Parentage, Partnership, and Property: Family Law and Estate Planning for Polyamorous Clients
Diana Adams - Diana Adams (they/them) is the founder of the Chosen Family Law Center, a nonprofit organization providing legal support services for LGBTQIA, polyamorous, and other underserved families, public education on these family forms, and training for professionals to support these communities with dignity. Diana is also the founder of a boutique LGBTQIA family law and mediation firm based in New York and serving Americans in Europe, Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC. Diana is a co-founder of Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition, which works on legislative advocacy for those in consensually nonmonogamous relationships and creation of model ordinances for multi-partner domestic partnership and non-discrimination protection based on relationship structure. Diana is proud to be one of the New York State representatives for the LBGT Family Law Institute of The National LGBT Bar Association, as well as a member of The LGBTQI Family Professionals of New York. Diana is a leader in support of polyamorous families and nontraditional family structures. Diana has argued many child custody and divorce cases in New York State in which a parent has had their private adult consensual sexual behavior unfairly used against them in a child custody case in which the child is unaffected and no inappropriate behavior toward the child has occurred. Diana does frequent media interviews, public speaking, and teaching. Diana does frequent law school teaching, most recently as an Adjunct Law Professor at Cornell Law School teaching LGBTQ Family Law, and as a frequent guest lecturer at Harvard law School. Diana is frequently interviewed as an expert on LGBTQ and nontraditional family structures. On Facebook and Twitter they are @DianaAdamsEsq.
Parentage, Partnership, and Property: Family Law and Estate Planning for Polyamorous Clients
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.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
Padideh Ala’i - Padideh Ala’i is a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). She specializes in international economic law, law of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and comparative legal traditions. She teaches international trade law and comparative law. Professor Alai’s scholarship has concentrated on the history of free trade, transparency obligations of the WTO and their implications on internal domestic transparency, universalizing the administrative state through the multilateral trading system, as well as good governance and evolution of international anti-corruption norms. In August 2017, Professor Ala’i was appointed Director of International and Comparative Legal Studies and Faculty Director of the International Legal Studies Program (ILSP). In her new role, she promotes, represents, and coordinates the law school’s renowned international programs that have been consistently ranked among some of the most prestigious programs in the United States. Professor Ala’i is also the Director of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program at WCL, a Fulbright program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The Program brings accomplished mid-career professionals from developing countries to the U.S for 10 months of non-degree study and professional development in the general field of law and human rights. In addition, since 2014, she has led the interdisciplinary Trade, Investment and Development Program (TID) that provides resources to students interested in linkage between trade and other disciplines such as intellectual property, environment, investment, labor and human rights.
Human Rights and Trade: Using Ancillary Tools as Carrots and Sticks to Promote The Biden Administration's Human Rights Agenda
Jamie Grace Alexander -
Amanda Allen - Amanda Allen is a Senior Counsel & Director with the Lawyering Project. Amanda has spent her legal career advocating for meaningful access to reproductive health services. Before joining the Lawyering Project, she held several positions at the Center for Reproductive Rights, including most recently Senior State Policy and Advocacy Counsel, where she oversaw the Center's state and local policy and advocacy initiatives in the United States. She also held positions with the National Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum as a Georgetown Law & Public Policy Fellow, and If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. Amanda received a J.D. from CUNY School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Minnesota.
Reproductive Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights: The Case for Breaking Down the Litigation and Advocacy Silos
Ross Allen - Ross Allen serves as Vice-Chair of Danaher Corporation’s LGBTQ + Friends associate resource group and Vice President, Assistant General Counsel of Cepheid, a medical diagnostics company within Danaher, where he leads teams in global transactions and legal operations. Ross supports several of Cepheid’s strategic initiatives, including its innovation program and expansion strategy. Ross joined Cepheid in March 2019 from Align Technology (Invisalign), where he was the Americas General Counsel in San Jose, California, and São Paulo, Brazil. He was previously the Asia Pacific Legal Director based in Singapore and Shanghai, China. Before joining Invisalign, Ross was an IP litigator at Kaye Scholer LLP and Kilpatrick Townsend LLP. Ross holds a Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and a Master of Science degree in Molecular Pathology from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Ross resides in Menlo Park, California, with his husband and two dogs.
Otherism and Conspicuous Minorities: the Shared Experiences of the LGBTQIA and AAPI Community
Eva Almirantearena - Eva Almirantearena is Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Antitrust and Commercial Litigation at Intel Corporation. Eva has been with Intel since 2004, mainly in the Intel Litigation Group, handling a wide variety of matters, including antitrust litigation and investigations and misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets. Eva is also a member of Intel Legal’s Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee and leads Intel Legal’s Outside Counsel Diversity & Inclusion Outside Program team. Prior to joining Intel, Eva was an antitrust partner at Howrey in Northern California and, before that, was a trial attorney at the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
Anthony Anderson - Anthony "Tony" Anderson is a partner in Thompson Coburn's Public Transit and Transportation Practice Group. Over the past 30 years, Tony has been a legal advisor to many of the nation's largest transit systems. He serves as an important resource to public transit agencies, providing guidance related to public-private partnership (P3) project development, proposal review, bid protests, contract negotiations, Section 13(c) issues, transportation financing, and contract disputes. In addition, Tony helps his clients understand and meet the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Tony works closely with his clients (both from a legal and practical perspective) to solve a variety of challenges unique to the transit sector. Given his experience within transit systems, Tony's advice is always mindful of the impact the resolution may have on all stakeholders involved. For example, he helped a longtime client develop a training and compliance plan that resulted in a nearly 80 percent reduction in a hazmat-related fine. Tony also regularly assists with the procurement of transit equipment as well as service contracts. For public transit agencies, he has managed the restructuring of third-party contracts for fixed route systems to reflect an increased ability to manage and direct transit services in-house. Tony began his career at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). There, he was involved in the implementation and enforcement of the Title VI program under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. He also served as staff attorney for the reauthorization of the federal transit program. This experience laid the groundwork for him to fully understand the needs of his clients and successfully guide them to compliance. Tony serves as the Vice Chair of the John Hopkins University's Board of Trustees and holds a pivotal role on Thompson Coburn's leadership team, including serving on its Management Committee, Diversity Committee, and informing its recruitment & D&I efforts.
Start Where You Are: A Phased Approach to Building Effective and Sustainable D&I Programs
Ian Anderson - Ian Anderson is the Legal Services Project Manager at Transgender Law Center. Prior to working in this role, he helped TLC establish a volunteer prison mail response program, restructure the Legal Helpline, and develop a number of resource guides to changing identity documents as a Legal Assistant. He is thrilled and honored to be able to connect other trans folks, especially multiply marginalized people, to critical services and information. He believes that legal reform is only as valuable as it is accessible to the whole community, and in never losing sight of the ultimate goal, our collective liberation. Ian has called the Bay Area home for seven years; he is originally from Seattle, by way of New York and Toronto. He taught literature before joining TLC and still co-facilitates a queer theory book group. He also enjoys board games, biking around Oakland, and creating increasingly flamboyant donuts and pies.
Gabriel Arkles - Gabriel Arkles (he / him / his) joins TLDEF as one of the leading transgender litigators in the country. Most recently as Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, Gabriel was part of the legal team that represented Aimee Stephens before the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County that established anti-transgender discrimination is prohibited under federal law. Previously, Gabriel was Staff Attorney and Director of Prisoner Justice Initiatives at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. He also spent seven years teaching legal skills, first at New York University School of Law and later at Northeastern School of Law. Gabriel’s work has appeared in publications such as the NYU Law Review, Northeastern Law Journal, Southwestern Law Review, and Scholar and Feminist Online. Past commentary has been found in a range of outlets, such as The Advocate, TruthOut, CBS, NBC News, and WNYC. Additionally, Gabriel has received the Dukeminier Award for best sexual orientation law review article in 2009. When he’s not working, Gabriel serves on the steering committee for Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), reads speculative fiction, plays role-playing games, studies Islamic feminist theology, eats cupcakes, and cuddles cats.
Reimagining Policing: LGBTQ+ and Racial Equity Issues in Law Enforcement
Judge Patricia Baca - Patricia Baca was born and raised in El Paso. She graduated from Loretto Academy and went on to UTEP. She graduated from UTEP with both a Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration. She then attended law school at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. After graduating from law school, Patricia started working at the District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney. She specialized in child abuse cases for over 7 years. She was then promoted to Chief of the Domestic Violence and held that position for over 12 years. During her time as Chief of the Domestic Violence unit she help create the 24 hour contact initiative which was a nationally recognized program. Last year Patricia run and won for Judge of the 346th District Court. She was sworn in on January 1, 2021 and currently presides over criminal, civil as well as the Veterans court Treatment program.
Kellan Baker - Kellan Baker is a Centennial Research Scholar and PhD candidate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and a widely known and highly respected researcher and advocate on LGBTQ issues, with a focus on transgender health and well-being. His research focus is on the design and delivery of, and payment for, transgender health services. Kellan served as a Consultant to the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine on the ground-breaking report issued last fall, Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations. Before that, Kellan was an Associate Director, then a Senior Fellow, at the Center for American Progress. He has an MPH from the George Washington University School of Public Health and an MA in International Development Studies from the GWU School of Business. He has earned a Certificate in Public Health Economics, and an Executive Certificate in Healthcare Leadership and Management at Johns Hopkins. Kellan is Co-Chair of the Equality Federation Board of Directors. He also advocates for transgender rights in Russia and other countries in Eurasia.
Stanley C. Ball - Stan Ball is the VP & Chief Litigation Counsel at Eaton Corp. At Eaton, Stan develops and implements strategies for resolving legal disputes involving Eaton's various lines of business globally and creates processes to mitigate risk associated with disruptive technologies. He also oversees fraud and theft investigations and facilitates recovery efforts. Lastly, Stan oversees Eaton Law Team’s Law Firm Management Team. In that role, he is responsible for selecting, managing, and evaluating Eaton’s panel of outside counsel globally. Prior to joining Eaton, he practiced at an AmLaw 100 firm in Chicago, IL as a complex commercial litigator. Stan serves as a Trustee for Baldwin-Wallace University and is a Director of University Hospital’s Ahuja Medical Center and the Great Lakes Science Center.
Tyler Barbarin - Tyler Barbarin is a Policy Associate at Positive Women's Network-USA and has been an organizer and facilitator of topics of racial justice, education equity, and reproductive justice. She began her work in leadership development at Covenant House Washington, facilitating programming for youth experiencing homelessness. She then transitioned into working for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council and National Coalition on School Diversity in areas ranging from fair housing to education equity. She was a former Young People For Fellow and member of their alumni council as well as serving on the National Cathedral Gun Violence Prevention Group. She is currently a member of the New Orleans Abortion Fund Client Services team in addition to the work that she is doing with PWN.
Griffin Barnett - Griffin M. Barnett is an Associate with Winterfeldt IP Group. He has practiced trademark and Internet law for over half a decade. Griffin advises clients on the creation of global trademark and branding strategies, develops programs to register and enforce clients’ intellectual property rights and protect against infringement of their trademarks and other branding elements in the US and internationally, including domestic and international trademark counseling, clearance, prosecution and enforcement. In addition, Griffin advises clients on trade dress, copyright, Internet governance and domain name issues, including domain name disputes such as Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) complaints, and other similar processes for country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), to disable or recover infringing domain names. He regularly counsels global leaders across a broad variety of industries, including the apparel, entertainment and media, financial services, health & fitness, hospitality, insurance, Internet & technology, luxury goods, non-profit and charitable organization, retail, wine & spirits, and telecommunications industries. Griffin is an expert on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN’s) new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program, and has provided extensive support to new gTLD applicants and operators, particularly brand owners, by negotiating related agreements and advising them on the legal and policy work needed to support their registries. Griffin counsels clients on preparing for future new gTLD application rounds, including selection of potential gTLD strings and guidance on ongoing policy matters affecting brand owner new gTLD operators. Griffin also assists with advocacy and enforcement strategies in this space for brand owners, including advice surrounding registration of trademarks in the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) and assessment of domain name portfolio management strategies, including both proactive domain name registrations and enforcement against infringing registrations, in light of the influx of new gTLDs. Along with other team members, Griffin helps to diligently track ICANN policy matters affecting brand owners on the enforcement side, such as developments relating to rights protection mechanisms and domain name registration data access, and counsel clients on relevant advocacy opportunities. He is an active member of ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC), which serves as a voice for brand owner concerns in Internet policy development. In addition, Griffin counsels clients on cutting edge Internet issues such as social media platforms, including developing and administering social media policies and promoting and protecting clients’ brands in this ever-evolving space. He supports clients by managing takedowns of infringing profiles and content, while advising on proactive uses of social media that can strengthen online brand presence. Griffin has authored or co-authored numerous articles on trademark, copyright, and Internet law and has been an active member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) including serving on the INTA Internet Committee Subcommittee on the ICANN Rights Protection Mechanism Review, Chairing this Subcommittee for the 2018-2019 term, and Chairing the ICANN Engagement Subcommittee of the INTA Internet Committee for the 2020-2021 term.
Lauren Beach - Lauren B. Beach, JD/PhD (she/they) is a Research Assistant Professor within the Department of Medical Social Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She is also Associate Director of the Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance Program within Northwestern's Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. She holds a Ph.D. in genetics and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Beach investigates the epidemiology of chronic physical health conditions over the life course among diverse SGM populations and people living with HIV (PLWH). She also studies how multilevel health and identity related stigmas affect healthcare quality, chronic condition management, and health outcomes of marginalized populations. She holds a K12 career development award from the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research to investigate social and biological mechanisms contributing to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction among PLWH. In July 2020, they were awarded an R01 from NHLBI to add measures of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity to the Year 35 exam of the CARDIA cohort. Dr. Beach is also a proud bisexual and demisexual person as well as a longtime bisexual community advocate.
Justin Becker - Justin Becker has experience in a variety of international trade legal issues, including anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings and other trade remedies matters, 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. He also on the board of AsylumConnect, a nonprofit that offers the world's first tech resource platform for those fleeing persecution due to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Human Rights and Trade: Using Ancillary Tools as Carrots and Sticks to Promote The Biden Administration's Human Rights Agenda
Judge Rachel Bell - Judge Rachel L. Bell is a third generation Native Nashvillan and proud graduate of Hillsboro Comprehensive High School, where she was a stellar basketball player. Judge Bell received a NCCA, Division I-Women’s Basketball scholarship to Auburn University and finished her collegiate career at The University of Memphis earning her Bachelor of Science in Education and her Juris Doctorate Degree from Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. In 2012, Judge Bell, was elected General Sessions Court Judge, Division VIII (8) and unanimously re- elected in 2014 to another term, with her campaign slogan: "Nashville’s Judge serving ON and OFF the bench, Ringing the BELL for Justice!!™" In August, 2014, Judge Bell was elected by her peers to be the Presiding Judge over the Davidson County General Sessions Court for a one (1) year term and re-elected to a second term in August, 2015 to serve until September 1, 2016. Prior to her election to the court in August 2012, Judge Rachel was the Managing Partner of Bell & Kinslow, PLLC and Founder & COO of Pinnacle Title & Escrow, LLC with offices in both Bordeaux- North Nashville, West Nashville, Hermitage and Memphis, TN. Throughout her personal and professional life, she currently and previously served on several boards such as Hands on Nashville, Davidson County Industrial Development Board, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, (JDRF), Golfers Recognizing Opportunities for Women (GROW), Women in Numbers (WIN), Disciples Village, Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce, East Nashville Hope Exchange, Disciples of Christ National Convocation Board of Trustees and National Hope Partnership for Transformation Trustees and Board Advisor for Kaplan Career Institute. Judge Bell is also the proud founder of the Ring the BELL Foundation, Inc. and the co-founder and Board Chair/President for the Bordeaux-North Nashville Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, Judge Rachel married her wife, Dr. Dorsha, an Emergency Medicine Physician, becoming the 1st openly gay Judge in Nashville, TN. Judge Rachel and Dr. Dorsha are Co-CEO’s of Solutions NOW, Inc. and founders of myURGENCYMD, a telemedicine company and the “i am . . . just human.” movement. Judge Rachel cares deeply about equal justice and her mantra is, “Justice does NOT stop at the courthouse steps!”®
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
Avery Belyeu - Avery Belyeu came to Lambda Legal from the Education Development Center, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit where she focused on suicide prevention strategy with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In this role, she worked with senior leaders in the private and public sectors to advance suicide prevention strategy nationwide. Prior to that, Belyeu worked at The Trevor Project, the country’s leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under 25, where she held several positions, including Education Director. Belyeu’s expertise includes managing teams, developing strategic partnerships, and organizational planning and implementation. During her time at the Trevor Project, Belyeu led a network of volunteers that participated in fundraising and programming in cities across the country, and she helped to raise the organization’s visibility to create new opportunities for fundraising with major donors and large corporations. She is an in-demand speaker on the topic of LGBTQ rights especially around the intersections of LGBTQ people and faith and religious identities. Belyeu attended Appalachian State University where she received a Bachelors in Science degree. She has pursued graduate work in higher education administration at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and she is currently completing a Master in Divinity Degree from Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth Texas. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Religious Institute, a multi-faith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual, gender, and reproductive health, education, and justice in faith communities and society, and on the Transgender Working Group of the National LGBT Task Force’s Practice Spirit Do Justice Initiative.
Meeting the Needs of LGBTQ+ Older Adults and Caregivers: Ethical, Legal, and Practical Challenges
Precious Benally - Precious Benally, JD, is a citizen of the Diné Nation from Northern New Mexico and currently resides in New Jersey. Precious Benally serves as the Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Specialist with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. She provides training and technical assistance to tribal communities across the country. Her primary focus is assisting Tribal courts in their efforts to plan, implement, and enhance juvenile, adult, and family Wellness Courts. This includes assisting with community needs assessments and comprehensive strategic planning projects, authoring publications, and providing support for tribal justice program development. She has presented on topics ranging from opioid abuse in Indian Country, the implementation of teleservices for drug courts in rural jurisdictions, the impact of sentencing reform measures, and integrating restorative practices into justice-related programming. Her areas of interest include international indigenous law and policy, drug treatment, peacemaking and restorative justice practices, teleservices, and developing technology-based training and information-sharing platforms. Ms. Benally obtained her law degree from Columbia Law School, where she focused on international indigenous law and policy, peacemaking, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Rebecca Benavides - Rebecca H. Benavides is the Director of Legal Business & Strategy for Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs department. Her team leads development and oversight of the department’s strategies and programs for engaging with legal service providers including, but not limited to, strategic panel development and management; diversity and inclusion, value pricing and alternative fee engagements, and adoption of technology innovation in legal service delivery. Prior to joining Microsoft, Rebecca was the Director of Legal Project Management for international law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, where she led the firm’s pricing and legal project management programs in the U.S. She began her career in the “business of the law” by serving on the senior leadership team of a start-up legal process outsourcer based in India where she successfully developed efficient process-oriented approaches to assist the litigation unit complete numerous complex legal projects and rapidly scale capabilities for a roster of Fortune 100 companies. She is a lawyer who previously practiced complex commercial litigation, antitrust, and securities law in federal and state courts in Texas and California. Rebecca holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and a B.A. from St. Edward’s University.
Ru Bhatt - Ru Bhatt is a Partner in Major, Lindsey & Africa's New York Associate Practice Group and works closely with lawyers at all stages of their careers to help them achieve their goals. He prides himself on being more than just a recruiter; he’s a career counselor and advocate, coaching his candidates through every step of the recruiting process including integration at their new firms. He takes a holistic approach to getting to know his candidates, including their career goals and ambitions, and then shares his knowledge of the legal landscape to help them make informed decisions. Ru takes great pride in his ability to play "matchmaker" between his candidates and clients and has enjoyed making a meaningful impact in the lives of hundreds of attorneys over the years. He is extremely knowledgeable of the firms throughout the city and provides recommendations based on where candidates will fit culturally and excel professionally. He acts with the best interests of his clients and candidates in mind, focusing solely on being an advocate and trusted advisor to all parties.
Wesley Bizzell - Wesley Bizzell serves as Senior Assistant General Counsel and Managing Director of Political Law & Ethics Programs for Altria Client Services. Overseeing a comprehensive compliance system covering the regulation of government affairs, Mr. Bizzell provides advice and guidance on political law compliance for more than 75 jurisdictions. Mr. Bizzell also heads the legal team that supports Altria's public policy activities, providing services related to legislative and regulatory drafting and interpretation. Mr. Bizzell is an authority on political law compliance, serving as co-chair of the Conference Board's Committee on Corporate Political Spending, a committee of leading American corporations dedicated to education and engagement on issues of corporate political activity. For four years, he served as co-chair of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws' ("COGEL") annual conference. In 2018, COGEL awarded Mr. Bizzell its highest honor, the COGEL Award, for making a "demonstrable and positive contribution to the fields of campaign finance, ethics, elections, lobbying and freedom of information over a significant period of time." Previously, Mr. Bizzell was an attorney in Winston & Strawn LLP's Federal Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group. His career also includes more than six years on Capitol Hill, where he served as an aide to Arkansas Senators David Pryor and Dale Bumpers. Mr. Bizzell is extremely active in promoting diversity and inclusion within the legal and corporate communities. He is a founding member and serves on the steering committee for Altria's LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group and is president of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. He has been named by London's Financial Times (2017 and 2018) and Yahoo Finance (2019 and 2020) as one of the 100 worldwide OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ Corporate Executives, and Chambers and Partners also named him the 2019 LGBT+ Equality Lawyer of the Year for his dedication and commitment to LGBT diversity programs and his efforts to advance LGBTQ+ professionals in the law. Mr. Bizzell graduated with a B.A. in Justice, magna cum laude, from the American University in Washington, D.C. and received a Master of Social Work with a focus in public policy from the Catholic University of America. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an editor for the Georgetown Law Journal.
Judge Christopher Bowen - Christopher R. Bowen has been a Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa since December 2010. He is currently the supervising judge at the George D. Carroll Courthouse in Richmond, where he is designated as a direct calendar judge for felony cases. Previously, Judge Bowen completed rotations in the criminal calendar, criminal trial, and family law divisions. He was assigned to the family law from 2013-2017, and was supervising family law judge from 2016-2017. He has lectured frequently on intimate partner violence and restraining orders in family and criminal law contexts, including presentations at the National LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Law Conference and for the California Association of Certified Family Law Specialists. Judge Bowen is 1990 graduate of Santa Clara University. He received his J.D. in 1993 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Articles Editor for the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law and a regular contributor to the Virginia Law Weekly. He is a director of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, California Chapter. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was an attorney in the Contra Costa County Office of the Public Defender for 16 years. As a lawyer, he completed 13 years of criminal trial work, including homicide, special circumstances, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault cases. He also handled juvenile matters in both dependency and delinquency court. Judge Bowen was previously a Certified Criminal Law Specialist with the State Bar of California. Judge Bowen uses the pronouns “he/him/his”.
Zsea Bowmani -
Zsea Bowmani (Twitter: @LiberationGreen) teaches environmental law at Santa Clara University and co-leads the Law & Advocacy Project of the university’s Environmental Justice & the Common Good Initiative. As a scholar-activist, Zsea’s work investigates the intersections of the environment, race, gender and sexual orientation, and human rights. Zsea is particularly interested in the parallels between the treatment of queer, feminized, Black, Indigenous, disabled, and other marginalized bodies with the human treatment of the nonhuman world through our laws, institutions, customs, and beliefs. He explores this idea in his forthcoming piece on Black queer feminist ecology in the Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality. Zsea’s scholarship has also been published in the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, Seattle Journal for Social Justice, Tulane University School of Law Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series, and the University of Toledo College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series. Prior to his role at SCU, Zsea was the Tawani Transgender Rights Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Illinois and the first Reproductive Justice Policy Fellow at the National LGBTQ Task Force in Washington, DC. In these roles, Zsea worked on legal cases and state and federal policies to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, schools, and health care settings, to challenge the criminalization of trans and nonbinary individuals, and to expand access to affordable health care. Among his accomplishments, Zsea trained prosecutors on how to work with transgender youth in the Cook County juvenile system; provided revisions to the Chicago Police Department policy on interacting with of trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming people; helped draft joint amicus briefs for US Supreme Court cases Zubik v. Burwell and Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt; and created a first-of-its-kind toolkit for reproductive justice and LGBTQ advocates.
Reproductive Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights: The Case for Breaking Down the Litigation and Advocacy Silos
Jess Braverman - Jess Braverman is the Legal Director at Gender Justice, where she ensures that our litigation strategy not only promotes the dignity of our clients, but also advances our mission of removing barriers to gender equity. Jess came to Gender Justice from the Hennepin County Public Defender's office. She spearheaded the office's Special Litigation Unit, where she focused on racial profiling in policing. Jess attended NYU Law School, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow with a focus on LGBTQ rights. After graduating, Jess worked at the Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Project, representing young people in delinquency and child protection cases in Brooklyn, New York.
Reproductive Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights: The Case for Breaking Down the Litigation and Advocacy Silos
Hal Brewster - Hal Brewster is a litigator in Perkins Coie's political law group. Hal has litigated voting rights and elections cases in state and federal courts across the country, including defending against several attacks by the Trump campaign against the results of the 2020 election in Arizona and Nevada. 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. Hal earned his JD from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Voting Rights in 2021 and Beyond: Combating Harmful Legislation, the Fight for Fair Electoral Districts, and the Future of the Voting Rights Act After Brnovich
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.
The Long War: What Have We Learned from the Battle to End the Transgender Military Ban?
