Event Program
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Women in Power and the Power of Women in the Courtroom, Boardroom and Beyond November 3, 2017 2 WELCOME! Wilson Elser WAVE, in combination with premier sponsors Veritext Legal Solutions and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law, looks forward to your participation as we recount and celebrate the many achievements of women in Nevada’s legal, business and academic communities. We hope and trust that you will find today’s panels and presentations to be informative, enlightening and inspiring! Wilson Elser’s Las Vegas office is especially active in the firm’s WAVE initiative and committed to advancing its mission. Proceeds from today’s program will be donated to Southern Nevada Dress for Success. In keeping with many of the themes we will discuss today, Dress for Success promotes women’s economic independence One of Wilson Elser’s by providing professional attire, landmark programs. a network of support and related Its members are charged with career development tools. “attracting, developing and retaining women attorneys, enhancing and strengthening their skills, and providing career-advancing opportunities in client service, business development and leadership.” WAVE HOSTS Sheri Thome Regional Managing Partner Las Vegas, Wilson Elser Sheri Thome is the regional managing partner of the Las Vegas office and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. As a firm leader, she strongly supports the Women Attorneys Valued & Empowered (WAVE) initiative and is proud to be a sponsor of today’s event. Sheri focuses her legal practice in the areas of employment defense, pro- fessional liability defense, insurance coverage advice and insurance litigation. Sheri also handles sophisticated commercial cases, even prevailing in a case before the Ninth Circuit that affirmed the dismissal of a breach of contract/ fraud case against a large financial services company. Sheri spent the early years of her career as a commercial litigator in California, handling transportation, business and intellectual property matters for large corporations and financial institutions. She has litigated in both federal and state courts in Nevada and California, and has published opinions in Nevada, California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Sheri’s ability to surface the critical issues in a case enables her to move quickly and capably, resulting in the disposition of many matters with early motion practice. Sheri’s business acumen was honed though her previous work in commercial litigation at an international firm. Combining this experience with high self-expectations, she provides her clients with consistently exceptional, cost-effective service. Karen L. Bashor Of Counsel and Las Vegas WAVE Liason, Wilson Elser Karen Bashor serves on the national WAVE committee and helps organize national programs, including the firm’s mentorship program. Her legal experience includes significant litigation and trial experience with complex litigation, large transportation claims and catastrophic injury defense. She has successfully handled civil and criminal jury trials in state and federal courts in Nevada and New Jersey. Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Karen was the first woman partner and minority partner at a prominent Las Vegas law firm where she routinely handled large cases involving multimillion-dollar claims, including punitive damages, fraud and wrongful death. She has vigorously defended small and large companies and individuals across the nation. Karen worked with the Center for Social Justice in law school and is a former public defender. Karen currently serves on the Board for the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys (SNAWA). In the October 2017 issue of Nevada Lawyer, Karen’s article ,“Diversity Makes a Difference in this Profession,” highlights the issues she’s passionate about surrounding diversity and the power of a woman’s voice in the legal profession. Karen conceived and led the organization of today’s event to celebrate the successes women in the workplace have made thus far, to raise awareness of the progress yet to come, and to inspire people to help one another and give back to the community. PROGRAM 8:45 a.m.–9:00 a.m. WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS Karen Bashor, Of Counsel and Las Vegas WAVE Liaison, Wilson Elser 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. THE POWER OF A WOMAN’S VOICE IN LEADERSHIP Abbi Silver, Chief Judge of the Nevada Court of Appeals Marla Renee Letizia, Entrepreneur/philanthropist Barbara Cegavske, Nevada Secretary of State Sheree Corniel, Executive Director, Real Talk Youth Impact Program Shelley Berkley, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Provost for Touro University’s Western Division Lidia Stiglich, Nevada Supreme Court Justice 10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m. COFFEE BREAK & NETWORKING 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. PANEL: CAREER STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS AND SUCCESSION; PAVING THE WAY FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (Video) Karen Bashor, Esq. and Stacy Roucheleau, Esq. (Moderators) Harmony Letizia, Justice of the Peace for Department 3 Tierra Jones, Eighth Judicial District Court Judge for Department 10 Elissa Cadish, Eighth Judicial District Court Judge for Department 6 Susie Lee, Board Chair of Communities in Schools of Nevada Janet Wise, Founder of The Branding Room 11:30 a.m.–11:40 a.m. ABOUT DRESS FOR SUCCESS Brenda Bradbury, Board Member for Southern Nevada Dress for Success and Vice President of Employee Relations/ Operations at MGM Resorts International 11:40 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS The Honorable Carolyn Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas CONTRIBUTORS/SPEAKERS Shelley Berkley Chief Executive Officer and Senior Provost Touro Western Division Shelley Berkley is the administrative and academic head of the Nevada and northern California campuses of Touro University. Prior to joining Touro in 2014, she served the State of Nevada in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms. Ms. Berkley also served in the Nevada State Legislature and was appointed and twice elected to the Nevada State Board of Regents, where she was awarded the Distinguished Nevadan Award. Prior to serving in Congress, Ms. Berkley was an attorney for the Nevada State Commerce Department, in-house counsel for Southwest Gas Corporation, and Vice President for Government and Legal Affairs for the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. She currently serves on numerous local and national boards, including The Anti-Defamation League, National Osteoporosis Foundation, The Israel Project, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, Henderson Chamber of Commerce and The American Lung Association. Ms. Berkley was recently honored by the Clark County School District with the naming of the Shelley Berkley Elementary School. Aliah Berman Director, Talent Diversity & Inclusion for Aurora Health Care Aliah Berman leads Aurora Health Care’s efforts to recruit, develop and retain diverse talent across the company through educational resources, training programs, projects and interventions that promote diverse recruiting efforts, employee development and leadership engagement. She builds and reshapes Aurora’s recruitment strategy and manages outreach and relationships with educational institutions and organizations to assist in accomplishing Aurora’s workforce diversity and inclusion objectives. In her role, Ms. Berman works to ensure focus and integration between Aurora’s system-wide workforce diversity and inclusion objectives and other strategic plan priorities such as outreach/ engagement, patient experience and cross-cultural services. Ms. Berman has a passion for and successful track record of driving growth and positive change in teams and organizations throughout her career. As a strategic leader and former lawyer/ litigator, Ms. Berman is a strong communicator, facilitator and relationship manager. She has a strong commitment to leveraging diversity as an advantage at Aurora Health Care and ensuring that its workforce reflects the communities of patients it serves. Brenda Bradbury Board Member for Southern Nevada Dress for Success and Vice President of Employee Relations/Operations, MGM Resorts International Brenda Bradbury leads the strategic development, implementation and management of operational programs, policies and services to promote a high level of consistency and organizational effectiveness in Employee and Labor Relations matters. Since joining MGM Resorts in 1998, she has been promoted through the ranks to leadership positions, including Employee Relations Manager at NYNY, Executive Director of Human Resources for Corporate Entities, Director of Human Resources at MGM Grand Las Vegas and Vice President of Human Resources at Excalibur. Ms. Bradbury is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College. Elissa F. Cadish Eighth Judicial District Court Judge for Department 6 Elissa F. Cadish was in private practice focused on commercial litigation and employment law until July 2007, when she was appointed by Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to the position of District Judge in Department 6, where she presently serves. She was president of the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys from 2004 to 2006, and remains an active member in that organization. Judge Cadish is a Master in the Howard D. McKibben Inn of Court, an active member of the local chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and a member of the American Bar Association and the Clark County Bar Association. In 2006, Judge Cadish was appointed as a Lawyer Representative to the United States District Court, acting as liaison between the bench and bar, assisting in planning the District Court Conference and attending the Ninth