Speakers
Name
Organization
Speaking At
Katherine Allen (Speaker)
<p><strong>Katherine M. Allen</strong> formerly served as Associate General Counsel at the Pennsylvania State University, focusing on faculty and employment issues, including research misconduct investigations. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Katherine represented Penn State, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and other clients as a shareholder in a private firm. For over 16 years, she concentrated her practice on employment law and litigation, civil rights litigation and higher education law. Katherine served as chair of her firm’s Labor and Employment and Litigation practice groups and advised several nonprofit organizations. For several years, she was also a member of the adjunct faculty team for the Advocacy I program at the Dickinson School of Law. Katherine previously worked in private practice in Tennessee and Wisconsin. In 1990-91, she served as a law clerk for the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Katherine has served as Chair and on the Board of Centre County Women’s Resource Center. She is the former President of the Board of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. She also previously served as a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys’ Legal Education Committee. Katherine received her B.A. cum laude from Davidson College and her J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. </p>
Emeritus Member
11B. All Speech Considered: Expressive Activity in a Virtual World
Emily Babb (Speaker)
<p>Emily Babb is the Associate Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance at Northwestern University where she oversees the University's Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance and serves as the University's Title IX Coordinator. Prior to joining Northwestern she was the Associate Vice Chancellor for Equal Opportunity and Title IX/Title IX Coordinator at the University of Denver. Emily also served as the Assistant Vice President for Title IX Compliance at the University of Virginia and oversaw the University's compliance with Title IX. While at the University of Virginia, Emily also served as the Interim Associate Vice President for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, leading a 15-person team responsible for the University's broad civil rights compliance, including Title IX, the ADA, and employment equity. Prior to joining higher education, Emily was a Senior Attorney at the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Dallas Regional office and the Program Manager and Acting Regional Director at the Cleveland Regional office. She is a graduate of DePauw University and earned her J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. </p>
Northwestern University
03. Title IX: Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Under the Trump-Era Regulations During the Biden Administration
Ishan Bhabha (Speaker)
<div>Named as one of Law360’s 2019 Appellate Rising Stars, Partner Ishan K. Bhabha is co-chair of the Jenner and Block’s Education Practice and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice. Since joining the firm in 2012, his practice has focused on complex issues of regulatory, constitutional and commercial law. He regularly represents and counsels large private and public institutions of higher education in their most high-stakes disputes and investigations. As recent examples, Mr. Bhabha has successfully led the defense of institutions in First Amendment challenges to bias response teams, has defended institutions sued for tuition refunds as a result of COVID-19, has defended institutions in Title IX lawsuits related to sexual misconduct adjudications, and has led efforts by institutions to fight executive orders limiting academic freedom and the ability of foreign students to study in the United States. He also frequently counsels institutions on complex regulatory issues involving privacy, admissions, athletics, and federal grant funding. Mr. Bhabha regularly argues in federal courts of appeals and has also argued in the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to joining Jenner & Block LLP, Mr. Bhabha clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He has also previously worked at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Boston Consulting Group.</div>
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Jenner & Block LLP
02. Striking a Balance: Preventing Discrimination and Creating a More Inclusive Campus Climate While Navigating Free Expression
Joel Buckman (Speaker)
<p><strong><span style="color:black">Joel Buckman</span></strong><span style="color:black"> is a Partner in Hogan Lovells US LLP's education practice area. Based in Washington, D.C., Joel is an education regulatory lawyer who helps colleges and universities comply with federal law and handle their most significant controversies and transactions. </span></p><p><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p><span style="color:black">Joel's practice has involved a wide range of issues, including Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Department of Justice (DOJ) civil rights investigations, research misconduct investigations, faculty and staff labor and employment issues, adjunct and full-time faculty unionization efforts, donor disputes and restricted gift compliance, Title IV compliance, federal and state privacy law compliance, and governance.</span></p><p><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p><span style="color:black">Joel has represented institutions and associations in federal and state courts at trial and appellate levels, and in litigation before federal agencies. He has helped a number of institutions in accreditation matters before regional, national, and specialized accreditors, including commenting on proposed standards, requesting substantive changes, and responding to sanctions.</span></p><p><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p>While in law school, Joel worked in the Children's Law Clinic on student discipline and special education matters, and was also an editor of the <em>Duke Law Journal</em>. Before joining the firm, Joel served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.</p>
Hogan Lovells US LLP
10. Are the ‘Kids’ Alright? Practical Responses to Student Mental Health Challenges
Elizabeth Bullock (Discussion Leader)
<p>Elizabeth Bullock is Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel at the University of Denver. In this role, she serves as the University’s chief legal officer and leads the Office of General Counsel and its team of attorneys. She provides strategic legal guidance, consultation and support to the chancellor, trustees, and senior administrators, on topics including employment law, faculty and student affairs, institutional policies, Title IX, institutional governance, nonprofit laws, and other laws and regulations.</p><p>Elizabeth previously served as general counsel at the University of Tulsa and associate attorney at Harvard University. She has also practiced as associate attorney at the Jenner & Block LLP in Washington, D.C. and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephanie K. Seymour of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Elizabeth received her J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.</p>
University of Denver
04A. What’s Past Is Prologue: A Discussion About Addressing Past/Historical Allegations of Discrimination
Traevena Byrd (Moderator)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Traevena Byrd</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> is Vice President, General Counsel and Board Secretary for American University. She serves as a member of the President's cabinet and as chief legal advisor to the university's executive officers and board. In the role of General Counsel, she coordinates all legal services for the university and manages the team of lawyers and administrative professionals who serve in the Office of General Counsel. As Secretary to the Board of Trustees, she oversees board operations, maintains meeting minutes, and serves as the custodian of board records and the corporate seal. She has previously worked as a Title IX coordinator, EEO investigator, and associate general counsel at Ithaca College in New York; Vice President and General Counsel at Towson University in Maryland; and as an adjunct faculty member teaching civil rights and social justice. </span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Traevena currently serves on the accreditation commission for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA). Traevena serves as Secretary on the Board of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) where she previously served as a Member-at-Large from 2014-2017; she also serves as Chair of the NACUA Committee on Board Operations. She is a frequent presenter on the subject of free speech and student protest, and has been a speaker for several higher education associations, including the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA), the American Council on Education (ACE), the Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Traevena is a graduate of the University of Iowa, where she received both her Bachelor of Arts in African American World Studies with honors and her law degree.</span> </div>
American University
01. Welcome and Opening Plenary: When Free Speech and Inclusion Collide: Legal and Practical Considerations for Campuses Caught in the Crossfire
Shelley Carthen Watson (Speaker)
<p><strong>Shelley Carthen Watson</strong>, Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Minnesota. Her practice is primarily devoted to providing advice, counsel, and training in labor relations and employment issues, as well as defense of the University in collective bargaining and internal grievance arbitrations, and administrative matters before the EEOC, Minnesota Department of Human Rights and Department of Labor. Prior to coming to the University, Ms. Carthen Watson was a partner with the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, where her practice focused on business litigation and employment counseling and litigation. The former Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, she also served as Executive Director of the Hennepin County Bar Association and Hennepin County Bar Foundation. An honors graduate of Macalester College, she received her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1985. Ms. Carthen Watson recently served as a member of the Board of Directors of NACUA, and is the recent recipient of their First Decade Award that recognizes university attorneys who have been NACUA members for 10 or fewer years and have made "a significantly innovative contribution, or provided outstanding service, to the association and to the practice." In 2018 she was named a Top Assistant General Counsel by First Chair, an annual selection of in-house counsel who have, through their hard work and innovation, made significant contributions to the legal community, and recently received the 2019 Minnesota Lawyer In-House Counsel Award for attorneys. “who among other things, navigate complicated contract negotiations, defend their companies in high stakes litigation and defend some of an organization’s most important assets.” </p>
University of Minnesota
09. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Avoiding Discrimination Claims in Furloughs, RIFs, and Program Closures
Philip Catanzano (Discussion Leader)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Phil Catanzano </span></b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">is currently a co-founder of Education & Sports Law Group. Prior to starting Education & Sports Law Group, Phil was Senior Counsel at Holland & Knight for seven years and an attorney at the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights for almost a decade where he investigated institutions accused of discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, or race/ethnicity, among others. Phil has also served in Title IX coordinating roles and supportive roles for accessibility services offices on an interim basis. In the accessibility context, this includes advising around accommodation processes, physical accessibility, and digital accessibility. A primary aspect of Phil's practice is representing institutions involved in investigations or compliance reviews with federal regulators from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice. Phil also teaches higher education law at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, as well as at Boston College. Using this classroom experience, Phil often shares with audiences the practical challenges and benefits of creating an accessible classroom environment.</span></div>
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Education & Sports Law Group
08D. When Everything is #Digital: Navigating Service Providers, Reluctant Stakeholders, Litigation, and Everything In Between
Robert Clothier
<p><strong>Bob Clothier</strong> is Vice President and General Counsel at Ursinus College. Prior to his arrival at Ursinus in 2015, he was partner in the Philadelphia office of Saul Ewing LLP, where he was a member of the firm's Higher Education Practice group. </p><p>Mr. Clothier is an active member of National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and has served on NACUA's Board of Directors as well as other NACUA committees including the Annual Program Conference Committee. Mr. Clothier has written and lectured extensively on the First Amendment, speech and defamation matters. Mr. Clothier has spoken frequently at various NACUA conferences. Mr. Clothier is co-author of the NACUA pamphlet entitled “Defamation Issues in Higher Education.” </p><p>Mr. Clothier received his A.B. degree from Princeton University in 1983. Mr. Clothier attended and obtained his J.D. degree With Honors from The University of Chicago Law School in 1989, where he was elected to The Order of the Coif. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Robert F. Chapman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.</p>
Ursinus College
02. Striking a Balance: Preventing Discrimination and Creating a More Inclusive Campus Climate While Navigating Free Expression
Daniel Cohen (Discussion Leader)
<p><strong>Dan Cohen</strong>, one of the nation’s top Title IX and college athletics attorneys, leads the Higher Education and College Athletics teams at Nelson Mullins from its Atlanta office. He has been working with universities across the country on Title IX matters for over 20 years. Focusing on Title IX gender equity, athletics legal strategic planning, NIL, and sexual misconduct matters, Dan advises clients in every Power Five conference, as well as university athletics departments across 30 states and Washington, D.C. As part of his Title IX practice, Dan provides Title IX audits and compliance reviews to improve schools’ legal compliance. In addition, he litigates on behalf of schools, including defending colleges against class actions and investigations by the federal Office for Civil Rights for alleged gender discrimination. Dan serves as a Special Assistant Attorney General in two states, representing public universities in Title IX matters. He has testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on Title IX best practices. Dan has been published and quoted frequently about Title IX issues in the media, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA Today and the Washington Post, among others. He graduated from Duke University and the Vanderbilt University School of Law. For more information, please see https://www.nelsonmullins.com/people/daniel-a-cohen#main. </p>
