2020 Speaker, Profile
Manuel Boigues (Attorney, Weinberg, Roger, & Rosenfeld) Mr. Boígues represents labor unions and workers. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Accounting, magna cum laude, from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from...
2020 Speaker, Profile
Val Hoyle Oregon Labor Commissioner. Val Hoyle was born at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California on February 14th, 1964 and grew up in a proud union household in New England. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in...
2020 Speaker, Profile
David Gaba Arbitrator and Mediator, Compass Law Group PS Inc. David Gaba is a graduate of the University of Nebraska receiving his J.D. from the College of Law in 1984 and his M.B.A. in 1987. Since joining the bar he served as an attorney for the Department of Labor,...
2020 Speaker, Profile
Mark Brenner (LERC), UFCW Local 555, IUPAT Local 10 Mark is a career instructor at University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center, where he focuses on teaching and leadership development. He is best known for his 12-year tenure directing Labor Notes, a...
2020 Speaker, Profile
Kim Kelly Labor Journalist — Teen Vogue, The New Republic Kim Kelly is a freelance writer and organizer born in rural South Jersey and currently based in Philadelphia. She is the labor columnist for Teen Vogue, and a columnist on class and labor at the New Republic....
2020 Speaker, Conference Organizer, Profile
Graham Trainor President, Oregon AFL-CIO Graham grew up in a small, rural, Midwestern town in the heart of the historical stronghold of the American automobile manufacturing industry, not far from the birthplace of the United Automobile Workers. His grandfather, a...
2019 Speaker, Profile
Aruna Masih Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan, LLP. Aruna is a partner with the law firm of Bennett, Hartman, Morris & Kaplan LLP, where she practices civil rights and labor and employment law from the union/employee side. She was born in New York but raised in...
2019 Speaker, Profile
Jack Holland Reid, McCarthy, Ballew & Leahy, LLP. Jack is a graduate of the Seattle University School of Law, where he was the president of the Environmental Law Society and a member of the Dispute Resolution Board. Jack earned his undergraduate degree from...
2019 Speaker, Profile
Kyle Abraham Attorney, Barran Liebman, LLP. Kyle Abraham represents employers in both traditional labor and employment law matters. He works with businesses of all sizes, government entities, and not-for-profit organizations. Kyle’s labor practice includes negotiating...
2019 Speaker, Profile
Derecka Mehrens Executive Director, Working Partnerships USA. Derecka brings fifteen years of community organizing, civic engagement, and public policy experience working in communities of color and with low and moderate-income families. Under Derecka’s...
2019 Speaker, 2020 Speaker, Co-planner, Profile
Diana Winther Co-Planner, General Counsel, IBEW Local 48. Diana attended Lewis and Clark Law School. Prior to becoming general counsel of IBEW Local 48 in 2015, Diana was a law clerk at St. Andrew Legal Clinic, the Oregon Education Association, the Labor Education and...
2018 Speaker, Profile
Elizabeth (Liz) Smith WA. State Dept. of Labor & Industries, Assistant Director – Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards Elizabeth (Liz) Smith has served as Assistant Director for L&I’s Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards division since April 2013...
2018 Speaker, Profile
Allison Drake Labor Standards Policy Advisor for the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries Allison Drake is the Labor Standards Policy Advisor for the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. In this role, she provides policy guidance,...
2018 Speaker, 2019 Speaker, 2020 Speaker, Profile
Caren Sencer Weinberg Roger & Rosenfeld Caren Sencer is a shareholder in the Alameda office of Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld. Since 2004, she has represented unions in all aspects of labor and employment law, as well as provided institutional advice to...
2018 Speaker, Profile
Jennifer Flood Ombudsman for Injured Workers Jennifer has been the Ombudsman for Injured Workers since August 2005. She and her staff serve as independent advocates for injured workers providing information and assistance to ensure workers understand their rights and...
2018 Speaker, 2019 Speaker, Profile
Jennifer Sung Employment Relations Board Member Jennifer Sung currently serves as a member of the Employment Relations Board. Before joining the Board, she was a partner at McKanna Bishop Joffe, LLP, where she represented labor organizations and employees in civil...
2018 Speaker, Profile
Sherman Henry Labor Education & Research Center (LERC), University of Oregon Sherman Henry serves in Portland Center for the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center (LERC). He facilitates learning activities and assists in program development...
2018 Speaker, Profile
Liz Morris Labor Relations Representative, Oregon Nurses Association Liz Morris joined ONA as a labor relations representative in 2016. Prior to coming to ONA, Liz worked as a labor organizer and trainer with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for 12 years....
2018 Speaker, Profile
Karen Moore Attorney, Schuck Law, LLC. Karen Moore received her juris doctorate (law) degree in December 2003 and was licensed to practice law in Oregon in April 2004. Her practice has focused on employment law, primarily wage and hour issues. Her philosophy in wage...
