. Between 2013 and 2015, Judge Vargas served as a Civil Court Judge assigned to the Housing Part in Bronx County. Prior thereto, Judge Vargas served with distinction for the New York State Unified Court System since 1993 in various capacities, including Senior Court Attorney at the New York State Court of Appeals; Principal Law Clerk in Supreme Court and Appellate Division; and Chief Court Attorney for the NYS Supreme Court’s Appellate Term. Judge Vargas received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, law degree from SUNY Buffalo, School of Law, and a Masters of Law degree from New York University School of Law in 1993. Judge Vargas is actively involved with the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the Latino Judges Association, and the International Association of LGBTQ Judges, where he is a board member. Among the various positions he has held are as HNBA-NY Regional Deputy President for several years, President-Elect of the Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA), Co-Founder of HNBA LGBT Division, Chair of the HNBA Law School-Sin Limites, and Chair of the PRBA Scholarship Fund Selection Committee, working with a team selecting hundreds of recipients of law student scholarships. Judge Vargas has received several accolades, including the 2020 OutLaw Award from SUNY at Buffalo Law School, 2018 Spirit Award by the Cervantes Society, 2017 HNBA Latino Judge of the Year and the 2016 Special Recognition Award by the National Hispanic Pre-Law Conference. He is dedicated to a number of other charitable and cultural organizations, such as the Volunteer Lawyers Project, as well as professional bar associations, the New York City Bar Association and the LGBT Bar Association of New York.
Arun Venkataraman - Arun Venkataraman is Senior Director, Head of International Affairs, advancing Visa's global government engagement strategy on a range of international policy issues including digital economy, trade, tax and sanctions. Prior to joining Visa, he was Trade & Investment Policy Advisor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he counseled multinational firms and other organizations on e-commerce, intellectual property rights, and U.S. and foreign trade policies. Arun has more than 15 years of experience advising officials at the highest levels of government on trade and economic policy, including in the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Commerce, and as a Legal Officer in the World Trade Organization. As the first ever Director of Policy at the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, Arun helped shape the US government's responses to critical challenges faced by firms in the US and in markets around the world, including China and India, and led the International Trade Administration's efforts to conclude negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and secure passage of Trade Promotion Authority legislation. Prior to serving at the Department of Commerce, Arun spent several years in policy and legal roles at the Office of the US Trade Representative. Arun led the development and implementation of US-India trade policy as the Director for India, and, as Associate General Counsel, represented the United States in litigation before the World Trade Organization and in negotiations on international trade agreements. Arun also served as a Legal Officer for the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO, advising the seven Members of the Appellate Body on a wide range of issues raised in appeals of trade disputes between countries. Arun holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a B.A. in International Relations and French Literature from Tufts University.
Denise Visconti - Denise M. Visconti handles a broad variety of employment litigation matters, most often stemming from claims arising under the California Labor Code and the Fair Labor Standards Act, alleging overtime misclassification and other wage and hour violations. She also has experience with single-plaintiff claims involving: wrongful termination, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, and accommodation. A large portion of her practice involves the defense of clients in class action litigation, particularly in wage and hour matters, along with representative actions and private attorney general matters. Denise also has extensive experience conducting pay equity audits for all types of employers, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies, and helped develop the Littler Pay Equity Assessment™, including counseling employers on a broad range of state and federal issues related to pay equity, from compliance, to updating policies and job descriptions, to training managers and recruiters, and more. She appears in state and federal courts and has handled arbitrations in various forums, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the American Arbitration Association, and JAMS. She is particularly familiar with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to gender identity and expression. Denise regularly provides advice and counseling to clients regarding gender identity and gender expression-related issues, gender transitions in the workplace, and various issues relating to domestic partnerships and same-sex couples. She also has given a number of presentations to human resource professionals, managers, and employees on valuing diversity and creating and maintaining a diverse workplace. Denise works with a diverse group of clients, including bioscience companies, computer technology companies, healthcare organizations, retail establishments, and airlines. Denise previously served as the San Diego Office Managing Shareholder. Prior to that, she served as the San Diego Office representative of the Associates Committee. Prior to joining Littler Mendelson in January 2004, Denise served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Louisa S. Porter, Presiding Magistrate Judge, Southern District of California and also served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Peter A. Nowinski, Eastern District of California. She spent her third year of law school working in the Immigration and Human Rights Legal Clinic helping newly-arriving immigrants obtain political asylum. She also was student director for the Legislative Journal.
Dylan Waguespack - Dylan Waguespack is the Public Policy and External Affairs Director at True Colors United, where he develops, directs, and implements their federal, state, and local regulatory and legislative public policy agenda. He currently serves as a co-chair of the National Policy Coalition of the Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign, a group that fights federal policy efforts that seek to grant government-funded child welfare contract agencies a license to discriminate against same-sex couples and people of differing faiths. Before joining True Colors United, Waguespack was a lobbyist and political consultant working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. In the fall of 2018, Waguespack was the Creative Director for the Unanimous Jury Coalition and the Yes on Amendment 2 campaign to require unanimous juries for felony convictions, which passed with 64 percent of the vote. He led the digital components of the 2017 Louisiana Justice Reinvestment effort to successfully pass ten landmark criminal justice reform bills — together, the most progressive package of criminal justice reforms passed by a state legislature in modern US history. Before opening his lobbying and political consulting firm, Waguespack served as Executive Director of Louisiana Progress, the progressive movement-building partnership where he started his career as an intern in 2011. While there, he drafted and successfully lobbied for a number of bills to expand opportunity for children, youth, and families impacted by homelessness, including protection from eviction for survivors of domestic abuse, expanded eligibility for child care assistance for families experiencing homelessness, and in-state tuition and campus housing for current and formerly homeless and foster youth in postsecondary education. Waguespack is a proud New Orleanian and a graduate of Ben Franklin High School. He lives in Northeast D.C. with his partner, Matthew, and his dog, Ham.
Ray Wendell - Raymond Wendell is an attorney at Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, a boutique litigation firm in Oakland, California. Ray represents plaintiffs in wage-and-hour, employment discrimination, disability access, and consumer rights class actions. Ray was recently selected as a Law360 Rising Star. He has spoken on panels and authored publications on topics ranging from trucking law to LGBT+ rights. Previously, he clerked for the Honorable Marilyn L. Huff in the Southern District of California. In 2013, Ray graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He is a 2007 graduate of Georgetown University. In his free time, Ray enjoys camping, running, and playing banjo.
Amy Whelan - Amy Whelan has been a Senior Staff Attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) since 2011 and works on NCLR’s full range of litigation, policy, and public education work. Amy litigates complex civil cases around the country regarding marriage equality, employment discrimination, Title IX, family law, access to healthcare, prisoners’ civil rights, the First Amendment, and other constitutional matters. Before joining NCLR, Amy was an associate at the San Francisco firm of Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld LLP (RBGG). There, she represented individuals, organizations, and classes of people in litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, principally in the area of civil rights. In 2008 and 2009, Amy was a member of the trial team in Coleman/Plata v. Schwarzenegger, a combined lawsuit challenging the California prison system’s unconstitutional provision of medical and mental healthcare. A unanimous three-judge panel ruled in favor of the prisoners in that case and the United States Supreme Court affirmed that decision on May 23, 2011. Amy received her Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University and her Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law.
Troy Williams - Troy is the Executive Director of Equality Utah. He has over 15 years experience as a community organizer for the LGBTQ community. In 2010 the Salt Lake Tribune dubbed him, "the gay mayor of Salt Lake City." In 2015, Troy's team successfully advanced LGBTQ employment and housing nondiscrimination through the conservative Utah Legislature. In 2016, Troy led efforts to rename 20 blocks of downtown Salt Lake City as "Harvey Milk Blvd." In 2017, Equality Utah successfully overturned the state's "No Promo Homo" law which prohibited discussion of homosexuality in Utah public schools. In 2019 they built a broad coalition to successfully pass an LGBTQ inclusive hate crimes law. In 2019, Equality Utah launched their "Still Happening" campaign to end SOGI change efforts. In January 2020, Utah became the 19th (and most conservative) state in the country to enact a ban on conversion therapy for minors.
Susan Williams - Susan (she/her) is a self-described “mama bear” of a transgender child and an advocate for LGBTQ rights. She founded The Transformation Project in 2019 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She often speaks at schools, conferences, and businesses. Susan is married to her college sweetheart Jeremy, and together they have two kids and a mini golden-doodle in Sioux Falls.
Christina Wilson Remlin - Since joining Children's Rights in 2011, Christina Wilson Remlin has represented classes of children in foster care in suits challenging violence, inadequate medical care, inappropriate conditions, inadequate special education and over-institutionalization. Her clients include those at risk of discrimination associated with their LGBTQ identity, gender, race, immigration status and class. She is the creator of Children's Rights LGBTQ project and co-author of Safe Havens: Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care and Fostering Family: A Guide to Working Well with LGBTQ Youth in Georgia's Child Welfare System. As a native Atlantan, Ms. Remlin is especially proud that she recently helped to open CR's Atlanta office. Previously, Ms. Remlin was a litigation associate in New York City at Baker & McKenzie LLP, where she represented clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory investigations. She developed an active pro bono docket and represented children and adults in political asylum hearings, Violence Against Women Act petitions, and Special Juvenile Immigration Status and green card applications. Before that, Ms. Remlin was a member of Shearman & Sterling's litigation group. Ms. Remlin received her J.D. from Fordham University in 2004 where she participated in The Crowley Program on International Human Rights' Annual Mission to Bolivia and interned for the Center for Legal and Social Studies in Argentina. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Furman University in 1999 (cum laude). She has a variety of publications focusing on issues of LGBTQ rights of children, corporate responsibility, investment disputes, environmental protection and human rights reparations.
Daniel Winterfeldt -
Shinming Wong - Ming Wong is the Supervising Helpline Attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In addition to managing their legal helpline, he also handles their legal aid training work, coordinates the Rural Pride project, and represents asylum-seekers through the Immigration Project. He has conducted trainings for staff and attorneys at legal aid organizations and the EEOC on various issues, including providing culturally competent services to LGBTQ+ clients. He has been named a Best LGBTQ+ Lawyer Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association.
Jessie Workman - Jessie Workman is an agency attorney in the Law Enforcement Bureau of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Prior to joining the Commission, Jessie was a staff attorney and Pride Law fellow at Youth Represent, an organization providing defense, reentry and advocacy services to criminal legal system involved young people aged 24 and under. As a Pride Law fellow Jessie created and led the Pathways Project, an initiative addressing the criminalization and discriminatory targeting of LGBTGNC youth of color, primarily focusing on Trans and gender nonconforming young people at Rikers Island and in City shelters. Jessie is a graduate of CUNY School of Law. While at CUNY, Jessie represented clients in the criminal defense clinic and was a recipient of the Kyle D. Jewell fellowship. Before attending law school, Jessie spent several years in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM, teaching writing to incarcerated youth and managing a youth shelter reentry program. Jessie holds a B.A. from Antioch College.
Colin Wright - Colin S. Wright is Senior Intellectual Property Counsel with Landis+Gyr, where he focuses on Patents & Trademarks, Cybersecurity and Technology Law. He previously served as Technology & Cybersecurity Counsel at Change Healthcare and IP Counsel at McKesson, both large providers of healthcare software and data services. While at McKesson, he championed the creation of OPEN, McKesson's LGBTQ Employee Resource Group. For his work at McKesson and in the Atlanta community, Colin was named Out & Proud Corporate Counsel in 2014 by the National LGBT Bar Association. Colin is admitted to practice law in Georgia and Washington D.C. and is also a registered Patent Attorney. He holds a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a J.D. from the University of Georgia, and lives in Atlanta with his husband, Toby.
Alan York - Alan York is a partner in Reed Smith's Appellate Group. Alan has been involved in appellate law since the inception of his legal career, serving from 1989 to 1990 as briefing attorney to Justice Sam Robertson on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Since that time, Alan has maintained an active involvement in appellate bar activities, serving as chair of the Houston Bar Association Appellate Practice Section, and as a council member of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Practice Section. He has also served as a judicial liaison between these bar sections and the judiciary, and has co-authored and co-presented numerous CLE topics with members of the appellate judiciary. Alan is also the global chair of Reed Smith's LGBT+ Business Inclusion Group, PRISM (Pride, Respect, and Inclusion Simply Matter). In that role, Alan has worked closely with organizations such as TLDEF and Lambda Legal to support their important work for our communities. Alan is board certified in civil appellate law, and provides pre-trial and trial strategy and support and error preservation, as well as appellate briefing and argument on significant civil cases. In addition to his appellate docket, Alan is actively involved in trial practice, and served as one of the lead litigation and appellate counsel for Halliburton in civil claims and investigations arising from the Deepwater Horizon blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest environmental litigation matters in U.S. history. Alan has been selected multiple times to the The Best Lawyers in America© list; is a six-time recipient of Thomson Reuters' Top 100 Lawyers in Houston honors; was named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Texas in 2016, 2017 and 2018; has been selected more than 15 years to the Texas Super Lawyers list; and has been recognized nine times among H Texas Magazine's Top Lawyers in Houston. He is AV-rated "Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest ranking for ethics and legal ability. Alan received a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1989 and a B.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Houston in 1986.
Ezra Young - Ezra Young is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney based in New York City. He currently maintains a boutique private practice. His litigation and scholarship centers on trans rights and focuses on rights of recognition, employment protections, and health care and insurance coverage issues. Ezra has litigated trans rights cases in courts and agencies throughout the nation. Highlights include winning an order from the Medicare Appeals Council directing a health plan to cover vaginal reconstruction surgery for a transgender woman; winning an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission precedent finding transgender exclusions in FEHB plans violate federal EEO laws; three pathbreaking co-litigations with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Justice vindicating transgender worker's rights under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act; successfully advocating with large public and private entities to drop transgender exclusions from their health plans; and serving as lead counsel in a first of its kind transgender sex discrimination jury trial where he secured a historic $1.165M damages award. Ezra's academic writing has appeared in or is forthcoming in books and articles published by Routledge, Oxford University Press, the New Press, California Law Review Online, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Ezra currently serves on the board of the Jim Collins Foundation. He is a founding board member and past co-chair of the National Trans Bar Association. He has previously served as legal director of the African American Policy Forum, research director of the Columbia Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies, and director of impact litigation of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. Ezra received his BA in Philosophy from Cornell University and his JD from Columbia Law School. From 2012 to 2014, Ezra was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Columbia Law School. His post doctoral studies focused on trans rights, Critical Race Theory, and intersectionality and were supervised by renowned scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Keren Zwick - Keren Zwick (she/her) is the National Immigrant Justice Center's Director of Litigation, and she works closely with NIJC's LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative. Keren is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association (AILA) and the current co-chair of the litigation committee of the Chicago chapter. Keren's litigation is focused on asylum and protection based claims, largely for detained individuals. She has represented petitioners in dozens of cases before the United States Courts of Appeals, and filed amicus briefs in many others, focusing on applicants for protection whose claims are based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and mental health. She has also led NIJC's efforts to preserve access to asylum, arguing in favor of access to asylum for individuals with prior removal orders and co-counseling with other organizations in challenges to regulatory bans seeking to limit access to the asylum process. Keren joined NIJC after clerking for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. While Keren was a law student at Columbia Law School, she successfully represented clients in the Sexuality & Gender Law Clinic in both immigration and civil rights matters. Before law school, Keren attended the University of Chicago and worked as NIJC's asylum project coordinator. Keren is licensed to practice law in Illinois.
CLE Workshops & More
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Diana Adams - Diana Adams is Executive Director of Chosen Family Law Center, Inc, a nonprofit serving LGBTQ, polyamorous, platonic and non-nuclear families and offering professional training on cultural competency & legal skills for serving these communities. Diana is also Owner of Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC, a boutique LGBTQ family law and mediation firm based in New York City and Frankfurt, Germany, serving primarily same-sex couples, platonic co- parents, polyamorous families, and non-nuclear families. Diana is Director of the Euro LGBT Family Law Institute, sponsored by the National LGBT Bar and National Center for Lesbian Rights, connecting top lawyers in LGBTQ family law in Europe with leaders in the US and worldwide, in an effort to create a worldwide legal support movement for LGBTQ families. www.ChosenFamilyLawCenter.org www.DianaAdamsLaw.net Find her on Twitter & Facebook @DianaAdamsEsq.
Yemi Adegbonmire - Yemi Adegbonmire is a Los Angeles based intellectual property and entertainment attorney and a member of 2019 The National Black Lawyers Top 100. Described by her peers as jetsetting, vivacious, fresh faced and an advocate for the arts, Yemi Adegbonmire navigates the City of Angels with the wit and intellect of a lawyer and the heart and creativity of an artist. As a former legal executive at The Walt Disney Company, Yemi advised clients on regulatory issues arising from digital marketing, privacy policies and global content distribution. She also provided counsel on intellectual property licensing, and best practices related to social networking websites and user-generated content. A citizen of the world, Yemi is native of Baltimore, Maryland, Yemi spends her summers in Lagos and her winters visiting various wonders of the world. Yemi is a graduate of The Bryn Mawr School for Girls and of Johns Hopkins and Wake Forest Universities. Yemi hired the first Executive Director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, is a former member of GLAAD's Los Angeles Leadership Council, and currently sits on Lambda Legal's National Board of Directors. Yemi is currently the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Bail Project. The Bail Project (TBP) is a nation nonprofit with 20 locations across the nation. The Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release before trial contingent on paying bail. TBP enables its clients to return home to their families and communities while awaiting their court dates. TBP is on year 2 of a five-year plan to scale The Bail Project's Community Release with Support model across America and turn the tide on mass incarceration. It is our mission to restore the presumption of innocence in America and ensure that freedom truly is free again.
CLE Workshops & More
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
Arielle Adler - Arielle's practice focuses on corporate bankruptcy and creditors' rights matters, including bankruptcy-related litigation. She brings unique, multidisciplinary experience to her bankruptcy practice. She previously represented management clients in a wide range of labor and employment matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Her ability to analyze complex issues and business operations and strategies benefit her clients both inside and outside of the insolvency environment. Arielle served as senior law clerk to the Hon. Stacey L. Meisel and as a term law clerk to the Hon. Rosemary Gambardella, both of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. She is Chair Elect of the LGBT Rights Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is an active member of the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and the National LGBT Bar Association. Her pro bono experience includes serving as a court-appointed attorney for clients in guardianship proceedings and drafting an employee handbook for a nonprofit organization focused on empowering students to attend and succeed in college.
CLE Workshops & More
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Gabriel Arkles -
Sophia Arredondo -
CLE Workshops & More
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Charlie Arrowood - Charlie Arrowood (they/them) is an attorney licensed in New York state. They primarily provide transition-related legal services to transgender clients, including name and gender marker change assistance and guidance regarding health insurance coverage and employment matters. Charlie is the Vice Chair of the LGBTQ Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, a member of the National Trans Bar Association, and previously served as the Director of Name & Gender Recognition at Transcend Legal. They are a parent of two and graduate of Tulane University (B.A. History, 2009) and New York Law School (2013).
CLE Workshops & More
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
Susan Baker Manning - Susan Baker Manning is a highly experienced litigator, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP's first Senior Pro Bono Trial Lawyer. In this role, Susan leads large impact litigation matters in support of at-risk individuals and underrepresented groups, such as those seeking access to housing, healthcare, education, and other public benefits, as well as those fleeing persecution in their home countries. She also focuses on expanding the firm's long-standing commitment to civil liberties work across numerous issues, deepening relationships with clients and current partner organizations, and forming alliances with new ones. Susan has dedicated thousands of hours to pro bono service throughout her career. She has made a meaningful impact on the protection of First Amendment, human, and civil rights. Susan's work in recent years has included representing some of the largest businesses in the country in an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges showing how discrimination against same-sex marriage is bad for business, representing several U.S. Senators in a case involving access to the asylum system, and presenting expert analysis by several former surgeons general regarding the fitness of transgender people for military service. Her other pro bono victories include successfully representing a domestic violence shelter in an action to protect its clients following public disclosure of its confidential shelter location; a Guantanamo Bay-related case that received international attention; obtaining asylum for individuals fleeing persecution; and numerous civil rights cases. Susan's pro bono work builds upon her two decades of practice as an intellectual property litigator specializing in patent, trademark, and copyright cases. She has considerable experience at the trial court level (including matters heard by government agencies such as the International Trade Commission), and has argued numerous cases before U.S. Courts of Appeal. Susan has represented name-brand technology companies in matters involving a variety of technology areas including in the software, Internet, hardware, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and architecture spaces. Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Susan was a partner in the litigation practice of another international law firm.
Cynthia L. Barrett - Cynthia L. Barrett, Esq., practices law in Portland, Oregon, focusing on special needs and LGBT estate/life planning. Ms. Barrett served as president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Multnomah County Bar Association, and has made many CLE presentations over the past twenty years on estate, special needs, and LGBT planning issues. She and her partner Karen L. Johnson were married in 2014.
Brian M. Basinger -
Brian M. Basinger is Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement for the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. He joined the SEC in 2013 after five years at the law firm of King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta where he served on the firm’s Special Matters & Government Investigations practice group. At the SEC, Brian has led investigations and appeared on behalf of the Commission in enforcement actions in the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia. His cases have included offering frauds, financial adviser fraud and Ponzi schemes. Brian is co-chair of the SEC’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Employee Affinity Group, and he leads the Atlanta Regional Office’s outreach to Spanish-speaking investors, rural investors and the agribusiness community. Brian received his law degree from Georgia State University and received undergraduate degrees in Public Relations and Romance Languages from the University of Georgia.
Justin Becker - Justin Becker has experience in a variety of international trade legal issues, including anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings, national security reviews, and trade policy work. His experience includes major investigations and reviews before the Department of Commerce (DOC) and investigations before the International Trade Commission (ITC). He has appeared before the Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has argued before a Chapter 19 NAFTA panel. Justin also counsels U.S. and foreign clients on national security and international legal issues, including transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Prior to joining Sidley, Justin worked for the DOC in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance. In this role, he provided legal advice to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance in the International Trade Administration concerning the administration of both U.S. and international anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws. He gained experience working on matters before the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement panels. He also clerked for the Honorable Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida He currently serves as a co-chair of Sidley's DC diversity committee and dedicates a portion of his practice to pro bono matters, and in particular LGBT-related matters.
CLE Workshops & More
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Laura Bennett - Laura Bennett is counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement in Washington D.C. Prior to joining the SEC, Laura was counsel in the Washington D.C. office of King & Spalding LLP, where she served as chair of the firm’s LGBT Affinity Group. She previously served on the board of directors of Rainbow Families, a non-profit organization that provides social and educational programming for LGBT families in the Washington D.C. area, from 2015-2017 and served as the vice chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission for Howard County, Maryland from 2013-2015. Laura earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 2001 and her law degree from the George Washington University Law School in 2004.
Richard Best - Richard R. Best is the Regional Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Atlanta Regional Office in February 2018. He was previously the Regional Director of the Salt Lake Regional Office, serving from July 2015 to February 2018. Before coming to the Commission, Mr. Best was a Chief Counsel in the Department of Enforcement of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Mr. Best was also a Director, Senior Trial Attorney and Trial Attorney at FINRA. Mr. Best previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney. He was a supervisor in the Office’s Rackets Bureau where he managed high-profile public integrity and organized crime prosecutions, among other matters. Mr. Best received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and a law degree from the Howard University School of Law.
Ru Bhatt - Ru Bhatt is a Partner in the Associate Practice Group and has been a member of Major, Lindsey & Africa's New York office since 2008. Ru specializes in placing attorneys of all levels in top-tier national, international, regional and boutique law firms. He also places attorneys in prominent in-house positions at companies and financial institutions. Ru distinguishes himself by taking pride in acting as a career counselor and a strong advocate for his candidates by helping them identify opportunities that are consistent with their diverse career goals. In his free time, Ru follows his passion for music as a DJ and is actively involved in fundraising efforts for local and national LGBT charity organizations.
Lateral Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Edward Bibko - Edward Bibko is the General Counsel, EMEA and Asia, for Jefferies. Previously he was a law firm partner specializing in cross-border listings onto the London Stock Exchange. Edward is US- and UK-qualified and has advised on capital markets transactions for more than 25 years. In addition to acting as co-chair of the US Lawyers in London Forum, he is on the Court of the Worshipful Company of Solicitors and is currently shortlisted for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s General Counsel of the Year award. Edward lives with his wife and an elderly cat, and enjoys mixing cocktails.
Dean Mary Anne Bobinski - Mary Anne Bobinski is dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. Before joining Emory Law, Mary Anne Bobinski was a professor at the Allard School of Law, where she served as dean from 2003 to 2015. Previously she was the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Law and director of the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center. Professor Bobinski's research and teaching interests include torts, health law, health care finance, bioethics, legal aspects of HIV infection, and reproductive health law issues. She is a co-author of Health Care Law & Ethics (Wolters Kluwer) and the co-author/co-editor of a two-volume book series on medical ethics. Bobinski has also published a number of law review articles and book chapters on health law topics. She is a past president and board member of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and a past member of the Canadian Public Health Officer's Ethics Advisory Committee. She has served as a visiting scholar at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, the University of Sydney Law School, the Melbourne Law School and the Faculty of Law at Oxford University, where she also held a Plumer Visiting Research Fellowship at St. Anne’s College. Bobinski recently completed a new edition of Health Care Law & Ethics (Wolters Kluwer) with her co-authors and is working on a research project focused on the contested nature of the physician-patient relationship, with a particular focus on legal responses to conflicting values or norms.
Mary Bonauto - Mary Bonauto has been the Project Director for Civil Rights at GLAD since 1990. During that period, she has been co-counsel in the Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut marriage equality litigations and was the prevailing counsel in Goodridge, the first state supreme court decision to require marriage equality (2003-2004). She was also co-counsel in federal court litigation successfully challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. In 2014, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Candace Bond-Theriault - Candace Bond-Theriault (she/her/hers) is the Senior Policy Counsel for Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice, and the Democracy Project Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force. She works through a black queer feminist lens to create change and shift culture towards intersectional liberation through increasing abortion access, contraceptive equity and ensuring religious perspective don't harm civil rights protections. Candace received her LL.M. degree with a focus on gender and legislation from the American University Washington College of Law, her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law, and her B.A. in Human Rights with a focus on race, gender, and sexuality from the College of William and Mary. She is a yoga teacher, writer, makeup enthusiast, and aspiring optimist. Her writing has appeared in the SELF magazine, Blavity, Rewire, Ms. Magazine, the Advocate, the Grio, Medium, and the Huffington Post.
Jess Braverman - Jess Braverman is the Legal Director at Gender Justice in Minnesota. Jess attended NYU Law School, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow with a focus on LGBT civil rights. Jess came to Gender Justice from the Hennepin County Public Defender's office, where she spearheaded the office's Special Litigation Unit focusing on racial profiling in policing. Jess was also an attorney at the Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Project, representing young people in delinquency and child protection cases in Brooklyn, New York. Jess was formerly a board member of Crux, the LGBT rock climbing nonprofit in NYC.
Hal Brewster - Hal Brewster focuses his practice on litigating political law matters. In his previous job, Hal was a member of multiple trial teams that tried cases to verdict in state and federal courthouses around the country. He has experience preparing witnesses to testify at trial, drafting direct and cross examination outlines, creating graphics for opening statements and closing arguments, and researching evidentiary issues and drafting related motions in limine and bench briefs. For several years, Hal helped to represent several top aides to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the various investigations and inquiries stemming from the Secretary’s use of a private email account during her tenure at the State Department. Hal also maintains an active pro bono practice. In partnership with the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project, Hal has successfully represented survivors of domestic abuse in their petitions for protections from their abusers in hearings and trials in D.C. Superior Court. In this capacity, Hal served as lead trial counsel in a six-day trial before Judge Julie Becker that resulted in his client receiving primary physical and legal custody of her five minor children as well as a sizeable allocation of the marital property. Prior to his law career, Hal spent four years as an active duty U.S. Army officer. As a scout and sniper platoon leader, Hal led 40 specialized soldiers in more than 150 combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star medal for service. Following his time in the army, Hal published five articles in The New York Times blog, “At War,” about his experiences in Iraq.
Kylar Broadus - Broadus is the founder of Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) exists to advance justice for all trans people of color. We amplify Trans POC stories, support our leadership, and challenge issues of racism, transphobia, and transmisogyny. TPOCC envisions a world where trans people of color can live and work in safety, where health and economic equity are basic rights, and we are celebrated for our visibility and leadership in our workplaces, homes, and communities. His portfolio of work includes his diversity, equity and inclusion work, legal and political consulting. He is on the team of The Chapel Law Group, LLC with offices in Jefferson City and Kansas City, Missouri.
Yuliya “Jay” Brodska - Yuliya ‘Jay’ Brodska is a rising 2L student at Fordham Law School, where they are a Chair of OutLaws and member of the Media and Entertainment Law Society. Jay was born in Dnipro, Ukraine and immigrated to America at the age of 5. They were raised in Staten Island, NY and earned their bachelors degree in Economics from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Prior to law school, Jay interned with the EEOC office in New York and volunteered with the LGBT Bar Association, where they served as a translator for Russian-speaking clients seeking asylum.
Denise Brogan-Kator - Denise Brogan-Kator is the Chief Policy Officer at Family Equality, joining the organization in 2012. Previously, she was the Executive Director at Equality Michigan and the Managing Director for the Rainbow Law Center in Southeast Michigan. She is the first openly transgender law student to matriculate at the University of Michigan Law School (and later returning as the first openly transgender adjunct law professor). In addition to her JD, she has an MBA from the University of Colorado. She currently lives in Florida with her wife, mother-in-law, and 5 cats. She has three grown daughters and two grandchildren who are, collectively, the lights of her life.
Benjamin Brooks - Benjamin Brooks is the Assistant Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health. He has a passion for bringing quality healthcare to our community by working with our researchers, providers, and patients to create evidence-based policies that capture opportunities to build health equity. Before joining Whitman-Walker, Brooks worked training providers in LGBT cultural competencies and providing technical assistance and capacity building to HIV providers across the country. He is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law with a law degree and Tufts University School of Medicine with a master's degree in public health.
CLE Workshops & More
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Bria Brown-King - Bria (they/she) identifies as a queer, intersex, masculine presenting black person. They are currently living in Delaware, but was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bria’s intersex variation is Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, CAH for short. Bria works as the Program Coordinator for InterACT. Bria started doing advocacy work as a youth member with interACT where they published articles for the ACLU, TeenVogue, and Them Magazine. They were also the first out intersex person to speak about intersex issues on the steps of the Supreme Court.
CLE Workshops & More
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Daniel Bruner - Daniel Bruner (he/him/his) is Senior Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health and the Whitman-Walker Institute in Washington, DC. For more than 23 years, he has specialized in HIV and LGBTQ legal and policy issues, including health care discrimination; cultural competency among health care professionals; transgender health care and discrimination against transgender and nonbinary individuals; medical privacy; and coordination of medical and legal services to patients to enhance health (medical-legal partnerships). He has published on HIV policy and law and has given many presentations at national legal and medical conferences on legal and policy issues related to LGBTQ health and wellness and HIV treatment and prevention. Dan received his B.A. (summa cum laude) from Rice University and his J.D. (magna cum laude) and Master's in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. He was an associate and then a partner at the public interest law firm Spiegel & McDiarmid from 1981 to 1995 and joined Whitman-Walker's staff in 1995. From 2004 through 2014, he was Whitman-Walker's Director of Legal Services. He taught HIV law and public interest law at American University's Washington School of Law from 2000 to 2005, and has received awards from the American Bar Association's HIV/AIDS Project Committee, the LGBT Bar Association of DC, and the Washington Council of Lawyers.
Sasha Buchert - Sasha Buchert (she/her) is a Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal working in their new Washington D.C. office. Before joining Lambda Legal, Sasha served as Staff Attorney and Policy Counsel at Transgender Law Center where she engaged in litigation and policy advocacy that was focused on helping transgender and gender-nonconforming people find meaningful employment, obtain competent health care coverage and secure accurate identity documents. Before joining Transgender Law Center, Sasha worked for Basic Rights Oregon, the largest LGBT rights advocacy organization in the state. Sasha was the first openly transgender person to be appointed to an Oregon state board, and from 2012-13, she served as the chair of the Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board. She holds a J.D. from Willamette University. Sasha served proudly in the United States Marine Corps.
Joan Burda - Joan M. Burda has a solo law practice concentrating in estate planning and LGBTQ issues in Lakewood, Ohio. She is the author of the award-winning book, Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Third Edition (ABA 2015) as well as Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Clients: A Lawyer's Guide (ABA 2008) and An Overview of Federal Consumer Law (ABA 1998) -- out of print but a real page turner. Joan writes about LGBT legal issues, estate planning and other topics for various online and print publications. She is a featured speaker on LGBT legal issues at national and international conferences and workshops. Joan is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the National Lesbian and Gay Bar Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law and teaches LGBT Legal Issues and Wills, Trusts and Future Interests. In her spare time, she reviews books for the New York Journal of Books. Joan graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree, which means she took what she wanted and skipped all the boring classes. She received her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law‚ a school located on a bluff overlooking Malibu--not at all conducive to studying so it's a good thing the first two years were in a converted warehouse in Anaheim. Speaking of which - during law school, Joan worked as a security officer (aka a "mouseifer") at Disneyland. She lives in Lakewood, Ohio with her spouse, Betsy.
Lisa Burke - Lisa R. Burke currently serves as the Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Program Coordinator and as a SOGI/LGBTQ Resource Navigator at the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. She began her public sector career in the Bail Unit in Hudson Vicinage in 1990 and joined the staff of the Administrative Office of the Courts in 2004 following six years in higher education administration. She has extensive academic and professional background in diversity issues, the delivery of related trainings, and the development of SOGI/LGBTQ-focused diversity and inclusion-informed best practices in the courts. Some of her areas of academic and professional expertise and interest including gender, race, culture, sexuality, age, religion, ability, and human rights and the intersections of these sometimes seemingly conflicting aspects of identity and experience. Lisa is an active and engaged member of the NJSBA and enjoys involvement in several sections and committees. A published author of both academic and creative works, she also has experience as a PK-16 teacher and expertise in adult education, having designed, developed, and taught a variety of college-level courses and court-based professional development and continuing legal education (CLE) trainings. She has presented nationally and published on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, human rights across cultures, gender in complex humanitarian crises, law-related education, communication in cyberspace, and LGBTQI and SOGI access to justice issues. Among her many professional endeavors, Lisa is a member of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and the New Jersey State Bar Association. As an NJSBA member she is active and engaged in a number of sections and committees including the LGBT Rights Section, Minorities in the Profession Section, Immigration Law Section, and the Government, Public Sector, and Public Interest Legal Professionals Special Committee. A graduate of New Jersey City University and Columbia University, she also has undertaken post-graduate courses through the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs certificate program in diversity and inclusion and is currently pursuing additional advanced studies through the Washington University at St. Louis School of Law.
CLE Workshops & More
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Paul Burke - Mr. Burke is a shareholder, director, and general counsel of Ray Quinney & Nebeker, which is one of the oldest and largest firms in the Intermountain West. Mr. Burke was honored by the Utah Bar Commission as the Utah's Lawyer of the Year for 2019. Previously he was recognized in 2012 as the Utah State Bar's Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year for his service to the public, the legal profession, and the LGBT community. Mr. Burke serves on the Board of Directors of Equality Utah. He was honored in 2015 by Utah Pride as a "Utah Hero" for his public advocacy on behalf of Utah's LGBT citizens. His work defending the rights of an abused lesbian teenager was chronicled in the book "Saving Alex" and the recent Lifetime movie "Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story." In addition to his civil rights work, Mr. Burke maintains a complex civil litigation practice with an emphasis in the realm of labor and employment law. He also advises other law firms on professional ethics and risk management, and he defends lawyers accused of ethical misconduct or malpractice.
Marla Butler - Marla Butler is a Partner in the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property practice groups of Thompson Hine LLP. Marla represents clients in the medical, semiconductor, power, networking and other high-tech industries in high-stakes commercial litigations, arbitrations and trials. Marla has developed a deep understanding of technology and is skilled at building and leading diverse teams of lawyers, scientists and economists, which enhances her ability to devise and implement successful litigation and trial strategies and to simplify complex technology concepts for judges, juries and arbitrators. She has received distinctions from Benchmark Litigation, Super Lawyers, Savoy and Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation as a leader in Litigation, Intellectual Property and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Marla is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Litigation Counsel of America. Marla is also on the Board of Directors of Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys and the National LGBT Bar Association. She is a former board member of Lambda Legal.
CLE Workshops & More
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Nevin Caple -
Alejandra Caraballo - Alejandra Caraballo currently serves as a staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) where she handles all stages of impact litigation to advance the rights of transgender people. Alejandra previously served as the Staff Attorney of the LGBTQ Law Project at New York Legal Assistance Group where she represented clients in a variety of civil legal matters such as immigration, family law, name and gender marker changes, and anti-discrimination litigation. Alejandra currently serves as the Secretary of the LGBTQ Rights Committee of the New York Bar Association and as a Board Member of the Translatina Network. Alejandra was appointed as the first openly trans community board member in Brooklyn and currently serves as the Housing Committee Chair. Alejandra received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School where she externed in the Helping Elders through Litigation and Policy (HELP) clinic and the Safe Harbor Asylum Law clinic. Alejandra received her B.A. in Government and World Affairs with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Tampa. In her spare time, Alejandra can be found playing guitar, creating electronic music, and brewing beer.
Featured CLE Program: August 13, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Sunu Chandy - Sunu P. Chandy is the Legal Director of the National Women’s Law Center. She oversees the Center’s litigation efforts, providing strategy across the NWLC to create better outcomes for women and girls at school, the workplace, and the healthcare sector. She helped to create the Center’s Legal Network for Gender Equity and build the policies and procedures guiding the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. She also provides guidance for the Center’s policy positions towards greater workplace equality. Until August 2017, Sunu served as the Deputy Director for the Civil Rights Division with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led civil rights enforcement including in the areas of language access, auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and sex discrimination cases under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Before that, Sunu was the General Counsel of the DC Office of Human Rights (OHR) and in that role oversaw the agency’s legal decisions following civil rights investigations of discrimination in employment, education, housing and public accommodation matters. Previously, Sunu was a federal attorney with the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for 15 years and litigated cases including based on sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination, as well as race, national origin, disability, age and religion based discrimination cases. At EEOC, Sunu led several outreach and training initiatives including as a member of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI) Regional Working Group. Sunu began her legal career as a law firm associate representing unions and individual workers in New York City at Gladstein, Reif and Megginniss, LLP. Sunu earned her B.A. in Peace and Global Studies/Women’s Studies from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and more recently, she completed her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from CUNY/Queens College. Sunu has served on the boards of directors of several organizations including the Audre Lorde Project, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective and LeGal (the LGBTQ attorneys’ organization in New York City). Sunu currently serves on the board of directors for the Transgender Law Center and volunteers with Split This Rock, a national social justice poetry organization.
Featured CLE Program: August 12, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Tiffany Chang - Tiffany Chang is a counsel in Crowell & Moring's Orange County office, where she practices in the Antitrust Group. Tiffany focuses on claims recovery in large antitrust and tort settlements. In addition to her active recovery practice, Tiffany advocates for the LGBTQ+ community through at Crowell & Moring. As a counsel and a member of the firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group, Tiffany dedicates a significant part of her practice to pro bono advocacy in the LGBTQ+ space, and is currently representing a gay man from Cuba seeking asylum under the Violence Against Women Act. Tiffany is also a member of Crowell & Moring’s Asian American & Pacific Islander affinity group, the Women’s Leadership Initiative, and the firm’s Diversity Council. Outside of Crowell & Moring, Tiffany is an active member of the Orange County legal community. She is a founding board member of the Orange County Lavender Bar Association and maintains Emeritus status with OCLBA as well as with the Orange County Equality Coalition, and is a member of the Orange County Bar Association.
Puneet Cheema - Puneet Cheema is a Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT+ people and people with HIV. Puneet is a member of the LGBT/HIV Criminal Justice Workgroup, and Lambda Legal’s representative in DC’s Sex Worker Advocacy Coalition. Puneet has extensive litigation experience and works to expand and protect the rights of LGBTQ people through litigation, policy, and advocacy in all areas, including access to health care and accurate identity documents, workplace discrimination, and discrimination in schools. She has been lead counsel for Lambda Legal in Family Equality v. Azar, and Equality Arizona v. Hoffman, and counsel in Zzyym v. Pompeo, County of Santa Clara v. Azar, and Eller v. Prince George’s County Public Schools.Prior to joining Lambda, Puneet served as a Trial Attorney in the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice (DOJ) where she played a leading role in the DOJ’s investigation of the Baltimore Police Department and was part of the team that litigated the DOJ’s case against Sheriff Joseph Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona.
Marcy Chell - Marcy Chell, LICSW is a Program Manager at the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency. She has worked in Child Welfare, in both DC and NYC, for 15 years. Marcy also worked for the District of Columbia Public School System for 5 years; allowing her time to foster from CFSA and adopt 2 teenagers. She’s also a proud grandmother of a 2 year old. Marcy is a strong advocate for the LGBTQ population and commits to providing the best foster family experience for youth who identify as such, who have to enter foster care. She is thrilled to take part in this Conference.
CLE Workshops & More
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Alexander Chen - Alexander Chen is a Clinical Instructor and the Founding Director of the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. Alexander's work focuses on expanding the rights of LGBTQ+ people through impact litigation, policy advocacy, and direct representation at both the national and local levels. He also teaches the Law School's inaugural course on Gender Identity and the Law. Previously, Alexander served as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the nation's leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations. At NCLR, Alexander engaged in LGBTQ+ impact litigation and policy advocacy in education, employment, health care, housing, prisons, and juvenile justice and child welfare settings. Alexander was a member of the litigation team in the transgender military cases Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump, as well as the landmark Ninth Circuit transgender prisoner surgery access case Edmo v. Corizon. He also co-drafted AB 2119, a bill that made California the first state to guarantee access to transition-related health care for trans youth in foster care. Alexander received his B.A. from Oxford University, his M.A. from Columbia University, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was the first openly transgender editor of the Harvard Law Review and worked on trans issues at the Department of Justice, the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. He clerked on the Ninth Circuit for the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, and in the Southern District of California for the Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel.
Featured CLE Program: August 12, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Jeena Cho - Jeena Cho is an attorney with JC Law Group PC and the co-author of best-selling book, The Anxious Lawyer, An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation (ABA). She is a regular contributor to ABA Journal and Above the Law where she covers resilience, work/life integration, and wellness in the workplace. She regularly speaks on lawyer well-being, stress/anxiety management, diversity & inclusion, productivity, mindfulness, and meditation.
Arli Christian - Arli is a Campaign Strategist with the National Political Advocacy Department of the ACLU and advocates for legislative and administrative policy changes to further transgender rights. Prior to joining the ACLU Arli was the State Policy Director at the National Center for Transgender Equality, and holds a particular expertise on identity document gender change policies. Arli speaks English and Spanish and has a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and a law degree from American University Washington College of Law.
CLE Workshops & More
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
Susan Cirilli - Susan M. Cirilli is an attorney with Offit Kurman. Her practice focuses on employment matters involving the ADA, FMLA, and Title VII claims. Ms. Cirilli litigates cases involving hostile work environment and discrimination. She assess issues surrounding discrimination and harassment, and represents employers in fact finding conferences and mediations before the PHRC and the EEOC. Ms. Cirilli is admitted in the Middle District and Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as the Federal Court for the District of New Jersey. She earned her B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from University of Vermont and her J.D. degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
CLE Workshops & More
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Currey Cook - M. Currey Cook is the Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project and Counsel with Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV. Cook advocates across the country for LGBTQ youth and youth living with HIV in child welfare and juvenile justice settings and youth experiencing homelessness via impact litigation, law and policy reform and education. Before joining Lambda Legal in 2013, Cook was the Co-Director of the Bronx office of The Children's Law Center New York, served as a consultant to The National Juvenile Defender Center in Washington, D.C , worked in Burundi on an American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative to assist with reintegrate former child soldiers into the community, and was a visiting professor for the Child Advocacy Clinic at Rutgers Law School Newark. Prior to moving to New York in 2008, Cook lived in Anchorage, Alaska and was an attorney with the Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) for twelve years. Cook worked as a juvenile defense attorney and guardian ad litem and later as supervising attorney of OPA's Child Advocacy Section. Cook was the recipient of the Alaska Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award for a Public Sector Attorney in 2006 and a Light of Hope Award for his advocacy on behalf of abused and neglected children in Alaska. Cook has served as chair of the New York City Bar Association's Family Court and Family Law Committee and is currently a board member of the National Association of Counsel for Children. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Journalism (Broadcast News) and received his law degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia in 1994.
CLE Workshops & More
Multi-system Approaches to Ending LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Through Law and Policy
Multi-system Approaches to Ending LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Through Law and Policy
Alex Cooper - Alex Cooper is a survivor of conversion therapy. She is the co-author, with Joanna Brooks, of the the memoir, Saving Alex: When I was 15 I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay And That's When My Nightmare Began. Cooper's story was made into the Lifetime movie Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story, which premiered in September 2019.
Amy Crawford - Amy Crawford is the Deputy Chief of the Civil Actions Bureau of the Cook County (IL) State's Attorney's Office. Before that, she was a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, where her pro bono focus was on LGBTQ rights. Between two stints at Kirkland, she clerked for Judge Philip Simon of the Northern District of Indiana and spent six months working on the 2008 Obama campaign. In 2015, she ran for Alderman on the North Side of Chicago. Before law school, she worked in corporate finance and nonprofit fundraising. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago Law School.
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
William Crosby - William (Bill) Crosby, Jr. is Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Managing Attorney at Interpublic Group, a New York based advertising and marketing company with over 50,000 employees worldwide. At Interpublic, where he has been since 2002, Bill oversees global litigation and manages the Latin American practice. He was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell from 1993 until 1995 and at Kay, Collyer & Boose (now defunct) from 1995 until 2002. Bill also serves as a member of the commercial panel of arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association. He has served as arbitrator in nearly 200 matters, involving such areas as franchising, intellectual property, hotel and restaurant management, and general commercial disputes, both domestic and international. Bill is a frequent speaker on arbitration related issues, as well as litigation and compliance issues. He organized and moderated a presentation at last year's Lavender Law Conference focused on increasing the numbers of LGBT-identified arbitrators and mediators. He is an active member of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL), where he has served for several years as a board member and as a member of its Judiciary Committee, which interviews and evaluates judicial candidates in New York. Bill is a 1990 graduate of Yale College and a 1993 graduate of Stanford Law School.
Cynthia Cubbage - Cynthia Cubbage has 20 years of experience dedicated to serving children and families through non-profit work and county government agencies. She has provided mental health services to children and families. She has held leadership and management positions that involve child advocacy efforts, analyzing public local policies, and developing innovative programming for youth/children. Her passion and interest focus on working with multi-racial/cultural adoptive families, birth parents, children and & teens, LGBTQ youth, and aging-out youth in the foster care system. She has provided trainings nationally and internationally on adoption issues and has worked as a team developing adoption competent publications and therapeutic materials. Cynthia and her wife are parents by adoption of two beautiful children.
CLE Workshops & More
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Dean Larry Cunningham - Larry Cunningham became the Dean of Charleston School of Law in June 2020, bringing a national reputation in legal education, assessment, and student learning to the position. As Dean, he serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the school, leading the academic, student support, and operational units of the Law School with the singular goal of promoting student success. Dean Cunningham joined Charleston School of Law from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was a professor from 2008 to 2020 and served in several administrative posts. Dean Cunningham received his J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Prior to entering academia, he was a prosecutor and a law clerk to a federal judge. His husband and their puggle live in downtown Charleston.
Alphonso David - Alphonso B. David, an accomplished and nationally recognized LGBTQ civil rights lawyer and advocate, is the president of the Human Rights Campaign. Mr. David is the first civil rights lawyer and the first person of color to serve as president of HRC in the organization’s nearly 40-year history. Mr. David has significant litigation and management experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. He has been at the forefront of the movement for LGBTQ equality for more than a decade and worked at both the state and national level. In 2015, Mr. David was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve as Counsel to the Governor. In this role, he has functioned as the Governor’s chief counsel and principal legal advisor, and managed all significant legal and policy deliberations affecting New York State, including evaluating proposed legislation; implementing laws and policies and formulating the State’s posture in both affirmative and defensive litigation. Prior to his appointment as the Governor’s Chief Counsel, Mr. David served for four years in the Governor’s cabinet as the Deputy Secretary and Counsel for Civil Rights, the first position of its kind in New York State. In this capacity, he was responsible for a full range of legal, policy, legislative and operational matters affecting civil rights and labor throughout the State. Mr. David also previously served as Special Deputy Attorney General for Civil Rights for the Office of the New York State Attorney General, where he managed Assistant Attorneys General on a variety of civil rights investigations and affirmative litigation, including employment and housing discrimination, fair lending, immigration, reproductive rights and anti-bias claims. Further, he previously served as Deputy Commissioner and Special Counselor at the New York State Division of Human Rights. Prior to working in the public sector, Mr. David served as a staff attorney at the Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund. At Lambda Legal, Mr. David litigated precedent-setting civil rights cases across the nation affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals as well as those living with HIV and AIDS. He handled both affirmative and defensive matters relating to marriage, parenting rights, discrimination in schools and access to health care. In addition, Mr. David served as a litigation associate at the law firm Blank Rome LLP. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Clifford Scott Green in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. For the past decade, Mr. David has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law. He began his work in academia with Fordham University Law School and continued at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and Temple University School of Law.
Jon W. Davidson - Jon W. Davidson has been one of the nation’s leading lawyers fighting for LGBTQ civil rights for more than 30 years. He currently is Chief Counsel at Freedom for All Americans and Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, the national bipartisan campaign to secure full nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people nationwide. In that capacity, he assists LGBTQ impact litigation attorneys with strategic thinking, development of arguments and litigation strategies, editing of briefs and pleadings, and preparation for oral arguments. He also assists LGBTQ movement groups with legislative lawyering. He previously was the national Legal Director of Lambda Legal, the largest and oldest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ people and those living with HIV, a position he held for 12 years, and he worked there from 1995-2017. As the organization’s Legal Director, he was the architect of the organization’s national legal strategy and supervised its 31 attorneys and 16 policy advocates, trainers, Help Desk analysts, and legal assistants, in all six of its offices across the country. Davidson has worked on a broad range of LGBT and HIV-related legal and policy matters throughout his career, including being co-counsel in the cases that brought marriage equality to California, Nevada, Virginia and then the entire nation and that increased legal protections for employees, students, consumers, families, prisoners, and immigrants. He was honored with the National LGBT Bar Association’s highest award in 2010. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School, Davidson previously was a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Irell & Manella and a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. He also has taught courses on LGBT rights, constitutional law, youth law, and pretrial civil litigation at UCLA Law School, the USC Law Center, Loyola Law School, and the former Whittier Law School.
Leonor Davila - Leonor V. Davila is an Associate Director in the Ethics and Legal Compliance Team at Intel Corporation. Leonor is also a member of Intel’s GAT Diversity and Inclusion program, and she Co-Chairs Intel’s Santa Clara Pro Bono Program. Prior to joining Intel, Leonor was an attorney at the U.S.A. Federal Trade Commission. In 2019, the Women Competition Professionals recognized Leonor as a top 40 competition professional in the Americas. Leonor earned a JD/MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a B.A. from UC San Diego.
How to Go In-House: August 14, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Rachana Desai Martin -
Ceyenne Doroshow - Ceyenne Doroshow (pronounced Kai-Ann) is a compassionate powerhouse performer, activist, organizer, community-based researcher and public figure in the trans and sex worker rights’ movements. As the Founder and Executive Director of G.L.I.T.S., she works to provide holistic care to LGBTQ sex workers while serving on 10 international boards including SWOP Behind Bars, Lysistrata, SOAR Institute, Caribbean Equality Project, NYU Law, NYTAG, Transgender Justice of San Francisco, the Leslie-Lohman Museum, and many more. As an international public speaker, her presentations include The Desiree Alliance, Creating Change, SisterSong, Harm Reduction Coalition and the International AIDS Conferences. She was a featured emcee for Toronto Pride and MOMA/PS1’s Sex Workers’ Festival of Resistance, lifting her voice as a trans woman of color. Ceyenne has been heavily featured in the media, has performed on television in Showtime’s OZ, for the documentaries Red Umbrella Diaries and Miss Major. She is also featured in PRIDE: a Netflix documentary that will premiere this fall. Known for her skills in the kitchen, Ceyenne co-authored the Caribbean cookbook Cooking in Heels, while incarcerated on prostitution charges. She is currently working on her second memoir, titled Out of the Fire and into the Pen. She is additionally about to start her own podcast titled Tea & Crumpets with co-host Shear Avory along with others including you, global village. Ceyenne’s belief in life is to inspire yourself to inspire others.
CLE Workshops & More
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
Douglas Dreier - Doug Dreier is a litigator who represents and advises a range of corporate clients on both sides of the "v." Doug helps companies navigate commercial litigation, arbitration, and federal and state regulatory proceedings. Through his pro bono work, he has been involved in a range of legal matters relating to LGBTQ rights, including filing amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeal, and U.S. District Courts and preparing comments to oppose the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' proposed rule that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ prospective parents.
CLE Workshops & More
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
AC Dumlao - AC Dumlao uses they/them pronouns. They are a queer transgender non-binary first-generation American and child of Filipino immigrants. As an activist and educator, their focus is on centering and uplifting underrepresented and multiply marginalized people and their communities. AC is the Program Manager at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) where they manage TLDEF's Name Change Project, which connects low-income TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary) people with volunteer lawyers providing pro bono representation during the legal name change process in civil court. Additionally, AC leads TLDEF's Education department and is the lead trainer for trans cultural competency presentations and workshops. AC was recently seen at The Wing for an advance screening and talkback with Lisa Ling for the CNN Original Series' episode "This is Life with Lisa Ling: Gender Fluidity." In 2017, AC was profiled by NBC Asian America for the inaugural 'Redefine A to Z' list of Asian-American & Pacific Islander "emerging voices and breakout stars." For their expertise on LGBTQIA+, trans, and non-binary issues, AC has been featured by Allure Magazine and The Daily Beast, been published by The Huffington Post and Vice Media, and been quoted by INTO, Business Insider, Mic.com, The Advocate, NYU's ScienceLine, and more. For their activism, they have received honors from Parity and the New York State Comptroller. They were named a 2019 NYC Pride Community Hero, and were seen on the lead float in the NYC/WorldPride March on June 30, 2019. AC is an alum of Vassar College and resides in Brooklyn, NY.
CLE Workshops & More
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
Maddy Dwertman -
Maddy Dwertman is a litigation associate at Baker Botts LLP where they represent clients at the trial and appellate level in a broad range of complex litigation matters. They also maintain a pro bono practice focused primarily on the representation of transgender asylum seekers in immigration court proceedings. Maddy is an active member of their firm’s LGBTQ affinity group, the former vice-chair of the Austin LGBT Bar Association, and a current board member of the National Transgender Bar Association, Texas Pride Impact Fund, and the LGBT Law Section of the Texas State Bar Association. Maddy holds a B.A. in Africana Studies and American Civilization from Brown University and graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 2014. Prior to law school, they worked with queer communities as an educator and organizer at various nonprofits in Baltimore City.
Lynly S. Egyes - Lynly S. Egyes is the Legal Director at Transgender Law Center. Prior to joining TLC, Lynly was the Legal Director at the Sex Workers Project (SWP) at the Urban Justice Center. During her eight years at SWP, Lynly provided legal services to sex workers and survivors of trafficking. Lynly launched SWP’s LGBT anti-trafficking program and created SWP’s Rapid Court Response Program in response to the police profiling of Translatina women in Queens. In 2014, Lynly began volunteering in Family Detention Centers representing sex workers, trafficking victims and LGBTQ community members. Prior to her work at the Sex Workers Project, Lynly managed the student leadership program at the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). At GLSEN, Lynly worked with high school and middle school students throughout the United States who were organizing to create safe schools for LGBTQ youth. Lynly is a trained facilitator with over 15 years of experience facilitating trainings through out the Untied States and Mexico. She authored chapters in, Broadening the Scope of Human Trafficking and Social Work Practice and co-authored the report, Immigration on ICE: A Report on Immigration Home Raids Operations.
CLE Workshops & More
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
William Eskridge - William Eskridge is the John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence at the Yale Law School. On the marriage issue, he authored "The Case for Same-Sex Marriage" (Free Press 1996) and is the coauthor (with Christopher Riano) of "Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws" (Yale Press July/August 2020).
James Esseks - James D. Esseks is Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project. The ACLU works to ensure equal treatment of LGBT people and people living with HIV through litigation, legislative lobbying, policy advocacy, organizing, and public education. James is counsel in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens, and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda, in which the United States Supreme Court will address whether anti-LGBT discrimination is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII. Previously, James was counsel in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that won the freedom to marry nationwide; in United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act; in Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, about whether a Virginia school board can bar a boy from the common restrooms because he is transgender; and in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, about whether a business open to the public can turn away LGBT customers based on its religious or artistic objections. James and the ACLU have also worked extensively to fight the recent spate of anti-LGBT and specifically anti-transgender bills in the states and to fight the use of religion as an excuse to harm LGBT people.
Featured CLE Program: August 12, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Stacy Ettinger - Stacy J. Ettinger is a partner in K&L Gates' Washington, D.C. office and focuses her practice on public policy. She has over 20 years of experience working in Congress and the executive branch. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Ms. Ettinger served as a senior legal and policy advisor to Senator Charles Schumer, including as Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and as Deputy Staff Director of the Joint Economic Committee. Prior to joining the Senator's legislative team, she served as a senior legal advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ms. Ettinger advised agency officials on the interpretation and application of U.S. and foreign trade rules, supervised dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization, and represented the United States in international trade negotiations.
CLE Workshops & More
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Randi Ettner - Randi Ettner PhD is a clinical and forensic psychologist. She is the Secretary of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), an author of the Standards of Care, Chair of the Committee for Institutionalized Persons, and recipient of the WPATH Distinguished Education and Advocacy Award. Dr. Ettner has written four books on transgender issues, including a medical and surgical text, numerous peer-reviewed articles and research, and was an internationally syndicated columnist. She was the lead expert in the lawsuit that overturned Medicare’s exclusion of surgery, has been instrumental in the passage of anti-discrimination laws, provided testimony that helped establish legal precedent for the rights of transgender individuals in the workplace and appropriate treatment for prisoners, including the first case that mandated surgery for an incarcerated transwoman. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows, including Oprah, regarding transgender issues. Dr. Ettner has served as a consultant to corporations, including Walgreen’s and Tawani Enterprises. She was chief psychologist at the Chicago Gender Center, and is the president of New Health Foundation Worldwide. She is the honoree of Randi and Fred Ettner Transgender Health Fellowship at The University of Minnesota Program in Human Sexuality, and is a member of the University of Minnesota’s Leadership Program. Dr. Ettner was invited to present evidence based care of transgender people to the Director of the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, and has received a commendation from the United States House of Representatives for her work in gender related issues.
Chinyere Ezie - Chinyere Ezie is a Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she advocates for racial justice, gender justice, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI) rights, and challenges governmental abuses of power. She is also the originator of #BoycottPrada, a viral campaign challenging racism in the fashion industry that led to a landmark settlement. Prior to joining the Center for Constitutional Rights, Chinyere worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center where she brought cases defending the rights of LGBTQI Southerners. She also served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where she litigated employment discrimination cases and secured a $5.1 million jury verdict and historic injunction on behalf of workers who were subjected to religious harassment. Chinyere is a William J. Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, where she was an Alexander Hamilton Scholar and served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Gender and Law. She was also named one of the nation's Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40. Chinyere is a frequent speaker at law conferences and her advocacy has been reported on by the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and NPR, among others.
CLE Workshops & More
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Cameron Faber - Cameron Faber is an accomplished General Counsel with over thirty-five years' experience in litigation and corporate work, both in-house and in law firms. His experience includes leading the law department of a major nonprofit corporation, managing claims and litigation, corporate governance, privacy and HIPAA law, risk management, compliance in highly-regulated industries, and corporate and real estate transactions.
Mieko Failey - Mieko Failey, Esq. (she/her) is the Director of Legal Services at the LGBTQ Center Long Beach where she oversees LBGTQ-specific legal services for the greater Long Beach area, including comprehensive direct legal services to LGBTQ survivors of violence. Mieko began working in anti-violence in 2007 and has a concentration in LGBTQ anti-violence legal issues. From 2011 to 2018, Mieko served in various legal advocacy roles at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, including as Supervising Attorney for the Legal Services Department where she oversaw domestic and sexual violence legal service provision. In her role as Supervising Attorney, Mieko supervised a wide range of legal issues, including domestic and sexual violence, hate violence, stalking, human trafficking, and other forms of violence. She has served hundreds of LGBTQ survivors and trained thousands of service providers locally, across the state, and nationally, including judges, court personnel, law enforcement, attorneys, mental health providers, and physicians. Mieko’s legal advocacy is focused on overcoming barriers in access to resources for LGBTQ survivors, who are disproportionally impacted by violence. During law school, Mieko interned with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California’s LGBT Student Rights Project and The Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, advocating for those who were wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced as juveniles. Mieko was a recipient of the Post-Graduate Loyola Law School Public Interest Legal Fellowship, which enabled her to provide legal advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ youth survivors of violence at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Mieko currently serves on the Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council where she is Co-Chair of the LGBT Domestic Violence Issues Committee. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Family Violence Appellate Project, is a Board Member of the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ), and serves as regular training faculty for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Mieko has received local and national recognition for her advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ communities, including The Donald L. Snow Award from The LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles; The Student Leadership Award from The National LGBT Bar Association; The Dean’s Service Award from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; and the Women of Distinction Award from California State Assmeblymember Patrick O’Donnell. In 2019, Mieko was named a “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association. Mieko received her Bachelors in Sociology with highest distinction from UC Berkeley and received her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School with a Public Interest Concentration.
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Praveen Fernandes - Praveen is Vice President for Public Engagement at Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC). He comes to CAC from The Raben Group, where he was a Principal, advising non-profit clients on issues including LGBTQ equality, criminal justice, wealth inequality, digital equity, and judicial nominations. Before the Raben Group, Praveen was a political appointee in the Obama Administration, serving as Senior Counsel and Advisor to the General Counsel at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). At OPM, he focused on LGBTQ issues, particularly the federal government’s policies relating to transgender employees and the federal government’s implementation of U.S. v. Windsor, the Supreme Court decision that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. Additionally, he worked on issues relating to workforce diversity, parental leave, contracting, national security, and workplace discrimination. Praveen has also worked at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, Justice at Stake, the Human Rights Campaign, Patton Boggs, Ropes & Gray, and the President’s Commission on Human Radiation Experiments (a bioethics advisory committee tasked with preparing and presenting a report to President Clinton). He began his career on Capitol Hill, where he served on Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s Labor Committee staff. Praveen earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and his M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health. While in law school, he was a Note and Comment Editor on the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation. He graduated with honors from Brown University, where his undergraduate concentration was in Biomedical Ethics. In 2010, Praveen was named on the National LGBT Bar Association’s “Top 40 Under 40” list.
Brett Figlewski - The Rev. Brett M. Figlewski, Esq., joined the LGBT Bar Association of New York (LeGaL) as its first Legal Director in 2015. A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and Middlebury College, Brett worked for a decade as a family law litigator for LGBT victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking, including advocacy for Fair Access to Family Court and co-authorship of the article, “Trafficking and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Young Men and Boys”. Brett oversees LeGaL’s vital Helpline and network of drop-in clinics, which assist thousands of members of the community each year; an attorney referral system and placement of pro bono cases; and education and outreach for the organization’s members and the wider community. Brett was part of the legal team which represented Brooke B. in her landmark 2016 N.Y. Court of Appeals case recognizing the rights of LGBT parents, and he continues to focus on litigation and advocacy for the full legal protection of LGBT families. Brett was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 2018.
Judge Tara Flanagan - Judge Tara Flanagan joined the Alameda County Superior Court in January of 2013 after winning election in June 2012, and is now in her seventh (7th) year of service to Alameda County, California. After serving her first two years as a judge in Family Law and four years in the Criminal Law Division, she now hears Juvenile Dependency matters. Her extra-judicial duties include prior service on the board of the Alameda County Bar Association’s ‘Legal Access Alameda’, where underserved members of the community get help accessing the justice system, and also as a board member of the International Association of LGBTQ Judges. Previously, as an attorney, Judge Flanagan was a civil litigator, a Los Angeles County prosecutor and later a legal aid attorney helping families that suffered from domestic violence. As an attorney, she was a sought-out speaker about LGBTQ domestic violence. She also served on the board of directors of many D.V., LGBTQ, and women lawyers’ organizations. Prior to the practice of law, Judge Flanagan was a competitive athlete. She completed her undergraduate degree while on an athletic scholarship (basketball) and later took up the sport of rugby, where she was selected to the USA Women’s National Rugby Team, and played in two World Cups for the USA. Now retired from athletic competitions, Judge Flanagan enjoys long-distance bicycling, her dog, and traveling with her partner, a television director.
Diana Flynn - Diana Flynn is the Litigation Director of Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV. Ms. Flynn is a long-time director of highly-regarded national litigation and legal counsel programs and has achieved great success in both the federal and non-profit sectors. An experienced lawyer and federally-qualified Senior Executive, Ms. Flynn has led the litigation efforts on cases that have helped lay the legal foundation for some of the most important principles of constitutional and civil rights law. Ms. Flynn was appointed Litigation Director at Lambda Legal in the Spring of 2018. In that role, she directs and manages all the organization’s litigation efforts across the nation and leads the attorneys and support staff responsible for those activities. In addition to her leadership of the program, Ms. Flynn serves personally as counsel on the litigation teams of some of Lambda’s most significant cases, including the challenge to the Trump Administration’s military trans ban, and the efforts to secure fair and equal treatment for trans students in the Drew Adams case. Prior to her arrival at Lambda in the Spring of 2018, Ms. Flynn served for many years as the Chief of the Appellate Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Under her leadership, the Section established the Division records for appellate success and productivity. She led the Section in its filing of more than 2,500 briefs, and its litigation success rate of well over eighty percent. While at DOJ, Flynn personally led the legal counsel project that laid the groundwork for the Holder Justice Department’s application of sex discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination based on transgender status. She also managed the Civil Rights Division’s efforts in connection with the Defense of Marriage Act litigation and worked with the Office of the Solicitor General and the Civil Division on the Windsor, Proposition 8 and Obergefell cases in the Supreme Court. Ms. Flynn is currently serving a second term as Commissioner of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, an appointment made by the ABA’s President. Flynn is a graduate of the Yale Law School and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Rochester.
Christian Fuscarino - Christian Fuscarino has deep roots in New Jersey, growing up in Belmar and spending much of his youth in and around Asbury Park. Fuscarino has been an activist and organizer in the LGBTQ community for over a decade. He credits his positive experiences in Asbury Park as helping influence him to become an activist. In 2016, PolitickerNJ named Christian the 2nd most influential advocate in New Jersey politics and later that year The Observer listed him on the Power List 100. At GLSEN, Christian worked with high school Gay Straight Alliances (GSA) for several years. In 2007, Christian joined the Pride Connections Center of New Jersey as a program developer serving gay inner-city youth. That same year, he won a student Emmy award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his End the Silence public service announcement. In 2008, Christian founded The Pride Network, a national leadership development non-profit. In 2013, Christian joined Alan van Capelle, former Executive Director of Empire State Pride Agenda, by serving as his digital strategist at Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice. They focused on mobilizing Jews to advance social issues by speaking out against injustice and inequality. One of the organization’s greatest accomplishments was a campaign that resulted in California Governor Jerry Brown signing The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Christian served as the Communications Director for the Educational Alliance until 2016. The Alliance is a non-profit organization that aims to break the cycle of poverty for low-income children and families through preschool, after school and college prep programs. Fuscarino's volunteer work has received numerous accolades, including recognition from the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly, Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Donald Payne, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, and Governor Jon Corzine. Media outlets such as CBS News, Sirius XM and Genre Magazine have featured Christian in groundbreaking stories. Hofstra University honored Christian, an alum, as their 2012 Man of the Year for his work developing a safe-campus space for LGBTQ students while earning his BA in digital media and LGBTQ studies. Christian recently moved back to New Jersey from Brooklyn where he was living with his partner, Aaron Williams, a tennis instructor, now serving in the Marines.
CLE Workshops & More
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
M. Geron Gadd - M. Geron Gadd (pronouns: she/her) joined AARP Foundation in September 2019 as a Senior Attorney specializing in systemic litigation to protect the rights of older adults with disabilities, those neglected in congregate care settings, and those affected by unscrupulous commercial practices. This work includes advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ older adults who face social isolation and financial insecurity. Geron began her legal career in private practice in New York and Florida, representing corporate clients in intellectual property, securities, construction, and related commercial disputes. In 2011, Geron returned to Alabama, from which her family hails, to focus on public interest litigation on behalf of people with disabilities and in various civil rights matters. Prior to joining AARP Foundation, Geron served as Legal Director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, where she has lead class counsel in a class action resulting in a consent decree requiring the Alabama Department of Mental Health to timely provide court-ordered psychiatric services. Geron earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Southern Methodist University, a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Rahwa Ghebre-Ab - As Lionsgate’s Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs and the Company’s lead employment counsel, Rahwa is a fast-rising executive who works closely with Lionsgate senior management, the Company’s Human Resources team, its various film & television productions, and employees at all levels to address the Company’s day-to-day employment needs, support its M&A and other strategic growth initiatives around the world, and ensure compliance with its commitment to a diverse, inclusive, and respectful work environment. Rahwa provided employment legal support for Lionsgate’s May 2018 investment in and partnership with 3 Arts Entertainment, the first-ever collaboration between a major Hollywood studio and a leading talent management and production company. During the year she also helped facilitate the continuing integration of the Good Universe production and distribution company into Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group and is a key executive in the ongoing integration of Lionsgate and Starz following the biggest acquisition in the Company’s history. She has also helped direct legal and employment matters related to Lionsgate’s recent launch of offices in Mumbai, India, Beijing, China, and Toronto, Canada, as the Company continues to globalize its operations. In addition, she provides legal support and employment counsel to Lionsgate’s numerous film & television productions, joint ventures and SVOD platforms. As employment counsel, Rahwa has played a prominent role in developing and overseeing the implementation of practices and policies that create a safe, tolerant, diverse and inclusive work environment for Lionsgate employees. Last month Lionsgate was one of 109 public companies included in Bloomberg’s second annual Gender Equality Index for its leadership in forward-looking diversity policies and practices. Rahwa was promoted to Senior Vice President in August of 2018. A graduate of The University of Michigan—Ann Arbor with a B.A. degree in History in 2005 and a J.D. degree recipient from the University of Chicago Law School in 2009, Rahwa began her career as an employment litigator at the law firm of Baker McKenzie in Chicago. She joined Lionsgate in 2014. She serves on the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel’s “Women Who Lead” Board and as Pro Bono Counsel for Holy Trinity Eritrean Orthodox Church.
Judge Linda Giles - A graduate of McGill University (B.A., Economics, 1974) and New England School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1977), where she served as Case Comment Editor of the Law Review, Judge Giles was engaged in the private practice of law, specializing in trial practice, before joining the bench. In 1991, she was appointed as the first openly lesbian judge in Massachusetts to be an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court by Governor William F. Weld; and, in 1998, she was elevated to the Superior Court by Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci. Judge Giles has served as chair of the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Gender Equality Advisory Board and president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. She has participated in many educational programs on a variety of topics, such as gender equality, the enhancement of the judicial system, and access to justice. She teaches “Trial Advocacy” at Suffolk University Law School and is a former member of the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal. Judge Giles is a recipient of the Massachusetts Judges Conference’s Judicial Excellence Award (President’s Award), the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Public Service Award, and Boston College Law School’s Lambda Student Association’s “Courage in Coming Out” Award.
Daphne Goldman - I am a Trust and Estates attorney and for almost 15 years have been employed by PNC Bank, National Association, as in-house counsel supporting its Wealth Management business. In this role, I provide legal advice generally pertaining to trust, estate and guardianship administration, other fiduciary questions and fiduciary litigation, as well as with regard to specific trusts and estates. Prior to joining PNC, I practiced for almost 14 years as a member of the Blank Rome LLP Private Client Group and Trusts and Estates Department. I have lectured on a variety of topics relating to Trust and Estates law and fiduciary litigation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and have authored or co-authored a number of articles on such topics.
How to Go In-House: August 14, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Holly Goldmann - Holly Goldmann is the Director of External Affairs at Casa Ruby, which provides a wide range of social services and programs for LGBTQ populations in the Washington, D.C. area, including support services for survivors of violence, housing services, and non-clinical social services.
CLE Workshops & More
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan - Omar Gonzalez-Pagan is a Senior Attorney in the New York Office of Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people and people living with HIV. Gonzalez-Pagan has played an instrumental role in protecting the rights of LGBT people under federal civil rights laws in education, employment, health care, and housing. As counsel for Lambda Legal, Gonzalez-Pagan helped obtain two landmark decisions - the first and second appellate rulings in the country - holding that Title VII covers sexual orientation discrimination in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College and Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc. And as lead counsel in Smith v. Avanti, he obtained the first court decision in the country holding that the Federal Housing Act's sex discrimination prohibition covers discrimination against LGBT people. Gonzalez-Pagan has also played a key part in advancing the constitutional rights of LGBT people across the United States. As part of the legal team in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, he helped secure the freedom to marry for same sex couples and their families across the United States. He is also a key architect behind Lambda Legal's efforts to secure the ability of transgender people to obtain accurate identity documents, serving as lead counsel in the cases challenging the discriminatory birth certificate policies of Kansas, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee. Presently, Gonzalez-Pagan represents two same-sex couples and their children in two cases (Kiviti v. Pompeo and Mize v. Pompeo) challenging the U.S. Department of State's policy treating the children of married same-sex couples as non-marital children and denying them birthright citizenship. Prior to joining Lambda Legal, Gonzalez-Pagan worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Assistant Attorney General, a Special Assistant District Attorney, and an Associate General Counsel to the Massachusetts Inspector General. Gonzalez-Pagan is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Cornell University.
Gary Greener - Gary counsels students on all aspects of career development and the job search process. He also interacts with employers and engages in outreach to increase job opportunities for UCLA students. Prior to joining UCLA in 2014, Gary worked for 14 years at Southwestern Law School where he served as the Senior Associate Dean for Career, Admissions and Financial Aid Services. He also has ten years of experience as a practicing lawyer, and served as the hiring partner for a 50-lawyer law firm, Breidenbach Buckley, et al. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, a law degree from Southwestern Law School, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Heron Greenesmith - Heron Greenesmith monitors anti-LGBTQI rhetoric as a Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates and is an adjunct faculty member at Boston University School of Law. Heron has worked in progressive advocacy spaces for over a decade with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. Heron is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and American University, Washington College of Law. Heron is admitted to the New York and Massachusetts bars. They are a former board secretary of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, a former board member of the National LGBT Bar Association, a former Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
Featured CLE Program: August 13, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
General Attendance Session Two: August 13, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Sharita Gruberg - Sharita Gruberg (she/her) is the Policy Director for the LGBTQ Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress. In that role, she leads the organization's federal policy work advancing LGBTQ equality and combating discrimination. Prior to joining American Progress, Sharita worked for the Women's Refugee Commission, the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration, and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Sharita earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar and writing program director for the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, and she also received the Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies Certificate from the Institute for the Study of International Migration. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Women's Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sharita also serves on the board of the Capital Area Immigrant Rights Coalition and was recognized by the National LGBT Bar Association as one of the 40 Best LGBTQ+ Attorneys Under the Age of 40 in 2019.
CLE Workshops & More
The Battle to Protect Asylum: How Advocates are Fighting for the Rights of LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers at the Border and in the Interior
The Battle to Protect Asylum: How Advocates are Fighting for the Rights of LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers at the Border and in the Interior
Mary Grace Guzmán - Mary Grace Guzmán of Guzmán Legal Solutions advises lawyers, law firms, and law students on their professional responsibilities and risk management needs. She also teaches legal ethics and professional responsibility at JFK Law School. She works with lawyers and law firms regarding legal ethics issues such as conflict of interest issues, fee disputes, and advises lawyers and law firms as outside ethics counsel to manage risk. Ms. Guzmán recognizes that a lawyer’s or law firm’s needs are best met by preventing legal ethical issues before they arise or managing an ethical issue once identified.
Tyler Hagenbuch - Political law attorney Tyler Hagenbuch advises clients engaged in activities across the political spectrum. When clients participate in this highly regulated field, Tyler helps them navigate their political and ethical compliance requirements in a way that achieves their strategic goals and protects their reputational interests. Tyler also has extensive experience in voting rights and voter participation laws, and regularly counsels organizations around activities such as campaigns for voter registration and get-out-the-vote and the development of election-related technology products.
Kevin Hall - Kevin Hall is the Managing Partner of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP’s Columbia, South Carolina office, and serves as a member of the Firm Management Committee. Kevin also has represented multiple clients in constitutional challenges arising from state and federal campaign finance laws and state criminal domestic violence statutes. He served as successful amicus counsel for the South Carolina Equality Coalition in its challenge to the constitutionality of South Carolina’s criminal domestic violence statutes. On the political law front, Kevin has successfully represented multiple statewide elected officials in cases in the original jurisdiction of the South Carolina Supreme Court, before legislative ethics committees, and in impeachment proceedings brought by the South Carolina House of Representatives. Kevin is active in South Carolina politics and public policy. He has served as legal counsel to the South Carolina Republican Party, Governor Mark Sanford, Senator Lindsey Graham, Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Jim DeMint, and Representative Trey Gowdy, among others. Kevin served as co-chair of the Republican Party's Victory 2008 Committee, and was elected as an alternate delegate in 2008 to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most recently, Kevin successfully challenged South Carolina's "no promo homo" law, resulting in the overturning of the Anti-LGBTQ Curriculum provision of the state’s Comprehensive Health Education Act.
CLE Workshops & More
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Marci Hamilton - Marci A. Hamilton is the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program Professor of Practice, and Fox Family Pavilion Resident Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the founder, CEO, and Academic Director of CHILD USA, www.childusa.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic think tank at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to prevent child abuse and neglect. Before moving to the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Hamilton was the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Hamilton is the leading expert on child sex abuse statutes of limitations and has submitted testimony and advised legislators in every state where significant reform has occurred. She is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge University Press), which advocates for the elimination of child sex abuse statutes of limitations. She has filed countless pro bono amicus briefs for the protection of children at the United States Supreme Court and the state supreme courts. Her textbook, CHILDREN AND THE LAW, co-authored with Martin Gardner, will be published Fall 2017 by Carolina Academic Press, formerly Lexis/Nexis. Hamilton has been a vocal and influential critic of extreme religious liberty, advocating for the vulnerable about overreaching. Hamilton successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) at the Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores (1997), and defeated the RFRA claim brought by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against hundreds of child sex abuse survivors in Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki (7th Cir. 2015). She has represented numerous cities dealing with church-state issues as well as claims brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA). The author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, she is also a columnist for Verdict on Justia.com. Hamilton has been honored with the 2018 Pennsylvania State University Department of Philosophy Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2017 University of Pennsylvania Law School Louis H. Pollak Public Service Award, the 2016 Voice Today, Voice of Gratitude Award; the 2015 Religious Liberty Award, American Humanist Association; the 2014 Freethought Heroine Award; the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award, 2012; the E. Nathaniel Gates Award for outstanding public advocacy and scholarship, 2008; and selected as a Pennsylvania Woman of the Year Award, 2012, among others. She is also frequently quoted in the national media on child abuse and neglect, statute of limitations, constitutional, RFRA, RLUIPA, and First Amendment issues. Hamilton clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professor Hamilton is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, B.A., summa cum laude; Pennsylvania State University, M.A. (English, fiction writing, High Honors); M.A. (Philosophy); and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif.
CLE Workshops & More
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Emily Hansbarger - Emily Hansbarger is a rising 3L at Charleston School of Law, where she restarted her LGBTQ+ organization, Alliance for Equality, her 1L year (2018-2019). She has worked directly with a dean at her school to have inclusive language on their applications and for there to be gender neutral bathrooms. Emily continues to push for LGBTQ+ inclusivity at her school. Her 2L year she held a spot on the Law Student Congress board and currently holds the position of Co-Chair. Emily earned a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from Aurora University, graduating early, in December 2017. She aspires to work with civil rights, post law school.
Dr. Keith Hansen - Dr. Keith Hansen is the Chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Law. Dr. Hansen is an expert on the medical treatment of transgender children and testified against proposed legislation in South Dakota that sought to criminalize such care.
John T. Hendricks -
After years of litigation practice representing Fortune 500 companies and their management, John Hendricks founded Hendricks Law, P.C. to provide businesses with the highest level of legal expertise and services, complemented by an unparalleled commitment to leverage the latest technology — all to give his clients the best possible representation. Mr. Hendricks’ practice focuses on the areas of business, real estate and employment law, and is well-suited for clients requiring outside general counsel services. He advocates on behalf of clients in both traditional and “new economy” industries. He is a recognized expert in advising local businesses about San Francisco’s unique laws, speaks publicly on relevant topics and has been quoted in leading legal publications, including the ABA Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal. Mr. Hendricks practices in state and federal courts in California, prosecuting commercial claims and defending employment claims. His skills in trial advocacy were recognized with the NITA Advocate designation by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy in 2007. More recently, Super Lawyers magazine named him a “Rising Star.” A member of the Law Society of England and Wales, Mr. Hendricks is listed on the Roll of Solicitors, qualified to practice law in those countries as well. He provides international expertise, an advantage for clients with business interests around the world. Before practicing law, Mr. Hendricks served as a legislative aide for international trade and other issues in the US House of Representatives. He was an associate at Lafayette & Kumagai LLP, and a law clerk for Tellme Networks, Inc. (a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.), prior to founding Hendricks Law. Mr. Hendricks participates in numerous professional and civic organizations, and has held leadership roles with several, notably serving in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, as a director of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) and as president of the National LGBT Bar Foundation.
Jessica Hernandez - Jessica Hernandez is an attorney at Alcock & Associates, P.C. with over 18 years of legal experience, focusing on criminal defense and personal injury. Jessica is an Arizona native, originally from Superior, Arizona. She graduated with honors from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, in the top 10% of her class. Jessica’s legal experience includes two prestigious federal judicial clerkships with judges on both the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to her experience as a criminal defense attorney and civil litigator, she also worked as a prosecutor with the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. Throughout her career Jessica has handled felony and misdemeanor cases of all types. She has a passion for defending the rights of individuals and communities whose voices too often go unheard, in particular the LGBT and Latino communities.
Michael Hui - Michael J. Hui is an experienced litigator and trial attorney, and has committed his career to defending employers. He focuses his practice on wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions; single-plaintiff lawsuits; and complex litigation in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration. Michael has also appeared and argued before several California Courts of Appeal. Michael’s significant representations include defending international corporations in high stakes sexual harassment matters, winning summary judgment on numerous occasions, and co-chairing civil and administrative trials. In addition, Michael helps employers navigate the ever-changing landscape of California employment law. Michael frequently counsels clients on how to comply with their legal obligations and best practices to avoid costly and avoidable lawsuits.
Nan Hunter - Early in her career, Georgetown Professor Nan Hunter specialized in constitutional and civil rights law as a member of the national legal staff of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. She has taught as a full-time or visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School, Harvard Law School, the University of Miami Law School, and UCLA Law School, in addition to Georgetown. From 1993 to 1996, she was Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Professor Hunter's scholarship has been published in many law journals, and several of her articles have been selected for reprinting in anthologies. With William Eskridge, she wrote the first casebook to conceptualize sexuality and gender law as embodying a dynamic relationship between state regulation, sexual practices, and gender norms. Her most recent law and social movement scholarship focuses on the ramifications of the same-sex marriage campaign for democratic theory.
Featured CLE Program: August 12, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
William Isasi - William Isasi represents governments and companies in various industries on all aspects of antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings and World Trade Organization (WTO) litigation. He joined the firm after serving as an Assistant Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement & Compliance. In this role, he provided extensive legal advice on trade enforcement to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement & Compliance, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and other Department officials. Mr. Isasi has argued before international tribunals including the WTO Appellate Body and panels, and the NAFTA Chapter 19 binational panel pertaining to the 2001 Softwood Lumber from Canada antidumping investigation. He managed legal services for several complex antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, including the recent countervailing duty investigation of Sugar from Mexico. He also managed a number of significant WTO disputes for the Commerce Department including the China CVD 1 (DS 379) and China CVD 2 (DS 437) disputes.
CLE Workshops & More
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Matthew Israel - Matt is an attorney with Intel Corporation who currently supports Intel’s marketing, performance analysis, and sports groups. Matt has a wide variety of legal experience both inside and outside of Intel, including technology transactions, IP counseling, gaming, entertainment, new technologies, privacy, and commercial law.
Alesdair Ittelson - Alesdair represents individuals who expand our conceptions of sex and gender and who have experienced discrimination in institutional settings such as schools, hospitals, and juvenile justice facilities. Alesdair has worked with a wide variety of entities including governments, universities, and health care organizations on reducing liability and raising up the voices of youth populations. Prior to joining interACT, Alesdair was the recipient of a Skadden Fellowship and worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, where he represented trans youth throughout the South.
CLE Workshops & More
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Mike Jackson - Mike Jackson is Assistant General Counsel/Senior Director for Microsoft’s Global Workplace Investigations Team (WIT) and serves as an At-Large Board Member on the National LGBT Bar Association's Board of Directors. As a member of the WIT leadership team, Mike leads a team of seven ethics and compliance attorneys responsible for conducting complex workplace investigations for the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, Mike helps lead the WIT team’s data governance and data reporting strategy. Prior to Microsoft, Mike was Director, Employee Relations Counsel at Target Corporation where led the employment team for Target’s Central US region (which stretches across 23 states and include over 500 stores). Before Target, Mike led the Employee Relations and Labor Relations functions for all of Smucker’s US manufacturing facilities and, prior to that role, he was global labor and employment counsel at McDonald’s Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. In 2019, Mike was recognized by the LGBT Bar as one of its 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers under 40, and was also recognized as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow. Mike is a proud Buckeye (graduate of The Ohio State University) and lives in Seattle, Washington with his husband.
How to Go In-House: August 14, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Judge Mike Jacobs - Judge Mike Jacobs has served as a judge on the State Court of DeKalb County since June 2015. He is one of only two openly bisexual or pansexual judges (state or federal, trial or appellate) in the United States. Prior to his judicial service, Judge Jacobs served ten and a half years in the Georgia House of Representatives. He was chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Oversight Committee (MARTOC), the joint House and Senate committee that oversees the management, budget, and fiscal affairs of Metro Atlanta's transit system. Judge Jacobs also served as chairman of one of the two subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee. In 2010, he received the Allen Thornell Political Advancement Award from Georgia Equality for passing a stronger anti-bullying law for public schools. Judge Jacobs received his law degree in 2003, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was the executive articles editor of the Georgia Law Review. He received his bachelor's degree in 1997 from Georgetown University. Judge Jacobs serves on the boards of directors of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, Atlanta Bar Association Judicial Section, and Leadership DeKalb. He also serves as the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia's representative on the Judicial Council of Georgia's Committee on Access to Justice. In 2019, Judge Jacobs was recognized by the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia at its annual awards gala with the award for Outstanding Service to the Stonewall Community. Judge Jacobs and his wife Evan are the proud parents of three children, Jonah, Eli, and Samantha.
Bryanna Jenkins - Bryanna Jenkins, a proud Baltimore native, is a December 2019 graduate of DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, IL. She is the founder and first executive director of the Baltimore Transgender Alliance. She organized the first Baltimore Trans March of Resilience. Her legal writings examine the intersections of racial, gender, and queer identities under the law. Her article Birth Certificate with a Benefit: Using LGBTQ Jurisprudence to Make the Argument for a Transgender Person’s Constitutional Right to Amended Identity Documents was published in the Winter 2019 edition of the CUNY Law Review.
Ashland Johnson - Ashland Johnson is a civil rights lawyer, sports inclusion policy expert, and former Division I athlete. Recently, she served as the Public Education Director for the Human Rights Campaign, executing public education campaigns on the intersection of race, sexual orientation, sports, gender, and faith. Ashland also served as Athlete Ally's Policy Director, working with sports leaders to promote LGBTQ inclusion on the field and under the law. Prior to joining the Athlete Ally team, she served as Policy Counsel for the National Center for Lesbian Rights where she worked with the first national LGBTQ Sports Project to promote LGBTQ inclusion. Ashland has written and presented extensively on sports inclusion, and on the intersection of sports, race, and gender. Ashland was named as one of the best LGBTQ lawyers under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. She currently serves on the national Board of Directors for the Point Foundation.
Jennedy Johnson - Jennedy S. Johnson is an Assistant General Counsel at PECO Energy Company. In this role she advises senior management in all areas of regulatory law, including utility and administrative law and ethics. She also represents the company in matters before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Johnson is a pro bono coordinator for PECO, and also maintains a substantial pro bono practice. She volunteers with numerous organizations including the Homeless Advocacy Project, the SeniorLAW Center, the Nationalities Service Center, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the Homeless Advocacy Project and Women's Way. Ms. Johnson is a member of the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She earned a JD cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh, and a BS from Pennsylvania State University.
Barbara Jones - Barbara Jones is a member of the State Bar of California and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. She has been a Senior Attorney with AARP Foundation Litigation's unit since 2004 where she has worked on a broad spectrum of cases impacting low income adults. She has filed amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs on behalf of AARP in a variety of cases in the Supreme Court including multiple patent cases impacting low-income adults' access to health care. While at AARP Foundation, Ms. Jones served as co-counsel in 23 age discrimination class action cases. She has also worked on Social Security, investor fraud, housing, government benefit and arbitration cases. Prior to working for the AARP Foundation, Ms. Jones worked as a Research Attorney for the San Mateo County Superior Court, taught legal research and appellate brief writing at Santa Clara University, School of Law and worked as an attorney for the California Rural Legal Assistance where she served as the state wide employment/labor coordinator. Among the government benefit cases Ms. Jones has argued are: Rosales v. Thompson, 321 F.3d 835 (9th Cir. 2003) (a foster care case described by one commentator as the most significant Title IV- E event since passage of the Child Welfare Act of 1980); California v. Shalala, 166 F.3d 1019 (9th Cir. 1999) Anderson v. Superior Court, 68 Cal.App.4th 1240 (1998) Land v. Anderson, 55 Cal.App.4th 69 (1997).
Courtney Joslin - Courtney Joslin is a Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law. She is a leading expert in the areas of family and relationship recognition, with a particular focus on same-sex and unmarried couples. She is a co-author (with William N. Eskridge Jr. & Nan D. Hunter) of the textbook--Sexuality, Gender, and the Law. She is also co-author (with Shannon P. Minter & Catherine Sakimura) of a leading treatise--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family Law. Professor Joslin served as the Reporter for the Uniform Parentage Act (2017) which, among other things, permits and regulates surrogacy.
Richard B. Katskee - Richard B. Katskee is Legal Director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, where he litigates cases under the First Amendment’s Establishment, Free Exercise, and Free Speech Clauses. Previously, Richard was a member of the Supreme Court & Appellate practice at Mayer Brown LLP and was Deputy Director of the Program Legal Group in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (where he led development of policy implementing federal antidiscrimination laws). Richard received his J.D. from the Yale Law School, his A.M. in political science from Harvard University, and his A.B. with highest distinction and high honors from the University of Michigan. He clerked for Judges Stephen Reinhardt (Ninth Circuit) and Guido Calabresi (Second Circuit). He has taught church–state law at the American University Washington College of Law and ethics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard College. He is a member of the American Law Institute, an adviser to the Restatement of the Law: Children and the Law, and a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the National Museum of American Religion and formerly served on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Science Education.
CLE Workshops & More
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Anastasia Kaup - Anastasia Kaup is a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group at Duane Morris LLP and advises clients in a broad array of financing transactions. Anastasia's clients include financial institutions, private equity sponsors and portfolio companies, investment funds, asset managers, and other financing counterparties. Anastasia structures, negotiates, and documents complex financing transactions domestically and internationally at all levels of the organizational structure, with specific focuses on fund finance, sponsor finance, and financing in distressed situations. Anastasia is a 2020 National LGBT Bar Association "Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40" Award recipient who has been involved with LGBTQ+ community advocacy, volunteer work, and education initiatives for nearly two decades. Anastasia has contributed pro bono legal services to and volunteered with numerous community and non-profit organizations including Out in Finance, Lambda Legal, and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Anastasia is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Utah.
Ayesha Khan - Ayesha N. Khan has represented a party or an amicus curiae in more than thirty U.S. Supreme Court cases, over one hundred appeals, and scores of trial-level matters. She was the Legal Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State for fifteen years and later served as a Deputy Chief in the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. She left the federal government several years ago to go into private practice. As the Principal at Rock Creek Law, LLC, Khan litigates civil rights cases ranging from employment-discrimination disputes to First Amendment challenges. She also consults to a diverse array of civil rights organizations, providing mentorship to junior attorneys and strategic advice on cases. Khan is also a Partner with the Potomac Law Group, PLLC, where she oversees the firm's appellate practice, which represents commercial and individual clients in state and federal appellate courts nationwide. Khan is admitted to practice in D.C. and Maryland, every federal circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She received her JD from the University of California at Berkeley and her BA from the University of Michigan. She can be reached at khan@rockcreeklaw.com and akhan@potomaclaw.com; or (202) 836-7136.
CLE Workshops & More
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Mik Kinkead - Mik Kinkead (he/him) is a white transgender man who has worked as a staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York and as the Director of Prisoner Justice at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP). He currently works as the staff attorney for the Rikers Island Civil Re-Entry Project at The Legal Aid Society. In this capacity Mik provides civil legal services to reduce the collateral consequences of detention and incarceration. He has taught a weekly Know Your Rights class for TGNCNBI people in the NYC jails since it opened 2015. Mik has also taught CLEs across the US on working with TGNCNBI people as colleagues and in prison and jail contexts and has authored or co-authored six publications on TGNCNBI people and their rights in prison and jail contexts. Mik is a member of the New York City Jails Action Coalition and the New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement.
CLE Workshops & More
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
Vonda Kirby Pardo - Vonda Kirby Pardo is product and commercial counsel at Google. In this hybrid role, she advises on commercial deals and issues, including those related to Google’s unified mobile development platform, Firebase, and counsels the Material Design team, which has a mission to enable developers and designers to build high-quality digital experiences. She joined Google in April, during the pandemic, after working as an associate general counsel at Facebook. During her time at Facebook, Vonda worked closely with various client teams on commercial-related matters in connection with the development and supply of components for augmented and virtual reality devices. Prior to Facebook, she worked as commercial counsel at GE Appliances, which is where she began her in-house career. Before moving in-house, Vonda spent seven years in private practice as a commercial litigator. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her wife, who is pregnant with their first child due this December, and their two dogs.
Paula Kohut - Paula A. Kohut is a partner in Kohut, Adams & Randall, PA in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her principal practice areas are estate planning, trust and estate administration, business law and asset protection. Paula is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She received her B.A. degree, from the University of California at Irvine in 1980 and her J.D. degree, with honors, from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1983. She is a Council Member and Vice Chair of the Estate and Fiduciary Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, and a member of the North Carolina Commission on Inclusion. She also serves on the Board of St. Jude’s Wilmington Foundation, Inc.
Sydney Kopp-Richardson - Sydney Kopp-Richardson is the Director of SAGE's National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative, working to reshape the housing landscape nationally and increase the availability of safer LGBT elder housing through policy advocacy, research, and housing development. Previously, Sydney worked in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City in direct service, organizing and advocacy, and policy analysis around affordable housing development. Through an anti-racist framework, Sydney centers the needs of LGBTQ communities, people involved in the justice system, people living with mental health challenges, and others living in the margins. Sydney has developed anti-violence curriculum and policy recommendations for LGBTQ communities and infuses this into her work in housing development and sexual violence prevention in New York City nightlife venues. Sydney brings a reverence for the expertise and legacies of LGBTQ elders in the formation of policies and programming developed to serve them in the fight for collective liberation, and she brings this to SAGE's national housing initiative.
CLE Workshops & More
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
Jay Larry - Jay Larry advises domestic and international privately- and publicly-held companies active in the energy industry with regard to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Jay has also counseled special purpose acquisition companies in connection with their acquisitions of target companies. Jay represents issuers in capital markets transactions, including private and public offerings of debt and equity securities and tender offers. He also provides guidance in connection with Exchange Act reporting and corporate governance matters, including compliance with the rules of the NYSE and NASDAQ. Jay is a member of the board of the National Trans Bar Association and interned at the Transgender Law Center in 2015. In 2018, he published "The Transgender Marriage Dilemma" with the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society.
CLE Workshops & More
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Melissa Lauderdale-Ward - Melissa Lauderdale-Ward is an experienced leader with over 20 years of experience with energy companies. She brings experience in legal operations, policy advocacy to support business growth, compliance programs for regulated industries, legal support for competitive energy companies, and employee development. Melissa currently serves as Chief of Staff to Thomas O'Neill, Exelon's General Counsel and Director of Legal Operations. In that role she leads the operational side of the Exelon Legal Department where she has overseen an organizational assessment, streamlined processes, upgraded technology, and increased focus on talent development. In her prior role, Melissa served as Assistant General Counsel at Constellation. Melissa led a team that provides regulatory and compliance support to Constellation's electricity, natural gas, distributed energy, natural gas and energy efficiency businesses. This included maintaining all licenses and making hundreds of compliance filings as well as counseling her clients on compliance matters, advocating for regulatory policy to support business needs, and supporting strategic transactions. Prior to joining Exelon, Melissa worked for Integrys Energy Services, a retail energy supplier, where she had responsibility for state and federal government and regulatory affairs, compliance, and utility contracts. Her team delivered policy improvements that millions of dollars in O&M reductions and business opportunities. Melissa served as President of the Retail Energy Supplier Association (RESA). RESA is the main trade association for retail suppliers. In that role, she lead the Board of Directors, supervised the staff, developed policies and procedures, and spoke to the media. She has served on other trade association boards, and done extensive public speaking. She has also provided leadership for diversity efforts at both Constellation and Integrys. Melissa obtained her Bachelors of Arts from the Plan II Honors Program, Masters of Public Affairs and Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a Masters of Laws from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She is a member of Texas and the District of Columbia Bar Associations. Melissa and her wife, C.J., have a 14-year-old son and they live in Pikesville, Maryland. Melissa is a member of the Maryland Youth Equality Alliance. Melissa uses she/her/hers pronouns.
Jennifer Lav - Jennifer Lav (she/her/hers) is a Senior Attorney in the National Health Law Program's D.C. office, where she works on issues related to Medicaid, long-term care services and supports, behavioral health care, and federal health care reform. Before joining National Health Law Program, Jennifer was a staff attorney and then a managing attorney at Disability Rights D.C. at University Legal Services (DRDC), the Protection & Advocacy Program for the District of Columbia. While at DRDC, she supervised the agency's mental health advocacy, focusing on increasing access to community-based services for youth and adults, investigating abuse and neglect in facilities, and protecting and expanding autonomy and choice for District residents with disabilities. She also served as class counsel in several longstanding cases against the District government on behalf of District residents with disabilities. Prior to joining DRDC, Jennifer was a staff attorney at the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and a clinical lecturer at the University of Alabama School of Law. Her work in Alabama focused on special education and Medicaid advocacy. Jennifer received her B.A. from Hampshire College and her J.D. from Columbia Law School. Upon graduation, she clerked for Judge Myron H. Thompson, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama.
Robert Leckey - Robert Leckey is a full professor at the Faculty of Law, where he teaches constitutional law and family law. He served as director of the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law from August 2014 to June 2016. On 1 July 2016, he began a five-year term as Dean of the Faculty of Law. From 2002 to 2003, he served as law clerk for Justice Michel Bastarache of the Supreme Court of Canada. From 2003 to 2006, he undertook doctoral studies in law at the University of Toronto as a Trudeau scholar. His dissertation, which received the Alan Marks Medal for best graduate thesis in 2006, was published as Contextual Subjects: Family, State, and Relational Theory, by University of Toronto Press in 2008. In 2005-2006, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Centre de recherche en éthique de l’Université de Montréal (CRÉUM). He joined the Faculty of Law in July 2006 and was named a William Dawson Scholar by McGill University in 2011. During his sabbatical leave in 2012-2013, he was a special visitor at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. He has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 2003 and an advocate of the Barreau du Québec since 2020. From 2017 to 2020, he was a solicitor of the Barreau du Québec. From 2008-2011, he chaired the McGill Equity Subcommittee on Queer People. In 2010-2011, he served as director of research for the Inquiry Commission on the Process for Appointing Judges (the Bastarache Commission). From 2011 to 2015, he was the president of Egale Canada. From 2011 to 2016, he chaired its Legal Issues Committee. Robert Leckey has received the Prix de la Fondation du Barreau du Québec (2007); the Canadian Association of Law Teachers' Scholarly Paper Prize (2009); the McGill Law Students’ Association’s John W. Durnford Teaching Excellence Award (2009); the Canada Prize of the International Academy of Comparative Law (2010); the Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2010); and the Principal’s Change-Maker Prize for his public engagement through media in 2020. In 2014, he was selected for membership in the Global Young Academy.
CLE Workshops & More
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
John LeCrone - John LeCrone (he/him) is an accomplished employment partner and trial lawyer at n Davis Wright Tremaine (“DWT”). John is a vigorous advocate for his clients, representing employers and management in wrongful discharge, harassment, and discrimination litigation; wage and hour class actions, trade secrets/unfair competition and ERISA; and in proceedings before federal and state administrative agencies. His clients include top media and entertainment companies, health care organizations, aerospace, manufacturing, along with hospitalisty and retail chains. John spearheaded the establishment of DWT’s LGBTQ+ affinity group in and currently serves as its co-chair, focusing his attention and energy on building a community where other lawyers feel welcomed and supported. His immediate goal was to create a transformative space, where attorneys could bond over helping promote one another, provide valuable insights, and encourage connections that would lead to more successes. This included starting the first internal LGBTQ mentorship program, connecting with outside LGBTQ+ organizations, and offering scholarships to LGBTQ+ law students to strengthen the firm’s pipeline of LGBTQ+ talent. Hse also spearheaded the firm’s annual LGBTQ “Coming Out” events for local area law students, clients, and in-house counsel in Los Angeles (2018), New York City (2019), and Seattle (2020), with more in the pipeline. He aimed to have his initiatives ensure that “our community knows they have a seat at the table.” In addition, John mentors 3-4 LGBTQ attorneys within the firm, and has been active in Lambda Legal’s Liberty Circle, doing development and supportive work for important cases and legal issues within the community. His efforts resulted in John being named one of the “Top Minority Attorneys in Los Angeles” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, as well as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in employment law by Best Lawyers in 2020.
Sophia Lee - Sophia Lee, Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Blank Rome LLP, is a trusted adviser to her clients, helping them to meet their business objectives through the legal process. She handles commercial, environmental, products liability, and toxic tort matters in the energy, chemical and other industries. She advises clients on regulatory concerns as well as on matters of constitutional significance. Ms. Lee also has experience with coordinating a national docket consisting of hundreds of toxic tort cases; managing government investigations and inquiries; and developing litigation and information management policies and best practices. She also provides guidance and education to her clients on matters relating to diversity and inclusion. Ms. Lee has advocated for meaningful diversity and inclusion throughout her legal career and serves as Chair of Blank Rome's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and on its Recruiting and Retention Committee. She is an active member of the Forum of the Executive Women; a board member and past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania; a board member and past co-president of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group; and a past diversity chair for the Philadelphia Bar Association. Ms. Lee also previously served as vice chair of the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs. Prior to rejoining Blank Rome, Ms. Lee served as chief litigation counsel at Sunoco, Inc., in the litigation department of another Am Law 100 firm, and as a federal judicial law clerk to the late Honorable James McGirr Kelly, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She received her J.D. and LL.M. from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she was a member of the Temple Law Review and the Moot Court Honor Society, and her B.A. from Cornell University.
Nona Lee - Nona Lee is in her 21st season with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020, and serves as Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, overseeing all legal matters for the organization and managing the Legal Department. She is also the chair of D-backs For Change, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Diversity & Inclusion / Social Justice Initiative. Lee is also active in the community and in the sports industry. She is the founder of the Phoenix Women's Sports Association, an Arizona non-profit organization whose mission is to help girls and women find their power through sports. In addition, she currently serves as a member of the board of directors and Immediate Past President of the Sports Lawyers Association, as well as Co-Chairing the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Nominating & Governance Committee and Strategic Planning Committees for the SLA. Lee also serves on the boards of the National LGBT Bar and Blvck Womxn Worldwide, as well as on the advisory boards for the Phoenix Chapter of Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University School of Law, and the Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State University Law School. In addition, Lee serves on the American Arbitration Association’s commercial and sports law panels, and is a member of the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel. Lee also serves on the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Next Council. Lee has received several awards including, most recently, the 2017 Positively Powerful Women Award for Global Leadership, being named a Sports Business Journal Game Changers in 2018, and being honored in 2019 as a Woman of Distinction by Achieving My Purpose, as well as by the Arizona State Bar as Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year.
CLE Workshops & More
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
M. Dru Levasseur - M. Dru Levasseur serves as Deputy Program Officer for the National LGBT Bar, working to deepen the Bar's programmatic work around the country and increase outreach to and education for constituencies including law schools and students, law firms, and corporations. Previously, Dru was Senior Attorney and Transgender Rights Project Director for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. During almost a decade at Lambda Legal, Dru served as counsel in landmark transgender rights impact litigation, contributed to important amicus briefs, and advocated on behalf of transgender people nationwide. Dru was also instrumental in the creation and development of Lambda Legal's Transgender Rights Project in 2013, as well as Lambda's Trans Toolkit. Prior to joining Lambda Legal, Dru was the first staff attorney at Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and before that, served as a law clerk in the Massachusetts Superior Court. In 2007, Dru co-founded the Jim Collins Foundation, a trans-led national nonprofit that funds surgeries for transgender people in need. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, and his law degree from Western New England University School of Law.
CLE Workshops & More
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (By Invitation Only): August 12, 2020 | 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (Sponsored by White & Case LLP)
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (Sponsored by White & Case LLP)
Jennifer Levi - Levi is the director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)'s Transgender Rights Project and a nationally recognized expert on transgender legal issues. She is one of two transgender attorneys leading the legal fight against President Trump's transgender military ban in both Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump. Levi's precedent-setting transgender rights cases include: O'Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (2010), which established that medical care relating to gender transition qualifies for a medical tax deduction; Adams v. Bureau of Prisons (2011), which successfully challenged a federal prison policy excluding medical care for 2019 transgender inmates who came into the system without a transition-related medical plan; and Doe v. Clenchy (2014), in which the first state high court ruled that a transgender girl must be fully integrated into her public elementary school as a girl, including having full and equal access to restrooms. In Doe v. MA DOC, Levi currently represents an incarcerated transgender woman seeking to be transferred to a women's correctional facility who is challenging the exclusion of transgender people from the protections of the American with Disabilities Act. Levi was co-counsel in two landmark marriage equality cases, winning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Massachusetts (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 2003) and Connecticut (Kerrigan v. Department of Public Health, 2008), and recently secured a groundbreaking child-centered parentage ruling at the Vermont Supreme Court in Sinnott v. Peck (2017). Levi is a law professor at Western New England University, co-editor of Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy (2012), and serves on the Legal Committee of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a former law clerk to the Honorable Judge Michael Boudin at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Noah Lewis - Noah E. Lewis is the Trans Health Project director at Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, where he was previously a staff attorney. His work focuses on eliminating barriers to insurance coverage for transgender-related health care. Noah is also the founder and former executive director of Transcend Legal, and has held interim positions at Transgender Law Center, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and ran a solo law practice serving transgender clients. Noah was the first openly transgender student to graduate from Harvard Law School, where he worked to eliminate trans health exclusions in student and staff health plans. Noah is a co-chair of the NYC Bar Association's LGBTQ Rights Committee and is a past recipient of the Committee's Arthur S. Leonard Award recognizing compelling commitment to LGBT equality through the law.
Samuel Light - Samuel M. Light is a litigation associate resident in Fried Frank's New York office. Mr. Light's practice focuses on white collar criminal and regulatory matters, corporate investigations and complex commercial litigation. He has represented clients in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations conducted by the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission, and the New York County District Attorney's Office. Prior to joining Fried Frank, Mr. Light served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ona T. Wang, United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prior to his clerkship, Mr. Light was an associate at a national law firm.
Lateral Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Angela Lim - Angela is the General Counsel of Grasshopper Ventures Group, Inc., an Ag-Tech start up, as well as the Deputy General Counsel of Viz.ai, Inc., a Digital Health start up. She's a co-chair of the NAPABA LGBTQ Network and the founder of the LGBTQ ERGs at Castlight Health, Inc., ("The Family") and Grand Rounds, Inc. ("e-Quality").
CLE Workshops & More
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
Jesse Ryan Loffler - I am a commercial litigation partner at Cozen O'Connor resident in the Pittsburgh, PA and New York, NY offices focusing on matters relating to securities law, shareholder litigation, contract, governmental investigations, insurance, real estate, and bankruptcy or distressed businesses. I also have an extensive pro bono practice serving a diverse range of clients in impact litigation, including matters relating to LGBTQ and political asylum, voting rights, women's access to health care, and transgender rights. In that capacity, I have been involved in LGBTQ civil rights cases on behalf of parties and amici in state and federal courts from the trial level to the United States Supreme Court. I earned my undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University, and earned my law degree, magna cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where I was head editor of the Cardozo Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif. I also sit on the Board of Directors of the National LGBT Bar Foundation and am a former director (and was one of the founding directors) of Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty (CHILD) USA, a non-profit think tank based in Philadelphia dedicated to protecting children and preventing abuse.
