Business Acumen

Evan Green is one of the two Senior Partners at Green and Spiegel and is Certified as a Specialist in Immigration Law by The Law Society of Ontario. ​Evan is called to the bar in both Canada and the United States and is able to practice federal immigration law in both countries. Evan has been practicing immigration law for over 25 years and has extensive experience in all areas of Canadian immigration. Evan has been identified for many years as a leading practitioner in immigration law. Evan is considered a subject matter expert in the field, frequently asked to speak as a panelist, moderator and lecturer.

Within the firm, Evan manages the U.S. practice for the firm which includes U.S. immigration matters processed from the Toronto office as well as the 3 offices in the U.S. Evan is particularly skilled at navigating cross-border issues on either side of the Canadian and U.S. border. Evan’s strong understanding of the nuances of Canada/U.S. cross borders issues allows him to provide clear and quick counsel to many companies with business interests in both Canada and the U.S. Evan is a member of the American Immigration Association and, over the years, has held numerous executive positions in the Canadian Chapter including President. Evan also is a leading practitioner in the area of U.S. consular processing and is considered the “go to guy” for many U.S. attorneys who contact Evan on a regular basis regarding processing at the U.S. Consulates in Canada as well as a multitude of issues related to Canada/U.S. border issues.

Dan Berger is a partner at the immigration law firm of Curran, Berger & Kludt in Northampton, MA.

Dan developed his interest in immigration in college, where he studied immigration history and taught English to adult refugees. He is a founding member of the US Alliance of International Entrepreneurs, an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, on the Legal Advisory Board of the Presidents’ Alliance on Immigration & Higher Education, and a member of the USCIS Headquarters liaison committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Dan has edited Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers and the Diplomatic Visa Guide. He wrote an Issue Brief for the American Council on Education (ACE) after the 2016 election, and was a co-author on a “Note” on immigration in 2017 for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).

Charina P. Garcia is a partner and immigration attorney at Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP where she manages the firm’s Northern California – Oakland office. She represents and advises many Fortune 500 and start-up companies, as well as individuals on both employment and family-based immigration matters.  Charina is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She has served on the Executive Board of the Northern California Chapter of AILA and was the Vice-Chair of the AILA National Liaison Committee for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s California Service Center. In addition, Charina has served on the Board of Directors for Filipino Advocates for Justice (formerly Filipinos for Affirmative Action) and has previously served on the Board for the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California (FBANC). She was also a member of the faculty of Law Review CLE, Sterling Education Services and Lorman Education Services, which provides continuing education seminars.

David has been in the mobility space for over 10+ years supporting and managing relocation, immigration, tax compliance/support for global mobile employees who are increasingly becoming global nomads.  From global firms with highly sophisticated programs (General Electric, Alstom, GlaxoSmithKline) to small/medium sized growth businesses (Deckers Outdoors, Procore) looking to open/expand their international presence, it has been a non-stop and fascinating journey.  We are now pivoting from having just traditional expatriate/global assignments to adding more short-term assignments, rotations, Local Plus, and remote work arrangements.  I constantly learn from other mobility professionals (corporate and mobility service partners) on approaches and best practices.  There is no one way of doing things.  It is about how we address or solve an issue based on our company’s culture, practices, cost, and level of risk.  Having a sense of humor is a must in this role!  I’m also a third generation lemon farmer.  When life gives you lemons, enjoy it in a beverage, cocktail, or on grilled items!

Erin McDermit is a partner and employment attorney at M&H, LLP in San Francisco. Erin provides strategic employment advice to employers and executives on a wide range of complex California employment laws. Throughout her legal career Erin has advised companies of all sizes, providing tailored advice to help her clients approach issues from a practical standpoint and reduce the risk of litigation.  Erin has litigated numerous employment disputes, representing companies and executives in court proceedings, arbitration, mediation, and before government enforcement agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) and the California Labor Commissioner at the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”).  Erin has written numerous articles on California employment laws and frequently speaks to Human Resources organizations, community organizations, and to management teams about new employment laws and other employment-related topics. She has also been a guest lecturer at Santa Clara University Law School.

Erin holds a J.D. from Santa Clara University where she was a Cali award-winner in Employment Law and Comments Editor for the Santa Clara Law Review. She also holds a B.A. with honors in Communications from Mills College and attended The Putney School in Vermont.

I’m the Founder and CEO of LaborLess, an immigration tech startup that automates LCA compliance for H-1B employers and the law firms that support them. Here’s the story: after graduating from Brooklyn Law School where I founded and the Brooklyn Law Immigration Society, I landed a job practicing US immigration law at a firm in the Washington, DC area. I quickly realized, however, that I was doing more administrative paperwork than interesting and challenging legal analysis, particularly around LCA compliance. That's not why I went to law school, I thought, and I knew that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. I realized that no one was automating LCA compliance and that there was a gap in the market. So I quit working as a lawyer, worked in tech for a few years, and eventually launched LaborLess, a tech startup that helps H-1B employers and immigration law firms across the US and overseas automate their LCA process.

Dr. Bruce Stetar has over 25 years of experience as an educator in three different countries. His disciplines are management and leadership, but he has also taught a range of business and information technology courses. Prior to joining WGU he was the Sr. Executive Director of Business Programs at SNHU-COCE for five years and prior to that was with the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates for 16 years.  He has been involved with the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP) since 2007 in a variety of leadership roles and is currently Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors.

Steve Watson has a diverse background and a lot of titles after his name - CEO, CFO, CHRO, and CPA. All the different titles he wears could be confusing, but Steve has found a unique way to put them all together and complement each other.

This is especially true in his role as CEO of Trendbreakers, a consulting business where his extensive knowledge and skills meet to help other companies break the trend of rising healthcare costs. He is also a nationally known speaker, hosts a podcast three times each week, and is a married father of seven. 

Dr. Patricia has been teaching courses in human resources and management at the university level for fourteen years and has been in the human resource management field for over twenty-five years. Patricia holds a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership and a Master's Degree in Administration/Human Resource Administration.  Her Bachelor of Science and Associates in Arts degrees are in Business and Management.  Patricia holds a certified teaching certificate in the state of Texas and has also studied and received diplomas in business and technology from Suffolk College University in England.  Besides having a passion for human resources, Patricia has a passion for education and learning. Patricia believes in education and the learning process and she feels that it is extremely important to never stop learning, whether it is in your workplace or in an institute of higher education.

Karl Ahlrichs specializes in helping professionals make order from chaos. He is a national speaker, author, and consultant, presenting on the people issues in all industries, and is often quoted in the local and national media. 

Karl’s experience is ideally suited to times of organizational change as he pulls on risk management and organizational development theories to replace “best practices” with “next practices”. He owes much of his communications mastery to working as a writer and editor in daily media, to on-the-job writing experience and to the process of becoming a published author.

He joined Gregory & Appel in 2010 after serving as a founding partner of ExactHire, bringing his HR, operations, diversity & belonging, and learning & development skills with him. Karl’s affinity for design, composition and learning started at a very young age, by taking and examining thousands of boring pictures with the goal of improving his craft. He loves deploying that practice-to-improve approach with all manner of hobbies including writing haiku, mastering cutting-edge technology and learning Spanish.

In 2003, he was named the SHRM Human Resource Professional of the Year for the State of Indiana. He is on the Boards of several organizations, including the Maryland CPA Society.  He has lived in Scotland and Spain and lives to explore new experiences with his wife and family.

Chris Dyer inspires audiences with a straightforward delivery, insightful candor, and engaging humor. His talks leave audiences permanently transformed, offering innovative perspectives on leadership to improve company culture, and empower organizations to create a people centric approach.

As a highly sought-after keynote speaker, consultant, and advisor he brings a unique perspective from his expertise in building, leading, and exiting successful organizations. Through his research from two best-selling books, he is always engaged with leading companies to help transform their culture, leadership, and flexible work strategies. He is also the host of a popular radio show TalentTalk where he has had hundreds of conversations with the world’s best leaders for his audience of over 3 million annual listeners. Currently he is the Founder of PeopleG2, an Accusource company, with a fully remote organization. PeopleG2 is routinely ranked one of the best places to work and has been listed as one of Inc.'s 5000 Fastest Growing Companies five times.

Chris enjoys contributing to the leadership conversation and has been featured by leading media outlets such as the BBC, Fox Business, NBC, Telegraph, The Sun, INC, and Forbes. He has also delivered keynotes and worked as a consultant for top brands like Johnson & Johnson, Citi, IKEA, Kelly Services, the United States Patent Office, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and their Ministry of Defense, as well other top firms like Farmer’s Insurance and Cornerstone OnDemand. He is listed a Top 50 Global Thought Leader by PeopleHum, and as a top leadership voice on LeaderHum. Most importantly he married his high school sweetheart and has three adopted children who have finally left the house, and one grandson.