Tricia Kinney is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of BlueLinx Corporation (NYSE: BXC), where she leads the Legal, Compliance, Human Resources and Communications teams.  Prior to joining BlueLinx, Tricia was the Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at ServiceMaster Brands as well as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, where she led the legal support for the global B2B business and global supply chain organizations. 

Tricia started her career at Powell Goldstein LLP (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLC), where she was a litigation partner.  She graduated from Boston College and Vanderbilt University School of Law.  She is an alumna of Leadership Atlanta and serves on several non-profit boards of directors, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta.

Chris Galla is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Genuine Parts Company, a Fortune 200 retailer and distributor of replacement automotive and industrial parts. Mr. Galla has worked with Genuine Parts Company since 2005 and has served in various roles of increasing responsibility within the Legal Department.  Mr. Galla graduated with a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame and obtained his J.D. at Wake Forest University. At Genuine Parts Company, Mr. Galla has responsibility for all legal matters, including litigation, M&A, labor & employment, debtor/creditor issues, corporate contracts, risk management, corporate governance, and board/management reporting.  Prior to his employment at Genuine Parts Company, Mr. Galla practiced law at Hawkins, Parnell & Young in Atlanta, GA.
 
Mr. Galla is licensed by the State Bars of Georgia and North Carolina.

RACHEL GLEASON GEORGE is executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, chief compliance officer, and chief corporate affairs officer at The Aaron’s Company, a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-to-own and retail purchase solutions of appliances, electronics, furniture and other home goods across its brands: Aaron's, BrandsMart U.S.A., BrandsMart Leasing and Woodhaven. Rachel’s areas of responsibility include all aspects of legal, compliance, corporate governance, corporate strategy, enterprise risk, safety, physical security, government relations and corporate affairs to all business segments. When she joined the company in November 2020, Rachel brought with her more than 17 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently from Navient, a leading provider of education loan management and business processing solutions to education, healthcare, and government clients at the federal, state, and local levels. While at Navient, Rachel served as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. Previously, she was a partner in the Banking Group at Chapman and Cutler LLP. Rachel attended Covenant College and Emory University School of Law. 

Andrea Peters serves as Senior Counsel at Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE), a leader in commercial flooring. With 28 years in the legal field, Andrea has honed her expertise in supporting global operations across various sectors, including R&D, Sales, Procurement, Tax, and HR. She is also at the helm of Interface's global compliance program. Her in-house legal career includes pivotal roles at CAN Capital, The Weather Channel, General Electric, and GAMBRO Healthcare. 

Andrea earned her J.D. from The Vanderbilt University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from The Pennsylvania State University, where she distinguished herself as the College of Communications' Student Marshall (Valedictorian).

Based in Atlanta, Andrea is a mother, an adventurer with skydiving, bungee jumping and ziplining feats, and a culinary and travel enthusiast. Post-retirement, Andrea aspires to indulge in lifelong learning free from academic pressures and to immerse herself in diverse cultures through extended stays in cities around the world.

Andrea resides in Atlanta with her 12-year-old daughter.  She has gone skydiving twice, bungee jumping once, and ziplining once.  She enjoys cooking, wine and travel, and is passionate about leveraging generative AI to enhance efficiency and creativity both in work and in play.  When she retires, Andrea plans to go back to college to audit all of the hard but interesting classes without worrying about writing papers or taking exams, and to spend at least a few years exploring the world through extended stays in short-term rental properties around the globe.

With over 10 years of experience as an attorney and a leader in intellectual property law, Pratik Jhanb is passionate about delivering practical and effective solutions to internal business clients. As the Senior IP Counsel at FIS, a global leader in fintech solutions, Pratik manages the patent portfolio development and strategy for banking, AI/ML, and financial transactions, working closely with internal technical teams and outside counsel.

He also handle IP transactional matters, such as drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts, licenses, transfers, collaborations, and NDAs, as well as counseling the business on IP risks, infringement, joint development obligations, and open source compliance. He has successfully supported R&D business units across North America, Asia, and Europe, and implemented portfolio development strategies for high-revenue products. 

Josh Kubicki brings a distinctive, hands-on perspective to the confluence of generative AI and law. With a successful track record of constructing a $20 million legal services business and leading transformative redesigns of multimillion-dollar practice groups, Josh is not merely an academic; he is a seasoned practitioner. As a former Chief Strategy Officer and a recognized law professor, he has been lauded by Fast Company and Bloomberg Law for pioneering innovative educational frameworks and establishing a groundbreaking legal business design hub. While many in the field speak from theory, Josh’s insights emanate from direct experience and impactful experiments.

Associate General Counsel - AI, Licensing, and Open Source – Meta
Jonathan Torres is Associate General Counsel for AI, Licensing, and Open Source at Meta, where he manages founda􀆟onal AI development, policy, and licensing, including the recently released Llama 2 models, and open source compliance across all of Meta’s offerings. Prior to joining Meta, Jonathan worked for AWS where his prac􀆟ce included product counseling for AI/ML, including AWS Bedrock and Sagemaker, and strategic collabora􀆟on partnerships. Outside of work, Jonathan enjoys suppor􀆟ng associa􀆟ons aimed at empowering historically underrepresented students to enter STEM educa􀆟on and careers, including Code2College and FIRST in Texas. He earned his undergraduate degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Aus􀆟n and his Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Laura currently acts as a strategic privacy advisor working to enable
responsible data use. Her privacy work at various in-house companies
has spanned operations, data governance and legal responsibilities.

Most recently, Laura led Twitter’s global team of privacy counsel
advising internal stakeholders on privacy and data protection by
providing strategic direction and tactical support on all matters
ranging from product development and commercial ventures to business
development and M&A. Before that, Laura led Visa’s global data
governance, privacy operations and records and information management
teams responsible for the design, strategic direction, and
implementation of the company’s global privacy program.

Chris Lang is UPS's Global Privacy Officer and Associate General Counsel, Privacy, Cyber & Security. He leads UPS’s privacy program and provides legal support for the company’s cyber and physical security teams as well as its artificial intelligence and enterprise data strategy groups. He and the company’s Chief Information Security Officer jointly lead UPS's Information Security & Privacy Governance Council. In addition, he is a member of UPS's Incident Response Team.  Before joining UPS, he practiced law at Alston & Bird in Atlanta and Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett in New York City.  Chris received a JD from George Washington Law School and a BS from the University of Massachusetts. 

Spencer Preis is a seasoned, well-rounded, business-oriented legal, compliance, and privacy executive experienced in leading an array of functions for domestic and international businesses, including:
• corporate governance and board of directors
• privacy and cybersecurity
• ethics and compliance
• labor and employment
• litigation, investigations, and regulatory
• complex commercial and vendor transactions
• mergers and acquisitions
• environmental, product liability, and assortment of other functions

Spencer currently serves as Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Deputy Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Chief Privacy Officer, and Assistant Corporate Secretary for Southwire. In these roles, Spencer's primary responsibilities are leading the Company’s Ethics and Compliance and Privacy programs and leading the board governance and entity management functions. In prior roles with Southwire, Spencer served as the Company’s Associate General Counsel for numerous business units; its Chief Litigation Counsel; and its Senior Labor & Employment Counsel.

Prior to joining Southwire, Spencer worked for the legal department of another large manufacturing company and practiced law with McKenna Long & Aldridge (now part of Dentons). Immediately following law school, Spencer clerked for the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals for the Honorable Frank M. Hull. Prior to law school, Spencer worked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

Spencer received his law degree from Emory University School of Law, and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Michigan. Spencer is a leader and volunteer in numerous local organizations, including serving on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Camp Twin Lakes, which provides life-changing camp experiences to tens of thousands of children with serious illnesses, disabilities, and other life challenges.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel for Weather Group Television and AMG Digital, Brian Roof leads the legal and business affairs team for Weather Group’s television networks, including The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel en Español and Pattrn, Allen Media Group’s (AMG) direct-to-consumer streaming products and apps, including Local Now, theGrio, HBCUGo, Sports.TV and the TWC connected television app and the multicast television networks, ThisTV and theGrio.  In addition, Brian oversees privacy and music related legal matters on behalf of AMG.

Prior to joining Weather Group and AMG in 2019, Brian served as General Counsel for Cooper Holdings, a privately held company with subsidiaries in sports and entertainment representation, broadcast television, sports sponsorship and digital marketing.  Brian oversaw all legal matters affecting the companies including negotiating carriage and content agreements for the television networks, multimillion dollar corporate sponsorships and marketing campaigns, and employment and endorsement agreements for well-known sports figures in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NASCAR, PGA, US Soccer and entertainment personalities for news and sports networks.

Prior to joining Cooper Holdings in 2008, Brian was an Associate in the Real Estate Practice Group with Arnall Golden Gregory LLP in Atlanta, GA.

Brian serves as a Board Member for the Television Music License Committee, LLC, on the Law Center Association Board of Trustees for the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as VP of Operations and the Board of Directors for the Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railway Company (The Trolley Barn) and an Alumni Advisory Member for Florida Blue Key, Inc. Brian has previously been an MLBPA Limited Certified Agent and US Soccer Intermediary.

Brian is a Florida native and earned his Bachelor of Arts, Political Science from the University of Florida and Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. 

Kim Peretti is co-leader of the Privacy, Cyber & Data Strategy Team and National Security & Digital Crimes Team. Kim is the former director of PwC’s cyber forensic services group and, as a former senior litigator for the DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, led benchmark cybercrime cases, including the prosecution of TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez. Kim’s background as a 20+ year information-security professional enhances her practice in managing technical cyber investigations, assisting clients with data-security-related regulatory inquiries, and advising boards and senior executives in cybersecurity and risk matters. She services clients in matters of privacy, national security process and requests, and payment systems compliance and risk mitigation. Kim is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional. Kim serves on the U.S. Secret Service’s Cyber Investigation Board. In 2020, Kim co-founded Alston & Bird’s Women in Cyber NetworkTM.

Kim has been recognized as a leader in her practice area by publications such as Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Legal 500, The Best Lawyers in America©, Cybersecurity Docket, and BTI Consulting Group. According to Chambers, Kim provides “an extremely high level of client service” where she is ranked Band 1 for Privacy & Data Security: Incident Response. She was featured on CNN Declassified for the benchmark prosecution of the global carding organization Shadowcrew.

David Nagel is Vice President and Global CISO at Genuine Parts Company (GPC). His current position includes governance risk & compliance, identity management and cyber defense of the global organization. David earned a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Military Institute. David has 22 years of experience in cyber security with the United States government and commercial companies with varying responsibilities in consulting, information technology and cyber defense. David’s certifications include cyber security programs from Georgia Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School. David’s hobbies include coaching youth sports, volunteering in the community and collaborating on cybersecurity.  

Dr. Philip Hartlieb is a founding member and Principle Security Consultant for Black Lantern Security LLC. He previously served as the Director of an NSA-certified Red Team where he led a team of 18 individuals providing Red Teaming and Penetration Testing services for the Department of Defense (DoD). Prior to that, he was responsible for a team of individuals providing technical expertise and guidance for the development, integration, and testing of IT services and capabilities for the war fighter, business, and intelligence communities. Philip holds a PhD. in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from the State University of New York, College at Geneseo. He has presented his research at Security B-Sides Charleston and the Charleston ISSA.

Emmy Award Winning Political Reporter, Lori Geary, is a Partner with Lexicon Strategies and President of Lori Geary Media, a NWBE™ certified firm. Geary is also a Partner at Authenticity Partners, a media buying firm. She has spent decades in the media industry covering local, state and national campaigns along with state government. Lori joined the reporting team of WSB-TV in 1997 while anchoring at CNN Headline News. She stays active in the broadcasting world as the Host and Executive Producer of WAGA’s “The Georgia Gang.” Her expertise is now in media training, media strategy, corporate communications, marketing and branding, crisis communications and video storytelling. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp appointed Lori as Co-Executive Director of the Statewide Marketing Campaign for the 2020 Census.

Ms. Geary was named “One of the Best State Political Reporters” by the Washington Post and “One of the Most Influential Georgians” by James Magazine. She has won several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Georgia Associated Press. She is also proud of the two Emmys she received during her tenure at WSB-TV, along with a Telly for her investigative work in Haiti. Ms. Geary was also a 2018 Telly Award winner for a video production focusing on the life of African American Entrepreneur, Alonzo F. Herndon. Ms. Geary has received top honors from the League of Women Voters and Common Cause Georgia. She is also a 2006 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

Ms. Geary majored in Broadcast Journalism at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. She graduated magna cum laude in three years and started her first reporting job at WRDW-TV. She then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where she covered politics for three years before her career brought her to Atlanta. Ms. Geary spent most of her tenure at WSB-TV as the political reporter which included international travel, covering stories in Dubai, China, Haiti and Cuba.

