Class of 2024 Profile
and Fellow Directory
The Leadership Academy Class of 2024 is diverse in terms of industry type, non-profit and for profit representation, size of legal departments and Fellow experience level. Academy Fellows work in a broad array of industries, including: aerospace and defense; commercial and residential construction; consulting services; education; energy; financial services/mortgages; government contracting; healthcare/pharma/biotech; hotel and hospitality; charitable and advocacy nonprofits; retail; technology and data services; telecomm/media; trade associations; and transportation.
Seventeen percent of the Fellows work for non-profit organizations. Thirteen of the Fellows work in legal departments of 10 or fewer lawyers, 14 work in legal departments ranging from 11 to 50 in size, and 8 work in departments of 51-plus lawyers.
The class is also diverse in terms of experience levels: 17 Fellows have practiced in-house for no more than seven years, another 15 have 8-15 years of in-house experience; and 3 Fellows have more than 16 years of in-house experience. Sixteen Fellows have 7-15 years of overall practice experience, 14 have 16-25 years, and 5 have 26 or more years.
Class of 2024 Fellows Directory:
Awo Sarpong Ansu
Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
The University of Maryland Global Campus
awo.ansu@umgc.edu
Awo is the Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at the University of Maryland Global Campus. She advises the University President and senior leaders on the legal implications of University policy and decision-making, and manages a team of attorneys and legal professionals.
Deborah Arnold
Senior Director & Deputy General Counsel
Fannie Mae
deborah_arnold@fanniemae.com
Deb is Deputy General Counsel in the multifamily group of Fannie Mae’s legal division. She provides legal analysis to business and credit teams on transactions for six (6) Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) lenders and is responsible for new and revised published and unpublished loan documents for use in transactions. She also participates in working groups for product initiatives.
Selena Brady
Civil Sector Counsel
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
brady_selena@bah.com
As the Civil Sector Counsel, Selena supports the Civil Sector leadership with strategic legal advice to protect and grow the business (encompassing all civilian agencies they support). She helps manage a team of attorneys with various expertise (employment, investigations, IP, government contracts, privacy and ITC) to provide integrated and comprehensive advice to the business. She also provides day-to-day government contracts legal support to the health market, helping the teams mitigate risks across the government contracts lifecycle.
Jennifer Davila
Associate General Counsel
Freddie Mac
jennifer_davila@freddiemac.com
Jen is an associate general counsel in the multifamily group of Freddie Mac’s legal division. She supports the origination of multifamily loans in the central region of the United States and serves as a subject matter expert on manufactured housing community loans and “know your customer” compliance and disclosure matters. Jen has been with Freddie Mac since July 2012.
Oonagh Deasy
Managing Associate General Counsel
Freddie Mac
oonagh_deasy@freddiemac.com
Oonagh leads the Single-Family Mortgage Servicing Transactions Group within Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Real Estate Division, a team of six experienced transactional attorneys who primarily support the single-family mortgage servicing, single-family investment and capital markets, and single-family counterparty credit risk management business areas with an emphasis on sophisticated transactions, including financings secured by mortgage servicing rights and advance reimbursement rights, the purchase and sale of residential mortgage loan portfolios and of mortgage loan servicing, voluntary partial cancellations of servicing contract rights and the engagement of interim servicers. Her team also works closely with the company's litigation team with respect to distressed counterparties including resolution and settlement agreements.
Patricia Donkor
Corporate Counsel
Steampunk, Inc.
patricia.donkor@steampunk.com
Patricia provides advice and counsel to every level of the organization on matters ranging from employment law, risk management, compliance, and federal government contracting.
Christopher Flack
Associate General Counsel
Amtrak
christopher.flack@amtrak.com
Chris manages complex commercial litigation for Amtrak, supervising outside counsel and other professionals to vigorously defend the company’s interests in court, arbitrations, and other proceedings, and prosecuting claims when necessary to ensure the company’s rights are respected. Among the subject matters he works on are commercial contracts, eminent domain, environmental remediation, insurance coverage and railroad operations.