Kristen Prata Browde - It’s one of those stories you just can’t make up. Kristen Browde had a long career as an Emmy award winning journalist, including a 17 year stint as a correspondent and anchor at CBS News, during which time she also attended law school, founded her own law firm, became a Trustee of a $3 billion dollar pension fund, had two children and moved from New York City to Chappaqua, New York. But in April 2016, in an appearance at New York City’s largest media and political charity event, the Inner Circle Dinner, when Kristen came out as transgender, her visibility and activism moved t to an entirely new level, concentrating both in politics and law. Kristen worked on the Clinton campaign and in the effort to overturn North Carolina’s infamous bathroom bill known as HB2, then she became first (and to this date, only) transgender person in New York State to run for office with the endorsement of a major political party. Kristen was endorsed by the Democrats, the Working Families Party and the Women’s Equality Party, losing narrowly to a Republican incumbent. She also ran, unsuccessfully, for the New York State Assembly, coming in second by a small margin in the five way 2020 Democratic Primary in Westchester. Weeks later she was elected Vice Chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Kristen would be the first to tell you that she never expected to become active in publicly working for social change. During her journalism career she’d covered wars overseas, the Pentagon, the Supreme Court. During that career she won multiple Emmys and other awards, including, being a member of a team at WNBC‐TV that all the way back in 1994 won a GLAAD Media Award for covering LGBT issues, a full 22 years before she came out. In Chappaqua, Kristen was one of the initial appointees to the Town of New Castle Ethics Board, where she was named Secretary. She also served on the Chappaqua School System’s Financial Advisory Board. “Decisions are made by those in the room,” she says, “so it’s important that we fill those rooms, that we become the change that we need, building from the Town level up, and taking back our government. And even though I lost my race, and even though we’re fighting against unprecedented and escalating bigotry from the Trump administration, I’m not tired at all. In fact, I’m just getting warmed up. We’ve got work to do.” Those words have been translated into action. Kristen is now co‐chair of the National Trans Bar Association. She is the immediate past President of the Board of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Kristen to the Steering Committee of the New York State Council on Women and Girls, and, after serving on his transition Team, Westchester County Executive George Latimer appointed Kristen to the County’s Women’s Advisory Board. Kristen’s private legal practice focuses on Matrimonial and Family Law, as well as civil litigation. Kristen also serves on the Board of Planned Parenthood’s local Political Action Committee and the Chappaqua‐Millwood Chamber of Commerce. Education: Fordham University School of Law; Cornell University. Kristen is divorced and has two children.
Taylor Brown - Taylor Brown (she/her) is a Staff Attorney in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV Project at the National Headquarters of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York City. Taylor litigates civil rights lawsuits nationally, to defend and expand the civil rights and liberties of LGBTQ+ people and all people living with HIV. Taylor is also actively engaged in federal and state policy advocacy and stakeholder engagement. Taylor is a proud first generation college student and first generation law student. Taylor is an openly black transgender woman. Taylor survived violence related to her transgender status, poverty, housing instability, her father’s incarceration and healthcare discrimination, to become a leader in the newest wave of the fight for the full recognition of civil rights and liberties for LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV.
After Bostock: How the Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling is Shaping Legal Advocacy Beyond Employment for LGBTQ+ People
Daniel Bruner - Dan Bruner (he/him/his) is Senior Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health and the Whitman-Walker Institute in Washington, DC. For more than 24 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 health 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 is a Senior Attorney in the Washington D.C. office of Lambda Legal. She is counsel in Karnoski v. Trump, a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s ban on military service by transgender people. Before joining Lambda Legal, Sasha served as Staff Attorney and Policy Counsel at Transgender Law Center. Sasha Buchert 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 Buchert served proudly in the United States Marine Corps.
The Long War: What Have We Learned from the Battle to End the Transgender Military Ban?
Eli Bundy - Eli Bundy (age 16) is a non-binary high school student advocate for LGBT equality and serves as President of the Charleston County (SC) School for the Arts Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA). Eli led fellow students (and their parents!) to join the fight against South Carolina's "No Promo Homo" law which outlawed discussion of same-sex relationships in public school health classes. As a result of Eli's leadership, the GSA served as the lead plaintiff in GSA v. S.C. Supt. of Ed., which resulted in the US District Court's determination that SC's "No Promo Homo" law was unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable. GSA is a watershed case because, for the first time, a federal court struck down a state "No Promo Homo" law on constitutional grounds.
Lisa Burke - Lisa R. Burke (she/her/hers) currently serves as the Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Program Coordinator for the New Jersey Judiciary and as a SOGI/LGBTQ+ resource navigator at the 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 work in higher education administration and both non-profit and private sector settings. Lisa has extensive academic and professional background in diversity and inclusion issues, including intersectionality, implicit bias, and the elimination of bias, and the delivery of related trainings. Some of her areas of academic and professional expertise and longstanding interest including gender, race, culture, sexuality, age, religion, ability, and human rights. Lisa 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 LGBTQ+ and SOGI access to justice issues. Serving as a resource person on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity diversity and inclusion, Lisa has participated in the design and delivery of related presentations, trainings, and workshops for the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts, the National LGBT Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and a range of local organizations and programs. Lisa has presented intersectional SOGI/LGBTQ+ inclusive practice CLE programs for the leadership, attorneys, and support staff of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and for the members of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. Among her many professional endeavors, Lisa is a member of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts (NCREFC), the National LGBT Bar Association, the American Bar Association (Section on Litigation and LGBT Committee), and several sections and committees of the New Jersey State Bar Association. A graduate of New Jersey City University and Columbia University, Lisa also has undertaken post-graduate courses through the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs certificate program in diversity and inclusion and currently is pursuing additional advanced studies at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law where she is focusing on conflict resolution with a specialization in cross-cultural dispute resolution.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
Marla Butler - Marla Butler is a partner at Thompson Hine’s Atlanta office and represents clients in the medical, semiconductor, power, networking and other high-tech industries in high-stakes commercial litigations, arbitrations, and trials. She helps clients proactively take on commercial threats, monetize their patent assets and defend against lawsuits that threaten their businesses. Marla earned her B.A. degree from Cleveland State University and her J.D. from Florida State University.
Lucas Cameron-Vaughn -
Jake Campbell - The ever-changing immigration landscape is highly complex and can be anxiety-inducing for both foreign nationals and employers. Multinational and national companies, including nonprofit and for-profit employers, rely on Jake's counsel for cost-effective, compliant and innovative changes to their immigration programs. Jake has nearly a decade of immigration experience and has partnered with clients in numerous sectors, including automotive, food and beverage, information technology, geolocation, financial, adhesives, manufacturing, semiconductor, mechanical, civil, construction and nuclear engineering, and more, to develop strategic approaches to maintain compliance on I-9/E-Verify, as well as to develop structural changes to hiring practices and mobility programs. Jake developed Seyfarth's in-house and best-in-class Request for Evidence models to create a streamlined approach in preparing and filing responses to government inquiries, often involving complex arguments raised by the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services. Prior to becoming an attorney, Jake served as a law clerk and paralegal for other large international firms, giving him deep insight into the day-to-day challenges that come with case preparation, strategy, data maintenance, and case management. Jake brings cutting-edge advice to case preparation and management techniques, providing optimal and efficient services to his clients. Jake enjoys partnering with different attorneys within Seyfarth’s highly collaborative Immigration group to communicate about creative ways for Seyfarth clients to navigate the complex immigration landscape.
Aisha Canfield - Aisha Canfield has worked in systems reform for the last decade. She began her career working as a case assistant in death row appeals for indigent prisoners in the state of California, served as a board member for the local chapter of a national organization to increase civic engagement amongst women, and later worked as a paralegal for a private civil rights litigation firm. Since receiving a master’s degree in public policy from Mills College, she has largely focused on juvenile justice reform - partnering with communities and probation departments to prevent system-involvement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender nonconforming (LGB/GNCT) youth of color while improving outcomes for those already system involved. She has conducted national and statewide research on this topic and has published in numerous academic articles. She has trained and provided technical assistance to dozens of juvenile justice systems nationwide to implement SOGIE data collection systems and change culture for youth in secure facilities. Aisha has also served as an evaluator for community-based organizations that provide an alternative to incarceration for youth throughout the United States. Most recently Aisha has been hired to lead the implementation of federal standards that will architect the safety of 18,000 incarcerated adults and 1,000 detained youth in all of Los Angeles County detention facilities.
Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins
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 the transgender community. 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 also previously served 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.
Brenda Carr - Brenda is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP and she is based in the firm’s Washington, DC office. Brenda works closely with the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Talent Development, Human Resources, other attorney committees and senior administrators to ensure effective implementation of the firm's diversity and inclusion objectives and strategies including talent acquisition, retention, advancement, and engagement within and outside Arnold & Porter. Prior to joining Arnold & Porter, she was the Diversity & Inclusion Manager at DLA Piper, based in its Chicago office. As manager, she developed, supported, and managed the implementation and execution of various firm programs/initiatives, including the firm’s seven resource groups. She also liaised with practice groups, marketing, recruiting, professional development and human resources to advance the firm's recruitment, retention, advancement and leadership initiatives. In her role as manager, served as a resource for various constituents; advised lawyers and staff on diversity and inclusion best practices; coached attorneys and managers to foster inclusive work environments. Brenda spent a number of years as an associate at Ropes & Gray LLP. Where her practice focused on complex business litigation and labor & employment. Her experience included federal and state court practice as well as arbitrations and internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to her legal career she worked in higher education administration, recruiting and supporting students, at Tufts University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and earned a Master’s degree in Educational Studies. Brenda was also a Fulbright Scholar who lived and studied abroad in Madrid, Spain.
Sam Castic - Sam Castic (he/him) serves as the Chief Privacy Officer of Blackhawk Network, a global financial technology company offering branded payment solutions. Before joining Blackhawk Network, Sam led the Privacy Team and program at Nordstrom. Sam has also worked as a privacy and cybersecurity lawyer at two global law firms, and in house at T-Mobile where he supported the marketing team. Sam is recognized as a Privacy Law Specialist, Certified Information Privacy Manager, and Certified Information Privacy Professional US, by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Sam received his B.A. from the University of Washington, and his J.D. from NYU.
Paul Castillo - Paul D. Castillo is Counsel and Students' Rights Strategist in the South Central Regional Office of 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 those with HIV. His work at Lambda Legal includes combating discrimination aimed at transgender individuals and LGBT students. Prior to joining Lambda Legal, Castillo enforced federal civil rights statutes for the United States Department of Education, Office or Civil Rights (OCR). He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and graduated cum laude from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Castillo is a member of the state bars of Texas and Ohio.
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
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.
Carl Charles - Carl Charles is a Staff Attorney in the Southern Regional Office of 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. Carl's work focuses on protecting and expanding the rights of transgender and nonbinary people to be free from discrimination in employment, health care, and education through litigation, public policy and public education.
Heaven Chee - Heaven Chee is an associate at Yetter Coleman LLP. While her practice is focused on high-stakes commercial litigation and appeals, with particular emphasis representing clients in the financial services and technology industries, she has maintained an active pro bono practice, handling matters such as Establishment Clause violation claims by would-be LGBT foster parents and Section 1983 claims by prisoners. Heaven is a native Houstonian and alumni of Rice University and the University of Virginia School of Law. She has held leadership positions in Houston-based and national organizations such as the Stop Repeating History campaign, Houston Bar Association’s Minority Opportunities in the Legal Profession committee, Lambda Legal’s Leadership Committee, Developments in Literacy, and the Federal Lawyer’s editorial board. She is also an active member of the Federal Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Heaven is recognized as Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers and "One to Watch" in commercial litigation by Best Lawyers in America®. She clerked with the Honorable George C. Hanks, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and, prior to joining Yetter Coleman LLP, practiced with Foley & Lardner LLP and Hogan Lovells US LLP.
Otherism and Conspicuous Minorities: the Shared Experiences of the LGBTQIA and AAPI Community
Jennifer Chen - Jennifer leads the Foundation’s efforts and programming in support of our mission to provide research, leadership and professional development opportunities, support of diversity and inclusion initiatives and the promotion of pro bono in the legal community. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland.
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.
Nimra Chowdhry - Nimra is a State Legislative Counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Center is a legal advocacy organization that uses the power of the law to advance reproductive rights as human rights around the world. Nimra joined the Center in 2017 after completing a two-year post-graduate legal fellowship with If/When/How. As an If/When/How Senior Fellow at Advocates for Youth, Nimra focused on federal domestic policy and co-founded the Muslim youth Leadership Council, a national youth program promoting health access, racial equity, and reproductive rights of Muslim-identifying young people. Prior to Advocates, she was with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, where she led the organization’s federal and state policy efforts, educated decision makers and participated in amicus strategy. Since 2018, Nimra has served on the national board of directors for SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social change. Nimra holds a J.D. and a master’s certificate in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies from the University of Houston. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Government and Women and Gender Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. She is licensed to practice law in Texas.
Reproductive Healthcare in the Era of COVID-19: Telehealth, Abortion Care, and Expanding Access for LGBTQ+ People
Arli Christian - Arli is a Campaign Strategist with the National Political Advocacy Department of the American Civil Liberties Union and runs campaigns for legislative and administrative progress in support of transgender rights. Prior to joining the ACLU Arli was State Policy Director at the National Center for Transgender Equality and has many years of experience working 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.
Recognition Not Permission: A New Era of Access to IDs for Trans and Non-Binary People
Christine Coldiron - Christine is a Senior Director of Legal Affairs at T-Mobile, advising senior executives and their teams on a wide variety of complex legal and business matters. Recently described by a client as “relentlessly working to set us up for success”, she and her team of versatile transactional and product lawyers support product & technology transactions, device & supply chain matters, consumer product development, and strategic merger projects. Christine is a seasoned deal lawyer with deep roots in complex commercial transactions and business development. Prior to joining T-Mobile, Christine advised on M&A and corporate finance matters at Davis Wright Tremaine (Seattle) and Linklaters LLP (NY/London). Christine is an alumna of Dartmouth College and Washington University in Saint Louis (JD/MBA). In her free time, Christine is trying to cultivate a love of running, but actually enjoys cooking, Campari, hiking, discovering new music, and spending time with her family.
Judge Christopher Costa - Christopher Costa was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge for the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings in May 2018, and hears appeals from decisions of numerous government agencies. Prior to his appointment, Judge Costa practiced in various law firms and in federal, state, and local governments. In addition to federal and state courts, Judge Costa has appeared in a variety of administrative tribunals and served in the Drug Enforcement Administration through the U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program. He has also advocated for clients in mediation and arbitration, contract negotiations, and legislative and regulatory proceedings. Judge Costa earned a J.D. Cum Laude from George Mason University School of Law where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Legal Studies and a Dean’s Scholar He is an adjunct professor with the Antonin Scalia Law School and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer having served, from 1994 to 1996, in the Transylvanian region of Romania.
Amy Crawford -
Sheri Crosby Wheeler - Sheri Crosby Wheeler currently works as the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for Fossil Group, Inc. Fossil Group is a global design, marketing, distribution and innovation company where distinctive watches, accessories and wearables are created for some of the greatest brands in the world. Sheri is a diversity leader, an employment lawyer and an avid community volunteer. For the past 5 years, she has worked exclusively on diversity and inclusion strategies and integration in the corporate setting. Sheri is a member of the State Bar of Texas and has been honored as an Outstanding Young Lawyer. She earned a J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law and a B.A. in Sociology at Emory University.
David Cruz - David B. Cruz, co-author with Jillian Weiss of the first textbook on the rights of transgender people, Gender Identity and the Law (Carolina Academic Press 2021), is the Newton Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. He teaches a variety of courses in and researches and writes about constitutional law, federal courts, and sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation law. He is a member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Equality California Institute; a member of the faculty advisory committee of the Williams Institute; a former member of the board of directors and a former General Counsel of the national American Civil Liberties Union; and twice a past chair of the Association of American Law School's Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender identity Issues. He occasionally blogs at CruzLines.org and tweets @ProfDavidCruz.
Christopher Czerwonka - Christopher Czerwonka, the Legal Director of the Strong Children Wellness Medical Legal Partnership, is a New York licensed attorney and Special Professor of Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he presently teaches Bioethics and the Law, Public Health Law, Policy and Ethics, and The ADA: Statutory Interpretation (a course he developed for the law school) in the online LLM/MA program. He also lectures worldwide on disability law and anti-discrimination advocacy, and practices in these areas, immigration law, public benefits, and general and special education law. He is an appointed member of the Adult Ethics Committee in the Division of Medical Ethics at Northwell Health, one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems. He also holds an appointment as a Research Fellow at the Center for Policy Research at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, SUNY Albany, where he researches and lectures on general public consciousness of Constitutional rights, and on issues of subordinated identity and the law. In 2014, the President of the New York State Bar Association appointed him to serve on the State Bar Committee on Disability Rights. In that capacity, he is one of the chief advisers to the Bar on such matters. He has also worked with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund in New York, working on legal name-change cases and on anti-discrimination litigation, mostly involving health insurance refusals to cover gender confirmation surgery for transgender clients. A nationally recognized authority on intersections between disability and LGBT law, he has consulted pro bono for the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, advising on test case litigation and leading a strategy seminar on this topic for all of Lambda's offices. Prof. Czerwonka is committed to civic education for all young people. In that spirit, he was appointed in 2016 to the New York State Bar Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship and its Mock Trial Committee, where he co-wrote that year’s high school mock trial tournament problem, Robin Berkman v. County of Dover. Additionally, he lectures on the Constitution and other civic and historical topics to elementary school-aged students.
Intersectional Education: LGBTQ+, Racial, and Disability Diversity in Law Schools
Kate D'Adamo - Kate D'Adamo is a Partner at Reframe Health and Justice Consulting. Kate is a long-time sex worker rights advocate with a focus on economic justice, anti-policing and incarceration and public health. Previously, she was the National Policy Advocate at the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center focusing on laws, policies and advocacy focused on folks who trade sex, including the criminalization of sex work, anti-trafficking policies, and HIV-specific laws. Prior to joining the Sex Workers Project, Kate was a community organizer and advocate with the Sex Workers Outreach Project and Sex Workers Action New York. In this role, she developed programming to promote community building, provided peer support and advanced political advocacy to support the rights and well-being of people engaged in the sex trade both on and off the job. She holds degrees from California Polytechnic State University and The New School.
Alphonso David -
The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress
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.
Reimagining Policing: LGBTQ+ and Racial Equity Issues in Law Enforcement
Don Davis - As Global Employment Counsel at Epic Games, I advise the company globally on employment and labor matters and partner closely with HR to ensure that Epic always does the right thing by its people. Prior to Epic Games, I represented both employers and employees in a wide array of workplace matters. As a result of this uniquely diverse practical experience, I’m able to offer a 360-degree perspective in employment law practice that balances empathy with effective risk management. In addition to my practice, I enjoy writing on recent and trending issues in employment law, speaking to diverse audiences on employment law, LGBTQ law, and diversity and inclusion topics, and investing time in the success of my local community. Along with John Litchfield, I co-author and annually update LexisNexis’ LGBTQ Employment Law Practice Guide. In 2018, I was honored to be recognized as a Social Justice Changemaker by the DC Bar for my work advocating for LGBTQ equality. The National LGBT Bar Association recognized me as one of the 40 Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 in 2015, a distinction that demonstrates my commitment to my work as an advocate in my field and for the LGBTQ community. I have also been named a Rising Star in the DC legal community by SuperLawyers in each year since 2017. I have focused my practice and scholarship on employment law counsel, employment litigation, and alternative dispute resolution, with a special interest in LGBTQ issues, social media and employee privacy law, disability accommodations law, and family and medical leave law. My husband Nick and I reside in the Triangle area of North Carolina and actively participate in the local community. I enjoy serving on nonprofit boards that serve the needs of the LGBTQ community.
Judge Amy Dawson - Amy Dawson (she/her) is a Fourth Judicial District (Hennepin County) District Court Judge. She is currently assigned to the juvenile bench and is a member of the Equal Justice Committee, and helps to head a workgroup on improving outcomes for systems involved LGBTQ+ youth. Amy’s current and past professional memberships include: The Minnesota Lavender Bar Association; the National LGBT Bar Association; the National Association of Women Judges; the International Association of Women Judges; The International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges and, the Minnesota District Judges Association. Amy is a graduate of Oberlin College (B.A., 1989) and Indiana University School of Law (J.D. cum laude, 1992). Amy began her legal career at Faegre & Benson and later founded the Autism Advocacy & Law Center. She was elected to the bench in 2014. Since becoming a judge, Amy has been actively engaged in judicial training and education and has presented on: Understanding Autism; Trauma Responsive Courts for LGBTQ+ Youth; and, Courtroom Tips for Reducing Anti-LGBTQ+ Bias. She is also an adjunct professor at the Mitchell Hamline Law School in St. Paul where she teaches a class on Improving Outcomes for Systems Involved LGBTQ+ Youth. She can be reached at: Amy.Dawson@courts.state.mn.us.
Rose Deggendorf - Rose Deggendorf is Associate General Counsel in the Intel Architecture, Graphics, & Software Group supporting the System Firmware Products Group, System Software Engineering and Software Business Strategy, and Open Source Software. Rose has advised a variety of businesses at Intel on matters including IP, technology and software licensing, competition, distribution, and strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures. Rose also is Intel Legal’s Chairperson of the Software Legal Management Review Committee, which focuses on transformative and efficient decision-making on software legal matters with Intel-wide impact. Since 2017, Rose has been a member of the Intel Out & Ally Leadership Council and more recently has been co-leading the Council’s Policy Sub-team. During her law firm years before joining Intel, Rose’s practice included software licensing and commercial transactions.
Lina Del Plato - Lina G. Del Plato (she/her) is a staff attorney at The Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) since 2006 where she represents children who are the subject of neglect and abuse proceedings. The daughter of immigrants, and the first in her family to complete a law degree, she is also a member of the ALAA LGBTQ+ caucus and identifies as LGTBQ+. She works on an interdisciplinary team in the Brooklyn Office of JRP, which includes social workers and paralegals, to advocate for the children's wishes. She was part of the Safe Families Project in the Bronx Office of JRP, which specializes in domestic violence neglect cases. Prior to her work at JRP, she was a staff attorney at various Legal Services of New York locations, where she represented domestic violence victims in family court and matrimonial proceedings, as well as Housing, Social Security and welfare law. She graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2000 and was admitted to practice in New York State in 2001. She is also admitted to practice in the Eastern District of New York.
Grace Detrevarah - Grace is the LGBT Liaison & Senior Reentry Peer & Health Facilitator at the Osborne Association. In 2017 Osborne created the LGBTQIA component to provide direct services to this community. Grace has and continues to be an asset to this work with her education, great experience and dedication. Grace continues to elevate the TGNC community through providing realistic employment training and housing placement as well as mentorship, especially to those LGBTQIA individuals returning back to the community post-incarceration or who are experiencing homelessness.
Fighting for the Rights of TGNCNBI People in Prisons and Jails: A Legislative Perspective
Breanna Diaz - Breanna Diaz is a queer, Latinx woman whose lived experience deeply informs her advocacy. She received her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law. Prior to joining PWN, Breanna served as Junior Legislative Counsel at the Human Rights Campaign advocating for state and federal issues impacting the most marginalized of the LGBTQ community. Her policy and advocacy areas of interest include immigration, criminal justice, and voting rights. Breanna also serves as the co-director for Pull For Pride, an annual, national power-lifting event that raises money for local LGBTQ organizations directly serving the community. Breanna currently resides in Richmond, Virginia, but will forever be a proud Texan.
Linda Dixon - Linda Dixon serves as the health law director at the Mississippi Center for Justice, a position she has held since November 2008. Prior to joining the Center, she was the assistant secretary of state for elections for the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, where she previously held the position of senior attorney and director of elections training and education. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Southern University at New Orleans and her law degree from Mississippi College School of Law. Linda’s work focuses on access to health care and HIV discrimination and stigma. Linda is a member of the Mississippi Bar and the Magnolia Bar Associations. Linda currently serves on the Southern Black HIV/AIDS Advisory Council, Mississippi HIV Planning Council, and the Access Care & Engagement TA Center Advisory Council. She serves on the Mississippi College School of Law Alumni Association Board. Linda previously served on the Southern AIDS Coalition Board of Directors, the Mississippi Sickle Cell Foundation, and the steering committee of the Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative.
AC Dumlao - AC Dumlao (they / them / theirs) is a transgender non-binary first-generation Filipino-American activist. As Program Manager at TLDEF, they manage The Name Change Project, which connects TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary) people with lawyers providing pro bono representation during the legal name change process. Additionally, AC leads TLDEF's community education initiatives and is the lead trainer for trans cultural competency presentations and workshops. In 2019, AC was named a NYC/WorldPride Community Hero by Heritage of Pride, during the 50th anniversary year of the Stonewall Uprising. They were recently seen at The Wing for an advance screening/talkback with Lisa Ling for the CNN Original Series' episode "This is Life with Lisa Ling: Gender Fluidity." Their non-binary advocacy work and words have been featured by ABC News Live, NBC Asian America, Allure, The Huffington Post, The Advocate, Business Insider, Vice Media, and more.They've received honors by Parity and the New York State Comptroller. AC graduated from Vassar College, and resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Recognition Not Permission: A New Era of Access to IDs for Trans and Non-Binary People
Kelly Durden Posey - Kelly Durden Posey is an NC Licensed attorney and founder of Inspired Inclusivity Consulting, LLC. Through her career, Kelly has taken every opportunity to speak her truth, while educating and inspiring others. Kelly began practicing law 15 years ago with a focus on making the law accessible for everyone. She worked at Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy (formerly Legal Services of Southern Piedmont) to have the strongest impact in the lives of low-income and underrepresented individuals. She initially represented survivors of domestic violence in civil and family court. Later, Kelly represented unaccompanied minors from Spanish-speaking countries through justiceAmeriCorp to assist them in obtaining legal status in the United States. In 2013, she became the founding attorney of the region's first LGBTQ Law Center in Charlotte, NC where the primary focus of the practice was to support the legal needs of all people who identify as LGBTQ+, regardless of income. While practicing law, Kelly also taught various legal-based courses at the Art Institute of Charlotte and paralegal courses at Central Piedmont Community College. She later worked with both public and private corporations in the areas of Human Resources, Employee Relations and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). When she was diagnosed as having ADHD in 2020, Kelly decided to combine her legal experience and HR/DEI knowledge to open Inspired Inclusivity Consulting, LLC. As a mother of three, Kelly is driven to find innovative ways to educate businesses and individuals that work with families and kids regarding the best ways to create inclusive spaces, particularly for unseen diversity including LGBTQ+, mental health and neurodiversity.
Maddy Dwertman - Maddy Dwertman represents clients in a broad range of complex litigation matters, including securities litigation and general commercial litigation. They have experience in a variety of state and federal trial courts. Committed to being involved with the legal community, Maddy has held several leadership roles with local and national bar associations and community organizations. Maddy was recognized as a "Best LGBT Lawyer Under 40" by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2020.
Judge Julie Emede - Hon. Julie A. Emede was appointed to the State of California, County of Santa Clara Superior Court bench in December 2009, and is currently serving as a Probate Court Judge. Prior to moving to Probate Court, she served in Family Court for over five years, and was the Supervising Judge for more than three years. Before Family Court, she served in and supervised the dedicated Criminal Family Violence court, handling all aspects of misdemeanors and felonies from arraignment through trial, sentencing, and probation reviews. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a family law attorney, where she handled all aspects of family law cases including marital/domestic partnership dissolutions, adoptions, guardianships, and court-appointed representation of children. Judge Emede has been a presenter at various judicial and continuing legal education seminars, and previously taught Community Property and Family Law at Santa Clara University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and her juris doctor from University of California - Hastings College of the Law.
Chip English - Chip English (he/him) is a litigator at Davis Wright Tremaine (“DWT”) who regularly represents clients before multiple state and federal agencies, especially the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state agencies. He proudly has almost 30 years’ experience in organic farming and processing regulation. Chip handles significant FDA recall and other food safety issues and regularly advises clients on labeling issues and defends clients against class-action claims that products are mislabeled or misleading. Chip spearheaded the establishment of DWT’s LGBTQ+ affinity group 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. He 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. As Partner-in-Charge of our Washington D.C. Office, Chip also weighs in on mentor and peer liaison assignments for his office’s attorneys, working to ensure that the pairings are beneficial for both parties and successful with integrating new attorneys into the firm’s culture. Chip also personally mentors more junior LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ attorneys within the firm. His inclusive efforts resulted in receiving internal firm wide recognition as the recipient of the “The Edward J. Davis Diversity & Mentorship Award” in 2019.
Stacy Ettinger - Stacy J. Ettinger is a Partner with the global law firm K&L Gates. Ms. Ettinger is based in Washington DC and co-leads the firm’s international trade practice. She has over 25 years of experience working with U.S. and foreign businesses and foreign governments on international trade and investment legal, regulatory and policy matters. Ms. Ettinger advises U.S. and foreign companies operating across a diverse range of sectors including manufacturing, energy (solar, wind, energy storage, LNG), infrastructure, and maritime, in various geographic regions including Europe, Asia and the Arctic. Her practice covers international trade, investment, and regulatory matters, including trade investigations, tariff actions (232, 301, 201), supply chain strategy, customs actions, national security reviews of foreign acquisitions and investments (CFIUS), free trade zones, bilateral and multilateral negotiations, market access and non-tariff barriers, international IP, and food/product standards. Ms. Ettinger represents clients in regulatory proceedings before government agencies and helps companies advance their policy objectives while navigating the complex statutory and regulatory framework that governs their business. She also assists stakeholders, including industry and government entities, to evaluate potential challenges and opportunities at the state and local levels and to develop and execute federal and state advocacy strategies. Ms. Ettinger joined K&L Gates in 2016 after serving for over nine years as senior legal and policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer on trade, investment and regulatory matters.
Human Rights and Trade: Using Ancillary Tools as Carrots and Sticks to Promote The Biden Administration's Human Rights Agenda
William T. “Toby” Eveland - Toby Eveland is a skilled litigator and trial advocate for clients who are involved in high-profile cases that pose a risk to their reputation and complex business disputes that could affect their viability. His courtroom experience includes successes in state, federal, and appellate courts in numerous states. Toby's nationwide litigation practice focuses on three main areas: higher education, municipal and government, and complex business disputes. He works across numerous industries, including manufacturing, insurance, and finance, and handles matters involving a range of issues such as employment, intellectual property, real estate, products liability, and shareholder disputes. In addition to his work in the courtroom, clients retain Toby because of his dedication to causes involving diversity and equality. He is a passionate civil rights advocate and serves as co-chair of the Firm's Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Katie Eyer - Katie Eyer is a Professor at Rutgers Law School, and an anti-discrimination law teacher, scholar and litigator. Her writing on textualism and LGBTQ rights has been widely credited with influencing the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that Title VII’s employment discrimination protections extend to the LGBTQ community. Prior to entering academia, Katie launched one of the first LGBTQ employment rights projects in the country, and litigated employment discrimination cases on behalf of LGBTQ, disabled and other minority workers.
After Bostock: How the Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling is Shaping Legal Advocacy Beyond Employment for LGBTQ+ People
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 with luxury fashion house Prada. 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.
Discrimination to Incarceration Pipeline for LGBTQ+ People: A Litigation Perspective
Donato Fatuesi - Donato Fatuesi is the Operations Director at UTOPIA Washington. 28, Samoan Fa’afafine, Tongan Leiti. Member Since 2014. Donato was born and raised in Tafuna, American Samoa. She feels lucky to serve her QTPI community in the Pacific Northwest. She is an avid reader, a connoisseur of boxed wine, and a favorite Aunty to many nieces and nephews. Donato serves UTOPIA WA with a strong background as an Administrative Professional in the warehousing and transportation industry and is an Accounting student. Having previously served six years on the Board of Directors and having served dually as Board Treasurer and Finance Director, she is excited to use her skills to elevate the work of UTOPIA WA and strengthening its organizational capacity.
Community Driven Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Closing the Gender Affirming Care Loophole
Fred Felman -
Judge Michael Fitzgerald - Michael W. Fitzgerald is a United States District Judge for the Central District of California. He was appointed in 2012. He was the second openly gay man to be appointed an Article III judge, and was the first LGBT Article III judge outside of Manhattan. Before his appointment, Judge Fitzgerald practiced at Corbin, Fitzgerald & Athey LLP and its predecessor firms, focusing his practice on federal criminal cases and commercial litigation. While in private practice, he served as pro bono trial counsel for the class of LGBT FBI agents, employees and applicants in Buttino v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al.; the case resulted in the FBI’s abandoning its practice of not hiring openly LGBT agents. Judge Fitzgerald served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1991. He is a lifetime member of the LGBTQ+ Bar Association of Los Angeles. Judge Fitzgerald clerked for the Honorable Irving R. Kaufman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1985 to 1986. In 1985, he graduated from the School of Law of the University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley Law), where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Harvard University.
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
Bree Fram -
Lieutenant Colonel Bree Fram is an active duty astronautical engineer (rocket scientist) in the US Air Force and re-commissioned into the Space Force in March 2021. Bree has served in a wide variety of Air Force positions including recently in a Research and Development command position and in an oversight role for all Air Force security cooperation and security assistance activity with Iraq. Bree is the President of SPART*A, an organization that advocates and educates about transgender military service and is dedicated to the support and professional development of over 1100 transgender service members. A member of SPART*A since 2014, she focuses on policy and advocacy work. She has provided a number of educational briefings on transgender and diversity issues to military and civilian audiences and is available for speaking engagements or media requests.
The Long War: What Have We Learned from the Battle to End the Transgender Military Ban?
David Francis - David Francis, based in Los Angeles where he works for the Norton Rose Fulbright law firm, spends part of each year back on his family's farm in Australia. He is the author of The Great Inland Sea, published to acclaim in seven countries, and Stray Dog Winter, Book of the Year in The Advocate, winner of the American Library Association Barbara Gittings Prize for Literature and a LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist. He has taught creative writing at University of California, Los Angeles, Occidental College and in the Masters of Professional Writing program at University of Southern California. His short fiction and articles have appeared in publications including Harvard Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Southern California Review, Best Australian Stories 2012 and 2014, Australian Love Stories, Los Angeles Times and The Rattling Wall. He is Vice President of PEN Center USA.
Michele Frangella - Based in Boston, Michele is the North America Immigration Lead for Publicis Groupe, the world’s third largest communications group operating in over 100 countries with a mobile workforce of over 80,000 people. She is responsible for developing and executing immigration compliance and case strategy for North America, overseeing the delivery of immigration case management services for the U.S. and Canada and for driving the immigration program expansion throughout Latin America. Michele’s subject matter expertise is relied upon to evolve and scale the company’s immigration program to meet the challenges of a complex immigration environment. In addition to Michele’s experience leading the North America Immigration Team, she was a U.S. immigration attorney whose wide-ranging experience includes working for international law firms, the Department of Justice and a nonprofit migration agency.
Terrence Franklin - Terrence M. Franklin is a seasoned attorney with nearly three decades of experience handling trust and estates and probate litigation, disputes and appeals. His breadth of experience underscores the firm's long-standing reputation and the reason clients turn to the firm for complex cases involving significant dollar amounts. Mr. Franklin has extensive trial and appellate experience, including successful published appeals and the landmark Moeller case, which was brought before the California Supreme Court. 16 Cal. 4th 1124. An active member of the trusts and estates legal community, Mr. Franklin serves as Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Committee of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), where he is committed to improving the level of membership and engagement among diverse and minority lawyers. He is working with ACTEC to develop strategies to make the trusts and estates practice area more attractive to minority law students and young attorneys, and was instrumental in developing a diversity and inclusivity mission statement for ACTEC, a fellowship to support potential future fellows in the college, and a statement condemning racism on behalf of the organization. Mr. Franklin serves as the host of ACTEC's video series Planning for a Diverse and Equitable Future which explores the role of trusts and estates in addressing issues of diversity and inequality in America.
Back to the Basics: Advising Other Professionals in 2021 in Family/Estate Planning and Taxation Issues to Best Advise Their LGBTQ+ Clients
Sylvan Fraser - Sylvan Fraser (they/them) is a Staff Attorney with interACT. Sylvan became involved with interACT as an intern, transitioning to full-time staff after graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2015. While in school, Sylvan also served on two law journals and co-ran the Berkeley chapter of Law Students for Reproductive Justice. The California Law Review and the International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare have published Sylvan’s work, which focuses on gender-based violence and promoting intersex rights.
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
Judge Shannon Frison - Judge Shannon Frison was appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court in March of 2013 at age 42. She took that seat after serving for more than 3 years on the Boston Municipal Court in from 2009-2013, beginning her tenure on the bench at age 39. Before her appointment, Judge Frison practiced locally and abroad as owner of Frison Law Firm, P.C. Her practice focused on 'blue collar' criminal law and military justice. Judge Frison spent nearly seven years as a litigation associate at the former white collar defense firm, Dwyer & Collora, LLP in Boston, MA, prior to opening her own firm. Judge Frison Graduated from Hyde Park Career Academy in 1988 and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Government from Harvard University & Radcliffe College in 1992. She went on to receive her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in 1995. Judge Frison was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1995, and began her career as an Assistant District Attorney with the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office where she worked out of the Quincy District Court. Judge Frison holds the rank of Major in the United States Marine Corps, and is a Marine Corps Judge Advocate. She completed Officer Candidates School and accepted her commission in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1994. She continued on to complete The Basic School and Naval Justice School in 1997. From 1997-2000 she was the prosecutor aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina. In addition to serving the country and practicing law, she has served as a Guberman Teaching Fellow at Brandeis University for three years teaching "Introduction to Law," as well as appearing as guest lecturer at Brandeis on military justice and military tribunals. Judge Frison was also recently a member of the Boston Bar Association's "Task Force to Prevent Wrongful Convictions" and Harvard Law School's Trial Advocacy Workshop. She is a past President of the Massachusetts Black Judges Conference. Judge Frison is a jurist, a Major of Marines, and a mentor to new trial lawyers.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
Judge Phyllis R. Frye - On November 17, 2010, Houston mayor Annise Parker appointed Phyllis Randolph Frye as an Associate Judge for the City of Houston Municipal Courts. Judge Frye is the first openly transgender judge appointed in the United States.
Curtis Galloway - Curtis D Galloway is the Founder & President of Conversion Therapy Dropout Network in Los Angeles, California. Curtis grew up in a small town in Southern Illinois. When he was 16 years old he was subjected to conversion therapy; an experience he was later able to use to ban conversion therapy in his home State. Curtis went on to be a leading figure in many LGBTQ+ organizations in the Midwest. Now living in L.A., Curtis has taken his activism to the next level and founded the Conversion Therapy Dropout Network to bring survivors of conversion therapy together in community and solidarity. In his free time, Curtis likes to go to the beach, hike, and explore new places.
Born Perfect: New Victories & Challenges in the Movement to End Conversion Therapy
Michelle Garcia - Michelle Garcia (she/hers) is an attorney with New Mexico Legal Aid where she manages the LGBTQ+ legal access program, Safe to Be You, which focuses on civil rights litigation and advocacy for survivors of violence in rural and indigenous communities in New Mexico. She oversees the northern offices (Santa Fe, Taos, and Las Vegas) for New Mexico Legal Aid. Garcia works with local and regional community groups on issues related to rural access to justice including non-attorney advocate training.
After Bostock: How the Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling is Shaping Legal Advocacy Beyond Employment for LGBTQ+ People
Justice Elizabeth Garry - The Honorable Elizabeth A. Garry was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo as the 16th Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department on January 1, 2018. She was elected Supreme Court Justice for the Sixth Judicial District in 2006 and 2020 and appointed to the Third Department effective March 19, 2009. Presiding Justice Garry graduated from Alfred University and Albany Law School, with honors. She began her legal career as Confidential Law Clerk to the Honorable Irad S. Ingraham, Justice of the Supreme Court, from 1990 to 1994. Presiding Justice Garry subsequently engaged in private practice with the Joyce Law Firm in Central New York and served on the Planning Board for the Town of New Berlin in Chenango County. She was elected as Town Justice in the Town of New Berlin in 2001 and reelected to a second term in 2005. Presiding Justice Garry is a past Co-Chair and current Commissioner of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the New York Courts. She has served on various boards and professional associations, including the International Association of LGBTQ Judges, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, the NYSBA Special Committee on LGBT People and the Law, Albany Law School's National Alumni Association Board, the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board, the Third Department CLE Committee and the Association of Justices of Supreme Court of New York State. Presiding Justice Garry is a founding member of the Del-Chen-O Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York.
From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study
Robyn Gigl - Robyn Gigl is the author of BY WAY OF SORROW. She is also an attorney and activist who has been honored by the ACLU-NJ and the NJ Pride Network for her work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community. Robyn is a partner at Gluck Walrath, LLP in Freehold, NJ, where she handles complex commercial and employment litigation. She has been selected as a NJ Super Lawyer since 2010 and as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in NJ in 2020 & 2021. The New Jersey Law Journal recently named Robyn as one of the Top Women in the Law for 2020 and she been included on Insider NJ’s LGBTQ Top 100 Power List. Appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Committee on Diversity Inclusion and Community Engagement, Robyn is also active in the New Jersey State Bar Association where she is a member of the Diversity Committee, the Women in the Profession Section and a Past Chair of the Bar's LGBT Rights Section. In 2019 Robyn was selected by the Governor and Legislature to be a member of the New Jersey Transgender Equality Taskforce. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Garden State Equality, NJ’s largest LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Organization. She is a graduate of Stonehill College and Villanova University School of Law. Robyn lives in New Jersey, where she continues to practice law by day, and work on her next Erin McCabe novel by night. Fortunately, she has a very boring social life.
Dr. Margie Gill - Margie Gill is a licensed psychotherapist and clinical supervisor for mental health professionals. Dr. Gill has been actively involved in mentoring youth, serving the community, and providing humanitarian aid for over 25 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Georgia Gwinnett College and master’s degree in Clinical Counseling Psychology from Brenau University. After working as the Executive Director for the counseling agency, Family and Youth Interventions, LLC, Dr. Gill decided to advocate for marginalized populations and pursued her doctorate in Counseling at the University of Georgia. She later became the Executive Director for Tabitha’s House, Inc, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and teaches awareness and prevention against human trafficking. Dr. Gill also serves on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Taskforce Workgroups 4, Workgroup 7, and Workgroup 9. She is also the Vice-Chair for the DeKalb County Juvenile Court Mental Health Court - Journey Program Advisory Board. Dr. Gill conducts presentations and participates in community forums and panel discussions to increase awareness about human trafficking, community revitalization, and empowerment. Dr. Gill is also faculty, clinical supervisor, and Assistant Clinic Director for the Psychology Department of Brenau University. She has completed research projects focusing on topics that range from sex trafficking, self-identity, family structure, achievement, juvenile delinquency, and gang affiliation. Dr. Gill is an Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Board Certified Counselor (NBCC), Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor (CPCS), and Certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Additionally, Dr. Gill serves on several boards in various capacities spanning across international borders. In this capacity, she assists in developing schools in Nicaragua, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Minister of Education of Rwanda recently appointed Dr. Margie Gill and Dr. Phillip Haynes as the main researchers to explore factors that impact attaining educational achievement for the entire country.
Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins
Alison Gill - Alison Gill (she/her) is Vice President, Legal and Policy, for American Atheists where she manages the organization’s federal and state advocacy for religious equality and litigation activities to protect the separation of religion and government. Alison is a nationally recognized expert on civil rights law and state advocacy. Prior to her work with American Atheists, Alison worked as a consultant to nonprofits focusing on advocacy strategy and systemic change and as Senior Legislative Counsel at the Human Rights Campaign, where she managed state-level advocacy on issues such as conversion therapy, bullying prevention, education discrimination, health and wellness, youth homelessness, and data collection.
After Fulton: (How) Are Trump’s Judges Trumping LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Protections?
Elizabeth Gill - Elizabeth Gill is a Senior Staff Attorney for the Gender, Sexuality & Reproductive Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California and the National ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. Elizabeth has been at the ACLU since 2008, and she leads litigation and advocacy around the country related to ensuring the equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and on reproductive justice and gender equity. Elizabeth’s current litigation includes the Carcaño v. McCrory case in federal court challenging North Carolina’s law (HB 2) that requires transgender people to use restrooms that do not accord with their gender identity and prohibits the protection of LGBTQ people more generally. She successfully represented a gay couple in the Arlene’s Flowers case in Washington state against a florist who refused to sell them flowers for their wedding. In a California case, she challenged the refusal of religiously-affiliated hospitals that receive state and federal funding to comply with laws protecting women and transgender people. Elizabeth is also part of the team representing Gavin Grimm, the transgender teenager whose case was briefly in the U.S. Supreme Court, and she led the nationwide effort to coordinate amicus briefs. As the lead for the ACLU of Nor Cal’s LGBTQ work, Elizabeth has also worked on numerous legislative and ballot initiative campaigns—from California’s Prop 8 to AB 1266, California’s law guaranteeing that transgender students have access to the facilities and activities that accord with their gender identity. She also brought and led several successful cases establishing the right of same-sex couples to marry around the country. She successfully sued a Central Valley school district for their failure to provide comprehensive sex education, which resulted in the first court ruling to find that abstinence-only-until marriage instruction is unlawful on the grounds of medical accuracy and bias, and she continues to litigate the historic Hegar v. Panetta challenge to the Department of Defense’s exclusion of women from combat positions. Prior to joining the ACLU, Elizabeth worked at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco and at WilmerHale in Washington, DC. Elizabeth graduated with honors from Columbia College with a degree in Philosophy and from Harvard Law School, where she was Notes Editor on the Harvard Law Review. She also clerked for the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Elizabeth speaks frequently about her work, appearing on panels at Berkeley, Stanford, and Duke Law, among others, and has appeared on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show and KQED’s Forum. She is also a former board member of the GSA Network (formerly the Gay-Straight Alliance Network), and in her free time, enjoys hiking on Mount Tam and crossword puzzles.
James Gilliam - James Gilliam is an award-winning attorney who has extensive experience working on a wide variety of civil rights, immigration, homelessness and LGBT issues. He teaches numerous courses as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School, including a Transgender Rights Seminar. In 2010, the National LGBT Bar Association named Gilliam one of the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40.
Erica Glanz - Erica Glanz serves as a Senior Counsel, Labor and Employment, at Bunzl Distribution. Erica was recently appointed to the position of Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Bunzl North America, adding this new role to her existing portfolio of responsibilities. Erica is responsible for initiating and coordinating Bunzl's efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive environment. Ms. Glanz has been instrumental in providing legal and policy advice to Bunzl since joining the company in 2011.
Start Where You Are: A Phased Approach to Building Effective and Sustainable D&I Programs
Rebecca Glatzer - A former real estate attorney and family law litigator, I regularly advise law firms about the lateral market and diversity in recruiting. I regularly speak to lawyers and law schools on topics as varied as choosing the right practice area, going in-house, finding a mentor, and building a personal brand. I have been published in Above the Law, Law 360, and ALM periodicals. I have received numerous accolades for my effectiveness as a legal recruiter and was named to the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "Who's Who in Law." I am a co-founding member of Outlaws, MLA's LGBTQIA employee resource group and podcast host of Bouncing Back: Resilience for Lawyers.
Sarah Gonski - Sarah Gonski has practiced as litigator in Perkins Coie's Political Law Group for more than five years. In that time, she has litigated voting rights cases at every level of the state and federal judiciaries. Sarah served on the case team for the Brnovich lawsuit since the complaint was filed in district court and was a key part of the team that briefed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sarah also litigated several challenges to Arizona's electoral results in the wake of the 2020 election. Sarah is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Voting Rights in 2021 and Beyond: Combating Harmful Legislation, the Fight for Fair Electoral Districts, and the Future of the Voting Rights Act After Brnovich
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan - Omar Gonzalez-Pagan is a Senior Attorney and the Health Care Strategist at 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. He has played a critical role in advancing the rights of LGBTQ people under the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights laws in virtually every aspect of our lives, including education, employment, health care, and housing. Gonzalez-Pagan was instrumental in achieving two of the latest victories for LGBTQ people before the U.S. Supreme Court: Obergefell v. Hodges and Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. Gonzalez-Pagan is also a key architect of Lambda Legal's efforts to secure the ability of transgender people to obtain accurate identity documents, including birth certificates. He has served as lead counsel in Arroyo Gonzalez v. Rossello Nevares, Foster v. Andersen, and MHW v. Cuomo, where he secured the right of transgender people born in Puerto Rico, Kansas, and New York to obtain accurate birth certificates consistent with their gender identity, as well as Gore v. Lee, challenging Tennessee's discriminatory birth certificate policies. Gonzalez-Pagan is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Cornell University. He was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Recognition Not Permission: A New Era of Access to IDs for Trans and Non-Binary People
Clay Goode -
Chris Grant - Christopher Grant is a Senior Product and Privacy Counsel at LinkedIn, where he’s worked for 4 years. In addition to his product and privacy work, he supports the LinkedIn business development team by doing tech transactions deals. Originally from Belize, Chris started his legal career at Morrison & Foerster Tokyo as an M&A associate before joining Jones Day Tokyo’s Finance team.
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.
Remington Gregg - Remington is Counsel for Civil Justice and Consumer Rights at Public Citizen, where he leads the fight to protect individuals from corporate abuses, working on a portfolio that includes promoting a fair and accessible justice system, consumer rights, and product safety. He is an expert in areas of civil rights, civil justice, and forced arbitration. Previously, Remington served as an attorney at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization, principally counseling the organization on issues related to hate crimes, criminal and racial justice, profiling, education, domestic violence, military and veterans, immigration, and foreign affairs. There, he was the principal author of a groundbreaking report exposing religious schools that sought exemptions from civil rights law to discriminate against LGBT students. The report became the basis for a California law requiring private colleges and universities to disclose policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Prior to joining HRC, he was Associate Counsel and Advisor for Open Government in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, advising on a range of legal and policy issues related to science, technology, and national security, and reducing legal and regulatory burdens to create a more open and accountable government. There, he co-wrote the nation’s first U.S. Open Government National Action Plan. In addition, Remington has also worked on civil rights litigation and policy with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund (LDF) and graduated from Binghamton University (State University of New York) and New York Law School. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York. Remington has testified before Congress and appeared before federal administrative agencies. He frequently speaks on civil justice, consumer, and product safety issues. He has appeared on television, print, and radio, including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Politico, The Hill, Bloomberg, Esquire, and Forbes, among others.
Melissa Schraibman Grinberg - Melissa Schraibman Grinberg (she/hers) joined the Chief Counsel’s office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) in January of 2021. Ms. Grinberg began her legal career in 1994 as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division’s Western Criminal Enforcement Section, traveling to jurisdictions across the American West to investigate and prosecute tax and related financial crimes. In 2003, she received the Department’s John Marshall award for Outstanding Legal Achievement for Trial of Litigation. Ms. Grinberg served as the Resident Legal Advisor to the U.S. Embassy in Albania from 2006-2010, where she worked with Albanian prosecutors and judicial police officers to combat financial crime and corruption. Ms. Grinberg served for many years on the DOJ Pride Board of Directors. In 2010, she received the Secretary of State award for Outstanding Volunteerism in 2010 for her work with the LGBT community in Albania. Ms. Grinberg received her undergraduate degree in Physics from the College of Charleston and her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Out in Enforcement: Challenges and Issues in Federal Government Enforcement Careers
Judge Alyson Grine - In January of 2021, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper appointed Alyson A. Grine to serve as a Superior Court Judge for Judicial District 15B. She is the only out lesbian ever to have served in this role in North Carolina and the only woman ever to have served in this role in her District. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Grine was a prosecutor in Durham, North Carolina in the Homicide Unit. She has also worked as an Assistant Professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, and the Defender Educator at the UNC School of Government, where she specialized in criminal law and procedure and how issues of racial and ethnic bias may affect criminal proceedings. Grine received the Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Teaching Excellence Award from the School in 2012 and the Margaret Taylor Writing Award in 2015 for her work on Raising issues of Race in North Carolina Criminal Cases. Before joining UNC, Grine worked for five years as an Assistant Public Defender in Orange and Chatham counties. She served as a judicial clerk for Chief Justice Henry Frye of the NC Supreme Court in 2000 and for Judge Patricia Timmons-Goodson of the NC Court of Appeals in 1999. Grine earned a BA with distinction and a JD with honors from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MA in Spanish from the University of Virginia. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with her wife and two children.
Sharita Gruberg - Sharita Gruberg (she/her) is the Vice President of the LGBTQ Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress. In that role, she leads the organization's work advancing LGBTQ equality and combating discrimination. Prior to joining CAP, 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, 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 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.
After Fulton: (How) Are Trump’s Judges Trumping LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Protections?
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 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.
Catherine Hanssens - Catherine Hanssens, Executive Director and Founder of the Center for HIV Law and Policy, has been active in HIV legal and policy issues since 1984. Previously, Hanssens was AIDS Project Director at Lambda Legal, where she led Lambda's HIV-related litigation and policy work. She also worked with the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, where she created and managed one of the first medical-legal partnerships in the country, with on-site HIV legal services in several hospitals and clinics. While a staff attorney at the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate, Hanssens successfully litigated the state's first cases on involuntary HIV testing, a class action challenge to segregation and mistreatment of prisoners with HIV in the New Jersey state prison system, and the only federal appeals court case recognizing the right of incarcerated women to funded elective abortions. She also has been a visiting clinical professor at Rutgers University Law School-Newark and Director of the law school's Women and AIDS Clinic.
Monisha Harrell - Monisha Harrell (she/her), a Seattle native, is Board Chair for Equal Rights Washington and chairs the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. Monisha has served as a fellow for Lifelong AIDS Alliance, co-chair of the Capitol Hill LGBTQ Public Safety Task Force, an appointee to the City of Seattle’s 2017 search committee for the new Director of Police Accountability, and co-chair for the De-Escalate Washington campaign committee (I-940) requiring de-escalation training for all law enforcement officers in Washington State in 2018. The Stranger named Monisha one of “The Smartest People in Seattle Politics” in 2013, and she was most recently honored as the Greater Seattle Business Association's Community Leader of the Year for 2018. As Chair of Equal Rights Washington, Monisha has helped lead work to ban conversion therapy for minors in Washington State, pass an updated Uniform Parentage Act to support LGBTQ families, and ban trans panic and gay panic as legal defenses for violence against the LGBTQ community. Harrell was recently appointed (July 2020) by Governor Jay Inslee to serve on a task force to provide recommendations for legislation on independent investigations involving police use of force, and recently completed work (June 2020) as a member of Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Hate Crime Advisory Working Group. In 2019, Monisha participated in a leadership exchange program with the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) supporting LGBTQ community advancement in both Thailand and Malaysia. Monisha owns and operates a small marketing firm, Rule Seven, focused on community-driven outreach and engagement. She has an undergraduate degree from Columbia University, and an MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. In 2017, Monisha was named The University of Washington Consulting and Business Development Center’s Alumni of the Year.
Erin Harrist - Erin Beth Harrist (she/they) is the Supervising Attorney of The Legal Aid Society's LGBTQ+ Law and Policy Unit where she leads strategic litigation and policy efforts to advance LGBTQ+ liberation. She also leads the Unit in its training and education of The Legal Aid's Society over 2,000 staff members in supporting and affirming LGBTQ+ clients. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Ms. Harrist was a Senior Staff Attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union where she litigated civil rights cases involving the rights of farmworkers to organize, police use of chokeholds and tasers against youth, and the rights of TGNCNB people when interacting with the criminal law system, among other issues. She graduated from Columbia Law School in 2007.
Fighting for the Rights of TGNCNBI People in Prisons and Jails: A Legislative Perspective
Wendy Hartmann - Wendy E. Hartmann was born in Brooklyn, New York, and received her B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Oswego. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of LaVerne, College of Law and her Master of Laws (LL.M). in Taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law. Ms. Hartmann is admitted to the California Bar, the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, the United States Supreme Court and the United States Tax Court. Ms. Hartmann is certified by the State Bar of California, as a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, and has received recognition as a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2011-2013 and 2015-2018, as well as being recognized as one of the Top Women Lawyers in Southern California. Prior to receiving her J.D. and LL.M, she practiced for more than twenty years in the areas of taxation, accounting, estate planning, business management and development, and human resources, as well as serving for several years as a Vice President at a nationwide human resource consulting firm. Ms. Hartmann now specializes in the areas of estate planning, trust administration, probate, taxation, business formation and development. A significant portion of her practice is devoted to advising same-sex couples and the LGBT community regarding estate planning, family formation, adoption and taxation matters. Ms. Hartmann is a frequent lecturer in the areas of taxation as well as the evolving laws affecting the LGBT community and taxation for same-sex couples, and has presented programs at the American Bar Association Tax Conference, the California State Bar Annual Meeting, State Bar Taxation Conference, as well as the Estate and Gift Tax Conference. In addition, she has made presentations to various sections of the Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills, San Fernando Valley, and Orange County Bar Associations, along with programs to Certified Public Accountants, estate planning councils and a wide variety of LGBT organizations, including Lambda Legal, Equality California, Love Honor Cherish, The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, Lavender Law, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Back to the Basics: Advising Other Professionals in 2021 in Family/Estate Planning and Taxation Issues to Best Advise Their LGBTQ+ Clients
Douglas Hauer - Doug is a noted authority on the EB-5 investor visa program, which gives developers a path for securing capital for real estate, hospitality, and infrastructure projects. His fluency with the program makes Doug an essential resource for companies looking for financing from offshore sources. International entrepreneurs and companies also rely on him when launching a business within the borders of the US. He is ideally positioned to advise clients on immigration and corporate law issues that arise in doing business in the US. Doug is a Member in the firm's Corporate & Securities Practice and Immigration Practice. On the corporate side, he focuses on private offerings and related securities work. Doug serves as counsel to developers and businesses seeking capital from offshore sources including through the EB-5 investor visa program. He also works with entrepreneurs, new ventures and established businesses on setting up operations in the US, providing advice on entity formation and on the legal risks of expanding into the US. In the immigration law space, Doug represents corporate, institutional, and individual clients in routine and complex immigration matters. He has in-depth experience advising companies on the immigration consequences of corporate restructuring, as well as representing clients in immigration-related investigations involving the US DOL, USCIS and FBI. Doug frequently speaks, writes and is often quoted in the press about immigration, corporate and securities law, and foreign investment.
Anjelica Hendricks - Anjelica Hendricks (she/her) is a Quattrone Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Anjelica uses her previous experiences as a Senior Policy Analyst for Philadelphia’s Police Advisory Commission (PAC) and a Philadelphia Public Defender to enhance police accountability and advocate for antiracist policies within policing. Anjelica’s current research focuses on policing surveillance technologies, police use of force, and police discipline. Anjelica also serves on the Board of the Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Greater Philadelphia region.
Reimagining Policing: LGBTQ+ and Racial Equity Issues in Law Enforcement
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen - Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen is the Deputy Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. He is a transgender policy, advocacy, and messaging expert. As a transgender man, his wide-ranging experience in the LGBTQ movement has covered field organizing, leadership development, fundraising, and media advocacy. He previously worked with Freedom for All Americans, GLAAD, the Transgender Law Center, Gender Justice LA, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. In past roles, he trained thousands of volunteers to canvass and phone bank on groundbreaking nondiscrimination and marriage equality campaigns, and organized leadership development programs in transgender communities and LGBTQ communities of color, honing new strategies for social change. Most recently, he co-led the successful campaign to update New Hampshire’s nondiscrimination protections to include transgender Granite Staters. Over the course of his career, he has conducted international Spanish-language interviews, including on Univision, Telemundo, and CNN en Español, as well as English-language interviews with outlets such as The New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, and Politico. Rodrigo graduated from Brown University and lives in Washington, D.C. He serves on the Board of Directors of AsylumConnect, a non-profit connecting LGBTQ migrants fleeing persecution with resources in the US and Canada.
The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress
Andrew Henning - Andrew Henning serves a Trial Attorney in the Civil Division-Torts Branch of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC. Previously, Andrew served an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas where he handled cases related to child exploitation, violent crime, and police misconduct. Prior to being an AUSA, he served in a dual-role as the General Counsel of the Chicago Crime Commission and Davis Bancorp Armored Car Carrier. Andrew started his legal career as an Assistant State's Attorney with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Chicago. Prior to law school, Andrew was as an Honors Paralegal with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division-Criminal Section in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, where he was a Sidney Lezak Scholar and the University of Iowa.
Representative Leslie Herod - Representative Leslie Herod was elected in 2016 as the first LGBTQ African American in the Colorado General Assembly. Since then, she has passed 77 bills, addressing criminal justice reform, mental health, addiction, youth homelessness, and civil rights protections. Some of her signature work includes: 1) Ending cash bail for minor offenses, 2) De-felonizing drug possession, 3) Giving every Colorado newborn a $100 college kickstarter account, 4) Providing free menstrual hygiene products to inmates in Colorado’s prisons and jails, 5) Passing a comprehensive police accountability bill following the highly public murder of George Floyd, and the nationwide movement that followed, and 6) In addition to winning reelection in 2018, Herod championed a ballot initiative - Caring for Denver - that raises $35 million annually for mental health and substance abuse treatment and services for children and adults. Herod is the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, a member of the Committee on Legal Services, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, and the Chair of the Colorado Black Democratic Legislative Caucus.
Adam K. Hersh - Adam Hersh works on a broad range of complex litigation matters. Adam earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was a Notes Editor of the Stanford Law Review. Prior to joining Selendy & Gay, Adam clerked for the Honorable Harris L Hartz in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and for the Honorable Analisa Torres in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Born Perfect: New Victories & Challenges in the Movement to End Conversion Therapy
Karen Kendra Holmes - Karen Kendra Holmes has dedicated much of her adult life to serving her country and community, including more than five years in the Maryland Defense Force, a volunteer, state military agency that assists Maryland’s Army National Guard, Air National Guard, and Emergency Management Agency. She achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant before retiring in early 2017.
The Long War: What Have We Learned from the Battle to End the Transgender Military Ban?
Lousene Hoppe - Lousene is a litigator and criminal defense attorney who represents corporations and individuals accused of health care fraud, financial or tax crimes, and criminal felony and misdemeanor cases at both the state and federal levels. She also focuses on foreign corruption practices act (FCPA) investigations and due diligence, false claims act (FCA) litigation, investigations of alleged regulatory or licensing violations, and related commercial litigation matters. Lousene is experienced in dealing with representatives/agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Labor (DoL), and other government agencies on behalf of clients under investigation for civil or criminal penalties. She assists companies and individuals with responding to grand jury or administrative subpoenas and civil investigative demands (CIDs). Lousene offers practical guidance for those who face exclusion from state and federal programs, including Medicare/Medicaid. Her commercial litigation practice focuses on shareholder disputes, civil fraud and misrepresentation, and the healthcare industry.
Andrean Horton - Ms. Andrean Horton is the former Chief Legal Officer of Myers Industries. In this role, she partnered with C-Suite executives and senior leadership to assess, recommended and took legal action for business transactions, compliance initiatives and progressive legal plans. Andrean also served as Interim President & Chief Executive Officer of the company during 2019 and 2020. Andrean was serving in the position of Interim President & Chief Executive Officer at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was responsible for determining both the company’s initial response to the outbreak, along with determining the company’s path forward, including but not limited to, plant and office continuing operations, safety protocols, and communications plans for internal and external constituents. Upon her return to her role as Chief Legal Officer, Andrean continued to lead the company’s response efforts, such as return to work protocols and its approach to vaccination guidance. Prior to joining Myers Industries, Andrean was the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Secretary of A. Schulman, Inc. She has also worked at the Bartech Group and YRC Worldwide. Andrean started her legal career as an associate at Calfee, Halter, & Griswold LLP. She received a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and holds a JD from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Andrean is on the Board of Directors for the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company, a for profit subsidiary of the Ohio State Bar Association, providing professional liability insurance to attorneys throughout the state, and DANCECleveland, a non-profit organization that curates dance programs to bring world-renowned dance companies to Northeast Ohio.
Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World
Kimberly A. Hulsey - Kimberly A. Hulsey, a Director in Major, Lindsey & Africa's In-House Counsel Practice, advises in-house legal departments on strategic hiring decisions and places the best fit legal, government affairs and compliance talent in corporations, government agencies, not-for-profits and higher education institutions throughout the D.C. metro area. Kimberly is also a member of Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Diversity, Inclusion + Belonging Leadership Council and the In-House Recruiting Diversity Committee. As a native of the Washington, D.C., region and a late-in-life runner, Kimberly can often be found running — audio books in ear — along area trails, training for an upcoming 10-miler, half-marathon or marathon. Cupcakes, fine dining and activity with her local Jack and Jill Chapter are Kimberly’s personal passions, as is her teenaged, basketball obsessed daughter. Before joining Major, Lindsey & Africa, Kimberly served as vice president, legal and government affairs for Scripps Networks, Interactive. In this role, she led the government and industry advocacy initiatives that advanced Scripps’ business objectives. She also provided legal support to Scripps’ real estate, construction, human resources, bankruptcy, research and corporate social responsibility functions. Immediately before Scripps, Kimberly spent several years with TV One, starting as vice president, legal affairs and then advanced to the position of senior vice president, legal affairs and HR strategy. In addition to leading the HR department, she was responsible for all legal matters associated with distribution of the TV One network. Later, Kimberly transitioned to the business leadership role of senior vice president, distribution and strategy where she developed marketing and distribution strategies to achieve performance objectives and optimize partner relationships. Prior to joining TV One, Kimberly was associate general counsel for affiliate and government relations at BET, supporting carriage negotiations with cable and satellite companies and maintaining primary responsibility for regulatory issues affecting the company. She began her career as an associate with Fleischman & Walsh, LLP and an attorney-advisor with the FCC’s Mass Media Bureau. Immediately after law school, Kimberly was a law clerk to Judge Michael Rankin of the D.C. Superior Court.
Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World
Devin Hursey - Devin Hursey is an advocate for people living with HIV and public health, from Kansas City Missouri, currently pursuing dual master’s degrees in Public Health and strategic communications at the University of Missouri Columbia. In 2019, Hursey was honored as one of the 40 under 40 in public health by de Beaumont. His local and state work includes: legislative advocacy with the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition, and board membership of Blaqout KC. In addition, Hursey is a steering committee member of the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus, and a steering committee member of MPACT global action for gay men’s health and rights. Formerly: an appointed member of the CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV and Viral Hepatitis, a peer educator at Truman Medical Center, co-chair of the Youth PACT, a youth ambassador for NASTAD, and a member of The Campaign to End AIDS’s Youth Action Institute.
Fran Hutchins - Fran Hutchins is Executive Director at Equality Federation, the national strategic partner to state-based organizations working to win equality in the communities we call home. She has been with the Federation since 2012 and has worked on the ground with our partners to build strong organizations, develop tailored strategies, and create data-driven solutions to meet the needs of our movement. Fran’s career has focused on building a strong progressive movement that changes the way we approach some of our most pressing social problems: poverty, homelessness, education, economic inequality, and discrimination. She is especially proud to have served as Regional Field Director for Mainers United for Marriage, the successful 2012 campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples in Maine. Fran completed her MBA and Masters of Public Policy and Public Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Fran grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her wife, Laura Kalba, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and their orange cat, Oscar Wilde, and fluffy dog, Otis.
Angela Irvine-Baker - Dr. Irvine has more than 25 years of experience in education and social policy. Raised in Santa Cruz County, CA, Dr. Irvine earned her BA from UC Berkeley in 1988, her secondary teaching credential from St. Mary’s College of California in 1989, and her PhD in sociology from Northwestern University in 2002 while simultaneously serving as a National Science Fellow (NSF) in public policy and program evaluation. Dr. Irvine spent eight years running Ceres Policy Research from 2002 through 2010, four years as research director at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), and two years as a Vice President at Impact Justice. She has studied housing, education, health, and criminal justice policy. She has served as the principal investigator of a national study of youth deincarceration; a national study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, gender nonconforming and transgender (LGBQ/GNCT) young people in the youth justice system; a project to improve permanency for LGBT youth and youth of color within the criminal justice and youth justice systems; a survey of every detention hall, ranch, and camp in California to understand statewide pathways into the youth justice system for LGBT young people; a four-county study of the links between school discipline and justice involvement; and two studies to understand the impact of the criminalization of immigration on families and communities.
Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins
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.
Human Rights and Trade: Using Ancillary Tools as Carrots and Sticks to Promote The Biden Administration's Human Rights Agenda
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.
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). 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 (retail). Mike also leads WIT’s data governance team. Prior to Microsoft, Mike was Director, Employee Relations Counsel at Target Corporation where he led the employment team for Target’s Central US region. Before Target, Mike led an Employee Relations and Labor Relations team for all of Smucker’s U.S. manufacturing facilities. Prior to Smucker, Mike was global employment counsel at McDonald’s Corporation. Mike was recognized by the LGBT Bar as one of its 2019 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers under 40, and he was also recognized as an LCLD Fellow in 2019. Mike lives in Seattle, WA with his husband, Chad.
Time Management & Digital Detox for LGBTQ+ Lawyers and Law Students: Your 26-Week Action Plan
Norma Jackson - Norma uses her creativity, passion and experience to manage attorney professional development and lead Thompson Coburn's extensive diversity efforts at all levels of the Firm, among clients, and in our legal and business communities across the country. As Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Norma serves as a thought leader and resource to Firm leadership, and actively collaborates with practice leaders, committee leaders, and the Firm's Management Committee to develop and drive the execution of the Firm's talent development, and diversity and inclusion strategies. Norma supports internal affinity groups, leads work on the Total Commitment Women's Initiative program, and facilitates Thompson Coburn's frequent partnerships and collaborations with diverse bar associations and law student associations in each of our markets. She also works to maintain the Firm's top-tier rankings for national workplace honors focused on women's leadership, LGBT equality, and racial and ethnic diversity. Drawing on her experience in human resources management, Norma plays a special role in the recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse attorneys and staff. Through her use of data, surveys, and in-person interviews, Norma is skilled at identifying needed areas of improvement and developing smart, practical diversity strategies. The underlying goal of these strategies is the same: Create welcoming work environments and lay the groundwork for the lasting success of professionals from underrepresented groups. Before coming to Thompson Coburn, Norma served in a number of recruitment and diversity-focused positions at the University of Missouri, most recently as the Director of Faculty and Professional Staff Diversity Enhancement and Engagement for the university's College of Education. In her time at the University of Missouri, where she also obtained a law degree, Norma led cultural competency programs for faculty and professional staff, coordinated annual diversity awards that recognized outstanding leaders in diversity and inclusion, and created the university's first standalone diversity and inclusion center within a college on campus. Norma also served as co-chair of the College of Education's Diversity Committee and led the launch of the college's first-ever chapter of the National Alliance of Black School Educators. In 2020, Norma was honored by The Missouri Lawyers Media 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Awards.
Start Where You Are: A Phased Approach to Building Effective and Sustainable D&I Programs
Judge Mike Jacobs - Judge Mike Jacobs has served since June 2015 on the State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia. He is the first openly bisexual person to serve as a trial or appellate judge in the United States. Prior to his judicial service, he served ten and a half years in the Georgia House of Representatives. His legislative service included five years as 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. In 2010, he received the Allen Thornell Political Advancement Award from Georgia Equality for passing a stronger anti-bullying law for public schools. He 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 earned his bachelor’s degree in 1997 from Georgetown University. He serves on the boards of directors of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, and Leadership DeKalb. He was recognized by the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia in 2019 with its award for Outstanding Service to the Stonewall Community. He also was recognized by the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges in 2020 with one of its President’s Awards. He is the proud parent of three children, Jonah, Eli, and Samantha.
Bridging the Gap in LGBTQ+ Rights Litigation: A Community Discussion on Bisexual Visibility in the Law
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
Matthew Jannusch - Matthew W. Jannusch is an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation with more than 800 attorneys. Matthew is in his 20th year in the office and is currently assigned to the Community Justice Unit where he is tasked with reducing violence in Chicago Neighborhoods as well as reaching out to marginalized populations disproportionately affected by violence such as persons affected by mental illness, homeless youth, and transgender people of color, among others. Matthew has previously held assignments within the State’s Attorney’s Office in the Felony Trial Division, Domestic Violence, Mortgage Fraud, Public Corruption, Financial Crimes, and was a supervisor in the Child Support Enforcement Division. Matthew is the Immediate-Past President of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group which is part of the larger Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative of the office. Matthew serves as Treasurer on the Executive Board of Directors at LAGBAC, Chicago's LGBTQ+ Bar Association and currently chairs the Nominations Committee. He recently stepped down from the LAGBAC Judicial Evaluation Committee after 12 years of service and is currently involved in the LAGBAC mentoring program. Matthew is an active member the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Committee, the Cook County Bar Association's LGBTQ Section, the North Suburban Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago, the South Asian Bar Association of Illinois, and the Decalogue Society of Lawyers. Along with his bar activities, Matthew is active in other community organizations including the Junior Board for the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, one of Chicago’s oldest charitable organizations, which raises awareness and funds for visually impaired and blind children ages 0-3. He also participates as a member of his local neighborhood Park Advisory Council. Matthew has been a member of the National LGBT Bar Association since 2007 and has been an enthusiastic recruiter at the Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair for his employer over these many years. Matthew graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois University College of Law (NIU COL) in 2001 and was an Assistant Editor of the NIU COL Law Review.
Marina Jenkins - Marina Jenkins is the Director of Litigation and Policy for the National Redistricting Foundation and its affiliated organizations, which were launched in 2017 under the leadership of 82nd Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder, Jr. The National Redistricting Foundation fights to remedy structural barriers to fair representation by challenging unlawfully gerrymandered district maps, advocating for a fair and accurate 2020 Census, and holding elected officials accountable to protect voting rights and provide equitable access to the ballot. In her role, Marina oversees the Foundation's litigation portfolio, including developing the strategy to combat unfair maps in states across the country, and works to identify and amplify policy solutions for fair redistricting and a fair census. Marina formerly practiced in Jenner & Block's Election Law and Redistricting practice group and clerked for the Honorable Robert L. Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School.
Voting Rights in 2021 and Beyond: Combating Harmful Legislation, the Fight for Fair Electoral Districts, and the Future of the Voting Rights Act After Brnovich
Nesta Johnson - Nesta Johnson joined NCLR in 2020, continuing a career focused upon advocating for the rights of children and families, particularly in the child welfare arena. Before joining NCLR, Nesta served as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society, and later with the Children’s Law Center, in Brooklyn, New York. During her five-year tenure with The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, Nesta represented over seven hundred children in primarily child welfare matters. Subsequently, as a writing/appellate attorney with The Children’s Law Center, Nesta advocated for youth at the trial and appellate levels in primarily custody and visitation matters. Nesta believes that every child deserves to grow up in a safe, supportive, and accepting home, and that every family is entitled to recognition, respect, and equal treatment.
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.
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
Monic A. Johnson - Johnson brings leadership experience to Darigold from across a broad range of companies and legal firms. She has also worked in similar food and beverage industries that are directly relevant to Darigold’s business, including branded consumer products, cyclical agricultural commodities and global ingredients. She most recently served as the General Counsel for Bonduelle Americas, in Irwindale, Calif. Prior to joining Bonduelle, Johnson held legal roles at Ventura Foods, LLC; Western Digital Technology, INC., and Deutsche Bahn/DB Logistics/Bax Global. Johnson earned a J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.
Tim Johnston - Tim R. Johnston, PhD is the Senior Director of National Projects at SAGE. In that role he oversees the SAGECare cultural competency training program, the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, key aspects of SAGE’s housing initiative, SAGE’s diversity and equity initiative, and national partnerships with other advocacy organizations. Tim is the author of Welcoming LGBT Residents: A Practical Guide for Senior Living Staff which is the first comprehensive book on how to create a positive and safer experience for LGBT older adults in senior living settings. In addition to facilitating LGBT cultural competency trainings, Tim is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. He serves in several advisory and leadership roles, including on the governing board for the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, as a council member for the LGBT Aging Issues Network (LAIN) of the American Society on Aging, and he regularly represents SAGE as a subject matter expert on academic research teams. He is an Assistant Volunteer Ombudsman in Centre County Pennsylvania, and when he isn’t working he is probably hanging out with his partner and pets, reading, or working in the garden.
Meeting the Needs of LGBTQ+ Older Adults and Caregivers: Ethical, Legal, and Practical Challenges
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.
Justice Marcy Kahn - Marcy L. Kahn served as a trial and appellate judge in the New York State Court System for 32 years, recently retiring as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the First Judicial Department. Prior to commencing her judicial career, Justice Kahn worked for nearly a decade as a civil litigation partner and associate in major New York City law firms. Earlier, she was appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the New York State Special Prosecutor Investigating Corruption in the New York City Criminal Justice System. Kahn has developed and presented educational programs for judges and lawyers both nationally and locally for more than three decades, including programs for the National Judicial College, the American Bar Association, the United States Department of Justice and the New York State Judicial Institute. She was an invited speaker at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican in 2019, and also at a parallel event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2018. Kahn is the author of numerous published judicial opinions and several law review articles. She was the founding co-chair of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission in 2016. Justice Kahn received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Review of Law and Social Change.
