The Women in Legal & Corporate Leadership Summit [Virtual]: Chicago

Gray has more than a decade of experience representing employers in workplace litigation, handling labor relations disputes and providing strategic counsel on labor and employment law issues. She advises clients in a broad range of industries including education, software and technology services, real estate, financial services, retail and manufacturing. Gray tailors her solution-oriented counsel to the particular needs of each client, considering the nuances of their business in order to deliver advice that is practical and in line with their goals, values and culture. Gray is the regional practice lead for the firm's Labor & Employment Department for the Chicago office.

A native Spanish speaker from the Dominican Republic, Gray is adept at providing Spanish language representation to clients. She works fluently with Spanish language witnesses and documents, including document review, depositions, mediations, administrative proceedings, internal investigations and employment as well as various types of training.

Vania is Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at United Airlines. In this role, Vania oversees a team of attorneys responsible for managing litigation and legal compliance in the areas of intellectual property, antitrust, commercial, employment, labor and benefits. She is also is responsible for global antitrust and competition compliance. Working closely with business stakeholders, her team provides counsel and direction in all of these areas.

Vania joined United in 1999. Prior to working for United Airlines, Vania was an associate with the law firm of Littler Mendelson. Vania received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Northwestern University, and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Vania is a member of the American Bar Association and Hispanic National Bar Association. She currently serves on the Leadership Board of the National Immigrant Justice Center. She is also a founding member of the Western Suburban Giving Circle of the Chicago Foundation for Women.

As General Auditor of Mastercard, Ms. Simon is responsible for providing independent and objective assurance on the design and effectiveness of the Company’s risk management, internal controls and governance processes.  She is accountable to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and works closely with Mastercard’s independent auditor.  

Ms. Simon also sits on the Company’s Risk Management Committee and is a member of its Global Diversity and Inclusion Council.  She also serves as the executive sponsor of the Mastercard global Women’s Leadership Network.    

In her previous role as general counsel, Global Businesses, she was responsible for ensuring the legal connectivity among the Products & Innovation, Services and Marketing & Communications organizations, as well as Operations & Technology (O&T) and Mastercard Strategic Growth.  She also had responsibility for legal support of mergers and acquisitions, and the Franchise, Compliance and Public Policy functions. 

Prior to that, Ms. Simon led franchise functions that protect the integrity of the network and brand by enabling customers to optimize their performance while minimizing risk to the system.  She also managed the evolution and automation of the company’s licensing and registration processes, rules and standards and led efforts to revamp the Mastercard compliance and dispute resolution programs. 

Earlier, Ms. Simon managed the defense of complex commercial litigation for Mastercard.  She also supervised investigations of fraud and misconduct, oversaw management of the compliance function and helped develop and support Enterprise Risk Management at Mastercard. 

Before joining Mastercard in June of 1999, Ms. Simon practiced law at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City, where she concentrated in antitrust law and litigation.

Ms. Simon is Chair of the Board of Directors of Legal Momentum.  She is a recipient of the 2015 Legal Momentum “Aiming High” award.  Previously, Ms. Simon was President of the Board of Directors of the YWCA White Plains and Central Westchester and remains a director.  In addition, she served on the Women’s Executive Society of Westchester, and on the Board of Directors of the Westchester/Fairfield Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, where she co-chaired its Antitrust and Trade Regulation Committee.  She was also a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Antitrust Section, and was named a “Super Lawyer” in 2007.

Ms. Simon graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics summa cum laude from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in Psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences.  She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was elected to Order of Barristers and served on the Executive Board of Moot Court. Ms. Simon is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut.

Nicole Kelsey joined Amyris, the innovative bioscience company, as General Counsel and Secretary, in August 2017. In her second public company General Counsel role, Ms. Kelsey is a seasoned, multi-lingual executive with international expertise in strategy, M&A, complex commercial transactions and financings, U.S. securities laws, and multi-jurisdictional corporate governance standards. She brings her expertise to bear for both Fortune 500 and disruptive technology companies.

A Wall Street-trained lawyer with over 25 years of experience in global growth-oriented companies, Ms. Kelsey impacts strategic change by building operations and growing product sales in new geographies; steering her companies through complex commercial and securities litigation and investigations; managing regulatory landscapes for new product lines across distinct geographies; developing an international IP strategy for diverse R&D capacities; establishing best corporate governance practices for the Board and executive management; and establishing global compliance programs. Awarded the 2019 Female Executive of the Year Award from Databird Business Journal in March 2020, Ms. Kelsey’s leadership style is distinguished by her ability to build, develop, and inspire best-in-class teams to excellence. Half French-Algerian and a champion of diversity, she spearheaded the first diversity and inclusion initiative at Amyris in early 2019. Ms. Kelsey actively mentors both women and men; and as a member of the board of Amyris’s women’s group, fostered the launch of her company’s first mentoring program for women, by women, in the summer of 2020. Ms. Kelsey speaks on DEI, mentoring, and other leadership topics throughout the legal and technology communities in the U.S. and abroad.

Prior to joining Amyris, Ms. Kelsey was General Counsel and Secretary to Criteo, a leader in the ad/marketing technology industry with headquarters in Paris and offices in 30 cities across the globe, for over three years. Before her GC role at Criteo, Ms. Kelsey was the senior securities lawyer for Medtronic, the head M&A lawyer for CIT Group Inc., the general counsel of a private art financing fund, and the US securities and M&A lawyer for international conglomerate Vivendi. Ms. Kelsey first practiced with the firms of White & Case and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, in New York and Paris.

Avidly interested in the arts, and an entrepreneur in her own right, Ms. Kelsey founded and operated an art gallery out of her NYC home from 2001 – 2005. A strong believer in an executive leader’s obligation to give back to the community, she served on the boards of several non-profit arts organizations from 2004 – 2014. In April 2019, she continued her commitment to pro bono work by joining the board of directors of A Window Between Worlds, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that provides art therapy training and resources to community outreach programs assisting women and children survivors of violence, and serves as the Chair of its Nomination and Governance Committee. And in August 2020, she joined the Board of Trustees, and was appointed the Secretary, of Wrestle Like A Girl, whose mission is to empower girls and women through the sport of wrestling to become leaders in life.

A Fulbright scholar, Ms. Kelsey has a J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a B.A. from The Ohio State University, and is admitted to practice law in both New York and Minnesota. Ms. Kelsey speaks four languages and is currently studying Japanese, and is rearing her daughter as a bi-lingual international citizen. A native of California and a passionate surfer, Ms. Kelsey enjoys the rich intersection of the arts community and outdoor activities that living in San Francisco offers her family.

Heidi is a principal and Americas Legal Function Consulting Leader in EY’s Law practice. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field of legal services supporting corporate legal departments and law firms with the deployment of legal technology solutions  response to investigations, litigations, and regulatory inquires. 

Key areas of experience:

Heidi regularly assists corporate legal departments and law firms with the enablement of legal service delivery and transforming the business of practicing law. She counsels clients to develop and implement strategies that align legal staffing operating models, business processes. and digital technologies. 

Heidi’s areas of focus include the following: legal operations, information governance, legal hold management, data preservation, eDiscovery, technology-assisted review, legal spend analytics, and the design and implementation of operating models.

Heidi spent two years working in-house with the EY GCO supporting their legal team with the creation of the firm’s Subpoena and Legal Order Response Program. During this assignment, she developed the protocols and technology solution for the subpoena response process at the firm. The program resulted in an increased focused on operational excellence, reduced legal spend, and improved relationships with regulatory agencies. 

Wendy Webb Williams is the Chief Legal Officer of Sara Lee Frozen Bakery LLC, leading both legal and compliance. After receiving her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2001, Wendy began her legal career as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Robert M Bell, Chief Judge (ret.) on the Maryland Court of Appeals, then joined McGuire Woods LLP in Baltimore, MD. Wendy joined US Foodservice, Inc. in 2007, and spent 8-years there in a variety of roles, eventually serving as Associate General Counsel, in which she supported the merchandising, compliance, operational strategy, employment and government sales functions. In September 2015, Wendy joined Mead Johnson Nutrition to lead the law department for the North America and Europe regions, supporting the commercial, regulatory and litigation needs in the US, Canada, and six countries in Europe. Mead Johnson Nutrition is the maker of the EnfamilÒ family of infant and toddler food products and was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser. Wendy joined Sara Lee in December 2018.

Connie is a pragmatic, solution-driven, and business-minded partner with experience successfully advising and representing employers in a broad range of labor and employment matters. After spending some time “in the business”, at Toyota Motor North America, Connie serves as Managing Counsel and helps support Toyota Financial Services, who provides retail financing, leasing, and insurance products to Toyota customers. 

Her current role includes partnering with HR and business leaders to help achieve outcomes that are right for Toyota’s business goals and team members.  Connie provides advice and counsel on a broad range of topics such as harassment, retaliation, leaves, and wage and hour issues.  But she most enjoys working to help build and create amazing work cultures where employees can thrive, and to find the areas where business needs and employee interests intersect.

Prior to joining Toyota, Connie was a partner at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, which specializes in public sector labor and employment in California.  Connie graduated with a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Political Economies of Industrial Societies, and received her J.D. from Pepperdine University. 

Julie Honor is General Counsel at 3Q Digital. She manages the organization's legal risks, negotiates commercial contracts and corporate transactions, and advises on employment, data privacy, litigation, and intellectual property matters. Prior to her role at 3Q, Julie built out and led the legal department at Rise Interactive and managed North American commercial work for Anixter. She brings to 3Q a unique background, having specialized in change management consulting, where she worked with clients to re-engineer processes and optimize organizational design, in addition to her years in private practice focusing on class action, business, and intellectual property litigation.

Julie graduated cum laude from Indiana University - Maurer School of Law and earned a bachelor's degree with the highest distinction in supply chain and information systems from The Pennsylvania State University. 

Amy is the chair of McGuireWoods’ Antitrust, Trade and Commercial Litigation Department. She has previously served on the firm’s Executive Committee, on the Board of Partners, as the Managing Partner of the McGuireWoods Chicago office, as co-chair of the Life Sciences Industry Group and as co-chair of the firm’s Recruiting Committee.

For more than 25 years, Amy has handled criminal and civil antitrust matters for international and U.S. companies and individuals. Based in Chicago, she defends companies and high-level executives in Justice Department Antitrust Division investigations, litigates major civil matters, and helps global companies design and implement innovative compliance programs at a time of heightened antitrust enforcement worldwide. Notably, as part of the McGuireWoods team, Amy helped secure a May 2010 victory on behalf of Jo Tankers before the U.S. Supreme Court in Stolt-Nielsen v. Animalfeeds Int’l, 130 S. Ct. 1758 (2010), which held that the respondents could not be compelled under the Federal Arbitration Act to engage in class arbitration where the arbitration agreement was silent on the issue of class arbitration.

But Amy is not just an influential leader or a proven practitioner. She is a fixture in the antitrust community as a whole. A persistent advocate for women attorneys in her community as well as her firm, Amy co-founded the Chicago Women Antitrust Lawyers Network to enhance women lawyers’ contact with heavy-hitters in the legal industry and to share advice on advancing in the legal profession.  Under her leadership, the network gave its members access to the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, the chief of an Antitrust Division Section, and a 7th Circuit judge. She continues in that mission today through unfailing support, leadership and mentoring.

She is a member of the  governing council of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law. She served as 2015-18 co-chair of committee operations for the section — the world’s leading professional organization for antitrust and competition law, consumer protection and economics — and served as the chair of the Civil Practice Committee. She recently served as the vice chair of the ABA’s International Cartel Workshop, a workshop that brings antitrust enforcers and practitioners together for a three-day role play.

Over the years, several state and national organizations have recognized her professional achievements, making her a sought-after speaker and thought leader. She served as a faculty presenter on three panels at the ABA’s 2018 International Cartel Workshop in Paris, she spoke at the ABA Section of Antitrust’s 2016, 2017 and 2018 spring meetings in Washington, D.C. — and is scheduled to speak in 2020 at the spring meeting,  the largest antitrust conference worldwide.

Amy is the former two-time Chair of the American Diabetes Association Chicago Board and is a current member of the board. She has been the recipient of the ADA’s Top Individual Fundraiser Award for the Chicago Step Out Walks in 2011-2019. Amy also served as  a board member of The Institute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and is a board member for the Chicago Bar Foundation.

Amy received her JD from The University of Chicago Law School and her BA, summa cum laude, from Monmouth College.

Rhonda Coleman is a technology attorney currently working for Google where she manages and negotiates a range of complex global cloud technology deals for Fortune 500 enterprise accounts. Rhonda has worked across industries as a corporate attorney for the past 8 years concentrating her practice on complex commercial transactions.

Rhonda received her B.A. in English from Christian Brothers University in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and an M.A. from the University of Memphis. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago. She has also studied at the University of Beijing’s School of Business and Economics and at the University of Granada in Spain. 

Fun facts--Rhonda managed the third highest rated chess player of all time, Fabiano Caruana, as he earned qualification to the 2018 World Chess Championship. She also recently launched a blog and podcast designed to empower, inform and uplift professional women--www.rhondacolemanwandel.com. 

She is the proud mother of three teenagers--a college freshman, a high school senior and sophomore-- whom she raises together with her husband, historian Torbjörn Wandel, in Hyde Park, Chicago. Rhonda enjoys giving back to the community by mentoring tech entrepreneurs via University of Chicago’s Polsky Institute, and she currently sits on several boards including the Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls in Chicago and the Chicago Chess Foundation.

TiShaunda McPherson currently serves as Corporate Counsel for Adtalem Global Education where she advises the organization on matters impacting or involving Adtalem’s global workforce.  She also serves on the Integrity & Compliance team, which is tasked with strengthening the organization’s compliance functions and maintaining a culture of integrity.  Prior to this role, Ms. McPherson served as the inaugural Director of Adtalem’s Office of Equity and Access, in which she led strategic planning and implementation of antidiscrimination compliance programs across six institutions. 

Before joining Adtalem, Ms. McPherson was Senior Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, where she advised the Department’s senior officials on regional trends and high profile cases, supervised attorneys and staff on case resolution, investigated and mediated complex allegations of discrimination, and delivered internal and external compliance seminars.

Ms. McPherson started her legal career as a Litigation Associate at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal (now Dentons) and at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  She also served as law clerk to the Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., who now sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  She remains active in local and national bar associations, has been a member of several non-profit boards, and is a regular volunteer in the community.

Kendall Mills is Senior Counsel for Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), which employs more than 70,000 employees in 80 countries. JLL is a leader in the areas of commercial real estate and professional services and has been voted one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for eleven consecutive years. In her role as Senior Counsel, Mills provides advice and counsel on employment law matters, directs internal ethics and employment investigations, ensures statutory compliance with employment laws, and drafts and assists in the development and implementation of company policies and programs. Prior to joining JLL, Mills was Employment Counsel at Allstate Insurance Company where she provided employment law advice and counsel to clients, managed litigation and directed internal ethics investigations. Mills was also responsible leading many of the Law and Regulation Department’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, including the development of a diversity and inclusion scorecard to measure Allstate’s Premier Law Firms’ commitment to diversity in the legal profession and the creation of Allstate’s General Counsel’s Excellence in Diversity Award. Mills received her Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Rebecca Weinstein Bacon tries and litigates complex cases for Fortune 500 clients. With over 20 years of experience, Rebecca has represented companies in some of their most important cases on a variety of claims: pharmaceutical products liability claims, antitrust cases, consumer class actions, and commercial disputes. She is an expert legal strategist with extensive trial experience, as well as the business sophistication and acumen to know when and how to obtain the best possible settlement for her clients.

Rebecca tried one of the only consumer class action cases to go to trial, which resulted in a defense verdict for Whirlpool. She also tried one of the only “pattern and practice” employment discrimination cases to go to trial. It was brought by the EEOC against Texas Roadhouse. She is currently leading the team defending FedEx Ground against sweeping claims by the EEOC relating to their treatment of deaf package handlers. She serves on trial teams for bellwether cases in pharmaceutical companies’ most important mass torts. She has tried and is slated to try pelvic mesh trials for Johnson and Johnson in 2019 and 2020.

Her representation of Bayer in the WeightSmart litigation led to one of the seminal class action decisions related to ascertainability. In this case, her leadership resulted in appellate review of the only certified state class which she argued before the Third Circuit. The Third Circuit reversed the class certification decision and denied plaintiffs’ request for rehearing.

