Event Archive

Central Ohio Labor  Employment Relations Association
Invites you to the COLERA 2017-2018 Luncheon/Speaker Program
Enjoy time networking and catching up.

The Continuing COLERA Luncheon Series occurs on the third Tuesdays of the month.

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Guest Speaker for September 2017  Luncheon

Mike Curtin is retired from The Dispatch Printing Company, after a 38-year career as reporter, editor and associate publisher for The Columbus Dispatch. He also served as president, chief operating officer and vice-chairman of The Dispatch Printing Company. During much of his newspaper career, Curtin specialized in the coverage of state and local government, public policy, and electoral politics. He is the co-author of The Ohio Politics Almanac, now in its 3rd edition, published by Kent State University Press. Following his retirement from The Dispatch, Curtin served two terms (2013-2016) in the Ohio House of Representatives, elected from the 17th District, serving the West and South sides of Columbus.  Curtin currently serves on the boards of The Mount Carmel Foundation, the Columbus International Visitors Council, and the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority. He previously served on the boards of the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation, the YMCA of Central Ohio, the Mount Carmel Health System, the Mount Carmel College of Nursing, the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Columbus, the Ohio Newspaper Association, and Prevent Blindness Ohio. Curtin is a native of Columbus, and a graduate of The Ohio State University School of Journalism (1973). He and his wife Sharon Curtin have two children and four grandchildren.  He is a licensed umpire for the Ohio High School Athletic Association, and umpires high-school baseball and fast-pitch softball games throughout central Ohio.

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Guest Speaker for October 2017  Luncheon

Monica Moll was named The Ohio State University’s Director of Public Safety in October of 2016. She is responsible for the direction of OSU’s Police Division, Communications & Security Technology, Emergency Management & Fire Prevention, Central Campus Security Services and Wexner Medical Center Security. Director Moll came to OSU from Bowling Green State University where she had served as Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police for six years. At BGSU she was responsible for the direction of the BGSU Police Department, the Office of Emergency Management, Parking Services, and Shuttle Services. Prior joining BGSU, Ms. Moll was a Lieutenant in the Kent State University Police Department. During her 14 years at KSU, she served as the shift commander, CIT officer, crisis negotiator for the Metro SWAT Team, community policing liaison, basic police academy instructor, and investigator. She also taught undergraduate policing courses as an adjunct professor.  Director Moll completed her undergraduate degree in Social Work at The University of Akron. She has both a Master of Public Administration degree and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Kent State University. Ms. Moll is also a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College, the Certified Law Enforcement Executive Program, and the 238th session of the FBI National Academy.

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Guest Speaker for November 2017  Luncheon

Cristina Muñoz Nedrow started her career with the United Nations, working with the International Labor Organization on the US ratification of International Labor Standards. Cristina also served as an economist for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the Research for Organizing Department in Washington DC. She then spent 14 years working for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers first as an Economist, then as a Grand Lodge Representative in charge of organizing, negotiations, and coordinating NLRB cases for 12 states. Cristina currently works for the OEA as a Regional Director in the southwest and northwest Ohio and is the liaison for Education Support Professionals and the OEA LBGTQ caucus.   Cristina is originally from New York City and holds dual citizenship with the USA and Chile. Cristina has a Masters in Political Science/Public policy from Brown University and a BA in Economics from The City College of New York. Cristina has been awarded “Latina of the Year” by the Latin American Labor Council for her work in organizing Latino workers. Cristina is married and has two children, Kaeli and Brianna. Her passion lies in advocating and working with children in Ohio’s foster care system.

Attorney Matthew Whitman is the Director of Member Legal Services for the Ohio Education Association. Attorney Whitman has been involved in Ohio public sector labor and employment law for almost a decade. He began his career with the State Employment Relations Board, helping in the Hearings and Research sections. He then moved on to represent public employers in private practice for three years. Now, Attorney Whitman assists over 120,000 teachers and school support professionals in matters ranging from fringe benefits to criminal liability for on-the-job situations. Attorney Whitman graduated, cum laude, from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law with an emphasis on labor and employment issues. He is also a magna cum laude graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.

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Guest Speaker for December 2017 Luncheon

Laura Shepard began her career as a Commissioner in 2005 with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Ms. Shepard is involved in the mediation of new and existing collective bargaining agreements for a variety of organizations in the private, public and federal sectors. Commissioner Shepard has worked with various groups in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, education, police and fire, and municipalities. She has been involved in attempting to resolve a variety of work stoppages that affected musicians, bus drivers, foundry workers, auto mechanics, and teachers. Commissioner Shepard has served as a neutral in the resolution of grievance mediations, Equal Employment Opportunity disputes, discharge cases and a variety of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) cases. She has mediated disputes for various private organizations, public sector, and federal agencies. She has been selected to be a mediator coach and she is also an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Counselor for FMCS. Ms. Shepard frequently acts as a trainer or facilitator in the areas of communication, interest-based problem-solving, interest-based bargaining, steward/supervisor relationships, labor management committees, meeting effectiveness and trust building. She has presented training for the United Steelworkers (USW), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), students in the Master’s Program at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, as well as for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in China.

Prior to joining FMCS, Commissioner Shepard was a labor relations specialist for the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) from March 1998 to April 2005. She was the chief negotiator for several nurses’ units, whose members ranged from 6 to 2,000 employees. Further, she administered collective bargaining agreements, handled grievances and arbitrations, and participated on labor-management committees. Ms. Shepard graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in business administration.  She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, now known as Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She is a current member of COLERA and has been a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Columbus Bar Association. Prior to joining FMCS, Ms. Shepard was a labor relations specialist for the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) from March 1998 to April 2005. She was the chief negotiator for several nurses’ units, whose members ranged from 6 to 2,000 employees. Further, she administered collective bargaining agreements, handled grievances and arbitrations, and participated on labor-management committees.

