University of Florida Athletic Association, Executive Associate Athletics Director for Administration
Lynda Tealer joined the University of Florida Athletic Association staff in 2003, was elevated to Senior Associate Athletics Director - Senior Woman Administrator in 2007, and then to Executive Associate Athletics Director for Administration in 2012.
Tealer oversees the sports health, information and technology, and human resources departments, while supervising the men’s basketball, softball and volleyball programs. She headed the committee that explored and added the program’s 21st varsity sport, lacrosse, and she’s overseen University of Florida athletic programs that have collected 31 conference titles and five NCAA Championship trophies since 2003.
A current member of the NCAA Division I Council, Tealer began serving as the committee’s vice chair in July of 2021.
Tealer came to the UAA from the Southland Conference, where she was an Associate Commissioner. Prior to joining the Southland Conference, Tealer was at Santa Clara University (SCU) for four years as the compliance director, was elevated to SCU’s Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services and senior woman administrator and, in 1999, was appointed Assistant Athletic Director for Intercollegiate Sports.
While at SCU, Tealer was named to the NCAA Division I Management Council as the Division I-AAA at-large representative. She then assumed the West Coast Conference representative position and later rejoined the Council as the Southland Conference representative in 2001. She also was a member of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
Tealer is a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego, where she earned a degree in business administration while playing basketball. She also possesses a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, where she was a member of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society.
Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President, West Virginia University
In recognition of Shane Lyons’ leadership in helping West Virginia University (WVU) student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in competition, he was named 2021 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year. With his focus on the student-athlete and their development, Lyons has served on numerous national athletics committees.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyons chaired the Football Oversight Committee, helping make adjustments to allow for a 2020 season. He is also a member of the NCAA Council, serving as the 2021-2022 chair. Additionally, Lyons served on the NCAA Working Group on Transfers, the Football Competition Committee, and the NCAA Wrestling Academics Enhancement Working Group.
Lyons has also been chair of the Big 12 Athletic Directors Committee, a member of the Big 12 Administration Committee, Finance and Budget Committee and the Game Management and Officiating Subcommittee, as well as serving on numerous other national committees. His fundraising and planning efforts resulted in more than $200 million in WVU athletic facilities improvements.
Prior to coming to WVU, Lyons spent more than three years as the Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Alabama. Before that, he spent 10 years as an Associate Commissioner at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), focusing on conference-wide compliance and academic initiatives, as well as serving as the ACC’s Human Resources Manager. Lyons has also served as Associate Athletics Director at Texas Tech, as an NCAA Senior Membership Services Representative and as Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Championships for the Big South Conference.
President, University of San Diego
James T. Harris III has served as the president and a professor of education at the University of San Diego (USD) since 2015. During his time as president, USD has been recognized for its work in environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and advancing the public good. For example, in 2021 The Princeton Review ranked USD among the 50 most “green” colleges.
In 2021, USD launched the Horizon Project, a five-year initiative designed to move USD into the forefront of Catholic higher education by following Pope Francis’ guidance that as a Catholic community we must be more “open, inclusive and welcoming.” In the fall of 2021, USD enrolled its most diverse class of students in its history. Last year, USD was ranked #1 in the nation for public service by Washington Monthly magazine. In 2017, the university was recognized as having the most beautiful campus in America by The Princeton Review. USD athletic teams compete in the West Coast Conference and Pioneer Football League.
Dr. Harris also holds the title of President Emeritus of Widener University and earlier in his career served as the President of Defiance College. Dr. Harris has served in leadership roles on several national education associations including CASE, NCAA, Campus Compact, NAICU, CUMU as well as on multiple other state and local governing boards. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Monarch School Project in San Diego, a public k-12 school dedicated to serving children who are unhoused.
