42nd Annual Federal Sector Labor Relations & Labor Law Conference

Doreen Greenwald Related Seminars and Products

President

NTEU

Doreen P. Greenwald, a frontline federal employee for 35 years, was elected National President in August 2023. As the union’s top elected official, she is the spokesperson for the union representing NTEU with the media, Congress and agency leadership on issues important to union members and federal employees. Greenwald was previously the Special Assistant to the National President and was elected National Executive Vice President in 2022. She spent her federal career at the IRS, where she worked as a revenue officer and served for 14 years as president of NTEU Chapter 1 (IRS Wisconsin). Greenwald helped bargain multiple collective bargaining agreements between NTEU and the IRS.

Martin H. Malin Related Seminars and Products

Chairman

Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Martin H. Malin is Professor Emeritus at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, where he taught for 41 years, founded the Institute for Law and the Workplace, and served as Director of the Institute for 25 years. He joined the Chicago-Kent faculty in 1980 after serving as law clerk to United States District Judge Robert E. DeMascio in Detroit and on the faculty of The Ohio State University. A renown scholar on the law governing the workplace, he has published more than 80 articles and seven books on labor law. Professor Malin has served as National Chair of the Labor Relations and Employment Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools, Secretary of the ABA Section on Labor and Employment Law, member of the Executive Committee of the Labor Law Group, member of the Board of Governors and Vice President of the National Academy of Arbitrators, and member of the Board of Governors of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. In October 2009, President Obama appointed Professor Malin as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel. President Obama reappointed Professor Malin in 2014 and Malin served until May 2017. In 2016, the ABA presented Professor Malin with the Arvid Anderson Award for lifetime contributions to public sector labor law. He has a B.A. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from George Washington University.

Traci DiMartini Related Seminars and Products

Chief Human Capital Officer

Internal Revenue Service

Traci DiMartini assumed the role of Human Capital Officer (HCO) for the Internal Revenue Service in June 2023. In her role as HCO, Traci serves as a principal advisor to the IRS Commissioner and the Senior Executive Team on complex HR management issues, policies, and programs involving enterprise HR policy and program development, staffing and recruitment, labor and employee relations, performance management, awards, workforce planning and analysis, classification, corporate education and training, compensation and benefits, executive services, and HR systems management.

Prior to joining the IRS, Traci served as the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) for General Services Administration (GSA) where she led a geographically dispersed staff of 300 human resources professionals who served a 12,000-member workforce. In this role she led GSAs Future of Work initiative, which focused on transforming the agency into an employer of choice in the post-COVID environment and chaired the CHCO Council Future of Work group to provide guidance to the Office of Personnel Management on policy and legislative matters.

Prior to her tenure with GSA, Traci served as the CHCO/Associate Peace Corps Director with the Peace Corps. In this position, she managed domestic and overseas staff at 59 international posts and successfully revamped the Peace Corps staffing pattern process, streamlined positions, improved employee and labor relations, and instituted hiring policies and procedures aligned with the Foreign Assistance Manual.

Traci also served as the CHCO with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where she oversaw a $5.2 million budget, implemented a new agency-wide performance management program, and developed and implemented the agency’s Human Capital Operating Plan and workforce succession plan.

Traci is an accomplished executive leader with over 20 years of federal government experience in strategic human resources management. She is a passionate advocate for federal workers and is committed to driving positive change and maximizing potential of the human capital programs.

Traci received her master’s degree from Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Public Policy with a concentration in Labor Policy, and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Communications from Miami University of Ohio. She is also a proud native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jennifer M. Cassell Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

Merit Systems Protection Board

Jennifer M. Cassell joined the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) as an Administrative Judge in 2020. Prior to coming to the MSPB, Jennifer worked as an Assistant Regional Counsel with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for 11 years. Prior to joining OGC, she clerked for Judge Ann Williams on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Jennifer received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. She previously taught advanced legal writing at her alma mater.

Gina Rozman Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

Gina N. Rozman joined the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) as an Administrative Judge in 2022. Prior to coming to the MSPB, Gina worked as an Assistant Regional Counsel with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for 9 years. Before she joined OGC, Gina was a litigation associate at Winston & Strawn LLP.  Gina received her J.D. and undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. 

Mary Senoo Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

Prior to joining the Merit Systems Protection Board in 2019, Mary Senoo spent nineteen years with the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel in Chicago.  Her practice primarily focused on employment and labor law, including labor arbitrations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission litigation and an occasional MSPB appeal.  During her last nine years with SSA, Mary was responsible for the oversight of the agency’s EEOC litigation practice and labor arbitrations in the Chicago Region.  Mary received her J.D. from Temple University in 1999 after having spent several years living and working in Japan. 

Brooke Worden Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

Brooke Worden is an Administrative Judge with the Merit Systems Protection Board.  Prior to joining the MSPB in 2022, Brooke worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor for 10 years, litigating various employment-related cases.  After receiving her J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, she spent three years in federal clerkships before joining DOL as an honors attorney.

Michael Rhoades Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Michael Rhoades earned his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He began his legal career as an active-duty officer with the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp. After leaving active duty, he represented parties before administrative and judicial bodies, including the EEOC, MSPB, FLRA, and Courts of Appeals. Since 2018, he has served as an administrative judge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Milwaukee Area Office (Chicago District).

He resides in Wisconsin with his wife, children, and a Labrador Retriever.

Susan Grundmann Related Seminars and Products

Member of the FLRA

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Chairman Grundmann was nominated by President Biden in August of 2021, confirmed in May 2022, and designated as Chairman in January of 2023. Prior to her confirmation, Chairman Grundmann served as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, where she oversaw the administrative dispute resolution process and provided education to both employing offices and labor unions that represent employees in the legislative branch. Previously, she was nominated by President Obama to serve as a Member and Chairman of the MSPB, and confirmed by the Senate in 2009.

Ms. Grundmann has served as General Counsel to the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), which represents 100,000 Federal workers nationwide and is affiliated with the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers. At NFFE, she successfully litigated cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. She represented NFFE and the United Department of Defense Workers Coalition, which consists of 36 labor unions, and served on the Coalition’s litigation team in a coordinated response to proposed personnel changes at the Department of Defense (DoD). In addition to DoD employees, Ms. Grundmann represented employees in the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Passport Service, Veterans Administration, General Services Administration, and some 25 additional Federal agencies.

From 2003 to 2009, she was a regular instructor on Federal sector labor and employment law at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, Maryland. Prior to joining NFFE, Ms. Grundmann served as General Counsel to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the judges of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, and later worked in both private practice and at the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund.

Member Grundmann earned her undergraduate degree at American University and her law degree at Georgetown University Law Center.

Greg A. Weddle Related Seminars and Products

Chicago Acting Regional Director

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Greg Weddle was appointed Regional Director for the Chicago Regional Office in March 2023. Mr. Weddle had been the Regional Attorney for the Chicago Regional Office since August 2014. Mr. Weddle joined the FLRA as an attorney in 1996 and was promoted to Senior Attorney in 2001. Before joining the FLRA, Mr. Weddle worked for the Social Security Administration in Michigan from 1986 to 1993. Mr. Weddle received a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Public Service from Northern Illinois University and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Dan Duran Related Seminars and Products

Attorney-Advisor

Federal Labor Relations Authority/FSIP

J. Daniel (Dan) Duran is an attorney-advisor at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) with the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP/the Panel).  Mr. Duran began his employment with the FLRA in 2008 and previously served as an attorney-advisor to former FLRA Chairman/Member Thomas M. Beck and Member Patrick Pizzella.  After serving in a detail with FSIP from September 2012 to April 2013, Mr. Duran became a permanent FSIP employee in March 2014.  As an attorney with the Panel, Mr. Duran is responsible for investigating and assisting with the resolution of negotiability impasses arising under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and the Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act.  During his tenure with the FLRA, Mr. Duran has delivered numerous training programs including:  comprehensive arbitration training; negotiability disputes; FLRA case-law updates; and Panel practices and procedures.

Mr. Duran graduated from the University of Tennessee magna cum laude in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Sociology.  In 2006, he received a Juris Doctor degree with honors from the University of Tennessee.  Prior to working with the FLRA, Mr. Duran served as a law clerk to an administrative law judge with the U.S. Department of Labor and was an associate with a Washington, D.C. boutique firm that specialized in federal-sector labor and employment issues.

David Lidow Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

David R. Lidow is an Administrative Judge with the Merit Systems Protection Board in the Central Regional Office located in Chicago.  The MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that adjudicates federal employment disputes and whistleblower retaliation claims.   He previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the civil division, representing the United States in employment discrimination cases, claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, civil rights cases, and pursuing fraud claims on behalf of various government programs. 

Amrith K. Aakre Related Seminars and Products

Director

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Amrith Kaur Aakre, a dedicated public servant and national civil rights leader, serves as the Director for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Chicago District. Under Amrith’s leadership, the Chicago District enforces the agency’s mission across 6 states to ensure that workers who seek the EEOC's help in remedying employment discrimination obtain relief. As a Senior Executive Service member, she also works with the highest levels of federal government to shape and implement civil rights policies, develop litigation, and build relationships with vulnerable communities and stakeholders in preventing and combating workplace discrimination. Prior to this role, Amrith served as the Legal Director for the Sikh Coalition where she led high-impact litigation matters while managing initiatives to protect the civil rights of all Americans in areas such as employment and school discrimination, hate crimes, racial profiling, and bias-based policy issues. Prior to joining the Sikh Coalition, Amrith served as a prosecutor in Chicago's Cook County State’s Attorneys’ Office for over 11 years, during which time she led transformative efforts to create and expand access to restorative justice and rehabilitative courts. Amrith was recently selected as a 2024-2025 Harvard Law School Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow, serves on the board of directors for the ACLU of Illinois and the SABA Chicago Advisory Board, and is the recipient of the SABA North American 2022 Public Interest Achievement Award, and the SABA Chicago 2021 and 2023 Public Interest Lawyer Awards. A proud Chicagoan, she also coaches volleyball and track and field for the Chicago Public Schools.