Steve Forster
Senior Director, Lead Counsel, Pricing & Commercial Access Strategy
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
stephen.forster@otsuka-us.com
Steve is a strategic, creative, solutions-oriented, risk-mitigating attorney and trusted advisor who partners closely and effectively with executive leadership and a broad spectrum of departments across his pharmaceutical organization. He supports the CEO, CFO, VP Market Access and Patient Support, VP Nephrology and Marketing, VP CNS Business and OCPI Global Marketing, Pricing and Contracting, Government Affairs and Regulatory Teams concerning legal issues affecting the company’s success while also supporting compliant strategy execution (FDCA, AKS, FCA, FCPA, IRA, HCEI, PIE, Antitrust, and PhRMA). His primary area of focus and expertise is in the market access, channel, trade, distribution, and pricing arenas which includes, but is not limited to, advising and negotiating on contracts in each space, overseeing all patient support programs, 340B related matters as well as managing non-IP related litigation and governmental inquiries.
Stefanie Frank
Vice President, Associate General Counsel
Thriveworks
stefie1028@hotmail.com
As Vice President ans Associate General Counsel, Stefanie oversees the entire legal team, as well as assists with legal concerns or issues across the company. She is a generalist who deals with matters ranging from corporate governance to labor and employment, to ESG and clinician scope of practice, and beyond.
Kevin Garvey
Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
kpgarvey@gmail.com
Kevin is Associate General Counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce responsible for overseeing all litigation, investigations, and oversight of the International Division’s activities.
Hillary Ghent
Senior Counsel
James G. Davis Construction Corporation
hghent@davisconstruction.com
Hillary leads negotiation of construction contracts and attendant real estate and financing documents for James G. Davis Construction Corp., a large general contractor. Hillary also provides counsel and education on project compliance, risk mitigation and dispute resolution strategies and oversees construction litigation matters as necessary.
Heather Goldman
Assistant General Counsel, Litigation
Yahoo Inc.
heather.goldman@yahooinc.com
Heather Goldman is the Assistant General Counsel for Litigation at Yahoo Inc., a global media and technology company that reaches nearly 900 million people around the world. In her current role, Heather handles media-related litigation and general commercial litigation for Yahoo Inc. and its many brands, including Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Search, and Yahoo Ad Tech, among others. Prior to joining Yahoo, Heather was an attorney at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP in New York and Washington, D.C. Prior to her career in law, Heather was a producer for CNN.
Margaret Hackbarth
Assistant General Counsel
Constellation Energy
margaret.hackbarth@constellation.com
Margaret is a member of the Corporate & Commercial Group of Constellation Energy. Her practice is focused on real estate transactions and related matters that impact all areas of the company's business, and is national in scope.
Jennifer Kang
Senior Director, Corporate Counsel
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
jennifer.kang@otsuka-us.com
Jen serves as Senior Director, Corporate Counsel, at Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., where she leads a team that is responsible for providing legal guidance to, and participating in strategy discussions with, business partners in the R&D/Clinical and Regulatory departments. Prior to joining Otsuka, Jen served as Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement & Litigation in the Office of Chief Counsel at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, where she represented the agency on administrative, enforcement, and defensive matters.
Kent Kiffner
Senior Director, Legal & Contracts
KBR, Inc.
kent.kiffner@us.kbr.com
Kent oversees the Legal and Contracts function for KBR’s Readiness & Sustainment Business Unit (“R&S”). R&S provides base operation support/services in locations around the globe in support of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, to include Japan, Korea, Diego Garcia, Djibouti, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Spain, and the continental United States. R&S is also home to KBR’s long-held LOGCAP contract with the United States Army.
Megan Kinsey
Senior Associate General Counsel
Amtrak
megan.kinsey@amtrak.com
Megan is a senior member of the tort litigation team in which she supervises Amtrak’s claims and litigation related to employee and passenger injuries, catastrophic events, grade crossing incidents, and trespasser/vehicle strikes. She also handles all of Amtrak’s FRSA Whistleblower actions and acts as advisor to the Safety and public health departments, often working with several regulatory agencies, including OSHA and the FRA.
Robert Lalley
Deputy Chief Counsel
BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
robert.lalley@baesystems.com
Bob serves in the role of Deputy Chief Counsel for BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Electronic Systems). As the Deputy Chief Counsel, he is the primary legal point of contact for the Controls and Avionics Solutions (CAS), Power and Propulsion Systems (PPS), and FAST Labs business units. As the primary legal POC for a portfolio that exceeds more than $1.6B in revenue, he serves in a senior leadership role and advises the business on compliance issues, as well as business matters.
Irina Lazieva
Legal Director, Anti-Corruption Compliance
KBR, Inc.
Irina.Lazieva@kbr.com
Irina is Legal Director, Anti-Corruption Compliance at KBR, Inc. located in Houston, TX. She oversees the company’s global anti-corruption program. Irina is a seasoned compliance professional with a proven track record of deploying and managing corporate compliance programs at large multinational organizations in the U.S. and overseas. Her daily responsibilities include advising business on the FCPA, UKBA, and other regulatory compliance matters, conducting third-party due diligence and high-risk transactions review, managing compliance audits, risk assessments and corruption investigations. She is also experienced in operationalizing compliance processes to ensure seamless integration of regulatory compliance with enterprise risk management. Prior to joining KBR, Irina worked in various compliance roles in the oil and gas, manufacturing and aerospace sectors.
Bradley Lefkowitz
Associate General Counsel
Stanley Martin Homes
lefkowitzbj@stanleymartin.com
Brad’s practice includes three primary areas of responsibility: (1) representing the company’s Richmond, Charlottesville, and Charlotte offices on land acquisition, development, and retail sales matters; (2) providing general counsel services to the company’s affiliated mortgage company, First Heritage Mortgage; and (3) working on strategic and operational matters for the corporate office, including M&A activity and data platform development.
Matt MacKenzie
Assistant General Counsel - Data Privacy
Leidos, Inc.
matthew.h.mackenzie@leidos.com
Matt heads up Leidos’ Global Privacy Office with responsibility for overseeing the company’s privacy compliance program. He advises the lines of business and functional teams on a range of privacy compliance matters and partners with the company's cyber security and physical security teams on cybersecurity compliance issues.
April Mackoff
Assistant General Counsel
HMSHost Corporation
april.mackoff@hmshost.com
April provides legal support for HMSHost's Business Development team with the review and drafting of airport concession lease-related documents across North America. She also serves as principal counsel for the Strategic Alliances department and leads drafting of joint venture operating agreements and related loan agreements.
Ambre McLaughlin
Senior Counsel, Data Privacy and Technology Transactions
Electrify America, LLC
ambremclaughlin@gmail.com
Ambre supports Electrify America’s Technology, Business Development, Commercial, Home, Product and Marketing teams with regard to privacy, data licensing, Software as a Service, as well as other regulatory and consumer protection issues.
Elizabeth Miller
Associate General Counsel
Fannie Mae
elizabeth_g_miller@fanniemae.com
Liz is an Associate General Counsel on the Corporate Governance team at Fannie Mae. She primarily supports Fannie Mae’s management-level committees and board committees. In her role, she is responsible for drafting minutes, resolutions, agendas, and memoranda to the Board, reviewing various corporate documents (including charters, delegations of authority, and corporate governance guidelines), advising management and directors regarding conflicts of interest, independence and eligibility, and other matters, and responding to regulatory examinations.
Jean-Baptiste Pessey
Associate General Counsel and Director of Legal Resources
Association of Corporate Counsel
jbpessey@gmail.com
Jean-Baptiste wears two hats at ACC, where he serves as Associate General Counsel and Director of Legal Resources. In his business role as Director of Legal Resources, he leads a team that obtains, develops, and publishes online informative resources for in-house counsel (articles, samples, etc.). In his legal role as Associate General Counsel,he works on matters such as governance and contracts.
Christopher Porter
Associate General Counsel
National Student Clearinghouse
porterc@studentclearinghouse.org
In his role at the National Student Clearinghouse, Chris negotiates contracts with education entities (colleges, K-12 school districts, third party researchers, etc.) and vendors, as well as grant agreements with foundations and state and federal agencies. He also works to ensure company compliance with privacy statutes, regulations, existing contract provisions, education statutes and regulations (for example, Federal Student Aid requirements under the Higher Education Act), and information security standards.
Brian Shovlin
Associate General Counsel
Amtrak
brian.shovlin@amtrak.com
Brian works in the Real Estate and Infrastructure unit of the law department. His practice is focused on real estate issues (leases, acquisitions, dispositions, licenses etc.) and construction of rail infrastructure and related facilities (stations and office space etc.).
Aimee Stewart
Deputy General Counsel
National Women's Law Center
astewart@nwlc.org
Aimee provides a broad range in-house legal advice and representation to NWLC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, its 501(c)(4) affiliate the NWLC Action Fund, and its subsidiaries NWLC Fund LLC and Abortion Access Legal Defense Fund LLC. NWLC's 2-person legal team provides a broad range of legal advice and services to the NWLC affiliate family.
Brendan Stuhan
Assistant General Counsel - Litigation
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
brendan.stuhan@bcbsa.com
Brendan is responsible for managing litigation involving the Association and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan that BCBSA administers. He also supervises responses to subpoenas and information requests, advises business units on vendor disputes, and advises colleagues on dispute, insurance and indemnification provisions in contracts. He also has a risk management function through which he provides antitrust compliance advice and manages the company’s insurance portfolio. He is also counsel to the Finance and Audit Committee and has other governance-related responsibilities.
Keith Tashima
Associate General Counsel
Lockheed Martin Corporation
keith.t.tashima@lmco.com
Keith advises the corporation on legal matters involving environmental, health, safety, and sustainability issues, including site remediation. His work frequently includes regulatory compliance matters arising under the jurisdiction of EPA, OSHA, DOT, and other federal and state agencies. He also serves on the corporation’s Environmental, Safety & Health Leadership Council, a cross-functional organization that provides oversight and direction on ESH and sustainability matters of concern to all of the corporation’s business areas.
Meghann Van Horne
Principal Assistant General Counsel
Lockheed Martin Corporation
meghann.van.horne@lmco.com
Meghann is currently an Assistant General Counsel at Lockheed Martin supporting the Undersea Warfare Program and other national security programs. She brings a variety of international and domestic legal experience to this work, include holding positions as counsel in DOJ’s Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties, Employment and Constitutional Counsel in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Counterterrorism and Cyber Counsel in the FBI, Privacy Officer of the Terrorist Screening Center, and Special Assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. She is a fellow in the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and holds various privacy certifications. She is also a certified in-house counsel through ACC.
Emily Werner
Counsel
G+D ePayments America, Inc.
emily.werner@gi-de.com
Emily provides legal support for all card and digital payment-related business to four G+D Affiliates in the US and Canada. She reviews, negotiates, and drafts complex legal agreements with G+D customers such as banks and state and local transit agencies. In addition, she serves as the Local Privacy Officer for G+D ePayments, overseeing the company's compliance with internal and external data privacy regulations and advising leadership and employees on best data privacy practices. Lastly, she is proud to be a member of G+D’s DE&I council, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the company.
Carol Westmoreland
Senior Associate General Counsel
Amtrak
westmoc@amtrak.com
Since 2006, Carol has been a Senior Associate General Counsel at the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) where she has acted as the lead attorney in the acquisition of the new Acela Trainsets, which will replace Amtrak’s flagship fleet operating on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), the fleet of 70 Amtrak Cities Sprinter locomotives currently operating on the NEC, a fleet of 73 trainsets called Amtrak Airo, which will operate on the NEC and other routes, and three other distinct fleets of rolling stock with a combined acquisition cost exceeding ten billion dollars.
While Carol has enjoyed her role as “the trainset attorney,” she is most proud of her work in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Carol, along with two of her colleagues, founded the first DEI Committee in the Amtrak Law Department, which has implemented significant reforms.
Charlie Whipple
Senior Director & Senior Counsel, Global Brands
Hilton Worldwide
charlie.whipple@hilton.com
Charlie joined Hilton seven years ago and currently serves as Senior Counsel, Global Brands. He leads a team responsible for providing legal support to Hilton’s Global Brands, Marketing & Loyalty, Corporate Communications, and Supply Management functions.
Christopher Willburn
Vice President, Legal
KBR, Inc.
chris.willburn@kbr.com
Chris' practice is transactional, focused on energy services and related claims. He manages a global group of transactional lawyers (Houston, London, Dubai, Singapore, Australia) supporting technology, engineering, and construction transactions, primarily technology licensing (e.g., green ammonia), energy security (e.g., LNG), and energy transition (e.g., biofuels).
Nickole Winnett
VP, Assistant General Counsel
Amentum Services, Inc.
Nickole.Winnett@amentum.com
Nickole is the Chief Labor and Employment Counsel for Amentum Services, which has grown to more than 40,000 employees after the corporate acquisitions of DynCorp International LLC and Pacific Architects and Engineers, Inc. In that role, Nickole handles on all aspect of the company’s litigation, counseling, and compliance strategy for labor and employment matters. She also serves as Lead Business Counsel for the Aviation Solutions business line and handles all government contracting and corporate counseling matters for her business partners.
