2020 Conference Schedule - Council on Governmental Ethics Laws

The sessions are subject to change before the time of conference. Feel free to check this page for the most updated information about the conference schedule.

December 15, 2020 3:00 PM ET
Awards Presentation
2021 Conference Announcement
Networking Event

When the coronavirus arrived in America and Canada, almost every aspect of life changed: many people continue to work from home, students are engaged in online learning, and (surprise!) most professional conferences were converted into online experiences. How can voters' confidence in the electoral process be ensured?.

The pandemic poses significant challenges to those who administer elections: safety at polling locations; mail-in voting coordination and reliability; reduction of polling locations; shortage of poll workers; and an unusually high level of voter participation expected. With a national election quickly approaching, how can voters’ confidence in the electoral process be ensured?

The COGEL 2020 live plenary session will analyze these and other issues that impacted the presidential election process this year. Our august panel of elections experts will examine how challenges were addressed, share stories of voting process successes and disappointments, and most importantly, reflect on lessons learned from 2020 regarding voting during crisis times. To ensure a democracy where all voices are heard, how can we apply those lessons to future elections and move forward knowing that, as the late United States Representative John Lewis once said, “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have.”

As Director of Voting and Elections, Sylvia Albert works with national staff and Common Cause state offices to press for reforms that expand access to the ballot for eligible voters and promote fair representation in our democracy.

Sylvia brings more than a decade of professional experience in public interest law and public policy campaigns expanding ballot access, reducing barriers to participation, and combating voter intimidation among historically disenfranchised communities. She has also done extensive work on fair housing issues serving as a program analyst and an advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the Obama Administration.

Sylvia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

Jocelyn Benson is Michigan’s 43rd Secretary of State. In this role she is focused on ensuring elections are secure and accessible, and dramatically improving customer experiences for all who interact with our offices.

Benson is the author of State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process, the first major book on the role of the secretary of state in enforcing election and campaign finance laws. She is also the Chair of Michigan’s Task Force on Women in Sports, created by Governor Whitmer in 2019 to advance opportunities for women in Michigan as athletes and sports leaders.

A graduate of Harvard Law School and expert on civil rights law, education law and election law, Benson served as dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. When she was appointed dean at age 36, she became the youngest woman in U.S. history to lead a top-100, accredited law school. She continues to serve as vice chair of the advisory board for the Levin Center at Wayne Law, which she founded with former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. Previously, Benson was an associate professor and associate director of Wayne Law’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.

Vanita Gupta is the President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Human & Civil Rights. She is an experienced leader and litigator who has devoted her entire career to civil rights work. Most recently, from October 15, 2014, to January 20, 2017, she served as Acting Assistant Attorney General and Head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Appointed by President Barack Obama as the chief civil rights prosecutor for the United States, Gupta oversaw a wide range of criminal and civil enforcement efforts to ensure equal justice and protect equal opportunity for all during one of the most consequential periods for the division.

Under Gupta’s leadership, the division did critical work in a number of areas, including advancing constitutional policing and criminal justice reform; prosecuting hate crimes and human trafficking; promoting disability rights; protecting the rights of LGBTQ individuals; ensuring voting rights for all; and combating discrimination in education, housing, employment, lending, and religious exercise. She regularly engaged with a broad range of stakeholders in the course of this work.

Selected high profile matters during her tenure included the investigations of the Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago police departments; the appeals of the Texas and North Carolina voter ID cases; the challenge to North Carolina’s HB2 law and other transgender rights litigation; enforcement of education, land use, hate crimes, and other statutes to combat Islamophobia and other forms of religious discrimination; the issuance of statements of interest on bail and indigent defense reform, and letters to state and local court judges and administrators on the unlawful imposition of fines and fees in criminal justice system; and the Administration’s report on solitary confinement.

Professor Richard L. Hasen is Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. Hasen is a nationally recognized expert in election law and campaign finance regulation, writing as well in the areas of legislation and statutory interpretation, remedies, and torts. He is co-author of leading casebooks in election law and remedies. He is also a CNN Election Law Analyst.