Cathy A. Harris Related Seminars and Products

Acting Chair, Merit Systems Protection Board

Merit Systems Protection Board

Cathy A. Harris was confirmed by the Senate on May 25, 2022, and sworn into her duties as a member of the Board on June 1, 2022. She was designated Vice Chairman on Jun 6, 2022, and currently is the Acting Chairman. Prior to that Ms. Harris was co-manager of the firm of Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, in Washington, DC. She served as the Chair of the firm's Sexual Harassment and LGBT Practice sections. Ms. Harris has practiced employment law, including before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, for over two decades. She has extensive experience in the litigation and settlement of federal sector employment class actions and represented individual employees and federal agencies. Ms. Harris graduated from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC with honors in 1997, where she was a member and editor on the George Washington Law Review. She received the Michael D. Cooley award for most successfully maintaining her compassion, vitality, and humanity during law school and was elected to give the salutatory address at commencement. Ms. Harris received her undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1994. Prior to joining Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, she was an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office. Ms. Harris also served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School from 2001 to 2004. She resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her wife and daughter.

Deborah Hopkins Related Seminars and Products

President

Federal Employment Law Training Group

Deborah J. Hopkins is a Federal employment law attorney, and is President of the Federal Employment Law Training Group (FELTG), an SBA-Certified Woman Owned Small Business. In addition to presenting training sessions and developing course materials for dozens of programs, she has worked with clients on cases before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. She has also worked with the Government Accountability Project (GAP), a public-interest non-partisan whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. She also works with agencies on policy development.

Ms. Hopkins is the author of UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct (Dewey Publications, 2024), now in its 6th Edition. She is a member of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the American Bar Association, and the Society of Federal Labor and Employee Relations Professionals.

Chelsy Castro Related Seminars and Products

CEO and Founder

Castro Jacobs Psychotherapy and Consulting

Chelsy Castro is Principal and Founder of Castro Jacobs Psychotherapy and Consulting, a firm specializing in lawyer well-being. A recognized expert in high-achiever well-being, Chelsy has worked with tech companies, universities, international law firms, and numerous companies across the country. From thousand-person conferences to 20-person workshops, Chelsy equips her audiences with the knowledge and skills necessary for sustainably healthy success in a competitive world.

A graduate of the University of Chicago and American University Washington College of Law, Chelsy practiced law as a multilingual attorney in the field of international regulatory compliance before transitioning into the clinical and consulting fields. An attorney turned psychotherapist and performance coach, she now counsels individuals, teams, and the organizations they work for on how to achieve their goals in healthy and productive ways. Chelsy’s publications and trainings focus on science-based skills and strategies for improving performance and increasing well-being in high-pressure professions.

She has been featured by the American Bar Association, Telemundo, and several legal industry publications and podcasts. She is a renowned speaker, author of the book 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers, and creator of the Healthy High-Achiever e-learning suite.

June Calhoun Related Seminars and Products

Supervisory Administrative Judge

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

June Wallace Calhoun has worked for the U.S. Equal Employment  Opportunity Commission in the Chicago District Office for more than 30 years.   Judge Calhoun spent the majority of her tenure with the Commission as a Senior Trial Attorney prosecuting employment discrimination cases for 23 years.  Beginning in 2015, she accepted the challenge of joining the ranks of elite Administrative Judges in the  Commission’s Federal Hearings Unit.  In November 2021, she was promoted to Supervisory Administrative Judge.  Judge Calhoun received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois and her Juris Doctorate of Law Degree from the University of  Wisconsin School of Law, Madison, Wisconsin.  Judge Calhoun also worked as an Associate at Chapman and Cutler for three years prior to joining the Commission.  She has two awesome sons, one of whom is a Special Olympics athlete and two adorable grandchildren who are affectionately known as her "Glitter Bunnies!"  

Catherine Hunter Related Seminars and Products

Administrative Judge

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Catherine Hunter started her federal career in 2010 with the Social Security Administration (SSA) as an Attorney-Advisor. In 2013, she joined management as a Supervisory Attorney-Advisor. While a manager with SSA, Cathy held various positions in multiple hearing offices. During this time, Cathy gained extensive experience with complex labor-employment relations matters, including but not limited to, investigating Administrative Law Judge bias and misconduct matters, planning and implementing disciplinary actions, and conducting investigative interviews in discrimination and hostile work environment cases. In October 2022, Cathy joined the EEOC as an Administrative Judge.