SPEAKER
BIOGRAPHIES
Krista Anderson
Systemwide Title IX Coordinator
The University of Texas System, Office of Systemwide Compliance
Austin, Texas
Krista Anderson serves as the Systemwide Title IX Coordinator for The University of Texas System. Ms. Anderson’s responsibilities include providing systemwide guidance and resources on Title IX & Sexual Misconduct, Clery Act requirements, and Youth Protection Programs for minors on campus.
Ms. Anderson has over 13 years of student affairs and higher education experience including overseeing a campus-wide Title IX program, developing victim advocacy services for students, administering a campus-wide crisis management program for student emergencies, managing threat assessment and behavior intervention strategies for student wellness issues, and working in residence life and academic/graduate affairs in additional capacities.
Ms. Anderson previously served as the Associate Vice President and Title IX Coordinator for The University of Texas at Austin, and she was with U.T. Austin for almost 7 years in various roles before joining the U.T. System. Ms. Anderson earned a B.S. in Applied Sociology, and an M.Ed. in Counseling and Guidance (with an emphasis in student affairs), both at Texas State University.
Laura Barbour
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Laura Barbour is an Assistant General Counsel in the General Law section of The University of Texas System Office of General Counsel. Ms. Barbour provides legal counsel on a broad range of higher education issues, including employment, civil rights, and risk management matters. Ms. Barbour joined the UT System after nearly a decade of litigation and trial work at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She has advised and represented individuals and public and private entities before state and federal courts throughout Texas and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Ms. Barbour received her law degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 2009 and her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 2000.
Scott Bearby
General Counsel and Interim Senior Vice President of the NCAA
Indianapolis, Indiana
Scott Bearby is general counsel and interim senior vice president of legal affairs, overseeing hearing operations, human resources and the office of legal affairs. He assumed the role of interim senior vice president and joined the national office senior management team in May 2021.
The office of legal affairs handles numerous legal responsibilities for the Association, including managing litigation involving the national office and supporting its governance and sport committees, 90 championships, and national office staff in assisting the membership and student-athletes.
Bearby was named vice president of legal affairs and general counsel in August 2016 after serving in various legal positions at the national office since January 1999.
Before joining the NCAA, Bearby spent six years in private practice. A native of Hammond, Indiana, he earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Notre Dame and his law degree from Indiana University, Bloomington.
Patricia Bohney, CVA
Principal
SullivanCotter
Indianapolis, Indiana
Patty Bohney is a Principal and the Fair Market Value and Business Valuation Practice Co-Leader at SullivanCotter and consults in the Physician Workforce Practice. For nearly 30 years, she has worked in health care – first as a nurse, then in business management and operations roles, and finally as a third-party consultant.
Using her deep working knowledge of this ever-changing industry, she advises on design, implementation and management of physician compensation for employed, contracted and faculty practitioners. Her clients are typically system-integrated practices, community health systems, academic medical centers and law firms.
In addition, she provides advisory services to private equity firms, considering physician practice investments, on topics of fair market compensation, compensation plan design and regulatory compliance due diligence.
Patty’s experience includes:
• Creating compensation models to drive strategic outcomes in a variety of situations, including professional services arrangements, medical administrative services, coverage arrangements, specialty and service line co-management, value-based performance, and network and system quality incentive programs.
• Designing integrated compensation programs for physicians and advanced practice clinicians to drive successful team care delivery models.
• Developing physician services arrangements that clearly articulate care delivery requirements, performance metrics, alignment with strategic business imperatives and compensation compliance.
• Providing valuations and third-party expert opinions on the determination of fair market value to ensure the reasonableness of compensation.
Patty is a certified valuation analyst accredited by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts. She also is a member of the Medical Group Management Association and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Prior to joining SullivanCotter, Patty was a consultant for a specialized, global professional services firm and part of their national health care practice. She also worked inside health care organizations, holding business management and operational roles. Patty maintains licensure as a registered nurse with experience in cardiac, intensive care and progressive care environments.
Patty earned Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Nursing from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University Kelley School of Business in Bloomington.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Indianapolis Office, 11711 N. Meridian Street Suite 420, Carmel, IN 46032
pattybohney@sullivancotter.com
Shelby Boseman
Chief Legal Officer
The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Mr. Shelby Boseman joined UTA in April 2014 as its first in-house counsel and serves as Chief Legal Officer and University Attorney. He is an expert in higher education law and provides legal advice to UTA’s administration on a myriad of issues affecting UTA. He oversees the Office of Legal Affairs and the Title IX Office. Prior to joining UTA, Shelby served as Senior Associate General Counsel at Lone Star College System in The Woodlands, Texas and In-House Counsel at the Houston Housing Authority in Houston, Texas. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Weber State University, Ogden Utah and a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas.
