Women in Law & Leadership Summit: New York

Margaret Munnelly is General Counsel at ProducePay, where she leads the company’s legal function and serves as a strategic advisor on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, transactional matters, and risk mitigation in support of the company’s mission to modernize the fresh produce supply chain. In this role, she partners with executives and cross-functional teams to align legal strategy with business priorities and sustainable growth objectives.

Munnelly is a highly experienced legal executive with more than 25 years of experience in general counsel and strategic advisory roles, encompassing executive leadership, M&A and due diligence, human capital strategy, and enterprise risk management. Her background reflects a blend of legal acumen and business-oriented leadership in dynamic commercial environments.

Based in Houston, Texas, she is recognized for her ability to navigate complex legal landscapes while enabling operational agility and strong corporate governance frameworks.

Tracy Baran is General Counsel of Ocean State Job Lot, a regional retailer that sells brand name, first quality products at closeout prices.  Ocean State Job Lot started with a single store in 1977 and has now grown to more than 160 stores in 11 states throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.  Prior to joining Ocean State Job Lot in 2011, Tracy was a partner at Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, a Providence, Rhode Island based business law firm, at which she focused on commercial real estate and commercial lending.

She has been announced as one of the OnCon Top 50 and Top 100 Corporate Counsel Awards, was also named as an In-House Leader, Leaders in the Law by Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly, and a previous recipient of the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association Ada Sayer award.

Tracy is active in her community, including serving on several committees in her church, Central Congregational Church, a past President and current member of The Junior League of Rhode Island, Inc., regular volunteer at and former Board member of Amos House, youth mentor with Foster Forward, and founder of DAMES Mentoring, which mentors teenage girls in residential housing, and mentoring foster youth, among other things.

In her spare time, Tracy enjoys reading, golfing, traveling and spending time with her family.  Tracy lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her two children.

Krystin Kopen, an accomplished legal professional and trusted advisor, currently serves as VP, Assistant General Counsel – Cybersecurity & Global Security at JPMorgan Chase & Co. In her role as a member of the Emerging Technology Legal team, Krystin works at the cutting edge of technology and finance, providing strategic legal counsel on a spectrum of innovative technologies such as blockchain, tokenization of assets, artificial intelligence, and immersive tech.

Beyond her corporate endeavors, Krystin is committed to making a lasting impact. As an active member of the Women’s Bond Club, she serves on the Marketing and Charitable Giving committees, advancing the organization’s mission of supporting women through education, mentorship, and professional development. Krystin was honored with the 2022 Women’s Bond Club Rising Star Award, recognizing her achievements as an emerging woman leader in the financial services industry. Krystin’s influence extends to the academic realm as an active member of the Villanova Law Women’s Network, where she serves as a member of the Board of Advisors.

Not confined to the legal arena, Krystin’s intellectual tapestry is woven with diverse threads. Krystin is an artist, pianist, bibliophile, francophone, Francophile, gastronome, cultural explorer, futurist, adventurer, and lifelong learner with a BA in English and French from Washington University in St. Louis, an MA in French from Middlebury College, a JD from Villanova University, and an LL.M. in French and European Law from the Sorbonne.

Tara Johnson is a seasoned transactional and regulatory leader with extensive experience in healthcare, health insurance and benefits administration. She is Vice President, General Counsel at Northwell Direct, Inc. which offers a diverse array of wellness services, health benefit administration solutions and provider network access for businesses that self-fund their employee health benefit plans.

Prior to joining Northwell Direct, Tara was General Counsel at Centivo, a third-party administrator startup that designs and administers health benefit plans for self-funded employers, where she led the legal, compliance and privacy functions.

Before Centivo, Tara served as Senior Associate General Counsel, Director Regulatory Affairs for UnitedHealthcare. There, she supported the organization’s Northeast commercial lines of business and served as the organization’s regulatory lead attorney for the State of Connecticut. She provided legal guidance on a variety of matters including benefit administration, contracting, regulatory compliance, marketing, business development, product filings, market conduct exams, payment integrity, fraud, waste and abuse, government relations and consumer complaints.

Tara served as Legal Counsel and later Chief of Staff to the Chief Information Officer at a BlueCross BlueShield plan in Western New York prior to UnitedHealthcare where her responsibilities included litigation management, contracting, vendor management, project portfolio and capital budget management. She began her legal career as an assistant district attorney.

Tara is a member of The Links, Incorporated, one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations, and an active Fellow alum of Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, frequently serving as a mentor to law school students. She is an experienced speaker on topics such as career strategies, outside counsel management, and healthcare trends. Tara earned both her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.

Christine is a seasoned Fortune 100 executive with CEO experience and deep expertise in the transportation, logistics, supply chain and e-commerce areas. She has lived, worked and led teams in Europe and Asia in addition to North America.

Christine is currently Interim Chief Executive Officer of Foremost Group, a privately owned international shipping company. She assumed this role in February 2024. The eco-friendly, modern fleet is approximately 5 million metric tons deadweight, transporting more than 20 million tons of goods annually and chartered to blue chip companies such as Bunge, Cargill, Louis-Dreyfus, MOL and NYK who together with each of their Fortune 500 clients and other leading international companies determine which dry-bulk products Foremost vessels transport. She has been responsible for all operations, finances and general health and strength of the company, including all employees worldwide. Prior to stepping in as Interim CEO, Christine had been General Counsel of Foremost Group. As General Counsel, she has been instrumental in quadrupling the number of assets and tripling the number of employees by setting strategy, managing risk and problem solving; she is responsible for all legal, compliance and regulatory matters.

Christine has extensive corporate and commercial law experience having worked in senior legal positions for three Fortune 200 companies: GE, Federal Express and Ultramar Corporation. At Ultramar, she worked on Board matters as well as all corporate public company matters. She gained additional significant global experience when she worked with FedEx, Managing Director/Regional General Counsel, initially in Hong Kong (where FedEx executed its first ever joint venture) and subsequently in the United Kingdom. She was actively involved in a diverse array of governmental affairs, compliance, regulatory and legal matters and was awarded FedEx’s Five Star Award, bestowed upon less than 0.25 of FedEx’s top performing employees (approximately 295,000 at the time). Upon repatriation, Christine joined GE and worked on a broad range of transportation transactions before becoming General Counsel at Foremost Group.

Christine has extensive nonprofit Board experience including serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for her alma mater Colgate University, a leading liberal arts university with an undergraduate population of over 3300 students and an annual operating budget of nearly $300mn. She holds a BA from Colgate and a JD from Columbia University, School of Law. She is conversational in Mandarin Chinese and is a dual US/UK citizen.

Katie Dugan is the VP, Employment Law, Ethics & Compliance at Match Group which is the global leader in online dating with brands including Match, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, The League, and more. Prior to Match, Katie had in-house roles at both Yext, Inc. and Mattel, Inc. At Yext, she led the global labor and employment function. At Mattel, she worked in various roles in the global employment, ethics & compliance function.

Before going in-house, Katie worked in litigation and advice & counsel roles in the employment law department at regional law firms as well as a boutique management-side labor and employment firm. She began her career as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Robert Polifroni, P.J.Cv. in the Superior Court of New Jersey.

Jennifer Schatzman is the Global Chief Integration Officer at global healthcare communications network, Publicis Health, where she leads the unification of talent, processes, and culture across agencies to strengthen organizational alignment and accelerate growth.

A former General Counsel and Chief Human Resources Officer, Jennifer brings a rare blend of legal expertise, people leadership, and strategic business insight. Over her career, she has built cross-functional frameworks, guided organizations through complex change, and served as a trusted advisor to senior leaders navigating transformation.

Beyond her executive role, Jennifer is deeply committed to advancing equity and inclusion. She has founded and led nonprofit initiatives, facilitated anti-bias workshops, and mentored emerging leaders across industries.

She is known for her collaborative approach, her ability to bring diverse teams together, and her passion for creating environments where people and ideas can thrive.

Kim Jessum is Chief IP Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Secretary at Heraeus Incorporated in Yardley, Pennsylvania and VP, Legal at Heraeus Medevio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Heraeus is a Fortune Global 500 portfolio company specializing in precious metals, materials, sensors, biomaterials, and medical products, as well as quartz glass and specialty light sources. Kim is responsible for providing intellectual property and general legal advice for various business units in the United States and worldwide. She received her bachelors degree in chemical engineering and applied science from Lehigh University and her masters degree in biopharmaceuticals from the University of Pennsylvania. Kim was awarded her law degree and Certificate in Intellectual Property Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Illinois and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She served as the Chair of the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section 2021-22 and is currently Chair of the ABA Section Officers Conference

Galit Kierkut is a seasoned litigator and advisor with over 30 year of experience representing national and international clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, financial services, hospitality, real estate, technology, food services, packaged goods and health care industries, among others. She also takes on the role of outside general counsel for many of her start-up and growth-stage clients, assembling and leading teams of professionals to seamlessly address her clients’ legal needs.

Galit is also a key member of Greenberg Traurig’s Israel Practice, providing employment counsel to Israeli start up and growth stage clients in their U.S. operations.

Galit practices in the areas of trade secret and non-compete counseling and litigation, employment law, and complex commercial litigation. She is a skilled litigator who is never afraid to champion her client’s rights but also works to reach non-litigation solutions when possible. She trains and counsels employers in all employment compliance areas, including protecting trade secrets and confidential information, reasonable accommodations, and anti-harassment and is a frequent writer and speaker on these topics.

Galit has been honored by numerous organizations for her leadership and advocacy for women in the law and has received an award from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law in conjunction with the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. Galit is a past President of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association and serves as the chair of the Trial Practices Committee of the Executive Committee of the Employment Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Galit is active in the greater New Jersey community, serving on the Boards of NJ LEEP and the NJ Ballet.