Rebecca is a nationally recognized attorney. She is Chambers ranked, named one of Crain’s Most Influential Women Lawyers in Chicago (2017), a Benchmark Litigation National and Local Litigation Star, and one of the Top 250 Women in Litigation for many years, including 2019 and on the Lawdragon 500. Rebecca served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law for three years where she taught a class on trial advocacy, and she has published and presented on a wide range of topics related to high-stakes litigation.

Rebecca graduated from Columbia University School of Law as a Kent and Stone Scholar and earned her bachelor’s degree from UCLA with honors.

Erin J. Kirchner represents companies in public and private acquisitions, mergers and disposition transactions. She also represents issuers in public financings, including initial public offerings and shelf offerings of both equity and debt securities. 

Erin regularly advises public companies and boards of directors on compliance and corporate governance matters, including general corporate and securities counseling and preparing and reviewing periodic reports, registration statements, proxy statements and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Devin Maddox is Vice President and General Counsel at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois. In addition, she overseas Rivers’ Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and Charitable Foundation.  The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force assists management in fostering a collaborative work environment that celebrates and respects diversity. Rivers’ Charitable Foundation donates over one million dollars each year to Illinois non-profit organizations that are committed to positively impacting Chicago-land communities.  Prior to her joining Rivers in 2014, Devin was a Partner at the law firm of Tressler LLP, where she concentrated her litigation practice in the areas of employment law, corporate litigation and insurance services. Devin earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in English Writing and her law degree from The John Marshall Law School.

Cameron Woods works as Counsel on the Global Labor & Employment Law team at McDonald’s Corporation in Chicago. In that role, he provides strategic employment-related advice and counsel to the various areas business, including corporate-owned restaurants. Since January 2021, he has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of the District of Columbia, where he teaches a section of the Legal and Bar Success course. Cameron is a proud native of a small community, Macedonia, located in southwest Arkansas. He earned his B.A. in Political Science/Journalism (with a minor in African/African American Studies) from the University of Arkansas. He then attended Southern Illinois University School of Law, where he was the first student to complete the J.D./M.S.Ed in Higher Education joint-degree program. Lastly, Cameron is also a part of the inaugural Black In-House Counsel Network’s Rise-Up program, a member of the Black Male Lawyers Association, and a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, watching any Razorbacks game, trying new restaurants, and spending time in Arkansas with his favorite people: his nieces and nephews.

Kyle Lewis is Senior Counsel on the Safety & Insurance Legal team at Uber Technologies, Inc. He oversees a team of in-house attorneys who work closely with outside counsel to defend the company in Northeast U.S. claims litigation matters, which present a host of novel and first-impression legal issues. Before joining Uber, Kyle was an Associate at an insurance defense law firm in Chicago where he defended a range of corporate defendants in a variety of tort liability litigation. He received his B.A. in International Studies and Communications from Saint Louis University, and his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a Member in Good Standing of the Illinois State Bar.

In his free time, Kyle enjoys exploring Chicago with his wife or taking weekend trips to mountain towns to go hiking.

Rachel Lei is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Aldevron, a contract manufacturing and scientific services company specializing in plasmid DNA, messenger RNA, and protein production.  In her role, Rachel advises the company’s Board of Directors and CEO on issues of overarching importance to Aldevron and assists in setting and implementing Aldevron’s overall strategic direction, building and overseeing Aldevron’s legal department to ensure that its legal function operates as a true business partner.

Before moving to Aldevron, she was AGC and CCO of GATX Corporation, a public company headquartered in Chicago, with a net book value of over $8 billion, including rail, marine and aircraft engine assets.  In 2019, Rachel led a North American deal to divest a non-core segment of GATX’s operating locations.  Before that, Rachel spent three years in Europe from 2013-2016 helping to navigate GATX’s European subsidiaries and employees through the aftermath of the largest freight rail accident in Italian history.  Before joining GATX in 2007, Rachel was a regional claims manager for St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company (now Travelers) and then partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, serving as outside counsel for clients from a broad range of industries.  

