Diversity, Inclusion & Self-Care: Dallas [Virtual Summit]

Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is Managing Counsel of Employment & Labor at Toyota Motor North America, where she provides advice & counsel, works on strategic company initiatives, conducts training and manages litigation. Prior to Toyota, she practiced in the Dallas office of Littler Mendelson, P.C., where she was named D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in employment law, Rising Star in Employment and Labor Law by Super Lawyers Magazine and made the Hot List of Lawyers of Color, Inc.  Prior to Littler, Mey began her legal career at Wolf & Henderson, a small business litigation firm, where she first-chaired hearings and bench trials, second-chaired jury trials, and prepared appellate briefs.

Mey received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications from Texas A&M University, where she graduated with honors.  She also graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.  A self-proclaimed moot court geek, Mey was a finalist in the Wagner National Labor & Employment Law Moot Court and continues to coach moot court at SMU today.  Mey is also active in the legal community and has held several leadership positions in local bar associations, including president of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers in 2014.

She is the proud wife of a Navy veteran, who she met in a running store. She has completed 6 marathons, 21 half-marathons, 3 sprint triathlons, and 1 Olympic distance triathlon, but since having two toddlers, in addition to her Pitbull, her “free time” is spent listening to books on Audible or on her Peloton bike or tread.

Michelle Carey Jones is an Associate General Counsel in the Global Transactions and Compliance group for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Ft. Worth, Texas.   In this role, Michelle provides legal support for international transactions and legal compliance.  Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in 2018, Michelle served as General Counsel for Wells Fargo Rail Corporation, an $8 billion railcar leasing company, NCH Marketing Services, Inc., an international coupon clearing and settlement company of over $4 billion in coupons annually, and Trinity Rail Group, Inc., a $2 billion international railcar manufacturing and leasing company.  Michelle has a law firm background as an international commercial and employment litigator at Donovan, Leisure and Orrick.   Michelle was a Phi Beta Kappa and received her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and B.A. in Economics/Business from UCLA.  Michelle is involved in various charities, including Attorneys Serving the Community and Taste Community Project.  Michelle is married to a Welsh rock climber and engineer, Peter Jones, and has two children, Kailey and Will, as well as her rescue dog, Sierra.  She enjoys hiking, working out, travelling, food and wine and reading.   

Vicki Blanton is the Assistant Vice President - Senior Legal Counsel for AT&T, Inc., with primary responsibility for the legal compliance of the domestic and international retirement benefit plans, with over $54 billion in assets. She has handled complex retirement plan and health and welfare benefit plan issues for several Fortune 50 publicly traded companies and for large governmental employers.  Ms. Blanton brings the real world practical perspective of implementing legal changes with each change’s ripple effects in benefit plan administration and to other areas of business operations.  Ms. Blanton has been a frequent speaker on a variety of topics, including substantive legal issues, diversity topics, and career development panels.  She is a Past President of the J.L. Turner Legal Association, winning accolades from the State Bar of Texas and the National Bar Association. Ms. Blanton has been named as a Dallas Business Journal Best Corporate Counsel, D Magazine’s List of Best Lawyers, and Eclipse Magazine’s Dynamic Lawyers.  Vicki is an American Fellow of the German Marshall Memorial Fund and was a Barrister in the American Inns of Court.  Vicki has served on and been appointed to a variety of non-profit, charitable, municipal and state boards; currently serving on the boards of the Dallas Chapter of the American Red Cross and Dallas Bar Association as the Secretary/Treasurer and is a past board member of the Dallas Bar Foundation.  She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and Southern Methodist University School of Law. Additionally, she has a Certificate of Study from Georgetown University’s Executive Development Program at the London School of Economics. Vicki has 2 daughters, a 2017 alumna of Howard University and a graduating senior at University of Missouri at Columbia (MIZZOU).