CLE Workshops & More
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Deborah Lolai - Deborah Lolai is the founder and supervising attorney of the LGBTQ Defense Practice at the Bronx Defenders. In her role, Deborah represents LGBTQ clients in criminal cases and related legal matters, provides internal and external cultural competency and best practices trainings, and engages in community organizing and advocacy efforts to empower our LGBTQ clients, and reduce the harm caused by the various systems they navigate. Deborah is a member of the NYC Board of Correction Task Force on Issues Facing Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary and/or Intersex People in Custody. She is currently the facilitator of the NYC LGBT Direct Services RoundTable, which organizes direct service providers in NYC serving LGBTQ clients.
CLE Workshops & More
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
Dr. Izzy Lowell -
Dr. Isabel Lowell grew up in Massachusetts, where she attended Williams College, followed by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She completed her Family Medicine residency in Lawrence, MA, where she learned to speak Spanish through caring for the primarily Dominican patient population. She moved to Atlanta in 2013 and joined the faculty at Emory University, where she started the Gender Clinic at Emory. While working at Emory, she completed an MBA at the Goizueta School of Business, graduating first in her class. Dr. Lowell is driven by a sense of fairness and equality. She was drawn to do her residency in Lawrence, MA, for the opportunity to serve an underserved population. After moving to Atlanta, she realized that there are very limited options for trans* people to get medical care. "I met several trans people in this area who told me they couldn't find a doctor who would treat them, not even for basic medical issues. As I started learning about hormone therapy and transgender medicine, I began to realize just how big the need is for trans care in the Southeast." Dr. Lowell has attended conferences and worked with experts around the country to learn more about transgender medicine. She is a member of World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), and gives lectures regularly to educate other medical providers and students about transgender medicine. On a personal level, Dr. Lowell has never fit into typical gender roles. "Growing up, I never wanted to wear a dress, and always played with the boys. While I don't have severe gender dysphoria, I am certainly gender nonconforming - not at either end of the spectrum. I may understand a tiny bit about what it is like to be trans." Dr. Lowell is proud to be a member of the LGBTQ community, and is passionate about equality and respect for all. She lives in Atlanta with her wife and two children.
Laura Maechtlen - Laura Maechtlen is the National Chair of the Labor and Employment Department at Seyfarth Shaw LLP and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. Her practice is focused on employment litigation and includes the defense of class, collective and multi-plaintiff actions. Laura also has experience litigating against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in systemic actions, both at the early charge stage and in large-scale EEOC pattern-and-practice litigation. Laura is a national leader on issues related to diversity and inclusion in the legal industry, and has held a variety of leadership positions through which she has advocated for systemic improvement in the legal industry in the areas of diversity and inclusion. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the California Minority Counsel Program. She is a previous Latina Commissioner for the Hispanic National Bar Association, President of the National LGBT Bar Association, Chair of the CA Minority Counsel Program, and Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Laura is also a founding member of SeyfarthLife, her Firm’s core initiative focused on health, wellness and resiliency for all personnel. Laura speaks and publishes regularly on a variety of employment law and litigation topics, and issues regarding diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, and has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Reuters, The Recorder, Vogue, The Daily Journal, the Insurance Journal, CIO.com, Employment Law 360, and others. She has also served as a contributing editor to multiple editions of The Fair Labor Standards Act (ABA) and The Developing Labor Law (BNA).
Glenn Magpantay - Glenn D. Magpantay, Esq. is the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), which works at the intersections of LGBT equality, racial justice and immigrants rights. Before, Glenn had a long and distinguished career as a civil rights attorney as the Democracy Program Director at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), where he worked to protect and promote the voting rights and political participation of Asian Americans. He continues to inspire new legal minds and future advocates by teaching Race & the Law at Brooklyn Law School and Asian American Civil Rights at Hunter College/ CUNY. He has published scholarly legal articles, authored a number of reports, and has given commentary to numerous media outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, CNN, and National Public Radio. Glenn attended the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook on Long Island, and as a beneficiary of affirmative action, graduated cum laude from the New England School of Law, in Boston.
Bendita Cynthia Malakia - One of the most sought after legal diversity professionals in the country, Bendita's experience as a large law firm lawyer, in-house lawyer at two Fortune 500 professional services firms, diversity consultant and certified professional coach help her strategically advance diversity at Hogan Lovells and as an officer of the National LGBT Bar Association.
CLE Workshops & More
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
Dodging Bullets and Jumping Hurdles: Womxn of Color Lawyers, Succeeding through Adversity
General Attendance Session One: August 12, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Addressing Racial Equity within the LGBTQ+ Legal Community
Addressing Racial Equity within the LGBTQ+ Legal Community
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (By Invitation Only): August 12, 2020 | 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (Sponsored by White & Case LLP)
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (Sponsored by White & Case LLP)
Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. - April 30, 2016, Judge Larnzell Martin, Jr., retired as an Associate Judge of the Prince George’s County, Maryland Circuit Court where he had been a member of that Court beginning in December 1990. He continues to serve as a Senior Judge for the Maryland Judiciary. Judge Martin’s judicial assignments have included service as the Administrative Judge of the District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County, Chair of the Maryland Judicial Conference’s Committee on Family Law, membership on the Judiciary’s Technology Oversight Board and Lead Judge for the Prince George’s County Model Court. December 2014 through 2017, he served as the first Chair of the Maryland Judicial Council’s Court Access and Community Relations Committee. He has also served as an instructor for the Maryland Judicial Institute, now known as the Judicial College. Prior to his May 1988 appointment to the District Court of Maryland, Judge Martin was the County Attorney for Prince George’s County, the first African American to serve in that capacity for any of Maryland’s counties. Judge Martin is a member of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, having formerly served as Secretary. A 1972 graduate of Carleton College, he currently serves on the College’s Board of Trustees and is a former member of his alma mater’s Alumni Council and its Out @fter Carleton Leadership Committee. Judge Martin received his Juris Doctorate in 1975 from Georgetown University Law Center.
Deian McBryde - Deian McBryde is a New Mexico family law attorney and mediator in solo practice. Before becoming an attorney, Deian worked in business, consulting, employee development, technology, and the arts. In a previous life, he produced Lady Bunny’s Absolut Live! tour and other events that popularized the term “gayborhood,” and he served as executive director of OUTMUSIC, the international LGBTQ musicians network, where he launched the first Outmusic Awards to recognize artists working to inspire and create change from within the LGBTQ community. In 2003, Deian was the executive director of Rainbow25, a project sponsored by Absolut to create the world’s largest rainbow flag: 1.25 miles in the original eight colors (including pink and turquoise), hand-sewn by Gilbert Baker and a team of volunteers. In 2003, the Rainbow25 flag stretched across Key West from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, carried by over 3,000 people. As a performer, Deian appeared in clubs, cabarets, and gay pride events around the world. He performed for Stonewall 25 and the Gay Games in New York City, and appeared on the cover of “Girlfriends Magazine,” the national lesbian magazine, as one of 1998’s “America’s Men We Love (Platonically). In modern times, Deian is now a Council Member-at-Large of the ABA’s Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division (GPSolo) and serves on a variety of local and national committees and boards, including the NM Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession. Deian is a member of the Family Law Institute, which shares strategies for representing the LGBT community; however, he is most proud of his standing as “the only licensed attorney in the state of New Mexico to have once had backup dancers.” www.mcbrydelaw.com
Brian McGinnis - Brian J. McGinnis is an Associate in the Labor & Employment Department of Fox Rothschild LLP. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Rutgers University School of Law and a former Executive Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review. A founding member of Fox Rothschild's LGBTQ & Allies Initiative, Brian also serves on the Executive Committee of the Independence Business Alliance, the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce for the greater Philadelphia region.
Ashe McGovern - Ashe McGovern (they, them, theirs) is the Senior LGBTQ Policy Advisor in the Office of the Mayor for the City of New York and Executive Director of the NYC Unity Project. The NYC Unity Project is New York's first Mayoral citywide initiative focused on supporting and empowering LGBTQ communities through innovative policies and programs. Recent initiatives include: funding for permanent housing and supportive services for LGBTQ homeless youth; family support mental health training programs to mitigate family rejection; training and certification for providers in NYC's public hospital system; and the recently announced NYC Unity Works program, which is the largest publicly funded LGBTQ workforce program in the nation, among other key initiatives. Before joining the Mayor's Office, Ashe was the Legislative and Policy Director of the Law, Rights and Religion Project at Columbia Law School and LGBT Policy Analyst at the Center For American Progress (CAP) in Washington DC. Prior to CAP, Ashe was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) where they started the LGBTQ Health and Economic Justice Initiative, a project focused on providing free legal services to low-income LGBTQ New Yorkers. Ashe earned their B.A. from Cornell University, magna cum laude, and J.D. from Cornell Law School, where they received the Freeman Award for Civil-Human Rights. Ashe is co-author and co-editor of Intersecting Injustice: A National Call to Action Addressing LGBTQ Poverty and Economic Justice for All (2018) published by the City University of New York Graduate Center and their work has been featured in a range of media outlets, including The Nation, Slate, Bloomberg Law, Wired, and NPR, among others.
Sharon McGowan - Sharon M. McGowan is the Chief Strategy Officer and Legal Director of Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV. Relying on her litigation expertise and her experience in the Obama administration, Sharon leads the Legal Department’s talented team of over thirty attorneys and paraprofessionals who advocate for our community in courtrooms, statehouses, and other venues throughout the country. As Legal Director, Sharon oversees Lambda Legal’s efforts to resist any attempt by the Trump Administration – or any other opponent of LGBTQ equality – to thwart or roll back our community’s progress toward full formal and lived equality. Sharon joined Lambda Legal in February 2017 as its Director of Strategy, and established Lambda Legal’s Washington, D.C. office. Previously, McGowan served as the Principal Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division in Department of Justice. In addition to supervising attorneys working on a broad range of civil rights appellate matters in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals, McGowan advised Department of Justice leadership on high-profile and sensitive litigation and policy matters relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, and served as co-chair of the Division’s Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Working Group. McGowan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Norman H. Stahl, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Helen G. Berrigan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. McGowan is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia.
Featured CLE Program: August 12, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
Title VII and Beyond: The Scope of Civil Rights Protections in the Aftermath of Bostock/Stephens/Zarda
General Attendance Session Two: August 13, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Justice Sabrina McKenna - Sabrina Shizue McKenna grew up in Japan and the Philippines with Japanese as her first language. She received her B.A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and her J.D. from the university’s William S. Richardson School of Law (WSRSL). She was then a civil litigator, general counsel to a Japan-based conglomerate, and assistant professor at WSRSL. In 1993, she was appointed a state limited jurisdiction trial judge, and in 1995, a general jurisdiction trial judge. In 2009, she was appointed presiding judge of the Oʻahu family court. Upon her appointment to the Hawaii Supreme Court in 2011, she became the first openly LGBTQ Asian Pacific American justice of a state court of last resort, for which she was awarded the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. She has received various additional awards.
General Attendance Session One: August 12, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Addressing Racial Equity within the LGBTQ+ Legal Community
Addressing Racial Equity within the LGBTQ+ Legal Community
Carrington "Rusty" Mead - Attorney Carrington Madison Mead has been practicing law, as a solo practitioner, since 2004. He is admitted to practice in Florida, and the Florida Northern and Middle District Courts of Florida. He received a bachelor's in Sociology from the University of North Florida with a minor in accounting. His practices areas include: family, military & veteran's benefits and compensation, estate planning, probate and guardianship law, with a concentration in military and LGBT families. Mr. Mead has been recognized by many organizations for his work for the less fortunate, and his advocacy, by multiple organizations both prior and after becoming an attorney. He is a vetted member of the Family Law Institute, co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the National LGBT Bar Association. He is a regular trainer for the International Transgender Institute Association's Board Certification in Transgender Therapy program, and speaks often at colleges and workplaces on legal issues involving the LGBT community. He lives in Jacksonville with his wife, and furry and feathered companions. He has a daughter and son-in-law, and when possible, loves a good weekend of camping and/or fishing.
Emily Meyer - Emily Meyer (she/her/hers) is a Staff Attorney in the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic. She graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2008. After a number of years practicing law in Cincinnati, including both transactional and litigation work, she returned to graduate school to study Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at the University of Cincinnati. An Ohio native, Emily counts herself lucky to have resided all across the Buckeye State including in Dayton, Columbus, Cambridge, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Emily is committed to LGBTQ equality as well as gender and racial justice - and the intersections therein. She is a founding member of both the Cincinnati Women's Fund's Engagement Committee and the YP Board of Cincinnati Works, a local nonprofit working towards poverty reduction by connecting job seekers with employment training and opportunities. Emily is admitted to practice in the State of Ohio and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She is based remotely in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Shannon Minter - Shannon Minter is the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), one of the nation's leading advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Minter was lead counsel for same-sex couples in the landmark California marriage equality case which held that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry and that laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation are inherently discriminatory and subject to the highest level of constitutional scrutiny. Minter was also NCLR's lead attorney in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding student group policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and rejecting the argument that such policies violated a student group's rights to freedom of speech, religion, and association. NCLR represented Hastings Outlaw, an LGBT student group who intervened to help defend the nondiscrimination policy. In 2009, Minter was named a California Lawyer of the Year by California Lawyer. In 2008, he was named among six Lawyers of the Year by Lawyers USA and among California's Top 100 Lawyers by the legal publication The Daily Journal. He also received the 2008 Dan Bradley Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Bar Association for outstanding work in marriage cases and was the recipient of the Cornell Law School Exemplary Public Service Award. In 2005, Minter was one of 18 people to receive the Ford Foundation's "Leadership for a Changing World" award. In 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Degree from the City University of New York School of Law for his advocacy on behalf of same-sex couples and their families. Shannon has also received the Anderson Prize Foundation's Creating Change Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Distinguished National Service Award from GAYLAW, the bar association for LGBT lawyers, law students, and legal professionals in Washington, D.C., Cornell Law School's Exemplary Public Service Award, the Unity Award from Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the Advocacy Award from the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Justice Award from Equality California. Minter serves on the boards of Faith in America and the Transgender Law & Policy Institute. He has previously served on the American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Minter received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1993. He is originally from Texas.
CLE Workshops & More
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Chris J. Miritello - Since 2017, Chris Miritello has served as chief legal officer and on the executive leadership team of Memphis, Tennessee-based Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLI), a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of copper tubing, fittings, and an array of other products used in plumbing, refrigeration and industrial applications. At the time of his appointment by the Board of Directors, he was among the youngest chief legal officers of a publicly traded company in the United States. As Mueller’s General Counsel, Chris oversees a diverse portfolio of legal issues and risks, including corporate governance, securities regulation and compliance, litigation, M&A, insurance risk management, executive compensation, environmental law, intellectual property, antitrust, labor and employment, and international trade. Prior to joining Mueller Industries, Chris was associated with the New York office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he focused on securities, insurance and general commercial litigation, and internal investigations. A graduate of Harvard College and Fordham Law School, Chris was previously a member of the Harvard Opportunes (Harvard’s oldest coed acappella group) and the Fordham Law Review. In 2017, Chris was the recipient of the Fordham Law Alumni Association’s Rising Star Award. He was also recently honored with the Memphis Business Journal’s Best of the Bar Award, and by the National LGBT Bar Association as one of this year’s Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.
How to Go In-House: August 14, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel
Preston Mitchum -
Preston Mitchum is a Black queer attorney, writer, and public speaker. He brings more than seven years in both legal and policy experience to his role as the Director of Policy of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. In addition to his work at URGE, Preston is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center teaching LGBT Health Law and Policy and is the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Collective Action for Safe Spaces, a grassroots organization working towards non-carceral solutions to addressing gendered harassment and sexual assault in Washington, DC. Preston is an accomplished author publishing both scholarly work and social commentary for many outlets and law review journals including The Atlantic, MTV News, Think Progress, The Root, Slate.com, Huffington Post, William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law, Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives, North Carolina Central University School of Law’s Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Law Review, and others. He received his Bachelor of Arts, with honors, from Kent State University; his J.D., with honors, from North Carolina Central University School of Law; and his LL.M. in Law and Government from American University Washington College of Law.
Connie Montoya - Connie Montoya brings nearly two decades of class action experience to her trial and litigation practice in employment law and consumer protection defense. Connie has litigated in the federal, state and administrative courts of New York and New Jersey in countless class action lawsuits involving claims brought under various federal and state employment and consumer laws. In the field of labor and employment, Connie counsels her clients on a variety of employment issues, focusing on discrimination and harassment matters, including claims relating to discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, pregnancy and disability. She routinely deals with claims involving state and local employment laws, and compliance with the same. As for consumer class action litigation, Connie frequently defends leading financial services organizations against claims arising from various federal regulatory statutes. Before joining Hinshaw, Connie was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Special Federal Litigation Division of the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, where she defended the City and its municipal employees in federal civil rights actions.
CLE Workshops & More
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
Sarah Moore - Sarah Moore is a partner in Fisher Phillips LLP's Cleveland office. She enjoys a robust practice that crosses industries in the private and public sectors and routinely incorporates the insights and best practices from this diversity in experience into her work. And, she thrives on handling highly sensitive and challenging issues and regularly works hand-in-hand with her clients addressing the full spectrum of labor and employment concerns. Sarah regularly handles labor contract negotiation and administration and has taught Labor Law and Collective Bargaining courses at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Cleveland State University’s Nance College of Business Administration. Although she prefers modified bargaining, her work also includes relying on traditional and interest-based models. She has a solid record of achieving client objectives and fostering positive labor relations. While she has handled strike preparation and associated litigation, Sarah prides herself in successfully bringing all the contracts she served as the primary negotiator to conclusion without a strike. Sarah’s litigation experience includes non-competes, breach of contract, workers’ compensation, discrimination, harassment, constitutional claims, and ERISA fund actions. She has also handled lawsuits for educational institutions and political subdivisions that involved issues in employment, labor, student discipline, special education, negligence and wrongful death.
CLE Workshops & More
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Scott Morgan - Scott Morgan currently serves as the Senior Director of Sales Operations for Legal Professionals & Government at Thomson Reuters, the leading global provider of integrated information-based solutions to business and professional customers. Prior to that position and, for the past 20+ years, Scott held various leadership roles at TR with progressive responsibility beginning his tenure there as a reference staff attorney. Scott was the co-chair for the TR MSP Pride at Work Business Resource Group (BRG) from 2001-2004 & 2011-2018 and was its original co-founder. Since 2019, Scott has served as the co-chair of the Business Resource Group Global Leadership Team for TR. Scott also served on the National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation (NLGLF) board from 2005–2006 and was the NLGLF chair from 2007-2009. Scott was a board member for the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association (MLBA) from 2008-2009 co-chairing the events committee. Scott is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and holds a JD from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Aaron Morris - Aaron C. Morris is Immigration Equality's Executive Director. Prior to becoming ED, Aaron led the organization's law and policy programs. As such, he has supervised Immigration Equality's legal services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and lobbying efforts. Aaron first joined Immigration Equality as a Pride Law Fellow in the summer of 2004. After law school, he volunteered with the organization whenever he could, joining as a staff attorney in 2008. Aaron is a graduate of the American University's Washington College of Law and the University of Oklahoma. Before joining Immigration Equality, he was an immigration staff attorney in the Office of Legal Affairs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Aaron is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the LGBT Bar Association. In 2014, he was named by the LGBT Bar Association as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40. In 2017, he was honored with the Peter M. Cicchinio award for Outstanding Advocacy in the Public Interest.
CLE Workshops & More
The Battle to Protect Asylum: How Advocates are Fighting for the Rights of LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers at the Border and in the Interior
The Battle to Protect Asylum: How Advocates are Fighting for the Rights of LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers at the Border and in the Interior
Chris Mosier - Chris Mosier is a trailblazing athlete, coach, and the founder of TransAthlete.com. In 2020 he made history by becoming the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in the gender with which they identify. Prior to that, in 2015 he became the first openly trans man to make a Men's US National Team. Following the national championship race, he was instrumental in getting the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes changed, and in June 2016 he became the first trans athlete to compete in a world championship race under the new rules, where he was the second-fastest American man in his group. He has been called "the man who changed the Olympics" by the BBC and New York Magazine. Chris is a six-time member of Team USA, All-American, and 2x National Champion. Beyond his athletic accomplishments, Chris is considered the go-to source for policy information and has helped numerous professional and recreational leagues write their guidelines and rules for the participation of athletes who are transgender.
Kate Mozynski -
Elizabeth Munsky - Elizabeth Munsky is the Director of LGBTQ+ Initiatives at the New York City Department of Correction (DOC). A graduate of Stony Brook University, Elizabeth holds a degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies. Elizabeth has built her career on the core values of education, collaboration and introspection. No matter how large or small the system you are trying to change happens to be, in order to create true sustainable change, education and understanding must be your foundation. Education is built on the basis that there is no one teacher and no one student, we must all be open to learning from one another and educating one another. Throughout all of Elizabeth’s roles she has challenged her participants, her colleagues, her employers and herself to look inward and ask ourselves the hard questions we often point at others. Some of her previous work includes the development and implementation of national LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence programming, LGBTQ+ young adult programming; in which Elizabeth brought prominent LGBTQ+ adults back to their high schools to education and empower the current staff and student body through stories of hope and stories of struggle; and regional and national LGBTQ+ responsive training programs, where Elizabeth worked with historically hetero and cis-sexist institutions to build inclusive policies and practices. In her current role she works to build support, affirmation and safety for LGBTQ+ individuals within the DOC's custody as well as LGBTQ+ staff members. To accomplish this some of Elizabeth’s current initiatives are; LGB/TGNC support groups, developing reflective and experiential trainings for all staff members and analyzing current policies to ensure the inclusion, affirmation, support and safety for all LGBTQ+ people in custody. You can reach Elizabeth at Elizabeth.munsky@doc.nyc.gov.
CLE Workshops & More
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
The Struggles Faced by Incarcerated Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, Intersex and Non-binary People: Effective Reforms for Jails and Prisons
Lauren Mutti - I oversee a team dedicated to providing practical, solution-oriented legal advice regarding traditional labor and employee relations matters for Southern Glazer's in 45 states and Canada. My team manages the Company's employment litigation with a goal towards efficient resolution of disputes. We also provide day-to-day advice regarding matters relating to employment discrimination/harassment/retaliation, wage and hour issues, whistle-blower claims, trade secret protection and other employee relations matters. Additionally, I oversee a team of trained investigators dedicated to investigating and resolving allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and we provide nation-wide training on these topics to avoid such claims. We represent the company in charges before federal and state administrative agencies, and we manage litigation brought by employees. Our team also oversees traditional labor matters relating to the Company's 27 collective bargaining agreements. We participate in collective bargaining, advise regarding CBA drafting and interpretation, manage grievances and arbitrations, and represent the Company before the National Labor Relations Board. Finally, we also manage the Company's affirmative action plans and OFCCP compliance. In addition to my legal work, I also co-chair the Dallas corporate office's diversity council. The Council is dedicated to promoting diversity at Southern Glazer's and ensuring that employees of all backgrounds are included in all aspects of our business. As part of this effort, the Council also oversees the Company's business resource groups and encourages cooperation between them.
David Nahmias - David is a Law Fellow at the Impact Fund, where he leads Impact LGBTQ, an initiative supported by Justice Catalyst to support advocacy for low-wage workers in California. He has trained over 350 attorneys and advocates on LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination and harassment under federal and California law, and has co-authored three amicus briefs on issues related to vulnerable LGBTQ+ groups, including before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also has represented and provided brief service representation to several LGBTQ+, especially transgender and gender non-conforming, workers who have endured harassment including misgendering. He is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico in 2010-2011.
CLE Workshops & More
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
Jean-Marie Navetta - Jean-Marie Navetta is the Director of Learning & Inclusion for PFLAG National, leading its Straight for Equality project which aims to invite, educate, and engage new allies in the effort to achieve full inclusion for people who are LGBTQ+. She has been the lead architect of the project since its 2007 inception. She was the primary author of the guide to being a straight ally (now in its fourth edition), Straight for Equality in Healthcare (2010), be not afraid - help is on the way: straight for equality in faith communities (now in its third edition), and the guide to being a trans ally (now in its third edition). Under her leadership, over 19,000 people have been trained, many in Straight for Equality in the Workplace events across the U.S. in more than 140 major corporations. Jean-Marie is the former Director of Communications for PFLAG where she increased the organization's visibility in outlets including The New York Times and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was also Media Relations Manager for the American Association of University Women, where her work focused on issues such as discrimination in education, pay equity, and Title IX. But Jean-Marie is, most importantly, living proof that Philosophy majors can get real jobs.
CLE Workshops & More
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Ben Needham - Ben Needham is the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Policy and Political Affairs Department at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). As Director of Strategic Initiatives, Ben oversees legislative and electoral strategy across several programs and departments. Ben helped create the strategy for the HRC Rising program, which is the largest grassroots and electoral organizing program in the organization’s history, working to elect more pro-equality candidates at every level of government. In addition, Ben works with the Human Rights Campaign Governmental Affairs team to develop a strategy to pass the Equality Act, which would codify full federal equality into law for all LGBTQ Americans. Before being promoted to manage the Human Rights Campaign’s policy and political strategic work, Ben was Director of Project One America, HRC’s comprehensive, multi-year effort to expand LGBTQ equality in the South through permanent campaigns in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. Ben managed in-state staff and coordinated with HRC’s senior leadership in Washington, D.C. to make progress on three fronts—changing hearts and minds, advancing enduring legal protections, and building more inclusive institutions for LGBTQ Southerners from the church pew to the workplace. Ben oversaw grassroots and grasstops campaigns on behalf of HRC in these three states, and led and implemented political strategy and public education campaigns to bring about a new era of inclusiveness and equality for LGBTQ people in the South. Ben’s work in the South has led to the passage of 5 LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances in the following communities: Clarksdale, Jackson, and Magnolia, MS; and Birmingham and Montevallo, AL. His work has helped to provide legal protection to over 400,000 residents at work, in housing and public accommodations in Alabama and Mississippi. In addition, there are ten hospitals rated by HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index as having leader statues or rated as top performers on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of their LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees. Ben also helped with the strategy to increase Tyson Foods score on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index from 30 to 100 in just two years, ensuring full workplace equality for LGBTQ workers at every level of the company. Ben is a veteran political strategist with an extensive background in campaigns, issue advocacy, and providing strategy for political parties, progressive organizations, and candidates. He worked as Southern and Western Political Manager for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and on several issue advocacy campaigns such as Houston Votes and, Missouri Cures. His experience with political organizations includes working with Obama for America, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and with several political candidates.
Amy Nelson - Amy Nelson has served as the Director of Legal Services at Whitman-Walker Health, starting in 2008. Amy organized the name and gender change legal clinic in 2012 which continues to serve hundreds of clients in updating their gender markers on identity documents annually. In 2014, Amy was recognized as a "Shero of the Movement" by the DC Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs and honored with Capital Trans Pride's Engendered Spirit award. Amy co-teaches Public Interest Lawyering: Access to Health Care at Georgetown University Law Center. She served on the board of Miriam's House, serving homeless women with HIV, and oversaw its successful transition into N Street Village. A Texas native, she is proud to call DC home for more than 20 years. Amy received degrees from Texas A&M University and the George Washington University Law School.
Mari Nemec - Mari Nemec (she/her) is a rising 2L at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mari was the Manager of Public Affairs at the National LGBT Bar Association. Currently, Mari serves as Secretary of Arizona's PrideLaw Organization, Co-Chair of the National LGBT Bar Association's Law Student Congress, and is a student representative on a committee that seeks to aid LGBTQ+ children in the juvenile court system. After law school, Mari intends to practice family law and continue her work in LGBTQ+ advocacy.
