Diane Fleming Averell is Principal of Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC in New Jersey and co-chairs the firm's Litigation Practice Group. Diane devotes her practice to general civil litigation, with a focus on commercial, product liability, toxic tort, and mass tort litigation. She serves as Chair to DRI's Women in the Law Committee.

M. Amy Carlin is a partner with the Boston firm of Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP, New England's oldest and largest management-side employment law firm. She litigates employment cases and specializes in employment discrimination matters. Ms. Carlin has served on the Steering Committee of DRI's Lawyers' Professionalism & Ethics Committee for the past 10 years, and is currently its Chair. She speaks frequently on topics relating to ethics in the legal profession.

Marie E. Chafe is a partner at Cornell & Gollub in Boston, Massachusetts. She is an experienced litigator and first chair trial lawyer representing local, national, and international manufacturers and distributors of automobiles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, medical devices, consumer products, and construction equipment. In addition to complex product liability matters, Ms. Chafe has significant experience in commercial litigation, toxic tort actions, and catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in the federal and state courts throughout New England. She is an active member of DRI's Product Liability Committee and Women in the Law Committee. Ms. Chafe also is Vice-President-Operations of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts.Marie is the program vice chair for the 2018 Women in the Law Seminar.

Truda Chow is a Senior Consultant with the LawVision Group Strategy Practice. Truda is focused on strategy development and implementation and advises firms on all levels of strategy including firm, regional, office, and practice strategies. Her strategy work includes counseling firms on all elements of implementation including succession planning. She has worked with clients to develop institutional succession planning programs as well as with individual lawyers to develop succession plans both mid-career as well as later in their careers.

Thomas H. (Tom) Dupree, Jr. is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm's litigation department and its Appellate and Constitutional Law practice group, and serves as the hiring partner for the DC office. Mr. Dupree is an experienced trial and appellate advocate. He has argued more than 80 appeals in the federal courts, including in all thirteen circuits as well as the United States Supreme Court. He has represented clients throughout the country in a wide variety of trial and appellate matters, including cases involving punitive damages, class actions, product liability, arbitration, intellectual property, employment, and constitutional challenges to federal and state statutes.

Paula T. Edgar Esq. is Principal of PGE LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in professional coaching, social media and marketing strategy, and diversity and inclusion strategy/training. Paula also speaks regularly on these topics by providing keynote speeches as well as professional development training. Paula is active with a number of organizations and social justice initiatives and she serves as the President of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

Erin Gargan is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and digital persuasion expert. She is CEO of Socialite Agency, a social media firm whose clients include The Oscars, ABC/Disney, VISA, Hitachi and others. She is the author of "Digital Persuasion: Sell Smarter in the Modern Marketplace." Erin is also an advisor for Camp One Ventures, a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm. She has been featured in Forbes and was recently named a 2017 "Woman in Business" by the Orange County Business Journal. Erin helps sales, marketing and event professionals attract attention and increase influence using the power of digital persuasion.

Gary S. Gildin is Dean and Professor of Law at Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law where he holds the G. Thomas and Anne G. Miller Chair in Advocacy. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Stanford Law School, Mr. Gildin was an associate in the Chicago law firm Sonnenschein Carlin Nath & Rosenthal (now Dentons) before coming to Dickinson Law.

Karen R. Glickstein is a Shareholder in Polsinelli PC's Kansas City office. She focuses her practice on assisting employers in a wide variety of employment and human resources issues. In addition to providing day to day preventative advice to clients, Ms. Glickstein has tried several employment matters to jury verdict and in arbitration. She represents clients in front of a number of administrative agencies, as well as in state and federal courts throughout the country. Ms. Glickstein was appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to its Civil Rules of Procedure Committee and was appointed by the Missouri Bar to its Committee on Women in the Profession-both appointments which she continues to hold.

Marcy Hogan Greer is a partner with the firm Alexander Dubose Jefferson & Townsend LLP, and is recognized for her work in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Her practice consistently includes class action and mass tort cases, including federal and state multidistrict litigation. This experience contributed to her recognition in in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in Appellate Litigation, accreditation in Best Lawyers in America in Appellate, Bet-the-Company, and Commercial Litigation, and selection as the "Lawyer of the Year" in 2016 and 2012 for Austin Appellate Practice and 2015 for Austin Bet-the Company Litigation. Marcy has also been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer for her appellate work since its inaugural list and has been repeatedly listed in the Top 100 Texas Lawyers, Top 50 Central Texas Lawyers, and Top 50 Women Lawyers recognized by that publication.

Heather Hamilton has served as Counsel, Litigation for Sprint, a global communications provider with over 30,000 employees since 2009. Heather handles a full caseload encompassing all single-plaintiff and class action employment lawsuits world-wide and broad variety of consumer and business litigation cases and regulatory matters. She also coordinates employment advice for Sprint's internationally-based employees spanning 28 countries. Before joining Sprint, Heather was a partner at Lathrop & Gage. Heather has tried numerous cases in multiple forums and taken and defended hundreds of depositions.

Kristin P. Herber As Managing Counsel, Litigation, for Under Armour, Ms. Herber is responsible for managing company's U.S. and international litigation portfolio including intellectual property, securities, employment, real estate, and commercial disputes. Prior to joining Under Armour, Ms. Herber was a partner in the Baltimore law firm, Tydings & Rosenberg LLP.

Janet L. Hickson, as one of Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP's Orange County Partners, practices product liability litigation. She has significant experience representing the manufacturers and distributors of automobiles, motorcycles, food products, consumer products, industrial equip-ment, and medical devices. She has also represented entertainment and amusement park venues, in addition to handling a range of commercial litigation matters. Janet has successfully defended and tried cases of all sizes, including catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. This work includes a defense verdict after a two-week jury trial involving a bus rollover in April 2015 that was named among CVN's Top 10 Defense Verdicts of 2015. She has also overseen national and regional defense counsel programs.

Denise F. Keane (Ret.) served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Altria Group, Inc. (as of 2008) until June of 2017 and has had more than twenty years of domestic and international experience in leadership roles with the Altria family of companies. In 1995 Ms. Keane was appointed General Counsel of Philip Morris USA (PM USA) and managed a wide range of legal challenges, including the landmark Master Settlement Agreement with the state Attorneys General. She championed the development of an Altria-wide commitment to diversity, and both Altria and Denise have been recognized for their efforts to promote diversity in the legal profession.

Tara Kelly is litigation counsel at BP. She manages commercial and tort cases related to the Deepwater Horizon. Prior to BP, she was litigation counsel at King & Spalding in Houston. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law School where she teaches Negotiation and Creative Problem Solving. She has spoken inside and outside of BP on negotiation and gender. She is a member of DRI's Women in the Law Committee.

Melissa Lin is a partner at Righi Fitch Law Group in Phoenix, Arizona. Her practice includes the representation of individuals, contractors, businesses, and governmental entities in the areas of general liability, construction defects, personal injury, insurance coverage, and product liability. She is an AV rated litigation attorney, and a 2012 through 2017 Southwest Super Lawyers Rising Star. She was the 2016 DRI Diversity for Success Seminar Chair, 2016-2017 DRI Construction Law Membership Chair, and 2016-2017 DRI Women in the Law Diversity Subcommittee Vice-Chair.

Melanie D. Margolin is the Deputy General Counsel Cummins Inc., serving as the lead lawyer for Global Litigation, the Power Systems Business Unit and the Americas. She is responsible for overseeing all Global Litigation, and commercial contract negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, and joint venture dealings within her business unit. Before joining Cummins in early 2013, Melanie was a partner at an AMLaw 200 law firm where she chaired numerous committees and practiced in commercial litigation and products liability. Melanie is an American Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel and Defense Research Institute member.

Cady McClain is a 6-time Emmy nominee and twice a winner. McClain has been an entertainment industry professional since the age of 9. "Seeing is Believing: Women Direct" marks her first foray into documentary filmmaking, and the first two festival screenings have paid off; being singled out for a jury award at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival for the 30-minute version of her film, and the Audience Award for a Feature Film at the 2017 SOHO Int'l. Film Festival for the 60-minute version. A board member of The Chimaera Project, she is the 2017 recipient of the The AWC Matrix Award. Best known as an actress (All My Children, My Favorite Year, St. Elsewhere) she has worked in major studio movies and television and with major stars and indie films her entire career.

Patricia A. (Patty) Motta is the Executive Director, Assistant General Counsel and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at American Greetings Corporation. Ms. Motta manages all aspects of American Greetings' intellectual property portfolio, including strategy and procurement, litigation, entertainment and related commercial intellectual property agreements, marketing review, and related e-commerce compliance matters. Ms. Motta also manages and counsels American Greetings on privacy, data security, technology matters, and related compliance strategies programs. Ms. Motta is a member of the Ohio and Wisconsin State Bar Associations.

Joseph (Joe) Myersis a partner in storyshop films. He has directed nationally broadcast documentary films including Telling Amy's Story, A Road to Independence, The Grange Fair: An American Tradition, and World on Trial eps. 1&2. Myers works in content areas including domestic violence, human rights, personal & cultural stories, technology & society and sustainability. His work has been seen on PBS, WORLD, NETA, APT, and the Discovery Networks among others. His honors include multiple National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Regional Emmy Awards, prominent festival including Bare Bones and AOF, and multiple selections for INPUT, the international public television conference and screening. Myers is a fellow of the CPB/PBS Producer's Academy. Myers is also an inventor, product designer, worldwide bicycle traveler, and believes that well-told stories have the power to change minds like nothing else.

Jennifer F. Nutter is a partner at Hood Law Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Her practice includes the areas of medical malpractice, product liability, commercial litigation, trucking litigation and general insurance defense. She is the 2017 DRI Women in the Law Membership Committee Chair and was the 2016-2017 DRI Women in the Law Membership Committee Vice Chair.

E. Todd Presnell is a partner in Bradley's Nashville office where he practices in the areas of business and employment litigation. Mr. Presnell also counsels and advises in-house legal departments on the attorney-client and other privileges, and authors the popular legal blog Presnell on Privileges. Mr. Presnell is a former chair of DRI's Young Lawyers Committee, former Chair of the DRI Annual Meeting, and currently serves on the DRI Law Institute.

Sarah K. Rathke is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, a trial lawyer, and frequent speaker whose practice focuses on litigating supply chain disputes and on advising businesses on supply chain legal issues and maintaining good supply chain relationships. She has argued and tried cases on behalf of manufacturers in forums throughout the country. Sarah is also co-author of the 2016 book, Legal Blacksmith: How to Avoid and Defend Supply Chain Disputes, which discusses both the legal and operational aspects of maintaining effective and conflict-free supply chain relationships.

Hildy M. Sastre litigates high-stakes product liability cases for pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers and has defended Fortune 100 companies in national multidistrict litigation and mass tort claims. She was named one of the top 25 "Influential Business Women" by the South Florida Business Journal, and has been recognized by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States. She is a member of DRI's Drug and Medical Device Steering Committee and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

Loree J. Shelko is Assistant General Counsel and Director of Litigation at Meritor, Inc. In this role, she develops strategy for and oversees the company's litigation and manages a large outside counsel network. She is a member of DRI and of the State Bars of New York and New Jersey.

The Honorable Kathryn H. Vratil is the twenty-third judge and the first woman named to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Judge Vratil served as the law clerk to Judge Earl O'Connor from 1975 to 1978 and it was his seat she was appointed to when he took senior status in 1992. Judge Vratil holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law, where she was a member of the Kansas Law Review Board of Editors and the Order of the Coif, a scholastic honor society. Her legal experience includes 14 years of private practice and a partnership with Lathrop & Norquist where she specialized in commercial and business litigation. She also served as Municipal Judge for the City of Prairie Village, Kansas. She is a member of the American Bar Association Federal, a Fellow of the American Bar Association Foundation, and former president of the Earl E. O'Connor Inn of Court. Judge Vratil was the district's Chief Judge from January 2008 to April 2014.

Kelly A. Williams is a business litigator Houston Harbaugh P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ms. Williams focuses on representing companies in intellectual property litigation, such as trademark and copyright infringement, as well as trade secret disputes. In addition, she has experience representing companies involving product liability, unfair competition, commercial disparagement, insurance coverage disputes and other business litigation. Ms. Williams also has experience with complex e-discovery, a topic upon which she has written and spoken, along with cyber security issues. Ms. Williams is also a member of DRI's Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Product Liability and Data Management and Security Committees. Additionally, Ms. Williams is active in her local bar association. She served as a member of the Board of Governors, the Judiciary Committee, the Public Service Committee and is a member of the Legal Technology and E-Discovery Committee. Kelly is the Vice Chair of the Women in the Law Committee.