From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study
Pamela Karlan - Pamela Karlan is the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Karlan previously served as the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and Co-Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Stanford Law School, and is one of the nation’s foremost experts on voting rights, civil rights, and constitutional law. She has served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission, an assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2014 to 2015 under the Obama Administration. Karlan is the co-author of leading casebooks on constitutional law, constitutional litigation, and the law of democracy, as well as numerous scholarly articles. Before joining Stanford Law School in 1998, Karlan was a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law and served as a law clerk to Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Abraham D. Sofaer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American Law Institute.
The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress
Sonia Katyal - Professor Sonia Katyal’s work focuses on the intersection of technology, intellectual property, and civil rights (including antidiscrimination, privacy, and freedom of speech). Professor Katyal’s current projects focus on artificial intelligence and intellectual property; the intersection between the right to information and human rights; trademark law and branding; and a variety of projects on the intersection between museums, cultural property and new media. As a member and chair of the university-wide Haas LGBT Cluster, Professor Katyal also works on matters regarding law, gender and sexuality. Professor Katyal’s recent publications include Technoheritage, in the California Law Review; Rethinking Private Accountability in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, in the UCLA Law Review; The Paradox of Source Code Secrecy, in the Cornell Law Review; Transparenthood in the Michigan Law Review (with Ilona Turner); Trademarks, Artificial Intelligence, and the Role of the Private Sector, also in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal (forthcoming, with Aniket Kesari); The Gender Panopticon in the UCLA Law Review (forthcoming) (with Jessica Jung); and From Trade Secrecy to Seclusion in Georgetown Law Journal (forthcoming). Professor Katyal has won several awards for her work, including an honorable mention in the American Association of Law Schools Scholarly Papers Competition, a Yale Cybercrime Award, and twice received a Dukeminier Award from the Williams Project at UCLA for her writing on gender and sexuality. Most recently, her article, The Paradox of Source Code Secrecy, was selected for inclusion in the Best Intellectual Property articles of 2019. She has also previously published shorter pieces with the New York Times, the Brooklyn Rail, Washington Post, CNN, Boston Globe’s Ideas section, Hyperallergic, Los Angeles Times, Slate, and the National Law Journal, and has also been cited by the Supreme Court.
Bria Brown King - Bria Brown King (they/them) is the Director of Engagement for interACT. Bria identifies as a queer, intersex, and non-binary masculine presenting Black person. They are currently living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bria’s intersex variation is Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, CAH for short. Bria started doing advocacy work as an intern with interACT where they published articles for them, the ACLU, and Teen Vogue. They were also the first out intersex person to speak about intersex issues on the steps of the Supreme Court. Bria also serves as an advisory board member for Astraea’s Lesbian Foundation for Justice as a part of their Intersex Human Rights Fund. Bria is also an advisory board member for the Non-binary & Intersex Recognition Project.
Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations
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.
Estate Planning 101: Everything You Need to Know But Didn’t Think to Ask!
Judge Victoria Kolakowski - Judge Victoria Kolakowski became the first openly transgender trial court judge of general jurisdiction when she was elected in Alameda County, California in 2010. Judge Kolakowski is passionate about ensuring access to justice and is the California Council of Churches' appointee to the California Access to Justice Commission. She is a former president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges (2015-2017), and she has spoken widely internationally on LGBT issues, especially transgender legal issues.
Marissa Kraynak - Marissa Kraynak (she/her) is the Director of Health Policy Research with a non-profit health policy institute, Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP). ITUP serves as a trusted health policy expert and neutral conveners connecting a network of California state and regional policymakers, health care leaders, and stakeholders. ITUP’s mission is to promote innovative and actionable policy solutions to expand health care access and improve the health of Californians. In her role at ITUP, Marissa curates policy content on timely policy issues impacting Californians in both written publications and policy convenings and webinars. Prior to joining ITUP, Marissa started her career as a biomedical scientist focused on women’s health and then transitioned to a career in health policy. Marissa served as a Science Fellow in the California Assembly Health Committee where she actively worked as a health policy consultant on a range of issue areas including public health, health data, and biotechnology. Before her transition to health policy, Marissa was a biomedical researcher focused on women’s health. Marissa earned her Ph.D in Reproductive Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in Neuroscience from Drew University.
Reproductive Healthcare in the Era of COVID-19: Telehealth, Abortion Care, and Expanding Access for LGBTQ+ People
Jon Krop - Jon Krop, J.D., is the founder of Mindfulness for Lawyers. He has taught at Harvard, Penn, Stanford, Yale, the Pentagon, public defender's offices, Fortune 100 companies, and 60 top law firms. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Jon clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and worked as a litigator at firms in Los Angeles and New York City. Jon has practiced mindfulness since 2006 and has studied with teachers from around the world, including psychologists, neuroscientists, and traditional Buddhist masters. In 2014, Jon completed a seven-month silent meditation retreat.
Kamaria Laffrey - Living with Black Girl Magic, HIV, and chronic optimism; Kamaria Laffrey (she/her) serves nationally as Program Director for HIV policy reform with The SERO Project offering strategic planning and community mobilization training to state leaders living with HIV to change their HIV criminalization laws.
Will Lanier -
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.
Nona Lee - Nona M. Lee is in her 22nd season with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021, and serves as Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, overseeing all legal issues for the organization. In addition to her legal duties with the Diamondbacks, Lee also leads the organization’s internal and external DEI efforts as Chair of the D-backs For Change “Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion” (“J.E.D.I.”) Council. Lee is also active in the community and in the sports industry, currently serving on the board of directors and as a Past-President of the Sports Lawyers Association, a non-profit, international, professional organization whose common goal is the understanding, advancement and ethical practice of sports law. Lee also serves on the board of the National LGBTQ Bar Association, as well as on its Membership and D&I Committee. In addition, Lee is an Arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association’s Sports Law and Commercial Business Panels, and also serves as a member of the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel. Lee serves on the advisory boards of Arizona State University’s Sports Law and Business Program, the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University School of Law, and the Arizona Chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE). Lee also serves on the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s-Next Council. 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, and an trustee emeritus of the Women's Sports Foundation in New York, a non-profit organization founded by Billie Jean King that is dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. Lee resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her wife, Andrea Martínez, and their dogs Jaz and Ripley.
Otherism and Conspicuous Minorities: the Shared Experiences of the LGBTQIA and AAPI Community
M. Dru Levasseur - M. Dru Levasseur serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 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.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
Intersectional Education: LGBTQ+, Racial, and Disability Diversity in Law Schools
Jennifer Levi - Jennifer L. Levi is the director of 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 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 Department of Correction (2018), Jennifer represented Angelina Resto, a now formerly incarcerated transgender woman, in her successful effort to be transferred to a women's correctional facility – the first such transfer as the result of a court order in the country. 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.
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
Larry Levine - After graduating from University of California, Hastings College of the Law with honors, Professor Levine clerked for Judge Eugene F. Lynch (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California). He then was an associate with Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco for two years. Professor Levine was also an adjunct faculty member of UC Hastings College of Law before coming to McGeorge in 1985. Professor Levine has authored several books and articles on the subject of torts. He is the co-author of A Torts Anthology and is a co-author of the torts treatise, Understanding Torts, and a torts casebook, Tort Law and Practice. Professor Levine has been a frequent panelist, lecturer, and speaker on legal issues involving torts and sexual orientation. He has served on the State Bar Committee on Sexual Orientation Discrimination as well as the board of directors of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of Northern California and Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians. He was the chairperson of the Law School Admission Council’s (LSAC) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues Subcommittee and a member of LSAC’s Services and Programs committee. Professor Levine served on the Board of Directors of the National Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association and is a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Levine is a member of the American Law Institute. He has been a visiting professor of law at UC Hastings College of the Law, UC Davis and at New York Law School.
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 former 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.
James Alexander Lewis V - James Alexander Lewis V is currently employed as the Executive Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for the New York City Bar Association, a position for which a search committee unanimously selected him. Prior to becoming Executive Director, James was a Partner and the inaugural Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Chasan Lamparello Mallon and Cappuzzo, PC. His practice focused on employment counseling and civil rights litigation. James clerked for both the Superior Court of New Jersey, and for the Hon. Michael Shipp, U.S.D.J. James has served in leadership capacities including Vice President of the Garden State Bar Association (“GSBA”), Board Member of the New Jersey State Bar Association (“NJSBA”) and has chaired its Diversity Committee and the Minorities in the Profession Section. James is on the Board of Directors for Kismet of Kings, a non-profit organization dedicated to uplifting young men ages 11-17 in his hometown of Jersey City, NJ. James is past General Counsel of a New York chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Additionally, the Supreme Court of New Jersey appointed James to the Civil Practice Committee, Jury Selection in Civil and Criminal Trials Committee, and Ethics Committee. James was named the Young Lawyer of the Year by the NJSBA (2021) and the GSBA (2020). He also received the Professional Lawyer of the Year award (2019). He is an American Bar Association Diversity Fellow, and a former NYC Bar Diversity Fellow. James is a mentor through the New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project (NJLEEP) and previously served as a “Big” for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Long Island. In law school, James was elected President of the Black Law Student Association, Associate Editor for the Family Court Review, and received the Dedicated Service to the Law School Award.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
Angela Lim - Angela G. Lim is licensed in both Texas and California. She started her legal career clerking for a Bankruptcy Judge in the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. Her experience has also included practicing in law firms as well as providing legal services as outside counsel and in-house counsel to large multi-national technology companies and small venture-backed firms. For the past ten years, she has been involved in venture-backed companies focusing on Digital Health in the Bay Area. Currently, Ms. Lim serves as Vice President of Legal and Deputy General Counsel at Viz.ai, Inc. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and of the University of Houston Law Center. She is also an At-Large Board member of NAPABA and on the board of Lambda Legal. Ms. Lim has also served on the board of the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) and was a member of its Governance Committee. She has held legal positions at VeriSign, Inc., PeopleSoft, Inc., Successfactors, Inc., Castlight Health, Inc., and Grand Rounds, Inc. While at Castlight, she founded the LGBTQ Employee Resource Group (“ERG”) “The Family,” and the “E-Quality” and “Women’s Group” ERGs at Grand Rounds. While at Grand Rounds, Ms. Lim also founded the company’s Mentorship Program. Ms. Lim has spoken on many panels for the American Corporate Counsel Association, NQAPIA, NAPABA, the Alameda County Bar, Lavender Law, and several Silicon Valley organizations regarding topics such as SaaS, Commercial Contracting, Diversity and Inclusion, and Asian Pacific Islander issues.
Otherism and Conspicuous Minorities: the Shared Experiences of the LGBTQIA and AAPI Community
Kai Lo -
Jesse Ryan Loffler -
Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World
Geoffrey Louden - Geoffrey Louden is an attorney who has worked with LGBTQ asylum seekers since 2017, engaging in congressional and administrative advocacy on their behalf. In addition, he represents asylum seekers before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Geoffrey first started working with asylum seekers as a member of the immigration clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, from which he graduated in 2015. He lives in Washington, DC.
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).
Laura J. Maechtlen - Laura has extensive litigation and trial experience. She has litigated against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing in systemic actions both at the early charge stage and in large-scale EEOC pattern-and-practice litigation. In addition, Laura has helped clients secure defense verdicts in the California Superior Courts in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, and Santa Clara. She has handled a significant number of high-profile matters arising from employer practices and policies in the wake of the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements; these include investigations, audits, compliance reviews, rebuilding of company policy/practice following PR events, and/or legal claims.
Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World
Peter Y. Malyshev -
Nancy Marcus - Nancy Marcus, LL.M., S.J.D., is a legal skills professor at California Western School of Law, and a former Lambda Legal attorney. She earned her advanced law degrees at the University of Wisconsin Law School with a dissertation on the constitutional rights of LGBTQ people, while simultaneously clerking for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Wisconsin Supreme Court. She is the author of a number of widely cited law review articles about LGBTQ rights, with her scholarship focusing on the evolution of constitutional protections for LGBTQ people generally and on the harms of bisexual erasure in the law and the need for greater bisexual inclusion in LGBTQ-rights litigation. She has also published widely cited influential and transformative legal articles on racial justice and police reform, and on access to the courts in a tort law context. She is the "Legally Bi" columnist for bi.org and one of the founders of BiLaw, the national organization of bisexual lawyers, law students, and their allies. She has served in leadership positions in various LGBTQ organizations over the years. She has also worked as an out bisexual litigator at plaintiff's side firms engaging in a broad range of practice areas over the years, and as a policy advocate in Washington, D.C., where her work included serving as the State Public Policy Director for the National Abortion Federation, as well as working for the Alliance for Justice and for the American Association of Justice (then "ATLA"). She began her legal career as a legal aid lawyer in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio and now happily resides in southern California.
Bridging the Gap in LGBTQ+ Rights Litigation: A Community Discussion on Bisexual Visibility in the Law
Servando Martinez -
Erin Maye Quade - Erin Maye Quade is the Advocacy Director at Gender Justice, where she works to advance gender justice through public education, legislative outreach, strategic partnerships and coalition-building. She is also the campaign manager for Unrestrict Minnesota, a black-led coalition of advocates, community groups and others who aim to educate and motivate Minnesotans to stay informed about their rights and access to abortion care in Minnesota. Erin Maye Quade is a former Minnesota State Representative. In June 2018, Rep. Erin Maye Quade became the first LGBTQ person - and among the youngest - to be endorsed as the DFL candidate for Lt. Governor.
Reproductive Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights: The Case for Breaking Down the Litigation and Advocacy Silos
Justice Andrew McDonald - Justice Andrew J. McDonald is a Connecticut native. Born in Stamford on March 11, 1966, he attended public schools there before entering college. After graduating from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988, he earned a Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1991, where he served as the Managing Editor of the Connecticut Journal of International Law. Justice McDonald also holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Western New England University School of Law. In January of 2013, Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated Justice McDonald to be an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, and he was confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly later that month. He was sworn into office on January 24, 2013. In January of 2021, Governor Ned Lamont re-nominated Justice McDonald to the Supreme Court, and later that month he was again confirmed by the General Assembly. In addition to his service as an associate justice, Justice McDonald also serves as the Chairman of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission and the Chairman of the Rules Committee of the Superior Court. Justice McDonald is the senior associate justice of the Supreme Court.
A Conversation with Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Supreme Court Justices
Judge W. Kearse McGill - Judge W. Kearse McGill (he/him/his) is a judge for the California State Bar Court, which is the nation’s only trial and appellate court system dedicated solely to adjudicating attorney discipline cases. He was appointed as a review judge by the California Supreme Court on November 1, 2016, after previously serving eighteen months as a hearing judge for the court. Judge McGill’s earlier legal career includes work as legal counsel to a California state senator. After ten years of private practice, Judge McGill was appointed as a workers’ compensation judge to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board Stockton District Office on May 2, 2005. On July 1, 2013, he was appointed to the position of Presiding Judge of the Stockton District Office. Additionally, the California State Bar Board of Trustees appointed Judge McGill to the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct in 2013, on which he served until his appointment to the State Bar Court. He also taught for several years as an adjunct professor of law, and he has presented numerous seminars to local, state, and national attorney and judicial organizations, primarily in the subject area of professional responsibility and legal ethics. Before becoming a judge, Judge McGill was a founding member of SACLEGAL (Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians) and represented many people and organizations in Sacramento’s LGBTQI community.
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. Brian is available at bmcginnis@foxrothschild.com.
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 (she/her) 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 everyone living with HIV. Relying on her decades of litigation experience and insight gained during her public service in the Obama administration, Sharon leads the Legal Department’s talented team of over thirty attorneys and paraprofessionals who advocate to advance and protect the rights of our community in courtrooms, legislatures, and other venues throughout the country. 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 Working Group. McGowan was repeatedly recognized by the Attorney General for her efforts on LGBT issues, receiving awards for her role in convincing the Department of Justice to stop defending the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA), in developing the arguments advanced by the United States in support of nationwide marriage equality, and in guiding the Department of Justice to its position that discrimination on the basis of sex encompasses discrimination on the basis of gender identity. As a political appointee in the Obama Administration, McGowan served as Acting General Counsel and as Deputy General Counsel for Policy at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). As Acting General Counsel, McGowan ensured OPM's rapid and robust implementation of United States v. Windsor, resulting in married federal employees receiving health care and retirement benefits within days of the Supreme Court's decision, regardless of whether they lived in a state that recognized their marriage at the time. She also worked within the agency to lift the blanket ban on transition-related health care within the federal employee health insurance program. Earlier in her career, McGowan was a Staff Attorney with the ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project. While at the ACLU, McGowan was lead counsel in Schroer v. Billington (D.D.C.), which resulted in a landmark ruling that Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination protects people experiencing discrimination because they are transgender. Prior to joining the ACLU, McGowan was an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Jenner & Block, where she was part of the litigation team that worked with Lambda Legal on Lawrence v. Texas, which resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court striking down all remaining sodomy laws as unconstitutional. Among other awards and recognition received throughout her career, McGowan was honored in 2019 for her lifetime of service to the LGBT community with the Stonewall Award from the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Moreover, McGowan’s publication, Working With Clients to Develop Compatible Visions of What It Means to “Win” a Case: Reflections on Schroer v. Billington (45 Harv. Civ. R.- Civ. L. L. Rev. 205 (2010)), received the 2011 Dukeminier Award from the Williams Institute of UCLA School of Law for outstanding legal scholarship on sexual orientation and gender identity issues. It is reprinted in 10 The Dukeminier Awards: Best Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law Review Articles of 2010 (2011) and also republished in Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace: A Practical Guide (Duffy, et al., eds.) (BNA 2014). 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.
Out in Enforcement: Challenges and Issues in Federal Government Enforcement Careers
The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress
Jessie McGrath - Jessie McGrath is the Deputy-in-Charge of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Asset Forfeiture Section. Jessie has been a prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for over 33 years and has worked in a wide variety of assignments. Prior to being named to head the Asset Forfeiture Section Jessie held assignments in the Central Trial, Juvenile, Major Narcotics, High Technology Crimes and Consumer Protection Divisions. Jessie represents the DA’s office on the Los Angeles County Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion program. Jessie has been on the Board of Directors and served as the Executive Vice President of the Association of Deputy District Attorney’s (ADDA), the union representing the rank and file prosecutors of the DA’s office. The ADDA named her DA of the Month for April 2002. Currently, Jessie serves on the Board of Directors of APLA Health which is a Federally Qualified Health Center providing high quality health care to underserved populations throughout Los Angeles county. Jessie obtained her BA and JD degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Effectively Advocating for LGBTQ+ Victims with a Focus on Trans Victims of Color
Justice Sabrina S. 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.
A Conversation with Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Supreme Court Justices
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
Judge Michael McShane - Michael Jerome McShane is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Judge McShane grew up in rural Eastern Washington and has spent most of his life in the Pacific Northwest. He attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he obtained his degree in English Literature. In 1983 he joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and was sent to work with homeless parolees in Portland, OR. After obtaining his JD from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1988, he went to work at the Metropolitan Public Defender’s Office in Portland, where (in addition to representing the getaway driver in the Tonya Harding case) he served as the senior supervising attorney. Prior to serving on the federal court, Judge McShane was a Multnomah County Judge for fifteen years, presiding over a variety of criminal and civil cases. He was appointed to the county’s death penalty panel in 2003 and handled over 25 capital cases. He teaches extensively on trial practice, advocacy, and evidence and he focuses much of his time off the bench working with at-risk youth. He sits on the boards of The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
Shawn Meerkamper - Shawn Meerkamper uses they pronouns and is the senior staff attorney at Transgender Law Center, the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Shawn believes in police and prison abolition and also believes in harm reduction work to lessen the torture trans women experience while incarcerated. As a lawyer at TLC, Shawn has helped litigate groundbreaking trans prison cases in California and Colorado. They also were a part of the coalition that passed recent legislation in California that is now the most progressive policy in the U.S. allowing incarcerated trans people to seek prison placements in accord with their gender identities. Shawn is a proud cat parent, an amateur guitarist and skateboarder, and a native southerner who recently relocated from Oakland, California to Durham, North Carolina.
Discrimination to Incarceration Pipeline for LGBTQ+ People: A Litigation Perspective
Ellen Miller - Ellen C. Miller (she/her) is a 2021 graduate of Boston University School of Law. As a law student, she interned at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Greater Boston Legal Services Asian Outreach Unit, as well as the National LGBT Bar Association, and will be joining the Boston office of Goodwin Procter this fall. She is a child of immigrants, speaks fluent Mandarin, and is passionate about language access. In her spare time, Ellen freelances as an illustrator and tends to her burgeoning jungle of houseplants.
Time Management & Digital Detox for LGBTQ+ Lawyers and Law Students: Your 26-Week Action Plan
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 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 LGBTQ 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 Services Award from GAYLAW, the bar association for LGBTQ lawyers, law students, and legal professionals in Washington, D.C., Cornell Law School’s Exemplary Public Service Award, the Unity Award from the 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 board 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. Minter is admitted to practice law only in California.
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
The Long War: What Have We Learned from the Battle to End the Transgender Military Ban?
Christina Mitropoulos - As Director, Brand Protection and Manufacturing Initiatives for American Apparel & Footwear Association, Christina serves as the AAFA liaison for the Brand Protection Council. She is a former AAFA intern and has focused on Brand Protection issues through her past internships at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center and the Intellectual Property Department at Louis Vuitton. Christina also supports the Government Contracts Committee. She received her Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Civilization and a minor in Legal Studies from Trinity College.
Mattie Moonie - Mattie is the cofounder of the Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network, a grassroots org in Washington State. They can typically be found laughing at inside jokes with their little human, 12 year old Zaiya Ryle, and planning their nice getaway/world take over with their partner Nanta. They are invested in ensuring access to gender affirming care.
Community Driven Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Closing the Gender Affirming Care Loophole
Dremain Moore - I attended the George Washington University Law School and joined Thompson Coburn's Business Litigation Practice Group in 2017. I have co-chaired Thompson Coburn's LGBTQ+ Affinity Group since 2018. I am second generation Bahamian-American and am originally from New York City.
Start Where You Are: A Phased Approach to Building Effective and Sustainable D&I Programs
Rosa Morales - Rosa’s practice focuses on all aspects of antitrust law, including litigation, counseling, mergers and acquisitions, and recovery actions. Rosa has extensive experience representing corporate clients in major antitrust matters and government investigations relating to alleged antitrust violations. In addition, Rosa has represented clients in complex commercial, securities, and intellectual property litigation and transactional matters. Rosa’s work spans across a broad range of industries, including health care and pharmaceuticals, sports, airlines, food and agriculture, telecommunications, media, internet services, financial services, electronic payments, and insurance.Throughout her career, Rosa has also represented numerous clients in pro bono matters, including gaining tax-exempt status for an international not-for-profit provider of low-cost communications technology and information access to rural and underserved communities in developing countries, obtaining asylum for a woman persecuted for a rare genetic condition, and securing permanent residency and work authorization for survivors of domestic violence under the Violence Against Women Act. Rosa received her juris doctor, cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law, where she was a Stein Scholar for Public Interest Law and Ethics, a member of the Immigration Rights Law Clinic, and the Managing Editor of the Fordham International Law Journal. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University.
Taissa Morimoto - Taissa currently works on criminal and economic justice, reproductive justice, and census advocacy as senior policy counsel at the National LGBTQ Task Force. They are part of the Queer the Census Team at the Task Force and creates resources for getting out the count in LGBTQ communities. They also lead the Sex Ed Leadership Project at the Task Force, where she works with young LGBTQ people to build movement and advocacy around sex ed that centers LGBTQ people. She received her bachelor’s degrees and J.D. from the University of Florida, where she represented survivors of intimate partner violence and led workshops on civil rights restoration.
Vincent Mosley - Vincent J. Mosley, Jr., Esq. is a native of Savannah, GA, but has traveled extensively as the child of a military family. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a concentration in Industrial Psychology from Albany State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Savannah Law School, a branch campus of the Atlanta's John Marshall School of Law. While in law school, he was an associate editor for the Savannah Law Review, a board member for the Savannah Trial Team, a general member of Moot Court and OUTLaw, and the first President Emeritus of the Savannah Law School Chapter of the Black Law Students' Association. His scholarship encompasses law & literature, law & religion, and sexual assault crimes, particularly in victims' advocacy and support. Vincent Mosley is a generalist practitioner, but the majority of his legal work currently consists of immigration law and intellectual property.
Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins
Kate Mozynski - Kate Mozynski (she/they) is an attorney in the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic. She is a Dallas native, but has made Ohio her second home. Kate attended the College of Wooster, where she earned her degree in International Relations, and she is a 2016 graduate from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Prior to joining the Equality Ohio team, Kate's practice included international human rights law, immigration law, international criminal law, and inmate civil rights litigation. Kate is passionate about working with members of the LGBTQ+ community and working to extend legal representation to individuals across Ohio. When she is not at work, Kate also coaches high school policy debate, and she is devoted to helping make Ohio debate a supportive educational environment for LGBTQ+ students. Kate is based in the Cleveland office.
The Role of the Attorney in Providing Direct Representation to LGBTQ+ Clients with Mental Health Diagnoses: Lessons Learned in a Trauma-Informed Approach
Dean Kimberly M. Mutcherson - Kimberly Mutcherson is Co-Dean and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School in Camden. Her scholarly work is at the intersection of family law, health law, and bioethics. She writes on issues related to reproductive justice, with a focus on assisted reproduction, abortion, and maternal-fetal decision-making. Dean Mutcherson teaches Family Law, Torts, South African Constitutional Law, and Bioethics, Babies, & Babymaking. She has served as a Senior Fellow/Sabbatical Visitor at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School, a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, and as a fellow at the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University. She won a Center for Reproductive Rights Innovation in Scholarship Award in 2013 and a Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2011. In 2020, she was a co-recipient of the Association of American Law Schools Impact Award. She received her B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Columbia Law School where she was a Stone Scholar. At Columbia, she received the Samuel I. Rosenman Prize for excellence in public law courses and outstanding qualities of citizenship and leadership in the law school. She also received the Kirkland and Ellis Fellowship for post-graduate public interest work. Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers School of Law in 2002, Professor Mutcherson was an Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering at the New York University School of Law, a consulting attorney at the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (now the Center for Reproductive Rights), and a Staff Attorney at the HIV Law Project.
