Lisa Banks Leadership Coach and Entrepreneur, Co-Founder

Optify Coaching

Lisa Banks brings to Optify a wise perspective and agility cultivated through a multifaceted career in business and leadership. Prior to becoming a leadership coach, facilitator, and trainer, Lisa practiced corporate law, built a business, and sharpened her leadership skills while directing and growing businesses in the nonprofit space. She is a mindfulness practitioner and meditation teacher committed to promoting resilient leadership. At Optify, Lisa carefully selects our talented coaches and supports their professional growth. She also helps to shape the organization’s partnership and marketing strategy.

Lisa earned her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center and Bachelor’s degrees in Communications and International Relations from the University of Virginia. She is a certified leadership coach and facilitator through Georgetown University and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF). She is a mentor coach for the Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership and a presenter for the ICF.

Amber Boydstun Chief Data Scientist

Diversity Lab

Amber Boydstun is the Chief Data Scientist at Diversity Lab and also a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis.  She holds a PhD and an MA from The Pennsylvania State University and a BA from St. John’s College (“the Great Books school”).

As Chief Data Scientist at Diversity Lab, Amber is in charge of designing and running statistical analyses toward the aim of empirically assessing—and ultimately improving—diversity and inclusion in the legal field.  Diversity Lab uses a variety of science-based methods for measuring diversity and inclusion.  These methods include running predictive modeling to estimate the future trajectory of diversity in human talent, both for individual firms and in the legal field as a whole; conducting and analyzing anonymous surveys at law firms and legal departments to identify perceptions of diversity and inclusion and to determine whether these perceptions vary in statistically significant ways between different demographic groups; and running “pay equity” statistical analyses to assess whether any significant gaps in compensation exist between demographic groups after accounting for metrics such as billable hours and origination credit.

As a professor, Amber’s academic work centers on the interaction between media and politics, with a focus on how different media portrayals of the same policy issue can prompt citizens and policymakers to respond to that issue in different ways.  She is author of Making the News (University of Chicago Press, 2013) and co-author of The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence (Cambridge University Press, 2008, with Frank R. Baumgartner and Suzanna De Boef), as well as many scholarly journal articles.  Her work has been featured in popular venues including The Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, and Huffington Post.  She is also a founding member of the Women Also Know Stuff initiative.

Paulette Brown Senior Partner & Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Locke Lord LLP

Paulette Brown is a member of the labor & employment practice group of Locke Lord LLP and is the Immediate Past President of the American Bar Association. Throughout her career, she has held a number of positions, including in-house counsel to a number of Fortune 500 companies and as a Municipal Court Judge. For the past 30 years, Paulette has engaged in the private practice of law, focusing on all facets of labor and employment and commercial litigation. She has defended employers in cases involving discrimination on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual harassment, disability, race and national origin. Paulette has received results in class action employment discrimination cases based upon race and wage and hour claims. She is also experienced in all aspects of workplace training and collective bargaining.

Paulette litigates in both federal and state courts, as well as arbitration forums for both unionized and non-union employees. She is a certified mediator for the United States District Court, District of New Jersey and a member of the Employment AAA Panel. Paulette is a frequent lecturer on labor and employment issues and issues related to electronic discovery and serves as Chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is also a member of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyer and American Law Institute. Additionally, Paulette has been recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of the prominent women and minority attorneys in the State of New Jersey and by the National Law Journal as one of "The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America." She has been listed as a NJ Super Lawyer since its inception and for the past three years as one of the top 50 women lawyers and one of the top 100 lawyers. Ms. Brown has also repeatedly been named by US News as one of The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Commercial Litigation. Paulette also received DRI's Pioneer Diversity Award and the NJ State Bar Association's Excellence in Diversity Award, and she was honored with the Spirit of Excellence and Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards by the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession. In 2014, Paulette was honored by the Rutgers Law-Camden Black Law Students Association for exemplifying the values advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Mary Cranston Former Chair & CEO

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Mary B. Cranston is a retired senior partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, an international law firm. She was the chair and chief executive officer of Pillsbury from January 1999 until April 2006, and continued to serve as chair of the firm until December 2006. She was Firm senior partner until January 2012. Ms. Cranston also serves as a director of the Chemours Company and MyoKardia, Inc. She previously served as a member of the boards of Juniper Networks, Inc. until May 2015 and International Rectifier Corporation until January 2015. Ms. Cranston holds an A.B. degree in Political Science from Stanford University, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and an M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Amira Day Dallafior Assistant General Counsel, Global Labor & Employment

Pinterest, Inc.

Debbie Epstein Henry Founder

DEH Consulting

Speaking, Writing, Podcast Host,

Inspiration Loves Company

Debbie Epstein Henry is an expert, consultant, best-selling author and public speaker on careers, workplaces, women and law. Debbie runs DEH Consulting, Speaking, Writing and consults with and speaks at private retreats, public events and conferences for companies, law firms and other professional service firms as well as non-profits. Debbie’s international work includes multiple engagements in The Hague as well as in Paris at the French Senate and in London and Vienna and other cities abroad. For 20 years, hundreds of news outlets have featured her work including The New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and The National Law Journal.

In October 2020, Debbie launched her new podcast, Inspiration Loves Company™, where she conducts interviews and explores how to do better and be better at life, work and everything in-between. She delves into issues including women, bias, happiness, work, race, money, candor, balance, leadership and more.

Debbie runs the DEH Speaker Series, offering programming with New York Times best-selling authors, TED speakers, and thought leaders by webcast. In 2007, she conceived of the Best Law Firms for Women initiative, a national survey she developed and ran for a decade with Working Mother to annually select the top 50 law firms for women and report on industry trends. Debbie is the author of LAW & REORDER, the #1 best-selling ABA Flagship book for 2011 and the co-author of another ABA bestselling Flagship book in 2015, FINDING BLISS. By 2008, her public speaking, press exposure and advocacy enabled her to build a national network of over 10,000 lawyers. From there, in 2011, Debbie co-founded Bliss Lawyers, a company employing high caliber attorneys to work on temporary engagements for in-house legal department and law firm clients. In February 2020, Bliss Lawyers was acquired by Axiom, the global leader in high-caliber, on-demand legal talent, and she now serves as their executive consultant.

Debbie volunteers her time with a number of non-profits. She is Vice President of The Forum of Executive Women, a nomination-only, membership organization of the top 500 women in business in Philadelphia. Debbie also sits on The Forum’s Board and chairs its annual Leadership Symposium. Additionally, she chairs Brooklyn Law School Women’s Leadership Circle which runs a national women’s law student and alumnae initiative.

Debbie has received numerous awards including being named among the Philadelphia Business Journal‘s "Women of Distinction.” In 2017, Debbie received the Anne X. Alpern Award, presented annually to a female lawyer who demonstrates excellence in the legal profession and who makes a significant professional impact on women in the law. She received her B.A. from Yale and her J.D. cum laude from Brooklyn Law School. Debbie lives in the New York area with her husband; they have three sons.

Patricia Gillette Public Keynote Speaker

Member of JAMS

Pat (Patricia) Gillette is one of the country’s leading experts on gender diversity and equality in the workplace. As a top rated trial lawyer and leading author, Ms. Gillette’s illustrious career has focused on solving the most critical business issues of Fortune 500 clients by strategizing and implementing paradigm shifts in company culture and management. Because Ms. Gillette is herself a successful business person, rising to the top levels of management in the firms and companies for whom she has worked, she speaks with authority and conviction to all levels of employees, from CEOs to sales people to managers.

In her presentations and writings, Ms. Gillette identifies ways in which organizations can drive results from every employee. She focuses her messages on how to succeed in the high powered, fast paced business environment of today. Relying on research studies she commissioned as well as her charismatic style, Ms. Gillette is able to inspire audiences to think differently about the way they can realize their personal and business goals.

Ms. Gillette also recognizes the uneven playing field for women and minorities. But rather than complain about the inequities, she focuses her speeches on how individuals and corporations can overcome these challenges. For individuals she presents practical tips to address common obstacles to success like fear of failure, imposter syndrome, the confidence gap, self-promotion, and presentation style. For companies she points to practical and workable solutions to confront institutional barriers facing women and minorities: implicit bias, the pay gap, lack of opportunity, candid and helpful feedback, and changes in workplace structures.

