Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Panel: Discrimination Issues on Unionized Campuses

Katherine H. Hansen, Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss
Steven J. Porzio, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Shannon Buffum, Senior Associate General Counsel, Cornell University
Courtney Bither, Servicing Representative, UAW Region 9A
Ana Avendaño, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law, Moderator

C204

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Panel: Just Cause: Practical Issues in Pursuing and Defending Disciplinary Charges

Dana E. Lossia, Levy Ratner PC
Nicholas L. Collins, ArentFox Schiff LLP
Chris Meade, Senior Director, Employee and Labor Relations, University of Oregon
Patrick McDermott, Arbitrator and Professor, Management and Legal Studies, Franklin P. Perdue School of Business, Salisbury University, Moderator

C198

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Panel: Key Labor Issues Involving Nursing

Claire Tuck, Director, Legal Department, New York State Nurses Association
Jonathan Wangel, Senior Assistant Vice President/Deputy Counsel, NYC Health + Hospitals
Sophia Alonso, Assistant Vice President, Labor Relations, Montefiore Medical Center
Amy Lee Pacholk, Critical Care Nurse, SUNY Stony Brook, Executive Board, PEF
Ann Marie Mauro, Dean and Professor, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College, CUNY, Moderator

C205

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Panel: Retrenchment and Layoff Procedures: Negotiating and Arbitrating

Peter A. Jones, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC
David Kinsella, Vice President, Collective Bargaining, PSU-AAUP and Professor, Political Science, Portland State University
Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona
Adrienne Lu, Senior Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Moderator

C197

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Panel: Creating Shop Culture in Higher Ed Unions

Sunshine Alvarez de Silva, MA Student, University of Vermont-Graduate Student Union, UAW 2322
Sara V. Speller, PhD Candidate, Harvard University, Graduate Student Union, UAW 5118
Lily Luo, PhD Candidate, University of Connecticut, Graduate Employees Union, UAW 6950
Matthew M. Bodah, Labor Arbitrator & Mediator and Professor Emeritus, University of Rhode Island, Moderator

C205

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Panel: Staff Labor Issues in Higher Education

Roberta Elins, Immediate Past President, United College Employees/AFT Local 3457, FIT, SUNY
Ashley C. Pope, General Counsel, Suffolk County Community College
Christine O'Connell, President, Unions of Rutgers Administrators-AFT Local 1766
Dominick Fanelli, Director, Labor Relations, Staff Human Resources, University of Michigan
William Conley, Director of Conciliation, NYS Public Employment Relations Board, Moderator

C204

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Panel: The Crisis of Collegiate Black Male Athlete Identity: Education, Work, and Democracy

Pops Mensah-Bonsu, NBA G League Operations, New York Knicks; President, SEED Academy Ghana
Rob Knox, Award-Winning Communications Leader; SI HBCU Legend; NCAA Champion of Diversity Honoree
Rolando Shannon, Doctoral Candidate and Interim Assistant Athletic Director, Student Development, Tennessee State University
Ajah Hawley-Alexander, Clinical Lecturer, Iona University, Doctoral Candidate, University of Southern Mississippi, Moderator

C198

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Panel: When Democracy and Equity Collide: Responses that Promote Institutional Learning

Elizabethada Wright, Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth, UEA Contract Administrator
Josué Arredondo, Adjunct Professor, Southwestern College/San Diego Miramar College and Delegate, CTA State Council
Michael Buchler, Professor, Florida State University and Co-Chief negotiator, United Faculty of Florida-FSU
Geoffery Johnson, Adjunct Professor, San Diego Mesa/Southwestern Colleges and President, AFT National Adjunct Contingent Caucus
John L. Hoffman, President, Bemidji State University, Commentator
Christina Gallup, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth, Moderator

C201-202

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM