David C. Fowler is Vice President of Product Strategy at Equifax Workforce Solutions. His responsibilities include new business services and expansion, partner initiatives and integration of acquired products for Equifax Workforce Solutions. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, MO as well as the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School Executive Development Program. He chairs the American Payroll Association Government Affairs Task Force Immigration Subcommittee and was a founder and former chair of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners Government Identity Verification Systems (GIVS) Committee. Fowler speaks annually with representatives of ICE and USCIS (DHS divisions) at the APA’s Capital Summit in Washington, D.C.

Heather Owen is Board Certified in labor and employment law and has been representing employers in employment matters since 1993.  Her client counseling focuses on problem solving, litigation prevention, risk reduction and legal analysis of complex employment issues. When matters escalate to litigation, she has successfully defended employers in all areas of employment law, including claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, wage and hour laws, the National Labor Relations Act, and various whistleblower and retaliation laws.  Heather is a frequent presenter to national and local organizations.  Heather received both her Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida.  She is AV® Peer Review Rated By Martindale-Hubbell, and has been listed several years in Florida Trends’ Legal Elite, and Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition. 

Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherAOwen.

Michael S. Cohen is a partner in Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group.  Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. He has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; diversity, equity and inclusion; combatting implicit bias; performance management; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; and more. Michael also has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements and post-termination agreements. Michael regularly conducts in excess of 200 trainings each year.  He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.

Michael has been cited as a national authority on employment issues by The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC.com, HR Magazine, SHRM On-Line, Employment Law 360, Inside Counsel Magazine, as well as many other publications. Michael serves as an Advisory Board Member of GenHERation and as a Board Member of Serve, Inc. Michael is a 1997 magna cum laude graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Lynn C. Outwater is a Shareholder in the Pittsburgh office of Jackson Lewis P.C.  The firm’s over 700 lawyers limit their practice exclusively to labor, employment, immigration and benefits law on behalf of management.  She received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University and obtained a Juris Doctorate degree from Albany Law School and holds a Master of Laws (in Labor Law) from New York University School of Law.  Ms. Outwater is a current member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and an inactive member of the New York Bar Association.  Ms. Outwater has been designated as a “Super Lawyer” in the Labor and Employment Law Practice Area from 2004 through 2013 editions of “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.”  Ms. Outwater was also selected by her peers for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” from 2009 through 2014 in the field of labor and employment law.

Follow Lynn on Twitter @JacksonLewisPC.

Nicole Butts is an accomplished Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion executive, strategist, and coach who specializes in transforming executives into inclusive and equitable organizational leaders.

During her 20-year career, she has built multiple inaugural DEI offices; served as a chief diversity officer; a director of employee diversity, inclusion, and climate; and a director of equal employment.

Nicole is the founder of NLYB Solutions, a DEI consulting firm helping executives, executive teams, and organizations courageously and effectively navigate personal, professional, and organizational DEI journeys. She is the creator of SHIFT, a transformational five-step framework for creating systemic, effective, measurable, and sustainable DEI cultures.

Matthew Effland is the Vice President – Employment Counsel for KAR Auction Services, Inc.  KAR is a provider of vehicle auction services in North America, facilitating the used vehicle marketplace by providing auction services for sellers of used, or whole car, vehicles and salvage vehicles through its auction locations and multiple internet venues. The Company has a network of 65 whole car auction locations and 164 salvage auction locations, as well as offering a variety of online and financing services.  In his role, Matt provides guidance and support to KAR’s Human Resources department, drawing on his 14 years of management-side private practice.  Matt is licensed in both California and Indiana, and is the author of the recently-published SHRM Book ”The Perils and Pitfalls of California Employment Law: A Guide for HR Professionals.”

Toni Pilzner is an attorney with more than 15 years' experience in advising employers on creating and administering employee welfare and retirement benefit plans. Having worked as a certified public accountant and as an in-house corporate tax analyst dealing with employee benefit plan matters before becoming an attorney, she also understands the financial and practical aspects of employee benefit plan administration. Toni has shared her expertise with SHRM members by presenting concurrent sessions on employee benefits topics at a number of SHRM conferences in addition to writing SHRM Legal Alerts and contributing to SHRM Online articles on employee benefit matters. She also served on the SHRM Total Rewards Special Expertise Panel and its predecessor, the SHRM Compensation and Benefits Committee, as well as serving a three-year term on the U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council.

Joseph (“Joe”) Beachboard is a nationally recognized employment lawyer who also closely tracks the most important developments at the U.S. Supreme Court impacting the business community. He has more than 30 years of experience representing management in a wide variety of employment and labor matters in perhaps the most challenging state in the nation for employers – California.  Mr. Beachboard speaks regularly before human resource and employer groups on cutting edge employment law topics.  He is a member of SHRM and has been an annual presenter at both the SHRM Annual Conference and the Employment Law and Compliance Conference for two decades.  Mr. Beachboard is frequently quoted in such leading publications as HR Magazine, National Law Journal, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, HR Executive and Workforce, and has been published in dozens of legal and business journals. Throughout his career in Los Angeles, Mr. Beachboard has represented dozens of studios and entertainment properties.  He cites his most interesting project as working with the cast and crew of the television show The Office, from its pilot through the final season.

Louis R. Lessig, Esquire, SHRM-SCP, SPHR is a Partner at the law firm of Brown & Connery, LLP in Westmont, NJ in their labor and employment group.  He regularly counsels clients, conducts training sessions and represents clients in federal and state court as well as before administrative agencies. Also known as The Employment Law Translator®, Mr. Lessig speaks across the country and regularly writes articles that appear in publications nationwide including XpertHR.  In 2018 he won the Delaware Valley HR Consultant of the Year Award. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and a Past President of the Philadelphia chapter.  Mr. Lessig is an active volunteer for The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as the Northeast Membership Advisory Council (MAC) Representative.

Mindy Chapman is President of Mindy Chapman & Associates LLC and the founder of the acclaimed “Workplace Training that Clicks & Sticks™.” She has been hailed by the nation’s top professional associations including the SHRM, the American Bar Association, and the Ethics & Compliance Officers Association as a top ten national speaker and authority on civil rights compliance training and employment law issues. Federal and state compliance agencies, including the U.S. EEOC and the Department of Justice, have recognized and approved Ms. Chapman’s compliance training because of its unique ability to take complex legal and business concepts and distill them into practical business tools. This memorable approach helps organizations to avoid liability, minimize risk and create a culture of respect and retention of talent.

Mindy is in constant demand for on-site employment law training and risk management. She is also a co-author of one of the best-selling books published by the American Bar Association titled, Case Dismissed: Taking Your Harassment Prevention Training to Trial. Ms. Chapman also writes one of the top-rated national employment law blogs for The National Institute of Business Management called, “Case-in-Point” where she reports on critical cases and the practical lessons that will “click and stick” with us so we don’t end up in court to personally learn the lessons first hand. Mindy is a graduate from Northwestern University School of Law where she was a published member of the Journal of International Law and Business and earned the Lowden-Wigmore Prize for legal scholarship.
 

Follow Mindy on Twitter @mindychapman.