Dean Anthony Niedwiecki - Anthony S. Niedwiecki, a longtime legal educator and activist on behalf of LGBTQ rights, is President and Dean at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previously dean and professor of law at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, he is the second president and dean at Mitchell Hamline, which was formed in 2015 through the combination of William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law. Niedwiecki is the first openly gay president and dean at Mitchell Hamline or any of its predecessor schools. For the last two decades, Niedwiecki has advocated for social and racial justice as an academic, elected official, and community activist. In 2007, he founded Fight OUT Loud, an organization dedicated to helping people counter discrimination and hate directed at the LGBTQ community, and he has received numerous awards for his advocacy on LGBTQ issues. He has served as city commissioner and vice mayor of Oakland Park, Fla., as well as a member of the Broward County, Fla., Resource Recovery and Human Rights boards.
Dale Noll - Dale Noll represents trustees, personal representatives, guardians, and beneficiaries in a wide variety of fiduciary issues, and assists them in their roles as fiduciaries in administering estates, guardianships, and trusts. A particular focus of his practice is the representation of corporate or individual fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and other interested parties in high conflict, complex, and high-profile guardianship, trust, and probate matters at the county probate court and appellate levels. Dale also has experience representing corporate entities and individuals handling issues related to trust administration, incapacity proceedings, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and wills and trusts. Dale has served as board member and as a president of the National LGBT Bar Association and has served in leadership positions in various local organizations.
Sumaya Noush - Sumaya M. Noush counsels health care clients on strategic and operational matters including transactions, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. She helps her clients navigate the daily challenges of running their operations while identifying opportunities for growth in today's rapidly evolving and highly competitive health care market. Sumaya is also well-versed in both clinical and research ethics and routinely advises clients on biomedical ethics and related legal standards. Sumaya is an active contributor to the DBR on Data blog, where she regularly publishes material on a wide range of health care information privacy issues, including HIPAA enforcement efforts and government-issued cybersecurity guidance. Sumaya also authored the Illinois section of the American Health Lawyers Association's current Health Care Fraud Law 50-State Survey. She currently serves on the 2020 Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys Board of Directors and Co-Chairs the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Sumaya is admitted to practice law in Illinois, and she holds two Bachelors in Philosophy and Psychology, a Masters in Bioethics and Public Policy, and a J.D., all from Loyola University Chicago.
Judi O'Kelley - Judi joined the LGBT Bar’s team in 2017, and works on a broad range of programmatic initiatives including building the Bar’s law school affiliate program and supporting the work of the Family Law Institute. Judi brings over twenty years of legal and political experience working for equality within the LGBT community. While in law school, she worked against anti-gay ballot initiatives in Oregon; after graduating and entering private practice, she moved to Georgia and worked on behalf of local and national LGBT groups as a pro bono attorney, drafting and lobbying for successful non-discrimination protections and domestic partnership benefit programs for several Georgia municipalities, including Atlanta and Athens. In 2004, she served as President and Campaign Chair for the campaign for the Athens, Georgia area in opposition to Georgia’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions, and continued grass-roots organizing and local political work after the campaign. Judi also was the lead plaintiff from 2004-2006 in the case of O’Kelley v. Perdue, in which Lambda Legal, the Georgia ACLU, and the law firm of Alston & Bird sought to strike down Georgia’s anti-marriage amendment. Judi then spent over eleven years on the staff and in senior management of Lambda Legal in roles ranging from Southern Regional Director, to Director of Life Planning, to Deputy Director of Development, to Director of Leadership. Along the way she moved to Seattle, Washington, where she is involved with a number of local LGBT groups as the Bar’s West Coast outpost. Judi received her B.A. from the Colorado College in 1990. After receiving her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1996, she served as a law clerk for Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and practiced appellate and employment law in Atlanta for Jones Day and two boutique law firms, before joining Lambda Legal in 2006. Judi has roots in the Washington, D.C. metro area as well as Juneau, Alaska, and is admitted to practice in DC, Alaska, and Georgia. She lives in Seattle with her spouse and twin teenagers, with whom she laughs, cooks, plays video games, and watches Star Trek. Judi has experience speaking on a number of issues related to LGBT rights and the law and is available to speak at future events.
Kathy Ochroch - Kathy Ochroch is a Partner and the Director of Pro Bono Services at Blank Rome LLP. As the Director of Pro Bono, she supervises and coordinates all aspects of the Firm's pro bono program. This includes identifying new pro bono matters and finding opportunities to increase the Firm's pro bono involvement. Ms. Ochroch also works closely with in-house counsel to develop pro bono partnerships between the in-house lawyers and the Firm. Ms. Ochroch also maintains a substantive pro bono practice. She serves as one of the lead attorneys on a capital appeal in which Blank Rome was successful in getting the client's death sentence vacated. She also handles pro bono guardianship cases, transgender name change matters, trusts and estates matters, family law matters, social security disability cases, veterans' discharge cases, and immigration and asylum matters. Ms. Ochroch serves as a child advocate for abused and neglected children and volunteers to represent children who have been the victim of sex trafficking. Ms. Ochroch has received multiple awards for her pro bono work, including being named a 2020 "Champion of Justice" by the SeniorLAW Center. In addition, she has received the "White Hat Award" from the Legal Clinic for the Disabled, the Pro Bono Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Craig M. Perry Community Service Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division, and the "Distinguished Advocate Award" from the Support Center for Child Advocates. Ms. Ochroch serves as the co-chair of the Law Firm Pro Bono Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association. She also is a member of the Board of Directors of Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse, and a member of the Board of Directors of CeaseFirePA. Prior to joining Blank Rome, Ms. Ochroch practiced in the litigation department of another Am Law 100 firm and served as a federal judicial law clerk to the Honorable William H. Yohn, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She received her J.D., with High Honors, from The George Washington University Law School, where she was a member of The George Washington Law Review and the Moot Court Board. Ms. Ochroch earned her B.A., cum laude, from Dickinson College.
Asaf Orr - Developing a passion for social justice at a young age, Asaf joined NCLR in 2012 after years of representing students with disabilities and people living with HIV/AIDS. As NCLR's Transgender Youth Project Staff Attorney, Asaf works to safeguard the rights of transgender and gender-expansive youth to be affirmed and supported. By changing the life trajectories of transgender and gender-expansive youth through litigation, public policy, and advocacy, Asaf hopes to create a future where all children can thrive. For nearly a decade, Asaf worked to advance the rights of the little "t" in LGBT. During that time, he represented transgender youth and their families in a wide range of legal matters including discrimination in schools, child custody disputes, child abuse and neglect, and access to affirming medical and mental health care. He was the lead attorney in Student v. Arcadia Unified School District, which resulted in a historic resolution acknowledging that Title IX protects transgender kids from discrimination in schools. Asaf has authored a number of resources on issues affecting transgender youth. After graduating magna cum laude from Rutgers School of Law in Newark in 2008, Asaf clerked for The Honorable Virginia A. Long on the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Featured CLE Program: August 13, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
CLE Workshops & More
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Ike Osaki - Isaac (Ike) Osaki is General Counsel of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region of Bank of America. Before assuming his current role, Mr. Osaki was General Counsel, Latin America and head of the legal team supporting the Global Rates and Currencies businesses, the regulatory reform and resolution planning efforts of Global Banking and Markets, and its traded products Agreements and Documentation Group. Mr. Osaki was formerly the Chief Compliance Officer of Global Wealth and Investment Management, composed of Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, co-chief compliance officer of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, the General Counsel of Merrill, and the head of the legal team supporting the fixed income origination businesses at Bank of America, including debt capital markets, leveraged finance, structured finance, credit derivatives, principal finance, leasing, and asset-based lending. Mr. Osaki joined Bank of America as assistant general counsel for Global Corporate and Investment Banking covering M&A advisory services and debt and equity capital markets. Mr. Osaki was an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in its corporate group and before that, the corporate group of Locke Lord. Mr. Osaki is a graduate of Rice University and Columbia Law School. He is a member of the New York and Texas bars and is FINRA Series 7, 14, and 24 registered.
Judge Tiffany Palmer - The Honorable Tiffany L. Palmer is a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, elected in November 2019 to a 10-year term where she serves in the Family Court Division. Prior to her election to the bench, she practiced law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for 20 years in the areas of LGBTQ family law, adoption and assisted reproductive technology law. Judge Palmer is a judicial fellow to the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys. Judge Palmer is the former Director of the Family Law Institute of the National LGBT Bar Association. Judge Palmer is the recipient of a number of honors and awards. In 2019, Judge Palmer received the Leading Practitioner Award from the National LGBT Bar Association, presented annually to honor an attorney for improving the lives of the members of the LGBTQ+ community through outstanding legal work or by leadership in significant impact litigation while engaged in the private practice of law. She was also awarded the 2019 Hazel Frank Gluck Award from the Center for American Women in Politics, presented annually to acknowledge the accomplishments of NEW Leadership™ New Jersey graduates who have emerged as inspiring advocates, candidates and community leaders. In 2018, Judge Palmer received the “Justice in Action Award” from the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia for her legal work on behalf of LGBT rights. In 2014, she received the Rutgers University School of Law Mary Philbrook Public Interest Award for her case work and pro bono service on behalf of advancing the rights of LGBT families in Pennsylvania. From 2000 to 2003, Judge Palmer was the first Legal Director at the Equality Advocates Pennsylvania/Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1998 to 2000, she was the Family Rights Project Attorney through an Equal Justice Works National Fellowship. She graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in 1998. She lives in Philadelphia with her wife of 20 years and their teenage daughter.
Judge Christopher Panos - Christopher Panos presides as associate judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Previously, he served as associate judge of the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City and Family Division Special Master of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City following a private practice of law at Klemkowski & Panos, P.A. A longtime member of the board of directors of the Judicial Institute of Maryland and its curriculum committee, Judge Panos was board liaison, coordinator and faculty member for numerous judicial education courses. He co-moderated the statewide 2017 New Trial Judge Orientation Refresher Course. Additional past memberships include the Maryland Judicial Conference Planning Committee, and the Domestic Violence and Custody Subcommittees of the Judicial Conference’s Family Law Committee. Judge Panos has been a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Baltimore City since 1990. He has co-chaired the Bench-Bar Committee of the BABC since 2017. Judge Panos’ additional bar-related activities include memberships on the MSBA Standing Committee on Professionalism, MSBA Family and Juvenile Law Section Council, past and present BABC Executive Council, and past chair of the BABC Family Law Committee. He is a Maryland Bar Foundation life fellow, a Baltimore Bar Foundation fellow and a member of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. Judge Panos was awarded a Juris Doctor in 1989 from the University of Baltimore, School of Law, a Master of Arts in 1984 from the University of Baltimore, Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts in 1980 from the University of Maryland at College Park, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Michael Pattarozzi - Michael Pattarozzi is an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney, Chicago, Illinois, the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation. Michael has been a prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for over 16 years and is currently assigned to the Felony Trial Division as the First Chair in a felony court room advocating for victims of violent crimes in the southern Chicago suburbs. Michael is actively involved in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group., which is part of the larger Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, and is an member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC).
Eric Paulk - Eric Paulk is a lawyer and advocate working on issues impacting LGBTQ communities and communities of people living with and vulnerable to HIV acquisition. He currently serves as Deputy Director at Georgia Equality and oversees all day-to-day operations, developing and managing local, state, and federal policy and advocacy activities that advance equity and fairness for LGBTQ communities and improves public and private responses to the HIV epidemic. Prior to joining Georgia Equality, Eric served as the Tyron Garner Fellow at Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest organization dedicated to advancing the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and individuals living with HIV. At Lambda Legal, Paulk’s work focused on HIV law and policy initiatives with an emphasis on legal issues disproportionately impacting Black LGBTQ communities. Eric has spoken at leading law schools and national advocacy conferences on HIV criminal reform, the impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on Black queer youth, and the intersections of race, poverty, HIV, and LGBTQ issues. He serves on the Board of the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, is a former Board Chair of GLSEN New York City and serves on the Fulton County Complete Count Commission. He is also an accomplished author publishing social commentary for online outlets including Huffington Post, Plus Magazine, The Atlanta Voice, The Atlanta Daily World, Project Q Magazine, and others. He is an NLC Fellow, former Victory Institute Victory Empowerment Fellow and Semi-Finalist for the Echoing Green Fellowship for Black Male Achievement. Most recently, Eric was named as one of the state’s top 40 leaders under 40 by Georgia Trend Magazine. Mr. Paulk is a graduate of Morehouse College and received his law degree from Pace University Law School.
CLE Workshops & More
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Samuel Pearson-Moore - Samuel is the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulations for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) , Office of General Counsel (OGC) and has worked at HUD for 7 years. Recently, Samuel was selected as a fellow for the President's Management Council Interagency Rotation Program meant to identify emerging leaders and expand their leadership competencies. As part of that program, Samuel served for 6-months as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' OGC. Samuel is also the Vice President of HUD's LGBT Affinity Group, HUD FedQ. Prior to his work in the Federal Government, Samuel attended American University Washington College of Law (WCL) where he graduated cum laude and was a member of the Society of Dispute Resolution, an editor for the American University International Law Review, the president of the Lambda Law Society, and the Diversity Chair for the Student Bar Association. Prior to law school, Samuel worked for the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest and graduated with a BA in Political Science from Augsburg College, in Minneapolis, MD. Samuel also served eight years in the United States Army Reserves, including a deployment to Iraq in 2003.
Nathan Peart - Nathan Peart is a Managing Director in our Associate Practice Group based in New York. An expert in cross-border relocation, Nathan works closely with associates to help them make lateral moves into law firms whether in New York City, on the East Coast or internationally. He is focused on providing excellent service to his law firm clients and supporting his candidates through every step of the recruitment process. Nathan is passionate about offering advice and guidance to associates who are interested in learning about the market and have a desire to take the next step in their careers. He is a regular writer and contributor to legal and national publications, including the American Lawyer, Forbes.com and Attorney at Law magazine. Nathan lives in New York City and enjoys going to the gym, cooking and traveling. Originally from London, he has traveled the world, living in Hong Kong, China and Moscow. Nathan speaks fluent Russian and Mandarin.
Kristen Pezone - Kristen Pezone is an employment attorney for Intel Corporation. Among other things, Kristen partners with the Intel Diversity & Inclusion team to support inclusion efforts and is currently focused on disability as well as examining the intersectionality of disability and other communities. Prior to joining Intel, Kristen worked for Marvell Semiconductor and Bingham McCutchen. She is a graduate of Occidental College and received her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law.
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (By Invitation Only): August 12, 2020 | 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (Sponsored by White & Case LLP)
VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (Sponsored by White & Case LLP)
Ashwin Phatak - Ashwin is an Appellate Counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center. Before joining CAC, Ashwin was an Attorney-Adviser at the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ashwin also served as a law clerk for Judge Patricia A. Millett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge Beverly B. Martin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Ashwin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2014, where he served as the Developments in the Law editor on the Harvard Law Review and argued in the finals of the Ames Moot Court Competition. He received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Tufts University in 2009.
Dr. Elyse Pine - Elyse Pine, MD is a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist and Trans Youth Lead Physician of the Gender JOY (Journeys of Youth) Program at Chase Brexton Health Care in Maryland. She earned her BA in English and Natural Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH, and her MD at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her pediatrics residency training at the Mount Sinai Hospital in NY and moved to the Baltimore area for fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Pine began working with gender diverse children and adolescents while serving as an assistant professor at University of Maryland Medical Center. Transgender care has been the most interesting, exciting and rewarding part of her clinical practice. The Gender JOY program serves over 1200 transgender and gender diverse youth from ages 4-26. Dr. Pine has published research and clinical articles related to transgender care and lectures frequently. She has served as an expert witness in legal cases involving medical decisions for transgender youth.
Jenn Protas - Jenn Protas is a shareholder at Hoge Fenton and helps employers navigate California’s numerous employment laws and defends employers with an eye toward successful, yet cost-effective resolution. Her practice focuses on matters related to wage and hour advice and litigation, employee leave issues, personnel management, HR investigations and trainings, and defense of wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation litigation. In addition, Jenn has substantial experience drafting employer policies, handbooks, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, separation agreements, and settlement agreements. Her practice also includes housing discrimination matters, and general litigation, including business disputes. Jenn is a frequent public speaker and regularly presents seminars and trainings on such employment issues as: annual legal updates, complex leave issues, complying with California wage and hour laws, and effective management of employees. She also provides legally-mandated anti-harassment trainings (AB 1825) and fair housing trainings at clients’ sites.
CLE Workshops & More
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
Jason Qu - Jason Z. Qu is the Managing Attorney for Nonprofit and Small Business Legal Assistance Programs at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center. Jason trains and counsels nonprofit leaders on a range of matters including corporate governance, tax law, employment law, and risk management, with a focus on both established and start-up organizations. Jason also coordinates legal clinics and certificate training programs, develops online legal resources, and facilitates matches between volunteer attorneys and D.C.-area nonprofits. Before joining the Pro Bono Center, Jason was an associate at a Hogan Lovells LLP where he represented pharmaceutical clients in government regulatory proceedings. Jason holds a JD from Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and an honors degree from the University of Toronto, with high distinction, where he coordinated an incubator for sustainable food and urban agriculture initiatives.
Jill Rose Quinn - Jill Rose Quinn has an extensive legal background, having worked in both the public and private sectors. She has a lifelong dedication to community service. Jill's private practice experience includes working at general legal practices, where she handled a wide variety of case types. Throughout her career, she handled over 4,000 cases and performed appellate work. Jill formed her own practice in 1997 and focused on helping neighborhood residents with financial challenges, family law matters, small business operations, probate and estate planning. Jill is a current candidate for Cook County Circuit Court Judge and is the first transgender candidate for judge in Illinois. Jill is one of the few transgender legal professionals in Chicago. While she is proud of the progress our society has made, Jill knows there remains a long way to go. Being transgender has taught Jill firsthand what it is like to be marginalized and the vital importance of treating all people with fairness, decency and compassion. Her perspective will be a true asset to the bench, and her service as judge will help every person in our community have a court system in which they can have the utmost confidence. She is a member of the National LGBT Bar Association and Chicago LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Robert Raben - Robert Raben, and the seventy or so people who have joined him in the unique public policy firm he created in 2002, works to drive public policy in a humane and sensible direction; to bring diversity and equity to the boardrooms and think tanks and corporations of America; to create a fair judiciary and to influence legislation that will broaden civil rights, reform our criminal justice system, and improve education for all our children. Nearly 30 years of professional experience as an attorney, senior Hill staffer, and Assistant Attorney General have given Robert a nuanced understanding of both the legal subtleties and the political realities of the issues he handles. In addition, he brings an aggressively bipartisan approach to the firm, built during a highly respected legislative career that began on Representative Barney Frank's staff and concluded with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde's endorsement of his Justice Department appointment. Robert served as counsel to Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic counsel for two Subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee; first on the Constitution, then on the Courts and Intellectual Property. In 1999, Robert's reputation and effectiveness caught the attention of the White House, earning him an appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and, subsequently, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs. After a unanimous confirmation vote by a Republican-controlled Senate, Robert was charged with overseeing Attorney General Janet Reno's legislative initiatives and handling extensive Congressional oversight of the department. Since 2002 he has run The Raben Group. He serves on the Boards of The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and former President Barack Obama’s My Brothers’ Keeper Alliance. Past Board Service includes the American Constitution Society, Alliance for Justice, and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project. He is a serial NGO entrepreneur, having formed the Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary, the Friends of the Museum of the American Latino, Green 2.0, Committee for a Fair Judiciary, the March on Washington Film Festival, and the Pasos Graduation ceremony for Latino law students. Robert is a native of Miami, and a graduate of the Wharton School and the New York University Law School.
General Attendance Session One: August 12, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Addressing Racial Equity within the LGBTQ+ Legal Community
Addressing Racial Equity within the LGBTQ+ Legal Community
Jennifer M. Rafferty -
Jennifer Rafferty is the Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Titan America LLC, a billion-dollar construction materials subsidiary of a Greek parent company. Jen has been with Titan for 17 years, and loves the wide breath of legal and business issues she handles on a daily basis. Prior to Titan, Jen was a busines and M&A lawyer with the regional law firm Willcox & Savage LLC in Norfolk, Virginia. Jen has advised on and actively participated in Covid-19 and business continuity issues for Titan from the beginning, tasked with tracking the many local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines that govern her company’s many “essential worker” sites from Florida to Massachusetts. Jen has also served on the Return to Office multidisciplinary task team for her company’s office employees, who have been working remotely since March. Jen received her Juris Doctorate from The University of Virginia, has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Boston College and received her undergraduate degree in English from St. Bonaventure University.
Ryan Rasdall -
Ryan Rasdall is a recent graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. During his time in law school, Ryan held numerous leadership positions such as co-chair of the Black Law Students Association, 1L Criminal Law TA and RA for two faculty members. His coursework focused on his area of passion: health law. Prior to law school, Ryan worked for four years at Lambda Legal in NYC as a Legal Assistant to the Transgender Right Project. Ryan has been a presenter at both the Philly Trans Health Conference and the CT Trans Lives Conference. Before joining Lambda Legal, he was a Patient Navigator at Harlem United Community AIDS Center where he provided direct health services to LGBTQ youth and adults living with HIV. Ryan received his BA in the Study of Women and Gender from Smith College in 2011. Currently Ryan sits on the board of the Jim Collins Foundation, a non profit that raises money for gender affirming surgeries for transgender people, and the National Transgender Bar Association. In his free time, Ryan enjoys listening to podcasts, hiking, and playing board games. After taking the Massachusetts Bar Exam this Fall, Ryan will be joining Goulston & Storrs in Boston, MA as an Associate.
Leila Raven - Leila Raven is a queer mama, community organizer, and prison abolitionist working to build safety for people in the sex trades through art, education, organizing, and resources. For the past 4 years, she has worked on campaigns to decriminalize sex work with Decrim NY and previously DecrimNow DC.
CLE Workshops & More
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Sayre Reece - Sayre Reece is the Senior Strategist for the National LGBTQ Task Force. Reece was the grassroots coordinator for the campaign against Proposition 8 in California (2008) and participated in or managed several ballot campaigns in other states. They were one of the key thinkers contributing to the successful grassroots strategy followed by marriage advocates in the 2012 ballot measures.
Fitzann Reid - Fitzann (Fitz) Reid is Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in San Francisco, CA. She conducts confidential investigations into potential violations of the federal securities laws. She is Co-Chair of the SEC’s LGBT employee resource group, serves on the SEC’s Digital Assets Specialized Working Group, and is member of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Interagency Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Prior to joining the SEC she worked in-house at Wells Fargo Advisors and clerked for two federal judges. As a first generation Jamaican-American who identifies as a gender nonconforming woman, she aims to increase the visibility of underrepresented lawyers working in finance through teaching and mentorship.
Elizabeth "Biz" Reilly -
Antonio Reynolds - A former Assistant United States Attorney, Antonio Reynolds represents companies, as well as their officers and directors, in a variety of civil and criminal enforcement matters before Congress and federal and state agencies. Through his pro bono work, he has been involved in a range of legal matters relating to family law and social justice, including serving as a guardian ad litem in child custody matters and representing youth in immigration matters.
CLE Workshops & More
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Quashing Hope: A Review of Recent Efforts to Disrupt the Participation of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the U.S. Foster Care System and their Forming of Families Through Adoption
Christopher R. Riano - Christopher R. Riano is the Executive Director for the nation's Center for Civic Education, and a Lecturer in Constitutional Law and Government at Columbia University. He is the co-author with Professor William N. Eskridge, Jr. of "Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws," which is forthcoming from Yale University Press in August, 2020. Previously, Riano served as Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New York for Education, Arts, and Constitutional Law, as the General Counsel of the New York State Liquor Authority, and as a Partner at Drohan Lee LLP.
Ethan Rice - Ethan Rice is the Senior Attorney for the Fair Courts Project at Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the rights of LGBT people and everyone living with HIV. The Fair Courts Project focuses its work on issues of judicial independence, judicial diversity, access to justice, and combating bias in the legal system. Ethan provides education to judges, attorneys, and court staff on access to justice for LGBT people and LGBT legal issues, including bias in jury selection. He has presented to the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges (Transgender Competency), Florida Conference of Circuit Judges (LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care), Kansas Best Practices in Child Welfare Law Series (LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care), Hennepin County, Minnesota Fall Bench Retreat (Anti-LGBT Bias in Jury Selection), and many other judicial and legal organizations. Ethan created a model curriculum for legal trainings on LGBT issues, Moving Beyond Bias: How to Ensure Access to Justice for LGBT People. Prior to coming to Lambda Legal, Ethan served as a staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF). Before joining TLDEF, he was a child welfare attorney in Florida for four years. Ethan is a member of the Judicial Committee of the LGBT Bar of Greater New York, a member of the National Association of State Judicial Educators, and a 2019 Recipient of the National LGBT Bar Association’s Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.
Brad Richter - Brad J. Richter is a partner and chair of the trusts and estates department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, resident in Fried Frank's New York office. Mr. Richter's practice focuses on all aspects of private client representation, including sophisticated tax and estate planning, administration of large estates and trusts, succession and business planning, and formation and operation of charitable foundations. He represents high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, the fiduciaries of estates and trusts, charitable organizations, family business owners, bankers and financial services personnel, private fund sponsors and principals, and others. He also represents clients engaging in litigation with the IRS or with third parties before the Surrogate's Court on contested tax and probate matters. Mr. Richter received his JD, cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the NYU Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College. He is admitted to the bar in New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Richter is a member of the American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate & Trusts Law Section; Taxation Section), New York State Bar Association (Trusts and Estates Law Section; Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section), New York County Lawyers Association (Estates, Trusts and Surrogate's Court Practice Section; previous: Committee on Pro Bono), and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committee on Estate and Gift Taxation; previous: Committee on Surrogate’s Courts).
DuVale Riley - Senior Diversity Recruiter, DuVale Riley, supports ICD&I resource development, training newly hired colleagues, strengthening relationships with national diversity partners and planning strategic diversity recruitment events. DuVale served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2011-13 after completing his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. As a youth development volunteer, DuVale helped expand a sense of civics within the community he served by encouraging youth and community members to express themselves through various clubs and activities.
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Victoria Rodriguez Roldan - Victoria is the Senior Policy Manager for AIDS United, where she brings her own unique lens to the fight against the HIV epidemic. Particular areas of expertise and focus are the intersections of issues affecting people living at the intersections of transgender identity, disability and mental illness from a social justice lens. She frequently speaks on discrimination issues impacting the trans and disability communities. She has been profiled in multiple national media outlets and has been published in multiple academic outlets. Prior to joining AIDS United, she was senior policy counsel at the National LGBTQ Task Force where she led the Trans/GNC Justice Project and the Disability Justice Project. She currently serves in the board of directors of HIPS, an organization dedicated to harm reduction for sex work and drug use in the District of Columbia and of Equality New York, New York State’s leading LGBTQ equality organization. Victoria holds a B.A. in psychology with honors from the University of Puerto Rico, and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in the Washington, DC area.
Judge Kristin Rosi - Judge Kristin L. Rosi has been on the bench since 2007 and serves as the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Insurance. Judge Rosi is also a Mental Health Hearing Officer for the Alameda County Superior Court and a Senior Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University. Judge Rosi is an active member of the National Association of Women Judges, serving as the Co-Chair of Administrative Judiciary Committee and Chair of the LGBTQ Committee. She also sits on the Board of the International Association of LGBTQ Judges, serving on their Education committee. Judge Rosi holds a position on The State Bar of California's Council on Access and Fairness as well as a position on the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association’s National Conference of Administrative Law Judiciary. Judge Rosi holds an A.B. from Smith College in Women’s Studies and Psychology, a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where she was a Public Interest Scholar, and will receive her Master’s in Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2020. Judge Rosi lives in the Bay Area and has a seven year old son.
Amir Sadeghi - Amir Sadeghi, National Policy and Partner Strategist, earned his Master of Arts in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. While at NSSR, he focused on political theory, social upheavals, and stages where biopower and state violence clashed. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Central Florida. Previously, he taught debate and public speaking with the Rikers Debate Project at detention facilities on Rikers Island, New York. He is an advocate for people who are incarcerated and answering the severe social costs to the criminal punishment system.
Cathy Sakimura - Cathy Sakimura is the Deputy Director and Family Law Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Cathy also founded and oversees NCLR’s Family Protection Project, which improves access to family law services for low-income LGBT parents and their children, with a focus on families of color. She received her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and her B.A. from Stanford University. In 2012, she was named one of the Best LGBT Lawyers under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. She is a co-author of the book Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family Law.
General Attendance Session Two: August 13, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Bamby Salcedo -
Ramsey Saleeby - Ramsey Robert Saleeby serves as Associated General Counsel and Associate Director for Legal Resources for the Association of Corporate Counsel. In this role, he provides legal counsel to ACC, as well as develops programming for ACC's various global in-person programs. Ramsey is also an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law teaching International Commercial Law, an advanced level law course, and serves on the board of advisors for the Journal of International Commercial Law. Prior to joining ACC, Ramsey served as General Counsel for Armantek, a technology company located in the suburbs of Washington, DC. His experience also includes counseling major financial institutions and the U.S. Government on trade finance and banking law and regulation. He has published and edited numerous books and articles on banking law and practice, with a focus on letters of credit, and served as the case editor for the monthly periodical, Documentary Credit World. He has spoken on these subjects at a number of global conferences, including workshops organized by the Commercial Law Development Program, U.S. Department of Commerce in Baghdad and Istanbul. Ramsey earned a BA from the University of Michigan and a JD degree from the George Mason University School of Law. He is currently an LLM candidate at King’s College London.
Sasha Samberg-Champion -
Sasha Samberg-Champion is Counsel at Relman Colfax PLLC, a civil rights law firm with a national practice based in Washington, D.C. His practice covers the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, and other civil rights laws, with an emphasis on appellate litigation. Sasha has helped develop and litigate a variety of groundbreaking cases, including litigation to establish a landlord’s responsibility to address discriminatory harassment by neighbors; challenges to municipal nuisance ordinances that deprive people of housing based on police calls; litigation to establish that people with disabilities have the right to receive service from such businesses as Uber and plasma donation centers; and litigation to protect various rights of LGBTQ people. During the Trump Administration, Sasha has played a key role in several challenges to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s attempts to roll back, delay, or outright deny important civil rights protections. Previously, he was a senior attorney in the Appellate Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where he litigated appeals regarding a wide range of civil rights issues, and an Assistant Solicitor General with the New York State Attorney General’s Office, with a wide-ranging appellate practice that included important decisions in wage-and-hour law and LGBTQ rights. He has argued dozens of appeals and filed briefs in many others, including in proceedings before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Haverford College and Columbia Law School, and a former clerk for the Hon. Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
CLE Workshops & More
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
Rose Saxe - Rose Saxe is a Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT & HIV Project. She has specialized in issues of employment and public accommodation discrimination, denial of medical care, family law issues, and the intersection of civil rights for LGBTQ people, and religious freedom and expression, through litigation and state and federal policy advocacy. She previously co-taught the Columbia Law School Gender & Sexuality Law Clinic. She clerked for Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Janet Bond Arterton on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Rose received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. from Georgetown University.
CLE Workshops & More
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Murray Scheel - Murray Scheel is a senior staff attorney at Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, DC, the nation's oldest medical-legal partnership, dedicated to queer and HIV health. He focuses on legal services and policy initiatives to address the needs of elderly individuals who are trans, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or genderqueer or living with HIV/AIDS. He came to Whitman-Walker Legal Services in 2013 from the firm of Karp, Wigodsky, Norwind, Kudel and Gold, where he served as a senior associate in civil litigation. Before private practice, he clerked for the Honorable Noël A. Kramer on the DC Superior Court and the Honorable Vanessa Ruiz on the DC Court of Appeals. During law school, he spent a summer internship with the National Lawyers Guild and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission developing draft protocols for the proper treatment of transgender prisoners in the local jails. Scheel graduated with honors from George Washington University Law School in 2003. He is a member of the Maryland and District of Columbia Bars.
Rebekah Scherr - Rebekah Scherr is an associate in Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP’s Corporate Department and a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions practice group. Rebekah’s practice is focused on advising U.S. and multinational clients on a range of antitrust and competition issues, with an emphasis on merger notification compliance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and globally. Rebekah also counsels clients in various industries with respect to general compliance with antitrust laws. Rebekah serves on Paul, Weiss’s Associate Committee, Inclusion Task Force, and as a Leader of the Pride@Work Network. Rebekah also serves on the Membership and Diversity Committee of the National LGBT Bar Association and on the Leadership Committee of OutNext Leadership.
Lateral Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Allison Scott - Allison is a proud Asheville native who attended Reynolds and Erwin High Schools as well as AB Tech. She is particularly passionate about community outreach, politics, activism, cares deeply about Asheville and its citizenry, and works daily at the local level to ensure that Asheville is a welcoming community for its minorities and traditionally marginalized populations. Allison identifies as a trans woman and uses She and Her pronouns. As part of her advocacy work she has developed and led numerous trainings for local organizations including medical practices, schools, churches, and businesses, established name-change clinics for trans people, conducted support groups, participated in panel discussions, interviews, and coordinated with local school systems, news agencies, and politicians regarding equality for LGBTQ people. In 2018 she was chosen by USA Today to be one of the 50 Faces of Pride for NC along with being a featured speaker for Creative Mornings. Allison also served as Chair of CPAC, the Asheville Citizen’s Police Advisory Council, for approximately three years working to help resolve issues that arise between the community and local law enforcement. She currently serves as Treasure for Girls Rock Asheville.
Featured CLE Program: August 13, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Nicole Seawright - Nicole serves as the City of Philadelphia Law Department Director of Professional Development, Diversity & Inclusion. In her role she reports to the First Deputy City Solicitor on a wide range of diversity and equity initiatives, within an agency comprised of 220 lawyers and 100 administrative staff members. Nicole is the former Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. As director, she guided efforts to cultivate an environment that valued and demonstrated the law school’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Nicole joined Cardozo after several years as a Staff Attorney with the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, a statewide non-profit agency, which provides legal services to low income individuals with mental health conditions. She has served as a member of the NAACP New Haven Legal Redress Committee and Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Multicultural Advisory Council. Nicole has presented nationally on cultural competency topics. She was awarded the 2020 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. She earned a B.A. from Fordham University and a J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law. She is a member of the Connecticut state bar.
CLE Workshops & More
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Training, Trainings, and More Trainings? Advancing LGBTQ+ Equity and Access to Justice through Professional Development for Law Schools, Private Firms, and Court Systems
Rachel Shalev - Rachel represents clients in high-stakes, complex litigation. She has argued appeals in the Fifth and Ninth Circuits and has been the lead drafter of briefs and dispositive motions in state courts, federal district courts, federal courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Rachel’s experience litigating and advising clients covers a wide range of substantive areas. She focuses in particular on tough questions of constitutional law, administrative law, and statutory interpretation. Rachel maintains an active pro bono practice in the areas of immigrant and women’s rights. Prior to joining Orrick, Rachel served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard of the D.C. Circuit, and Judge William A. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit. Rachel received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as a student director of the Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic and as Essays Editor of the Yale Law Journal. She graduated from Williams College and received master’s degrees from University College London and University of St. Andrews, both of which she attended as a Marshall Scholar.
Randall Shorr - Randy is an attorney in solo practice in Cleveland, Ohio. His law practice focuses on the representation of nonprofit and for-profit developers, housing authorities and lenders in affordable housing and other community development projects throughout Ohio and neighboring states. Randy received JD (cum laude) and MBA degrees from Case Western Reserve University, where he served as an Articles Editor of the Case Western Reserve Law Review. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1986, and established his solo practice in 1994. He has served on the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and on the boards of various nonprofit organizations. Randy has been a frequent speaker at affordable housing conferences and seminars, and currently serves as the liaison between the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law and Diversity Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
CLE Workshops & More
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
Katherine Silver - Tough, fearless, prepared, passionate about winning – these are just a few of the adjectives clients and colleagues use to describe Kathy Silver. A litigation attorney who focuses primarily on commercial litigation and oil and gaslitigation, Kathy has distinguished herself as a skilled trial lawyer who is absolutely dedicated to her clients’ success. As one colleague said, “Kathy Silver’s clients know that she tries very hard on the front end of a case to resolve it without going to trial in order to save them time and money. However, when clients do go to trial, she is one tough litigator, and her clients appreciate it.” Kathy has represented numerous large and small companies in complex commercial and contract disputes, both as plaintiffs and defendants. Kathy has defended a chemical company in high‐profile commercial disputes, including defending a significant matter brought by the Mexican national oil company against several U.S. energy and chemical companies related to claims of conversion of millions of dollars of alleged stolen hydrocarbons. She has handled lawsuits involving contractual and fiduciary duties between joint venturers in a natural gas field; duties owed by operators and working interest owners under joint operating agreements; express and implied covenants in oil and gas leases; royalty disputes; disputes regarding the purchase and sale of hydrocarbons, drainage claims; failed production tubing in a gas well; claims of lease termination, trespass, fraud, fraudulent inducement, and slander of title; and an arbitration involving post‐ closing accounting and title issues related to the purchase of oil and gas properties. In addition, Kathy has developed experience in health care litigation, representing a managed care company in benefit disputes and in disputes with health care providers related to allegations of underpayment of provider claims and breach of in‐ network contracts. Kathy also has developed experience in employment litigation and recently tried an employee theft case and two federal lawsuits involving claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
CLE Workshops & More
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Navigating Client Expectations: An Experiential Journey for Diverse Practitioners
Ames Simmons - Ames Simmons is a queer white trans man serving as Equality NC's Policy Director. He is a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke Law School and a member of the national advisory council for the SAGE/HRC Long-Term Care Equality Index. He provides vision and strategic direction for Equality NC's policy and advocacy agenda with the North Carolina General Assembly and the state's executive branch and administrative agencies. He also works with local governments and federal policymakers to achieve Equality NC's mission of health, equity and safety for all LGBTQ North Carolinians. His work is rooted in community-based efforts prioritizing anti-violence, anti-oppression and transgender justice. Ames attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, and Emory University Law School, where he earned a juris doctor degree. He previously served for almost two decades as in-house counsel at a healthcare consulting company based in Atlanta. Ames is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and Georgia.
Libby Skarin - Libby Skarin is the policy director of the ACLU of South Dakota and has served in this role since 2014. As policy director, Libby develops and implements strategies to advance civil rights and civil liberties throughout the state. Libby helped organize opposition to HB1057 and other anti-trans bills in South Dakota.
Featured CLE Program: August 13, 2020 | 2:15 pm - 3:45 pmCLE Workshops & More
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Why Trans Kids, Why Now: The Reactionary Attack on Transgender Rights
Shelly Skeen - Shelly has practiced law in state and federal courts, including the Texas and United States Supreme Courts, for 20 years. Shelly is a mediator and arbitrator as well earning a Diploma in International Arbitration from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London. She is a frequent speaker and author on LGBT law and online free speech. Shelly recently earned an LL.M. in Constitutional Law and Law & Sexuality from UCLA School of Law and is now a Senior Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal, whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and policy work. Shelly also teaches LGBT law as an adjunct professor in Texas.
CLE Workshops & More
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Beyond the “Litigation” Mindset: How to Effectuate Lasting Change Inside and Outside the Courtroom in Hostile Jurisdictions
Paul Smith - Paul M. Smith is also the Vice President for Litigation and Strategy at the Campaign Legal Center. Until 2017 he was in private practice at the firm of Jenner & Block LLP. He had an active appellate practice for several decades, including oral arguments in 21 Supreme Court cases in a wide range of cases but emphasizing civil rights and civil liberties issues. Among his important victories have been Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark gay rights case, and Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n, establishing the First Amendment rights of those who produce and sell video games. Professor Smith also argued a long list of voting rights cases in the Supreme Court. Chambers USA has repeatedly named Professor Smith one of the country’s leading lawyers in appellate litigation, media and entertainment law, and First Amendment litigation for multiple years. In 2010, The National Law Journal named him one of the “Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers,” and the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice gave him its prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award for his work promoting civil rights and civil liberties. He has won similar awards from the American Constitution Society, the DC Bar, the Legal Aid Society of DC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Human Rights Campaign. In 2015 Professor Smith received an honorary degree from his alma mater, Amherst College. He is a board member and former President of the D.C. Bar Foundation, a Trustee of Amherst College, and a board member of EPIC, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Castleton Festival. Professor Smith attended Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal, and then clerked for Judge James Oakes on the Second Circuit and Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Fred Smith Jr. - Fred Smith Jr. is associate professor at Emory University School of Law. He is a scholar of the federal judiciary and constitutional law. In 2019, he was named the law school’s Outstanding Professor of the Year. Smith clerked for Judge Myron Thompson of the Middle District of Alabama; Judge Barrington D. Parker, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Supreme Court. Prior to teaching, he also worked as a fellow for a litigation boutique, Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore LLP in Atlanta. Smith's research focuses on accountability, federal jurisdiction, and state sovereignty. His work has appeared in Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Columbia Law Review, New York University Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review and Fordham Law Review. Notable articles include: “The Constitution After Death,” 121 Colum. L. Rev. (forthcoming); “Abstention in the Time of Ferguson,” 131 Harv. L. Rev. 2283 (2018); "Undemocratic Restraint," 69 Vand. L. Rev. 845 (2017); "Local Sovereign Immunity," 116 Colum. L. Rev. 409 (2016), and "Due Process, Republicanism, and Direct Democracy," 89 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 582 (2014). He has given lectures on related topics across the United States and internationally, including in Istanbul, Shanghai, and Warsaw. He also has been interviewed as an expert by major media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and various affiliates of National Public Radio. Smith earned his JD from Stanford Law School in 2007. At Stanford, he was a member of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic; was a finalist in the annual Kirkwood Moot Court Competition; was a finalist in the American Constitution Society's national Moot Court Competition; served as president of the Black Law Students Association; and served as articles editor for the Stanford Law and Policy Review. In 2004, he received his BA with Honors from Harvard College; his thesis was awarded magna cum laude.
CLE Workshops & More
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Demands for Religious Accommodation from Non-Discrimination Laws: A Comparative Approach Among the United States and Other Western Democracies
Emily Smith-Reid - Emily Smith-Reid is a Deputy General Counsel at HSBC. She splits her time between two roles: general counsel support for the Global Retail Banking business; and Global Head of competition law for all HSBC business lines and regions. She sits on the Group Legal Risk Executive Committee, which oversees legal risk management across the whole organization. She is also chair of the legal Diversity & Inclusion ambassadors network. Emily joined HSBC in 2001 and prior to that spent c. 7 years at British Telecom in London as senior competition and regulatory counsel. Whilst at BT she also spent 3 years outside of legal, working in purely business roles in new product development and corporate strategy. Emily qualified into the Antitrust, Competition & Trade team at Freshfields in 2000. During this time she worked in their London, Washington, DC and Singapore offices and gained broad experience working for blue-chip clients in a diverse range of industry sectors sectors. Outside HSBC, Emily is a trustee of the international charity Consortium for Street Children. She is married to her wife, Rosalind, and has two children.
Jorge Soto - As Director of Public Policy, Jorge Andres Soto is responsible for advancing NFHA's public policy priorities and directing the organization federal and congressional advocacy. Through local and national coalition-building, Mr. Soto designs strategies to advocate for policies that help protect individuals from housing discrimination, strengthen access to justice for victims of housing discrimination, and remove obstacles to housing opportunity. He leads NFHA's efforts on issues concerning the federal budget and appropriations, housing and housing-related legislation, and executive nominations. Mr. Soto also staffs the Fair Housing & Lending Task Force of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which NFHA co-chairs with NAACP LDF. He also serves on the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center's Policy and Research Council. Mr. Soto is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a double major in History and American Studies.
CLE Workshops & More
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
The State of Housing Law: Affordable Housing Policy and Development for LGBTQ Communities
Tamika Spellman - Tamika Spellman began working with HIPS in June 2017. She started volunteering with mobile services, then as a peer educator and then with the secondary syringe exchange program. She is dedicated to helping and working to create positive policies and laws to help those engaging in sex work and drug use. She’s testified on behalf of HIPS at DC city council hearings, spoken on several harm reduction panels, and is managing SWAC (DECRIMNOW). She also serves as an advisor to the Sex Worker Giving Circle, the Chosen Few, No Justice No Pride, is a member of the Urban Survivors Union, and a board member for the Church Of Safe Injection-Bangor Maine. She also has featured op eds in The Root and Medium, appears in several articles and is the recipient of an award from the Legal Society of Washington D.C. for work on the fare evasion bill. Also advised congressional members Ro Khanna and Ayanna Pressely on proposed legislation. HIPS is extremely honored to have Tamika as our Policy and Advocacy Associate.
John Francis Stephens -
As lead counsel for data privacy, cyber and live entertainment at Hendricks Law, P.C., John Stephens stands at the forefront of information privacy, digital marketing, new media and entertainment-related legal issues. He is known for his wide-ranging practice covering data security, intellectual property licensing, specialty insurance coverage and litigation, and media and entertainment transactions and litigation, plus numerous and varied matters involving live music festivals. Mr. Stephens represents media entities, national and worldwide entertainment and sports companies, magazines, television and radio stations, production companies, entertainment technology companies, computer technology companies, and online content and software providers. He also has served clients in manufacturing and the financial and insurance industries. Prior to joining Hendricks Law, Mr. Stephens spent nearly 20 years as a media and entertainment litigator and trial attorney at Sedgwick LLP, chairing the Cybersecurity & Privacy Group, as well as the Live Entertainment Group. Mr. Stephens obtained his CIPP(US) in 2016 and since that time has represented a wide myriad of clients regarding various cyber and data privacy issues. Mr. Stephens was elected to the board of directors of the National LGBT Bar Association, in 2016, and he served as co-chair and treasurer on the national board of directors for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) from 2010–2013. He also was the chair of the diversity committee of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association, as well as a chair of the diversity committee of the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section.
Michael Stevens - As an employee benefits litigator, Michael is keenly aware that every case he litigates for a client not only impacts the individual plaintiff, but can also become precedent for other employees and potential claimants. Thus, Michael views every case as an opportunity to be a business partner for his clients, and his goal is to always best protect their interests over the long term. Michael's practice focuses on ERISA, and he has litigated extensively on behalf of welfare, pension, and severance plans. He is experienced in defending both single-plaintiff and class actions. His practice emphasizes protecting health and welfare plans from medical fraud, and he has both defended health care claims against lawsuits from malfeasant health care providers, and also prosecuted claims on behalf of payors. Michael has more than a decade of experience navigating complex litigation, from pre-complaint negotiations to try to resolve disputes without litigation, through all phases of the litigation life cycle. Michael is experienced in bet-the-company litigation, where millions of dollars can be at stake. While Michael's practice is mostly defense-side, he is also experienced in plaintiff-side work, where existing clients have unique needs requiring counsel who are already familiar with their business operations. In addition, prior to joining Seyfarth, Michael practiced antitrust and competition litigation at another large firm. Michael brings extensive experience in case valuation and measuring damages. He understands that litigation is often a business decision, and he is skilled at preparing case assessments that measure the risk of liability, and the magnitude of damages, weighed against the prospects of future litigation. Michael has successfully resolved large cases where his clients faced eight or nine figures of damages for just pennies on the dollar. Michael has also succeeded in plaintiff-side work for health care plans, recovering large sums of money misspent by the plans' vendors. Michael is committed to pro bono advocacy, especially in the immigration context. He has successfully achieved asylum and lawful permanent residency for LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants from Central America. Michael believes in taking advantage of 21st century technology to ensure that clients are always up-to-date on case developments, and makes extensive use of data visualization technology to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of cases.
Zaylore Stout - Zaylore Stout, Esq. received his B.A. from Cal State Fullerton in International Business Management and J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He served as an outsourced human-resource consultant for 12-years prior to attending law school. Upon graduation he founded, Zaylore Stout & Associates, LLC (ZSA), which handles employment law matters which include sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage & hour disputes. ZSA is a MBE, LGBTBE, and DOBE. Zaylore's a former candidate for city council in St. Louis Park and member of the city's Human Rights Commission. Zaylore is both domestically and internationally published, with his most recent book Our Gay History in 50 States selling thousands since its publication in October 2019. The book highlights the significant people, places, and "queer facts" relating to LGBTQIA history on a state-by-state basis. Zaylore has received many honors during the course of his career including but not limited to the Business of Pride Award through the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the Lavender Magazine Community Award, and serving as the co-emcee for the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers annual gala.
CLE Workshops & More
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Brennan Suen - Brennan Suen is the LGBTQ program director at Media Matters, where he has worked since July 2015. Brennan and his team monitor and research media coverage of LGBTQ issues and related narratives with a focus on dismantling conservative misinformation harmful to the LGBTQ community. He produces and edits in-depth analysis, rapid response, and data-based studies on media coverage and conducts extensive research into anti-LGBTQ groups and media figures. He has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.
General Attendance Session Two: August 13, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Kasey Suffredini - Kasey Suffredini (he/him) is a nationally recognized campaign strategist and expert on LGBTQ issues and advocacy with 20 years of experience in campaign management, policy development, strategic communications, and grassroots mobilization. With a track record of designing campaigns that change narratives, pass legislation, win ballot measures, and drive momentum on seemingly intractable issues, Kasey’s campaign leadership has resulted in over 100 policy reforms at the state and federal levels. As CEO and National Campaign Director at Freedom for All Americans, Kasey has been the chief architect of bipartisan campaigns to successfully secure a number of national firsts. These wins include passing the country’s first standalone statewide transgender public accommodations law, passing comprehensive statewide transgender nondiscrimination protections for the first time in a Republican-controlled state, and passing comprehensive statewide LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections for the first time in the South. From 2016-2018, Kasey co-chaired the historic, award-winning Freedom for All Massachusetts / Yes on 3 ballot campaign, winning the first statewide popular vote on transgender rights in U.S. history by a landslide two-thirds margin (68-32%). Kasey is a sought-after speaker on issue campaign strategy and LGBTQ advocacy and has been honored by the New Leaders Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Harvard Law School. A transgender attorney, Kasey served as President of the National LGBT Bar Association from 2004-2005 and was a member of its inaugural class of Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 in 2010. Kasey received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He resides in Long Beach, California with his wife, Kristina Bigdeli.
General Attendance Session Two: August 13, 2020 | 12:30 pm - 2:00 pmCLE Workshops & More
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Fighting The Rise of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legal Groups
Krisztina Szabo - Krisztina Szabo (she/her/hers) is a Staff Attorney at Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center that specializes in HIV and LGBTQ care and offers wrap-around legal services to achieve optimal health outcomes. Krisztina represents clients on a variety of legal issues, including access to healthcare and public benefits, such as SSI/SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare, and other public assistance programs. Krisztina also facilitates transgender clients' access to gender-affirming care through appealing insurance coverage denials, filing administrative complaints, and challenging discriminatory employee health benefits. In addition, Krisztina helps transgender clients with name and gender on their ID documents, and also offers representation in employment or public accommodation discrimination cases. Prior to joining WWH, Krisztina worked at Ayuda and at the National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project, where she assisted and advocated for immigrant survivors of violence. Krisztina received her law degree from Charleston School of Law and graduated with distinction from the American University Washington College of Law's Law and Government LLM Program. She is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia Bars.
Emmelia Talarico - Emmelia Augusta Smith Ruiz Talarico, started organizing at 19 and is now the director of NoJusticeNoPride.org, a collective of organizers and activists fighting to liberate queer and trans people, Talarico and their staff work endless hours to ensure its success — all without a dime of government dollars. The organization also runs a safe house in D.C. for young trans women of color and sex workers, offering food, housing, counseling, and emotional support that includes a leadership development program for those eager to learn. After the 2016 election, it became clear to Talarico and other non-binary trans folks like them that they would have to fend for themselves. Recently, Talarico helped to raise $40,000 for the organization. All of that money goes directly to the needs of Black and Brown trans sex workers struggling with housing security.
Dr. Suegee Tamar-Mattis -
CLE Workshops & More
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Aaron Tax - Aaron Tax is the Director of Advocacy for SAGE. He advocates for LGBT-inclusive federal aging policies that account for the unique needs of LGBT older adults. Until June 2011, Aaron served as the Legal Director at Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the leading organization challenging "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) in Congress and in the courts. He started there as a staff attorney in 2006, and for nearly five years at SLDN, he took part in a multifaceted approach to advancing the civil rights of LGBT servicemembers through law, policy, outreach, and education. As the Legal Director, Aaron was responsible for running the legal services program at SLDN, the only organization providing free legal services to service members impacted by DADT and related forms of discrimination, including those who are HIV positive and/or transgender. Prior to joining SLDN, Aaron spent three years working for the Department of the Army in the Office of EEO and Civil Rights, the first two years as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). As a PMF, he worked for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, V Corps, Heidelberg, Germany, and served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where he tried more than two dozen cases. A graduate of Cornell University with honors and distinction and the George Washington University Law School with honors, he currently resides in Washington, DC.
Marcel Taylor -
Jorge Tenreiro - Jorge G. Tenreiro is a Senior Trial Counsel in the Division of Enforcement of the SEC, New York Regional Office. Mr. Tenreiro has significant experience litigating various matters brought by the agency, including fraudulent offerings, pump and dump schemes, and matters in the digital asset space, including by filing and leading the litigation in the SEC’s first two ICO scam cases. Prior to joining the SEC in December 2013, Mr. Tenreiro was a law clerk for the Honorable Julio M. Fuentes for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a law clerk to the Honorable Allyne R. Ross of the Eastern District of New York. From October 2006 to August 2007 and from September 2008 to August 2012, Mr. Tenreiro was an associate in the litigation department of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP. Mr. Tenreiro is a 2006 graduate of Yale Law School where he was awarded the William K.S. Wang Prize for best performance in contracts and Harlan Stone Prize for Moot Court competition semi-finalists. In May 2003, Mr. Tenreiro obtained his B.A., magna cum laude with distinction in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University. He was Phi Beta Kappa and also received the Henry M. Nodelman Scholarship for Excellence in Sciences. Throughout his career, Mr. Tenreiro has devoted significant time to matters of interest to the LGBTQ community. As a law student, Mr. Tenreiro joined a suit in the District of Connecticut against the Department of Defense’s enforcement of the Solomon Amendment, requiring law schools to permit military recruiters on campus despite the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. In 2009, Mr. Tenreiro was co-counsel in lawsuit securing a victory at summary judgment under the ADA on behalf of an HIV+ teenager denied admission to a basketball summer camp on the basis of his HIV-status. In 2011, Mr. Tenreiro authored an amicus brief in support of the law school in the Supreme Court case Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which recognized the school’s ability to impose rules barring discrimination against LGBTQ individuals on law school student groups. In 2012, Mr. Tenreiro co-authored a brief in support of a disabled veteran’s request for same-sex spousal benefits before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Tenreiro served as a member of the LGBT Committee of the New York City Bar.
Dean Kellye Testy - Kellye Y. Testy is the president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admission Council, where she leads the organization in its committed efforts to build a more just and prosperous world. Testy joined LSAC after leading the University of Washington School of Law for eight years as the school’s first female dean. She is a nationally sought-after speaker and consultant on legal and higher education, leadership, diversity and access, and corporate law and governance, and has received numerous honors and awards for her teaching, leadership, and service. Testy earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, and her law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington. She currently serves on the boards of the Washington Law Institute and LSSSE.
