This will be a roundtable discussion of freedom of information developments since the 2023 COGEL conference.

Bryan McHale

Compliance Supervisor

City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics

Bryan McHale is the Compliance Supervisor at the City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics, working with filers of campaign finance, lobbying, and financial disclosure forms.  He has previously worked with the US Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service.

Paula M. Pearlman

Managing Director & associate General Counsel

Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission

Paula Pearlman is the Managing Director and Associate General Counsel for the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission. Ms. Pearlman has worked at the Commission since March of 2008 and has served as a hearing officer, mediator, appellate counsel and legislative director.  In September of 2023, Ms. Pearlman was awarded the Champion of Open Government Award by the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information for her work with legislation regarding access to freedom of information.  She graduated from Boston College in 1996 and Northeastern School of Law in 2000