From 2001-2010, he served (with Dan Lowenstein) as founding co-editor of the quarterly peer-reviewed publication, Election Law Journal. He is the author of over 100 articles on election law issues, published in numerous journals including the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review and Supreme Court Review. He was elected to The American Law Institute in 2009 and serves as Reporter (with Professor Douglas Laycock) on the ALI’s law reform project: Restatement (Third) of Torts: Remedies. He also is an adviser on the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Concluding Provisions.

December 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
On Demand Sessions
Networking Lounge
Access to Blue Books, Conference Program Guide, Attendee Lists, and more!

The Campaign Finance Update is back and better than ever, just a bit shorter! The first half of this virtual session will focus on major court developments in campaign finance in the U.S. and Canada since the last COGEL conference. This panel will delve into high-profile enforcement actions, cutting edge challenges to campaign finance laws and emerging trends at the local, state, provincial and federal levels. The second half of this always-popular session analyzes the current issues, trends, and innovations in campaign finance legislation and regulation. The panel will weigh in on issues such as foreign money, money laundering, disclosure and third-party spending. And don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the popular COGEL Campaign Finance Blue Books! These comprehensive documents, which compile information provided by COGEL members, will be available on the COGEL website for your reading pleasure!

Jason Kaune is a partner at Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP where he leads the firm’s political law section. His practice focuses on government ethics, including the election, lobbying disclosure, conflict of interest, gift and gratuity, and campaign finance laws of federal, state and local governments. He is currently the program chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Election Law and co-chair of the Practicing Law Institute’s annual conference on Corporate Political Activities. He received his degrees from Yale University, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the University of California Hastings College of the Law. @NMGOVLAW

Adam Barnes is the Director of Investigations at Elections BC, where he oversees investigation and enforcement actions taken under BC’s Election Act, Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, the Recall and Initiative Act, and the Referendum Act. He joined Elections BC in December 2017. Prior to that role, he spent 10 years conducting investigations in the Province of BC, initially as a police officer, then as an investigator for the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner, and finally as an investigator for the BC Ombudsperson.

Megan McAllen is Senior Legal Counsel, Appellate Litigation at the Campaign Legal Center where she has served since 2011. Megan focuses on campaign finance law and policy and litigates a wide range of cases before state and federal courts across the country. She also has expertise on topics related to government ethics, lobbying and political transparency, and has spoken at conferences and events nationwide on money-in-politics issues. Megan is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 2011) and Princeton University (A.B., 2007). She is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, the State of California, the Supreme Court of the United States and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. @meganmcallen

Jacob S. Siler is Acting Assistant General Counsel for Litigation at the Federal Election Commission. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and Clark University.

Darrin Lim is a partner and co-founder of Politicom Law LLP. His corporate practice exclusively focuses on political law, a niche area dedicated to complying with the patchwork of ethics, campaign finance and lobbying laws that exist throughout the United States. He began his career in politics as the Communications Director for a California state legislator. Before that, he was a television news anchor and reporter. Mr. Lim graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science. He graduated with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. @darrinesq

Austin Graham joined the Campaign Legal Center in August 2016 where he serves as Legal Counsel in the State and Local Reform Program. He concentrates on policy efforts to improve campaign finance regulation and electoral integrity around the country. He also works closely with state and local stakeholders to formulate legislation advancing money-in-politics reform objectives.

Before joining CLC, Austin worked for the Election Law Program at William & Mary Law School, where he oversaw development of an online database of state election codes. During law school, he worked as an extern for the Virginia Department of Elections and Caplin & Drysdale’s political law practice group. He also interned for the National Conference of State Legislatures, where his research focused on state election law.

Austin received his J.D. from William & Mary Law School in 2015, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 2012. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.

