Speakers

Currently, Dr. Fenty is working on a special project as the subject matter expert lead to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, J-7, for the Global Combatant Command Staff Officer Project. She left the position as executive vice-president at L-3 communications/MPRI to assume her current role. Some of her past corporate positions include Executive Vice President for Program Management Operations at Harcourt Brace for a $130 million dollar department; Director of the Southeast Region for Electronic Data Systems Digital Learning; Vice President and Director of the Corporate University at Synovus Financial Services; and Director of Military Training and Education for Electronic Data Systems Government Services. She is the President of Global Insights, Inc., a disabled veteran, small business, which she founded in 1998.

In her role as subject matter lead to corporate and U.S. government organizations Dr. Fenty has served as the lead change management agent for several organizations, as the lead consultant to design or redesign corporate training programs, senior implementation manager for large scale technical systems, and for key corporate leadership and development programs. Customer organizations include Los Alamos National Labs, National Defense University, the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, the Near East South Asia Center, O’Neal Steel Corporation, Exxon Mobil, WHS Smith International, the US Army, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps

Dr. Fenty has taught at the university, community college and public school level to include Auburn University, Boston University, and Florida State Republic of Panama Branch.  Dr. Fenty holds an earned doctorate in education from Auburn University, her Masters in Education from Livingston, University, and her Bachelors of Art in Education from the University of West Florida.
 

Elizabeth Ganiere has years of experience as In-House Counsel for both public and private corporations including construction developers, manufacturers, financiers, consumer products companies and and most recently the energy sector including, nuclear, alternative energy and oil & gas.

Ms. Ganiere currently works for McDermott International at its global headquarters supporting onshore and offshore projects in the Americas.  Formerly, she was onsite Senior Counsel with CB&I as a government contractor to build the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility. The MOX Project, has since been terminated, was at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina. 

Previously she was General Counsel of Oakland Enterprises (Gulf Stream Coach, Inc.), a privately-held consumer products manufacturing conglomerate located in the Midwest.  Formerly, Ms. Ganiere was Corporate Counsel for global commercial and consumer products manufacturer Champion Enterprises, Inc., and served as the advising attorney and negotiator of sponsor and media contracts for a professional extreme sport athlete (BMX) and his training center.  She also has served as Advising Counsel for select directors, producers and filmmakers.

Ms. Ganiere served on the Advisory Board of the CLM for several years.  Ms. Ganiere is licensed to practice law in Michigan, Indiana and the U.S. Supreme Court.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Southern California and Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University and in 2011 became a Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP).

Ms. Ganiere is a regular lecturer and speaker in an array of legal and insurance subject matters for CLM, ABA, USLaw, Eagle International & LatinoMediaVision – Filmmakers conferences.

Cathy Gicker has 45 years with Allstate with the last 30 years in the SIU as a field investigator, manager and now the Litigation Specialist investigating all suit cases in Pennsylvania. This involves investigating and directing house and retained counsel on case strategy, medical defense, preparing the insured for trial and referring fraudulent claims to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and local Law Enforcement agencies. Cathy is also an Allstate Ambassador promoting the company to the public through speaking engagements and community involvement.

Cathy was the Vice-President and then President of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) from 1994-2000. She was elected to the International Board of IASIU for 2000-2002 and then served as the Vice-President of IASIU from 2003-2009, chairing the Chapter and Seminar Committees.. She was the President of the Philadelphia Loss Conference (PLC) for 2011-2013. Cathy’s professional designations are Fraud Claim Law Specialist (FCLS) and Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator(CIFI)

Krista Glenn is Executive Vice President and Chief Claims Officer for Westfield Specialty and brings 30 years of insurance claims and management experience to the role. At Westfield Specialty, Ms. Glenn is building a new, full-service claims organization in order to support all of Westfield Specialty's lines of business which currently include E&S Casualty; E&S Property; Financial Institutions; Management Liability and Westfield Pro (Cyber, E&O and Professional Liability).     