He has been named one of the Top Fifty Character Building Presidents in the Nation by the John Templeton Foundation, received the Chief Executive Leadership Award by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and has been recognized by the NAACP and for his work in support of civil rights. His alma maters have formally recognized him for his service to society, and the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees awarded him the distinguished alumnus award, the highest honor given to a graduate. He remains an active scholar and teacher.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), 44th Army Surgeon General and Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command
Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.
A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.
West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation. She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential. West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), 44th Army Surgeon General and Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command
Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.
A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.
West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation. She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential. West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), 44th Army Surgeon General and Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command
Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.
A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.
West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation. She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential. West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
Nona Lee is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Truth DEI Consulting, providing organizations worldwide with diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and training. Prior to founding Truth DEI in April 2022, Lee spent more than 20 years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, most recently serving as the Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer where she managed the organization’s legal department, as well as serving as Chair of the D-backs for Change Council and Chair of the Risk Management Committee. Prior to dedicating her time full-time to the D-backs, Lee was also Vice President and Associate General Counsel for the Suns Legacy Partners, LLL, providing legal services to the Phoenix Suns, D-backs, Phoenix Mercury, Arizona Rattlers, Chase Field, US Airways Center and Dodge Theater.
Lee is the founder of the Phoenix Women's Sports Association, an Arizona non-profit organization that helps girls and women find their power through sports. In addition, she is a member of the trustee emeritus group of the Women's Sports Foundation and currently serves as a Past President and board member for the Sports Lawyers Association and board member for the National LGBTQ+ Bar. She also serves on the Board of Advisors of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University School of Law, and the Advisory Board of the Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State University Law School.
Lee was a nominee for the 2022 Arizona Corporate Counsel of the Year, has been recognized by Republic Media as one of the 50 Highest Ranking Women in Business in Arizona, by AzBusiness Magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Arizona, and has also received the Spotlight on Success Award from One Community for her commitment to diversity. Lee has been recognized by the Arizona Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel as Attorney of the Year for private, medium-sized companies and was honored as a member of the Sports Business Journal’s Game Changers class. In 2019, she was honored as a Woman of Distinction by Achieving My Purpose, and was also honored by the Arizona State Bar as Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year.
Lee earned her Juris Doctor from the Oklahoma City University School of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude. She holds a Leadership in Corporate Counsel certification from Harvard University School of Law and a certification in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University.
Michelle Pujals currently is the owner and principal of Tautemo Consulting, LLC, a legal and sports consulting firm. Prior to forming Tautemo Consulting in 2018, Pujals was a member of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Legal Department for more than 20 years, most recently serving as Vice President & Assistant General Counsel.
At the NBA, her responsibilities included: administering and developing the anti-drug programs for NBA players, coaches and trainers, and referees; overseeing general commercial litigation matters and internal league arbitrations; negotiating and drafting portions of collective bargaining agreements between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA); conducting internal investigations of league office staff and NBA team staff and players, including investigations relating to employment matters, policy violations and potential criminal matters; providing on-going legal advice to the NBA Basketball Operations and Security Departments; and drafting, revising and enforcing the NBA Arena Security Standards, which have received SAFETY Act Certification from the Department of Homeland Security. Pujals was also a member of the NBA/NBPA Joint Policy Committee on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse, the NBA/NBPA Prohibited Substances Committee, and the NBA Crisis Management Team.
Before joining the NBA, Pujals was a litigation associate at Cahill Gordon & Reindel and at Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman in New York City. She is admitted to the state bars of New York and Pennsylvania
Pujals received a B.S. (summa cum laude) in journalism from Boston University’s College of Communication and her J.D. (magna cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center (GULC), where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. At GULC, she was also the Senior Articles Editor of the American Criminal Law Review.
Tracy Porter
Premiere Solutions
Throughout his life, Tracy Porter has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills at every level, including as an entrepreneurial owner of three businesses, director of sales departments at J&J, active board director and committee leader, and earlier as an elite student-athlete at LSU and then as a teammate drafted into the NFL. Most recently, he was honored by being elected by his NFL peers as Chairman of the Board of the NFL Alumni Association representing 22,000 former NFL Players.
In his current position, Porter is the CEO of Premiere Solutions, Inc., a startup company delivering choice fleet management, equipment procurement and consulting services to the corporate, government, small business and private sectors throughout the United States. In his prior role, Tracy ventured into the entrepreneur lane when in 2003 he unwaveringly left a rewarding corporate business development career to become a successful auto dealership consultant and owner of a Mercedes-Benz franchise. Prior to taking on the challenges of the automotive and transportation trade, he had a highly successful and rewarding 14-year career directing marketing and sales teams with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies (J&J).
The athletic skills developed in youth sports and at LSU as a student-athlete on the football team led to a five-year career in the National Football League − first with the Detroit Lions, then as a three-year starter for the Colts (Baltimore and Indianapolis). The consummate high achiever, Porter established his private sector business foundation working as a bank intern during the NFL off-seasons, and was later hired as a full-time commercial loan officer before moving on to J&J.
Porter is currently serving on three boards: The University of San Francisco Board of Trustees charged with establishing policies on financial management, fundraising, investments, property and assets; Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (Boulé) where he plays a proactive leadership role on several committees to promote African- Americans, serves as Audit Committee Co-Chair, and heads up the national initiative to increase African- American diversity on company boards; and the NFL Alumni Association board, where he serves as Vice-Chair and the Ethics Committee.
Porter earned Junior and Senior-year Academic All-SEC Honors and received his B.A. in Business Administration with a minor in Finance from Louisiana State University (LSU); and is a graduate of Wharton University's Business Executive Management Program − Health Care Administration in Philadelphia.
Bruce E. Meyerson
Bruce Meyerson PLLC
Bruce E. Meyerson is a mediator, arbitrator, and trainer in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Meyerson was the founder and first Executive Director of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (where he now serves on the board of directors). He served on the Arizona Court of Appeals for almost five years where he heard over 1000 appeals. He served as General Counsel of Arizona State University from 1986 to 1990. From 1990 through 2000, Mr. Meyerson practiced commercial and employment litigation in Phoenix. Since 2000, his practice has focused on conflict resolution.
Meyerson is a Past Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and the State Bar of Arizona ADR Section. He is an adjunct professor at the Arizona State University College of Law teaching courses in all aspects of dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration. He is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, the International Academy of Mediators, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators.
He also serves as a board member of the AAA-ICDR Foundation where he chairs the Grants Committee. He is the Chair of the City of Phoenix Civil Service Board and a member of the City of Phoenix Police and Fire Pension Board and Sister Cities Commission.
Meyerson is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center (1972) where he was an Editor of the Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University.
Corey D. Jackson
University of California San Francisco
Corey Jackson, JD, SPHR, CCP, CBP was named UCSF chief human resources officer (CHRO) in September 2019. He leads the Human Resources organization for both UCSF Health and campus as senior vice president and associate vice chancellor respectively.
Jackson oversees all human resources functions to support talent management across UCSF’s academic, research, administrative, and clinical departments, partnering closely with Academic Affairs to support the academic life cycle. He is charged with strengthening UCSF’s ability to attract, develop, and retain the diverse talent necessary for UCSF to be the world's preeminent health sciences innovator.
His broad background encompassing health care, government, law, sports, diversity, equity, and inclusion has one common thread: creating opportunities to help people have better lives. Jackson joined UCSF from Parkland Health & Hospital Systems in Dallas, Texas, where he was executive vice president – chief talent officer. At Parkland, he evolved the human resources environment from a task-oriented, people management function to a talent management department dedicated to supporting the entire employee life cycle, from recruitment to retirement.
Prior to his position at Parkland, he was vice president for compliance, diversity and ethics at George Mason University, director of diversity and inclusion at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and a legislative counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, he served as a contract attorney in the antitrust department at a law firm in Washington, DC.