Commissioner Shepard graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in business administration.  She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, now known as Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She is a current member of COLERA and has been a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Columbus Bar Association.

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Guest Speaker for January 2018 Luncheon

Professor L. Camille Hebert is a recognized scholar on workplace privacy who has literally written the book on the subject.  She will be discussing the trends in employee monitoring with a focus on modern-day technological approaches to workplace monitoring and its intersection with privacy laws and ethics. Professor L. Camille Hebert received her B.A. from Kansas State University and her J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law.  She has taught at The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law since 1988, where she teaches Employment Discrimination Law, Employment Law, Labor Law, and Employee Benefits.  She writes and presents extensively in the areas of discrimination, including sexual harassment, and employee privacy.  Her book, Employee Privacy Law, was published in 1993 and is updated annually.

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Guest Speaker for February 2018 Luncheon

Andrea Boxill of Mental Health and Addiction Services who will be discussing “Opioids in the Workplace.” Andrea Boxill is a highly experienced leader and team builder in behavioral healthcare with a record of achievement in judicial, community mental health and substance abuse programs at state and local levels.  As Deputy Director of the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team at the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Andrea monitors service delivery, assists in writing policy, interpret federal and state laws and regulations to ensure compliance and assists in coalition building to address the opioid epidemic across the state. Ms. Boxill will provide a  brief overview of the Drug-Free Workplace Act, and its application and expansion over the years to require drug-testing. She will discuss the history of the opioid epidemic, the signs and symptoms of the disease, and the interventions that have been executed by the state and can be implemented by employers through EAPs and with the cooperation of BWC.

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Guest Speakers for March Luncheon

Our March speakers are Scott DiMauro, Melissa Cropper, and Christopher Mabe. Our Panelists will examine the case from the perspective of some of Ohio’s largest public employee unions and provide participants with insights on how unions are organizing in preparation for the court’s decision.  Scott DiMauro is the OEA Vice President in 2013.  He chairs the OEA Legislative Committee and works with OEA’s Government Relations staff to represent educators in the legislature and State Board of Education. Melissa Cropper is the President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. Ms. Cropper serves on the Ohio AFL-CIO’s Executive Board. She is Secretary-Treasurer of We Are Ohio, a member of the Board for UHCAN, Progress Ohio and Policy Matters Ohio, on the steering committee for Advocates for Ohio’s Future, and on the Columbus Business Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Christopher Mabe is a Corrections Sergeant at the Lorain Correctional Institution and has served as OCSEA President since 2011.  He was elected to the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) Board in 2014, giving labor a seat back at the pension table. He is an International Vice President of AFSCME International, an Ohio AFL-CIO Executive Board Member, as well as the Chair of We Are Ohio. He also occupies the prestigious labor seat on the Ohio Department of Veterans’ Services Committee.

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Guest Speaker for April Luncheon

Our April Luncheon Speaker is Attorney Julie Davis of James E. Arnold & Associates, LPA who will review the key messages and actions that #MeToo is driving for all of the actors in the workplace.  The hashtags #MeToo and #TimesUp used on social media demonstrate the widespread sexual harassment in today’s workplace. However, unlike the court of public opinion, employers cannot make quick judgments but must comply with the provisions of its CBA, employee manual or other terms of employment. An employer has an obligation to all of its employees, both in terms of maintaining a safe workplace and in terms of not summarily discharging an employee based simply on a sexual harassment allegation. Due process becomes important for all parties.  Attorney Davis will explore the complex considerations regarding sexual harassment in the workplace,  consider the roles and obligations of all parties involved, and review the importance of investigations and due process in relation to workplace sexual harassment complaints.

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Guest Speakers for the May Training Program:

Attorney Christopher Hogan will discuss recent cases and topics of vital importance to employers and employees: anxiety in the workplace; the latest from the EEOC on parental leave rights; and the Sixth Circuit’s recent holding that Title VII’s prohibition on sex description extends to discrimination based on sexual orientation.  He assists both public and private employers across the country in all manner of issues, including executive and staff employment matters, board and staff training, governance, and internal investigations.  Attorney Hogan has extensive experience dealing with labor unions, including negotiating and administering contracts, unfair labor practices, fact-finding, and conciliation, handling grievances, and trying arbitrations. Hogan represents public and private educational institutions across the country regarding faculty, staff and student matters, including compliance matters involving FERPA, Title IX, the Clery Act, and DOE/DOL audits. Hogan has particular experience with churches and church-related institutions.

Stephanie Pulliam is the Compensation and Benefits Manager for the Central Ohio Transit Authority, which is the regional public transit provider for greater Columbus and central Ohio.  Stephanie is responsible for the direction and administration of all employee benefits, COTA’s health and wellness programs and the compensation/classification system.  Stephanie also serves as the Equal Employment Opportunity Investigation Officer for COTA. Ms. Pulliam will present on their agency’s successful and popular employee wellness initiatives.  In 2012, COTA faced significant obstacles due to an unsustainable health insurance path. In the years since, COTA has put a new focus on the design of its health insurance plan, as well as current and potential challenges associated with the plan.  COTA now partners with Interactive Health, Inc. to offer comprehensive biometric screening to encourage a healthy lifestyle and awareness of personal health.   Ms. Pullman will discuss the screening benefits to employers and employees.

Central Ohio Labor  Employment Relations Association
Invites you to the COLERA 2016-2017 Luncheon/Speaker Program
Enjoy time networking and catching up at: 

The Continuing COLERA Luncheon Series occurs on the third Tuesdays of the month.