Ms. Geary served as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for Sunshine on a Ranney Day. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit provides dream home and room make-overs for children with special needs. With the help of Ms. Geary’s leadership, the charity raised $1 million annually. She also served on the Advisory Board of the Zell Miller Foundation, a 501(c)(3) focusing on developing young leaders committed to public service.

Tharon Johnson is the founder and CEO of Paramount Consulting Group, a full service, bipartisan government affairs and communications firm based in Atlanta, serving clients in the corporate and political sectors. A nationally recognized political strategist and trusted community leader, Tharon appears each week on Fox 5 Atlanta’s longest-running public affairs program, “The Georgia Gang” and on 90.1 WABE-FM’s popular “Political Breakfast” podcast, ranked among the top 40 political podcasts nationally.

Tharon advises elected officials at the highest levels of government. Most recently he served as a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign in the battleground state of Georgia. He has served at senior levels of federal, state, and local campaigns, including for President Barack Obama, Congressman John Lewis, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Congressman John Barrow and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

He appears regularly as a key contributor on news shows, including CNN, MSNBC and Atlanta’s WSB-TV, providing timely insights and analysis of political developments at the national, state and local levels. He also is frequently quoted in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Political Insider blog, Politico, Roll Call, The Hill and other notable publications.

Tharon has received “40 Under 40” awards from both Georgia Trend Magazine and Atlanta
Business Chronicle and was named one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Georgians” by James Magazine. He was the youngest and first African American to receive the “Campaign Manager of the Year” distinction from the American Association of Political Consultants. In addition to his political honors, Tharon was also awarded the “Unsung Hero Award” by his alma mater Clark Atlanta University for outstanding contributions in Arts & Sciences. He is also on the board of advisors for Inclusivv.

With his astute grasp of not only politics, but economic and corporate climate, Tharon continues to lead his firm to success. Paramount has over a decade of experience providing effective results for clients, from raising the dollars needed to push campaigns over the top, to securing strategic contracts for clients, while keeping them engaged and connected with the community.

Paramount Consulting Group specializes in government affairs, lobbying, campaign strategy and communications. Leveraging deep relationships from across the aisle, the firm supports clients through a variety of complex needs, providing strategic guidance and solutions that drive results.

Tharon Johnson | Paramount Consulting Group | tjohnson@paramountconsults.com | 404-392-3175

Brian Robinson owns Robinson Republic, a communications consulting firm that specializes in public affairs messaging throughout the state of Georgia. His clients include corporations, issue advocacy groups, chambers of commerce, public officials and political campaigns. Robinson Republic assists clients with message development, issue advocacy, media training, media relations and crisis management. He is a weekly political commentator in metro Atlanta media’s leading outlets and national cable news channels. He’s cohost of WABE’s Political Breakfast and a regular on Fox 5’s Georgia Gang and Road to November, and he’s the go-to for insight on Georgia politics for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico and others. He writes a column on politics in each edition of Georgia Trend magazine.

Prior to opening his own business, Robinson worked as deputy chief of staff for communications for Gov. Nathan Deal. In this capacity, he managed the governor’s communications staff and served as a senior adviser to the governor. Robinson also ran the communications efforts for the Deal for Governor campaigns in 2010 and 2014.

Robinson came to the 2010 campaign via Capitol Hill, where he served seven years as a communications director in the Georgia delegation for Rep. Phil Gingrey and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. He began his career as a journalist at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, where in the fall semester of 2016 he was an adjunct professor teaching public affairs communications. He is also a member of the Grady College Board of Trust and a former member of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Board of Governors.

Robinson has suffered a lifetime as a Georgia Bulldogs fan but is currently experiencing ongoing euphoria from the Dawgs’ back-to-back National Championships. He was named to the University of Georgia’s 2012 40 Under 40 class and is an alumnus of the 2015 Leadership Georgia class. He and his wife, Corinna, live in Brookhaven with their daughter, Quinn Paces, and their son, Asher, an English cream retriever. They are members of Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

Joel May is co-chair of the Firm's corporate governance area and has more than 20 years of experience representing clients and their boards of directors in a broad range of financing and corporate transactions, as well as corporate governance, shareholder activism, proxy fights, and securities compliance matters. He has represented clients in domestic and international corporate financing transactions in the manufacturing, consumer products, chemical products, real estate, e-commerce, telecommunications, and information management industries, including public equity and debt offerings, initial public offerings (IPOs), special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions, Rule 144A high yield offerings, and reorganizations, restructurings, recapitalizations, and other M&A transactions.

Joel joined the Atlanta Office in 2012 after spending the first part of his career in Jones Day's Chicago Office. He currently serves as the administrative partner for Atlanta.

Joel has been recognized as a leading lawyer by The Legal 500 United States. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Georgia.

Joel serves on the board of directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Make-A-Wish Georgia.

Justin McKithen practices in the areas of capital markets and general corporate law. His experience includes public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities, initial public offerings, special purpose acquisition company "de-SPAC" transactions, tender offers, exchange offers, and other corporate transactions. He also regularly advises clients on SEC periodic reporting and disclosure requirements, stock exchange rules and regulations, and a broad range of corporate governance and shareholder engagement matters.

Justin has represented public and private companies in various industries, including consumer goods, food and beverage, automotive, consumer and personal finance, insurance, and the industrial and manufacturing sectors.

Justin has an active pro bono practice in the Atlanta community, including providing legal services to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. He also mentors law school students through the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and the University of Georgia School of Law's Alumni & Professional Mentorship Program.

Terri Stewart is a regional managing partner in the firm's Atlanta office. She represents management in all areas of labor and employment law in state and federal courts as well as before state and federal agencies.

Her practice focuses on the defense of employment related lawsuits in trial and appellate courts, encompassing a variety of issues, including claims arising under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and related state claims such as trade secret infringement, restrictive covenants, breach of contract and tort actions.

Terri also frequently advises employers on reductions in force, drafts employment agreements, personnel policies, separation agreements and releases, and conducts on-site training on topics such as employment law compliance and avoidance of harassment claims. 

Terri has been listed in Georgia Super Lawyers since 2011. She also received the top "40 under 40" Award by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She was chosen by the Daily Report, Atlanta's leading legal newspaper, as a member of the 2015 class of "On the Rise" - the top 40 Georgia lawyers under the age of 40.Terri is also a graduate of the L.E.A.D. Atlanta Class (a division of Leadership Atlanta).

Diana Sarju Kim is an Atlanta native who has an Indo-Guyanese father and Colombian mother. She attended Emory University, where she earned her B.A. in International Studies. She then went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. She is currently an in-house employment counsel and advisor for NCR Atleos Corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia. She joined NCR Corporation in July 2023, as it finalized the process of spinning out its ATM/Banking aspect of its business to form a separate, publicly-traded company, NCR Atleos Corporation. Diana advises NCR Atleos’ HR team on a number of personnel and labor/employment compliance issues. She partners closely with HR and provides counsels on all employment matters, including terminations, reductions in force, accommodations, leaves of absence, wage & hour compliance, immigration, OSHA issues, restrictive covenants, OFCCP compliance, and labor disputes and negotiations. In her role, she also manages NCR Atleos’ employment litigation and pre-litigation matters.

Before joining NCR Atleos and NCR, Diana served as in-house employment counsel for Cox, where she supported the HR functions for both Cox Automotive and Cox Communications. Between 2017 through 2021, she was the in-house employment counsel for Rheem Manufacturing Company - a water heating/AC manufacturer based in Atlanta, GA. Before becoming an in-house lawyer, she worked in private practice for 10 years as a business advisor and litigator representing companies from various industries. In that capacity, she represented employers in commercial litigation, single-plaintiff employment, and class action matters involving commercial litigation disputes, claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and alleged wage and hour violations. She also represented employers, employee benefits plans, and fiduciaries in employee benefits litigation brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In all of her roles, Diana has been a problem solver, thought partner, and expert in keeping all things calm.

Jane M. Stahl serves as the General Counsel at Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a leading global provider of flooring solutions. Jane is responsible for overseeing all legal matters within the company, ensuring compliance with regulations, and managing the legal and compliance team. 

Shaw Industries Group, Inc. supplies carpet, resilient, hardwood, tile and stone flooring products and synthetic turf to residential and commercial markets worldwide. With approximately 20,000 associates worldwide. Shaw is headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, with salespeople and/or offices located throughout the U.S. as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, India, Mexico, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. 

Destiny Washington serves as Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for Southwire Company, LLC. In this role, she partners with the Company’s People & Culture function and provides counsel regarding the employment life cycle. She has counseled domestic and international, private and public, and profit and nonprofit entities, including an international labor union, metro-Atlanta school district, and metro-Atlanta police department, regarding labor and employment matters, and she has litigated on behalf of such entities (in employment and non-employment cases) in federal and state court and administrative forums.  Destiny is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana.  She received her Juris Doctor from Tulane University and her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She is a veteran of the Louisiana Army National Guard and the U.S. Army. 

Professional Experience

Peter began external consulting in the early 1990s which grew to a position at Mercer in 2007 (through the acquisition of Sirota). Peter currently leads the Behavioral Health Practice at Mercer which supports organizations in managing and measuring the mental health needs of their employees. Client work involves mental health strategy, skill building and prevention, mental health measurement and treatment, substance abuse access and treatment, as well as recovery and return to work. His clients include many fortune 1000 companies around the world. In addition to client management and leading his team, Peter also manages and maintains the company employee listening benchmark database.

Before joining Mercer, Peter was an independent consultant for 15 years which also included a professorship at Ramapo College, Quinnipiac University and New York University. In his early years, Peter held positions at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Hahnemann University Hospital, and Harvard Medical School/Brockton VA Medical Center as well as a number of other healthcare companies conducting therapy and clinical research.

Peter maintains an active research program with over 130 publications and scholarly presentations including a consistent representation at the SIOP annual conference. Peter’s major areas of focus is inclusion in the workspace with a particular concentration investigating the experiences of people with disabilities.

Professional Affiliations

• Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology (former president)Society of Industrial / Organizational Psychology (committee member)
• Association for Psychological Science

Advisory

• Hofstra University Industrial-Organizational Psychology Graduate School
• Global Disability and Inclusion LLC

Education

• PhD, Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, Drexel University, Pennsylvania
• MA, Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, Drexel University, Pennsylvania
• BA, Psychology, Loyola University, Maryland

Jill Greene

Vice President and Senior Counsel, Acuity Brands, Inc.

Jill Greene is a seasoned lawyer of over twenty years with expertise in Labor and Employment law and litigation.  Jill currently serves as Vice President and Senior Counsel at Acuity Brands, Inc., a leading industrial technology company based in Atlanta, Georgia.    Prior to Acuity, Jill served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Berry Global, Inc., the world's largest packaging manufacturer, based in Evansville, Indiana.  Jill began her legal career at Powell Goldstein (n/k/a Bryan Cave) in Atlanta before moving into in-house practice.  She received her undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and her J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Jill co-founded Mind Matters, Acuity's employee resource group (ERG) focusing on mental health.  The mission of Mind Matters is to elevate the dialogue around mental health and reduce the stigma of mental health issues.  She is also on the Board of Directors for one of Indiana's most respected mental health agencies.  Jill is a leader and champion for mental wellness and hopes to ignite passion for mental health in companies across the U.S. and beyond.

James M. Garvie

SVP of HR, Total Rewards & HR Technology

 Southern Company

James Garvie leads multiple HR functions at Southern Company, including Total Rewards, Workforce Intelligence/Analytics and the HR Technology functions. James’ role includes strategy development, plan and policy design, management’s liaison with the Compensation Committee/Board-of-Directors, and on-going administration of HR Programs. James began his career with Southern Company at the beginning of 2012.

Prior to joining Southern Company, James was a Director with the Alexander Group, a management consulting firm.  During his tenure as a management consultant, James advised many of the Fortune 500 companies, across a variety of industries, on management issues such as operational efficiency / productivity, sales strategy, sales force effectiveness, go-to-market structure/design, and sales compensation.

James spent several years prior to consulting, in a leadership position with BlueLinx / Cerberus Capital (formerly Georgia-Pacific Building Products), managing aspects of sales strategy, sales operations, sales force effectiveness, human resources, payroll, and HR Information Systems.  Prior to BlueLinx, James worked for Georgia-Pacific where he held various analytical positions in accounting/finance and the compensation functions.

James received his Masters of Business Administration degree from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and received his Bachelors of Finance degree from the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

James is a native of Scotland and now resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife Jeanine and their two children, John and Grace.

Board/Association Participation (past and present): Make-A-Wish Foundation (board member); Zoo Atlanta (leadership council); Georgia Health Information Exchange; American Benefits Council; Lifegate Counseling Center; LEAD Institute of Atlanta; HR Policy Association; Center of Executive Compensation; HR 50; Pension Investment Committee (Southern & BlueLinx); Benefits Administration Committee (Chair); and, Peachtree Presbyterian Church (Session of Elders).

Dama Gineris, Vice President of HR Shared Services, Acuity Brands, Inc.

Dama Gineris is a seasoned HR professional with a comprehensive background as an HR Strategic Advisor. She is currently in the role of Vice President of HR Shared Services at Acuity Brands, Inc., a leading industrial technology company based in Atlanta, Dama leads teams responsible for the HR service delivery. Her expertise in this area spans across various aspects of human resources, such as Associate and Labor Relations, Associate Experience Center, Payroll and Benefit Administration, HR Process Operations and HR Technology and Data Maintenance.

Education

Dama holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Shorter University and is currently pursuing her Master of Education in Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development at the University of Georgia. She is expected to graduate in 2025.

Advocacy and Leadership

A passionate advocate for mental health awareness, Dama co-founded Mind Matters, an employee resource group at Acuity focused on mental health. The group’s mission is to foster open conversations about mental health and dispel associated stigmas. Dama believes that creating a supportive and inclusive work environment is essential for the well-being and productivity of employees.

Barry M. Benjamin chairs Kilpatrick Townsend’s Advertising and Marketing group and is the managing partner of the firm’s New York office. He assists clients as a trusted advisor when disputes arise, often in the areas of false advertising, trademark, unfair competition, trade dress, and copyright. Mr. Benjamin has extensive experience representing companies in court, in competitor challenges and investigations through the self-regulatory advertising industry process (NAD, CARU), and in responding to and defending governmental and regulatory (FTC, State AG) inquiries and investigations. Mr. Benjamin regularly advises clients small and large, from multinational corporations to start-up ventures, across numerous industries including retail, fashion, gaming, telecommunications, cosmetics, food and beverage, consumer products, and technology. He regularly drafts and negotiates advertising, privacy, technology, and commercial contracts, and assists clients with claim substantiation, consumer research, and product testing, with managing risks in social media engagement, and with the conduct of due diligence in transactions.

Heather Howdeshell Morlock is an Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Transactions & Marketing, at Delta Air Lines. Her practice focuses on Consumer Transactions/Marketing & Policy, Sustainability, and Innovation & Product. Prior to joining Delta, she practiced law as an associate with the Eversheds Sutherland Corporate Transactions group.

Heather serves as Chair of Delta’s Legal Department Pro Bono Committee and has volunteered extensively with Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta since 2010, including prior service as Chair of PBPA SpringBoard (the Young Lawyer’s Committee) and as a member of the PBPA Strategic Planning Committee.

Heather is a graduate of the University of Florida Fredric C. Levin College of Law and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia.

Lisa Knottek is Assistant General Counsel – Employment for Rollins, Inc., an Atlanta-based global consumer and commercial pest control services company with approximately 20,000 employees worldwide.  Lisa manages the company’s employment related litigation.  She also oversees the company’s nationwide compliance with relevant labor and employment law.  Lisa practiced employment law at law firms in Atlanta for 13 years prior to joining Rollins.  

Lisa grew up in Atlanta.  She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and graduated from Emory University School of Law.

David E. Altig is executive vice president and chief economic adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He serves on the executive leadership team for the Bank's economic mobility and resilience strategic priority, is an executive cosponsor of the Working Families Employee Resource Network, and is an adviser to the executive leadership committee.

Altig is a fellow and immediate past president of the National Association for Business Economics. In addition, he is a member of the advisory council of the Global Interdependence Center and its College of Central Bankers and a member of the National Business Economics Issues Council. He serves on the board of the Konstanz Seminar on Monetary Theory and Policy. He has past and pending published research in several prominent professional journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Econometrics, the Journal of Monetary Economics, and the National Tax Journal.

Before joining the Atlanta Fed in August 2007, Altig served as vice president and associate director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, where he started as a staff economist in 1991. Before joining the Cleveland Fed, Altig was a faculty member in the department of business economics and public policy at Indiana University. He previously served as an adjunct faculty member in the Scheller School of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. From 1994 to 2019, Altig was an adjunct faculty member in the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He has lectured at several other universities, including the Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, Duke University, the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin, and the Chinese Executive MBA program sponsored by the University of Minnesota and Lingnan College of Sun Yat-Sen University.

John Anderson

Partner

King & Spalding LLP

John M. Anderson represents strategic companies and financial sponsors in a variety of complex business transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, carveouts and joint ventures, and has advised on well over $100 billion in transactions. His deal experience spans the range of M&A activity, including LBOs, strategic mergers, cross-border deals, activist investors and other special situations, SPAC transactions and REIT M&A.

John counsels clients in a wide variety of industries, including in the infrastructure, real estate, chemicals, healthcare and technology sectors. John also advises private equity funds in growth capital investments and in the management of their portfolio companies, including debt and equity financings, follow-on acquisitions and liquidity events.

Sunil Bindal

EVP and Chief Corporate Development O?cer

Sunil Bindal is the Chief Corporate Development Officer, leading the global Equifax acquisition program to bring new data assets, capabilities and opportunities to drive growth.

Prior to Equifax, Bindal acted as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Development at Total System Services (TSYS), as well as Vice President of Corporate Development at Broadridge Financial Solutions. Prior to his corporate development roles, he spent nine years in investment banking at Credit Suisse in its Technology M&A group in New York.

Bindal earned his Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, dual Master of Science degrees in computer science and chemical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Taylor Fleetwood Mefford, CFA

Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Taylor is a Managing Director in the Private Credit Group in Goldman Sachs Asset Management division and focuses on originating and structuring middle market loans. Goldman Sachs Private Credit Group (“GS PCG”) is a leading investor of private credit globally with approximately $72 billion of assets under management (“AUM”) including senior secured debt, mezzanine loans and structured equity investments to small and medium sized businesses. Taylor focuses on covering financial sponsors in the Southeast and also leads GS PCG’s investing efforts in the financial services technology, payment processing and environmental services industries.

Prior to joining GSSLG in 2005, Taylor was a Vice President at Wachovia Capital Partners, the principal investing group of Wachovia Corporation with over $1.5 billion in equity investments under management. Prior to Wachovia Capital Partners, Taylor was an Associate at The Robinson-Humphrey Company, a leading Southeastern focused middle market investment bank.

Taylor earned a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 1997 and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Kenny Kraft

Managing Director

Kenny Kraft joined J.P. Morgan in 2017 in Investment Banking. Mr. Kraft has extensive experience in strategic and merger advisory assignments. In addition, he has broad experience in the full range of equity and debt financings. Mr. Kraft’s sector experience spans a wide range of industries, including Consumer & Retail, Diversified Industries and Telecommunications, Media, and Technology, and he is also responsible for covering the Convenience Store vertical for J.P. Morgan nationwide.

Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Kraft was a Vice President in the investment banking group at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, a middle-market focused universal banking platform headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Kraft spent six years working at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Prior to SunTrust, Mr. Kraft worked at Hodges Ward Elliott, a hospitality-focused boutique investment bank, and Investment Technology Group, a capital markets financial technology firm.

Mr. Kraft received his Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, from Washington & Lee and his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School where he was a Dean’s List student.

Stan Hill is Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for Floor & Decor, a leading specialty retailer of hard surface flooring with over 200 locations nationwide. Based in Atlanta, Stan leads a small but mighty team of attorneys who guide labor and employment compliance and strategy and manage employment litigation. Previously, Stan was a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He received a B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from Georgia Tech and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Education

• JD, Vanderbilt University School of Law

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, executive authorities editor

• BS, Georgia Institute of Technology

Materials Science and Engineering Highest honor

Sul partners with employers to resolve the complex legal issues surrounding a wide range of matters, including union-organizing campaigns; National Labor Relations Board proceedings; workplace safety and health issues; race, national origin, age, disability, religion, and sex discrimination and harassment claims; and wage and hour claims. She also helps clients develop and update internal procedures and policies, ensuring their businesses comply with labor and employment laws and helping them avoid risk.

Sul has significant experience with foreign-based international companies, especially those in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. With this background, she helps her clients navigate the complexities of cultural differences in their employment law matters.

Sul is often called upon to conduct training for employers, in both Korean and English, on topics such as understanding OSHA (including the mysteries of lockout/tagout); union avoidance; employee relations 101; the entanglement of FMLA and ADA; social media in the workplace; solving remote workplace challenges; and respecting cultural diversity.

Education

• JD, University of South Carolina School of Law
• BS, University of South Carolina

I cut my teeth as a labor lawyer helping some of the biggest defense contractors in the U.S. respond to organizing efforts and unfair labor practice charges. After a few years of practice, I branched out and began defending employers in the logistics, transportation, and health care spaces in cases brought under federal and state discrimination laws.

With a background in both traditional labor work and employment litigation, I'm well-positioned to help employers run their businesses efficiently while staying between the proverbial navigational buoys. And when problems pop up, I'm ready to help at the drop of a hat.