Ms. Gillette also has a unique perspective on how individuals can increase business opportunities for themselves and their organizations, without regard to their gender or race. This is based on a groundbreaking report she commissioned that studied the personal characteristics of successful business people. In her presentations, Ms. Gillette uses the study results to change the way people think about obtaining and delivering new business opportunities.

Ms. Gillette connects and relates deeply with people. She has an uncanny ability to break through gender and generational barriers. But she also brings her passion to the podium as she talks about difficult issues with candor, warmth, and authenticity. Her speeches are peppered with humor and focused on solutions. She gets people thinking about what they can do to be more energized, and motivates people want to bring about positive change in themselves and their institutions.

Ms. Gillette is available for engagements ranging from Keynote Addresses to Boardroom Consultations. She has delivered talks to premiere institutions and organizations throughout the country. Ms. Gillette is also an authorized Radical Candor speaker and can speak on Radical Candor independently or as part of her overall presentations.

Christine Hendrickson Partner

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Christine is the co-chair of Seyfarth’s Pay Equity group and a core member of the firm’s Labor & Employment People Analytics and OFCCP & Affirmative Action Compliance teams.

Driven by the belief that what gets measured gets done, Christine works with clients to leverage data to revamp their personnel practices and to ensure compliance with mandates impacting recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, performance evaluation, discipline, and termination.

Christine partners with employers ranging from startups to global Fortune 100 technology, retail, financial services, professional services, hospitality, healthcare, and manufacturing organizations on pay equity projects and investigations. Working in coordination with Seyfarth’s International Employment Law team, Christine provides strategic advice to help employers, large and small, navigate and simplify the multifarious pay equity laws and reporting requirements, both in the U.S. and across the globe. Christine an author of Seyfarth’s 50-State Pay Equity Desktop Reference.  In addition, Christine provides strategic advice and counseling to employers on diversity programs and reductions-in-force.

Christine represents federal contractors on their obligations under Executive Order 11246, VEVRAA, Section 503, and related statutes and regulations. Christine’s roots are in OFCCP compliance and she has overseen the preparation of hundreds of affirmative action plans and defended OFCCP audits in every region, including desk audits, onsite audits, compliance checks, focused reviews, and glass ceiling reviews. Christine collaborates with clients to develop compliant, best-practice oriented, and practical affirmative action programs.

Christine frequently speaks at national conferences on pay equity and OFCCP compliance. She receives national media coverage of her observations about issues involving employment-related issues, including pay equity, workplace metrics, affirmative action, and diversity.

Anastasia Kelly US Managing Partner Emeritus

DLA Piper

Stasia Kelly has extensive experience as both outside counsel and as a general counsel and brings these perspectives to her practice, working closely with boards of directors, general counsel and in-house legal teams, helping clients design and implement effective governance and compliance programs. Stasia also advises boards and executives on crisis management.

Stasia is the Executive Director of Client Relations and is a member of the firm's Global Board and Executive Committee.

Firmly committed to helping advance women at DLA Piper, Stasia is a mentor to a number of the women lawyers and is on the leadership committee of the firm's Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW), which is committed to the hiring, development and advancement of women lawyers.

Stasia joined DLA Piper in 2010 after a 15-year career as general counsel in four leading public companies. Stasia has previously advised across several areas of the law, including the regulation of financial institutions and securities firms and white collar defense. In her four general counsel roles, Stasia focused on helping companies through challenging crises and building effective legal and compliance organizations.

Stasia served as the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Fannie Mae, where she centralized the company's legal and compliance functions and upgraded the talent across Fannie Mae's five offices nationwide.

In 1999, Stasia was recruited as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Sears, Roebuck in the wake of the company's serious compliance issues in its credit business. At Sears, Stasia restructured the legal and compliance teams and developed and strengthened the company's legal and compliance functions.

In 2002, Stasia was asked to join the restructuring team at MCI/WorldCom during its bankruptcy and restructuring in what was then the largest ever US bankruptcy. She served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of MCI and helped lead the team that successfully brought MCI out of bankruptcy, culminating in the acquisition of MCI by Verizon in 2006.

