Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels, a US Army veteran, is the Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA), overseeing services for nearly 300,000 veterans. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of the Oregon Youth Authority and in various state government executive roles including Director of Equity and Racial Justice in the office of former Governor Kate Brown. With a doctorate in Business Administration, she’s a renowned speaker and author on leadership, equity, and racial justice, lecturing at prestigious institutions such as Harvard University. Dr. Daniels, has held certifications in EEO law, and is dedicated to equity, drawing from her military and familial ties to the Army.

Chris Micheli is a founding partner of the governmental relations and advocacy firm of Snodgrass & Micheli, LLC, located in Sacramento, California.  Prior to forming the firm, he was a founding partner of Aprea & Micheli, Inc, as well as a partner in California Strategies, a statewide public affairs firm. He has proudly represented SHRM in California for the past two and a half years.

 As a legislative advocate, Micheli regularly testifies before policy and fiscal committees of the California Legislature, as well as a number of administrative agencies, departments, boards, and commissions.  He often drafts legislative and regulatory language and is considered a leading authority on state tax law developments, as well as the legislative and regulatory processes.  The Wall Street Journal called him "one of the top three business tax lobbyists in the state” and the Los Angeles Times described him as an "elite lobbyist.”

 Micheli has been an attorney of record in several key cases, having argued before the Supreme Court of California (just two years out of law school), as well as the Court of Appeal several times.  He has filed more than fifteen amicus curiae briefs in California courts.  He is admitted to practice law before all of the state and federal courts in California.

 He has published eight law review articles and is the co-editor and co-author of the book “A Practitioner’s Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy in California” and “Guide to Executive Branch Agency Rulemaking,” as well as the author of “Understanding the California Legislative Process,” “Introduction to California State Government,” and “An Introduction to Drafting Legislation in California.” He has published the “Handbook on Legislative Drafting in California” and “Handbook on California’s Legislative Process.”

 Micheli is also the author of five casebooks: “Cases and Materials on Direct Democracy in California,” “The California Legislature and Its Legislative Process – Cases and Materials,” “Cases and Materials on the California Regulatory Process,” “Cases and Materials on California’s Executive Branch of Government,” and “Cases and Materials on California’s Political and Elections Laws.”

 He is a graduate of the University of California, Davis with a B.A. in Political Science – Public Service and the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law with a J.D. degree.  He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at McGeorge where he teaches the course Lawmaking in California as well as several online MSL courses, and as a Lecturer in Law at the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law where he teaches the course Legislative Drafting.

 He resides in Sacramento, California with his wife, Liza, two daughters, Morgan and Francesca, and son, Vincenzo.  He enjoys reading, writing, soccer, martial arts, and travel.

Teleicia J.R. Dambreville, Esq. serves as Director, Managing Counsel – Employment for Burlington Stores, Inc., a Fortune 500 company of more than 70,000 employees, with over 1000 locations throughout the continental United States. In her role as in-house employment counsel, she manages Burlington’s employment litigation portfolio, including administrative proceedings, federal and state litigation, and alternative dispute resolution. Dambreville develops litigation strategy, oversees outside counsel and handles all aspects of the arbitral process under Burlington’s early dispute resolution program. Dambreville is also responsible for leading cross-functional teams and providing rapid, practical, business-oriented legal advice regarding all areas of employment law, employee relations, and sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion strategies to internal clients enterprise-wide. Dambreville also chairs Burlington’s DEI Corporate Council, where she leverages her employment law experience to develop and implement DEI initiatives impacting corporate employees. 

Prior to joining Burlington’s in-house legal team, Dambreville was a member of the Labor, Employment, Benefits, and Immigration Section at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC’s Philadelphia Office. Dambreville’s national employment law practice encompassed various aspects of litigation and proactive counseling. She has extensive experience representing management in employment litigation matters, including single-plaintiff discrimination cases, class and collective actions and traditional labor disputes. 

Dambreville earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI where she was a student-athlete competing on the Women’s Track & Field Team (2006 – 2010), and her law degree from The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law in University Park, PA where she was among 13 young professionals awarded the 2019 Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award and the 2023 Law & Equity Alumni Award. She is a member of the bar in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Dambreville serves on the board of directors for the Philadelphia Diversity Legal Group Alumni Association, Penn State Law Alumni Society, Providence Center, the Association of Corporate Counsel of Greater Philadelphia, and the National Employment Law Council.