Jeremy Avila (he/him), Senior Counsel, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

• Jeremy Avila is a trial lawyer, trusted advisor, and former prosecutor and Chief Counsel who provides health care clients with practical and effective solutions to their legal, regulatory, and litigation challenges. Jeremy represents health care clients undergoing inquiries, audits, or investigations by state and federal government authorities and defends clients in litigation arising under the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the False Claims Act. He also advises clients on health care law and policy issues, such as Medicaid/Medi-Cal program certification and licensing, as well as compliance with data and health care privacy laws (including HIPAA, CMIA, and the HITECH Act).Before transitioning to private practice, Jeremy worked for 12 years in California government. He served as Deputy District Attorney in Monterey County and as Deputy District Attorney and then Deputy County Counsel in Santa Clara County. Most recently, he was appointed by the Governor of California to serve as Chief Counsel for the California Department of Aging (CDA), which provides services and supports to older adults, disabled adults, and their caregivers. As Chief Counsel, Jeremy led CDA’s Office of Legal Services and was instrumental in implementing a variety of new state programs serving the senior population. Throughout the course of his government career, Jeremy also tried more than two dozen cases and represented clients before federal and state trial and appellate courts and in administrative hearings. He led or assisted in complex criminal investigations and prosecutions and investigated and litigated matters involving unfair business practices, false advertising, and false claims.While attending law school, Jeremy served as a judicial extern for California’s Second District Court of Appeal, a Law Clerk at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, and a White House intern for the Domestic Policy Council.

Carmen-Nicole Cox (she/her), President, The Cox Firm for Law & Policy; Adjunct Professor, McGeorge School of Law

• Carmen-Nicole Cox is Founder and President of The Cox Firm for Law and Policy. For 15 years Carmen has served as a trusted advisor to California leaders in all three branches of state government as well as business and nonprofit executives. Prior to founding The Cox Firm, Carmen served as Director of Government Affairs at ACLU California Action where she led a team of diverse advocates to shape the State’s policy and budget agendas. Before joining ACLU, Carmen was the inaugural Chief Counsel of Public Policy and Advocacy for United Way California Capital Region. In that role she secured millions of dollars in funding and policy wins to alleviate poverty, strengthen family resiliency, and improve education outcomes for children.Carmen is an adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law teaching Race, Mass Incarceration and Criminal Justice Reform. A self-described liberation attorney, her work has impacted millions of Californians through her prior roles as Deputy Director at For The People, Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for Governor Jerry Brown, Chief of Legislation at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Deputy District Attorney in San Joaquin County and civil litigator at Downey Brand LLP and Weintraub Tobin.

Patricia Eichar (she/her), Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

• Patricia Eichar represents municipal bond issuers, borrowers, and underwriters for a variety of public infrastructure, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, enterprise fund, general obligation and other financing structures and also serves as the Sacramento office leader.Ms. Eichar has represented issuers, underwriters and borrowers in taxable and tax-exempt municipal financings for health care organizations, senior living communities, and other types of 501(c)(3) organizations. In addition, Ms. Eichar has represented various municipal issuers, including the State of California, in the issuance of general obligation bonds, deficit bonds, revenue anticipation notes, lease revenue bonds, enterprise revenue bonds, pension obligation bonds and land-secured bonds, and in municipal lease and redevelopment financing. As disclosure counsel to myriad public agencies, Ms. Eichar advises on matters including the content of primary offering documents as well as continuing disclosure filings.In addition to her work in municipal financings, Ms. Eichar has taken on multiple pro bono projects, including prosecuting guardianships for Sacramento’s Voluntary Legal Services Program and assisting veterans with appeals of denial of disability benefits before the Board of Veterans Appeals.