In 2006, Stasia joined AIG (American International Group) as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance and Regulatory Officer.  In that capacity, she built worldwide legal, regulatory and compliance teams across the AIG enterprise in the aftermath of the government investigations.  In 2009, Stasia was named Vice Chair of AIG with additional responsibility for government relations, external communications, human resources and corporate affairs across AIG during the financial crisis.

Stasia's extensive role in dealing with different crises in different industries, positions her well to advise both managements and Boards of Directors in crisis situations, both to deal with current events and to help shape future plans for the company post-crisis.

Stasia sits on the board of directors of two public companies. At O-I Glass, the world's largest manufacturer of glass packaging, she chairs the Governance and Nominating Committee and is a member of the Risk Committee. At Huntington-Ingalls Industries, which designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the US Navy and Coast Guard, Stasia is a member of the Governance and Policy Committee and the Compensation Committee.

Stasia has been honored with many awards that underscore her contributions to the legal profession. In 2014, the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession honored Stasia with the prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award for her many career successes and her extensive involvement in assisting other women to succeed in the field of law.

The National Law Journal named Stasia to its list of ''Trailblazers & Pioneers,'' recognizing the top 50 legal professionals in the areas of governance, risk and compliance. The NLJ particularly cited Stasia's 15-year career as a general counsel, during which she developed governance and compliance teams for four leading public companies, and noted her leading role in launching DLA Piper's Global Governance and Compliance practice.

And Lawdragon magazine named Stasia to its Lawdragon 500, noting that ''with 15 years under her belt as a general counsel for four different public companies, Kelly now chairs DLA Piper's esteemed governance practice, while also co-running the megafirm's US operations.'' She has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame, recognizing past members of the Lawdragon 500 who have made remarkable contributions as leaders, litigators, dealmakers, power brokers, judges and innovators.

Stasia received her undergraduate degree in English, cum laude, from Trinity University in Washington, DC and her law degree, magna cum laude, from George Washington University Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and the George Washington University Law Review. Earlier in her career, Stasia was associated with a firm based in Dallas, where she practiced in the litigation group.

Jessie Kornberg President & CEO

Skirball Cultural Center

Jessie Kornberg became the President and CEO of the Skirball Cultural Center in July 2020.

To the Skirball’s leadership team, Kornberg brings two decades of civil rights work—a career dedicated to dismantling systemic inequality. This commitment began with frontline anti-poverty services at the largest provider of homeless family housing in New York City. Kornberg went on to work with the NAACP and NOW before founding Ms. JD, an online community dedicated to supporting and advancing the careers of women in the legal profession. Next, she co-chaired the pro bono program at the Beverly Hills litigation boutique Bird Marella, focusing the firm's resources on prison condition reform, including a groundbreaking class action on behalf of the death row inmates at Angola state penitentiary in Louisiana. 

In 2014, Kornberg became the CEO of Bet Tzedek (Hebrew for "house of justice"), one of the nation's leading free legal aid providers. Under her leadership, the agency grew to address the most pressing legal issues facing low-income families, including the establishment of the nation’s first transgender medical-legal partnership and a family preparedness program to respond to growing concerns surrounding the deportation of undocumented parents.

In 2020, Kornberg co-chaired LA Represents, an unprecedented pro bono legal initiative in scope and scale, established to support residents and businesses in need during the COVID-19 crisis. She currently serves as a trustee for the Los Angeles Urban League, the Motion Picture & Television Fund, and UCLA School of Law, where she earned her JD. Kornberg lives in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles with her spouse, Aaron Lowenstein, their young son, Asa, and a rescued black spaniel mix named Laila Tov.

Roberta Liebenberg Senior Partner

Fine Kaplan and Black

Roberta (“Bobbi”) Liebenberg, a partner at Fine, Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia, focuses her practice on antitrust and class actions. She has been appointed by courts to represent plaintiff classes in many class actions, and has also defended Fortune 500 companies, including Southwest Airlines, in class actions and other complex commercial litigation. She is also a principal of The Red Bee Group, a women-owned consulting group that focuses on data-driven solutions to diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Currently, she is co-authoring a report on the impact of the pandemic on the legal profession sponsored by the American Bar Association.