Lee Roy Calderon
Senior Attorney
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Lee Roy Calderon joined the General Law Section of the Office of General Counsel in October 2015 and serves as a Senior Attorney. He specializes in student conduct matters, Title IX, employment law, employee benefits, and other policy matters. He also serves as plan counsel for the UT System Office of Employee Benefits.
Mr. Calderon graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Asian American Studies and received his law degree from Baylor Law School. After law school, Mr. Calderon worked at a small firm in Waco, focusing primarily on family law and criminal defense. Immediately before joining the UT System, Mr. Calderon served as in-house legal counsel for a national non-profit corporation headquartered in Austin.
Corina Castillo-Johnson
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Corina is an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for the University of Texas System. She is an experienced collaborator and value-added team player with a proven track record of effectively working with stakeholders to assist her clients evaluate, acquire, sell, lease, plan, entitle, permit, finance, develop, manage and operate real property assets. She combines her experience in real estate and government to enable her clients to fully understand and navigate unique and complex business, community, and political interests impacting their development projects to produce positive results and benefits. Corina has structured, negotiated and completed a wide variety of real estate transactions ranging from several hundred thousand to one billion dollars in asset value and financing located throughout the United States from remote rural locations to urban city cores.
As former Deputy Chief Counsel to the Secretary of the Air Force, Corina's skill and proficiency in guiding public policy, government relations strategies, and counselling private and public-sector clients in effective public-private partnerships and economic development strategies culminated in notable and innovative developments for renewable energy, medical, education, national security, and technology industries. Corina was a "go-to" trusted advisor to leaders throughout the Department of the Air Force on the management of a nine-million-acre real estate portfolio.
During her time in private law firm practice in Florida and Texas, she represented some of the most active and prolific developers in the state. As project counsel, Corina has extensive experience in successfully negotiating and closing complex real estate transactions, and has managed all aspects of land use, development, and finance for a variety of projects including, transportation infrastructure, large scale master planned communities, multi-family housing, Developments of Regional Impact (DRI), Transit Oriented Developments (TOD), airports, hospitals and medical centres, golf courses, mixed-use developments, headquarters campuses, hotels and resorts, retail centres, office buildings, industrial parks, medical-education-technology clusters, and schools.
Ha K. Dao
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Ha K. Dao is an Assistant General Counsel in the Business Law Section of the Office of General Counsel, where she specializes in real estate law.
Ms. Dao received her BA from The University of Texas at Austin in 1996, with a double major in Plan II Honors Program and Philosophy. She received her JD from The University of Texas School of Law in 1999.
Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Ms. Dao practiced real estate and finance law with law firms in Houston, Texas, including Porter Hedges LLP and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP (now Eversheds Sutherland).
Phil Dendy
Chief Compliance & Risk Officer
The University of Texas System, Office of Systemwide Compliance
Austin, Texas
Phillip B. Dendy, CRM, CIC, DRM, serves as the Chief Compliance and Risk Officer for the University of Texas System (UT System). In this role he is responsible for the oversight and direction of three departments, the Office of Risk Management, the Office of Systemwide Compliance and the Office of Information Security. These departments provide comprehensive risk management services to the UT System, its eight academic and six health institutions.
Mr. Dendy has over 30 years in the risk management industry. Since joining the UT System in 1995, he served as Associate Director for Workers’ Compensation Insurance, responsible for administration of the UT System self-insured workers’ compensation program. From 1999-2003, Mr. Dendy served as Director of Business Administrative Services which included the property and casualty insurance programs as well as facilities, accounting and purchasing, property management, travel, and airplane operations. Since 2003 he has served as Executive Director of the Office of Risk Management providing comprehensive services including risk analysis, risk control, risk financing and claims management. He was appointed Chief Compliance and Risk Officer in July 2016.
Mr. Dendy earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Texas Tech University. He holds the designation of Certified Risk Manager (CRM) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) from the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. In 2017, the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) awarded him the honor of Distinguished Risk Manager (DRM).
Mr. Dendy is a founder, former president, and chair of the board of directors of drops of grace inc, a non-profit faith-based organization partnering with organizations for water, health, hygiene, and community development projects in Malawi, Africa and Nicaragua, and disaster recovery projects in the United States.
His wife, Liz is a registered nurse. Daughter, Madison, is a graduate of Texas State University with a degree in Elementary Education and lives in Missouri with her husband Rob who serves in the Army with their grandson, Patton, and granddaughter, Piper. Son, Tanner, is a graduate of Texas A&M University and is a Mechanical Design Engineer. He lives in Greenville, North Carolina with his wife Colby who is a graduate of Baylor University and UT Health Science Center at Houston and is a Resident Physician.