Rachel holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and received her J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago.  She is a passionate believer in social justice reform as an important means to end generational poverty and chairs the Advisory Board of Lawndale Christian Legal Center in the hopes of contributing toward solutions to these complex problems.  She previously served on the Board of Housing Opportunities for Women in Rogers Park.  Rachel (but mostly her incredibly supportive stay-at-home husband) are raising four kids and a dog in Fargo, North Dakota.

Lisa is Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President in the Legal Department for Northern Trust, where she manages global litigation, internal investigations and regulatory matters. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Lisa served as an associate in the corporate restructuring group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; an associate in the white collar and commercial litigation groups at Perkins Coie LLP; and the Victim-Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois. Lisa also served as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law from 2007-2016. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Divya Mehta is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for KONE Americas Legal. In this role, Divya will lead all aspects of Legal for the North American region of KONE, including contract management; commercial and operational issues; general liability; corporate compliance; risk management; regulatory compliance, and technology issues.

Divya joined KONE in 2013 and has held several roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as deputy general counsel. During her 15-year legal career, she also previously worked at the law firms of Segal McCambridge and Anderson Rasor in Chicago and has served as an Illinois Assistant Attorney General.

Divya received her Bachelors of Science in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

Kathy Ehrhart is a partner at Freeborn & Peters LLP in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the Insurance Brokerage and Insurance/Reinsurance Teams.  Before joining Freeborn, Kathy was a Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

First and foremost, Kathy Ehrhart is a litigator and has tried cases and arbitrations in federal and state courts throughout the United States.  As one client has described, “(Kathy’s) cross-examinations are strict and unfaltering, and she irritates counterparties with her thorough preparation.”  In this role, Kathy represents a variety of individuals, corporations, business and professional firms.  She is well-versed in and enjoys representing both the Davids and Goliaths of the world.

She has extensive experience working with executives, senior management and in-house counsel of corporations in managing litigation as well as advising on litigation risks and strategy.  Her areas of focus include complex commercial litigation with particular emphasis on restrictive covenant cases, class actions, reinsurance, antitrust, securities fraud, accountant liability, employment and breach of contract claims.

Kathy graduated with highest honors from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received her J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago.  She is raising two precocious and adorable kids and a behemoth Bernese Mountain dog named Butkus.  They collectively work to keep Kathy on her toes most days but also give her a chance to practice her cross-examination skills even when she is at home.

Jazmin Cheefus Kelly is a senior counsel at Accenture, the global professional services firm that provides industry leading solutions in consulting, technology, digital and operations.  She is the Global Legal Lead for the firm’s Health & Life Science industries, providing strategic counsel on matters of regulatory compliance, data privacy and ethics, intellectual property, product liability and antitrust.  Jazmin’s practice focuses on the use of new and emerging technologies, and the ethical consequences of algorithmic decision-making, in healthcare. 

She began her career at Health Care Service Corporation, supporting litigation, commercial transactions and regulatory compliance.  Jazmin holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.  She is based in Chicago.  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazmincheefus
www.accenture.com

Steffany Williams Cunningham is Vice President Associate General Counsel Contracts and Corporate Governance for National Express (A subsidiary of National Express Group, PLC, one of the premier transportation firms in the UK).  Steffany is a broad corporate generalist having represented companies in contractual, transactional, compliance, corporate governance, regulatory, and real estate matters for over twenty three years.  She served as General Counsel of DirectBuy an on-line buying club and was entrenched within the business as a strategic thought partner.  Prior to that she provided tactical leadership and legal compliance direction for Disney Vacation Development Inc. by managing a legal team seamlessly covering legal, regulatory compliance, and administrative facets of a complex global organization.  Steffany earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and her law degree from Creighton School of Law.