Brooke has over 20 years of experience helping companies through high-urgency regulatory investigations and the complexities of financial and accounting processes and controls improvement, concurrently identifying areas for cost reduction and increased compliance. Brooke has led and reported on multiple matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, SEC, and FBI. She is an expert in project management, process improvement, controls integration, forensic accounting investigation, compliance remediation, and intellectual property litigation matters. With professional certifications in compliance, fraud, money laundering, valuation, and forensic analytics, Brooke offers her clients innovative solutions through automation and analytics while considering their business models and operational strategies. She has published multiple articles and been a speaker on topics of corporate compliance and governance, and the FCPA. She holds a B.S. in Finance with Honors from Virginia Tech.

Stephanie Gause Culpepper joined ORIX USA Corporation as Assistant General Counsel in 2017.  Culpepper is responsible for driving internal legal matters for ORIX Real Estate Americas and counsels internal clients with respect to all aspects of real estate related transactions.  She assists ORIX Real Estate Americas in commercial mortgage loans, mezzanine financing, construction financing, and preferred equity originations, with a particular focus on self-storage, multifamily, and hospitality property types, and supports the origination and management of CRE commercial loan obligation securitizations. 

Prior to joining ORIX, Culpepper was a partner at Frost Brown Todd, a super-regional Midwest based law firm with more than 500 lawyers in eight states.  Frost Brown Todd entered the Dallas market in 2015 and Culpepper was recruited to head the firm’s Texas real estate practice.  

Preceding Frost Brown Todd, Culpepper practiced for five years at Bell Nunnally & Martin, a full-service law firm based in Dallas, in the areas of real estate, corporate and finance.  She was elected as a partner in 2014.  Culpepper started her career in the Global Projects section of Baker Botts where she worked on complex domestic and international commercial real estate matters for multinational companies.  

Culpepper is actively involved in the legal community.  She was elected to President Elect of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association in 2019 and has served on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Bar Association since 2015.  In 2016, Culpepper served as President of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (DAYL) - a professional development and civic organization of more than 3,500 young lawyers.  Under her leadership, the DAYL was awarded first place in its division for outstanding comprehensive programming by both the American Bar Association and the Texas Young Lawyers Association.  

Culpepper was selected by the Dallas Business Journal for inclusion on its “40 Under 40” list in 2014, highlighting her professional success and community involvement.  She served as Chair of the 40 Under 40 Alumni Advisory Board in 2018.  Through the Junior League of Dallas, Culpepper has contributed over 600 hours of service to the Dallas community, working with non-profits such as Stewpot, Our Children’s House, and many others.  She is also an advocate for the arts and served on the Steering Committee of Dallas Museum of Art Junior Associates from 2012-2018.

Culpepper earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with honors, in Finance and the Business Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctorate, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law.

Jennifer DeBoy is a native Texan. She graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Dallas and went on to study law at Southern Methodist University. She focused her studies on international tax, consumer, and intellectual property law. She also clerked at a mid-size international tax firm, a boutique estate planning firm, and the Federal Trade Commission while in law school. She went straight in-house at Copart, Inc., the top performer on Deloitte’s Exceptional 100 Companies list. She then worked at EZCORP, Inc. as Associate General Counsel. She gained omni-channel experience at KidKraft, Inc. and is now at T-Mobile USA, Inc. She has two young children who make her laugh (or sometimes cry) and when time permits, she travels with her husband or sneaks in an early morning run.  

Eunice Nakamura serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and is responsible for the Legal, Audit and Risk functions. Eunice previously practiced at a Dallas law firm, representing corporations and organizations of all types and sizes. She has also served as Vice President of Legal for a large national hotel company overseeing compliance and litigation.

Eunice is active in the bar community and has served in various capacities throughout her career. To highlight a few, she has sat on the board of the Dallas Bar Association while serving as President of the Dallas Asian American Bar Association. She is a fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation and a past board member of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association. Currently, Eunice sits on the board of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association’s Foundation and serves as Secretary.

Eunice is a frequent speaker at legal seminars around the country on various topics and has been recognized by D CEO as “Outstanding In House Counsel” and named to the Lawyers of Color’s “Hotlist.” She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Baylor University and obtained her Juris Doctor from Texas A&M University School of Law.