He is a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar and Maryland State Bar and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and also is a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Certified Benefits Professional (CBP), and Certified Diversity Professional (CDP). Jackson is affiliated with Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), World at Work – The Total Rewards Association, and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).
His career in public service began when he received a public service scholarship and fellowships at the University of Miami, School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. He earned his Bachelor of Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech).
Joan Cronan is a proven leader with success being measured through both personal and professional accomplishments. Some of these affiliations include United States Sports Academy Board of Trustees and Trustee Emeritus, United States Sports Academy Board of Trustees Emeritus Member, NCAA Division I Leadership Council (2010), NCAA Championship Committee, NCAA Council, NCAA Management Council, President of Executive Women’s Association, UT’s Executive MBA Program Presenter and numerous others.
Cronan has also been instrumental in community building by increased attendance, corporate support, endowment growth and expanded scope of a multifaceted program. This has also been evident in the many honors she had received such as Lead1’s Homer Rice Award (2019), Coaches vs Cancer Award (2019), NACDA’s James Corbett Award (2018), NCAA Pat Summit Award (2016), NACWAA Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award (2015) and countless more.
Her reputation for building trust-based relationships through exceptional organizational and project leadership skills, as well as her creative ability to think strategically and overcome obstacles has awarded her numerous Hall of Fames including Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2019), NACDA Hall of fame (2018), SHAPE Hall of Fame (2018), Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (2008), Fellowship of Christian Athletes – Hall of Champions (2003), LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction (1995), The College of Charleston Hall of Fame (1993) and Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.
Cronan’s prestigious awards have been a result of her long-time commitment to her professional career as Women’s Athletic Director Emeritus, Consultant & Advisor to the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director Women’s Athletic Director, University of Tennessee Basketball Coach, Athletic Director & Coach at the University of Tennessee, as well as author of “Sport is Life with the Volume Turned Up”.
Cronan earned her educational credentials from Louisiana State University including an M.S. in administration and supervision in 1968, a B.S. in physical education and Mathematics in 1965, and an Honorary Doctorate from the United States Sports Academy in 2019.
Judge Bernetta Bush (Ret.) joined JAMS in 2007 after over 15 years of distinguished service on the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. Her assignment before retirement was in the Chancery Division where she served for 7 years. She is known for her ability to listen to both sides of a dispute and for her success in achieving fair, expeditious and cost effective resolution to complex disputes. Judge Bush brings over 30 years experience as a judicial officer and legal practitioner to her dispute resolution practice.
She was appointed special master in a federal class action matter, as an arbitrator in federal class action matters, and as a mediator in numerous matters. Judge Bush has conducted court ordered mediations, in a variety of areas. Judge Bush has served as an arbitrator in employment, commercial business matters, insurance disputes, contractual and healthcare matters.
Judge Bush was a presenter at an International Congress on Mediation, held in Guayaquil, Cuenca, and Quito, Ecuador. Judge Bush has presented at seminars on mediation and Arbitration for the American Bar Association, National Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
On the bench, Judge Bush was known for her early and effective use of ADR techniques, a commitment she continues to honor at JAMS and in Chicago land’s broader community. Specifically, Judge Bush continues to participate in the Cook County Circuit Court’s Mediation Programs in the Chancery and Law Divisions as well as programs with The Center for Conflict Resolution.
Judge Bush served as Ethics Officer at Chicago State University and City Colleges of Chicago. Also, while at Chicago State University she was the chair of the Universities NCAA Certification process.
Jodi S. Balsam is Associate Professor of Clinical Law and Director of Externship Programs at Brooklyn Law School. Among her teaching and scholarly interests are Sports Law, Professional Responsibility, the Externship Seminar, and negotiation and other lawyering skills. She teaches the Sports Law course at both BLS and NYU School of Law, and is the faculty advisor to the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society. Professor Balsam has also taught sports-related courses at New York Law School, University of New Hampshire School of Law, and Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany.