Prior to joining Westfield Specialty, Krista spent five years as EVP, Chief Claims Officer at a North Carolina-based insurance carrier.  Krista also spent more than 21 years at the ACE/Chubb companies where she held many roles in Chubb, ACE North America and ACE Group Claims.  She ended her career at Chubb as the Head of Multinational Claims with dual reporting to the Global Accounts underwriting division.  Krista began her career handling claims and declaratory judgment actions at AIG in New York.

Krista is a member of Chief, a 2019 Women to Watch and a 2015 Woman on the Move award winner, a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and APIW, and an advisory board member for the CLM.  She is a graduate of Seton Hall University and Delaware Law School and is admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  In her most important role, Krista is the proud mother of two adult daughters.

Ms. Juergens is a partner in the Cleveland office of Gallagher Sharp. She devotes her legal career to defending businesses and professionals, specifically lawyers and accountants, directors, officers, board members and managers against cases involving allegations of professional negligence, director and officer liability, and employment practices liability in federal and bankruptcy courts and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Ohio Civil Rights Commission and Department of Labor.

 In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Juergens regularly consults with employers regarding the day-to-day operations and works with employers to create and adopt written policies, procedures, contracts and agreements to avoid or minimize liability. She frequently lectures on professional negligence and employment law issues.  

 Ms. Juergens is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law and St. Bonaventure University. With offices in Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, Gallagher Sharp is a trial and business law firm focused on the defense of civil claims and lawsuits for corporations, insurance companies and their policyholders.

Regan joined Wortham Insurance & Risk Management in 2012 and was elected a Managing Director in 2014.  She currently chairs the firm’s National Law Practice Group.   Prior to that, she worked in public accounting and for a publicly traded insurance brokerage.  During her tenure in insurance, she has focused on professional service clients, providing advice on risk management for law firms, non-profit/social service organizations and retail/hospitality. She is actively involved in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and currently serves on the Board of Directors.

As the owner and Head Geek of Interactive Swim, Holly advises companies on digital strategies that include social media, search engine marketing, mobile and online banner advertising.

Holly comes to the digital table with a professional experience including more than a decade of marketing expertise with proven results. She’s worked with some of the best and most creative marketing agencies out there until she founded her own in June 2010. Holly advises clients in a variety of industries, to name a few: Louisiana Tourism, Annapolis Tourism, Range Resources, Pace University, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Atlanta Ballet, CORT Furniture and Tepper School of Business.

Scarlett joined the Company as a Senior Attorney in July 2000 and served in that capacity for four years during which she advised the Company on all employment-related matters and developed many of the processes and systems the Company still uses for investigating, resolving and defending matters involving the Company’s Respect and Responsibility Policy. Scarlett was promoted to Vice President – Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary in February 2004 during which time she was responsible for Employee Relations, Loss Prevention, Quality Assurance and Risk Management. She was named Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in October 2004. In addition to overseeing the Company’s legal affairs, she is responsible for securities compliance, governance and corporate matters and contracts management.

Prior to joining Ruby Tuesday, Scarlett engaged in the private practice of law in Knoxville, Tennessee, most recently with the firm of Kramer, Rayson, Leake, Rodgers & Morgan, where her practice focused on employment, civil rights, and general litigation. Scarlett also served as a Judicial Law Clerk to The Honorable James H. Jarvis, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville, and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee, College of Law. Scarlett is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was a member of the Tennessee Law Review and the National Moot Court Team.

Derede McAlpin serves as Vice President & Chief Communications Officer for the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). She is responsible for ACC’s Communications, Social Media and Publications functions and manages media relations and communications initiatives to ensure ACC is out in front on issues affecting the in-house counsel community. She also provides executive level counsel and direction for ACC, its staff, Board of Directors and members on strategic initiatives, thought leadership, social media campaigns and reputation management/crisis issues.

Prior to joining ACC, Derede led litigation, online reputation management and marketing campaigns for Levick Strategic Communications, where she represented Fortune 500 companies, law firms, associations and other professional service organizations. She developed an international communications plan for the nation’s first full facial transplant recipient; worked on Supreme Court cases including Snyder v. Phelps, the Landmark First Amendment Case; and has served as lead communications counsel for global clients facing crisis and litigation issues, including regulatory matters, class actions, whistleblower cases, data breaches, and advocacy issues, among others. Her additional experience includes positions with Howard University, the Investment Company Institute, DC Superior Court, ABC News (Philadelphia), and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
 

Brandi N. Monique is a Claims Analyst in the Financial Lines, Directors & Officers (D&O) Division at Chartis Insurance, focusing primarily on employment liability for large public and private companies. In this capacity, she reviews litigated and non-litigated claims for coverage, evaluates and analyzes complex liability issues, facilitates settlement negotiations, attends mediations and engages in litigation management.

Prior to working with Chartis Insurance, Ms Monique was an associate with Malapero & Prisco, LLP where she managed cases from inception to pre-trial regarding labor law, complex premise liability, insurance coverage, professional liability and general negligence. She conducted extensive research, prepared pleadings, interrogatories, appeals, legal memorandums and motions and conducted depositions. She also advised insurance companies as to their legal rights and obligations.

Ms. Monique received her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Maryland (College Park). She obtained her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law where she was Associate Editor of the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Diane is a Senior Claim Consultant at Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company with 39,000 employees in more than 120 territories.  Diane has 25+ years of claim and litigation management experience and has been at Willis Towers Watson since April 2014.  Diane provides a wide range of claim advocacy and coverage analysis for mid to large-size clients, specializing in construction; manufacturing; retail; health care and real estate; for all lines of insurance, including casualty; employment; property; environmental and professional liability.  For 14 years prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, Diane directed claims and litigation for an international corporation providing water, waste and energy management solutions to customers in the public and private sectors. 

Diane is a summa cum laude graduate of Notre Dame College with a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law and holds the Certified Litigation Management Professional designation from the Litigation Management Institute at Columbia Law School in New York, the Associate in Claims designation from the Insurance Institute of America and a New Hampshire Property & Casualty Producer License.  Diane is also a member of the Council on Litigation Management Women’s Forum and addressed a worldwide audience at the 2011 Women’s Forum on the topic of Negotiations and Assertiveness at the Walter Reade Theatre in New York City.  

Education B.A., University of Oklahoma, 1977J.D., University of Oklahoma, 1980

ProfileMs. Schwartz is the Managing Partner of the Firm and in that role handles its day to day affairs supported by an exceptional and dedicated group of lawyers and professional staff. Ms. Schwartz’ expertise lies in contract interpretation – particularly in the field of insurance policy analysis. Moreover, she has defended countless professionals in litigation brought against them and has represented many self insured companies. Ms. Schwartz has been awarded an "AV" rating, the highest accolade given by Martindale Hubbell Law Directory, which is based upon extensive confidential review of her ethics and legal capabilities by her peers. As a service to her clients, Ms. Schwartz often teaches courses on cutting edge legal issues and ethics.

Admissions/Affiliations/Bar MembershipsSupreme Court of the United States of AmericaState Bar of TexasAdmitted to U.S. Courts of Appeals, Fifth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits and all federal district courts of TexasLife Fellow of the Texas Bar FoundationAmerican Bar Association Sections of Litigation and Torts and Insurance Practice, 1998 to 1993Associate Editor of Litigation News, the Litigation Section's bi-monthly newsletter, 1988 to 1993Board of Directors, Texas Young Lawyers Association (1987 to 1991) Co-recipient of the Outstanding Director Award in 1990Texas State Bar Presidential Citation for her committee participation and work, 1991Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, 2010 to presentNational Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), 2010 to presentNorth Texas Arthritis Foundation, Board Member, 2010 to presentDefense Research Institute, 1995 to presentTexas Association of Defense Counsel, 2000 to present

Lori is a Director and Head of Global Real Assets Insurance Risk Management for BlackRock. She has almost 30 years of diversified experience in risk management and insurance. Her expertise covers risk management, including enterprise risk management, claims, insurance consulting and mortgage loan insurance compliance. From 2005 to 2008 Lori was Senior Risk Manager at Fannie Mae and responsible for risk and insurance oversight of their entire multifamily portfolio, including rewriting the insurance guide after Hurricane Katrina. From 1998 to 2004, she was part of a startup group that created the first end-to-end insurance quoting engine on the Internet.

