2020 Conference – Thursday Speaker Bios

Christine is the Senior Vice President of the Labor/Employment/Elections Division and also supervises the Consumer and Pro Se Divisions of the American Arbitration Association. Christine also has supervisory responsibility for the Educational Services, Panel Relations and Publications department. The Minnesota No-Fault caseload is also supervised by Christine.

Christine has been in the position of Senior Vice President at the AAA since 2001. She has been employed at the AAA since 1980 and has held various positions at the AAA including Supervisor, Regional Director and Vice President.

She is a member of the National Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) and serves on the board of the LERA Maine Chapter. She is a member of LERA in Connecticut and Massachusetts as well. Christine is a member of the New England Chapter of Conflict Resolution and the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Section.

Christine works with three national councils of the AAA which include the AAA Arbitrator Council Committee, AAA Labor/Management Council Committee and the AAA Employment Council Committee.

Christine participates in many educational programs, discussing the services of the AAA with specific emphasis on employment, labor and election services. In addition, she assists with the design and presentation of arbitrator educational training events done by the AAA. Christine is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is a Treasurer for her local community group Middleton Cultural Council. She also serves as Chairperson of St. Richard Parish Council and assists with charitable outreach in her community.

Christine is a graduate of Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Roland Watkins is the Director of Arbitration Services at the National Mediation Board. Mr. Watkins joined the NMB in February, 1980. During his career at the Board, he has been a Senior Hearing Officer and Legal Counsel. He has also served as counsel/special assistant to numerous Presidential Emergency Boards and Congressional Advisory Boards.

As Director of the Arbitration Department, Mr. Watkins is responsible for all aspects of Grievance and Interest Arbitration in the airline and railroad industries. These responsibilities include administering railroad Public Law Boards, Special Boards of Adjustment and Arbitration Boards. He serves as the Administrator for the National Railroad Adjustment Board which is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Watkins received his B.A. degree in Economics from Lafayette College located in Easton, Pennsylvania, and his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York. He is a member of the Railroad and Airline Labor Committee and the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Arthur Pearlstein is Director of Arbitration at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). He has previously served FMCS as a mediator, as general counsel of the Agency, and as head of the ADR and International Program. In addition, he has worked extensively in the area of dispute systems design in the workplace.

Arthur has substantial experience in arbitration, mediation, and negotiation, as a lawyer, manager, professor, and trainer. He was inaugural director of the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution and Professor of Law at Creighton University in Omaha. He has authored or co-authored book chapters and articles on arbitration, workplace dispute resolution, dispute systems design, ADR, and human resources, and spoken widely on these and other topics.

Arthur received his J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School, holds a master’s in dispute resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University in California, and a B.A. from Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

"U.S. Designating Agencies Update"

Joshua M. Javits is a neutral mediator and arbitrator. He is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, on the rosters of the AAA, FMCS, NMB, and serves on numerous permanent arbitration panels. He served on four railroad Presidential Emergency Boards. He was Chairman and Member of the National Mediation Board from 1988 to 1993. He was Grievance Chair for the International Monetary Fund from 2007 to 2011. He was the President of the National Association of Railroad Referees (2014-16). He represented labor unions and management -- at different times -- in the past and began his
career as a trial attorney with the National Labor Relations Board. Mr. Javits was an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center where he taught courses in arbitration, transportation labor law and alternative dispute resolution. He has been rated “AV” – the highest rating -- by Martindale Hubbell’s Best Lawyers in America since 2001.He is a graduate of Yale College and Georgetown University Law Center.

Pierre Bouchard is the Director of the Bilateral and Regional Labour Affairs division of the Labour Branch of the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada. As such, he is responsible for the negotiation and implementation of the labour provisions of Canada's Free Trade Agreements as well as for the supervision of Canadian technical assistance in the labour area. Mr. Bouchard worked previously at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Carleton University in Ottawa and has done Ph.D. studies in international relations at the London School of Economics and at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Mr. Bouchard lectured at several universities in the field of international relations, particularly on topics related to international political economy, strategic studies and human rights.

Carlos Romero joined the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in October 2008, and was named Deputy Assistant USTR for Labor in September 2009. In this capacity he coordinates trade and labor issues for USTR and serves as U.S. negotiator for the labor provisions of free trade agreements. He is currently the lead U.S. negotiator for the labor aspects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the European Union. Mr.
Romero was also a key negotiator for the Colombian Labor Action Plan Related to Labor Rights, which was developed to address labor rights concerns and support ratification of the United States – Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement in 2011. Prior to joining USTR, Mr. Romero spent eight years at the U.S. Department of Labor where he served as Deputy Director of the Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) from 2006 – 2008. As OTLA's Deputy, Mr.
Romero led efforts to develop U.S. policy on international trade and labor issues, conduct research on worker rights and the employment effects of trade agreements, and carry out over $100 million in programs to assist countries to improve labor practices. Mr. Romero also served as an International Economist while at the Department of Labor, and was a U.S. negotiator for the Labor Chapters of free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama, the Republic of Korea and a regional agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic. A native of Los Angeles, California, Mr. Romero holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor's degree from Princeton University

"Canadian and U.S. Session"

Christopher Albertyn is an arbitrator and mediator working principally in Ontario, Canada. He is a Mediator-Arbitrator of the Ontario Grievance Settlement Board and a Vice-Chair of the Ontario Education Relations Commission.

He was educated in South Africa (St. John’s College, Johannesburg; Wits, UNISA and Natal University) and in the US (St. Mark’s School, Southborough, Massachusetts). He worked as a trade union organizer for a textile union in Durban, South Africa (1975-76). He was admitted as an attorney in 1979. He practiced in Durban, principally in labour law with the firm Chennells Albertyn & Brunton. He was the founding Director of the Centre for SocioLegal Studies at the University of Natal in Durban (1988-89). Since 1985 he has worked as a mediator and arbitrator of labour disputes. He has lived in Toronto since 1993. He was a ViceChair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board from 1994 until 2017.

He has published on aspects of labour law, including co-authoring Alcohol, Drugs & Employment, Juta, Cape Town, 2012.

He is a member of the Ontario Labour-Management Arbitrators’ Association and of the National Academy of Arbitrators.

He is the Co-Chair of the Third Party Neutrals in Dispute Resolution Study Group of the International Labour & Employment Relations Association (ILERA).

Lance Geren is a partner at O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue, LLP, and represents international and local labor organizations before labor arbitrators, administrative agencies and in state and federal court. Lance provides all facets of representation to labor unions including handling labor arbitrations, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, assisting in union organizing drives, and representing unions in state and federal court and before state and federal agencies. Lance also provides training for union officials on areas ranging from Department of Labor compliance issues to shop steward and delegate education and advocacy.

Lance is a graduate of Hiram College and the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. During law school, Lance worked as a law clerk for the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers, AFL-CIO, as a Peggy Browning Fund Fellow. He also assisted in an organizing campaign seeking to organize the janitors working at the university. After law school, Lance worked as a Field Attorney at the National Labor Relations Board, Region Four, where he investigated and prosecuted unfair labor practices and served as a hearing officer in representational matters. In 2006, Lance traveled to Cuba with a delegation of health care labor organizations and health care workers to study and evaluate the health care system.

Lance is a member of the bars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

"Emerging Healthcare Issues in Labor Arbitration"

John A. DiNome is Assistant General Counsel and Chief Human Resources Officer for American Academic Health System. He is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic human resources initiatives for AAHS, as well as Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

John has more than 25 years of experience advising and counseling senior executives, elected officials, in-house counsel and human resources professionals in all areas of labor and employment law.

Prior to joining AAHS, John was a partner at Reed Smith LLP, an international law firm representing public and private sector entities. As a partner, John represented a variety of regional and national employers in collective bargaining, labor arbitration and employmentrelated litigation. During his more than two-decade tenure with Reed Smith, John served as the outside legal counsel for Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for
Children. John represented the hospitals in collective bargaining, labor arbitration, and employment-related litigation.

John is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and received a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law - Camden.

Deborah Gaines is a labor arbitrator and mediator with over 25 years of experience in labormanagement relations. She has worked in a broad range of industries, including mining, manufacturing, the public sector, finance, health services and the film and television industry. Deborah has performed exclusively neutral work since 2008. She is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA) and Chair of the NY/NJ metro region chapter of the NAA. Deborah has been selected to arbitrate and mediate over 700 cases.