Professor Balsam writes and speaks widely on sports law topics, including as co-author of Weiler Roberts’ Sports and the Law, the leading law school casebook in the field. She is a past-chair and current executive committee member of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law and Sports, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport and the international sports law blog LawInSport. She has presented at many sports law conferences and symposia, most recently on athletes’ rights of publicity and free expression, sports gambling, wearable technology, and the role of the sports agent. She frequently appears in the media on legal issues in sports, and has been seen on ESPN and MSNBC, as well as quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Law 360.
Before joining academia, Professor Balsam was the National Football League's Counsel for Operations and Litigation, where she managed litigation in all areas of law, oversaw a variety of policy and operational matters, negotiated and drafted contracts for League special events including the Super Bowl, and administered the League's internal dispute resolution processes and compliance program. She began her practice career as a litigation attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, representing primarily sports and entertainment clients in antitrust matters and complex commercial litigation. She also clerked for judges sitting in the federal district and appeals courts in New York City. A graduate of Yale College, Professor Balsam received her law degree from NYU School of Law.
David M. Benck serves as the Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for a billion-dollar retailer with approximately 1,100 retail locations. In addition to his role as chief legal officer, Benck serves as an arbitrator for both The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Switzerland), as well as UK Sport Resolution (United Kingdom). He is a dual US/Luxembourg citizen.
Benck has arbitrated over 150 disputes, as well as served as a Board Member for the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution, a committee member for the National Sports Advisory, Co-Chair of the Large Case Committee and Arbitrator on Commercial, Employment, and Sports panels. He previously served on the Board of Directors for a US NGB. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The World Games 2022 Birmingham and on the Board of Directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Birmingham branch appointee,.
Benck graduated from Birmingham-Southern College (BA-Economics, 1990) and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law (JD, 1993).
Dana Welch is an arbitrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been on the American Arbitration Association’s large and complex commercial case and employment panels since 2002. She has served as the sole or panel arbitrator in nearly 250 matters. She co-chaired the ABA Dispute Resolution Section’s Arbitration Training Institute from 2018-2020. She is the past chair of the State Bar of California’s Standing Committee on ADR and the Arbitration Committee of the ABA’s Dispute Resolution section.
Welch is a Fellow and member of the Board of Directors of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. She is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a panelist with the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. She has been named a “Super Lawyer” in the field of ADR in Northern California for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Previously, she was the General Counsel of Robertson Stephens, a technology-focused investment bank, and a litigation partner at Ropes & Gray.
Welch obtained her JD, Order of the Coif, from Berkeley Law School, University of California, Berkeley where she was awarded the Stephen Finney Jamison Award for the graduate best representing the qualities of an advocate and a scholar.
Christina Guerola Sarchio focuses her practice on general commercial litigation, class actions and white-collar defense, with significant experience in the consumer products, financial, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, sports and transportation industries. A former prosecutor and experienced trial lawyer, Sarchio has successfully tried cases in federal and state courts throughout the country. She also regularly appears before a number of agencies and regulators, including the DOJ, FDA, SEC and various U.S. Attorney offices. Women’s National Basketball Players Association, National Basketball Players Association, and National Football League Players Association are just a few of the organizations Sarchio are among the clients she has advised.
Sarchio has been recognized as a leading lawyer by Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers, The Legal 500 U.S., and among the Top 250 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation each of the past several years. Her class action jury win in 2016 was named a Top 10 Defense Verdict by The Daily Journal. She was also selected as a 2018 Woman Worth Watching by The Daily Journal and received MCCA’s 2017 Rainmaker Award. Sarchio has also received a number of community service awards, including the HNBA Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, George Washington Law School’s Belva Lockwood Award, HBA-DC Hugh Johnson Award, and was named by Hispanic Business Magazine to its Top 20 Elite Women and 100 Most Influential lists.