Lori is a member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS). She served on the RIMS Board of Directors from 2011-2015. From 2008 – 2010, she served on the New York Chapter RIMS Board of Directors and as an active member of RIMS External Affairs Committee, participating in local, state and federal discussions on insurance and risk management. She worked with the office of Senator Schumer (D-NY) in the writing of the definition of a Qualified Risk Manager in the surplus lines legislation. She lobbied Capitol Hill during the most recent reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Lori was a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the 2010 and 2011 Vice Chair of their Insurance Stakeholders Forum.

Currently, Lori is a member of the Chubb Real Estate Advisory Board and a founding member and Vice-Chair of the new Women to Watch Foundation. Lori is also a director on the New York RIMS board.

Lori earned the Bachelor of Science in Business from California State University at Northridge. She holds the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation. Lori was most recently honored by Business Insurance as a Women to Watch in December 2015.

Barbara L. Sutherland joined Argo Group US as Senior Vice President-Chief Claims Officer on April 1, 2008 and was appointed to the Senior Vice President –General Counsel of Argo Group US on September 15, 2008. Barbara’s extensive range of general corporate and insurance legal and regulatory experience most recently included six years with The PMA Insurance Group as its Senior Vice President & Secretary, General Counsel. She also has held legal and management positions of increasing responsibility with The Northland Insurance companies, where she served as its Vice President & Secretary, General Counsel for more than 18 years.

Ms. Sutherland is a graduate of Purdue University and received her law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law. She is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Illinois, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. During her career, she has earned the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), the Associate in Fidelity and Surety Bonding (AFSB), the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI), and the Senior Claims Law Associate (SCLA) designations. She has actively participated in a number of legal and insurance industry associations, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Guaranty Fund, the Pennsylvania Guaranty Fund, the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association and most recently, the Federation of Regulatory Counsel and Chairperson of the ACIC Commercial Lines Committee.

Ms. Wadlund is the President of Berkley Life Sciences, a member company of W. R. Berkley Corporation. Berkley Life Sciences underwrites specialty property and casualty insurance coverages for Life Sciences organizations. Ms. Wadlund has over 25 years experience in the property and casualty insurance business. Ms. Wadlund was formerly the Vice President & Worldwide Life Sciences Casualty Manager of Chubb’s Life Sciences operations, and formerly Vice President and Worldwide Manager of CNA’s Advanced Medical Technology operations. Her previous experience has included positions in underwriting, claims, loss control, and finance while employed by Continental, CNA, and Chubb.

Ms. Wadlund served as a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics External Advisory Board. She is also member of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics; Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research Organization, Drug Information Association, and Defense Research Institute. Ms. Wadlund is a magna cum laude and Phi Kappa Phi graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville where she received her B.S. degree in Occupational Safety & Health and Business Administration.
 

Ms. Wilkins is the President and Managing Director of Langlois, Wilkins, Furtado & Metcalf, P.C. with offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She has litigated cases in Massachusetts and Rhode Island State Courts as well as the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.  Ms. Wilkins' practice focuses on defense litigation, including insurance coverage, fraud, and bad faith claims. She has a wide range of cases concentrating in motor vehicle accidents, construction accidents, landlord/tenant, premises liability, dealer and rental car liability, products liability and employment cases.  Ms. Wilkins is currently acting as neutral arbitrator and/or mediator in a wide variety of matter.

Ms. Wilkins has lectured extensively on insurance and legal issues at seminars for clients and the insurance industry throughout the United States.  A list of these seminars and programs is available upon request.