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
08E. The Role of Counsel in Sport Sponsorship Decisions
Youndy Cook
<p><strong>Youndy C. Cook </strong>has served in the University of Central Florida Office of the General Counsel since April 2002, and became the Vice President and General Counsel in December 2021 after serving one year in the interim role. Prior to joining the University, she practiced labor and employment litigation in Tampa, Florida. Ms. Cook works with departments and units across the University on a wide variety of issues, including governance, employment matters, litigation, student affairs, public records, compliance, policies, regulations, and contracts. Ms. Cook received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law. Ms. Cook has been certified by the Florida Bar since 2012 as a Specialist in Education Law. Ms. Cook is active in NACUA, where she has served on various committees. She is also active in the Florida Bar, where she has served on the Education Law Committee. <strong> </strong></p>
University of Central Florida
11B. All Speech Considered: Expressive Activity in a Virtual World
Jennifer DaCosta
<p><strong>Jennifer DaCosta</strong> is a Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel of the Johns Hopkins University. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching degrees from the University of Virginia. After teaching middle school Spanish for the New York City Department of Education, Jennifer returned to the University of Virginia to obtain her law degree. An employment litigation lawyer by training, Jennifer joined JHU's General Counsel's Office as a Law Fellow in 2013. She has served as an Assistant and Associate General Counsel working primarily with two practice groups - Litigation and Contested Matters and Student Affairs and Employment. Jennifer became a Senior Associate General Counsel and Co-Practice Group Leader of Student Affairs and Employment in 2024.</p>
Johns Hopkins University
11A. Retaliation 2021: What's New and What's Important to Know Now
Shannon Dawkins (Moderator)
<p><strong>Shannon Dawkins</strong> has served as the Associate Director, Compliance in the Office of Audit and Compliance at Princeton University since September 2023 and manages their institutional compliance program. Prior to joining Princeton University, she served as Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at Johns Hopkins University. At JHU she specialized in policy development and proactively provided guidance regarding relevant policy and compliance issues. Ms. Dawkins also managed the compliance hotline through the pandemic. Ms. Dawkins previously served as the Director of the Office of University Policy and Procedures at University of Maryland, Baltimore where she was actively involved in the Strategic Plan and Enterprise Risk Mangement process. She also worked in the Clinical Law Program at University of Baltimore School of Law as a Program Manager and her government experience includes working with the Baltimore City Council, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland General Assembly, and the United States Senate.</p>
Princeton University
11A. Retaliation 2021: What's New and What's Important to Know Now
Kimberly Demarchi (Speaker)
<div><b><span style="color:#2A2A2A;font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Kim Demarchi </span></b><span style="color:#2A2A2A;font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">is Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at Arizona State University. Kim is responsible for overseeing the employment practice group in the Office of General Counsel, which advises on academic and non-academic personnel matters, student matters, and law enforcement matters. Her responsibilities also include administrative oversight of the Athletics Compliance group, which designs and administers education and monitoring systems that facilitate compliance by the University with all University, Pacific-12 Conference, and NCAA rules and regulations governing intercollegiate athletics. In addition, Kim advises on government law matters including legislation and lobbying functions.</span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#2A2A2A;font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Kim was in private practice in Phoenix where her primary areas of practice were government law, education law, and appellate advocacy. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and is the co-editor of the Arizona Appellate Handbook. She also serves on the Arizona Supreme Court's Attorney Ethics Advisory Committee, the Research Committee of the Arizona Town Hall, and as an Appellate Lawyer Representative to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color:#2A2A2A;font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">A native of Tucson, Arizona, Kim is a graduate of Arizona State University's Barrett Honors College and of the Yale Law School. She is admitted to practice law in Arizona; the U.S. District Court for the State of Arizona; the United States Courts of Appeal for the Fifth, Ninth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits; and the Supreme Court of the United States.</span></div>
Arizona State University
12. Supporting Institutional Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion: The Contours of Risk Whispering Consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct (Ethics Session)
John DiPaolo (Moderator/Speaker)
<p><strong>John K. DiPaolo</strong> is general counsel and secretary of UC College of the Law, San Francisco. He advises the chancellor & dean, the board of directors, and other college leaders on legal and strategic matters and helps staff, faculty and students formulate and implement college policies. </p><p>John is a 1989 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wesleyan University, where he received his BA in social studies, and a 1993 graduate of Yale Law School, where he served as articles editor of the <em>Yale Law Journal</em>. After law school, John clerked for Judge Anthony J. Scirica on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. </p><p>John has worked on education issues throughout his career. From 2011 to 2017, he served at the U.S. Department of Education as deputy general counsel for postsecondary education and deputy assistant secretary for policy for civil rights. Following his work in the Obama administration, John joined the firm of Cozen O'Connor, where he counseled colleges, universities and school systems on compliance with federal civil rights laws, institutional responses to misconduct and a range of other legal issues.</p>
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
03. Title IX: Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Under the Trump-Era Regulations During the Biden Administration
John DiPaolo (Moderator)
<p><strong>John K. DiPaolo</strong> is general counsel and secretary of UC College of the Law, San Francisco. He advises the chancellor & dean, the board of directors, and other college leaders on legal and strategic matters and helps staff, faculty and students formulate and implement college policies. </p><p>John is a 1989 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wesleyan University, where he received his BA in social studies, and a 1993 graduate of Yale Law School, where he served as articles editor of the <em>Yale Law Journal</em>. After law school, John clerked for Judge Anthony J. Scirica on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. </p><p>John has worked on education issues throughout his career. From 2011 to 2017, he served at the U.S. Department of Education as deputy general counsel for postsecondary education and deputy assistant secretary for policy for civil rights. Following his work in the Obama administration, John joined the firm of Cozen O'Connor, where he counseled colleges, universities and school systems on compliance with federal civil rights laws, institutional responses to misconduct and a range of other legal issues.</p>
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
07. Disability and Accommodation Through COVID-19: The Fundamental Nature of Academic Programs and Essential Functions of Jobs As We Plan to Return to Campus
Nelson Dong (Discussion Leader)
<p>Prior to his retirement at 12/31/24, Nelson was head of Dorsey & Whitney's national security practice group and regularly advised corporations, private and public universities, other independent research institutions, engineering and medical societies and other organizations around the world on export control, economic sanctions and national security matters and on international technology law issues. He frequently wrote about U.S. export controls and economic sanctions, technology related business transactions between the U.S. and Asian or European countries, international strategic alliances, national security reviews of foreign direct investments in U.S. and outbound U.S. direct investments in other nations, technology companies, university-based technology transfer, academic entrepreneurship, academic conflicts of interest and the financing and organization of high technology businesses. He has lectured on such topics throughout the United States and iin Asia, Europe and Latin America. He has been an adjunct professor of international law at Seattle University School of Law and twice as an export control policy advisor to the U.S. Commerce Department. He has also taught regularly in NACUA CLE programs since 1994. </p><p>Nelson was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston (1980-82); Deputy Associate Attorney General, Department of Justice (1979-80); and White House Fellow and Special Assistant to U.S. Attorney General Griffin B. Bell, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (1978-79). He is a graduate of Stanford University (where he has served as a member of its Board of Trustees) and the Yale Law School.</p>
Life Member of the Association
04E. Asian Americans: The New "Targeted" Minority Group?
Scott Goldschmidt
<p><strong>Scott Z. Goldschmidt </strong>is an attorney in the higher education practice at Thompson Coburn, LLP. He frequently advises on discrimination law, student affairs, contract drafting and review, and policy development and is well-versed in navigating all types of day-to-day and long term legal demands facing colleges and universities. Scott also has experience with crisis management, advising on reputational concerns, and implementing controls to mitigate risk. </p><p>Prior to joining Thompson Coburn, Scott was the Deputy General Counsel for Catholic University. He also worked as a law clerk for the U.S. Department of Education Office of the General Counsel, was a research assistant for the Fifth Edition of <em>The Law of Higher Education </em>by William Kaplin and Barbara Lee, and served a <em>City Year</em> corps member in a Washington, D.C. public school. Scott holds a B.A. in Political Science, <em>magna cum laude,</em> from The George Washington University, and a J.D.,<em> cum laude</em>, from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law where he was Lead Articles Editor on the Law Review.</p>
Thompson Coburn LLP
08D. When Everything is #Digital: Navigating Service Providers, Reluctant Stakeholders, Litigation, and Everything In Between
Scott Goldschmidt (Speaker)
<p><strong>Scott Z. Goldschmidt </strong>is an attorney in the higher education practice at Thompson Coburn, LLP. He frequently advises on discrimination law, student affairs, contract drafting and review, and policy development and is well-versed in navigating all types of day-to-day and long term legal demands facing colleges and universities. Scott also has experience with crisis management, advising on reputational concerns, and implementing controls to mitigate risk. </p><p>Prior to joining Thompson Coburn, Scott was the Deputy General Counsel for Catholic University. He also worked as a law clerk for the U.S. Department of Education Office of the General Counsel, was a research assistant for the Fifth Edition of <em>The Law of Higher Education </em>by William Kaplin and Barbara Lee, and served a <em>City Year</em> corps member in a Washington, D.C. public school. Scott holds a B.A. in Political Science, <em>magna cum laude,</em> from The George Washington University, and a J.D.,<em> cum laude</em>, from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law where he was Lead Articles Editor on the Law Review.</p>
Thompson Coburn LLP
11B. All Speech Considered: Expressive Activity in a Virtual World
Anil Gollahalli (Discussion Leader)
<div><b>Anil Gollahalli</b> is Chief Legal Officer and general counsel of the Big Ten Conference. In his role, Gollahalli oversees all legal, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, litigation, regulatory, corporate, and legal NCAA matters, as well as outside counsel management. He works collaboratively with the COP/C, the athletics directors and the general counsels at the 14 Big Ten Conference member institutions and serve as a strategic advisor to Commissioner Warren and the conference. He also works hand-in-hand with Big Ten Conference Chief of Staff and Deputy General Counsel Adam Neuman.<br/> <br/>Gollahalli joined the conference from the University of Oklahoma, where he served as vice president and general counsel for fourteen years advising the Board of Regents and the institutions within the OU system.<br/> <br/>He managed all major legal projects, including the privatization of the university’s utilities systems, public private partnerships, consolidation of the university’s health system, and the acquisition and renovation of its campus in Italy. He counseled on all television and media development, intellectual property rights, athletics and university compliance, employment matters, healthcare operations, policy development, collections, and litigation. Additionally, he played a leadership role in the Oklahoma Board of Regents’ unanimous vote to enter the Southeastern Conference.<br/> <br/>Prior to serving as University of Oklahoma General Counsel, Gollahalli was the vice president for technology development at the university. He also practiced law in Dallas, working extensively in the intellectual property fields, and served as law clerk to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.<br/> <br/>Gollahalli received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Gollahalli serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of College and University Attorneys, is currently barred in Texas and Oklahoma, and is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.<br/> <br/>Gollahalli and his wife, Tonya, are returning to Chicagoland with two of their daughters, Kalyana and Indira, while their eldest daughter, Sandhya, will be beginning her college career in the fall.</div>
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The Big Ten Conference
04E. Asian Americans: The New "Targeted" Minority Group?