Prior to joining Dechert, Sarchio served as a partner at another international law firm where she served as a member of the Board of Directors. Her previous experience includes serving as prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Sarchio has also served as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 2011. She earned her B.A. at Cornell University and her J.D. at George Washington University Law School.
Javier Flores is the managing partner of Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP’s Boston office. He has diverse litigation experience representing clients in complex commercial and tort litigation, including breach of contract claims, class action, product liability and general liability matters. Additionally, he counsels clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups on non-litigation matters, including negotiation and preparation of business contracts and lease agreements, and provides full-scale risk assessments for clients bringing products or services to market with the goal of developing protocols that will reduce future litigation and defense costs.
Flores was recently appointed by Boston Mayor, Martin Walsh, to the Police Reform Task Force charged with amending police protocols and procedures to promote racial justice. Flores has served in numerous leadership positions in legal and civic organizations, including as the National Secretary of the HNBA and former Region I president. He currently sits on the board of directors for Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) and recently served on the board for the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA). Additionally, Flores was a 2017 Leadership Council on Litigation Diversity (LCLD) Fellow, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Diversity Task Force.
In 2019, Flores was named to Lawyers of Color’s inaugural Nation’s Best list and included as one of the 50 most influential lawyers of color in Boston by Get Konnected. In 2018, the Boston Business Journal recognized Flores as a 40 under 40 honoree and he received the HNBA’s Regional President of the Year award. In 2017, Flores was named as an HNBA Top Lawyer under 40. Additionally, he has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star each year since 2011.
Flores is lauded for taking time to understand his clients’ businesses and philosophies, so he can craft an approach that melds with each of his clients’ individual objectives. Clients look to him to provide thoughtful counsel and tenacious representation. Flores earned his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and his B.A. from Kenyon College.
Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice Hugh Fraser joined JAMS after an accomplished 25-year tenure on the bench. Justice Fraser was appointed as a judge of the Ontario Court in 1993 and became regional senior justice for the East Region of Ontario in 2013, a position in which he managed and advised more than 70 judges and justices of the peace. During his career, Justice Fraser conducted thousands of trials and directly mediated countless settlements in cases involving complex business/commercial, professional liability, torts, family, criminal and personal injury matters.
Justice Fraser is an Olympian and a recognized international expert in sports law. As an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), he was appointed to CAS’s first ad hoc court and has served as either sole or panel arbitrator in dozens of sports-related disputes. He is a member of several ADR panels in North America and Europe and has conducted arbitrations throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, Brazil, Grenada, Malaysia and Switzerland.
Prior to his appointment to the bench, Justice Fraser worked as a barrister in private practice, as counsel to the Canadian Department of Justice and as corporate counsel for a multinational technology firm. He has also served on the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Justice Fraser has earned many honors over the years including 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, Province of Ontario Achievement Award, Queen’s University Track and Field Hall of Fame, Winner of 13 Canadian National Championship events in track and field and countless others.
Justice Fraser earned his undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in political science and history and earned his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.
Jeffrey G. Benz
JAMS, Inc.
Jeff Benz is an accomplished international and domestic commercial arbitrator and mediator, with a focus on entertainment, sports and technology. He is a former General Counsel of the US Olympic Committee, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and other sports entities, former counsel to independent film producers and directors, and a former international athlete. He is one of only approximately 400 Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrators and mediators worldwide and has served as arbitrator in cases involving several dozen different sports. He is a member of the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal and the PGA Tour and LPGA Anti-Doping Panels.
Benz has served as a neutral in several hundred large and complex commercial arbitrations and mediations before the major administering global institutions, and as an advocate in many more. He is duly qualified in the US as a lawyer (California, Colorado, Hawaii, New York) and in England and Wales as a barrister, where he is a member of Lincoln’s Inn. He is a founding board member of the California International Arbitration Council.
Benz is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators, a CEDR Accredited Mediator, and an IMI Certified Mediator. He is a Certified Electronic Discovery Specialist. He has AB and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan and a JD degree from the University of Texas.