Neven F. Stipanovic is the Associate General Counsel at the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Stipanovic oversees the FEC’s Policy Division, which counsels the Commission regarding advisory opinions, rulemakings, audits, and other matters requiring interpretation of federal campaign finance law.

Mr. Stipanovic joined the Commission in 2008 as a staff attorney in the Policy Division. In 2016, he was promoted to Acting Assistant General Counsel for Policy, and he became Acting Associate General Counsel for Policy in 2018. He has previously served at the law firms Baker & Hostetler LLP and Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.

Mr. Stipanovic received his B.S., cum laude, in Business Administration at the University of Colorado at Boulder and his J.D. from The George Washington University School of Law. Mr. Stipanovic also studied international economics at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Josée Villeneuve is a contributor to the COGEL Blue Book: 2019 Legislative and Regulatory Campaign Finance Updates and leads our annual discussion of Canadian campaign finance developments.

She is the Senior Director, Political Financing, at Elections Canada, responsible for the administration of the political financing program and the registration of political entities. Ms. Villeneuve holds a law degree from the University of Montréal and a post-graduate degree in management from l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Montréal. She is also a Certified Internal Auditor.

An indispensable virtual update for anyone involved with or interested in elections in North America. This panel will explore recent developments in election laws, court challenges, charges laid and judicial decisions in the U.S. and Canada in the past year. Ongoing developments related to modernization, innovation, digital warfare and information integrity will also be summarized and analyzed. Be sure to tune in to this fascinating and utterly timely discussion.

Greg Essensa was appointed Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) with the unanimous consent of the Legislature in June 2008. Mr. Essensa has over 30 years of municipal, provincial and international election experience. He began his electoral career as a student, working in the City of Toronto’s former election warehouse. Over the years, he took on positions of increasing scope and responsibility, and prior to his appointment as CEO he served as the Director of Elections and Registry Services for the City of Toronto.

Mr. Essensa has advised on municipal elections in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and New Brunswick and primary elections in Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

Born and raised in Toronto, Mr. Essensa studied economics at McGill University. @ElectionsON

Dr. Michael Boda has served as Saskatchewan’s Chief Electoral Officer since June 2012. As an independent officer of Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly, he is responsible for the administration and regulation of all provincial electoral events. In October 2020, he oversaw Saskatchewan’s 29th General Election. For more than two decades, Boda has offered advice to national and international institutions on issues relating to election administration, law and assessment. He has served on the senior staff of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). He has been a founding member of the steering committee for the Canadian Society of Election Official Training and was the founding co-chair of the Secretariat for Electoral Coordination, a body constituted to facilitate coordination among Canada’s fourteen election management bodies. He has been a member of COGEL since 2012 and been a panel speaker on several occasions.

Dr. Judd Choate is Colorado’s State Election Director, a position he’s held since 2009. He served as President of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) in 2017 and was a founding member of the Governmental Coordinating Council (GCC) – formed by the Department of Homeland Security following Russian interference in the 2016 election. Judd is on the board of University of Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs Certificate in Election Administration and teaches courses on election security and election law. He has a J.D. from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Judd clerked for Justice Alex Martinez at the Colorado Supreme Court and Judge Tim Tymkovich at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Before law school, he was an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nebraska. He is the author of a book on political behavior, as well as several peer-reviewed articles. In a previous life, Judd was a scout for the Kansas City Royals.

Matthew Masterson currently serves as Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security, where he focuses on election security issues. He previously served as a Commissioner at the Election Assistance Commission from December 2014 until March 2018, including serving as the Commission’s Chairman in 2017-2018. Prior to that, he held staff positions with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, where he oversaw voting-system certification efforts and helped develop an online voter registration system. Matt holds a law degree from the University of Dayton School of Law and BS and BA degrees from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Even in turbulent 2020, investigations and enforcement actions across the country carried on! Hear about this year’s most interesting enforcements, leading trends and emerging developments. Panelist will also discuss what to expect in the enforcement space in 2021. This panel is invaluable for anyone involved in government investigation and enforcement and available, this year, from the convenience of your own office!

Erin Lama is a partner with Politicom Law LLP where she guides clients through federal, state and local lobby reporting, campaign finance, “pay-to-play,” governmental ethics and conflict of interest matters. Ms. Lama graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Pre-Law and Political Science and graduated with distinction from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Peter Blumberg is the Deputy Associate General Counsel (Acting) in the FEC’s Enforcement Division. He has worked at the FEC for over 20 years in a variety of roles, handling complex investigations and negotiating major settlements. Blumberg has a degree in Economics from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and is a cum laude graduate of DePaul Law School where he was also an editor of the DePaul Law Review. He has previous work experience at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Sarah Hartry is a graduate of the University of Rochester and Boston University Law School. Ms. Hartry worked first as an Assistant District Attorney in Norfolk County, Massachusetts and subsequently with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in the Economic Crimes Division. She has been with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance for 15 years and presently serves as the agency’s Deputy General Counsel.

Jeffrey Pierce is the Director of Enforcement & Legal Affairs at the San Francisco Ethics Commission. He previously served the Commission as the Acting Director of Enforcement and Senior Investigator and Legal Analyst.

Mr. Pierce previously served at the Animal Legal Defense Fund as Legislative Counsel and as the Editor-in-Chief & Submissions Editor at the Stanford Journal of Animal Law & Policy. He received his jurid doctor from Stanford University Law School and also holds a Master of Divinity in Theology from Yale University as well as bachelor’s degrees in biology and Religious Studies from Duke University.

Galena West has served as Chief of Enforcement for the Fair Political Practices Commission since June 2015. Prior to her appointment, West spent ten years as Senior Commission counsel in the Enforcement Division, serving as second in command of the division. She has prosecuted some of the most serious violations of the Political Reform Act, ranging from campaign money laundering to conflicts of interest to shadow lobbying. Previous to her extensive work in the Enforcement Division, West served three years in the FPPC’s Legal Division. Prior to the FPPC, West worked as a law clerk for the Legal Division of the California Franchise Tax Board, the California Attorney General's Office, Appeals, Writs & Trials Division, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Civil Division. West received her law degree from the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law, and her undergraduate degree in International Business from California State University, Sacramento. As part of her undergraduate studies, she spent a year studying International Business/European Community Law at Middlesex University in London, England.

Even if it can’t happen in person, the perennially popular Ethics Update will continue to inspire and edify you as we explore ethics happenings and updates. Our two highly-respected co-panelists will provide a condensed but thorough review of survey results based on the annual COGEL Bluebook Update. Topics addressed will include new developments in educational initiatives, enforcement actions, recent legislation, litigation and advisory opinions, information technology and financial disclosure. Organizational and “political” challenges, such as budget and staffing issues, will also be analyzed. Tune in for a fascinating review of the past year in the field of ethics and conflicts of interest!

Steve Berlin has served the Chicago Board of Ethics since 1993, first as the Board’s Deputy Director and as the Executive Director since 2006, where he has implemented several changes to the City’s ethics and campaign financing laws and has advised city employees, officials, lobbyists and contractors on complying with city ethics laws. He previously worked for two law firms, served as Research Attorney for the American Judicature Society, was a Fellow with the Park Ridge Center for Health, Faith and Ethics, and taught Business Ethics and the Arts as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College Chicago. Mr. Berlin received his J.D. in 1984 from Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, and received his B.A. in history, cum laude, from Amherst College in 1980. In 1991, he earned an M.A. in Ethics from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. @ChicagoEthicsBd

Paul M. Nick serves as the Executive Director of the Ohio Ethics Commission where he oversees the state-wide responsibilities of the Commission. Mr. Nick joined the Ohio Ethics Commission in 1995 and previously served as the Commission’s Chief Investigative Attorney where he supervised the Commission’s investigations and as Investigative Counsel. Mr. Nick also served with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office as an assistant city prosecutor and assistant city attorney in the civil division. Mr. Nick received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Illinois and his Juris Doctor from the Ohio State University. @paulincolumbus