Leslie Gomez
<p><strong>Leslie Gomez </strong>is a Vice Chair of Cozen O'Connor's Institutional Response Group, a practice devoted to preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based harassment and violence, child abuse, and other forms of serious and criminal misconduct. Ms. Gomez provides consulting, counseling and legal advice on all issues related to sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, sexual and gender-based harassment and child abuse. Ms. Gomez helps institutions develop comprehensive policies, procedures, systems and training programs in compliance with Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 and state and local laws. She has more than two decades of experience investigating sex crimes, child abuse, domestic violence and stalking, first as a career prosecutor with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and later as counsel to colleges, universities, K-12 schools and other institutions. Ms. Gomez directs internal investigations, coordinates communications and interactions with law enforcement, assists in the design and implementation of disciplinary proceedings, and oversees the interplay between civil and criminal proceedings. Ms. Gomez served as an expert on the stalking subcommittee of the U.S. Department of Education’s Negotiated Rulemaking Committee for the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. Ms. Gomez serves as a volunteer child advocate attorney and teaches forensic interviewing of minors to multi-disciplinary teams. She is a member of the boards of the Center City Crime Victims Services and the Joseph J. Peters Institute, a nonprofit providing outpatient assessment and treatment in the area of sexual abuse. Ms. Gomez is a graduate of Yale Law School (J.D. 1995) and Brown University (A.B., magna cum laude, 1992).</p>
Cozen O'Connor
08C. Discrimination in Academic Medical Centers: Uncharted Territory
Becca Gose
<p>Becca Gose serves as Vice President and General Counsel for Oregon State University (OSU). As Chief Legal Officer, she leads the Office of the General Counsel, consisting of a team of attorneys focused on strategic and preventive advising, finding innovative solutions, and fostering collaborative problem-solving. Reporting directly to the President, Becca is a member of the University Cabinet and advises the Board of Trustees, President, Provost, and various levels of university leadership.</p><p>Becca has served OSU since 2010, as Assistant and then Associate General Counsel, and began her role as Chief Legal Officer in 2015. Prior to joining OSU, she was an associate litigation attorney in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles and Olson, where a portion of her practice was dedicated to representing higher education institutions. She received her JD from the University of California at Berkeley and her BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable David M. Ebel on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.</p><p>Becca actively contributes to the higher-education legal community through her involvement in NACUA and is currently serving on the Board of Directors, chairs the Committee on Strategic Planning, and leads the LGBTQ+ Affinity Group. Her prior engagements include participation on the Annual Conference Planning Committee, Committee on Legal Education, General Counsel Institute Planning Committee, and the NACUA Membership and New Members Committee. She has also been a speaker or a discussion leader at multiple NACUA conferences and workshops. Additionally, she recently completed a 6-year term on the Board of Trustees for the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation, where she served as Chair, Immediate Past Chair, and Secretary.</p>
Oregon State University
12. Supporting Institutional Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion: The Contours of Risk Whispering Consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct (Ethics Session)
John Graff (Discussion Leader)
<div align=justify><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">John Graff</span></b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> </span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">is an attorney at Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP in Boston, Massachusetts where he serves as litigation counsel to colleges and universities and advises them on a number of areas unique to higher education, including regulatory compliance, institutional policies and handbooks, campus law enforcement and public safety operations, student discipline, student disability accommodations, on-campus housing, and complex technology contracts. From December 2009 through August 2010, </span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">he</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> served as interim associate general counsel at Emerson College in Boston. </span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Mr.Graff</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> is currently serving in his second year as a member of the Editorial Board of the J</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">ournal of College and University Law</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> and is a member of the College and University Section of the Boston Bar Association. </span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Mr. Graff</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> also has an active business litigation practice representing companies in employment and other commercial disputes. Prior to practicing law, </span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">he</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> received commendations and medals for his service as a police officer, and he subsequently served as a supervisor in Boston University's student discipline office where he adjudicated over 1,000 non-academic student discipline cases.</span><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"><textobj name=""/></span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> </span></div>
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Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP
04D. Campus Unrest: Exploring the Role Between Campus Police and the Social Justice Movement
Allen Groves (Discussion Leader)
<p>Allen Groves is Senior Vice President, Student Experience at Syracuse University, overseeing Community Standards, Student Success, Student Activities, Fraternity & Sorority Affairs, New Student & Family Programs, Career Assessment, Student Health & Wellness, SU's cultural centers, and the Schine Student Center. He previously served the University of Virginia as Dean of Students for 14 years, overseeing 24/7 Incident Response, Housing & Residence Life, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Student Engagement, Multicultural Student Services, Orientation & New Student Programs, and multiple student activity spaces. He also served on the pan-University Threat Assessment Team. Mr. Groves was one of 30 Virginians appointed in 2014 to serve on the Governor's Task Force to Combat Sexual Assault, resulting in a comprehensive report outlining best practices for prevention and response. In 2019, Mr. Groves was one of 16 UVA faculty and staff charged with drafting the University's 2030 strategic plan, and in 2021 was one of 12 individuals who drafted UVA's Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry.Â</p><p>Mr. Groves received his <em>juris doctor</em> degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990. A practicing attorney for 16 years before moving into senior higher education administration, he previously held an equity partnership in Seyfarth Shaw LLP, where he served as Atlanta office litigation practice group chair and hiring partner. He is a member of the Bars of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Georgia, and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal, Fourth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the Supreme Courts of Virginia and Georgia. Mr. Groves is a frequent speaker on freedom of expression and association within the higher education setting, and is a vigorous advocate for the rights of students in this regard.</p>
Syracuse University
04D. Campus Unrest: Exploring the Role Between Campus Police and the Social Justice Movement
Priya Harjani (Discussion Leader)
<p><strong>Priya Harjani </strong>is the Senior Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Northwestern University. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Priya was an attorney with a large law firm in Chicago, where she concentrated in commercial litigation.</p><p>Priya regularly counsels senior leaders on a wide variety of issues affecting higher education as well as handles high-profile litigation matters for the university. In addition to assisting with the office’s management, her principal areas of responsibility include faculty issues, University governance, labor and employment counseling, and litigation matters. Priya also advises on a variety of other issues, including academic medical center issues, union matters, community relations, regulatory and compliance matters, Title IX issues, and athletic-related issues. She is currently a board member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and is often asked to speak at conferences regarding higher education law topics. Priya also has taught a graduate level course titled "Law and Ethics" in Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy. </p><p>Priya received her undergraduate degree from University of Illinois graduating summa cum laude and her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.</p>
Northwestern University
08A. Parental Status and Caretaker Discrimination
Sherita Harrison (Speaker)
<p><strong>Sherita D. Harrison</strong>, Esq. serves as the Associate General Counsel for Morgan State University. Ms. Harrison handles a broad range of legal matters for the University including but not limited to matters relating to academic affairs, finance, research and development, athletics, contracts and procurement, real estate, employment and personnel, student affairs, intellectual property, legislative, governance, compliance, licensing and trademark, COVID-19, and general advice. Ms. Harrison recently served as the Interim General Counsel for Morgan State University, and she previously served as Deputy Counsel for the Maryland Transportation Authority where she managed and handled various critical real estate transactions, negotiated agreements with state, local and federal agencies and private entities in addition to serving as issuer's counsel on revenue bond issuances and providing advice on issues such as finance matters, capital programs, policies and procedures, and personnel and employment matters. Ms. Harrison began her career in private practice as an Associate in a Baltimore law firm where she worked on a variety of loan, real estate and business transactions, as well as entity formation and litigation matters.</p><p> </p><p>Ms. Harrison graduated from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland with a degree in Political Science. She earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law. Ms. Harrison has served on several boards and committees during the last several years and currently serves on the NACUA Membership Committee and the Board of Trustees for The Bryn Mawr School.</p>
Morgan State University
10. Are the ‘Kids’ Alright? Practical Responses to Student Mental Health Challenges
Naomi Haslitt (Speaker)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Naomi Haslitt</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;"> is a partner of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn in Portland, Oregon. Naomi advises and defends public and private employers in all areas of employment and labor law. Naomi has extensive experience working with public and private higher education institutions and public school districts on issues relating to employment, accommodation under </span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">state </span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">and federal </span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">law, </span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">students, and other federal and </span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">state </span><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">compliance. Naomi also defends claims against entities for employment discrimination, disability discrimination and accommodation, wrongful discharge, and wage-and-hour, as well as other tort claims, in litigation and administrative agency proceedings. She has obtained defense verdicts and decisions in numerous trials and arbitrations. She also represents both private and public employers on traditional labor issues, including arbitrating grievances, addressing unfair-labor-practice charges, and advising on collective bargaining agreements and the collective bargaining process.</span> </div>
Miller Nash LLP
07. Disability and Accommodation Through COVID-19: The Fundamental Nature of Academic Programs and Essential Functions of Jobs As We Plan to Return to Campus
Stacy Hawkins (Speaker)
<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Professor Hawkins teaches courses in Constitutional Law, Employment Law and an original seminar on Diversity and the Law. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of law and diversity and has been published in the Fordham Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, the Michigan Journal of Race and Law, UCLA Law Review Discourse and the Columbia Journal of Race and Law, among others. She is a recognized expert on employment law and diversity and has been interviewed or quoted in various news outlets, including TIME, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Courier Post, Law 360 and Philadelphia Magazine.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">She is an experienced employment lawyer and diversity professional. Prior to law teaching, Professor Hawkins spent more than a decade in private practice advising clients in both the public and private sector on the development and implementation of legally defensible diversity policies and programs. She served as Special Diversity Counsel to Holland & Knight, LLP and was the first Diversity Director for Ballard Spahr, LLP. As a management side employment lawyer, Professor Hawkins has counseled and defended employers in a wide range of legal matters, including labor relations, employment discrimination, wage and hour compliance, and affirmative action planning. She has held or holds a number of professional and civic appointments, including as an Advisory Board Member of the Public Interest Law Center, as an inaugural member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Diversity Team, and as a member of the Board of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group. Professor Hawkins earned her B.A. from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center where she was the national champion of the 1996 Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.</span></div>
Rutgers University-Camden
01. Welcome and Opening Plenary: When Free Speech and Inclusion Collide: Legal and Practical Considerations for Campuses Caught in the Crossfire
Esther Henry (Speaker)
<p><strong>Esther Henry</strong> is Associate General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the University of Tennessee System (Knoxville), which she joined in May 2022. In this role, Esther primarily advises in student affairs, faculty affairs, and employment matters. </p><p>Previously, Esther served as Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of Oregon State University (Corvallis) from June 2015 to May 2022. Esther supervised four attorneys and primarily practiced within student, employment, Title IX and sexual misconduct, compliance and emergency response areas. In this role, Esther also advised the Threat Assessment Team, Clery Timely Warning response group, and Student Care Team.</p><p>Prior to OSU, Esther served at the Colorado School of Mines (Golden, CO) as Associate Counsel from October 2006 through June 2015, where she was a true generalist in a two-attorney office. </p><p>From September 2002 through October 2006, Esther was the HIPAA Project Manager and Privacy Officer for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (now the Anschutz Medical Campus) in Denver and Aurora. In this role, she was responsible for implementing HIPAA compliance, delivering employee training, and responding to privacy-related allegations and requests.</p><p>Esther began her higher education practice at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Office of General Counsel in September 2000. She was a Research Associate Attorney in that role and primarily advised related to the campus' health professions academic programs, public records, compliance and student matters.</p><p>Esther holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Bachelor of Science in Management from Purdue University (West Lafayette). She received her J.D. from Indiana University (Bloomington) - Maurer School of Law.</p>
University of Colorado Boulder
07. Disability and Accommodation Through COVID-19: The Fundamental Nature of Academic Programs and Essential Functions of Jobs As We Plan to Return to Campus
George Ingham (Discussion Leader)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">George Ingham</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> is a management-side labor and employment lawyer with years of experience representing and counseling clients, including higher education institutions, on a broad range of legal issues. George’s practice includes working with clients on issues such as equal employment opportunity (including pay equity), disability accommodation, investigations, employment agreements, policy and handbook revisions, laws applicable to federal contractors, and COVID-19 matters. </span></div>
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Hogan Lovells US LLP
04B. Best Practices for Conducting a Pay Equity Analysis on Your Campus
Derek Ishikawa
<p>Mr. Ishikawa is a partner at Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP, representing and counseling higher education institutions and employers in all areas of labor and employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, as well as trade secret, wage-and-hour, breach of contract and employment-related tort claims. Mr. Ishikawa also defends higher education institutions in student- and faculty- litigation, including discrimination, harassment, Title IX, fraud, and breach of contract claims. </p><p>Mr. Ishikawa regularly serves as a hearing officer for student misconduct and Title IX hearings, conducts workplace and student misconduct investigations, and regularly speaks and provides training on proper investigation and hearing procedures. Mr. Ishikawa has represented employers from a wide variety of industries, including hospitality, food and beverage, banking and finance, retail, higher education and information technology, and before administrative agencies. He also regularly counsel colleges and universities on employment matters, as well as student affairs, data privacy, risk-management, and other compliance issues, including Title IX. </p><p>Mr. Ishikawa graduated from Pomona College, received a masters from the London School of Economics and Political Science and obtained his JD/MPP from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has been working at Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP in Santa Monica since 2013 to present. Derek is a past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County, is a member of the Executive Committee for the Litigation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, is a member of the Ambassadors Council of the California Minority Counsel Program, is a member of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession's Social Impact Incubator, and was part of the 2019 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Leadership Advancement Program.</p><p> </p>
Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP
08B. The Title IX Guessing Game: Navigating the Final Rule in an Ever Changing Landscape
Jason Johnson (Discussion Leader)
Colorado State University System
04A. What’s Past Is Prologue: A Discussion About Addressing Past/Historical Allegations of Discrimination
Benita Jones
<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Benita Jones has extensive experience providing legal support and counsel to educational institutions on a broad array of state and federal legal issues including Title IX, VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, employment law, and student legal issues. Previously, she served as the Assistant University Legal Counsel at NC Central University where she represented the University in administrative complaints before the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and provided training to University administrators, faculty, and staff on a variety of legal and policy issues.</span></div>
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
04B. Best Practices for Conducting a Pay Equity Analysis on Your Campus
Benita Jones (Moderator)
<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Benita Jones has extensive experience providing legal support and counsel to educational institutions on a broad array of state and federal legal issues including Title IX, VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, employment law, and student legal issues. Previously, she served as the Assistant University Legal Counsel at NC Central University where she represented the University in administrative complaints before the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and provided training to University administrators, faculty, and staff on a variety of legal and policy issues.</span></div>
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
12. Supporting Institutional Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion: The Contours of Risk Whispering Consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct (Ethics Session)
Beth Tyner Jones (Discussion Leader)
<div><b><span style="font-size:11.00pt;">Beth Tyner Jones </span></b><span style="font-size:11.00pt;">has nearly three decades of experience counseling employers on all facets of employment law matters. She leads the firm’s US-based Labor & Employment Team, which represents employers in labor and employment litigation as well as counsels employers proactively to manage risk and to help prevent such disputes. She also is a leader of the firm’s Education and School Law Team, serves on Womble Bond Dickinson’s Firm Management Committee and is Managing Partner of the firm’s Raleigh and Research Triangle Park offices.</span></div>
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
04B. Best Practices for Conducting a Pay Equity Analysis on Your Campus
Janet Judge (Discussion Leader)
<p><strong>Janet P. Judge</strong> is the co-founder of the <strong>Education & Sports Law Group LLC</strong> and has more than 30 years of experience serving the needs of higher education and sports law clients. Janet regularly advises institutions of higher education and athletics conferences at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels regarding civil rights and intercollegiate sports law matters. Perhaps best known for her Title IX athletic equity work having been involved substantively in the majority of the significant Title IX athletics litigation for the last three decades, including ongoing cases, Janet work extends across a broad spectrum of sports law matters including <strong>House</strong>-related compliance, contracts, roster management, and potential litigation.</p><p>Janet also brings a wealth of relevant pragmatic legal and sports experience, having worked as an antitrust, employment and labor law litigator, NCAA DI athletics administrator and compliance director, intercollegiate soccer and basketball coach, and three-sport NCAA DI athlete. In addition to her law practice, Janet is a public speaker, and trainer on higher education and sports law developments relevant to presidents, sports administrators, FARs, coaches, medical personnel, and student-athletes, including at NCAA, NACDA, Sports Lawyers, Women Leaders, Fraternal Law, ACE, AASCU, NACUA, and NACUBO events. </p><p><strong>Board and Committee Appointments:</strong> NACUA (BACDI chair, member of the Annual Conference Committee, past member of the Board, past member, Honors and Awards and Annual Conference Committees), The Hazing Network (past Board Member), Ultimate USA (past Board Member) and the Wellfleet School (Past Board Member). </p><p><strong>Publications:</strong> <em>Coach’s Guide to Hazing Prevention (co-author)</em>, NCAA <em>Manual on Gender Equity (NCAA co-author)</em> and NCAA <em>Sexual Violence Prevention Toolkit (co-editor)</em>.</p><p><strong>Education:</strong> Harvard College, A.B., and Boston University School of Law. </p><p><strong>Clerkship:</strong> Clerked for Judge Stahl on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.</p><p><strong>Relevant Honors:</strong> Honorary Doctorate from Franklin Pierce University (in recognition of her sports law and civil rights work). NACUA First Decade and Distinguished Service Awards. Four-time <em>Sports Lawyer of the Year (Best Lawyers in America)</em>, most recently in 2024 and 2022 (Boston).</p><p> </p><p> </p>
Education & Sports Law Group
08E. The Role of Counsel in Sport Sponsorship Decisions
Dan Kuang (Speaker)
<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Dan Kuang, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Legal and Audit Support Services at Biddle Consulting Group where he is primarily responsible for ensuring that clients are in compliance with Federal guidelines and regulations and are prepared to respond to external legal threats and challenges. Dr. Kuang is an expert in analyzing and modeling complex and messy data, concentrating on high-stakes data analytics and social psychological research. He has extensive experience with Title VII related matters. Specifically, he specializes in adverse impact and adverse treatment in class action employment matters including hiring, selection, promotion, termination, compensation, and discipline. Dr. Kuang has successfully applied his expertise to defend federal contractors against OFCCP audit actions and claims of discrimination in compensation, selection/hiring, and promotions.</span></div>
Biddle Consulting Group
09. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Avoiding Discrimination Claims in Furloughs, RIFs, and Program Closures
Paul Maguffee (Speaker)
<p><strong>Paul R. Maguffee</strong>, Deputy General Counsel, University of Missouri System - Since joining the Office of the General Counsel in 2004, Maguffee has represented the University of Missouri System and its universities in a range of areas, including faculty and student issues, employment matters, health care law, constitutional rights issues, open records and other state governmental law issues. He was appointed as deputy general counsel in 2016 and served briefly as interim general counsel in 2022. Maguffee came to the university from a position as senior chief counsel in the Missouri Attorney General's Office, where he served from 1996 to 2004. Before returning to his native Missouri, Maguffee practiced international trade regulatory law with the Washington, D.C. law firm Miller & Chevalier from 1991 to 1996.</p>
University of Missouri System
05. Diversity Initiatives: Where Are We, and How Far Can We Go?
Gina Maisto Smith (Discussion Leader)
<p><strong>Gina Maisto Smith</strong>, Chair of Cozen O'Connor's Institutional Response Group, focuses her practice on the institutional response to sexual and gender-based harassment and violence, child abuse, and other forms of harassment, discrimination, and criminal conduct. Gina provides consulting, counseling, and legal advice on all aspects of the institutional response to misconduct. She assists institutions in designing effective institutional responses that integrate the complex federal and state regulatory framework with the unique dynamics of trauma and the impacts of interpersonal violence on individuals and communities. Gina regularly advises educational and child-serving institutions including public and private K-12 schools and colleges and universities about policies, changes in the law, and investigations into allegations of child abuse and sexual misconduct, including sexual violence. She regularly conducts policy audits and assists in the development of policy and the design and implementation of internal operating procedures. In addition, Gina conducts training for K-12 administrators and multiple university constituencies, including Title IX coordinators, sexual assault response teams, judicial hearing boards, investigators, and members of the campus community. Before entering private practice, Gina spent nearly two decades in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office where she investigated numerous cases, handled more than 100 jury trials, and developed unmatched experience in the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence.</p>
Cozen O'Connor
08C. Discrimination in Academic Medical Centers: Uncharted Territory
S. Elizabeth Martin (Speaker)
Tennessee Board of Regents
10. Are the ‘Kids’ Alright? Practical Responses to Student Mental Health Challenges
Angela Maxam (Discussion Leader)
<div class="Normal_(Web)"><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Angela Maxam</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;"> joined Princeton University's Office of the General Counsel in 2016. She provides legal counsel to University clients in a variety of areas, including labor and employment, disability accommodation and accessibility, student affairs, political activity, and privacy. In these areas, she also provides legal advice with respect to business transactions, contracting issues, and policy development. She also supervises litigation arising in these areas.</span></div>
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<div class="Normal_(Web)"><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Prior to joining Princeton, Angela was counsel in the Houston office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., where she focused on employment litigation and counseling. Angela received her B.B.A. in accounting and J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas at Austin. After law school, Angela clerked for the Honorable Sam A. Lindsay of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.</span></div>
Princeton University
04C. Campus Climate Surveys: Are We Having Fun Yet?
Elizabeth Meers
<p><strong>Elizabeth Meers </strong>is a partner in the education practice at Hogan Lovells and served as Practice Area Leader from 2004 to 2014. Elizabeth counsels clients on compliance with federal and state laws relating to student financial aid, institutional and programmatic accreditation, education licensure, civil rights, institutional religious identity, and other education-related matters. She serves as education regulatory counsel in negotiating contracts, including international initiatives, online programs, and mergers and acquisitions, and represents education clients in legal proceedings involving federal and state agencies and accreditors. In addition to her role as outside counsel, Elizabeth served as Interim Executive Director of the National Association of College and University Attorneys from September 2000 through January 2001. She served as a law clerk to The Honorable John M. Ferren of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and received her J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. summa cum laude from Radcliffe College.</p>
Life Member of the Association
05. Diversity Initiatives: Where Are We, and How Far Can We Go?
Kristine Moore
<p><strong>Kristine Moore </strong>is Associate General Counsel at Michigan State University, where she practices primarily in the areas of employment law and ADA issues. Kristine is a frequent speaker in the area of employment law.</p><p> </p><p>Prior to joining the Office of the General Counsel in 2014, Kristine served as Assistant Director for Institutional Equity in MSU’s Office for Inclusion. Prior to that, Kristine was a partner at the Dickinson Wright law firm in Lansing, Michigan, where she practiced labor and employment law. Kristine received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her law degree cum laude from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.</p>
Michigan State University
08A. Parental Status and Caretaker Discrimination
Hope Murphy Tyehimba (Discussion Leader)
<p><strong>Hope Murphy Tyehimba</strong> is a Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at The Johns Hopkins University, where she is a Practice Group Leader of the Student Affairs and Employment Matters Practice Group. At Hopkins, Hope advises on matters involving students and employees, including, discrimination, harassment and retaliation, affirmative action, diversity, equity and inclusion, privacy issues, progressive discipline and student conduct, sexual misconduct and violence, disability-related accommodations, campus safety, admissions, and policy review.</p><p>Prior to joining Hopkins, Hope served as general counsel at North Carolina Central University, a constituent institution in the University of North Carolina System, where she was chief legal advisor to the Board of Trustees, chancellor, vice chancellors and other senior campus administrators. Hope’s other experiences in higher education include serving in assistant general counsel roles at NCCU, North Carolina State University and East Carolina University. Before transitioning to higher education, Hope worked as an assistant attorney general at the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office and as a senior associate in private practice.</p><p>Hope received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Juris Doctorate degree from The University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was a member of the Holderness Moot Court, a recipient of the Gressman & Pollitt Oral Advocacy Award and a member of The Order of Barristers.</p>
Johns Hopkins University
04B. Best Practices for Conducting a Pay Equity Analysis on Your Campus
Angela Nastase (Discussion Leader)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Angela Nastase</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> has extensive experience and is a nationally recognized expert in Title IX administration. Nastase is the current Title IX Coordinator at George Mason University, the largest and most diverse public research institution in Virginia. Angela formerly served as the Title IX Coordinator at Marymount University; as the Deputy Title IX Coordinator and Investigator at the University of Nebraska Omaha; Risk Management Consultant at United Educators, where she worked with education institutions across the county to implement and strengthen risk management initiatives and train administrators on best practices in Title IX; and Interim Associate Director of Student Conduct at Georgetown University, where she advised on updates to the university’s student code of conduct and Title IX policies and procedures. Angela holds a JD from Creighton University School of Law and BS in Education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.</span></div>
George Mason University
08B. The Title IX Guessing Game: Navigating the Final Rule in an Ever Changing Landscape
Jeffrey Nolan (Speaker)
<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">As a member of the Education Team and Labor, Employment and Benefits Group at Holland & Knight,</span><b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"> Jeff Nolan</span></b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"> works with clients throughout the United States regarding situations that implicate Title IX, the Clery Act, the ADA, and other laws that apply in the higher education context. Jeff conducts compliance assessments, helps clients develop appropriate policies, practices and training programs, and provides training to investigators, hearing panel members, and other professionals. Jeff also advises clients on threat assessment practices, helps clients create appropriate violence prevention policies, and conducts independent investigations of sensitive campus and workplace issues. Jeff also represents clients in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Jeff has participated in curriculum development and as a faculty member for nationally-presented Department of Justice-funded programs on campus threat assessment (2009-2011) and trauma-informed sexual assault investigations (2014-2018), and for a trauma-informed investigation and adjudication program sponsored by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (2017-2019).</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Jeff has presented for NACUA many times on Title IX/Clery Act, threat assessment, ADA, employment law and other issues, and has authored or co-authored three NACUANOTEs on issues related to fair, trauma-informed sexual assault investigations, emotional support animals, and developments in the law related to transgender individuals. In 2018 and 2019, Jeff served on a working group that developed the American Council on Education's comments to the Department of Education regarding the November, 2018 proposed Title IX regulations.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Jeff is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Virginia and Vermont, and practices in other jurisdictions as appropriate under applicable admissions rules. Jeff is listed in Chambers & Partners America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Labor and Employment law, and in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Education and Labor and Employment Law, which named him the 2016 “Employment Lawyer of the Year” in Vermont.</span></div>
Holland & Knight LLP
03. Title IX: Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Under the Trump-Era Regulations During the Biden Administration
Jeffrey Nolan
<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">As a member of the Education Team and Labor, Employment and Benefits Group at Holland & Knight,</span><b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"> Jeff Nolan</span></b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;"> works with clients throughout the United States regarding situations that implicate Title IX, the Clery Act, the ADA, and other laws that apply in the higher education context. Jeff conducts compliance assessments, helps clients develop appropriate policies, practices and training programs, and provides training to investigators, hearing panel members, and other professionals. Jeff also advises clients on threat assessment practices, helps clients create appropriate violence prevention policies, and conducts independent investigations of sensitive campus and workplace issues. Jeff also represents clients in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Jeff has participated in curriculum development and as a faculty member for nationally-presented Department of Justice-funded programs on campus threat assessment (2009-2011) and trauma-informed sexual assault investigations (2014-2018), and for a trauma-informed investigation and adjudication program sponsored by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (2017-2019).</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Jeff has presented for NACUA many times on Title IX/Clery Act, threat assessment, ADA, employment law and other issues, and has authored or co-authored three NACUANOTEs on issues related to fair, trauma-informed sexual assault investigations, emotional support animals, and developments in the law related to transgender individuals. In 2018 and 2019, Jeff served on a working group that developed the American Council on Education's comments to the Department of Education regarding the November, 2018 proposed Title IX regulations.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Jeff is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Virginia and Vermont, and practices in other jurisdictions as appropriate under applicable admissions rules. Jeff is listed in Chambers & Partners America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Labor and Employment law, and in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Education and Labor and Employment Law, which named him the 2016 “Employment Lawyer of the Year” in Vermont.</span></div>
Holland & Knight LLP
08E. The Role of Counsel in Sport Sponsorship Decisions
Michael Norton (Speaker)
<p><strong>Michael Norton</strong> joined Iowa State University as University Counsel in July 2016. In that capacity, he oversees the provision of legal service and representation to the University and its various colleges, departments and offices.</p>
<p>Prior to joining ISU, Mike was a partner in the Kansas City law firm Husch Blackwell where he served for 12 years as a leader in the firm's higher education practice group. Before joining Husch Blackwell, he served six years as a senior associate with Jones Day, Dallas. Mike has more than twenty-years of experience representing clients regarding complex legal issues including labor and employment, risk management, litigation, regulatory compliance, and governance and has had a dedicated focus on advising and representing institutions of higher education.</p>
<p>Mike received a bachelor's degree in political science (1992) from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City; and doctor of law degree (1995) from Drake University, Des Moines.</p>
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Iowa State University
02. Striking a Balance: Preventing Discrimination and Creating a More Inclusive Campus Climate While Navigating Free Expression
Michael Norton
<p><strong>Michael Norton</strong> joined Iowa State University as University Counsel in July 2016. In that capacity, he oversees the provision of legal service and representation to the University and its various colleges, departments and offices.</p>
<p>Prior to joining ISU, Mike was a partner in the Kansas City law firm Husch Blackwell where he served for 12 years as a leader in the firm's higher education practice group. Before joining Husch Blackwell, he served six years as a senior associate with Jones Day, Dallas. Mike has more than twenty-years of experience representing clients regarding complex legal issues including labor and employment, risk management, litigation, regulatory compliance, and governance and has had a dedicated focus on advising and representing institutions of higher education.</p>
<p>Mike received a bachelor's degree in political science (1992) from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City; and doctor of law degree (1995) from Drake University, Des Moines.</p>
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Iowa State University
04A. What’s Past Is Prologue: A Discussion About Addressing Past/Historical Allegations of Discrimination
Olabisi Okubadejo (Speaker)
<div align=left><b><span style="font-size:9.00pt;">Olabisi “Bisi” Okubadejo</span></b><span style="font-size:9.00pt;"> is Georgetown’s Associate Vice President of Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Compliance and manages the daily operations of the university’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action (IDEAA). Bisi oversees the work of the IDEAA team to ensure compliance with non-discrimination and equal opportunity policies and laws, including investigations, administrative reviews, and climate assessments; mediation/alternative resolution; data collection; compliance reports; requests for accommodation based on disability, religion or pregnancy; bias reporting; policy development; the affirmative action plan; and training/educational workshops. </span></div>
<div align=left><span style="font-size:9.00pt;">Prior to transitioning to Georgetown, Bisi was Of Counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP, where her practice focused on civil rights and employment issues in higher education, particularly on matters arising from alleged discrimination on the basis of race, disability, religion, age, and sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. She has experience both as an attorney in private practice and as a supervisory attorney with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Bisi has advised colleges and universities on their compliance with federal laws, including Title IX, the ADA, Section 504, the Clery Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination Act, FERPA, and Title VII. She has experience working with educational institutions and business entities on digital accessibility issues, including compliance with government settlement agreements and ensuring the accessibility of websites and course materials. Bisi’s experience includes providing interactive training on civil rights issues to coordinators, administrators, hearing panels/judicial boards, campus safety departments, university boards, and students. She also has significant experience conducting and overseeing internal investigations and program reviews of higher education institutions and other employers, and auditing policies and procedures.</span></div>
<div align=left><span style="font-size:9.00pt;">Bisi teaches a course on disability law through the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and a Title IX course through the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED).</span></div>
Georgetown University
05. Diversity Initiatives: Where Are We, and How Far Can We Go?
Olabisi Okubadejo (Discussion Leader)
<div align=left><b><span style="font-size:9.00pt;">Olabisi “Bisi” Okubadejo</span></b><span style="font-size:9.00pt;"> is Georgetown’s Associate Vice President of Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Compliance and manages the daily operations of the university’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action (IDEAA). Bisi oversees the work of the IDEAA team to ensure compliance with non-discrimination and equal opportunity policies and laws, including investigations, administrative reviews, and climate assessments; mediation/alternative resolution; data collection; compliance reports; requests for accommodation based on disability, religion or pregnancy; bias reporting; policy development; the affirmative action plan; and training/educational workshops. </span></div>
<div align=left><span style="font-size:9.00pt;">Prior to transitioning to Georgetown, Bisi was Of Counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP, where her practice focused on civil rights and employment issues in higher education, particularly on matters arising from alleged discrimination on the basis of race, disability, religion, age, and sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. She has experience both as an attorney in private practice and as a supervisory attorney with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Bisi has advised colleges and universities on their compliance with federal laws, including Title IX, the ADA, Section 504, the Clery Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination Act, FERPA, and Title VII. She has experience working with educational institutions and business entities on digital accessibility issues, including compliance with government settlement agreements and ensuring the accessibility of websites and course materials. Bisi’s experience includes providing interactive training on civil rights issues to coordinators, administrators, hearing panels/judicial boards, campus safety departments, university boards, and students. She also has significant experience conducting and overseeing internal investigations and program reviews of higher education institutions and other employers, and auditing policies and procedures.</span></div>
<div align=left><span style="font-size:9.00pt;">Bisi teaches a course on disability law through the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and a Title IX course through the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED).</span></div>
Georgetown University
08D. When Everything is #Digital: Navigating Service Providers, Reluctant Stakeholders, Litigation, and Everything In Between
Sheryl Orwel (Discussion Leader)
Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine
08C. Discrimination in Academic Medical Centers: Uncharted Territory
Debbie Osgood (Speaker)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Debbie Osgood</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;"> is a partner in Hogan Marren Babbo & Rose, Ltd.'s Education Practice. Ms. Osgood is a nationally recognized expert on the civil rights laws and regulations that govern educational institutions, having joined the firm after 25 years at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), most recently as National Enforcement Director. Ms. Osgood represents public and private colleges and universities on a wide range of educational policy and legal issues, including sexual harassment, gender equity in athletics, racial harassment and accommodations and other disability issues. </span></div>
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Hogan Marren Babbo & Rose, Ltd.
11A. Retaliation 2021: What's New and What's Important to Know Now
Douglas Park (Discussion Leader)
<p>Douglas Park is the University of Oregon's Deputy General Counsel, Chief Counsel for the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, and Head of Litigation. He manages UO’s outside-counsel legal services portfolio, supervises the Law Fellowship Program, and advises units on all aspects of UO operations. Doug's prior work includes teaching at the UO law school, and working for a private law firm, the ACLU, the Associated Counsel for the Accused, and the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ). </p><p>While at DOJ, Doug developed the arguments that prevailed in two U.S. Supreme Court cases and received DOJ’s highest professional honor (the Outstanding Achievement Award) for successfully defending the constitutionality of Oregon’s laws. In 2020, the Oregon Women Lawyers Association awarded Doug its highest professional honor (the Justice Roberts & Judge Deiz Award) for his outstanding contributions to promoting women and people from outside the dominant culture in the legal profession and in the community. In 2023, the federal judges in Oregon selected Doug as a Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives. Lawyer representatives work with the court to improve the administration of justice in the Ninth Circuit. courts.</p><p>Doug holds a BA in English literature from the University of Washington and a JD from the University of Oregon. He has co-authored articles published in the Willamette Law Review and the Oregon State Bar Criminal Law Manual. He served on the Board of Directors for the Eugene Education Foundation for six years, and currently serves on the Leadership Council for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, where he also serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Development Committee. Doug has served as a presenter on multiple higher education topics, including serving as panelist for the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Student Conduct Administrators. </p>
University of Oregon
08B. The Title IX Guessing Game: Navigating the Final Rule in an Ever Changing Landscape
Robin Parker (Moderator)
<div>Robin L. Parker is the General Counsel of Miami University in Oxford, OH, where she has served since 1994. She is responsible for coordinating and supervising all legal matters involving the University, the Board of Trustees, and officers and employees acting on behalf of the University. Prior to joining Miami University, Robin was a principal of the firm Martin, Pergram, Browning and Parker, Co., L.P.A. A member of NACUA since 1995, Robin served on the NACUA Board of Directors from 2012-2015. She has also served on the Committee on Program for the Annual Conference, the Advisory Group on Compliance Initiatives, and the Task Force on Review of the Annual Conference. Robin received a B.S. in Education in 1979 from The Ohio State University and a J.D. in 1982 from the University of Tennessee.</div>
Miami University
09. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Avoiding Discrimination Claims in Furloughs, RIFs, and Program Closures
John Patton (Discussion Leader)
<div align=justify><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">John W. Patton</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">, Jr., is the General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. In this role John is responsible for navigating CDU through all aspects of the University's business and endeavors from a legal perspective. John has well over thirty-five years of experience in all aspects of civil litigation, with jury and court trials and appellate work in both state and federal courts throughout California. John's practice has focused on employment disputes, commercial business litigation, real estate disputes, and personal injury. He has represented and counseled Fortune 100 companies, mid-sized and small businesses and individuals. He is a 1975 graduate of Case Western Reserve University, and a 1979 graduate of Howard University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and first in his class.</span></div>
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<div align=justify><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">In 1997, John was elected as the first African American president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association in Beverly Hills, California. He is a former member of the State Bar of California Commission of Judicial Nominees Evaluation, the Business Law Section, and the Committee on Administration of Justice; a former member of the American Bar Association Metropolitan Bar Caucus; and a former member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.</span></div>
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<div align=justify><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">John is the past Chair and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA), a powerful voice of the lawyers of California. Among other activities and services to California lawyers and the public, CCBA provides a forum and voice for all local, minority, statewide and specialty bar associations in California to consider, debate and propose, and implement changes in California laws.</span></div>
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<div align=justify><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">An ordained Elder, John has been an active member of West Angeles Church of God in Christ (a thriving church of over 25,000 members pastored by Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr., Presiding Bishop of the Church of God In Christ, Inc., the nation's largest Pentecostal denomination) for well over thirty years, where he has served as a member of the West Angeles Board of Trustees. John is deeply involved in the Perfecting Believers/Discipleship Ministry at West Angeles, and he served on the Board of Directors of Save Africa's Children, a worldwide outreach ministry deeply involved in ministry to orphans in sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora victimized by the HIV/aids pandemic. Also, John has served on the Board of Directors of the West Angeles Community Development Corporation.</span></div>
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<div align=justify><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">John is legal counsel to the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southern California, Church of God in Christ, a leading jurisdiction of the Church of God In Christ, Inc., comprised of over 250 churches. </span></div>
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<div align=justify><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">A native of Cleveland, Ohio, John's hobbies include traveling, bicycling and music. He is happily married to Evangelist Missionary Dawn Harris Patton, the proud father of four beautiful children, John III, Stephen, Paige, and Bradley, and stepfather of Dawn's beautiful daughter, Darrah. </span></div>
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
04C. Campus Climate Surveys: Are We Having Fun Yet?
Laurence Pendleton (Moderator/Speaker)
<p><strong>Laurence Pendleton, J.D.,</strong> serves as the Deputy General Counsel at Loyola Marymount University, providing legal services to the President, Board of Trustees, Senior Leadership Team, and other administrators and members of the University community.</p><p>At LMU, Mr. Pendleton also drafts and reviews contracts and policies, conducts training sessions on various topics, and advises on faculty affairs and student affairs, litigation management, constitutional, real estate and intellectual property matters, and other matters.</p><p>Prior to joining LMU, Mr. Pendleton served as the General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees at Tennessee State University (TSU), where he provided legal services to the President, Board of Trustees, Senior Leadership Team, and other administrators and members of the University community. Mr. Pendleton advised institutional administrators and the Board of Trustees on various legal issues, and represented TSU in civil matters and administrative/enforcement proceedings, and provided litigation support</p><p>Before commencing his work at TSU, Mr. Pendleton was a member of the General Counsel's office at the Tennessee Board of Regents where he advised system institutions on various legal matters and served as the chief legal officer for specified system colleges. </p><p>Mr. Pendleton also worked as an in-house lawyer in the Office of General Counsel for the Colorado State University System, advising the governing board and CSU and CSU-Pueblo administrators on a variety of legal issues, overseeing the CSU System's litigation matters, and acting as primary legal counsel to CSU-Pueblo. In addition, Mr. Pendleton worked as a litigation attorney in the Denver office of an international law firm, Holme Roberts and Owen (now Bryan Cave LLP), and served for several years as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver College of Law.</p><p>Mr. Pendleton received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and was awarded his Juris Doctorate from University of Iowa.</p>
Loyola Marymount University
06. Responding and Managing Religious Diversity Issues in the 2020s
Troy Perdue
<p><strong>Troy J. Perdue</strong> is General Counsel at Tennessee Tech University, where he frequently handles civil rights, employment, and transactional matters. Prior to joining Tennessee Tech, Mr. Perdue served as Deputy Counsel at East Tennessee State University. Prior to higher education practice, Mr. Perdue was a business and real estate attorney for over ten years. </p>
<p>Mr. Perdue received his J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Tennessee and his B.A. from Palm Beach Atlantic University. He has presented on various legal issues, including employment discrimination, sexual harassment, immigration law, and commercial transactions. </p>
<p>On higher education matters, Mr. Perdue has been a guest on NPR to discuss current issues on college campuses and is a frequent presenter on civil rights and First Amendment issues at the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), the University of Vermont Legal Issues in Higher Education Conference, and other higher education conferences.</p>
Tennessee Technological University
06. Responding and Managing Religious Diversity Issues in the 2020s
Bryan Perry
<div><span style="color:#333333;font-family:'Helvetica';font-size:10.50pt;">Bryan Perry is head of the Division of University Legal Services and chief legal officer of the university, parliamentarian, counsel to the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University. Bryan is a member of the president's cabinet and the president's operations cabinet.</span></div>
<div><span style="color:#333333;font-family:'Helvetica';font-size:10.50pt;">Prior to being appointed as general counsel, Bryan was at Baltimore City Community College where he spent the past nine years working as general counsel and chief legal officer. For the past four years, he also has acted as chief of staff to the president of BCCC which enrolls nearly 14,000 students each year in 37 associate degree programs and 17 certificate programs. The school has a staff of 1,000 (part-time and full-time) employees and an annual budget of $90 million. In his roles at BCCC, Bryan advised and counseled the president, board of trustees and senior level staff on strategic decisions and long-range planning. He supported special presidential projects and managed the implementation of all major initiatives outlined in the school's strategic plan</span></div>
<div><span style="color:#333333;font-family:'Helvetica';font-size:10.50pt;">Previously, Bryan served as associate general counsel at Morgan State University from 2008-2010. He also was an assistant attorney general in the Maryland Office of Attorney General for eight years.</span></div>
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Northern Illinois University
04D. Campus Unrest: Exploring the Role Between Campus Police and the Social Justice Movement
Patricia Petrowski
<p><strong>Patricia Petrowski</strong> <span style="color:#333333">currently serves as Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Michigan. In that role, Patricia helps to oversee 14 attorneys and five paralegals and provides legal support to the University on a broad range of issues including Title IX and the Clery Act. Prior to joining the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, Patricia was a partner with a large Chicago law firm, where she worked from 2000-2014. As a partner in the firm's complex litigation group, she litigated, arbitrated, and tried cases involving a variety of subject matters, with significant experience representing major research universities and academic medical centers. Patricia received a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She received a bachelor's degree with High Honors in Political Economy from Michigan State University and was elected Phi Beta Kappa.</span> </p>
University of Michigan
03. Title IX: Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Under the Trump-Era Regulations During the Biden Administration
Jessica Price (Speaker)
<p><strong>Jessica Price</strong> is Special Counsel for the University of Oregon. Her work involves constitutional law, international employment, sponsored projects, ethics and free speech. She launched the university's ethics office, she oversees the work of the university's international employment specialist and the processing of all permanent residency petitions, and she reviews research agreements exceeding $250,000. Much of her work has focused on changing federal guidance and executive orders on sponsored research, foreign influence, immigration, and diversity. She spent six years at the ACLU of Southern California, litigating inmates' rights, English learner students' rights, and police practices, and managing a disability class action. She then worked at UCLA, as a Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Her work at UCLA included chairing appeals for student sexual misconduct matters, and serving as the Interim Title IX Coordinator. She attended Yale College and Harvard Law School, and started her legal career with a clerkship in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and then for the Unites States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She has been a local and national speaker on free speech, disability, Title IX, Title VI, state ethics rules, legal ethics/ professional responsibility, artificial intelligence, and more. She has been recognized by Poder Magazine's Top 20 Latinos Under 40, California Lawyer's Attorney of the Year, and the 2019 UO Senate Shared Governance, Transparency, and Trust Award. She served on and became Chair of the Oregon State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee and the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs. She is past president of her local rotary, and she is president-elect of the Oregon Women Lawyers.</p>
University of Oregon
12. Supporting Institutional Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion: The Contours of Risk Whispering Consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct (Ethics Session)
Alexandra Schimmer (Speaker)
<p><strong><span style="color:black">Alexandra Schimmer</span></strong><span style="color:black"> is Vice President and General Counsel for Denison University and Secretary of the Board of Trustees. She previously served as the Deputy General Counsel for The Ohio State University, and before that, as the Solicitor General for the state of Ohio, where she led all of the state's major appeals, briefing and arguing dozens of cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court, and advising state agencies, officers, and Ohio's public colleges and universities on a broad range of legal issues. Schimmer is a member of NACUA's Board of Directors. Schimmer holds an A.B. from Princeton University, a J.D. from the Yale Law School, and was a Fulbright Fellow to England, where she earned an M.Phil. at Cambridge University. </span></p>
Denison University
02. Striking a Balance: Preventing Discrimination and Creating a More Inclusive Campus Climate While Navigating Free Expression
Lauren Schoenthaler (Discussion Leader)
<div><b><span style="font-size:11.00pt;">Lauren </span></b><span style="font-size:11.00pt;">has been at Stanford since 2001, serving as a Senior University Counsel through 2016 before accepting her current role. Lauren is a Stanford representative to the National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine's Action Collaborative in Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education. In 2017, she was a member of the ABA Criminal Justice Section Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault, which provided recommended best practices for schools to address sexual assault. She is an expert in the development of polices and procedures relating to anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, and has been part of the drafting team to develop Stanford's current policy and procedures in these areas. her earlier work in the private sector, Lauren was an associate of the firm today known as Pillsbury Winthrop, practicing primarily in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property and general litigation. She also clerked for the Hon. A. Wallace Tashima both at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Central District of California, and while in law school she externed for California Supreme Court Justice Joyce Kennard (Ret.). Lauren is a proud graduate of Northwestern University and she received her JD magna cum laude from Hastings College of the Law.</span></div>
University of the Pacific
08B. The Title IX Guessing Game: Navigating the Final Rule in an Ever Changing Landscape
Valerie Shelton (Speaker)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Valerie Shelton</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> has worked in higher education for more than a decade. She currently serves as a litigator and health law attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for the University of California. In that role, Valerie helps to oversee systemwide employment related litigation and manages a broad panel of outside defense counsel. She provides primary legal support for medical staff leadership, medial staff administration, Risk Management, Regulatory Affairs and other UC Health System leadership on matters related to litigation avoidance, risk management, medical staff, and compliance matters. Valerie also independently handles a full range of legal matters and systemwide projects, including the most complex and those of substantial importance and impact to the University. She is the current Co-Chair of the University of California’s Systemwide Employment Practices Improvement Committee. </span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Ms. Shelton earned her B.A. degree in Government from Pomona College and her law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law.</span></div>
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University of California System
09. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Avoiding Discrimination Claims in Furloughs, RIFs, and Program Closures
Robert Shibley (Speaker)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Robert Shibley:</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;"> A native of Toledo, Ohio, and a graduate of Duke University and Duke University School of Law, Robert is the author of Twisting Title IX, from Encounter Books. During his 15-year career at FIRE, Robert has aided students and faculty members at hundreds of colleges and universities and personally traveled to dozens of campuses to educate students, faculty, and administrators about First Amendment issues. </span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">A free-speech activist who himself faced campus censorship, Robert's writing has appeared in many national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, and TIME. He has also represented FIRE on NPR, The O'Reilly Factor, CNN Tonight, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Stossel, Fox & Friends, and CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, as well as many other national and international television and radio programs.</span></div>
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
06. Responding and Managing Religious Diversity Issues in the 2020s
Heather Smith (Discussion Leader)
<p>Heather Smith is an Associate General Counsel in the Office of University Counsel at Iowa State University. At Iowa State, Heather advises on matters involving employees including performance management, employee relations, discrimination, harassment and retaliation, affirmative action, discipline, disability-related accommodations, FMLA, workers’ compensation, policy review, and contract review and development. Before transitioning to higher education, Heather worked as an assistant attorney general at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and an associate in private practice at a workers’ compensation insurance defense firm. Heather holds a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S.B.A. in Management with a Human Resources emphasis from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She also received her J.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. </p>
Iowa State University
04A. What’s Past Is Prologue: A Discussion About Addressing Past/Historical Allegations of Discrimination
Sankar Suryanarayan (Speaker)
<p><strong>Sankar Suryanarayan</strong> joined Princeton University's Office of the General Counsel in 2001. He is responsible for providing legal advice to University clients in a variety of areas, including employment, student affairs, public safety and risk management. Mr. Suryanarayan is actively involved in the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and served on NACUA's Board of Directors. He also served on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions. Prior to coming to Princeton, he worked as in-house counsel at American University in Washington DC and as a litigation associate with Chadbourne & Parke. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
Princeton University
05. Diversity Initiatives: Where Are We, and How Far Can We Go?
Omar Syed (Moderator/Speaker)
<p><strong><span style="color:#343A40">Omar A. Syed</span></strong><span style="color:#343A40"> is Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Rice University. He joined Rice in August, 2022, after 15 years with the University of Texas System, most recently as its Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy General Counsel.<br /><br />Omar received his A.B. with Special Honors in Public Policy Studies from The University of Chicago, and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. After law school, he practiced civil litigation and administrative law as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. Next, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Minneapolis, where he led federal investigations and prosecuted federal narcotics, violent and economic crimes. Immediately before joining the University of Texas System in 2007, Omar practiced oil and gas law with a private law firm in Austin, Texas. Omar is also a first-generation American.</span></p>
Rice University
10. Are the ‘Kids’ Alright? Practical Responses to Student Mental Health Challenges
Michelle Tellock
<p><strong>Michelle Tellock</strong> has served as Deputy General Counsel of Vanderbilt University since January 2020. Previously, she was a Senior Associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan Lovells US LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s education practice group. Michelle joined Hogan Lovells after graduating from Yale Law School in 2011. While in law school, Michelle gained firsthand experience as a legal intern in the Yale University Office of the Vice President and General Counsel. She was also a leader of the Education Adequacy Project, a clinic focused on school finance litigation.</p>
Vanderbilt University
10. Are the ‘Kids’ Alright? Practical Responses to Student Mental Health Challenges
L. Lee Tyner (Speaker)
<div><b>Lee Tyner</b> was named the inaugural General Counsel at Texas Christian University in April, 2018. Before coming to TCU, Lee was as an attorney at the University of Mississippi for almost twenty years, serving as General Counsel from 2003-2018. During his years at Ole Miss, Lee regularly taught courses in Business Law and Communications Law in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Lee is a national leader among higher education lawyers, serving two terms on the Board of Directors and as the chief elected officer for the National Association of College and University Attorneys. Lee regularly speaks on a wide range of topics, most frequently in the areas of free expression, diversity and access, student affairs, and intercollegiate athletics. Lee received his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. from the University of Virginia, and he is admitted to practice in Texas and Mississippi.</div>
Texas Christian University
01. Welcome and Opening Plenary: When Free Speech and Inclusion Collide: Legal and Practical Considerations for Campuses Caught in the Crossfire
L. Lee Tyner (Speaker)
<div><b>Lee Tyner</b> was named the inaugural General Counsel at Texas Christian University in April, 2018. Before coming to TCU, Lee was as an attorney at the University of Mississippi for almost twenty years, serving as General Counsel from 2003-2018. During his years at Ole Miss, Lee regularly taught courses in Business Law and Communications Law in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Lee is a national leader among higher education lawyers, serving two terms on the Board of Directors and as the chief elected officer for the National Association of College and University Attorneys. Lee regularly speaks on a wide range of topics, most frequently in the areas of free expression, diversity and access, student affairs, and intercollegiate athletics. Lee received his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. from the University of Virginia, and he is admitted to practice in Texas and Mississippi.</div>
Texas Christian University
12. Supporting Institutional Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion: The Contours of Risk Whispering Consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct (Ethics Session)
Destinee Waiters (Speaker)
<p><strong>Destinee Waiters</strong> is the Senior Associate General Counsel for Suffolk University in Boston, MA, and has been a NACUA member since 2009. Prior to assuming this position, she served as Associate Vice President of Compliance and General Counsel at Texas Woman's University and as the Associate General Counsel of the Houston Community College System. Destinee has worked both elected and appointed governing boards in the public higher education arena. Prior to her university work, she served as Legislative Staff for Texas State Representative Yvonne Davis.</p><p> </p><p>Ms. Waiters served as a member of the Board of Directors of NACUA, Class of FY 2015-2018, and has served on various NACUA committees, as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Strategic Planning, as a member of the NACUANOTES Editorial Board, Web Page Legal Resources Committee, Committee on Board Operations and the Committee on Legal Education.</p><p> </p><p>She is a frequent presenter on various legal topics, including university compliance. She has been a speaker for several higher education and legal associations, including NACUA, the Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA), the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE), and the National Hispanic Bar Association's Corporate Counsel Conference.</p><p> </p><p>Destinee is a graduate of The University of Texas in San Antonio, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and from Texas Southern University's Thurgood Mashall School of Law where she received her law degree with honors.</p>
Suffolk University
11A. Retaliation 2021: What's New and What's Important to Know Now
Esther Walker
<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">In January 2017, </span><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;">Esther C.H. Walker</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:11.00pt;"> joined Dartmouth College's Office of General Counsel as Associate General Counsel. Prior to coming to Dartmouth, Esther served as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington, assigned to the University of Washington in Seattle, and as a senior associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan Lovells US LLP (formerly Hogan & Hartson). Esther has advised on a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters, including compliance with federal statutes and regulations on financial aid and student records privacy, accreditation, civil rights, governance, and contracts with other institutions and service providers. A graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School, Esther clerked for Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Judge Karen Nelson Moore of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before entering practice.</span></div>
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Dartmouth College
04C. Campus Climate Surveys: Are We Having Fun Yet?
Scott Warner
<p><b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Scott L. Warner</span></b><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">, a partner at Husch Blackwell LLP, is a member of the firm's Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education team, and represents higher education institutions in a wide range of governance, faculty, student, and general employment matters. Prior to his current position, Scott was a partner at Franczek Radelet PC, a partner at Babbitt, Land & Warner LLP, an Associate and Assistant General Counsel at Northwestern University, and an Associate at Sidley & Austin. After graduating from law school in 1995, Scott clerked for the Honorable Jay C. Waldman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.</span></p>
<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Scott has been a member of NACUA since 2002 and is a member of the NACUA Board of Directors (Class of FY 2017-2020). He has chaired the NACUANOTES Editorial Board since September 2017, and prior to that, he served as Vice Chair of the Editorial Board for four years. His NACUA committee participation also includes past service on the Committees on Legal Education, Membership and Member Services (including a year as Vice Chair), Strategic Planning, and Web Legal Resources; and the Work Group on Local Arrangements. </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Scott speaks regularly on various higher education issues, and co-authored “Managing Violent and Other Troubling Students: The Role of Threat Assessment Teams on Campus” with John H. Dunkle and Zachary B. Silverstein. 34 Journal of College and University Law 585 (2008).</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">Scott earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan in 1993 and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1995.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Calibri';font-size:11.00pt;">In addition to being a NACUA member, Scott is a member of the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (ASJA).</span></div>
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Husch Blackwell LLP
01. Welcome and Opening Plenary: When Free Speech and Inclusion Collide: Legal and Practical Considerations for Campuses Caught in the Crossfire
Megan Wilson (Moderator)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Megan Wilson</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;"> is a Senior Associate at Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C. She advises education sector clients on federal, state, and industry-specific developments and requirements. Megan's experience spans compliance, transactions, and government investigations. Her recent work includes helping higher education institutions comply with nondiscrimination laws and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts with respect to admissions practices, financial aid offerings, and fostering an antiracist climate on campus. </span></div>
Hogan Lovells US LLP
05. Diversity Initiatives: Where Are We, and How Far Can We Go?
Lori Windham (Speaker)
<div><b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Lori Windham</span></b><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;"> is Senior Counsel at Becket, where she has represented clients on cutting-edge religious freedom issues since 2005. She has represented parties before the Supreme Court, including Becket's victories in Hosanna-Tabor, Hobby Lobby, and Little Sisters of the Poor. She won a victory for the world's largest religious media network in EWTN v. Azar, staving off millions of dollars in government fines under unlawful the HHS mandate. She has won more than a dozen victories in federal appellate courts, including successful defense of cities and school districts sued for accommodating religion, victories for houses of worship facing discrimination in the land use process, and overturning a multimillion-dollar judgment against a major evangelical ministry. She recently won a first-in-the-nation injunction for an adoption agency threatened with shutdown for its religious beliefs. </span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Recognized in Washington as an expert on religious freedom issues, Lori has testified in Congressional oversight hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Outside Washington, Lori is sought-after speaker on First Amendment law, including appearances at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, Central European University, and many others. </span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">In addition to these venues, Lori also defends her clients in the media, including television appearances on CBS This Morning, Hardball, CNN Tonight, On the Record, America's Newsroom, Opinion Journal, and many others. Her work has been covered by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and dozens of other papers. She is also a regular guest on radio, with appearances on shows ranging from Sean Hannity to NPR. </span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Lori has successfully represented a wide array of clients, including a Santeria priest prohibited from making animal sacrifices, synagogues prohibited from building on their own land, and religious student organizations penalized for their religious speech. One of her most challenging cases involved travel to a remote farming community to ensure that members of the local Amish community were not jailed for using their traditional building methods.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:12.00pt;">Lori is a graduate of Harvard Law School and earned her B.A. summa cum laude at Abilene Christian University. She has served on the Board of Visitors of Abilene Christian University and received the ACU Young Alumnus of the Year award for her work at Becket. She sits on the board of Dominion Christian School and the visiting committee of the Fund for American Studies' Summer Law Fellowship.</span></div>
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
06. Responding and Managing Religious Diversity Issues in the 2020s
Zahraa Zalzala (Speaker)
<p><strong>Zahraa Zalzala</strong> is an Associate General Counsel for George Washington University. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel at GW, Zahraa was an Assistant General Counsel for the Pennsylvania State University and a law clerk with the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Michigan.</p>
George Washington University
11B. All Speech Considered: Expressive Activity in a Virtual World
Kristine Zayko (Discussion Leader)
<p><strong>Kristine Zayko</strong> is a member of the Higher Education practice group at Husch Blackwell where she advises colleges and universities on a wide range of legal matters, including internal and external investigations, faculty discipline and dismissal, institutional policy development, student affairs, disability, Title IX, and other state and federal civil rights laws. Kristine has significant experience working with governing boards, senior leaders, academic administrators, and multi-constituent academic governance groups on challenging legal and policy issues. Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Kristine served as in-house counsel for twenty years at Michigan State University. Kristine received her B.A. summa cum laude from the Honors College at Michigan State University and her law degree cum laude from the University of Michigan.</p>
Husch Blackwell LLP
08A. Parental Status and Caretaker Discrimination