2018 Speaker, 2019 Speaker, Profile
Shirin Khosravi Attorney, SEIU Local 503 Shirin graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2014 and since then has worked as an attorney for SEIU Local 503, the largest public sector union in...
2018 Speaker, Profile
Noah Scott Warman McKanna Bishop Joffe LLP Throughout his career, Noah has represented workers and their unions. His practice has encompassed all aspects of labor law, both private and in addition he has represented unions in cases arising under the Labor-Management...
2017 Speaker, 2018 Speaker, 2019 Speaker, Profile
Lisa Umscheid Employment Relations Board Lisa earned her B.A. from Pomona College and her J.D. from Willamette University College of Law. Before joining the Board, Lisa worked for more than 20 years as a labor and employment attorney, representing both public and...
2017 Speaker, Profile
Christina Stephenson Attorney, Stephenson Law, LLC. Christina is an Oregon attorney and founder of Stephenson Law, LLC. Christina graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Politics from American University where she was awarded the Dean’s Scholarship and was...
2017 Speaker, 2018 Speaker, Profile
David Rolf International Vice President of SEIU and the President of SEIU 775 David Rolf is an International Vice President of SEIU and the President of SEIU 775 and is known internationally as an innovative labor leader and thinker on the future of work and labor. He...
2017 Speaker, 2018 Speaker, Profile
Jennifer Chapman Legal Counsel, Oregon AFSCME Council 75 Jennifer Chapman has been an Oregon AFSCME Legal Counsel since 2011. Prior to joining the union staff, Chapman was a member of Local 1085 while serving as an attorney at the Oregon Department of Justice. She...
2017 Speaker, 2018 Speaker, 2019 Speaker, Profile
Stacy Chamberlain Collective Bargaining Director, Oregon AFSCME Council 75. Stacy Chamberlain joined Oregon AFSCME Council 75 as a council representative in 2005. Chamberlain serves as the collective bargaining director. Prior to her work with AFSCME, Chamberlain...
2017 Speaker, 2018 Speaker, 2019 Speaker, Profile
Tom Chamberlain President, Oregon AFL-CIO. Tom was elected President of the Oregon AFL-CIO by a unanimous vote of the Executive Board in October of 2005. He was reelected in 2007, 2011. A native Oregonian, Tom grew up in a home where, he says, “the difference between...
2015 Speaker, Profile
Helen Moss Senior Instructor, Labor Education and Research Center Helen joined the faculty of the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center in 1999. She teaches many of LERC’s core labor education classes as well as helping to develop curricula. Prior...
2015 Speaker, Profile
Sharon Maynard Attorney, Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan Sharon moved to Oregon in 1992 after obtaining her law degree that same year from Albany Law School. Her first job as a lawyer was for Metropolitan Public Defender (MPD) where, for over eight years she...
2015 Speaker, Profile
Ray Lister Organizer, IBEW Local 48 Ray accepted a position as an Organizer for Local 48 in January 2012 after nearly two decades in the electrical construction field. Originally from Tucson, AZ, Ray and his wife decided to move to Oregon in 2002 to help his parents...
2015 Speaker, Profile
Erious Johnson Civil Rights Director, Oregon Department of Justice Erious has been the Civil Rights Director of the Oregon Department of Justice since March 2014. Prior to taking this position he was a solo practitioner focusing on civil rights violations and...
2015 Speaker, Profile
Paul Hays Attorney at Law Paul has been practicing labor law in the Pacific Northwest for forty years. Paul graduated from Washington State University in 1972 and from Willamette University College of Law in 1975. In addition to the standard fare of unfair labor...
2015 Speaker, 2017 Speaker, Profile
Chris Frost Swanson Thomas Coon & Newton Chris, an attorney since 1993, specializes in representing injured workers in Oregon Workers’ Compensation system. She was a staff attorney at the Workers’ Compensation Board for 2 ½ years before joining Swanson Thomas Coon...
2015 Speaker, Profile
Adam Arms General Counsel, IBEW Local 125. Before becoming a labor lawyer, Adam was a staff attorney for the Metropolitan Public Defenders. He is now in house Counsel and a Business Representative for IBEW Local 125. He has represented clients before the Teacher...
2015 Speaker, 2016 Speaker, Profile
Will Aitchison Attorney, Aitchison Law Over the course of his career, Will has represented over 100 labor organizations in five western states. Will has handled hundreds of arbitrations and is the author of seven books on labor relation issues including The Fair Labor...
2016 Speaker, 2017 Speaker, Profile
Katie Whalen Kathryn (Katie) Whalen has been a full-time arbitrator since June of 2003. For six years, Ms. Whalen served as a Board Member on the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB). Ms. Whalen is a member of the Oregon State Bar (now on inactive status). She was...