Kalpana Kotagal
Civil Rights & Employment Partner at Cohen Milstein
Kalpana Kotagal is a Civil Rights & Employment Partner at Cohen Milstein and the co-author of the "Inclusion Rider," referenced by Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand in her 2018 Best Actress acceptance speech.
Ms. Kotagal is also a highly accomplished plaintiffs’ lawyer, representing women and other disenfranchised people in high-profile employment and civil rights class actions, involving issues related to the Title VII, Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act.
Keynote Speaker
Jody David Armour, Author, Playwright, USC Professor of Law
A widely published scholar and popular lecturer, he is a Soros Justice Senior Fellow of The Open Society Institute’s Center on Crime, Communities and Culture. He has published an award-winning book, Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism and various law review articles. His forthcoming works, Book: N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law (LARB Books, August 2020); and article: “Hate Speech, the N-Word, the Confederate Battle Flag, the Legal Lexicon, and the Politics of Meaning” (University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 22 Issue 4 March 2020). He teaches a diverse array of subjects, including Criminal Law, Torts, and Stereotypes.
Crystal L Kendrick President of The Voice of Your Customer
Kendrick has more than 25 years of global
and domestic marketing experience targeting diverse populations. She holds a BBA in
Marketing from Temple University and an MBA in Business Administration from Northern
Kentucky University. Crystal completed Minority Business Executive Training Programs at
Dartmouth College, Babson College and the University of Wisconsin. The Voice of Your Customer is a consulting firm that specializes in market research, secret shopping and outreach campaigns. Under her leadership, The Voice of Your Customer was named the NMSDC National Supplier of the Year and the Cincinnati PRSA Small Agency of the Year.
Melody Stewart
Justice on The Supreme Court of Ohio
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Stewart served on the Eighth District Court of Appeals – elected to an unexpired term in 2006 and twice reelected to full terms. She served as
the court’s Administrative Judge in 2013.
Justice Stewart has more than 30 years of combined administrative, legal, and academic experience. She was an administrator for a health care management company, a music teacher, a civil defense litigator, and a law school administrator and professor before being elected to the Court of Appeals. While on the Eighth District Court of Appeals, Justice Stewart was assigned to hear cases in other appellate districts and in the Ohio Supreme Court.
Jabari Shaw
Associate Attorney at Vorys
Jabari Shaw is an associate attorney in the Vorys Cincinnati office. As a member of the
Intellectual Property, Entertainment, and Technology Protection practice group, he
helps guide clients through complex strategic planning, sensitive negotiations, and other
important details of intellectual property protection.
Christie Bryant Kuhns
Christie Kuhns has been involved with community advocacy since she was a teenager. She earned both her B.A. and Juris Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. She practiced law at Ulmer and Berne, LLP and American Family Insurance, a Fortune 500 company before she was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. She is currently the Chief of Staff & Vice President of Operations and Community Relations for UC Health. She is a Board member of the Avondale Development Corporation, Cincinnati Reds Diversity Advisory Board, the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation Board and the Ohio Poverty Law Center.