Paul Thaler -
Paul is the Director of Development at Reaching Out MBA, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that educates, inspires, and connects the LGBTQ+ MBA community. Paul has substantial experience in fundraising, LGBTQ+ non-profit leadership, and law. Prior to Reaching Out, Paul served as the Director of External Affairs for the National LGBT Bar Association and Foundation. He was responsible for maintaining relationships with the organization’s internal and external constituents, which included corporations and law firms, as well as overseeing the Bar’s membership efforts. Paul has experience speaking on a number of issues related to LGBTQ+ rights and the law. Paul previously worked with students in higher education, having served as the Assistant Director of the Law Career Development Office at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Prior to that, Paul worked as an attorney for two litigation firms in the Baltimore area. Paul received his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College.
Lateral Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates
Fred Thrasher -
Law Student Career Planning Program: August 14, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students
Diane Thu-Thao Rhodes - Diana Thu-Thao Rhodes is the Director of Public Policy, where she oversees Advocates' international, federal and state policy strategy and advocacy efforts on a wide range of reproductive and sexual health/rights/justice issues that affect young people. Since being at Advocates, she has managed the Cultural Advocacy and Mobilization Initiative (CAMI) where she assisted state partners and youth activists in building advocacy strategies and passing proactive sex education policies, including in Colorado and Broward County, Florida; provided policy technical assistance to over 25 state partner organizations and coalitions; as well as leading federal policy work, including direct lobbying and education efforts on the Hill and with the Administration. Her expertise and work at Advocates continues to be working with coalitions, advocates and youth activists on policy analysis, policy advocacy strategy, grassroots campaigns, and youth/adult partnerships. She currently sits as co-chair of the Federal Sex Ed Coalition and serves on the Steering Committee for Take Root: Reproductive Justice in Red States. Diana has been working in social justice movements for nearly a decade - with both grassroots and grasstops stakeholders - primarily around issues that affect women, young people, communities of color, and the LGTBQ community. Prior to Advocates, Diana worked for the Center for Women Policy Studies, working directly with women state legislators and Members of Parliament, facilitating strategic planning sessions and providing policy technical assistance on women's human rights. Her passions lie in facilitating and creating intentional spaces for not only social justice, but also for creativity and radical self-expression. She holds an M.A. from George Washington University in Public Policy with a concentration in Women's Studies, as well as a B.A. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Sociology and Women's Studies.
CLE Workshops & More
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBTQ-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula
Karla Torres - Karla Torres serves as Senior Human Rights Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights and leads the Center's work on Assisted Reproduction in the U.S., which focuses on infertility and access to infertility care, including IVF, gestational surrogacy, and embryo personhood and custody disputes. Previously, Karla served as a Program Officer at Equality Now where she worked to expose human rights violations against women and girls in the Americas and to promote legal frameworks to protect against them. Earlier, she was the Assistant Director of the Reproductive Rights Initiative at the New Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network where she managed a national advocacy project to ensure the reproductive and sexual health and rights of children, adolescents, and women in India. Karla received her JD from American University's Washington College of Law and her M.A. in International Politics from American's School of International Service.
Alex Touma - Alex is a partner in the Technology Transactions Practice within the Firm's Intellectual Property Group. Alex specializes in transactions and counseling involving intellectual property and technology. Alex represents companies of all sizes and in a variety of industries including software, semiconductor and mobile technology companies. He also advises companies on technology related matters including development and licensing agreements, manufacturing and supply agreements, distribution agreements, hosting agreements and sourcing transactions. Prior to working at the Firm, Alex served as Senior Counsel for a Bay Area technology startup where he focused on commercial and intellectual property law matters including drafting and negotiating a variety of technology agreements, managing patent and trademark portfolios, and providing general legal advice on intellectual property matters such as open source, trade secret, copyright, patent, and privacy issues. Alex's prior experience also includes working at a leading global law firm as an intellectual property litigation associate representing technology companies. Before starting his law career, Alex obtained a Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science and briefly worked as an automation engineer. This prior experience gives Alex a unique viewpoint, which he is able to leverage in his transactional practice.
Jared Trujillo - Jared serves as the President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, a union of 10 non-profits in New York that represents lawyers, paralegals, and social workers that focus on criminal defense, immigration, juvenile rights, parent defense, and employment. In this role he negotiates collective bargaining agreements, drafts legislation, and he leads the organization’s legislative and advocacy efforts. Additionally, he is a Steering Committee member of Decrim NY, an organization that advocates for the decriminalization of sex work and the empowerment of sex workers.
CLE Workshops & More
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Strolling the Halls of Power: Interjurisdictional Lessons from the Legislative Efforts to Decriminalize Sex Work
Sara Tucker - Sara Deskins Tucker is a Partner in the Atlanta office of Womble Bond Dickinson. She focuses her practice on helping life sciences companies defend product liability lawsuits across the country. She also provides consulting advice related to product liability risk and mitigation strategies.
Ilona Turner - Ilona Turner is a mediator and arbitrator and conducts workplace investigations and trainings with the Law Offices of Amy Oppenheimer. Ilona has extensive experience with employment law, having spent 12 years litigating civil rights cases before becoming a full-time neutral in 2018. She was the legal director of the Transgender Law Center from 2012 to 2017. Ilona has authored numerous articles and book chapters on LGBT legal issues and teaches a class on Law and Sexuality at the University of California, Berkeley.
CLE Workshops & More
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
Wayne Turner - Wayne Turner (he/him/his) is a senior attorney in the National Health Law Program's (NHeLP) Washington, DC office, and also teaches a seminar class on LGBT Health Law and Policy at Georgetown Law School. Wayne focuses on consumer protections in Medicaid managed care, Medicaid eligibility methodologies, prescription drug access, and nondiscrimination protections in health care. He is the principal author of several guides for legal advocates, and was the principal attorney in an HIV discrimination case that NHeLP initiated at the HHS Office for civil rights in 2014. Before making the transition to a legal career, Wayne spent more than a decade as an HIV/AIDS activist and is a founding member of the direct-action group ACT UP in Washington, DC. He also served as the primary organizer of DC's medical marijuana Initiative 59, which was approved by 69% of District voters in 1998. Wayne earned his B.A. at Reed College and graduated magna cum laude from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. He is featured in the 2011 PBS documentary, Out in America, in which he describes the impact of the HIV pandemic through his personal experience as a caregiver for his life partner Steve Michael, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1998.
Adam Unikowsky - Adam G. Unikowsky is a partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice at Jenner & Block. Since 2016, he has won eight Supreme Court cases as lead counsel. He also handles high-stakes appellate and district court litigation in numerous areas of law. Mr. Unikowsky litigates cases in the US Supreme Court, appellate courts, trial courts and administrative agencies. At the US Supreme Court, he has won eight cases as lead counsel. In six of those cases, Mr. Unikowsky represented the petitioner and filed a successful petition for certiorari. He has been recognized by "Empirical SCOTUS" as the lawyer in the United States with the highest statistical rate of success in Supreme Court merits cases; he has also separately been recognized by "Empirical SCOTUS" as the lawyer in the United States with the highest statistical rate of success at obtaining grants of certiorari. In 2017, he argued three cases within a 28-day span, leading to unanimous victories in all three. Mr. Unikowsky is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court. He is admitted to practice in the state of New York and the District of Columbia.
CLE Workshops & More
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Kenneth Upton - Kenneth Upton is Senior Litigation Counsel for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. With more than 30 years of trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts across the country, Kenneth participates in cases involving the misuse of religion, primarily by government and majoritarian denominations, to justify discrimination that harms or disadvantages others, including LGBTQ people. His docket includes litigation concerning the US Department of Health and Human Service's 2019 denial-of-care rule threatening healthcare for marginalized communities, challenges to government-sanctioned religious discrimination in state and federal foster care programs, and suits pushing back against improper exemptions that would allow businesses to discriminate in the provision of goods and services in public accommodations. Prior to joining AU, he served as Senior Counsel for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV.
CLE Workshops & More
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Emerging Trends: Will the Supreme Court Strengthen Religion to Slow LGBTQ+ Advances?
Kristina Vaquera - Kristina H. Vaquera is a Shareholder in the Norfolk office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses exclusively on labor and employment counseling and litigation. Ms. Vaquera represents employers in federal and state court lawsuits and agency investigations and charges covering a wide range of statutes and subjects, including anti-discrimination and civil rights laws, wrongful termination claims, wage and hour laws, covenants not to compete, leave of absence claims, negligent hire/retention, and breaches of fiduciary duty and contract. Ms. Vaquera has litigated class and collective actions, including FLSA, FCRA, and discrimination class actions. She also represents clients in mediation and arbitration before various national and state entities. As part of Ms. Vaqueras counseling practice, she provides daily counseling and training to management to help employers avoid litigation. She assists clients with employment agreements, handbooks, background checks and drug testing issues, and disciplinary action. She represents employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Department of Labor, and numerous state agencies, such as the Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, Virginia Department of Housing Discrimination, and Virginia Workers Compensation Commission. Ms. Vaquera speaks extensively on various employment topics, including to the Society of Human Resource Managers, Virginia State Bar Labor and Employment Section, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Virginia Employment Commission, International Professional Managers Association, Virginia Government Contract Attorneys Association, PINK! Women Business Owners Conference, Public Media Business Association, and the Retail Association of Hampton Roads. She lives in Hampton Roads with her family.
Judge Javier Vargas - The Honorable Javier E. Vargas is a Judge in the Family Court of the State of New York, Kings County, appointed in 2015. Between 2013 and 2015, Judge Vargas served as a Civil Court Judge assigned to the Housing Part in Bronx County. Prior thereto, Judge Vargas served with distinction for the New York State Unified Court System since 1993 in various capacities, including Senior Court Attorney at the New York State Court of Appeals; Principal Law Clerk in Supreme Court and Appellate Division; and Chief Court Attorney for the NYS Supreme Court’s Appellate Term. Judge Vargas received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, law degree from SUNY Buffalo, School of Law, and a Masters of Law degree from New York University School of Law in 1993. Judge Vargas is actively involved with the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the Latino Judges Association, and the International Association of LGBTQ Judges, where he is a board member. Among the various positions he has held are as HNBA-NY Regional Deputy President for several years, President-Elect of the Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA), Co-Founder of HNBA LGBT Division, Chair of the HNBA Law School-Sin Limites, and Chair of the PRBA Scholarship Fund Selection Committee, working with a team selecting hundreds of recipients of law student scholarships. Judge Vargas has received several accolades, including the 2020 OutLaw Award from SUNY at Buffalo Law School, 2018 Spirit Award by the Cervantes Society, 2017 HNBA Latino Judge of the Year and the 2016 Special Recognition Award by the National Hispanic Pre-Law Conference. He is dedicated to a number of other charitable and cultural organizations, such as the Volunteer Lawyers Project, as well as professional bar associations, the New York City Bar Association and the LGBT Bar Association of New York.
Arun Venkataraman - Arun Venkataraman is Senior Director, Head of International Affairs, advancing Visa's global government engagement strategy on a range of international policy issues including digital economy, trade, tax and sanctions. Prior to joining Visa, he was Trade & Investment Policy Advisor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he counseled multinational firms and other organizations on e-commerce, intellectual property rights, and U.S. and foreign trade policies. Arun has more than 15 years of experience advising officials at the highest levels of government on trade and economic policy, including in the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Commerce, and as a Legal Officer in the World Trade Organization. As the first ever Director of Policy at the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, Arun helped shape the US government's responses to critical challenges faced by firms in the US and in markets around the world, including China and India, and led the International Trade Administration's efforts to conclude negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and secure passage of Trade Promotion Authority legislation. Prior to serving at the Department of Commerce, Arun spent several years in policy and legal roles at the Office of the US Trade Representative. Arun led the development and implementation of US-India trade policy as the Director for India, and, as Associate General Counsel, represented the United States in litigation before the World Trade Organization and in negotiations on international trade agreements. Arun also served as a Legal Officer for the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO, advising the seven Members of the Appellate Body on a wide range of issues raised in appeals of trade disputes between countries. Arun holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a B.A. in International Relations and French Literature from Tufts University.
CLE Workshops & More
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Breaking Down More Than Just Trade Barriers: The Inclusion of Human Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements
Denise Visconti - Denise M. Visconti handles a broad variety of employment litigation matters, most often stemming from claims arising under the California Labor Code and the Fair Labor Standards Act, alleging overtime misclassification and other wage and hour violations. She also has experience with single-plaintiff claims involving: wrongful termination, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, and accommodation. A large portion of her practice involves the defense of clients in class action litigation, particularly in wage and hour matters, along with representative actions and private attorney general matters. Denise also has extensive experience conducting pay equity audits for all types of employers, from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies, and helped develop the Littler Pay Equity Assessment™, including counseling employers on a broad range of state and federal issues related to pay equity, from compliance, to updating policies and job descriptions, to training managers and recruiters, and more. She appears in state and federal courts and has handled arbitrations in various forums, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the American Arbitration Association, and JAMS. She is particularly familiar with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to gender identity and expression. Denise regularly provides advice and counseling to clients regarding gender identity and gender expression-related issues, gender transitions in the workplace, and various issues relating to domestic partnerships and same-sex couples. She also has given a number of presentations to human resource professionals, managers, and employees on valuing diversity and creating and maintaining a diverse workplace. Denise works with a diverse group of clients, including bioscience companies, computer technology companies, healthcare organizations, retail establishments, and airlines. Denise previously served as the San Diego Office Managing Shareholder. Prior to that, she served as the San Diego Office representative of the Associates Committee. Prior to joining Littler Mendelson in January 2004, Denise served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Louisa S. Porter, Presiding Magistrate Judge, Southern District of California and also served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Peter A. Nowinski, Eastern District of California. She spent her third year of law school working in the Immigration and Human Rights Legal Clinic helping newly-arriving immigrants obtain political asylum. She also was student director for the Legislative Journal.
Dylan Waguespack - Dylan Waguespack is the Public Policy and External Affairs Director at True Colors United, where he develops, directs, and implements their federal, state, and local regulatory and legislative public policy agenda. He currently serves as a co-chair of the National Policy Coalition of the Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign, a group that fights federal policy efforts that seek to grant government-funded child welfare contract agencies a license to discriminate against same-sex couples and people of differing faiths. Before joining True Colors United, Waguespack was a lobbyist and political consultant working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. In the fall of 2018, Waguespack was the Creative Director for the Unanimous Jury Coalition and the Yes on Amendment 2 campaign to require unanimous juries for felony convictions, which passed with 64 percent of the vote. He led the digital components of the 2017 Louisiana Justice Reinvestment effort to successfully pass ten landmark criminal justice reform bills — together, the most progressive package of criminal justice reforms passed by a state legislature in modern US history. Before opening his lobbying and political consulting firm, Waguespack served as Executive Director of Louisiana Progress, the progressive movement-building partnership where he started his career as an intern in 2011. While there, he drafted and successfully lobbied for a number of bills to expand opportunity for children, youth, and families impacted by homelessness, including protection from eviction for survivors of domestic abuse, expanded eligibility for child care assistance for families experiencing homelessness, and in-state tuition and campus housing for current and formerly homeless and foster youth in postsecondary education. Waguespack is a proud New Orleanian and a graduate of Ben Franklin High School. He lives in Northeast D.C. with his partner, Matthew, and his dog, Ham.
CLE Workshops & More
Multi-system Approaches to Ending LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Through Law and Policy
Multi-system Approaches to Ending LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Through Law and Policy
Ray Wendell - Raymond Wendell is an attorney at Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, a boutique litigation firm in Oakland, California. Ray represents plaintiffs in wage-and-hour, employment discrimination, disability access, and consumer rights class actions. Ray was recently selected as a Law360 Rising Star. He has spoken on panels and authored publications on topics ranging from trucking law to LGBT+ rights. Previously, he clerked for the Honorable Marilyn L. Huff in the Southern District of California. In 2013, Ray graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He is a 2007 graduate of Georgetown University. In his free time, Ray enjoys camping, running, and playing banjo.
Amy Whelan - Amy Whelan has been a Senior Staff Attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) since 2011 and works on NCLR’s full range of litigation, policy, and public education work. Amy litigates complex civil cases around the country regarding marriage equality, employment discrimination, Title IX, family law, access to healthcare, prisoners’ civil rights, the First Amendment, and other constitutional matters. Before joining NCLR, Amy was an associate at the San Francisco firm of Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld LLP (RBGG). There, she represented individuals, organizations, and classes of people in litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, principally in the area of civil rights. In 2008 and 2009, Amy was a member of the trial team in Coleman/Plata v. Schwarzenegger, a combined lawsuit challenging the California prison system’s unconstitutional provision of medical and mental healthcare. A unanimous three-judge panel ruled in favor of the prisoners in that case and the United States Supreme Court affirmed that decision on May 23, 2011. Amy received her Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University and her Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law.
Troy Williams - Troy is the Executive Director of Equality Utah. He has over 15 years experience as a community organizer for the LGBTQ community. In 2010 the Salt Lake Tribune dubbed him, "the gay mayor of Salt Lake City." In 2015, Troy's team successfully advanced LGBTQ employment and housing nondiscrimination through the conservative Utah Legislature. In 2016, Troy led efforts to rename 20 blocks of downtown Salt Lake City as "Harvey Milk Blvd." In 2017, Equality Utah successfully overturned the state's "No Promo Homo" law which prohibited discussion of homosexuality in Utah public schools. In 2019 they built a broad coalition to successfully pass an LGBTQ inclusive hate crimes law. In 2019, Equality Utah launched their "Still Happening" campaign to end SOGI change efforts. In January 2020, Utah became the 19th (and most conservative) state in the country to enact a ban on conversion therapy for minors.
Susan Williams - Susan (she/her) is a self-described “mama bear” of a transgender child and an advocate for LGBTQ rights. She founded The Transformation Project in 2019 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She often speaks at schools, conferences, and businesses. Susan is married to her college sweetheart Jeremy, and together they have two kids and a mini golden-doodle in Sioux Falls.
CLE Workshops & More
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
Christina Wilson Remlin - Since joining Children's Rights in 2011, Christina Wilson Remlin has represented classes of children in foster care in suits challenging violence, inadequate medical care, inappropriate conditions, inadequate special education and over-institutionalization. Her clients include those at risk of discrimination associated with their LGBTQ identity, gender, race, immigration status and class. She is the creator of Children's Rights LGBTQ project and co-author of Safe Havens: Closing the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care and Fostering Family: A Guide to Working Well with LGBTQ Youth in Georgia's Child Welfare System. As a native Atlantan, Ms. Remlin is especially proud that she recently helped to open CR's Atlanta office. Previously, Ms. Remlin was a litigation associate in New York City at Baker & McKenzie LLP, where she represented clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory investigations. She developed an active pro bono docket and represented children and adults in political asylum hearings, Violence Against Women Act petitions, and Special Juvenile Immigration Status and green card applications. Before that, Ms. Remlin was a member of Shearman & Sterling's litigation group. Ms. Remlin received her J.D. from Fordham University in 2004 where she participated in The Crowley Program on International Human Rights' Annual Mission to Bolivia and interned for the Center for Legal and Social Studies in Argentina. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Furman University in 1999 (cum laude). She has a variety of publications focusing on issues of LGBTQ rights of children, corporate responsibility, investment disputes, environmental protection and human rights reparations.
CLE Workshops & More
Multi-system Approaches to Ending LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Through Law and Policy
Multi-system Approaches to Ending LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Through Law and Policy
Daniel Winterfeldt -
Daniel Winterfeldt QC (Hon)
Daniel is a partner in Reed Smith’s Global Capital Markets practice. Currently based the London office, Daniel’s practice focuses on representing US, UK, European and Asian investment banks and corporate issuers in a wide range of securities transactions, including Rule 144A and Regulation S equity and debt offerings; Category 3, Regulation S transactions for US companies listing in the United Kingdom; rights offerings; exchange offers; equity-linked securities offerings; initial public offerings and secondary and follow-on offerings of equity securities, including SEC-registered transactions. Daniel founded the Forum for US Securities Lawyers in London in 2006 to address US securities issues in the London market across law firms, banks and intermediaries. The Forum was short-listed by the British Legal Awards in 2009 for ‘Law Firm Innovation’. In 2015 the Forum took a leading role in supporting the London Stock Exchange and Euroclear UK & Ireland (CREST) in designing and implementing the system to allow for the electronic trading and settlement of Regulation S, Category 3 securities of US issuers trading on the London Stock Exchange. This innovation makes it easier for US companies to IPO on the London Stock Exchange. For this achievement the Forum was 'Highly Commended" by the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards in 2016 in the category ‘Innovation in Navigating Regulation’. Daniel is also the founder and chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum, which seeks to promote meritocracy and inclusion for all diverse groups in the legal sector. The InterLaw Diversity Forum was "Highly Commended" by the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards in 2016 for 'Innovation in Human Resources”. Daniel was named the "Legal Innovator of the Year" at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards in 2012 for his work in capital markets and diversity and inclusion. In 2020 Daniel was appointed as Queen's Counsel Honoris Causa (Honorary QC) for both his contributions to capital markets in England & Wales through the Forum for US Securities Lawyers in London as well as his contributions to diversity, inclusion and culture in the legal sector through the InterLaw Diversity Forum.
Shinming Wong - Ming Wong is the Supervising Helpline Attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In addition to managing their legal helpline, he also handles their legal aid training work, coordinates the Rural Pride project, and represents asylum-seekers through the Immigration Project. He has conducted trainings for staff and attorneys at legal aid organizations and the EEOC on various issues, including providing culturally competent services to LGBTQ+ clients. He has been named a Best LGBTQ+ Lawyer Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association.
CLE Workshops & More
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
LGBTQ+ Workplace Harassment: Assessing, Investigating, and Litigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Bias in States with Protective Laws
Jessie Workman - Jessie Workman is an agency attorney in the Law Enforcement Bureau of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Prior to joining the Commission, Jessie was a staff attorney and Pride Law fellow at Youth Represent, an organization providing defense, reentry and advocacy services to criminal legal system involved young people aged 24 and under. As a Pride Law fellow Jessie created and led the Pathways Project, an initiative addressing the criminalization and discriminatory targeting of LGBTGNC youth of color, primarily focusing on Trans and gender nonconforming young people at Rikers Island and in City shelters. Jessie is a graduate of CUNY School of Law. While at CUNY, Jessie represented clients in the criminal defense clinic and was a recipient of the Kyle D. Jewell fellowship. Before attending law school, Jessie spent several years in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM, teaching writing to incarcerated youth and managing a youth shelter reentry program. Jessie holds a B.A. from Antioch College.
Colin Wright - Colin S. Wright is Senior Intellectual Property Counsel with Landis+Gyr, where he focuses on Patents & Trademarks, Cybersecurity and Technology Law. He previously served as Technology & Cybersecurity Counsel at Change Healthcare and IP Counsel at McKesson, both large providers of healthcare software and data services. While at McKesson, he championed the creation of OPEN, McKesson's LGBTQ Employee Resource Group. For his work at McKesson and in the Atlanta community, Colin was named Out & Proud Corporate Counsel in 2014 by the National LGBT Bar Association. Colin is admitted to practice law in Georgia and Washington D.C. and is also a registered Patent Attorney. He holds a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a J.D. from the University of Georgia, and lives in Atlanta with his husband, Toby.
Alan York - Alan York is a partner in Reed Smith's Appellate Group. Alan has been involved in appellate law since the inception of his legal career, serving from 1989 to 1990 as briefing attorney to Justice Sam Robertson on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Since that time, Alan has maintained an active involvement in appellate bar activities, serving as chair of the Houston Bar Association Appellate Practice Section, and as a council member of the State Bar of Texas Appellate Practice Section. He has also served as a judicial liaison between these bar sections and the judiciary, and has co-authored and co-presented numerous CLE topics with members of the appellate judiciary. Alan is also the global chair of Reed Smith's LGBT+ Business Inclusion Group, PRISM (Pride, Respect, and Inclusion Simply Matter). In that role, Alan has worked closely with organizations such as TLDEF and Lambda Legal to support their important work for our communities. Alan is board certified in civil appellate law, and provides pre-trial and trial strategy and support and error preservation, as well as appellate briefing and argument on significant civil cases. In addition to his appellate docket, Alan is actively involved in trial practice, and served as one of the lead litigation and appellate counsel for Halliburton in civil claims and investigations arising from the Deepwater Horizon blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest environmental litigation matters in U.S. history. Alan has been selected multiple times to the The Best Lawyers in America© list; is a six-time recipient of Thomson Reuters' Top 100 Lawyers in Houston honors; was named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Texas in 2016, 2017 and 2018; has been selected more than 15 years to the Texas Super Lawyers list; and has been recognized nine times among H Texas Magazine's Top Lawyers in Houston. He is AV-rated "Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest ranking for ethics and legal ability. Alan received a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1989 and a B.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Houston in 1986.
CLE Workshops & More
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
ID Ready or Not?: The New Frontier of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Identification Document Change Laws in 2020 and Beyond
Ezra Young - Ezra Young is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney based in New York City. He currently maintains a boutique private practice. His litigation and scholarship centers on trans rights and focuses on rights of recognition, employment protections, and health care and insurance coverage issues. Ezra has litigated trans rights cases in courts and agencies throughout the nation. Highlights include winning an order from the Medicare Appeals Council directing a health plan to cover vaginal reconstruction surgery for a transgender woman; winning an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission precedent finding transgender exclusions in FEHB plans violate federal EEO laws; three pathbreaking co-litigations with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Justice vindicating transgender worker's rights under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act; successfully advocating with large public and private entities to drop transgender exclusions from their health plans; and serving as lead counsel in a first of its kind transgender sex discrimination jury trial where he secured a historic $1.165M damages award. Ezra's academic writing has appeared in or is forthcoming in books and articles published by Routledge, Oxford University Press, the New Press, California Law Review Online, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Ezra currently serves on the board of the Jim Collins Foundation. He is a founding board member and past co-chair of the National Trans Bar Association. He has previously served as legal director of the African American Policy Forum, research director of the Columbia Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies, and director of impact litigation of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. Ezra received his BA in Philosophy from Cornell University and his JD from Columbia Law School. From 2012 to 2014, Ezra was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Columbia Law School. His post doctoral studies focused on trans rights, Critical Race Theory, and intersectionality and were supervised by renowned scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Keren Zwick - Keren Zwick (she/her) is the National Immigrant Justice Center's Director of Litigation, and she works closely with NIJC's LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative. Keren is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association (AILA) and the current co-chair of the litigation committee of the Chicago chapter. Keren's litigation is focused on asylum and protection based claims, largely for detained individuals. She has represented petitioners in dozens of cases before the United States Courts of Appeals, and filed amicus briefs in many others, focusing on applicants for protection whose claims are based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and mental health. She has also led NIJC's efforts to preserve access to asylum, arguing in favor of access to asylum for individuals with prior removal orders and co-counseling with other organizations in challenges to regulatory bans seeking to limit access to the asylum process. Keren joined NIJC after clerking for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. While Keren was a law student at Columbia Law School, she successfully represented clients in the Sexuality & Gender Law Clinic in both immigration and civil rights matters. Before law school, Keren attended the University of Chicago and worked as NIJC's asylum project coordinator. Keren is licensed to practice law in Illinois.
CLE Workshops & More
The Battle to Protect Asylum: How Advocates are Fighting for the Rights of LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers at the Border and in the Interior
The Battle to Protect Asylum: How Advocates are Fighting for the Rights of LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers at the Border and in the Interior