Intersectional Education: LGBTQ+, Racial, and Disability Diversity in Law Schools
Commissioner Tracy Nadzieja - On October 12, 2018, Tracy Nadzieja was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona. At that moment, she became the first known transgender judge in the state of Arizona, and just the third transgender judge in the entire country.
Michael Nava - Michael Nava is the author of an acclaimed series of seven crime novels featuring gay, Latino criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios. The Rios novels won seven Lambda Literary awards and Nava was called by the New York Times, "one of our best." In 2001, he was awarded the Bill Whitehead Lifetime Achievement Award in LGBT literature. A native Californian and the grandson of Mexican immigrants, he divides his time between San Francisco and Palm Springs. In 2014, he published The City of Palaces a historical novel set in the years just before and at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Novelist Christopher Bram said about The City of Palaces: "City of Palaces begins as the love story of two good people, a Catholic and an atheist, who find each other in the corrupt world of belle epoch Mexico City. It grows into a magnificent epic about family, politics, art, revolution, and hope. This is a masterly work of old-fashioned storytelling, rich and spacious and moving, a novel that deserves to be compared to The Leopard, Love in the Time of Cholera, and Doctor Zhivago, but with its own intimacy and grandeur." Nava has also had a distinguished legal career, having earned his law degree from Stanford University. He retired from the law in July 2016.
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.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
Douglas NeJaime - Douglas NeJaime is Anne Urowsky Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where he teaches in the areas of family law, legal ethics, law and sexuality, and constitutional law. Before joining the Yale faculty in 2017, NeJaime was Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law, where he served as Faculty Director of the Williams Institute, a research institute on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy. He has also served on the faculties at UC Irvine School of Law and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and was Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. NeJaime is the co-author of Family Law in a Changing America (with Ralph Richard Banks, Joanna Grossman, and Suzanne Kim), Cases and Materials on Sexuality, Gender Identity, and the Law (with Carlos Ball, Jane Schacter, and William Rubenstein), and Ethical Lawyering: Legal and Professional Responsibilities in the Practice of Law (with Paul Hayden). His recent scholarship includes: “Answering the Lochner Objection: The Democracy-Reinforcing Role of Courts in Liberty and Equality Cases,” 96 N.Y.U. Law Review (forthcoming 2021); “The Constitution of Parenthood,” 72 Stanford Law Review 261 (2020); “The Nature of Parenthood,” 126 Yale Law Journal 2260 (2017); “Marriage Equality and the New Parenthood,” 129 Harvard Law Review 1185 (2016); “Conscience Wars: Complicity-Based Conscience Claims in Religion and Politics,” 124 Yale Law Journal 2516 (2015), with Reva Siegel; and “Before Marriage: The Unexplored History of Nonmarital Recognition and Its Relationship to Marriage,” 102 California Law Review 87 (2014). On three occasions, NeJaime has received the Dukeminier Award, which recognizes the best sexual orientation legal scholarship published in the previous year. He has also been the recipient of the YLW Faculty Excellence Award at Yale Law School, the Women’s Law Association teaching award at Harvard Law School, the Professor of the Year Award at UC Irvine School of Law, and the Excellence in Teaching Award at Loyola Law School. NeJaime has been a leader on national efforts to reform parentage laws to accommodate families that feature nonbiological parent-child relationships, including those formed by same-sex couples and through assisted reproduction. Since 2019, NeJaime has been leading the effort to pass comprehensive parentage reform in Connecticut.
After Fulton: (How) Are Trump’s Judges Trumping LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Protections?
David T. Nguyen - David is a certified tax specialist by the State Bar of California with a LLM in taxation from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. His practice is in the areas of business & real estate transactions and tax & estate planning. He partners with clients to craft creative and practical solutions to non-ordinary situations from multinational families to families among friends. Having studied chemical engineering at University of Southern California, David has become an efficiency nerd with a rehabbing real estate addiction, appreciating the forgotten, the downtrodden and the undervalued. True to being a contrarian, he is not a Republican though he works with many and obtained his law degree from Chapman in Orange County, California.
Parentage, Partnership, and Property: Family Law and Estate Planning for Polyamorous Clients
Ryan Nishimoto - Ryan Nishimoto's practice focuses on complex litigation involving intellectual property and technology, with a particular emphasis on patent and copyright litigation. Mr. Nishimoto has represented clients in protecting intellectual property in a wide range of technologies and industries, including mobile phones and tablets, wireless and cellular networking, human-computer interaction, medical devices, media and entertainment, telecommunications, e-commerce, and database management. He also provides strategic counseling on a broad range of intellectual property, contractual, and competitive issues.
Jared Odessky - Jared Odessky (he/him) is a Skadden Fellow & Attorney at Legal Aid at Work. As a Skadden Fellow, Jared focuses on representing low-wage LGBTQ workers in underserved areas like the Central Valley. He has previously worked for the National Employment Law Project, the Employment Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services, A Better Balance, and Outten & Golden, a plaintiff-side employment law firm. He was also a regular contributor to the blog OnLabor. Jared received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.A. from Columbia University.
Chief Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodriguez - Hon. Maite D. Oronoz-Rodríguez was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico on February 22, 2016, becoming the first openly LGBTQ female Chief Justice and, as such, the first in United States history. She is the third woman to preside the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and the youngest person to do so. She previously served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 2014-2016. Chief Justice Oronoz-Rodríguez began her professional career as a law clerk to former Chief Justice Federico Hernández-Denton. She also served as Deputy Solicitor General and Acting Solicitor General of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and later engaged in the private practice of the law, especially in the fields of commercial and civil litigation in both state and federal courts. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court, she served as Chief Legal Counsel of the city of San Juan. Chief Justice Oronoz-Rodríguez has a B.A. in History from Villanova University, Pennsylvania (Cum Laude, Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, Dean’s List). She received her J.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review. She also earned an LL.M. from Columbia University in New York. She has postgraduate studies in History from University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and History and Literature courses from the University of Florence, Italy. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico she presides over the Puerto Rico Judicial Academy, the Board of Bar Examiners, the Judicial Evaluation Commission, the Court Administrators Advisory Council, the Access to Justice Commission and the Committee on Gender and Equality. During her tenure as Chief Justice, her work has focused on the pillars of Access to Justice —which includes the incorporation of Technology and Education—, Adjudicative and Administrative Efficiency, Accountability, Transparency and Judicial Independence. She recently published the Strategic Plan for the Judicial Branch 2020-2025: Roadmap to a Leading-Edge Justice which includes goals and strategies that have been grouped in those core areas. During the last five years, she has modernized the Puerto Rican judicial system by implementing technological initiatives such as electronic filing for all civil cases at the trial level. Thus achieving the implementation of electronic notification and filing in the 13 Judicial Regions of the Court of First Instance, electronic notification of the judicial determinations of the Court of First Instance, Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, as well as the expansion of the use of the videoconference system to hear civil and criminal cases throughout Puerto Rico, among other projects. She has also focused her efforts on addressing gender equality and eradicating gender- based violence through the expansion of specialized domestic violence courts, education and community engagement, among other initiatives. In that direction, she recently published the Map for Gender Equality in the Judicial Branch of Puerto Rico and announced the celebration of the Judicial Congress Justice with a Gender Perspective: From Theory to Practice. She is a member of the Permanent Commission on Gender and Access to Justice of the Ibero-American Judicial Summit since 2018 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices. In 2018 she received the “LLSA IMPACTO Award” in recognition for her inspiring leadership, commitment to public service and justice for all. She was awarded the National Center for State Courts’ 2018 Distinguished Service Award for her leadership overseeing the restoration of court services following hurricanes Irma and María. In 2020, she delivered the 26th Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice at the New York University School of Law, “Gender Equality and the Rule of Law”. She is married to Appellate Judge Gina R. Méndez-Miró. In 2018 they became mothers of twins. Click here to view Chief Justice Oronoz-Rodríguez's bio in Spanish.
A Conversation with Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Supreme Court Justices
Allen Orr - Allen Orr, Jr. has over 13 years of U.S. and global experience with the immigration practice of one of the largest international law firms. Mr. Orr is the recipient of the 2009 Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award - for contributions made in the immigration law field and specifically for his work with the Young Lawyers Division of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Mr. Orr's accomplishments for clients include the following: Managed an I-9 compliance audit for a Fortune 10 company which involved review and analysis of all immigration records relating to its 250,000 employees; represented a coalition of IT companies before the U.S. Department of Labor seeking to reform various practices in the labor certification process and advocating changes in the agency's proposed "PERM" rule; and assisted employers in settling civil and criminal investigations into certain immigration-related employment practices.
Andrew A. Ortiz - Andrew A. Ortiz is a staff attorney in Transgender Law Center’s Legal Services Project. Prior to joining TLC, Andrew was a senior staff attorney in the LGBTQ/HIV Advocacy Project at Brooklyn Legal Services where he represented hundreds of people living with HIV in the areas of eviction defense, public benefits, housing & employment discrimination, and immigration. Andrew is a proud graduate of Howard University School of Law.
Esosa Osa - Esosa Osa serves as the Research and Policy Director for Fair Fight Action, a voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams, where she leads the organization's national and Georgia-based policy portfolio with a focus on pro-democracy reform. She also leads Fair Fight Action's disinformation research, polling, messaging and rapid response efforts. In that capacity, Esosa and her team track legislative developments and provide activists with real-time information in support of their efforts to protect the franchise. Esosa also has a keen understanding of the strategies right-leaning organizations use to restrict access to the ballot. Before joining Fair Fight Action, Esosa held various positions on Democratic campaigns. She holds and BA in public policy from Duke University.
Voting Rights in 2021 and Beyond: Combating Harmful Legislation, the Fight for Fair Electoral Districts, and the Future of the Voting Rights Act After Brnovich
Ola Osaze - Ola Osifo Osaze is a trans masculine queer of Edo and Yoruba descent, who was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and now resides in Houston, Texas. Ola is the Project Director and a National Organizer for the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) and has been a community organizer for many years, including working with Transgender Law Center, the Audre Lorde Project, Uhuru Wazobia (one of the first LGBT groups for African immigrants in the US), Queers for Economic Justice and Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Ola is a 2015 Voices of Our Nation Arts workshop (VONA) fellow, and has writings published in Apogee, Qzine, Black Girl Dangerous, Black Looks, and the anthologies Queer African Reader and Queer Africa II.
Amitesh Parikh - Amitesh Parikh is a Senior Staff Attorney at Immigration Equality where he advocates for LGBTQ and PLHIV immigrants seeking safe haven in the United States through policy advocacy, mentorship of pro bono attorneys, and direct representation. Prior to joining Immigration Equality, Amitesh was a Senior Associate at a high-volume immigration law firm where he worked on direct representation of clients in affirmative and defensive human rights, family, and business-based immigration applications. As a Senior Associate, he focused his work on waivers of inadmissibility and responses to complex Requests for Evidence. He was also a Policy Fellow at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, where he worked on expanding the definition of sex discrimination, and a legal fellow at Transparency International USA, where he worked on issues around third-party anti-corruption due diligence. Amitesh is a graduate of Duke University School of Law and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin in Government and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. He speaks Russian, Hindi, Gujarati, and Urdu.
Channyn Lynne Parker - Channyn Lynne Parker is a Human Rights advocate, public speaker, community-centric leader and Director of Strategic Partnerships for Howard Brown Health Center and serves on the board, at Equality Illinois. Prior to her current role, Channyn served as manager of The Broadway Youth Center’s, Youth Development Program, and manager of Chicago House Social Service Agency’s, TransLife Project (2017). Channyn, is the first openly transgender woman to work in the Cook County Dept. of Corrections, working with populations in protective custody. Inaugural Trans100 awardee (2013). White House speaker, National HIV/AIDS Strategy (2015). Chicago Women’s March speaker (2017, 2018). Recipient of the Henrietta Lacks award, Women in Health in Chicago (2018) and Equality Illinois prestigious, Humanitarian, Freedom Award (2019).
Effectively Advocating for LGBTQ+ Victims with a Focus on Trans Victims of Color
Jonathan Patterson - Jonathan Patterson is the National Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Human Resources at Compassion & Choices. He previously served as the Staff Attorney, where he provided consultation for a wide variety of legal matters, including the issues of unwanted medical treatment, medical aid in dying, and end of life decision-making. He is a frequent national speaker on available end-of-life options and empowering consumers to make healthcare decisions in line with their values. A Wichita, Kansas native, Jonathan completed his undergraduate studies in Political Science and Psychology at Hawai’i Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where he worked as an educator and youth and developmental disability counselor before moving to the Pacific Northwest to attend the University of Oregon School of Law. Jonathan currently serves as the inaugural chair of the National Bar Association LGBTQ Division, the first membership body for African-American LGBTQ legal professionals. Jonathan also serves on the Victory Fund Campaign Board, working to support opportunities for LGBTQ political candidates. He is very active in the Oregon legal community, having served as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and Chair of the Oregon State Bar Diversity Section. In 2020 he was named to the Portland Business Journal 40 Under 40 and in 2019 he was selected as a Queer Hero of the Northwest. He also received the 2018 President’s Diversity & Inclusion Award from the Oregon State Bar, the 2018 Minoru Yasui Justice Award from the University of Oregon School of Law, and the 2015 Oregon New Lawyers Division Advancing Diversity Award.
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.
Michelle Peak - Michelle is Vice President, Labor Relations and Labor Attorney for Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., NAM & Canada. Prior to this role, she was the Head of Labor Relations, Americas at LSG Sky Chefs, Inc., headquartered in Irving, TX, for two years. She is a results-oriented executive with experience managing, developing and coaching managers in employee and labor law and labor relations matters. Michelle's deep knowledge and experience in the airline, railroad and catering industries, along with her keen intelligence, intuition and compassion enable complex, matrixed organizations to embrace difficult challenges and necessary changes. Having spent nearly two decades as a senior labor lawyer at a Fortune 500 company as an openly queer woman of color, Michelle understands the core values of authenticity, accountability and belonging, with the emotional intelligence to determine when to use a scalpel and when to use a sledgehammer. Prior to becoming a labor relations lawyer, Michelle served five years as a prosecutor in Omaha, Nebraska, a place she still considers home. In this role, Michelle prosecuted cases in the Juvenile Courts and the Special Victims Unit ranging from simple neglect of a child to First Degree Sexual Assault. Michelle serves as a leader in several roles at work and in the community, while also frequently speaking on legal, diversity, and community issues. As a corporate executive, she has been widely recognized for her efforts, including, Top 100 Women of Influence by Diversity MBA Magazine; Dallas Top 50 Women in Law by the National Diversity Council; Corporate Counsel of the Year by Texas State Bar Office of Minority Affairs; Top 100 Emerging Leaders under 50 by Diversity MBA; Corporate Counsel of the Year & Champion of Diversity by DCEO and Association of Corporate Counsel - DFW Chapter. Raised in humble beginnings, Michelle beat the odds stacked against her with the same resilience she faces in today's business environments and continues the fight toward diversity, equity and inclusion in law and in life. Michelle is not just talking about the importance of DEI; she has spent decades serving leadership roles on corporate and community committees and non-profit boards including, Lambda Legal National Board; Girls, Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas; Corporate Counsel Women of Color Advisory Committee; Minority Corporate Counsel Association Advisory Committee; Texas Minority Counsel Program Steering Committee and Association of Corporate Counsel DFW. Michelle received her J.D. from Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska. She currently lives in the DFW suburbs with her wife and three children.
Senator Jamie Pedersen - Jamie Pedersen grew up in Puyallup, graduated from Puyallup High School and worked at McDonald’s to help put himself through Yale College, where he studied Russian and history, and graduated summa cum laude. After spending a year living in Russia and collecting oral histories of Soviet Afghan war veterans, Jamie attended Yale Law School. He clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then returned to Seattle – and Capitol Hill – in 1995. He practiced corporate law at Preston Gates & Ellis (now K&L Gates) for 17 years. Since May 2012, he has been Vice President and General Counsel at McKinstry, a Seattle-based construction and engineering firm with substantial expertise in green building. Jamie was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006 and was appointed to the Senate in December 2013 and elected in 2014 and 2018. He serves as the chair of the Law & Justice Committee and also serves on the Ways & Means Committee, the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, and the Rules Committee. In the House, he served for five years as chair of the House Judiciary Committee. During his tenure in the House, he also served on the House Appropriations Committee, the Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, the Higher Education Committee, the Health Care & Wellness Committee, the Business & Financial Services Committee, and the Capital Budget Committee. Jamie serves on the Legislative Ethics Board and the Office of Public Defense Oversight Committee and is a commissioner in the National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws. Jamie helped to organize and was a plaintiff in League of Education Voters v. State of Washington, the case that overturned several Tim Eyman initiatives that purported to require 2/3 majorities to pass tax increases in the legislature. Jamie is actively involved in many community and nonprofit organizations. He is the past President and current Treasurer of Central Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill, where he helped to establish a nonprofit to run a community lunch program that feeds hundreds of people each week. Jamie chaired the board of the national civil rights organization Lambda Legal, and served as Lambda’s lead volunteer lawyer on the state’s marriage equality case. He also provides free legal services to a variety of nonprofits, such as Social Venture Partners, Seattle Girls’ Choir, and Flying House Productions. He has sung in the Seattle Men’s Chorus since 1996. An Eagle Scout, Jamie is also a den leader in Cub Scout Pack 9, which meets at St. Joseph School in Capitol Hill. Jamie lives on Capitol Hill with his husband, Eric Pedersen, and their sons Trygve, Leif, Erik and Anders, all of whom attend Seattle Public Schools.
Reimagining Policing: LGBTQ+ and Racial Equity Issues in Law Enforcement
Adri Perez - Adri Perez is a life-long El Pasoan, UTEP graduate, and policy & advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas, where they lead LGBTQIA+ advocacy on the Sexuality & Gender Equality team.
Austin Phillips -
Casey Pick - Casey Pick serves as a Senior Fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at the Trevor Project. Casey leads the Trevor Project’s work in advancing policies and positions that support LGBTQ youth in crisis by executing the Trevor Project’s advocacy agenda on the federal, state, and local level and in the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Casey’s role focuses not just on LGBTQ issues, but also on mental health and suicide prevention overall, with a major focus on leading The Trevor Project’s efforts to end conversion therapy.
Born Perfect: New Victories & Challenges in the Movement to End Conversion Therapy
Nancy Polikoff - Nancy Polikoff is Professor Emerita of Law at American University Washington College of Law and has been Visiting McDonald/Wright Chair of Law at UCLA School of Law and Faculty Chair of the Williams Institute, a national think tank on sexual orientation law and public policy. She began her career as a family law practitioner with the Washington DC Feminist Law Collective in the 1970’s, where her clients included parents whose children had been removed by the state. For more than 40 years, she has been writing about, teaching about, and working on litigation and legislation about LGBT parents. Her recent article on LGBT parents in the child welfare system is Neglected Lesbian Mothers, 52 Fam. L. Rev. 87 (2018). In 2011, she received the National LGBT Bar Association’s Dan Bradley award, the organization’s highest honor.
Milo Primeaux - Milo Primeaux, Esq. (he/him) is a queer transgender person, LGBTQ civil rights attorney, and CEO of Just Roots Consulting, a social enterprise dedicated to building up LGBTQ excellence across industries and institutions nationwide. Previously, Milo led the LGBTQ Rights Project at Empire Justice Center in Rochester, NY, and served as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow at Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, DC. He has provided direct legal services to hundreds of low-income LGBTQ people, focusing especially on transgender name changes and LGBTQ-based discrimination in employment, education, healthcare, and places of public accommodation. He's trained well over 3,000 attorneys and judges to respectfully and competently serve LGBTQ people and has equipped LGBTQ communities nationwide to exercise their legal rights under state and federal law. He works closely with state administrative agencies, legislators, and policymakers to ensure that the law works for all LGBTQ New Yorkers. Milo currently serves on the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Judicial Commission of the New York Courts, chairs the Monroe County Bar Association's LGBTQ Committee, and is a member of the New York State Bar Association's LGBTQ Section. He is a graduate of the Ohio State University and the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law.
From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study
Judge Jill Rose Quinn - Jill Rose Quinn has an extensive legal background in the private sector. She has a lifelong dedication to community service. After graduating from The John Marshall Law School in 1983, she worked for small law firms including one in which she represented local government units. Throughout her career, she handled over 4,000 cases and performed appellate work. Jill started her own practice in 1997 and focused on helping neighborhood residents with financial challenges, family law matters, small business operations, probate and criminal law. Throughout her life Jill has believed in giving back to others. Before moving to Chicago, she was a community organizer in economically disadvantaged areas in Houston and Des Moines and helped form neighborhood action groups dedicated solving problems such as lack of zoning and dangerous traffic, as well as addressing utility and taxation issues. Her compassion for others and sense of fairness is what helped inspire Jill to practice law. As a child, she realized that many people were not treated equally under the law because of their race, religion or nationality. Jill decided then that she wanted to be a lawyer to fight for all people's rights and equality. 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. In November of 2020, Jill was elected to the office of Cook County Circuit Court Judge. She is the first openly transgender circuit court judge in the State of Illinois and the first openly transgender elected official in the State of Illinois. She is currently serving in the Traffic Division, Municipal Department. Her perspective as a member of the transgender community and as a sole practitioner brings a unique dimension to the Cook County Bench.
Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates
Asa Radix - Dr. Asa Radix is the Senior Director of Research and Education at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center and a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at New York University. Originally from Grenada, Dr. Radix trained in internal medicine and infectious disease at the University of Connecticut and obtained postgraduate degrees in epidemiology and public health from Cambridge and Columbia Universities. Dr. Radix has over 20 years of experience providing care to transgender and gender diverse people and is a recognized expert in transgender medicine. Dr. Radix has contributed to multiple national and international guidelines in transgender health and is currently Co-Chair of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care version 8 working group. Dr. Radix is an Associate Editor of Transgender Health and the International Journal of Transgender Health. His research focuses on STI/HIV risk, HIV prevention and LGBT health, including the first community-based cohort study of trans people in the USA.
Sonya Laddon Rahders - Sonya L. Rahders (she/her) is a Staff Attorney with Regulatory Assistance for Abortion Providers (RAAP), a division of Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD). RAAP offers pro bono healthcare compliance assistance to abortion providers in all U.S. states and territories, with an emphasis on helping providers deal with targeted regulation of abortion providers (known as TRAP laws), and other state-level health regulations. Prior to joining RAAP in 2019, Sonya worked in private practice for a boutique health law firm representing a range of provider types in compliance matters including Medicaid and Medicare billing matters; as in-house regulatory legal counsel for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California; and as an If/When/How Reproductive Justice Fellow and federal domestic policy analyst with Advocates for Youth in Washington, D.C. Sonya earned her J.D. with a concentration in social justice lawyering from UC Hastings College of the Law, a B.A. in sociology with a minor in women’s/gender studies & emphasis in LGBT studies summa cum laude from UCLA, and an A.A. in sociology with high honors from Cabrillo College. Sonya is also an instructor with the University of Minnesota College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS), where she designed and teaches an online course on public policy and human sexuality for the human sexuality graduate certificate program. Prior to her educational and legal career, Sonya worked for several years in nonprofit administration and human resources, while trying to launch an ultimately unsuccessful professional snowboarding career in South Lake Tahoe, CA. She is licensed to practice and lives in California.
Reproductive Healthcare in the Era of COVID-19: Telehealth, Abortion Care, and Expanding Access for LGBTQ+ People
Maya Reddy - Maya is a queer South Asian former professional golfer, LGBTQ+ athlete activist, and founder of the Queer Asian Social Club. Maya grew up in Northern California and attended Claremont McKenna College where she was a dual major in Government and Film Studies and wrote her senior thesis on the effect of queer representation in media on public policy. At Claremont McKenna College, Maya was captain of the Varsity Golf Team and a three-time NCAA All American. Maya turned professional in 2015, played on the Cactus and National Women’s Golf Association Tours and gained status on the Symetra Tour before having to take a step back from the sport due to its exclusive culture and the many harmful bigoted experiences she endured, as a result of that culture - experiences only deepened by the lack of visibility of queer athletes in the sport. However, Maya focused her pain in fighting for and becoming an advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusive policies in sports, working closely with organizations like Athlete Ally. The lack of visibility of queer athletes in golf, as well as the lack of visibility of Asians and queer Asians in the broader media, motivated Maya to found the Queer Asian Social Club (QASC), a transnational collective that seeks to empower community through queer APISWAD (Asian, Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian, Desi) visibility. Through QASC, she hosts a podcast exploring the queer Asian experience, hosts workshops on undergraduate campuses, produces panels on queer Asian representation for conventions and film festivals, and helped found San Diego Pride's Queer Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American Coalition. Maya has spoken on panels with the You Can Play Foundation and at the inaugural Los Angeles Angels Pride Night. Maya also helped develop the first-ever webinar discussing LGBTQ+ inclusivity in junior golf in partnership with the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA), the National High School Golf Association, Athlete Ally, and the PGA of Canada, was part of the first ever Pride Day at the PGA Championship in 2020, and continues to tirelessly advocate and consult on inclusivity initiatives in golf and athletics at large. Maya is dedicated to fighting for LGBTQ+ inclusive policies in sports and intends to use her J.D. to strengthen that work in inclusive policy formation, advocacy, and litigation defending trans and queer folks in athletics and elsewhere.