Stephanie Gil, PHR, SHRM-CP, sHRBP
Manager, HR Business Partners
The University of Texas System, Office of Talent and Innovation
Austin, Texas
Stephanie Gil, HR Manager at UT System Administration, oversees a team of HR Business Partners focused on delivering strategic value-added, consultative HR expertise to the UT System Administration collective. Stephanie has been passionately working in the “people” business for 21 years and counting. Prior to joining UT System in April 2015, Stephanie worked in the healthcare industry for almost 10 years in an HR leadership role. Her expertise falls in the areas of employee relations, workplace investigations, organizational design, workforce planning, recruiting and manager/employee coaching. Additionally, she has worked in an HR capacity a total of five years in the manufacturing and communications industries. As a Texas native, Stephanie stayed close to home, graduating from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Management and holds PHR, SHRM-CP and sHRBP professional certifications.
Sean Griffin
Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations (Health-related)
The University of Texas System, Office of Governmental Relations
Austin, Texas
Sean Griffin has more than a decade of experience working inside and around the Texas Capitol in various roles, including as a legislative aide, policy director, deputy chief of staff, and chief of staff for one of the most senior and longest-serving senators in Texas history. In these capacities, he led policy teams and directly oversaw the passage of more than 350 individual pieces of legislation utilizing his expertise of the legislative process and his close, bipartisan relationships with legislators and their staff.
He is well-versed on the state budget appropriations process, having served as the lead budget staffer for a senator on the Senate Finance Committee during two budget cycles, including during the senator’s membership on the powerful Legislative Budget Board.
During his time in the Legislature, Sean worked on a wide and diverse array of important issues, including those in healthcare, higher education, state contracting and procurement, capital funding, economic development, local government, oil and gas, natural resources, redistricting, transportation, and others.
He was the Founding Principal of SG Governmental Relations, a state and local government consulting and lobbying firm, where he advised clients in higher education and business and occupational regulatory issues.
He now serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations at The University of Texas System, focusing on health-related issues.
Sean holds B.A. and B.S. degrees from Texas A&M University, an M.P.Aff. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.
He is a member of the Health Law and Legislative and Campaign Law sections of the Texas Bar.
Lars Hagen
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Lars Hagen joined the Office of General Counsel in February 2014 specializing in employment, civil rights, and other litigation. Mr. Hagen has also had experience advising leadership in the university law enforcement community and training cadets in courtroom testimony.
Mr. Hagen joined UT System after 10 years of litigation and trial work representing Texas institutions of higher education and other state agencies before state and federal courts throughout Texas, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Hagen received his law degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 1999 and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1994. After law school, Mr. Hagen litigated and performed trial work for the State of Missouri before returning to Austin as an analyst for the Texas House of Representatives, employed by its non-partisan Texas House Research Organization.
Kevin C. Hendrickson, CPA
Senior Consultant
SullivanCotter
Atlanta, Georgia
Kevin C. Hendrickson is a Senior Consultant at SullivanCotter in the Physician Workforce Practice. With over 25 years working in the health care industry, he has developed deep knowledge of health care delivery, physician group affiliation strategies and provider compensation. He provides strategic planning, provider compensation planning and valuation services.
His experience includes:
• Assisting in the design of progressive compensation arrangements for physicians to help align their performance with the strategic goals of physician practices, community health systems and academic medical centers undergoing significant change.
• Reviewing provider compensation, operations and performance as part of physician/health system strategic affiliations.
• Engaging physicians in the change process through planning, education and feedback to build buy-in for new compensation programs and to facilitate smooth transitions.
• Providing valuations and third-party expert opinions on the determination of fair market value to ensure reasonableness of physician compensation, including clinical, call coverage, medical administrative and professional service arrangement compensation.
Prior to joining SullivanCotter, Kevin was a consultant at two other professional services firms, specializing in advising health care organizations on issues of physician compensation and fair market value. He was also a director of finance for physician support services at a local health system.
Kevin is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration and accounting from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Atlanta Office, 1100 Peachtree St., Suite 620, Atlanta, GA 30309
Direct: 470.481.6472
kevinhendrickson@sullivancotter.com
Serge Jorgensen
Founding Partner & President
Sylint Group
Sarasota, Florida
Serge Jorgensen is a founding partner and CTO of the Sylint Group. He provides strategic guidance and active oversight in the areas of computer security, incident response, counter cyber-warfare, and security architecture. Mr. Jorgensen is a patented inventor and a nationally recognized speaker on cyber security, actively participating in the Sedona Conference, American Bar Association, and RSA Conferences, among others. He has directed the development of several leading-edge security applications, provided response and remediation guidance to international organizations responding to espionage and cyber-security attacks, and directed, tasked and managed multi-million-dollar security, litigation, and forensic efforts.
Sheila Kadura, Ph.D.