Justice Kelli Evans (she/her), Associate Justice, California Supreme Court

• Before joining the Supreme Court, Justice Evans served as a Judge in the Alameda County Superior Court, presiding over both criminal and civil matters. Prior to her appointment to the Alameda County bench, Justice Evans served as Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of Governor Newsom, where she advised the Governor and executive agencies on a variety of legal, policy, and legislative issues. Justice Evans previously served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General at the California Department of Justice with a focus in criminal justice, public safety, and civil rights law and policy.Justice Evans has had a career of public service. Before joining the California Department of Justice, she served as Senior Director for the Administration of Justice at the California State Bar. Prior to joining the State Bar, she was Associate Director of the ACLU of Northern California and served as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and as an Assistant Public Defender at the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office. Justice Evans also has served as a member of federal court-appointed monitoring teams for the Oakland and Cleveland Police Departments.Justice Evans has sat on the governing boards of a number of non-profit organizations and currently serves on the California Commission on Access to Justice. She has received numerous awards and recognition including the King Hall Distinguished Alumna Award, the Stanford Trailblazer Award, Judge of the Year Award, Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, State Bar President’s Award, and a Medal of Achievement from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.Justice Evans received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree from the University of California at Davis, where she was the recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Public Service.

Jorge Gaitan (he/him), Counsel, Downey Brand LLP

• Before joining Downey Brand, Jorge was a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice, representing the United States Trustees in chapter 11 matters and pursuing remedies for misconduct and abuse of the bankruptcy system in all chapters, including litigating dischargeability actions. Jorge has also represented private chapter 7 trustees in disputes involving avoidance actions, stay relief, and asset recovery matters.Jorge began his career as a term law clerk (2 years) to the Honorable Mark D. Houle of the Central District of California, where he later was asked to return as a career clerk to spend an additional three years deepening his knowledge of bankruptcy issues and drafting opinions in complex litigation matters. In addition to his bankruptcy work, Jorge spent two years as an Assistant General Counsel for the State of California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), where he served primarily as in-house counsel, advising agency leadership regarding internal personnel and policy matters and managing and directing outside counsel.

Juan Gamboa (he/him), Senior Staff Counsel, California Civil Rights Department

• Juan Gamboa is a Senior Staff Counsel at the California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”). In his capacity as Senior Staff Counsel, Mr. Gamboa enforces the Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and Civil Code, section 52.5. Specifically, Mr. Gamboa’s responsibilities include prosecuting high profile group discrimination cases and investigating and prosecuting claims of human trafficking. While at CRD, Mr. Gamboa has helped to resolve large cases such as CRD v. Activision Blizzard, which involved allegations of sex discrimination against women employed by Activision Blizzard. Mr. Gamboa also resolves individual claims, such as CRD v. Ayoquezco Farms, Inc. which involved allegations of assault against a farm worker. Mr. Gamboa’s aim at CRD is to give force and effect to the promise that California persons have a right to obtain employment, housing and public accommodations without invidious discrimination. In his spare time, Mr. Gamboa enjoys teaching Judo to college students, fishing, and spending time at the beach with his dogs.

Lexi Howard (she/her),  Attorney III, California Department of Water Resources in the Office of the General Counsel

• Lexi Howard is an attorney at the California Department of Water Resources in the Office of the General Counsel. Lexi was previously an attorney in the Legal Affairs Office of the California Secretary of State, and before that, was in private practice as a real estate and business attorney. Prior to that (before, during, and after law school), Lexi was a public policy advocate and contract lobbyist, representing real estate and business organizations and trade associations. From 1985 through 2010, Lexi worked for a national title insurance and financial services firm. Lexi earned a J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, and a B.S. in Business Management from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.Lexi also serves on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento LGBT Community
  Center; is the current Chair of the Diversity Board for the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and is a member of its Capital Advisory Board. Lexi mentors high school students and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Law & Public Policy Program at C.K. McClatchy Senior High School, and serves as a mentor to law school students, bar takers, and really anyone who asks.

Larry Levine (he/him), Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law 

• 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. He served as the Gordon D. Schaber Chair in Health Law and Policy from 2022-2023. 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.