On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes
Fitzann Reid - 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.
Out in Enforcement: Challenges and Issues in Federal Government Enforcement Careers
Monica Lopez Reinmiller - Monica Lopez Reinmiller is a legal compliance and risk professional. With fifteen+ years of professional experience in corporate ethics and legal compliance, Ms. Reinmiller has built expertise managing global compliance programs for multinational companies across multiple industry sectors: automotive, telecommunications, chemical, technology and business outsource services. She also provides legal advisement as an in-house attorney. In house ethics and compliance practice includes, Internal Investigations; Ethical Conduct, Legal Compliance Policies & Training; Enforcement matters & inquiries; Legal Compliance Risk Assessments & Audits; and Ethics & Compliance Program Governance. Legal advisory services to internal clients focus on: Anti-corruption & FCPA; OFAC and Export/Trade Compliance; Cross Border Enforcement; and Third party & supply chain compliance. She is an active member of the Washington State Bar, serving on the Diversity Committee and the Corporate Counsel Section’s Executive Committee. She also leads the in-house T-Mobile Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the T-Mobile Legal Department’s Diversity Inclusion & Equity Task Force. Her pro bono advocacy is focused on racial justice and equality, serving as a clinic attorney volunteer for several Seattle-based civil legal aid providers and representing juvenile early release clients for the Seattle Clemency Project. In 2019, she was selected as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow. A guest speaker at industry conferences, trade groups, and university program events she is a member of the 2020 Law360 White Collar Editorial Advisory Board. Monica Reinmiller graduated with a J.D. from California Western School of Law and an M.B.A. from Xavier University. She is a licensed attorney in California and Washington, and a certified compliance and ethics professional.
Christopher M. Repole - Christopher M. Repole is an associate in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. His practice focuses on traditional labor law matters. Christopher provides strategic, practical and solution-oriented advice to clients. He has defended companies against unfair labor practice charges and other litigation brought by labor unions and employees in federal and state courts, before the National Labor Relations Board, in labor arbitrations and before federal, state and local administrative agencies. He negotiates collective bargaining agreements and regularly advises employers on the administration of those agreements. He conducts management training on a variety of labor and employment issues, in both unionized and non-unionized environments. Christopher also advises employers in a variety of industries on the development and implementation of preventive labor and employee relations programs. He regularly counsels clients on responding to employee organizing drives and handles representation cases before the NLRB. Christopher advises employers on a wide range of sensitive personnel matters both in unionized and non-unionized settings. In addition to his work counseling employers, Christopher has presented and published articles on a variety of labor and employment topics, including issues involving LGBTQ+ employees. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Christopher was labor counsel for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). He previously interned with the Honorable Faith Hochberg, Judge for the District of New Jersey and the New York City Office of Collective Bargaining. While attending law school, Christopher served as notes and comments editor of the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial and Commercial Law and as vice president of the Moot Court Honor Society, for which he received the Moot Court Honor Society Award.
Rosalyn Richter - Rosalyn Richter currently is a senior counsel in the New York office of Arnold & Porter. She handles a range of complex litigation at both the trial and appellate, and also serves as a mediator/arbitrator/referee. Prior to joining the firm, Justice Richter spent thirty years on the NYS bench, including eleven years on the Appellate Division, First Department. During her lengthy tenure as a trial judge, she heard criminal, civil and matrimonial cases. She currently is an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and previously taught at both Brooklyn and New York Law Schools. Justice Richter was Executive Director and a special litigation attorney at Lambda Legal Defense Fund in the early 1980s, and has a long history of service to the LGBTQ community. She is a former member of the Boards of Directors of Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the NY LGBTQ Community Center and SAGE. She has received many awards including the Dan Bradley award from the National LGBTQ Bar Association, a Diversity Champion Award from the NYC Bar Association, the Ruth Schapiro award from the NYS Bar Association, and the Benjamin Cardozo award from the Jewish Lawyers Guild.
Vincent Rizzo - Vincent Rizzo represents clients in litigation at both the federal and state level, focusing on employment disputes, tort defense, constitutional violations, and government-related matters. He has litigated countless cases to resolution, including successfully trying several federal civil jury trials to defense verdict and obtaining multiple summary judgments.Vincent has extensive experience representing entities and employees in Title VII, Section 1983, ADA, FMLA and personal injury and property damage claims. He has also provided training to a number of entities regarding workplace compliance and best practices. Vincent further advises employers and employees on all aspects of the employment relationship‚ including employee misconduct and other disciplinary matters‚ spanning from hire through termination. Vincent is also active member of the legal community and zealous advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. A committed member of Hinshaw's LGBTQ affinity group, he helped the firm obtain a 100% rating in the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign. Before joining Hinshaw, Vincent was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago Department of Law. While there, he represented the City of Chicago and its employees in state and federal litigation involving civil rights violations, municipal prosecutions, and appeals. Professional Affiliations: American Bar Association (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues Network, Co-Chair) Changing Worlds (Board of Directors) Chicago Bar Association Cook County Bar Association (LGBTQ Section, Co-President) Lambda Legal, Leadership Council Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (Executive Board, Secretary)
Ari Robbins - Ari is enthusiastic about health care access. They grew up in Washington and graduated from The Evergreen State College then spent some years managing a bar in Montreal, QC before returning for law school in 2015. Ari is no stranger to the challenges in accessing gender affirming care. After several bumps in the road, they were able to use Medicaid to cover their own gender affirming care. Along the way, they became an ACLU plaintiff in the case Robbins v. Swedish. They are currently a government attorney, not presenting in their official capacity, living in West Seattle with their partner and two babies under two.
Community Driven Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Closing the Gender Affirming Care Loophole
Jamie Rodriguez - Jamie Francesca Rodriguez is a Washington, D.C., attorney who focuses her practice on investigations, regulatory advising, litigation, and diversity and inclusion matters. Ms. Rodriguez represents the firm's transportation industry clients in accident investigations conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and U.S. military services, and advises on transportation regulatory matters, especially concerning autonomous vehicles, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation of aviation operations and safety, commercial space launch and satellite operations, and regulation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Ms. Rodriguez has drafted and obtained regulatory waivers and exemptions from U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies, drafted comments to Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and government Requests for Information (RFIs), and prepared clients for meetings with DOT regulatory agencies concerning regulation of commercial drivers and deployment of autonomous vehicles. She also advises clients on export, import and related trade issues, and advises and speaks on diversity and inclusion efforts, practices and policies, and transgender awareness in the workplace. In addition, she serves as the director or co-chair of the diversity and inclusion committees for two aviation-related bar associations.
Victoria Rodriguez-Roldan - Victoria Rodriguez-Roldan is the Senior Policy Manager at AIDS United. Victoria is a veteran of the battles for trans and disability justice who has lobbied at the state and federal levels. Victoria’s J.D. is from the University of Maine School of Law and holds a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Her website is http://victoriarodriguezroldan.com/
Delegate Danica Roem - Danica Roem represents the 13th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. Danica is a lifelong resident of Prince William County, and the former lead reporter of the Gainesville Times. She ran for office to bring a reporter's eye to Richmond and to speak truth to power. Danica's inspiring and transformative campaign gained national and international attention. As the first out transgender woman elected to a state legislature, Danica is blazing a new and unique trail.
Arneta Rogers - Arneta Rogers (she/they) is the Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice Director at the ACLU of Northern California. Their work focuses on fighting for the right to bodily autonomy for BIPOC, systems impacted, and other communities on the margin, and providing programmatic leadership and vision to a team of reproductive and gender justice advocates. Arneta co-leads the organization’s advocacy to decriminalize sex work, and supported the development of a statewide coalition, DecrimSexWorkCA, that centers the leadership and experience of Black trans women, femmes, and non-binary people of color disproportionately impacted by criminalization. Arneta is the former Policy Director of the Positive Women’s Network- USA and earned their law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law. In their free time, they enjoy growing vegetables in their Oakland garden, playing basketball, and drumming for the movements with the Boomshake.
Reproductive Healthcare in the Era of COVID-19: Telehealth, Abortion Care, and Expanding Access for LGBTQ+ People
David Rome - David Rome is an associate at Winterfeldt IP Group. Based in the New York City office, he offers a variety of services related to intellectual property based on his diverse experience with both global and boutique firms. His practice focuses on brands, content, information and the Internet, to which he applies his broad experience in disputes, transactions, administrative practice and litigation. David brings a coordinated and consistent approach to clients’ diverse intellectual property needs and helps to identify opportunities and efficiencies across their portfolio, enforcement, compliance, licensing and litigation programs. He also brings perspective to discrete projects, helping clients to identify what really matters and how best to achieve their aims.
Judge Kristin L. 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.
Imani Rupert-Gordon - Imani Rupert-Gordon is the Executive Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education. Previously, Imani served as the Executive Director for Affinity Community Services. Affinity is a social justice organization that works with the entire LGBTQ community with a focus on Black women. She also served as the Director of the Broadway Youth Center, part of Howard Brown Health in Chicago, serving LGBTQ youth experiencing housing instability. Imani is known for her visionary leadership. In 2020 the Chicago Foundation for Women presented her with the Impact Award. This year she was presented with the Freedom Award from Equality Illinois, and has been named the 2021 Sex Education Trailblazer by SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change. The Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice (formally the School of Social Service Administration) will honor her with the Judith Butler Award for her exceptional promise in the field of social work in the summer of 2021. Imani received a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Bridging the Gap in LGBTQ+ Rights Litigation: A Community Discussion on Bisexual Visibility in the Law
Caitlin Ryan - Caitlin Ryan is the Director of the Family Acceptance Project - a research, education, intervention and policy project - to help ethnically, racially and religiously diverse families to support their LGBTQ children. Dr. Ryan is a clinical social worker, researcher and educator who has worked on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) health and mental health for more than 40 years and whose work on LGBTQ health has shaped policy and practice for LGBTQ and gender diverse children and youth. She received her clinical training with children and adolescents at Smith College School for Social Work. Dr. Ryan pioneered community-based AIDS services at the beginning of the epidemic; initiated the first major study to identify lesbian health needs in the early 1980s; and has worked to reduce risk and promote well-being for LGBTQ youth since the early 1990s. She started the Family Acceptance Project with Dr. Rafael Diaz in 2002 to help diverse families to decrease rejection and prevent related health risks for their LGBT children - including suicide, drug use, homelessness and HIV - and to promote family acceptance and positive outcomes including permanency. Dr. Ryan and her team have developed the first evidence-informed family support model and a range of research-based materials and assessment tools to help families and caregivers to support their LGBT children, including Best Practice resources for suicide prevention and a series of short documentary films that show the journey from struggle to support of diverse families with LGBT children. Dr. Ryan is implementing FAP's family support model in behavioral health, family preservation, out-of-home care, including foster care, school-based care and pastoral care, and has integrated core FAP components into Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). She has provided education and training for on this work more than 92,000 families, providers and religious leaders across the U.S. and in other countries. Dr. Ryan's work has been recognized by many national professional groups in the fields of counseling, medicine, nursing, psychiatry, psychology and social work, and by civic, LGBTQ, advocacy, arts and faith-based groups. She has served on many national advisory groups including the Committee on LGBT Health for the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences and the LGBT Suicide Prevention Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Ryan works with organizations, faith communities, families and providers to integrate FAP's family-based support approach to build healthy futures for LGBTQ children, youth and young adults across disciplines, services and systems.
Richard Saenz - Richard Saenz (he/him) is a Senior Attorney and the Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct Strategist at Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ people and those living with HIV. He focuses his work on the criminal justice system, coordinating litigation and policy work on behalf of incarcerated people and against the criminalization of LGBTQ people. Currently, Richard serves as a Board Member of the Anti-Violence Project (AVP) and is the Programming Chair of the LGBTQ Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Richard has been named a Hispanic National Bar Association's Top Lawyers Under 40 and a National LGBT Bar Association's Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40. He received his Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, where he was a Stein Scholar for Public Interest Law and Ethics. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University.
Discrimination to Incarceration Pipeline for LGBTQ+ People: A Litigation Perspective
Judge Amy Sakalauskas - Judge Amy Sakalauskas was appointed to the Nova Scotia Provincial Court (criminal trial court) in 2017 and sits in Halifax, NS, Canada. Judge Sakalauskas presides over a criminal trial court and in addition, she is the assigned judge for the Metro Domestic Violence Court Program. Judge Sakalauskas practiced primarily family law before being appointed to the Bench, both in private practice and in government. A graduate of Acadia University and the University of New Brunswick, she received various awards for academic achievement and community involvement over the years. Highlights include being named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine in 2014, and in 2017 receiving the Canadian Bar Association (Nova Scotia Branch) Distinguished Service Award. While in practice, she was a national Chair of the Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Forum of the Canadian Bar Association and remains active in the CBA as a judge. In addition to various professional and volunteer pursuits, Judge Sakalauskas is a dedicated member of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, serving on the Education Committee and the Membership Committee.
Bamby Salcedo - Bamby is a national and international transgender Latina Woman who received her Master's Degree in Latin@ Studies from California State Los Angeles. Bamby is the President and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition, a national organization that focuses on addressing the issues of transgender Latin@s in the US. Bamby developed the Center for Violence Prevention & Transgender Wellness, a multipurpose, multiservice space for Trans people in Los Angeles.
Fighting for the Rights of TGNCNBI People in Prisons and Jails: A Legislative Perspective
Diego Sanchez - Diego Sanchez is PFLAG’s Director of Advocacy, Policy, & Partnerships. A native of Augusta, GA and long-time Massachusetts resident, Diego was most recently Senior Policy Advisor to Congressman Barney Frank until the Representative’s retirement in 2013. Diego made history with that appointment, being the first openly transgender person to work as a senior legislative staff member on Capitol Hill. He also testified before Congress in the historic Transgender Discrimination Hearing in 2008 and that year was named as the first openly trans person ever appointed to the DNC Platform Committee.
Born Perfect: New Victories & Challenges in the Movement to End Conversion Therapy
Dana Savage - Dana Savage is the Vice President of Issues and Advocacy for QLaw Bar Association of Washington where she works on behalf of Washington’s LGBTQ+ community to advance equity and legal protections via community organizing, legal intervention, and legislative advocacy. She was a vocal driver and advisor to lawmakers for passage of the 'Gay & Trans Panic Defense Ban' under the Nikki Kuhnhausen Act in 2020. Dana is a co-drafter of SB 5313, which is presently before the Washington State Legislature Health & Wellness Committee. Outside of her legislative advocacy volunteer work on behalf of QLaw, Dana is an Assistant Attorney General with the Washington State Attorney General's Office where she represents the Department of Children, Youth, and Families in dependency proceedings.
Community Driven Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Closing the Gender Affirming Care Loophole
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.
Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development
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.
Mathew Shurka - Mathew Shurka is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategist for Born Perfect, NCLR”s campaign to end conversion therapy. As a survivor of conversion therapy, Mathew knows firsthand the harm caused by this dangerous practice, which puts LGBTQ youth at risk of serous harms. Since helping NCLR found Born Perfect in 2014, Mathew has testified at dozens of legislative hearings, organized other survivors, and consulted with major motion pictures and documentaries about conversion therapy, including Boy Erased, the Miseducation of Cameron Post, Cured, and Pray Away.
Born Perfect: New Victories & Challenges in the Movement to End Conversion Therapy
Maya Simek - Maya Simek (she/her/hers) serves as a Clinical Law Professor and Director of Case Western Reserve's Health & Human Trafficking Law Clinic. Ms. Simek further serves as the Legal Director at Equality Ohio, where she developed and is now supervising a state-wide legal clinic for the lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer (LGBTQ+) community. Ms. Simek focuses her practice on legal issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community and human trafficking. Other areas of interest for Ms. Simek include community lawyering, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, and particularly, the intersections between law and social work. Her focus on these areas of interest inspired Ms. Simek's spearheading of a law clinic for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS engaging in case management services at the Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center in 2012. Ms. Simek earned her J.D. in 2010 from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, her M.S.S.A in 2007 from Case Western Reserve's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and her B.S. in 2000 from John Carroll University. Further, she is a proud graduate of the 2017 Gestalt Training Program at the Gestalt Institute. Ms. Simek is admitted to the bar in Ohio and California. In addition, she is an Ohio Licensed Independent Social Worker with Supervision designation(LISW-S).
The Role of the Attorney in Providing Direct Representation to LGBTQ+ Clients with Mental Health Diagnoses: Lessons Learned in a Trauma-Informed Approach
Ames Simmons - Ames Simmons is a queer white trans man serving as Policy Director at National Center for Transgender Equality. He provides vision and direction for NCTE’s policy strategies and approach, including federal and state advocacy to achieve NCTE’s mission of empathy, opportunity, and justice for transgender people. His work is grounded in community-based anti-racism, anti-violence, and anti-poverty efforts. His previous roles include policy director at Equality North Carolina, and assistant general counsel at a healthcare company assisting uninsured patients with Medicaid. Ames attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish, and Emory University Law School, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree. Ames holds a senior lecturing fellowship at Duke University School of Law.
Sejal Singh - Sejal Singh is Justice Catalyst Fellow at Public Citizen Litigation Group. Her litigation and advocacy focuses on worker power, access to justice, and consumer protection. Prior to Public Citizen, Sejal worked on Senator Warren's 2020 Presidential Campaign as a Policy Fellow and as a labor policy expert at the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. While in law school, Sejal spent representing working-class LGBTQ workers facing workplace discrimination and wage theft as a summer clerk at Legal Aid at Work. She is a founding co-Director of the People's Parity Project, a nationwide campaign organizing law students and attorneys to unrig the legal system, end workplace discrimination, and build a justice system that values people over profits. Before law school, she led LGBTQ rights campaigns at the Center for American Progress, with a focus on combating healthcare discrimination and broad religious exemptions which would gut non-discrimination protections. Sejal graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she received the David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award for her work taking on predatory for-profit colleges and the student loans crisis at the Project on Predatory Student Lending. Her writing about access to justice, LGBTQ rights, and worker power has been widely published, including in New York Magazine, Slate, the Nation, Take Care, and the UCLA Law Review (online).
Matthew Skinner - Matthew Skinner is the Executive Director of The Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the New York State Courts, where he works closely with senior court system leadership in efforts to promote equal participation in and access to the courts and legal profession by all persons regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Prior to assuming his current position with the Office of Court Administration, he led The LGBT Bar Association and Foundation of Greater New York (LeGaL) for four years, litigated at Proskauer Rose LLP, and clerked for the Honorable Richard K. Eaton at the U.S. Court of International Trade. Skinner graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2006 and Albany Law School in 2009. He was a member of the 2015 class of The National LGBT Bar Association's Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 and received a 2019 Impact Award from Gay City News.
From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study
Victoria Slade - Victoria Slade is an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine's employment services group. She has extensive experience guiding employers through tricky personnel issues, including allegations of discrimination and harassment, employee misconduct, disability accommodations, and terminations, and she regularly advises employers on other matters of state and federal employment law. In litigation, Vicky partners with employers to find the best solution, whether through early dispute resolution or taking the case all the way through trial. Vicky also conducts investigations and provides training and advice on issues facing today's employers, such as equity and inclusion, implicit bias, microaggressions, stereotypes, and LGBTQ issues. A member of the LGBT Bar, she is also a 40 under 40 award recipient. Active in the community, Victoria gives her time in pro bono and community service projects. She has worked alongside numerous nonprofits, including the ACLU, Appleseed, Team Child, Legal Voice, the Tenants Union, Columbia Legal Services, and the QLaw Foundation.
Steven Slawinski - Steven Slawinski is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Western District of New York. He has been a criminal defense attorney for 18 years, practicing both in federal and military courts. He began his career as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army representing soldiers accused at courts-martial. Originally from Buffalo, Steve graduated from Georgetown University and the University at Buffalo Law School. He lives in Rochester, New York with his husband and their labradoodle.
Discrimination to Incarceration Pipeline for LGBTQ+ People: A Litigation Perspective
Representative Taylor Small - Taylor Small of Winooski, Chittenden County, Progressive/Democrat, was born in Portland, Maine. She was raised in western Massachusetts and moved to Vermont with her family in 2010. Small graduated from both Colchester High School and Burlington Technical Center in 2012. She then graduated from the University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies with a minor in sexuality and gender identity studies in 2016 and has lived in the greater Burlington area since. Small was elected as State Representative in November 2020, making her the first out transgender person to serve in the Vermont Legislature. She has a strong background in mental health services, community organizing, outreach, and cultural humility education. She now lives in Winooski with her partner and two dogs.
Catherine Smith - Catherine Smith joined the faculty at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2004. After graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law, Professor Smith clerked for the late Chief Judge Henry A. Politz of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for U.S. Magistrate Judge William M. Catoe Jr. She then served as a legal fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Before joining the faculty at the University of Denver, Professor Smith was an assistant professor at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law from 2000 to 2004. Professor Smith teaches torts, employment discrimination, family law, and sexuality, gender and the law. Her research interests include civil rights law and critical race theory. Her articles have been published in a number of journals, including Wisconsin Law Review, Washington University Law Review, U.C. Davis Law Review and the Ohio State Law Journal. In addition, Smith co-authored an amicus brief on the constitutional rights of children that was cited in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark United States Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision.
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.
Keyna Smith - Keyna Smith is the Director of Anti-Human Trafficking and Advocacy at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. As a professional speaker, she trains on the identification, awareness, and prevention of human trafficking. She conducts assessments on at-risk youths, advocates, and connects survivors of sex and labor trafficking to community resources throughout Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula Counties. As a passionate Licensed Social Worker, Keyna has been relentless in her efforts to support oppressed populations by assisting them with regaining their voices. Her work at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center includes managing the Project STAR Team; the advocates embedded in the Regional Human Trafficking Taskforce office and creating programming for Cleveland Rape Crisis Center’s Human Trafficking Drop-In Center. She serves as a member of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court’s Safe Harbor Advisory Board, and she chairs the Human Trafficking Committee for the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). Keyna holds a Master’s degree in Science in Social Administration (MSSA) from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor's degree in Arts in Psychology from Cleveland State University. In her spare time, she enjoys watching documentaries and gardening.
The Role of the Attorney in Providing Direct Representation to LGBTQ+ Clients with Mental Health Diagnoses: Lessons Learned in a Trauma-Informed Approach
Justice Michael Sonberg - Hon. Michael R. Sonberg served as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, sitting in the Criminal Term in New York County (Manhattan) from 2009 to 2017, and in the Criminal Division in Bronx County from 2003 to 2009, and as a Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, from 1991 until his mandatory retirement at the end of 2017. He was president of the International Association of LGBTQ Judges from 1999 to 2002, as well as president of New York’s Association of Lesbian & Gay Judges from 1996 to 2018. He has been a member of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission for the New York Courts since the Commission’s inception in 2017, appointed by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, a member of the Character and Fitness Committee for the Appellate Division, First Department, since 2018, a member of the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyers Association Foundation since 2018, and is a member of the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association, where he has served since 2004. Among other activities, he was secretary of the 25,000-member New York City Bar Association from 1997 to 2000 and a member of the executive committee of the Harvard Law School Association from 1996 to 1999. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a corporate/commercial litigator in Manhattan for twenty years.
From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study
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, moved up to Policy and Advocacy Associate and is now the Policy and Advocacy Director. 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. She also advised congressional members Ro Khanna and Aynna Pressley on proposed legislation. HIPS is extremely honored to have Tamika as Policy and Advocacy Director.
Protecting LGBTQ+ Sex Workers Through Decriminalization and Intersectional Policy Approaches
Elisabeth Steele - Elisabeth is the director of admissions at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM) William S. Richardson School of Law. Before joining the Law School faculty, Elisabeth taught undergraduate courses about gender and law in the UHM Women's Studies program. Elisabeth previously worked in The White House and at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She is an alumna of Carleton College and the Yale Law School.
Charles Stephens - Charles is the founder and Executive Director of the Counter Narrative Project and is committed to working at the intersection of art, culture, and social justice. He served as the Conference Organizer for the historic 2014 conference “Whose Beloved Community Black Civil and LGBT Rights” at Emory University. He also led the innovative social marketing campaign “From Where I Stand” for AID Atlanta. The anthology he co-edited Black Gay Genius, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Charles received the Georgia State University College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award and received the Gentleman of the Year Award from the Gentlemen’s Foundation. He has also been a CDC Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership Fellow, an Arcus Foundation Executive Director Fellow, and a Rockwood Leader in the HIV movement fellow. His writings have appeared in the AJC, Atlanta Magazine, and Creative Loafing. He previously wrote a column for Advocate magazine and Georgia Voice focused on Black LGBTQ+ politics and culture. A native Georgian, Charles received his B.A. from Georgia State University in 2005. He is also a member of the Alliance Theatre Advisory Board.
Zaylore Stout - Zaylore Stout serves as a fierce advocate on LGBT issues. Through his law firm, Zaylore Stout & Associates, LLC he's represented HIV+ and transgender employees who were discriminated against at work to employers interested in proactively making their organizations more inclusive to diverse employees. Zaylore has volunteered through the LGBT Law Clinic and on the board for RECLAIM, an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit. He championed the passage of a Gender Inclusion Policy to protect transgender and gender non-conforming youth in St. Louis Park schools. In November 2017, he gave an impassioned speech at the Quorum's National Coming Out Day Luncheon alongside Judy Shepard. His law firm was an inaugural recipient of the Business of Pride Award through the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal. You can read his reoccurring column in Lavender Magazine titled From A to Zee. Last year he published his first book, Our Gay History in Fifty States, which has since won many awards. Finally, he hosted a panel at the 2020 National LGBT Bar Association Lavender Law Conference titled "Extreme or Essential: Understanding the Shifting Legal Landscape of LGBT-specific Community Inclusion in U.S. School Curricula."
Jennifer Swain - Jennifer Swain serves as the Executive Director for youthSpark, Inc. (formerly the Juvenile Justice Fund) where she oversees the strategic development and implementation of the organization’s mission. Joining the team in 2008, Jennifer has served in several capacities where her influential vision aided in the development youthSpark’s early intervention model for youth experiencing exploitation and abuse, as well as their Youth Services Center based inside the Fulton County Juvenile Court, the largest juvenile court in the Southeast. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the issue of youth sexual exploitation, as well as presenting at various local and national conferences on victim identification and early intervention. She routinely offers technical assistance to groups and child-serving systems working to build community collaborations and strategies to address this problem locally, nationally, and globally. She is a founding member of the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force and also provides expert witness testimony for local Superior Court trafficking cases. Additionally, Ms. Swain is a Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Fellow at Georgetown University where she is leading a collaborative effort to enhance the well-being of system-involved LGBTQ+ youth in Fulton County. In 2018, she was named the City of Atlanta's first "Amazing Atlantan" by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, highlighting nonprofit leaders working to make a difference in the community.
Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins
Lauren Symington - Lauren is Director of Human Resources and Talent Management at Procopio Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, and Am Law 200 firm based in San Diego. A member of the firm's leadership team, Lauren leads all Human Resources and Talent Management functions firmwide, including recruiting and hiring, attorney advancement and diversity and inclusion. As a former practicing attorney and an out lesbian, she brings unique talents and insights to the role. Lauren is also active in San Diego nonprofits, including as a Board Member for San Diego's Deaf Community Services.
Ian Tapu -
Tapu is a graduate of Kahuku High School and later went on to receive his degree in Native American Studies and Public Policy from Dartmouth College. Following graduation, he worked nearly 10 years in the non-profit sector, primarily supporting Pasifika youth and their families. Tapu then attended and graduated from the University of Hawai'i William S. Richardson School of Law and also received a Native Hawaiian Certificate. He published extensively on topics ranging from LGBTQ rights, constitutional law, and Indigenous rights. His work has appeared in publications such as the Arizona Law Review, NYU Review of Law & Social Change, and the UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal. He was also honored by the National LGBT Bar Association with the Student Leadership Award for his work as President of the Lambda Law Students Association and Pacific Islander Legal Association. Tapu is a Board of Director for the Hawai'i LGBT Legacy Foundation and is currently serving as a law clerk for the Hawaii State Judiciary.
Carol Tate -
Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World
Matt Telford -
Kellye Testy - Since 2017, Kellye Y. Testy has served as president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admission Council, the leading assessment, data, and technology hub for law schools and their candidates in the United States, Canada, and throughout the world. Under Testy’s leadership, LSAC, a 350-employee, not-for-profit organization, has worked with its law school members and candidates, colleges and universities, as well as leading organizations in law, education, and business, to promote universal access to justice as a way to build a more just and prosperous world. Testy came to LSAC from the University of Washington School of Law, where she served for eight years as the school’s dean — making her the 14th person, and first woman, to do so. Accomplishments during her tenure as dean included the establishment of the endowed Toni Rembe deanship, launches of the Barer and Gregoire Fellows programs, and the largest gift in the school’s history: a $56 million bequest from alumnus Jack McDonald for student scholarships and faculty and program support. She is a nationally sought-after speaker, panelist, and consultant on legal and higher education, leadership, diversity and access, and corporate law and governance; recent speaking engagements include the 2019 Lavender Law Conference in Philadelphia, the 2019 Promoting Diversity in Law School Leadership Conference at Villanova University, the 2019 Yale Women’s Leadership Initiative Conference, and numerous LSAC-sponsored events and panel discussions. Testy is a first-generation college graduate who earned both her undergraduate degree in journalism and her law degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, her hometown. She graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington, where she was editor-in-chief of the Indiana Law Journal. After graduating, she clerked for Judge Jesse E. Eschbach, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Intersectional Education: LGBTQ+, Racial, and Disability Diversity in Law Schools
Amber Thomson - Amber Thomson is an associate in Mayer Brown's Washington DC office and a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice. She is also a member of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice. Amber counsels clients on complex and cutting-edge issues related to cybersecurity, privacy, and big data, along with helping clients navigate the international trade landscape. This includes counseling clients on CFIUS filings, export controls, country-of-origin requirements, and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill petitions. Amber also advises clients on employee mobility matters. Prior to attending law school, Amber worked for A.P. Moller-Maersk in various roles, including as a compliance manager for DAMCO, the strategic human resources manager for Maersk Panama, and as a participant in the company’s esteemed International Shipping Education program. Amber attended Old Dominion University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international business. She graduated, cum laude, from Howard University School of Law, where she was a Ms. JD Fellow and served as president of the Goler Teal Butcher International Moot Court Team.
Nicholas Tiger - Nick Tiger joined Capital One as in-house counsel in 2017 and practices in the areas of state and federal banking regulation and consumer protection. Nick recently served an active 2 year term appointment to Capital One’s Legal Diversity & Inclusion Executive Committee. He regularly works with executives across the industry to champion important inclusion initiatives, such as revising outside counsel engagement agreements to add clauses related to diversity and inclusion expectations. Recently, he has taken over as co-lead for Lavender Link Webinars, an in-house practice series organized by the National LGBT Bar Association that drives for interconnectivity and inclusion in the Legal profession. In addition to being passionate about diversity in the legal field, he has also been widely recognized for his pro bono service where he has appeared in contested removal proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals. He was recently named a finalist for the 2019 Volunteer of the Year award for the Greater Washington DC metro area. Nick is currently enrolled in Industrial-Organizational coursework and thinking about going for a Masters. He received his J.D. with an emphasis in International Law from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. While in school, Nicholas clerked for both a Federal Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Missouri and an Administrative Court of Appeals Judge abroad in Guanajuato, Mexico. He also holds a B.A. from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. He can normally be found fixing up his cabin on top of Bull Run Mountain in the beautiful Blueridge of Virginia.
Vivian Topping - As Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement for Equality Federation, Vivian Topping works with state-based LGBTQ organizations to craft smart, effective legislative and electoral campaigns that build political power and allow supporters to take action in their communities. Most recently Vivian was the Field Director for the historic, winning Yes on 3 campaign in Massachusetts, Vivian previously led electoral and legislative advocacy programs in Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, and Illinois. Their work in Massachusetts was a groundbreaking success, building the leadership of transgender people, having more than 100,000 conversations with voters, and ultimately winning the first statewide referendum on transgender rights in the nation. Vivian, whose pronouns are she/her or they/them, hails from Michigan and currently lives in Washington, D.C.
Travis Torrence - Travis Torrence serves as Global Litigation Bankruptcy & Credit Team Lead at Shell Oil Company. Travis graduated from Yale Law School in 2005 and received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, in Communication and Political Science from Tulane University. Prior to joining Shell, Travis was a senior associate at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (now known as Norton Rose Fulbright), where he chaired the Houston office’s Recruiting Committee and served as a founding member of the firm’s Diversity Advisory Council. Before working at Fulbright, Travis served as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward C. Prado of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Travis has been honored by Texas SuperLawyers as a Rising Star in the area of Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights and the Houston Business Journal as a “40 Under 40” honoree and a finalist in its Best Corporate Counsel Awards. Travis currently serves on the board of directors of the National LGBT Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation, and is the Chair of the Houston Bar Foundation. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts and the Yale Law School Fund Board. He is a former member of the executive committee of the board of directors State Bar of Texas and President of The Arthur L. Moller/David B. Foltz, Jr. American Inn of Court and the Bo’s Place board of directors. He has also served as Co-Chair of the Texas Minority Counsel Program. Travis is a former champion of Dancing With The Houston Stars and has been featured, along with several NFL players (including JJ Watt and Kareem Jackson) and local leaders, as a “celebrity model” for fashion shows during galas to benefit programs conducted by Bo’s Place. Travis has also chaired numerous philanthropic events, including the World AIDS Day Luncheon, the Victory Fund Champagne Brunch, the Montrose Center’s Out For Good Gala, and the Camp For All Gala. Travis previously worked as an on-air personality for B-97 FM; New Orleans’ #1 Hit Music Station.
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 White & Case'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.
Alex Touma -
Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World
Jeffrey Trachtman - Jeffrey S. Trachtman litigates complex bankruptcy, mass tort and securities fraud matters, including some of the nation’s most significant and high-profile cases in recent years. Skilled and accomplished both as writer and courtroom advocate, Jeff has built a long and successful record representing clients in both trial and appellate courts. Jeff is also a nationally recognized pro bono leader. In addition to helping to build Kramer Levin’s award-winning program as chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee for more than 17 years, Jeff has represented poverty law and civil rights clients throughout his career, most notably in landmark marriage equality cases in New York and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mario Treto, Jr. -
Effectively Advocating for LGBTQ+ Victims with a Focus on Trans Victims of Color
Judge Richard Tsai - Hon. Richard Tsai is a New York City Civil Court Judge, currently sitting in Manhattan Civil Court. He was elected to Civil Court in 2017, and was temporarily assigned to Manhattan Criminal Court. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Tsai was a court attorney for judges at the trial and appellate level. Judge Tsai was also a founding member of the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission and chaired the committee recommending revisions to the court officers’ manual. He graduated from Cornell Law School and the Sorbonne in Paris, and he is a first-generation immigrant. Richard’s pronouns are he, him.
From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study
David Tsai - David Tsai is co-head of Pillsbury’s Taiwan practice and also resident in the San Francisco office. David focuses his practice on intellectual property, patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, complex breach of contract, and product defect litigation in courts and international arbitration tribunals. David represents world-class corporations innovating biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software (internet and mobile apps), and hardware (semiconductors, set-top boxes, smartphones, solar wafers and light-emitting diodes/LED/OLED). In addition to litigation, his experience includes preparing and prosecuting U.S. electrical engineering patent applications, drafting patentability, freedom-to-operate and non-infringement opinions, as well as inter partes review (IPR) petitions. He advises his clients in patent negotiations, licensing, M&A transactions and overall intellectual property strategy. David has been quoted in various business and technology publications including The New York Times and has written and lectured internationally on Hatch-Waxman/Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation, standard essential patents, FRAND/RAND royalties, internet software applications, and U.S. patent law. In 2017 - 2019, he served as one of the 18 Lawyer Representatives to the United States District Court, Northern District of California. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for the University of California, Riverside (UCR), Foundation and the Advisory Board of Santa Clara University School of Law. He is a past President of the Silicon Valley IP Law Association (SVIPLA) and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA). Prior to his legal career, David worked in product management at a biotech company and Internet/software startups backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the Mayfield Fund. During his graduate studies at Stanford University focusing on stem cell gene therapy, David co-led the development of Stanford’s first online problem sets.
Ilona Turner - Ilona Turner is a mediator and arbitrator and conducts impartial workplace and Title IX investigations. Before she became a full-time neutral in 2018, Ilona served as the Legal Director of the Transgender Law Center. She previously worked at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality California, and was an associate at Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP. She writes and speaks frequently about LGBT legal issues and teaches a class on Law and Sexuality at the University of California, Berkeley.
Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza - Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza (they & she pronouns) is an anti-racist organizer and transformational coach who believes that organizing moves at the speed of trust. They are a co-founder and sustaining member of Queer the Land, a QTBIPOC housing collective in Seattle, WA, and a founding member and current President of the National LGBTQ Workers Center, which fights against sexual and gender discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Aimée-Josiane has been a professional organizer for public sector employees throughout the South and Pacific Northwest. They have also coordinated large-scale anti-violence education. They previously led the We Dream in Black program for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, which builds the power and leadership of Black homecare workers, nannies, house cleaners and unpaid family caregivers across the U.S. Aimée-Josiane lives in Atlanta, Georgia with their wife, a sassy cat named Seven, and a close-knit group of friends and family.
Ann E. Tweedy - Ann E. Tweedy joined the faculty of University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law as an Associate Professor in January 2020. She is a noted scholar on tribal civil rights and tribal jurisdiction, as well as on bisexuality and the law. Before coming to USD she served as an in-house attorney for Muckleshoot Tribe and as an adjunct professor for University of Tulsa College of Law. Ann has also taught at Michigan State University College of Law and California Western School of Law, and she served as an Associate Professor at Hamline University School of Law (now Mitchell Hamline). She also previously served as a Tribal Attorney for Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and as an Associate Attorney and as Of Counsel at Kanji & Katzen,PLLC. Additionally, Professor Tweedy an award-winning poet, and her first full-length book,The Body’s Alphabet, earned a Bisexual Book Award and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Ann holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law (Order of the Coif) and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. After law school, Ann clerked for Hon. Ronald M. Gould of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Hon. Rex Armstrong of the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Paul Unger - Paul is a national speaker and author. He coaches lawyers how to be more efficient with time management by offering customized workshops. When he isn’t speaking or writing, he is usually performing technology assessments throughout the United States and Canada. Paul began his career working for the Governor of Ohio, and then went on to law school. He practiced law for six years, specializing in litigation and bankruptcy, before starting a legal technology consulting company with partner Barron Henley in 2000. Paul’s superpowers are cleaning up messes and turning digital chaos into well-organized machines. His favorite part of his job is helping people get organized and focused so they can find more enjoyment in their lives and jobs.
Time Management & Digital Detox for LGBTQ+ Lawyers and Law Students: Your 26-Week Action Plan
Kyle Velte - Kyle Velte is an associate professor of law at the University of Kansas School of Law, where she teaches Evidence, Torts, Employment Discrimination, and Sexual Orientation & the Law. Velte joined the KU Law faculty in 2018. Her scholarship, which examines the intersection of sexuality, gender and the law, has appeared in law journals, including the Yale Law & Policy Review, Cardozo Law Review and Connecticut Law Review. Her recent scholarship focuses on the perceived tensions between religious freedom and LGBT civil rights along three axes — law, policy and theory. She filed or coauthored amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court cases of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United States v. Windsor, Obergefell v. Hodges and Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and has appeared in the media discussing issues of religious liberty and its connection to antidiscrimination law, Title IX and marriage equality. Prior to joining the faculty at KU Law, Velte was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, where she taught Evidence, Torts, Professional Responsibility, Conflict of Laws, and Gender, Sexuality & the Law, and an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Legal Externship Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, focusing on private firm and judicial placements. She also taught Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, and Sexual Orientation & the Law. Velte holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and a J.D., summa cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law. While at American University, she was on the editorial board of the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, and received several significant awards, especially for her work in the area of civil rights and public interest law. Her undergraduate degree is from Hamilton College.
Jamar Walker - Jamar Walker is an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Criminal Division, where he prosecutes financial crimes and public corruption cases. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jamar was a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, DC. He began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Raymond A. Jackson on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In 2020, Jamar was a recipient of the LGBT Bar’s 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 Award. He received a B.A., with Distinction, in Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Out in Enforcement: Challenges and Issues in Federal Government Enforcement Careers
LaNitra Webb - LaNitra oversees the marketing and business development (M&BD) operations for the Technology industry sector group at Hogan Lovells as well as the firm's Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley offices. In those roles, she is responsible for advocating adherence to the Mansfield Rule and the firm's diversity and inclusion commitments throughout the creation of marketing collateral, pitch responses, PR, internal and external events, and speaking opportunities. Her goal is to ensure that the diversity within the firm is represented as often as possible. A passionate advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, LaNitra serves on the firm's 15-member Americas Business Services D&I Committee representing the Marketing department. She also serves on the leadership team of the M&BD D&I Employee Resource Group and is a member of the firm's Pride+ (LBGTQ+) network. Previously, LaNitra served as the Director of Communications for Lean In D.C., a nonprofit network of Lean In, focused on helping women achieve their ambitions while working to create a more equal world. During her tenure, the network hosted programs and events addressing women's pay equity, cultivating allyship, confidence-building and salary negotiation workshops, and leadership development trainings.
William Weinberger - William Weinberger is a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Parker Milliken, chair of its Litigation Practice and chair of the firm's Diversity & Inclusion Committee. His practice focuses on complex commercial and business torts litigation and employment counseling and litigation. William has represented businesses and entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, including real estate development, investment and management, accounting, aerospace, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical services, entertainment, and high-tech. William is one of the co-founders of the National LGBTQ Bar Association and was co-chair of its Board in 1994. His other bar leadership roles include President of the LGBTQ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles in 1987 and Co-chair of the Corporate Counsel of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. He has also served as Co-chair of the Board of SAGE, was Treasurer of the Board of GLAAD, served on the Board of the L.A. LGBT Center, and was President of the Board of Congregation Kol Ami, in West Hollywood.
Justin Weitz - Justin Weitz (he/him) is Principal Assistant Chief in the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, where he works on complex criminal investigations and prosecutions related to financial markets, securities law violations, and procurement fraud. He previously served as a Trial Attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice. Mr. Weitz began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable R. Barclay Surrick on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. in History and Government from Cornell University and J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Out in Enforcement: Challenges and Issues in Federal Government Enforcement Careers
Tracey West - Ms. West, is based in WilmerHale’s Boston office, and comes from the Boston College Law School where she was associate dean for external relations, diversity and inclusion, the first-of-its-kind position at a US law school. At WilmerHale, Ms. West leads the firm’s diversity and inclusion team. In her new role, she will be integral to advancing the firm’s efforts and broad initiatives to diversity and inclusion at the firm and in the profession. She earned her law degree at Georgetown Law School and her bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University.
Catherine West - Catherine West is a staff attorney with Legal Voice. She fights for gender equity on behalf of girls, women and LGBTQ+ people with administrative, legislative and litigation strategies. Catherine seeks to amplify community-led strategies and solutions by working in coalition with organizations and individuals. Catherine has spent twenty-four years focused on the needs of low-income, vulnerable and marginalized populations. Catherine represented low-income clients at the Northwest Justice Project for fifteen years. As an attorney with the Medical-Legal Partnership, she advocated for the rights of trans youth. In 2015, she received Northwest Justice Project’s Advocacy Award. Catherine attended law school at the University of Wisconsin. Her article about the need for LGBTQ+ families to be included in the surrogate health care decision-making statute was published by the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender and Society. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the Quinault Indian Nation Tribal Bar. In the fourth grade, she was the Badminton champion of her elementary school.
Community Driven Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Closing the Gender Affirming Care Loophole
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. Amy represented the mother of a transgender teenager who was subjected to severe discrimination during an inpatient stay, resulting in a landmark opinion holding that discrimination based on a person's transgender identity is sex discrimination under the Affordable Care Act. Amy also represents Adree Edmo, a transgender woman housed in the Idaho Department of Corrections who was denied gender affirming surgery despite her desperate need for that care. NCLR, along with co-counsel, obtained an order finding that the denial of care violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and requiring prison officials to provide the surgery. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision, which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review. In July 2020, Ms. Edmo became the second person in the country to receive court-ordered surgery in prison. Amy also represents Mary Walsh and Bev Nance in their litigation against a senior living facility that denied them housing because they are a same-sex couple. Before joining NCLR, Amy was an associate at the San Francisco firm of Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld LLP (RBGG). 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 because of severe overcrowding. A unanimous three-judge panel ruled in favor of the prisoners in that case and the United States Supreme Court affirmed that decision in 2011. Amy received her Bachelor's Degree from Princeton University and her Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law.
Discrimination to Incarceration Pipeline for LGBTQ+ People: A Litigation Perspective
Fighting for the Rights of TGNCNBI People in Prisons and Jails: A Legislative Perspective
After Bostock: How the Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling is Shaping Legal Advocacy Beyond Employment for LGBTQ+ People
Justice G. Helen Whitener - Justice G. Helen Whitener was appointed to the Washington State Supreme Court in April 2020 and she was elected by the voters to retain her position on the State Supreme Court in November 2020. Prior to her appointment to Washington State's highest court, Justice Whitener served as a Pierce County Superior Court judge. Justice Whitener also served as a judge on the Washington State Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals and as a pro-tem judge in Pierce County District Court and the City of Tacoma Municipal Court. Before becoming a judge, Justice Whitener litigated both civil and criminal cases for 14 years as first a prosecutor and defense attorney and later as a managing partner of the law firm of Whitener Rainey Writt PS. Justice Whitener is well recognized by the legal community for her commitment to justice and equity. In January 2021, Justice Whitener received the Western Region of the National Black Law Students Association Judge of the Year Award. The 400 Years of African American History Commission has also honored Justice Whitener, naming her a 2020 Distinguished 400 Awardee. Justice Whitener is the Appellate Court Representative to the Washington Supreme Court Interpreter Commission, and she is the former co-chair of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission. Justice Whitener serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association of LGBT Judges as well as on the Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee. Additionally, Justice Whitener is a member of the International Association of Women Judges, the National Association of Women Judges, and the American Judges Association. She is also a former chair and co-chair of the Washington State Superior Court Judges' Association–Equity and Fairness Committee. Justice Whitener is a judicial member of Washington Women Lawyers and is a judicial member of the Advisory Council for the QLaw Association of Washington. Justice Whitener is the first Black woman to serve on the Washington Supreme Court, the fourth immigrant-born Justice and the first Black LGBT judge in the State of Washington. Justice Whitener is often invited to speak to organizations locally, nationally, and internationally on human rights, access to justice, and the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure the right of all who appear before the court to basic dignity and respect in judicial proceedings.
A Conversation with Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Supreme Court Justices
Susan Williams - Susan Williams is the founder and Executive Director of The Transformation Project, a two year-old South Dakota nonprofit which seeks to support and empower transgender youth, young adults, and their families while educating communities in South Dakota and the surrounding region about gender identity and expression. Due to repeated legislative attacks on transgender youth in South Dakota, Susan founded another non-profit in 2020 called the Transformation Project Advocacy Network. The Advocacy Network advocates for the dignity and well-being of transgender South Dakotans through social and political action while also advocating for transgender equity and justice. Susan is a wife and mom of two kids, one of whom is transgender and inspired her to make a difference in her home state of South Dakota.
Brian Winterfeldt - Brian J. Winterfeldt, the Founder and Principal of Winterfeldt IP Group, has practiced trademark and Internet law for nearly two decades. Building on his years of experience in large, global law firms, Brian has brought his vision to life, creating a firm dedicated exclusively to providing organizations and individuals with to the highest caliber trademark and Internet-related legal and policy services. Brian has assembled a team of top talent that provides a personalized, concierge-style client service experience at an exceptional value. Brian advises clients on the creation of global trademark and branding strategies. He also develops programs to register and enforce clients’ intellectual property rights and protect against infringement of their trademarks and other branding elements in the US and internationally, including domestic and international trademark counseling, clearance, prosecution and enforcement. In addition, Brian advises clients on trade dress, copyright, Internet governance and domain name issues, including domain name disputes such as Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) complaints, and other similar processes for country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), to disable or recover infringing domain names. He regularly counsels global leaders across a broad variety of industries.
Tobias Barrington Wolff - Tobias Barrington Wolff is a Fordham Professor of Law and Deputy Dean for Alumni Engagement and Inclusion at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Wolff writes and teaches in the fields of civil procedure and complex litigation, the conflict of laws, constitutional law, and LGBT rights. He is co-author (with Linda Silberman and Allan Stein) of Civil Procedure: Theory and Practice (Wolters Kluwer, 5th ed. 2017), and his recent articles include “Class Actions, Statutes of Limitations and Repose, and Federal Common Law” (with Stephen Burbank) (University of Pennsylvania Law Review), “Choice of Law and Jurisdictional Policy in the Federal Courts” (University of Pennsylvania Law Review), “Scott v. Harris and the Future of Summary Judgment” (Nevada Law Review), “Discretion in Class Certification” (University of Pennsylvania Law Review), “Managerial Judging and Substantive Law” (Washington University Law Review), “Civil Rights Reform and the Body” (Harvard Law & Policy Review), and “Redeeming the Missed Opportunities of Shady Grove” (with Stephen Burbank) (University of Pennsylvania Law Review). Wolff has served as pro bono counsel in many civil rights cases seeking equal treatment under law for LGBT people. He won the Beacon Award for Public Service in 2013 and the A. Leo Levin Award for Excellence in an Introductory Course in 2009.
The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress
Eric Wright - Eric R. Wright is a Distinguished University Professor of Sociology and Public Health and Chair of the Sociology Department at Georgia State University. He holds a BA in sociology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and an MA and PhD in sociology and human sexuality from Indiana University Bloomington. As a medical sociologist, his research interests center on social and public policy responses to mental health and illness, substance use and addictions, sexual health, and HIV/STI prevention. In addition, Dr. Wright is actively involved in conducting research to understand and ameliorate social and health problems and disparities in minority and other vulnerable communities, including homeless youth and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ). He has extensive experience in working with community organizations as well as local and state government to better understand community needs and improve the effectiveness of social-, health-, and healthcare-related programs and policies. He is or has been the Principal or Co-Principal Investigator of numerous externally federally and state-funded research and evaluation projects and has published many policy briefs, technical reports, and peer-reviewed scientific papers which have appeared in sociology as well as interdisciplinary health, psychiatric, and health policy journals. Professor Wright also is an award winning teacher and deeply committed to involving students in research and service learning projects to make learning more relevant and to build stronger bridges between the academy and the community.
Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins
Jason Wu -
Marcia Zug - Professor Zug is the Miles and Ann Loadholt Professor of Family Law at The University of South Carolina. She teaches Family Law, Advanced Family Law, Immigration Law and American Indian law. She has published numerous articles on family law, immigration law and policy, and American Indian Law in publications including The Yale Law Journal, the UC Davis Law Review, the BYU Law Review, the American Indian Law Review, Queen’s University Law Review, the Virginia Law and Policy Review, and the William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law. Her recent book, Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail-Order Matches, was reviewed in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The Times Literary supplement. She is also the recipient of a 2017 Fulbright Award which allowed her to conduct comparative work in Australia. She is currently writing a book on the legal history of not marrying for love.
Keren Zwick - Keren Zwick is NIJC’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.