J.T. focuses his practice on labor and employment law and leads the Labor and Employment Team in Chicago.  J.T. helps his clients manage costs and minimize financial exposure in single and multi-plaintiff, class and collective action Title VII, ADA, ADEA, Joint-Employer, OSHA, Retaliation, Wage & Hour, Whistleblower and Worker Misclassification cases at trial in federal and state courts across the country. He also provides practical advice and counsel on a variety of complex business operation and employment initiatives.  J.T. advances his clients' interests in matters pending before various federal, state and local administrative agencies.  And J.T. is a 2020 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Arden Joseph joined Deutsche Bank in 2015 as Assistant Vice President and Counsel in the Americas Legal Department located in Jacksonville, Florida.  In her role, she negotiates derivative contracts for hedge funds, corporate and institutional clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, she spent eleven years at Citigroup in New York as a senior member of their capital markets legal team. There, she partnered extensively with various stakeholders as a transactional attorney. She also served as a subject matter expert for the FX prime brokerage desk.  Ms. Joseph earned a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School and her Bachelor of Science in Finance from New York University, Stern School of Business.

Kimberley Nero is the Vice President, Human Resources at Ferrara Candy Company. Prior to working in this role she was the Sr. Leader HR & Talent Management at Discover Financial Services. Kimberley acquired her MBA from the School of Business at George Washington University.

Bonnie Boone is a producer and client executive for Gallagher’s risk management practice group.  She develops strategy and places professional liability and other casualty lines for a broad range of large clients. Her expertise includes large physician groups, healthcare organizations ( hospitals, MCO), and finical institutions.  Her focus is on captives, cash flow-loss sensitive programs, and coverage analysis in these areas.  She co-chairs the Managed Care Practice Group. She also manages overall coordination of Gallagher’s resources as well as account management and new business development.

Bonnie has over 37 years of experience in the insurance industry as a broker and underwriter. She joined Gallagher in 2017 from Marsh, where she sat on the national executive committee for its healthcare practice. Prior to that, she was with Alliant Insurances Services where she oversaw healthcare and casualty for the Chicago and New York offices. She also held a national position with Willis for more than a decade and worked with 280 retail offices on a global basis to produce business, market, and set strategy for the health care industry and casualty business. She chaired product line/industry segments for long-term care, managed care, and HPL (integrated delivery systems), among others. She has placed reinsurance for some the largest captive programs in the country.

Additional experience includes managing an underwriting staff and a book of business for Continental Insurance Company with a premium volume of $103 million. Establishing market direction, reinsurance treaties, developing rates, underwriting guidelines, and corporate strategies were a part of her duties.

She has been the underwriter and/ or broker on five of the top ten managed care companies in the country.

In December 2015 Bonnie was honored by Business Insurance, with its first Impact Award for exceptional contributions to diversity and inclusion in the industry. Bonnie is an accomplished lecturer and author. Recent speaking engagements include RIMS, IMAC and the Fox School of Business at Temple University.

In 2019 Bonnie recived the honor of Savoy Magazine Most Influential Women in Corporate America.

She also recived the 2019 Life Time Acheivemnt Award from NAIAA.

Sheri Rudberg is Vice President and General Manager of Hillrom Canada, a diversified medical device company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. In her current role, Ms. Rudberg is responsible for leading the Hillrom Canada’s sales, marketing and services organization across the full portfolio of Hillrom products. Prior to her current role, Ms. Rudberg was responsible for driving M&A strategy and execution around Hillrom’s “Advancing Connected Care” vision, weaving sensing technology and digital health capabilities into Hillrom’s global footprint in acute care. Ms. Rudberg joined Hillrom in 2015 as Deputy General Counsel with global responsibilities for commercial legal issues, including M&A. Before joining Hillrom, Ms. Rudberg spent nine years at Baxter International in a variety of legal roles spanning from commercial to M&A to compliance, including a three year assignment leading Baxter’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region compliance program, based out of Zurich, Switzerland.  Ms. Rudberg began her career with a litigation practice at Winston & Strawn in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Rudberg earned her MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of business, her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois.

Marni Helfand is the General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources for The Planet Group. Marni oversees all legal and HR functions including providing training, advising on all areas of compliance, negotiating client agreements, managing litigation, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and protecting the company's intellectual property.  The Planet Group is a family of seven staffing and consulting companies, which together provide outsourced global workforce solutions in the life sciences, diversified energy, engineering, healthcare, IT and digital marketing industries.

After leaving private practice with the law firm of Littler Mendelson, most of Marni’s career has been spent in the staffing and consulting industries. Prior to beginning her career, Marni received her Bachelor's Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations form Cornell University, and attained her JD Law Degree from Northwestern University's School of Law.