You don’t have to be in the FOI field to appreciate this scintillating discussion! COGEL’s eminent FOI experts dive deep into a public records dilemma right on time for 2020. How to balance existing laws pertaining to law enforcement agency records and the growing demand for more access to those very records? What to do when statutes, policies, or rules require specific time responses to public records requests in the middle of a pandemic? How to respond to records requests when so many public employees have been working from home? Hear about the challenges, emerging issues and best practices of freedom of information in an-ever changing environment.

Stacie Christensen, J.D. is a Minnesota licensed attorney, receiving her JD from Hamline School of Law. She has been employed at the Minnesota Department of Administration since 2006. She currently serves on the department’s senior leadership team as the agency’s Acting General Counsel and Acting Director of Administration’s Community Services Division, which includes the Data Practices Office, the Office of Grants Management, the State Demography Center, the Office of the State Archeologist, the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Minnesota’s STAR program. During Minnesota’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, she is also assisting to oversee the department’s Office of State Procurement and Fleet and Surplus Services, while members of the department’s senior leadership team are redeployed. She previously served as the Director of the Data Practices Office, where she managed operations and provided technical assistance on data practices, information policy, public records, and open meetings to the public, government, media, and the Legislature. @ADMN_Minnesota

Justin Gordon currently serves as the chief of the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, and he has held this role since 2015. The Open Records Division is a 60-person division that handles a wide range of Texas Public Information Act issues, including administrative rulings, complaint enforcement, and open government education. The Open Records Division also hosts an annual Open Government Conference attended by hundreds of Texas government employees. In 2006, Justin began his legal career in the division he now leads at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. In that role, he reviewed and drafted thousands of public information legal opinions as a drafting attorney and later as a senior managing attorney. In 2011, Justin joined the Office of the Governor of Texas where he was an assistant general counsel in the General Counsel Division. At the Office of the Governor of Texas, he was responsible for a number of legal areas, including public information, open meetings, contracting, and economic development. After four years in the Governor’s Office, Justin re-joined the Open Records Division as the division chief. Justin earned a B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2002 and a J.D. from Baylor Law School in 2005.

Sherry Liang is Assistant Commissioner, Tribunal Services with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. In that capacity she is responsible for the Tribunal Services Department which investigates and resolves access to information appeals and privacy complaints. Before her appointment to this position, Ms. Liang served in various capacities at the IPC and held appointments as a Vice-Chair with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Ms. Liang began her legal career practising labour, administrative law and civil litigation at a Toronto law firm. She received a B.A. (Arts) from Queen’s University, and her LL.B. and LL.M. (Administrative Law) from the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. @sherryliangg

Matthew Reed is a staff attorney for the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission. The Commission is an adjudicatory body charged with administering and enforcing Connecticut’s FOI Act. Attorney Reed serves as hearing officer and drafts recommended decisions for the FOI Commission. Additionally, he represents the Commission before Connecticut’s courts.

Prior to his position with the FOI Commission, Matthew served as Chief of Police of the South Windsor, CT police department retiring in 2015 after 28 years of service. He served as the Assistant Director of Public Safety for the University of Connecticut and practiced privately as a labor and employment attorney.

Matt was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts and is a veteran of the United States Army. He lives in South Windsor, CT with his wife and five children.

This year, COGEL brings you a virtually engaging discussion of key developments affecting lobbying disclosure requirements at the federal, state, provincial and local levels in Canada and the United States. The traditional two-session Lobbying Update has been compressed into one invaluable review of significant trends in lobbying registration and reporting, a stimulating and timely discussion of federal lobbying circles as well as updates in investigations, increasing compliance reviews and the growth in lobbyist registries. And don’t forget to check out the indispensable COGEL 2020 Lobbying Blue Book on COGEL’s website!

Ken Gross is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and is known as a nationally renowned authority on campaign law compliance, gift and gratuity rules, lobby registration provisions, and securities laws regulating political activity and municipal securities transactions. As former associate general counsel of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Mr. Gross headed the general counsel’s Enforcement Division and supervised the legal staff charged with the review of the FEC’s Audit Division. Mr. Gross has served on the faculty of George Washington University and also at New York University. He often lectures at Georgetown University Law Center, Fordham University School of Law and American University. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Bridgeport and a Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law. @SkaddenArps

Nancy Bélanger was appointed by both houses of Parliament under the Lobbying Act as Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada in 2017. As an independent Agent of Parliament, Commissioner Bélanger is responsible for administering and enforcing the Lobbying Act and maintains a registry of lobbyists to increase the transparency of lobbying activities, foster greater awareness of the Lobbying Act through education and outreach, and enforce compliance with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws from the University of Ottawa. She joined the federal Public Service in 1993 as a Law Clerk with the Federal Court of Canada and previously held positions with the Department of Justice and was Executive Officer to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court. She was also a Senior Legal Advisor with the Immigration and Refugee Board.

In the past decade, she has served in the offices of two Agents of Parliament. In 2007, she joined the senior management team as General Counsel at the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. In July 2013, she became General Counsel and Director of Legal Services for the Office of the Information Commissioner, a position she held until August 2017 when she became Deputy Commissioner, Legal Services and Public Affairs.

Daniel Schwager is General Counsel to the U.S. Secretary of the Senate. Prior to this position, he was Counsel for Miles & Stockbridge PC in the White Collar and Government Investigations practice. From 2011-2013 Professor Schwager was Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Committee on Ethics for the US House of Representatives. He also served as Counsel for the Select Committee on Ethics for the US Senate. Previously, Mr. Schwager served in the US Department of Justice in the Criminal Division and the New York County District Attorney’s office, where he participated in the public-integrity and public corruption units. He received his BA in Ethical Theory from Bates College and his JD from the New York University School of Law.

“The problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place”
George Bernard Shaw

Regardless of our respective disciplines, COGEL members seem to have countless stakeholders, both internal and external. Regulators and the regulated community regularly communicate with one another, with lawyers and clients, the legislature and media, and the general public. Some interactions must even include difficult unwelcome or difficult news or advice (picture an executive director discussing a challenging scenario with an elected official).

Understanding how to communicate effectively with diverse groups of people has become priority for the public and the private sectors…but how? Diversity informs not only how we humans perceive ourselves, but also how we perceive others, which impacts how we approach communication.

Join our esteemed guest speaker to explore the complex relationship between communication and diversity from an intergroup communication perspective. Learn how to avoid “speaking for the other” or “fetishizing the other” and develop an increased awareness of how diversity affects communication. If you want new tools to better interact communally in a respectful and effective way, you won’t want to miss this outstanding conversation that will both equip and inspire you!

Susan Willeke is an accomplished government-relations professional with more than 28 years’ experience in public affairs, communication, and public speaking. Susan joined the Ohio Ethics Commission in 2005 as the Education and Communications Manager where she oversees and conducts educational and communication outreach. In that position, Susan presents approximately 200 speeches annually, develops information strategies regarding agency programs and represents the Ethics Commission to Ohio citizens, the media and the Ohio legislature. Prior to joining the Commission, Susan served in the communications office at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Guest Speaker:

Dr. Rasha Ramzy is a Senior Lecturer in Communication, with teaching emphasis in speech communication and Communication Pedagogy at Georgia State University. Her research uses a critical approach to rhetoric to establish how communication is used to create an ‘other’, articulate difference, and manifest power. Her dissertation explored the writings of cosmopolitan figures and how those identities negotiate the space between the local and the global. Dr. Ramzy coordinates the department's involvement in the University Honors College and is chair of her department’s Cultural Diversity committee and serves as a University Senator.