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Dr. Sheila Kadura is responsible for intellectual property matters involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, sponsored research, clinical trials, and technology commercialization and licensing. Sheila comes to the UT System after 4 years at Dell Technologies where she was a Senior Legal Director focusing on intellectual property litigation. Before that, she was a Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright (Austin, Texas) and a law clerk to the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Washington, D.C.).
After graduating from Texas State University (San Marcos, Texas) with a B.S. in biology, Sheila studied molecular and cellular biology at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas) where she earned a Ph.D. She then attended the University of Texas School of Law (Austin, Texas) where she earned a J.D., graduated as a Chancellor, and served on the Texas Law Review.
Sheila is active in the IP community locally and nationally. She serves on the Executive Board as the Mentorship Chair for the Honorable Lee Yeakel Intellectual Property Inn of Court and as the Sponsorship & Finance Advisor for the Texas Chapter of ChIPs, a nonprofit organization focusing on advancing and connecting women in technology, law, and policy.
Jason McLellan, Ph.D.
Professor of Molecular Biosciences
The Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry
The University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences
Austin, Texas
Dr. Jason McLellan researches viral and bacterial proteins, and his work to understand how these proteins are structured and how they function has factored into the development of vaccines and potential treatments for deadly pathogens that have impacted the lives of billions of people. He is one of the inventors of a way to engineer a key protein in coronaviruses for use in vaccines. The technology his team developed can be found in many leading vaccines against COVID-19 (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax). McLellan and his colleagues also designed key proteins that form the basis of several vaccines now in clinical trials against the coronavirus, as well as separate proteins used in vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a virus especially dangerous for young children and seniors.
He is the winner of multiple scientific awards, including the Golden Goose Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the William Prusoff Memorial Award from the International Society for Antiviral Research and the Viruses Young Investigator in Virology Prize, among others. His research and expertise have been featured in multiple media outlets including CNN, Fox News, USA Today, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post and National Geographic. Dr. McLellan earned a B.S. in chemistry with an emphasis in biochemistry from Wayne State University and his Ph. D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He conducted his postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health's Vaccine Research Center. After serving on the faculty at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in the Department of Biochemistry for five years, he moved his laboratory to the University of Texas at Austin in 2018, where he serves as a tenured faculty member and associate chair for graduate education in the Department of Molecular Biosciences.
Helen Mohrmann
Chief Information Security Officer
The University of Texas System, Office of Information Security
Austin, Texas
Helen Mohrmann serves as the chief information security officer for The University of Texas System. In this capacity she works with each U.T. System institution to continually improve their security posture and capabilities. Her office is responsible for the development and administration of Systemwide policies as well as the assessment and monitoring of systems operated directly by U.T. System Administration, including services shared among institutions.
Ms. Mohrmann has over 25 years of information technology experience in higher education and the non-profit and private sectors. From 2010-2016 she served as the chief information officer for the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She has also held information technology leadership positions at Cornell University and in the financial services industry.
Ms. Mohrmann has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, a B.S. from Cornell University, and an A.M. from Harvard University. She is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
Stacey Napier, J.D.
Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations
The University of Texas System, Office of Governmental Relations
Austin, Texas
Stacey Napier is the Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations at the University of Texas System. In this role, Ms. Napier serves as the primary liaison between the UT System Administration and Board of Regents and the Texas Legislature on the wide range of budget and policy issues and concerns that affect higher education and health care in Texas generally and the UT System institutions. She is also the liaison with Executive Branch officials and agencies of Texas state government and at times with local governments in Austin and around the state.
Ms. Napier began her career in state government working in the Texas House of Representatives as a legislative aide to State Representative Kenn George and later as General Counsel and Chief of Staff to Texas Senator Florence Shapiro. In 2003, she joined then-Attorney General Greg Abbott as the Chief of the Intergovernmental Relations Division at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
Over the next 12 years, she served in various roles of increasing responsibility at the OAG, including Senior Counsel to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General for Administration, where she oversaw eight divisions within the OAG. In January of 2015, Gov. Abbott named Ms. Napier as the Director of Administration for the Office of the Governor. In this role, she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the agency, continued to routinely interact with legislators and staff and testified on behalf of the agency in budget hearings throughout the session.
In February 2016, Ms. Napier was named Executive Director of the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR). As Executive Director, Ms. Napier oversaw the agency’s $750 million biennial budget, all employees, contracts and initiatives. DIR’s main focus is to improve Texas by being a leader in technology innovation and contracting. Ms. Napier served as Executive Director through October 2018, when she was named Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations. She now serves on the Board of the Department of Information Resources as the board member representing institutions of higher education.
Stacey earned a Bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University and a law degree from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. She is licensed by the State Bar of Texas. Stacey and her husband Rod have two very active young boys, aged 11 and 13.
David J. Palmer
Program Director-Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions
The University of Texas at Austin, Office of Technology Commercialization
Austin, Texas
David Palmer is Director of Legal Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin’s Office of Technology Commercialization, where he is involved in negotiating and crafting license agreements and other contracts involving university patents, software and other IP, managing prosecution of the university’s patent portfolio, and providing other IP-related legal advice. Before coming to UT, David was a partner at the law firm of Perkins Coie LLP, where he specialized in patent litigation for clients in technologies such as semiconductor manufacturing, telecommunications, and software. David also practiced with the firms of Wilson Sonsini and Cooley prior to his time at Perkins Coie. In addition, he has spent significant time in a pro bono practice assisting indigent clients in protecting their rights in immigration and medical matters. Mr. Palmer received his law degree from Stanford Law School.
Kumar Raman
IT Director of Enterprise Development
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, IT Enterprise Systems
Edinburg, Texas
Kumar Raman currently serves as the IT Director for Enterprise Development at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. In this role he oversees websites & software development, portal and mobile technologies for UTRGV. He has served as the co-chair for the Electronic Information Resources committee overseeing accessibility compliance for the organization.
Mr. Raman has a Bachelors in Physics and a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Adam Robison
Partner
King & Spalding LLP
Houston, Texas
Adam Robison is a Partner in King & Spalding’s Houston Healthcare practice. He represents public and private hospital systems, academic medical centers, medical schools, children's hospitals, hospices, laboratories, physicians and suppliers in various regulatory and transactional matters. He regularly counsels clients concerning False Claims Act and Civil Monetary Penalty investigations, fraud and abuse, along with anti-kickback and physician self-referral issues, including physician contracting. He has also worked with clients on Medicare and Medicaid administrative overpayment appeals; Medicare and Medicaid self-disclosures; and compliance with the 60-day overpayment rule; as well as on Medicaid supplemental payment and 1115 Waiver programs. In addition, Adam advises clients on a variety of transactional matters, including hospital joint operating company agreements, merger and acquisition agreements, and academic affiliation agreements.
He is Chambers-ranked for healthcare in Texas, recognized by the Best Lawyers of American in its 2020 and 2021 Guide. He has been recognized by Texas Lawyers as a Super Lawyer every year since 2010.
Adam has four children and has entirely too many hobbies, including hunting, fishing, soccer, pickleball, and softball.
Kristin M. Roshelli
Partner
King & Spalding LLP
Houston, Texas
Kristin Roshelli is a Partner in King & Spalding’s Houston Healthcare practice. Kristin’s practice focuses exclusively in the healthcare and life sciences industries. She regularly assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, affiliations, general health law questions, and complex corporate governance matters. She also advises clients on defending government investigations relating to Medicare and Medicaid billing, appealing alleged overpayments, self-disclosing potential overpayments, and analyzing arrangements under state and federal fraud and abuse authorities, including the Stark physician self-referral and anti-kickback statutes.
She is Chambers-ranked for healthcare in Texas and was recently recognized by Texas Lawyers with an “On the Rise Award,” which recognizes lawyers under the age of 40 who have wielded influence in their practice areas in Texas and beyond. Prior to entering the legal field, Kristin served as a nurse in the United States Air Force and worked in the general counsel’s office of a large academic medical center. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable P. Kevin Castel for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Outside of work, Kristin is involved in advocating for issues important to veterans and is a mom to two young children.
Laura Samala Hartmann
Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations (Academic-related)
The University of Texas System, Office of Governmental Relations
Austin, Texas
Laura Samala Hartmann serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations for The University of Texas System. In her role, she seeks to enhance public and governmental support necessary to the operations of the U.T. System and its eight academic institutions. In partnership with other U.T. officials, as well as other higher education university system offices, she works closely with legislators, legislative staff, executive branch, and state agencies on a wide variety of academic issues. Ms. Hartmann serves on several committees and workgroups within U.T. System providing counsel on legislative strategy.
Before joining the U.T. System in 2004, Ms. Hartmann spent some time in the private sector and served in various roles within several state agencies, including a position with the Texas House of Representatives as parliamentary assistant to the House Parliamentarian. In her parliamentary assistant position her responsibilities included, drafting amendments, point of order research, and House Rules analysis.
A native of Florida, Ms. Hartmann began her governmental relations career as the Coordinator of Public Service with the Office of Governmental Relations at Florida State University (FSU). During her time at FSU, Ms. Hartmann served as a liaison between all levels of government and the university community, providing information and analysis on public policy issues affecting higher education and FSU.
Ms. Hartmann is a graduate of Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. She is the proud mother to her daughter, Ava.
Steven L. Schleicher
Partner and Co-Chair of Government & Internal Investigations Group
Maslon LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota
OVERVIEW
Steve Schleicher is a renowned trial lawyer with deep experience in high profile cases. He concentrates his work on high stakes criminal and civil litigation, government and internal investigations, and appellate practice—and leads Maslon's Government & Internal Investigations Group.
Steve’s extraordinary trial skills are well known throughout the United States and the world. Most recently, he has been recognized for his role as a special prosecutor in the internationally televised homicide trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Steve received high praise for his prominent role conducting jury selection and witness examination. His devastating cross-examination of the defense use-of-force expert received national acclaim, and his powerful closing was viewed as a pivotal factor in the trial verdict.
In his white collar criminal defense practice, Steve represents individuals accused of financial crimes involving health care, agriculture, and corporate embezzlement. As a business litigator, Steve served as liaison defense counsel for a leading corn seed developer in a consolidated action involving over 65,000 plaintiffs, and he has represented a leading medical device manufacturer in product liability lawsuits in numerous state and federal courts across the country.
Steve's investigations practice has included a high profile investigation of a private security company holding a contract at a major NFL venue that resulted in its termination; a data security breach and IP theft conspiracy at a major automobile manufacturer; and internal investigations and government compliance on behalf of health care providers, including hospital systems and physicians. Across all, he leverages deep experience and an acute skillset honed through both public service and private practice.
A former federal prosecutor, Steve worked for 13 years in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, serving as the Deputy Criminal Chief of the Special Prosecution Section (2014-2016) and as the St. Paul Branch Chief. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, he was a prosecutor at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office and the Winona County Attorney's Office. Steve also has experience in military courts, having served as a JAG Corps Officer in the United States Army Reserve for 10 years.
Throughout his career, Steve has tried a diverse variety of criminal cases, including homicide, criminal sexual conduct, armed robbery, assault, and other violent crime; complex narcotics conspiracies; racketeering; organized crime; fraud; money laundering; and civil rights violations. He has had numerous jury trials and has conducted hundreds of investigations.
In 2016, Steve served as a prosecutor on the Jacob Wetterling case, prosecuting Danny Heinrich on federal child pornography charges that led to his confession to Jacob’s kidnapping and murder as well as the recovery of his remains. Steve was recognized as an "Attorney of the Year" by Minnesota Lawyer for his dedicated work.
Steve is often interviewed by the media for insight and commentary relating to high profile litigation matters. He served as an on-air commentator during the internationally watched trial of Mohamed Noor, the former Minneapolis police officer who was prosecuted for murder in connection with the on-duty shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond.
EXPERIENCE
Government & Internal Investigations
- As a former federal prosecutor, conducted hundreds of investigations on behalf of the United States, including complex fraud matters, money laundering, organized crime, and violent crime.
- Investigated a security company holding a multimillion-dollar contract at a major NFL venue on behalf of a worldwide venue management company.
- Investigated a data security breach and complex intellectual property theft conspiracy on behalf of a major automobile manufacturer.
- Represents health care providers and pharmacies in investigations conducted by government agencies.
- Assists financial institutions with Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act compliance to include investigation and reporting.
- Represents clients under investigation by federal and state entities, including United States Attorneys' Offices; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Department of Justice; Department of Health and Human Services; Federal Trade Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission.
Criminal Defense
- Represents clients accused of crimes in federal and state court, including complex financial crimes, health care fraud, narcotics violations, and all serious felony matters.
- Criminal constitutional law expertise; obtained complete dismissal of “dark web” narcotics distribution charges on Fourth Amendment grounds.
- Respected criminal trial attorney with experience handling sensitive, high profile criminal cases, including homicide, organized crime, fraud, and official misconduct.
- Experienced appellate advocate; successful practice before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, Minnesota Supreme Court, and Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Business Litigation
- Served as liaison defense counsel for leading corn seed developer in Minnesota state court consolidated action involving over 65,000 individual U.S. corn growers and various entities that purchased, stored, transported, and exported corn grown in the U.S., along with a class of Minnesota corn growers alleging tort and consumer fraud claims against client.
Tort & Product Liability Litigation
- Represented leading medical device manufacturer in nationwide lawsuits involving both implanted and external medical devices in multiple state and federal courts across the country.
Jessica L. Sentz
Associate General Counsel
The Texas State University System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Jessica Sentz serves as Associate General Counsel for the Texas State University System (TSUS). Before joining TSUS, Ms. Sentz served as university counsel at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin. She regularly advises on all issues affecting institutions of higher education, including labor and employment matters; First Amendment issues; student conduct issues; and Title IX.
Lynn Sessions
Partner
Baker & Hostetler LLP
Houston, Texas
Lynn Sessionsis Partner at BakerHostetler with over 28 years of experience and focuses her practice on privacy and data security. She has handled over 800 data breaches and nearly 500 regulatory investigations following those breaches. She is knowledgeable of both state, federal and international data breach laws, including HIPAA, FERPA and GDPR. Lynn is a team lead in BakerHostetler’s Digital Assets and Data Management group, which has been recognized as one of the top data privacy groups in the nation by Law 360 and Chambers. Prior to joining BakerHostetler, Lynn served as in-house counsel and director of several departments at Texas Children’s Hospital and was responsible for risk management, including cyberliability, insurance, litigation, emergency management, and environmental health and safety. Lynn completed her undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University and received her law degree from Baylor University School of Law, where she was honored in the Order of Barristers. Lynn is ranked by Chambers as a leading healthcare attorney in the state of Texas and in healthcare privacy nationally and internationally. Lynn was also awarded a Burton Distinguished Writing Award at the Library of Congress for her article, “Anatomy of a Healthcare Data Breach”, was named a Trailblazer in Cyber Security by the National Law Journal in 2016 and awarded Top 25 Women in Healthcare (Houston) by the National Diversity Council in 2019. Lynn is a frequent speaker on data security and privacy matters.
Daniel H. Sharphorn, J.D.
Vice Chancellor and General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Before joining UT System in 2007, Dan served in the Vice President and General Counsel's office of the University of Michigan for 25 years, most recently as Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. In that capacity, Dan had primary responsibility for legal advice and litigation management at every level of the University in all matters related to faculty and student affairs, research, and governance. As Deputy General Counsel, he assisted in the management of an office with twenty attorneys, five paralegals, and related support staff that provided legal advice to the Board of Regents, the main University campus in Ann Arbor, two regional campuses, and the University of Michigan Medical Center. Dan directly supervised attorneys responsible for legal advice on intellectual property, technology transfer, export controls, purchasing, contracts, immigration, conflicts of interest and ethics, and student affairs. He also taught law, and social organization and law, in the University of Michigan Department of Sociology.
Dan began his career in higher education as an instructor and Judge Advocate General at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Dan earned a J.D., M.S.W., and M.A. (Sociology) from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Susan Sherman
Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations (Appropriations-related)
The University of Texas System, Office of Governmental Relations & Office of Budget and Planning
Austin, Texas
Since 2019, Susan Sherman has served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations in a shared role between the U. T. System Offices of Governmental Relations and of Budget and Planning. Susan’s efforts are focused on state appropriations related issues including helping to shape policy and preparing detailed analysis. Susan also has responsibility for statutory and other legislatively required reports and is the U. T. System lead on the System’s Legislative Appropriations Requests.
This is Susan’s second stint at the University of Texas System, having served in the same role from 2010-2014. Susan has also worked in a similar role for the University of North Texas System. Prior to joining U. T. System, she spent ten years working in the Texas Legislature, including six years with the Legislative Budget Board on the higher education team, where she administered the general academic formula funding model.
Susan has a B.A. and an M.Ed. from The University of Texas at Austin.
Pei-Yong Shi, Ph.D.
Professor, John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology
UTMB Health The University of Texas Medical Branch
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vice Chair for Innovation and Commercialization
Galveston, Texas
Pei-Yong Shi is John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). He works on RNA virus, drug discovery, and vaccine research. His unique expertise in public health laboratory (York State Department of Health), pharmaceutical companies (Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb), and academia (UTMB and Yale) allows him to work on both basic and translational research. He has published >300 peer-reviewed papers. His group developed the first reverse genetic systems for the epidemic West Nile virus and Zika virus and discovered flavivirus N7 and 2’O methyltransferase activities. His team also published the first peer-reviewed infectious clone and reporter virus for SARS-CoV-2. Besides academic excellence, he also has a stellar track record of senior leadership role at major pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Executive Director at Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases) where he set up antiviral strategies and executed drug discovery and development. He contributed to the development of Fostemsavir, an FDA-approved HIV drug. Many of his technologies have been licensed to leading pharmaceutical companies for countermeasure development. A recent example is his reporter neutralization assay that has enabled the rapid development of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the first vaccine with 95% efficacy in humans.
Roger Starkey
Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations (Business Affairs-related)
The University of Texas System, Office of Governmental Relations
Austin, Texas
In 1998, Roger Starkey joined the University of Texas System as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations.
Currently, Mr. Starkey serves as Associate Vice-Chancellor for Governmental Relations. In this position, he is responsible for business related issues that impact the University of Texas System administration and the academic and health institutions.
Prior to joining UT System, Roger served as Director of External Relations for the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and was responsible for coordination of the Workforce Commission’s efforts relating to Governmental Relations, Customer Relations and Public Information.
Before joining the TWC, Roger spent twelve years working in the Texas Legislature.
Roger earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Roger and his wife Suzanne have two children: Laura age 18 and Travis age 17.
Roger enjoys attending UT Austin sporting events and watching his children in their many athletic endeavors.
Omar A. Syed
Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Omar A. Syed is Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy General Counsel for the UT System. He joined the Office of General Counsel in 2007, managed the General Law practice group from 2014-2016, and has served in his current position since 2016.
Omar received his A.B. with Special Honors in Public Policy Studies from The University of Chicago in 1996 and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1999. After law school, he practiced civil litigation and administrative law as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. Next, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Minneapolis, where he led federal investigations and prosecuted federal narcotics, violent and economic crimes. Immediately before joining OGC, Omar practiced oil and gas law with a private law firm in Austin.
Omar was appointed to the Board of Directors for the National Association of College and University Attorneys in 2020; serves on the campus advisory council for the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, a public high school in Austin; and is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Omar is fluent in Spanish, and is a first-generation American.
Teresa Taber Doughty, Ph.D.
Dean
The University of Texas at Arlington, College of Education
Arlington, Texas
Dr. Teresa Taber Doughty is the dean of the College of Education and is a Professor of Special Education at the University of Texas at Arlington. She received degrees from Auburn University (B.S.) and Georgia State University (M. Ed. and Ph. D.). Her research focuses on examining effective instructional strategies leading to increased community participation for individuals with severe disabilities, assistive technologies, establishing stimulus control, transition planning, and applied behavior analysis. She is the author/co-author of more than 60 publications that appear in professional research journals and is the co-author of two textbooks in special education. She serves on numerous editorial boards, is a team lead for AAQEP, and is the former executive director for the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Cynthia Tynan
Assistant General Counsel, Public Information Coordinator
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Cynthia Tynan joined the General Law Section in January 2014. Ms. Tynan specializes in the Texas Public Information Act, FERPA, Clery Act compliance, and student conduct matters. Before joining the Office of General Counsel, Ms. Tynan served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General, and as a Commission Appeals attorney for the Texas Workforce Commission.
Ms. Tynan received her JD from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and her MBA and BA in English from The University of Alabama.
Ronald L. Vance, JD, CVA
Managing Principal
SullivanCotter
Atlanta, Georgia
Ronald L. Vance is a Managing Principal at SullivanCotter and a senior member of the Physician Workforce Practice. As an attorney and consultant advising clients in the health care industry for over 30 years, Ron works with private physician practices, community health systems and academic medical centers in the US that are undergoing significant change. He provides strategic planning, provider compensation planning and valuation services.
Ron’s experience includes:
• Negotiating a broad range of client agreements, including asset purchases, mergers and provider contracts to help health care organizations execute their unique business strategies.
• Designing progressive physician compensation arrangements to help organizations attract, retain and motivate key physicians who help them deliver value-based results aligned with organizational mission, vision and values.
• Conducting a wide range of provider needs assessments to weigh strategic provider alignment and inform the development of programs for employed and affiliated physicians, as well as advanced practice providers (APPs) providing care in integrated team models.
• Developing and implementing physician compensation plans for single-specialty and multi-specialty practices to support critical strategies and performance goals.
• Providing valuations and third-party expert opinions on the determination of fair market value to ensure reasonableness.
Ron is a frequent industry author and national speaker on topics of physician strategy, compensation and professional services valuation. He also participates in the Healthcare Roundtable conferences for Patient Care Services and General Counsel.
He is also a certified valuation analyst accredited by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts and an expert witness in physician compensation matters.
Before joining SullivanCotter, Ron held senior leadership roles at a specialized, global professional services firm and at a national health care consulting group.
Ron holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and philosophy from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. His Juris Doctor degree is from Southern Illinois University of Law in Carbondale.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Atlanta Office, 1100 Peachtree St., Suite 620, Atlanta, GA 30309
ronvance@sullivancotter.com
Ana Vieira Ayala
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Ana Vieira Ayala joined the General Law Section in 2013 and serves as an Assistant General Counsel.
Ms. Vieira Ayala provides legal advice on a variety of subject areas, including constitutional law, faculty and staff employment matters, torts, student issues, privacy and open records.
Before joining the Office of General Counsel, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General. Ms. Vieira Ayala received her JD from the University of Houston Law Center in 2008 and her BS from Texas State University in 2004.
Marc Vockell
Assistant General Counsel
The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel
Austin, Texas
Marc Vockell is responsible for intellectual property including trademarks, copyrights, patents, sponsored research, clinical trials, technology commercialization, software licensing, confidentiality, and trade secrets. Marc comes to the UT System after 14 years at Dell Technologies, where he served as Vice President for Intellectual Property Litigation. Before working at Dell, Marc was a business litigation attorney at Vinson & Elkins.
After graduating from Purdue University in 1991, Marc taught bilingual elementary education in the Houston Independent School District, through Teach for America. He then got his law degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 1997, where he was Notes Editor of the Texas Law Review. He then clerked for United States District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin.
Marc is active in the bar and has served as a Commissioner for the Texas Access to Justice Commission, President of the Austin Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Board Member and President of Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas, and Executive Committee Community Liaison for the Honorable Lee Yeakel Intellectual Property Inn of Court.