Judge Andi Mudryk (she/her), Judge, Superior Court of Sacramento County

• Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Andi Mudryk as a judge to the Sacramento County Superior Court on March 25, 2022. Judge Mudryk is the first openly transgender judge appointed by a Governor in California, and believed to be the only transgender judge appointed by any Governor nationwide. Judge Mudryk is also one of few judges with a significant disability, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as Brittle Bone Disorder.Before the appointment, Judge Mudryk served as the Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), which provides services and advocacy resulting in employment, independent living, and equality for individuals with disabilities. She joined DOR in 2018 as the Chief Counsel. Judge Mudryk previously served as the Deputy Director/Legal Director of Disability Rights California, the largest disability rights law firm in the country and the largest legal services provider in California.She graduated with honors in 1989 for the George Washington University Law School and has extensive experience serving in leadership roles in non-profit legal services organizations and in litigating a variety of discrimination and disability-related claims. She is admitted to practice law in California, Arizona, and Michigan.

Mari Nemec (she/her), Advocacy Counsel, The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association and Foundation

• Mari Nemec is an attorney and advocate dedicated to advancing accessibility, equity, and excellence within the legal profession and across our legal systems. She serves as Advocacy Counsel at the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, where she monitors and responds to policy, legislative, and judicial developments affecting the LGBTQ+ legal community and leads key programmatic initiatives, including the Law Student Congress and the Judicial Nominations and Executive Appointments Committee. In this role, Mari works to make the legal profession and legal systems more inclusive, transparent, and people-centered, ensuring they reflect and serve the full diversity of the communities they impact.Mari rejoined the National LGBTQ+ Bar in 2023, bringing a long connection to the organization. She first joined the Bar’s staff in 2017 as an intern and later served as Manager of Public Affairs before departing to attend law school. During law school, she served on the Law Student Congress as Secretary and then as Co-Chair for two years. In 2022, she was selected as a Dorot Fellow at Alliance for Justice, where she prepared in-depth reports on federal judicial nominees and monitored developments within the federal courts. Mari earned her J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and her B.A. from the College of William & Mary.

Judi O’Kelley (she/her), Chief Program Officer, The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association and Foundation

• Judi O’Kelley has served since 2017 as the Chief Program Officer for the National LGBTQ+ Bar, in which she leads a broad range of programmatic initiatives. Judi’s work at the Bar includes building the annual Lavender Law® Conference program; supporting the Bar’s state and local LGBTQ+ Bar affiliate program, law school and student outreach, and the Bar’s and NCLR’s Family Law Institute®; spearheading the organization’s New Lawyer Division and its Workplace Inclusion Program; and directing the Bar’s advocacy and education work.Judi brings over thirty years of legal and political experience working for equality within the LGBTQ+ community. Before joining the Bar, she spent nearly twelve years on the staff and in senior management of Lambda Legal. Judi received her B.A. from Colorado College in 1990. After receiving her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1996, she served as a law clerk for Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and practiced appellate and employment law in Atlanta for Jones Day and two boutique law firms before joining Lambda Legal in 2006. She is licensed to practice in Alaska, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

Jenn Protas (she/her), Shareholder, Hoge Fenton

• Jenn Protas helps employers navigate California’s numerous employment laws and defends them with an eye toward successful yet cost-effective resolution. She builds relationships with her clients to better understand their businesses. Jenn provides counsel on various subjects, including employee leave issues, personnel management, hiring, terminations, and wage and hour practices. In addition, she has substantial experience drafting employer policies, handbooks, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), incentive compensation agreements, separation agreements, and settlement agreements. Jenn also defends employers on wage and hour law matters, wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in single-plaintiff litigation, Private Attorneys General Act actions, and/or class actions. Her practice also includes housing discrimination matters and business litigation.Jenn is a frequent public speaker and regularly presents seminars and training on employment issues such as annual legal updates, complex leave issues, compliance with California wage and hour law, and effective employee management. She also provides legally mandated harassment prevention directly to clients.

Judge Kristin Rosi (she/her)

• Judge Kristin Rosi is the former Chief Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Insurance. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Rosi spent 12 years at the Public Employment Relations Board, where she represented the agency at the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. Judge Rosi is active in a number of judicial organizations, serving as immediate past-President of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, and past Chair of the National Association of Women Judges’ LGBTQ Committee. Judge Rosi is also past-Chair of NAWJ’s Administrative Judiciary Committee and New Member Committee. She currently chairs the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division Program Committee and the ABA’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Commission. Judge Rosi also recently completed a four-year term on the National Conference of Administrative Law Judiciary’s Executive Committee.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 is completing her Master’s in Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Cathy Sakimura (she/her), Executive Director, Legal Services for Children

• Cathy Sakimura joined LSC as Executive Director in June 2022. Cathy previously served as the Deputy Director and Family Law Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. She received her J.D. from UC College of the Law in San Francisco and her B.A. from Stanford University. Prior to law school, Cathy has also worked at Gay-Straight Alliance Network, empowering young people to combat harassment in their schools and was a member of the Board of Directors of COLAGE, an organization for people with LGBTQ parents. Cathy is recognized as a national expert in LGBTQ family law, particularly on issues faced by low-income LGBTQ families of color. In 2021, Cathy received the Dan Bradley Award, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s highest honor. She is a co-author of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Family Law, published by Thomson Reuters.

Mark Slaughter (he/him), Supervising Assistant Public Defender, Office of the Public Defender, Sacramento County

• Mr. Slaughter has litigated a wide range of complex criminal cases, and he currently supervises a team of attorneys in a felony intake department. Prior to his 21 years with the Public Defender, Mr. Slaughter worked with the Department of Motor Vehicles for 18 years, in various capacities, including Staff Counsel. He is an instructor at California State University, Sacramento. Mr. Slaughter is an active community member providing outreach and Know Your Rights seminars to the community. He is active in juvenile justice issues and provides The Talk presentations to youth and young adults in the greater Sacramento area. Mr. Slaughter collaborates with community-based organizations such as the Greater Sacramento N.A.A.C.P. and Sacramento ACT.Mr. Slaughter provides continuing legal education to legal professionals on implicit bias. He is a member of the McGeorge School of Law Diversity Advisory Board, the Sacramento Court Community Engagement and Fairness Committee, and a member of the Public Defender racial bias committee. He is a Cabinet member of the Sacramento County’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Cabinet. He is also a member of Wiley Manuel Bar Association and SacLEGAL. Mr. Slaughter enjoys singing with the Sacramento Choral Society and traveling. Mr. Slaughter holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

John Tan (he/him), Staff Attorney, Legal Services of Northern California; Adjunct Professor, The University of California, Davis School of Law

• John has been a staff attorney at Legal Services of Northern California since June 2011, working in the Health rights unit in the Sacramento office. He is currently the Program Manager/Managing Attorney for HICAP Services of Northern California, which provides counseling to Medicare beneficiaries. Additionally, he is an instructor for UC Davis School of Law’s Lawyering Practice curriculum.

AJ Wipfler (he/him), Senior Appellate Court Attorney, California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District; Adjunct Professor, McGeorge School of Law

• Anna James (AJ) Wipfler (he/him) is a Senior Appellate Court Attorney for California’s 3rd District Court of Appeal, as well as an Adjunct Professor at McGeorge School of Law. AJ has previously clerked for the Honorable Connie M. Callahan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Honorable Todd Hughes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and for several magistrate judges at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. As his first job after law school, he served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. AJ graduated from the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law and earned his B.A. from Yale College where he majored in Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies. AJ is openly transgender and a past Co-Chair of SacLegal, Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association.

Friday, January 30
Optional evening social event, details provided to registrants only.

Saturday, January 31

8:30 AM: Check In and Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM: Welcome Remarks

9:15 -10:00 AM: LGBTQ+ History and Present Times

10:00 – 11:00 AM: How Does Your Law Degree Empower You?

11:00 – 11:15 AM: Break

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM: Student and Faculty Small Group Discussions

12:30 – 12:45 PM: Break

12:45 – 1:30 PM: Lunch and Fireside Chat with Justice Kelli M. Evans and Judge Kristin Rosi

1:30 – 1:45 PM: Break

1:45 – 3:30 PM: Strategic Skills Bootcamp

3:30- 3:45 PM: Break

3:45 – 4:30 PM: Career Mentoring with Faculty

4:30 – 5:30 PM: Wellbeing Conversation

5:30 – 5:40 PM: Conclusion

Optional evening social event, details provided to registrants only.