Mike Levin is starting his 44th year practicing law and representing school district, intermediate units and community colleges. He has authored and edited four books--Pennsylvania School Personnel Actions; United States School Law and Rules; Municipal Liability in Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania School Laws and Rules. He has also authored the chapter on Schools, Colleges and Universities in West's Legal Forms encyclopedia.

Mike has assumed positions of leadership in professional associations, having served on the Board of Directors of the National Council of School Attorneys and moving through the chairs of the Education Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer at statewide and national seminars, and he has been quoted in such national publications as U.S. News and World Report and the National Review.

Mike has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in the Schools & Education practice area by the publishers of Philadelphia magazine, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Law & Politics, in each year from 2005 through the present. He has also been conferred the President’s Award for Distinguished Career Achievement in School Law, presented by the Pennsylvania School Boards Solicitors Association. Mike is also the inventor of the two play rules for the popular board game Risk.

Charles L. Herring, Esquire is a graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Temple University (1983). He has his Juris Doctor Degree from The Capital University in Columbus, Ohio (1988). Thereafter, Mr. Herring was a partner in the law firm of Herring & Herring representing both public and private sector labor unions.

He represented the Pennsylvania State Education Association which includes all teachers and support staff members in eastern Pennsylvania. In addition, he represented the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police and in the private sector the American Federation of Musicians in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1999, Mr. Herring became region counsel for the Mideast Region, which is Bucks and Montgomery Counties, for the Pennsylvania State Education Association. The region includes teachers and support staff members for the public schools which have approximately 25,000 members. He continues to do this through the present.

His address and contact information is the Pennsylvania State Education Association, 601 Bethlehem Pike, Building C, Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania 18936, 215-853-2108.

Michael J. Hanlon, a member of Cozen O'Connor’s Labor & Employment department, concentrates his practice on counseling clients in a wide variety of issues, including areas of traditional labor and employment law, executive compensation, employment discrimination and public education. He has significant experience in counseling large publicly traded corporations, government entities and other employers in all areas of employment law.
Michael has been ranked as a leader in labor and employment law in Chambers USA since the publication’s inception. Chambers noted him as “a real champion of his clients,” and “renowned for his ‘controlled aggression’ in the courtroom.” Also included in the Who’s Who in American Law, Michael garnered an AV® Preeminent distinction, the highest available mark for professional excellence from Martindale-Hubbell's® Peer Review Ratings. He has been consistently selected for inclusion in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers listing since 2004 and is included in The Best Lawyers in America® list under the categories of Employment Law - Management and Labor Law - Management.

Ms. Alaine Williams is a partner in the Philadelphia firm of Willig, Williams & Davidson and concentrates her practice in labor and employment law. She is one of the leading experts in Pennsylvania on public employee labor law and drafted and successfully litigated Pennsylvania’s Agency Fee Law. She has represented unions throughout the United States in litigation filed concerning collection of fair share fees and has written articles on employee rights,
constitutional issues, and on race and gender discrimination and is a frequent lecturer at conferences of the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, the AFL-CIO, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, AFT Lawyers Conference, AFSCME/SEIU Lawyers Conference, IBT Lawyers Conference, UFCW Lawyers Conference, and the Philadelphia Project on Occupational Safety and Health (PHILAPOSH). Ms. Williams is admitted to practice law in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and her J.D. from Florida State University, where she as an editor of the Law Review. Ms. Williams also holds a graduate law degree from Columbia University.

Occupation: Arbitrator

Experience: Full-Time Labor Arbitrator since 1983. Private sector cases in transportation, manufacturing, service, airline, postal, newspaper, security, railroad, communication, utility, health care, food processing, entertainment. Public sector experience in municipal, county, state, federal and school board grievance cases. Interest arbitrator with municipal employers and police/firefighters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Member of numerous permanent panels in private and public sectors.

Panels: American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, National Mediation Board, New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission, New Jersey State Board of Mediation, Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation, Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

Memberships: National Academy of Arbitrators, Pennsylvania Bar.

Background: Field Attorney, National Labor Relations Board; Staff Mediator, New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission.

Education: Temple University School of Law, J.D. New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, M.S. in
Collective Bargaining. The Pennsylvania State University, B.A. in Labor Studies.

Commissioner Ramsey brings over forty-seven years of knowledge, experience and service in advancing the law enforcement profession in three different major city police departments, beginning with Chicago, then Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he began his career in 1968, at the age of 18, as a Chicago Police cadet.

Commissioner Ramsey has been at the forefront of developing innovative policing strategies and leading organizational change. He is an internationally-recognized practitioner and educator in his field and is Past President of both the Police Executive Research Forum and the Major Cities Chiefs Association and is the only police professional to receive the Leadership Award from 3 major law enforcement organizations; the FBI National Executive Institute, Police Executive Research Forum and the Major Cities Chiefs Association. In 2014, President Barrack Obama chose Commissioner Ramsey to serve as co-chair of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In 2017, he was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to serve as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

In 1999, Commissioner Ramsey partnered with the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in developing an innovative and experiential training program called “Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons from the Holocaust. As President of the Major Cities Chiefs
Association he co-founded the Police Executive Leadership Institute, a program specifically designed to develop the next generation of police leaders. In 2015, Commissioner Ramsey partnered with the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia developing an innovative training for police called “Policing in a More Perfect Union.”

Commissioner Ramsey holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in criminal justice from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the National Executive Institute. In recognition for his contributions to the field of policing and public safety, he has been awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees from four universities.

In December 2015, the City of Philadelphia named the Philadelphia Police Department Training Academy Auditorium the Charles H. Ramsey Training and Education Auditorium. A U.S. Postage Stamp bearing his likeness was approved by the United States Congress in his honor.

Jacalyn J. Zimmerman is a labor arbitrator/mediator with a private practice based in the Chicago area. A career labor relations neutral, she maintained an active arbitration practice from 2006 to late 2009, when she suspended the practice to accept an appointment from then Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as the Chairman of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. She held that position until resuming the arbitration practice in September 2012. She had previously served
as the agency’s founding General Counsel. She began her legal career as a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, Region 13.

Jackie is an Academy Local Regional Chair. She is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and has served as a member of the College’s Credentials Committee for the 7th Circuit. Jackie is a vice president of the National Association of Railroad Referees, has been the neutral co-chair of the American Bar Association Committee on State and Local Government Bargaining and Employment Law, and is a past president of the Association of
Labor Relations Agencies.

Jackie has also been a member of the adjunct faculty at the Institute for Law and the Workplace, Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago Kent College of Law, where she taught labor law and legal writing courses. She is a frequent speaker and trainer on labor relations issues. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and is admitted to the practice of law in Illinois and California.

Andrew M. Strongin, based in Maryland, is a full-time arbitrator and mediator of labor disputes since 1993, working in the private, public, and federal sectors. Mr. Strongin is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators who serves as a Board Member for the NAA’s Research and Education Foundation and will begin service on the NAA’s Board of Governors in 2019. Andrew is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is admitted to the Maryland and District of Columbia Bars. In addition to listing with the major appointing agencies, he serves on numerous panels in a wide range of industries, including to name just a few, professional sports, steel and aluminum, communications, grocery and warehousing, and transit.

As an arbitrator and mediator, Paula Knopf has been active in labour relations and dispute resolution in the private and public sectors since 1980.

She is a Past President of the Ontario Labour Management Arbitrators Association. She is also active in the National Academy of Arbitrators, having been on the Board of Governors and will be a Vice-President as of the Spring 2019. She was also a past Chair of the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Grievances and Nominations Committee and been a member of the Research and Education Foundation.

In 1996 she was appointed by the Federal Minister of Labour to act as one of the three members of the Task Force recommending changes to Part One of the Canada Labour Code.

Since 2007, she has been the Director of the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s Arbitrator Development Program.

She served as Chair of the Education and Colleges Relations Commissions from 1991 - 1997.

She has served as a part-time Vice-Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and the Grievance Settlement Board of Ontario.

She is named as a roster arbitrator in several collective agreements. She has been an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, who has taught Labour Arbitration and supervised several Masters theses.

In addition, she served as Chair of the Ontario Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan.