Diversity at the Cross Roads:
A Symposium on Where We Are and What Happens Next
January 9, 2024
8 am-2 pm
The National Constitution Center | Philadelphia, PA
This PDLG Symposium will foster discussion and collaboration on strategies to move forward in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Harvard/ UNC cases. General counsel, law firm leaders, diversity professionals, and prominent alumni of the PDLG Fellows Program will gather to spark new ideas on how we can stay the course and make progress.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Professor Cara McClellan
Professor McClellan’s address focuses on how the Civils Rights Act of 1866 and that the Reconstruction Amendments were attempts to address racial inequality post-slavery. She will consider how the meaning of these Reconstruction-era laws has been coopted in legal battles over affirmative action today, and how to imagine a new vision for equity in a multiracial democracy.
Please also see Professor McClellan’s profile on the Penn Carey website: https://www.law.upenn.edu/faculty/caralm.
Panels
GENERAL COUNSEL AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE PANEL: LEADING THE WAY
General Counsel and executives will discuss not only how they are moving forward within their organizations, but also what they expect from their law firm partners.
Panelists:
- Stevie Lewis, General Counsel, Chief Diversity Officer and Corporate Secretary, IKEA North America
- Lynn Charytan, Executive Vice President & Senior Deputy General Counsel, Comcast Corporation and Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Comcast Cable
- Neena Patil, Chief Legal Officer, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
- John Ryan, Executive Vice President, Chief Counsel Officer and Corporate Secretary, Temple University Health System
Moderator: Leslie John, Partner, Ballard Spahr, LLP and former PDLG Co-President
PDLG FELLOWS PROGRAM ALUMNI PANEL: NEW PERSPECTIVES
Prominent alumni of the PDLG Fellows Program will discuss fresh perspectives on moving forward.
Panelists: PDLG Fellows Program Alumni
- Reginald Streater, Trial Attorney, Feldman Shepherd; President, Philadelphia School Board; 2022 Eisenhower Fellow; 2016 PDLG Fellow
- Teleicia J.R. Dambreville, Director, Senior Counsel – Employment, Burlington Stores, Inc., ACC Greater Philadelphia Board of Directors; 2011 PDLG Fellow
- John Lee, Partner (and former hiring partner), Morgan Lewis, Co-President, PDLG Fellows Program Alumni Association; 2005 PDLG Fellow
- Emilia McKee Vassallo, Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP; Commissioner, Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission; 2012 PDLG Fellow
- Geneva Brown, Vice President and Global Head of DEI and ESG, The Cigna Group; 2022 Eisenhower Fellow, 2011 PDLG Fellow
Moderator: Sophia Lee, Chief Administrative and Engagement Officer for Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania and former PDLG Co-President
DIVERSITY PROFESSIONAL PANEL: INNOVATION AND DEI
Diversity professionals at PDLG law firm and corporate members discuss how they are innovating, what they see from the front lines, and what’s next.
Panelists:
- Shelley R. Smith, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Archer & Greiner
- Fenimore Fisher, Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Aramark
- Lloyd Freeman, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Buchanan Ingersoll
- Virginia Essandoh, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Ballard Spahr
Moderator: Maria L.H. Lewis, Chief Diversity Officer, Faegre Drinker and PDLG Co-President