Women in Law & Leadership Summit: Washington, D.C.

Aliya Robinson is a key figure at T. Rowe Price, serving as Senior Legal Counsel for Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, where she leads policy efforts on retirement and compensation issues, advocating for the firm’s positions with Congress and regulators. A respected voice in employee benefits, she previously held leadership roles at the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, bringing extensive experience in developing retirement policy.

Allie is a Product Counsel at McAfee. Allie is a seasoned lawyer with a unique focus on the intersection of technology, ethics, and consumer protection. With a deep understanding of AI, Allie specializes in guiding software developers and product teams through the practical challenges of sourcing and using data responsibly for machine learning. She has extensive experience in navigating the regulatory, privacy, and intellectual property challenges that come with developing AI-driven software and consumer products. With a passion for ensuring that technology benefits society responsibly, Allie helps businesses harness the power of AI while prioritizing transparency, fairness, and compliance with evolving legal standards.

Ms. Rao has been practicing law for over 13 years and worked in a variety of sectors, including private corporations, public companies, government and non-profit with an emphasis in the healthcare, insurance, financial services, and energy industries. Her expertise is broad and she specializes in contract negotiation, healthcare, and ERISA benefits law. Ms. Rao is a committee chair for the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Forum for the Association of Corporate Counsel – National Capital Region assisting in advocacy and education of diversity initiatives and allyship.  She has served on her Office of General Counsel DEI committee.  Ms. Rao has completed the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace certificate with the University of South Florida and the Self to Systems Diversity Course with Berrett-Koehler.

Ms. Rao is licensed to practice law in Illinois, District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Ms. Rao received her law degree from Loyola University Chicago law school with a concentration in health law as a health law fellow.  Prior to law school, Ms. Rao obtained her Masters in Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked in administration and strategic planning for Novant Health, a North Carolina based hospital system.   Ms. Rao is from Knoxville, TN and graduated with honors at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Ceyda Maisami is the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at HP, guiding the company’s global intellectual property strategy. She leads a team of professionals managing a comprehensive range of IP matters, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and marketing, as well as overseeing IP transactions. Her team also supports litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactional issues.

Previously, Ceyda worked on high profile patent prosecution and litigation matters at Finnegan and Chadbourne & Parke. Her career began in the technical field as an electrical engineer at Osram Sylvania in the lighting industry, providing her with a strong foundation for an in-house intellectual property law role.

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.

Tania Medina Bryant is Chief Cybersecurity & Technology Regulation Counsel at Marsh McLennan. She guides enterprise strategy at the intersection of cybersecurity, emerging technology development, and global regulatory risk, advising teams across the business on how to translate complex requirements into practical, scalable action. Tania oversees key workstreams in technology compliance, data-loss prevention, and incident response governance. She also leads cross-functional efforts to monitor and interpret emerging cyber, AI, and data regulations worldwide, helping the organization anticipate and prepare for evolving obligations.

Her background spans the military, public service, and the global private sector—experience that gives her a grounded, multidimensional perspective on organizational resilience, accountability, and operational excellence. Known for her clarity of communication and curiosity-driven approach, Tania brings a thoughtful, solutions-oriented lens to the complex challenges shaping the future of cybersecurity and technology risk.

Melesa Freerks is a healthcare regulatory and transactional partner who represents private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, strategic investors, founders, and providers within the healthcare sector. Melesa is frequently called upon as special regulatory counsel in connection with major acquisitions, dispositions, and regulatory matters on behalf of healthcare strategic investors, public companies, private equity sponsors, and their platforms/portfolio companies.

She is engaged by private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies for guidance on structural, transactional, regulatory and enforcement matters and regularly advises healthcare clients on a broad range of healthcare-related issues including corporate transactions, federal and multi-state regulatory matters, compliance programs, fraud and abuse issues, employment agreements, and privacy matters.

Additionally, Melesa provides guidance on business issues and serves as transactional and regulatory counsel to both lenders and public and private borrowers in the healthcare and life sciences sectors as well as hospitals, physician group practices, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, pharmacies, veterinary practice platforms, medical device companies, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, physicians, dentists, and other healthcare providers, artificial intelligence (AI) companies.

Melesa regularly counsels clients on the corporate practice of medicine and licensed professionals, state, and federal fraud and abuse laws, including Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, HIPAA, state anti-referral and anti-kickback laws, and related regulatory issues. Melesa also serves as outside healthcare general counsel for several clients.

Prior to joining DLA, Melesa was a partner for a Top 10 AM Law 100 global law firm.

Chimdi (Nwosu) Ginsburg Tuffs represents various employers and entities in complex litigation including employer, professional and executive liability claims, premises liability, trucking liability and product liability matters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York federal and state courts. She draws on her vast courtroom experience as a former prosecutor in Philadelphia, and as a former felony sexual assault and domestic violence prosecutor in New York City, to develop an expertise in investigating and defending negligent security claims in the sexual assault context. She has tried many cases, both civil and criminal, to jury verdict and has experience in presenting before a grand jury. She prides herself on her aggressive, yet pragmatic, approach to litigation.

Rhina M. Roberts is an Associate General Counsel in the Multifamily Real Estate Department in Freddie Mac’s Legal Division. She provides legal advice and training to the Multifamily Targeted Affordable Housing business on all facets of originating, underwriting, purchasing and servicing multifamily mortgages.

Prior to joining Freddie Mac in 2018, Rhina was in private practice where she represented financial institutions in all aspects of commercial real estate financings with a focus on multifamily housing transactions.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College, and a juris doctorate from Howard University School of Law, where she was a member of the Howard Law Journal. She is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New York.

Seba Kurian (“Sonia”) is Managing Legal Counsel at T. Rowe Price, where she leads complex regulatory and corporate governance matters related to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and supports the growth of the firm’s ETF platform. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the registered funds space, with prior roles at USAA, Invesco US, and K&L Gates. Sonia is an active advocate for advancing women in financial services through mentorship and DEI initiatives and is a member of DC’s Women in ETFs. She recently marked a career milestone by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Kamil Shields is a member of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and a partner in the firm’s Litigation Group. Her practice focuses on high-stakes investigations and regulatory enforcement proceedings, with a particular emphasis on matters involving consumer protection and compliance.

Ms. Shields rejoined the Firm in 2019 from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Fraud and Public Corruption section. In her capacity as an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Shields served as lead prosecutor in 13 jury trials, investigated and indicted dozens of cases, drafted and argued procedural and substantive motions, worked with expert witnesses, and coordinated with victims of fraud and other crimes.

Liana M. Nobile is a Partner at Maron Marvel based in the firm’s Jersey City office, where she defends clients in premises liability disputes, insurance coverage matters, and a broad range of civil litigation including toxic tort, product liability, and general casualty claims. Before joining defense practice she gained valuable perspective as a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney, and early in her career she clerked for the Honorable Dennis J. O’Brien, J.S.C. (Ret.) in the Monmouth County Superior Court of New Jersey—experience that helped shape her litigation approach. She is admitted in New Jersey, New York, and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.