She twice served as the Chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, and was Chair of the ABA Gender Equity Task Force, and Co-Chair of the ABA Presidential Initiative on Achieving Long Term Careers for Women in Law. She also was a founder and Chair of DirectWomen, the only organization devoted to increasing the number of women attorneys on corporate boards. She was Chair of the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations’ respective committees on women in the profession, and also the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness. She has received many awards and honors, including induction into the American Antitrust Institute Private Enforcement Hall of Fame, the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, the Lynette Norton Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Sandra Day O'Connor Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Florence K. Murray Award from the National Association of Women Judges, the Hortense Ward Courageous Leader Award from the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, the Martha Fay Africa Golden Hammer Award from the ABA Law Practice Division, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Corporate Counsel and Inside Counsel magazines, and the “Outstanding Achievement Award”

Betsy Miller Partner and Chair of Public Client Practice, Certified Leadership Coach

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Betsy A. Miller is a Partner at Cohen Milstein and Chair of the firm’s Public Client practice.  She is a seasoned litigator and industry thought leader on leadership development and change management. With 20+ years in private and government practice in Washington, D.C., Betsy has built a reputation for deftly leading some of the country’s highest profile government investigations and landmark settlements. She currently represents state Attorneys General in the ongoing national opioid litigation and previously negotiated a $2.2 billion resolution as a lead counsel for states prosecuting consumer fraud cases against the nation’s largest credit rating agencies. Her approach to these complex cases is grounded in the principles she has used as a professional mediator and adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, where she has taught negotiation strategy and conflict resolution. A certified leadership coach, Betsy regularly speaks and writes about the importance of advancing women and valuing diversity of experiences and perspectives in the legal profession.

For her accomplishments and continued work in high-stakes matters, Ms. Miller has been honored on several occasions by industry peers, including Lawdragon 500, which recognizes “the best of the best” in the U.S. legal profession, The National Law Journal and The Trial Lawyer, which have identified Ms. Miller as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers,” and The National Law Journal, which named Ms. Miller as one of nine women in the nation to its inaugural list of “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs’ Bar.”  

Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Ms. Miller served as the Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Miller served as Nominations Counsel for Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she was responsible for handling confirmation hearings on presidential nominations to the federal judiciary, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and to the Offices of the United States Attorneys.

Ms. Miller’s legal career is augmented by her work speaking and writing about the need to raise and reward emotionally intelligent leaders in the legal profession. In addition to earning her Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown, Betsy is the author of The National Law Journal’s series on Leadership in the Law and is a regular commentator on adaptive leadership, talent development, and feedback for Thomson Reuters, The American Lawyer, Law.com, and The National Law Journal.  Recent articles include:  Leadership and the Law: How to Fix a Puzzling Quirk; How to Flip the Script on the Annual Review Process; and The New Language Needed to Connect Professionally Right Now.  Ms. Miller speaks nationally on topics including authentic leadership, presence in the courtroom, and using feedback as a catalyst for growth. In January 2020, she served as the keynote speaker at the National Trial Lawyers’ inaugural Women’s Leadership Forum, where she led a workshop on navigating polarities and leading with compassion and strength.

Ms. Miller earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College.

Jackie Park Partner, Co-US Managing Partner

DLA Piper

Jackie handles extensive leasing transactions for landlords as well as for tenants in office, retail and industrial settings. Her representation of landlords includes institutional landlords in office buildings and retail shopping centers, including The Ratkovich Company, Maguire Partners, The Prudential Insurance Company, Rising Realty Partners, Westport Capital, Rubicon Point Partners and PacShore Partners. Her representation of tenants includes financial institutions, entertainment companies and retail entities, including ongoing representation of The Walt Disney Company, Capitol Records and AECOM.

Jackie is a guiding force within DLA Piper, where she is the US Co-Managing Partner and a member of the firm's governing Executive and Management Committees. She previously served as the Co-Managing Partner of the firm's Los Angeles offices and Co-Vice Chair of the national Real Estate practice. Jackie mentors lawyers through the firm's diversity and inclusion initiatives, including the Women and Lawyers of Color Emerging Leaders programs.

Leslie Richards-Yellen Director of Global Diversity & Inclusion

Debevoise & Plimpton

Stephanie Scarf Partner

Scharf Banks Marmor LLC

Stephanie A. Scharf represents corporate clients and government entities in litigation and  arbitration in a wide range of commercial disputes, class action defense, product liability and mass tort defense, insurance coverage for corporate policyholders, and employment litigation. In three decades of representing clients in federal and state  courts, Stephanie has tried civil and criminal jury and bench trials, has managed the pre-trial, trial and appellate phases of litigation, and has overseen the resolution of multiple commercial disputes and complex tort actions. Stephanie frequently counsels companies on ways to avoid litigation and mitigate risks at the product or enterprise level.

Stephanie’s recent engagements include litigation over the scope of a multi-billion dollar facilities use contract; class action defense of distance learning programs; defense of fraud claims involving financial investments; insurance disputes for large corporate policyholders; pharmaceutical product liability defense; contract disputes involving global and small businesses; and the defense of non-competition, trademark and copyright litigation. At trial, she is adept at presenting technical issues to judges and juries, bringing to bear her advanced training in statistical analysis and scientific research. Whether as trial counsel, national coordinating counsel, regional counsel, or as a member of a "virtual firm" created to address specific client problems, Stephanie focuses on framing effective legal strategies and achieving results that serve her client's business goals. 

Stephanie and the Firm were profiled for the "unique quality of their work" in the November 2014 Chicago Lawyer cover article, "Work at a Very High Level." US Business News selected Stephanie as the Best Commercial Dispute Litigator-Illinois and also selected Scharf Banks Marmor as Best Women-Owned Corporate Law Firm-USA.

A frequent author and CLE speaker, Stephanie created and is the lead editor of PLI's Product Liability Litigation: Current Law, Strategy and Best Practices. She has been named a Leading Lawyer and Best Lawyer, was granted the PLAC President's Award, and was selected by Lawdragon Magazine as one of the "500 Leading Litigators in America." She is "AV Preeminent" peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting the highest peer recognition for both ethical standards and legal ability.

Stephanie has a Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences with a focus on social and organizational psychology as well as statistical analysis of large data sets. Before practicing law, she managed large national data-driven initiatives in the areas of health and employment.

Stephanie is one of the nation's leading lawyers for the advancement of women in the profession. She was Chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession. (2007-2020)  She also co-chairs the ABA Presidential Initiative, Achieving Long-Term Careers for Women in the Law; and is a member of the Advisory Board of DirectWomen; and a former President of the National Association of Women Lawyers (2004- 2005). She was Special Advisor to the  2015-2016 American Bar Association's Presidential Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.

Stephanie frequently combines her skills in data analytics to create cutting edge research on issues of diversity and inclusion.  Her most recent report (with co-author Roberta Liebenberg) is Walking Out the Door: The Fact, Figures and Future of Experienced Women in Private Practice. This innovative study received national attention for its multidimensional perspectives of women, men and managing partners about the status, impediments, and avenues for change to create greater gender diversity at senior levels.  Stephanie also founded and conducted the NAWL Annual Survey of Women in Law Firms (2006-2014); the National Survey of Women's Initiatives (2012);  and the first-ever survey of women as lead counsel in litigation, First Chairs at Trial: More Women Need Seats at the Table (2015). She has designed unique and lasting programs, such as the NAWL General Counsel Institute, the NAWL Supreme Court Committee, and the NAWL Summit for Best Practices for Advancing Women in Law.

Stephanie has received many awards in recognition of her work advancing women in the law including: The Chicago Lawyer/Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Salute! Women in the Law Award (2020); the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law Inspiration Award (2020); The Women’s Bar Association of Illinois Myra Bradwell Award (2018); the National Association of Women Lawyers Public Service Award (2017); the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women Founder’s Award (2015); the National Law Journal Two Steps Forward Award (2014); the National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Member Award (2002). She was named by Crain’s Chicago 2017 as one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in Chicago.

Nancy Sharp Resilience Keynote Speaker & Trainer, Award-Winning Author

Bold Living Now

Nancy Sharp is a motivational speaker and expert on resilience and change. She is the award-winning author of the memoir Both Sides Now: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Bold Living and the children’s book Because the Sky is Everywhere. Nancy is passionate about helping individuals and organizations move beyond stuckness, disappointment, and loss of all kinds toward growth and positive change. With her warm and genuine presentation style, Nancy empowers through far-reaching wisdom and tools that help successful people leave their mark.

Caren Ulrich Stacy CEO

Diversity Lab

Caren Ulrich Stacy is a talent and behavioral science expert with more than 20 years of experience as the head of recruitment, development, and diversity for several of the world’s top law firms, including Arnold & Porter, Cooley, and Weil Gotshal. After co-founding Lawyer Metrics, a start-up company acquired by the Access Group that pioneered a “Moneyball” data-driven approach to lawyer recruitment and development, Caren created Diversity Lab to focus exclusively on closing the gender gap and increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal field. The Lab is an incubator for new and creative ideas that boost diversity and inclusion in law through the use of data, science, technology, and design-thinking.

Her work has been featured in Fast Company, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, and on Fox News.

Jami Wintz McKeon Chair of the Firm

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Jami began her career with Morgan Lewis in 1981. She has held various management positions, including membership on the firm’s Advisory Board. Immediately prior to assuming the chair, she led Morgan Lewis’s litigation practice, the firm’s largest group.

Shortly after Jami was first elected Chair in 2014, Morgan Lewis underwent a historic transformation when it welcomed more than 750 lawyers and professional staff from Bingham McCutchen. During her tenure, Morgan Lewis has sustained a particular focus on Asia, highlighted by the establishment of a major hub in Singapore and the opening or expansion of offices in China and Japan. The firm’s careful growth is a direct result of Jami’s commitment to delivering to clients the best possible service in whatever venue or region that is most optimal for them.

In 2018, the firm partnership unanimously reelected Jami to serve a second five-year term as Chair, beginning in October 2019. While Chair, Jami has continued her own legal practice in which she counsels Fortune 100 companies—particularly those in the financial services and technology industries—on complex litigation and investigations involving business disputes, fraud allegations, and class- and mass-action lawsuits. Jami represents some of the world’s foremost banks in regulatory and litigation matters.

Jami has put exceptional client service at the center of her work and her administration of the firm. She encourages the use of cutting-edge technology both to better serve clients and to facilitate the firm’s efficient administration, and she actively encourages all Morgan Lewis lawyers and professional staff to take a client-first approach in their work. A leader in establishing Morgan Lewis as one of a select group of firms managing large portfolios of national and global scope, Jami enthusiastically supports the use of alternative fee arrangements as a service to clients. Because of her deep dedication to clients, BTI Consulting Group named her a Client Service All-Star in 2017.

A long-time advocate of diversity within the legal industry, Jami launched ML Women, an initiative to harness the strength of the firm’s women through partnerships with clients and to create opportunities for women to come together around a shared industry or practice. Women also serve in senior leadership roles across Morgan Lewis, including on the Advisory Board and the Compensation Committee. They manage many of the firm’s practices and offices worldwide.

Both Jami and Morgan Lewis have long demonstrated a commitment to pro bono work and an appreciation of the critical role nonprofit organizations play throughout society, with a special emphasis on education and children’s issues. Jami is a frequent speaker and is active in various community service organizations, including the United Way, and she sits on the Board of Directors for the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Jami is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession and a member of the Penn Law Board of Advisors.

Among her numerous accolades, Jami has received the American Red Cross’s Lifetime Achievement Award and United Way’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Award. Other significant recent recognitions include a Special Achievement Award from the Financial Times, being honored as a Philadelphia Business Hall of Fame Icon by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and ranking among The Business Journals’ top 100 Influencers: Law. Jami also was named Attorney of the Year by The Legal Intelligencer and one of the 75 Most Outstanding Women Lawyers by The National Law Journal. Chambers describes her as “phenomenal” and a “great strategist.”