Young Lawyers Conference March 16, 2018 Speaker Bios - Marketplace

Young Lawyers Conference
                                        March 16, 2018
                                         Speaker Bios

Chris De Santis
Principal, CPDeSantis.com, is an independent consultant specializing in the design and delivery of
Management and Organization Development interventions. He assists individuals or groups in
identifying obstacles to effectiveness and subsequently works with them to create user friendly
solutions aligned with the company’s strategic initiatives. He brings with him thirty years’ experience in
training and development, graduate degrees in Organization Development and Marketing, and work
experience in manufacturing, service, and not-for-profit environments. He has an undergraduate
degree in Business from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA from the University of Denver and an
MA in Organization Development from Loyola University.

Chris has done training and instructional design work with service organizations such as Accenture,
Abbott Labs, and Navigant. He has been the Director of Training and Development for the American
Medical Association and he was part of the Human Resource Development group for Brunswick
Corporation, a leader in the manufacture of leisure products. He has worked as an independent
practitioner for the past eighteen years serving Professional Services firms focused in the areas of Law,
Consulting and Accounting. He has done management and executive development course design,
implementation, and facilitation, as well as, the delivery and evaluation of training initiatives. He has
numerous vendor certifications (including DDI, Forum, ODI, TAI, Blanchard, Rummler-Brache, Myer-
Briggs,) and has done both needs assessments and the subsequent course deliveries to address those
needs.

He has special expertise in dealing with generational differences in the workplace, gender socialization
at work, applying the principles of Emotional Intelligence to leading and managing change, mentoring
and the application of a variety of instrumentation including multi-rater feedback to develop and
enhance performance, and how to develop and leverage long term relationships in the selling process.
He also teaches and has a depth of knowledge in facilitation, listening and presentation skills developed
through his work experiences and background in theater games.

Karen M. Bauer
Attorney Bauer is a Civil Unit Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee where her practice
centers on consumer protection litigation. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School,
where she was a Managing Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. Ms. Bauer is past chair of the Public
Interest Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a former member of the Board of the Young
Lawyers Division. She currently sits on the State Bar Board of Governors, and is a WisLAP monitor and
peer assistant. Ms. Bauer is a Fellow of both the Wisconsin Law Foundation and the American Bar
Foundation, and has the distinction of being the oldest person ever to win the State Bar’s Outstanding

Young Lawyer award. She authored two articles in the Wisconsin Lawyer and has taught CLE courses at
the Leadership Conference, Annual Meeting and Solo and Small Firm Conference on student loan
repayment issues. Ms. Bauer is a member of the ABA, National Association of Consumer Advocates and
the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Karen D. Dardy
For the past 27 years, Karen Dardy has practiced law in Milwaukee, initially as a self-employed general
practitioner and most recently as a managing attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee,
providing legal assistance to low-income residents of Milwaukee County. A graduate of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, Attorney Dardy joined the ranks of other dedicated female attorneys as one of the
Wisconsin Law Journal’s “Women in the Law” in 2009.

Honorable Kitty K. Brennan
She is the Presiding Judge for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals - District I. She was appointed to the court
in 2008 and was then reelected twice in 2009 and 2015. Judge Brennan was Chief Judge for the
Milwaukee County Circuit Court from 2005 – 2008 and a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge for 14
years. Prior to her judicial career, Judge Brennan was an attorney in private practice from 1984 to 1994
at the Murphy & Brennan law firm in South Milwaukee and a Milwaukee County Assistant District
Attorney from 1977 to 1984. Judge Brennan earned her J.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law
School in 1977. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1972. Before law school, Judge
Brennan was a high school English teacher.

Judge Brennan was honored as the Wisconsin Bar Association’s “Judge of the Year for 2005”. She
received TEMPO Milwaukee’s 2006 “Mentor of the Year” award, The Business Journal’s 2008 “Women
of Influence” award and The Milwaukee Press Club’s 2010 “Headliner Award - for a lifetime of dedicated
service to the state”, among other awards. She is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee. She has been an
active member of the Wisconsin State Bar Association, the Milwaukee Bar Association, and the
Association for Women Lawyers. She is married to Attorney Joseph Murphy, the mother of four adult
children, (including two lawyers, Patrick Murphy, Quarles & Brady, and Daniel Murphy, a Milwaukee
County Assistant District Attorney) and grandmother to 5 grandkids, ages 7 years to 4 months.

Honorable M. Joseph Donald
Juris Doctorate conferred: Marquette University Law School, 1988; Marquette University (B.A. 1982);
Shorewood High School (1977); Harambee Community School (1973)

Appointed to the Circuit Court in 1996; Elected in 1997, 2003, 2009 and 2015. Candidate for Wisconsin
Supreme Court 2016

Current Rotational Assignment: Deputy Chief Judge/Presiding Judge Vel Phillps Juvenile Justice Center.

Previous Assignment: Criminal Division- Felony: Homicide/Sexual Assault. Presiding Judge of Vel Phillips
Juvenile Justice Center- Children's Court; Felony Division-Drug Court, General Felony; Homicide/Sexual
Assault; Civil/Probate. Creation and development of the Drug Treatment Court. Which addresses
addictive disease by using a non-adversarial approach. Incorporating inpatient and outpatient
treatment. Reducing recidivism and abuse of alcohol and other substances by improving the health and
life of abusers. Providing an effective and accountable community based alternative to incarceration

Summary of Career Preceding Judgeship: Law Clerk for Milwaukee County Circuit Court(1988-89)
Assistant City Attorney-City of Milwaukee(1989-96)

Other Pertinent Biographical Data: Commissioner, Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee;
Appointed to serve on Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership Council (1996-99); Past-Member of
Woolsack Society of Marquette University Law School (1996); Member of Urban Day School Board; Past-
Member of Milwaukee Area Technical College Board (1991-94); Member of Governor Task Force to
Enhance Probation and Parole; Member of Judicial Selection Committee; Past- Member Milwaukee
School of Art & Design Board; Past Member of Marquette Law School Alumni Board; 2010 Honoree
Leaders in the Law Award presented by Wisconsin Law Journal.

Personal: Born in Milwaukee on Feb.8, 1959; Married (Ann Donald) with three adult children,(Jordan,
UWM ’11 ) (Hillary, UWM ‘15 ) (Ryan, Loyola-Chicago ’16) and member of Mother Good Counsel Parish.
Life-long resident of Milwaukee.

Recent Publications:
Donald, M. Joseph. “A Private Conversation on Implicit Bias and Race” Wisconsin Lawyer. March 2017:
page 64. Print.

Donald, Joe. “Statistical Complexity Shouldn’t Slow Pursuit of Justice” Marquette Lawyer Summer 2016:
Page 29. Print.

Judge Valarie Hill
On April 6, 2004 Judge Valarie Hill, made history when she became the first woman ever elected to
serve as a judge on Milwaukee’s Municipal Court, the first woman elected to a city-wide office in
Milwaukee, and the first African-American woman in Wisconsin to win a contested judicial election.
Judge Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from The Ohio State University
and a juris doctorate degree from The University of Akron School of Law where she earned the Black
Law Student Association’s Highest G.P.A. Award. Judge Hill was recognized as a 2017 Legal Innovator by
the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Prior to her election, Judge Hill served the citizens of Milwaukee County as a Judicial Court
Commissioner and was formerly a State Public Defender in the Milwaukee Trial Division.

Judge Hill is a proud member of Christ The King Baptist Church and has served as the President of the
Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers, member of the Board of Directors of the Children’s
Outing Association, member of the Board of Directors of the Holton Youth Center, Alliance for
Attendance, and Milwaukee Truancy Task Force, She is a member of the Wisconsin Municipal Judges
Association, National Association of Women Judges, Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers,
Wisconsin Bar, and National Bar Associations. She is a member of the NAACP, Milwaukee Urban League,
Milwaukee Urban League Guild, The Links, Incorporated, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Judge Hill has served the Milwaukee community by volunteering for various activities and events
sponsored by organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Milwaukee Area, The American Cancer Society,
United Negro College Fund, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, The Latino Peace Officers Association,
Habitat for Humanity, African World Festival, Milwaukee Public Schools, and Northcentral Maltese
Rescue.

Hon. Nancy Joseph
Hon. Joseph is a United States magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. She earned her B.A.
from Howard University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), her juris doctor from Rutgers University
School of Law, and her Master in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law.
Prior to her appointment to the bench in 2010, Judge Joseph worked as a trial and appellate attorney
with the Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin, Inc.
Judge Joseph serves on the Executive Committee of the National Conference of Federal Trial Judges and
co-chairs the Federal Magistrate Judges Association’s Diversity Committee.
Judge Joseph has also been recognized with multiple awards for her community service, including the
Wisconsin Business Journal’s Woman of Influence, the Association for Women Lawyers’ Mentoring
Award, the Milwaukee Times Business Weekly’s Black Excellence Award, the Wisconsin Association of
African-American Lawyers’ Outstanding Member of The Year, and the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar
Association’s Judge John W. Reynolds Community Building Award.

Steve Ryan
Mr. Ryan is the Founder and CEO of RyTech, LLC, a digital marketing firm with offices in the
Third Ward and suburban Chicago. The firm, which offers a host of different customized digital
marketing solutions, currently works with B2B, B2C, for-profit, and nonprofit clients in a range of
industries, with heavy emphasis on professional services across the United States. Steve has previously
spoken at many conferences, tradeshows, and training sessions for individuals and businesses looking to
make an impact online.

Steve holds an undergraduate degree from Marquette University and a master’s degree from the
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign.

Actively involved in managing digital marketing initiatives on behalf of clients, Steve understands what
works, what doesn’t, and which channels on which to focus for growing a market. If you’re not listening
or participating in the conversation occurring online, then you’re missing key opportunities.

Kori Ashley
Atty. Ashley was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She attended DePaul University where she
received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Kori received her Juris Doctorate from the University of
Wisconsin Law School in 2012 after which, she practiced criminal defense law in various counties in
Wisconsin. Kori is currently a public interest attorney at Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. Her professional
affiliations include; the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers, Milwaukee Bar Association
and Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association. She is also a Mentor with the Eastern District Bar
Association’s Mentoring Program and Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Division free legal clinic, Project
Street Youth. Kori was recently elected to the State Bar Board of Governors, representing District 2. Kori
lives in Milwaukee with her husband. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and spending time
with her niece and nephew.

Dean R. Dietrich, shareholder with Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C., chairs the firm’s Employment, Benefits, & Labor
Relations Practice Group. He has represented attorneys in matters before the Wisconsin Supreme Court
and the Office of Lawyer Regulation and has consulted with numerous law firms and lawyers regarding
compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct. He serves as Chair of the State Bar Committee on
Professional Ethics in addition to past service on the Committee appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme
Court to review changes to Supreme Court Rules Chapter 20, the Rules of Professional Conduct for
Attorneys. Mr. Dietrich is a graduate of Marquette University Law School.

Aviva Meridian Kaiser is ethics counsel for the State Bar of Wisconsin. She practiced law in Chicago
before turning to full-time teaching at IIT Chicago/Kent College of Law. Prior to joining the State Bar,
she taught at the University of Wisconsin Law School for 25 years. From 1992 until 2002, she was the
director of the Legal Research and Writing Program. Aviva received her B.A. in Chinese from the
University of Pittsburgh and her J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. She
clerked for the Honorable Louis B. Garippo in People v. John Wayne Gacy and clerked for the Honorable
Maurice Perlin in the Illinois Appellate Court. Aviva is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a
frequent speaker on matters of professional ethics.

Timothy J. Pierce has been Ethics Counsel for the State Bar of Wisconsin since 2004. He received his
undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his law degree from the
University of Wisconsin Law School. Mr. Pierce was previously a Deputy Director at the Office of Lawyer
Regulation. He has also been employed as the Ethics Administrator for Milbank, Hadley, Tweed &
McCloy, in New York, and as an Assistant State Public Defender in Racine. He is a member of the State
Bar of Wisconsin. He is a frequent speaker on matters of professional ethics and teaches Professional
Responsibility at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Thomas J. Watson is Senior Vice President and Director of Communications, Marketing & Risk
Management at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (WILMIC). He oversees Underwriting
and Claims, and develops and coordinates the company’s risk management programs and law firm and
lawyer outreach. He is a 1981 Marquette University graduate with a degree in Journalism and Broadcast
Communications and a 2002 graduate of Marquette University Law School.

Watson was the Public Relations Coordinator for the State Bar of Wisconsin for more than seven years,
and was then in private practice in Madison, focused primarily on Family Law, before joining WILMIC in
2005. He also is a member of the Editorial Board of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Lawyer
magazine.