Mediator Resume

University of Alabama School of Law - Law Professor

Arbitrator, Signature Workplace Solutions, 2025-Present; Law Professor, The University of Alabama School of Law, 2021-Present; Forrester Fellow, Tulane University Law School, 2019-2021; Assistant Professor of Law in Resident & Director of Diversity, The University of Alabama School of Law, 2016-2019; Civil Rights Attorney, U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2010-2016; Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 2008-2010.

Nationally recognized authority on retaliation and whistleblower law with extensive experience in labor, employment, civil rights, administrative law, torts, and education law. Experience encompasses the analysis and resolution of workplace disputes involving discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower protections, wrongful termination, discipline, harassment, disability accommodation, leave administration, wage and hour compliance, labor-management relations, collective bargaining, grievance procedures, workplace investigations, contract interpretation, academic governance, and public-sector employment. Subject-matter expertise includes claims arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII); the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA); the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA); the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA); the Equal Pay Act (EPA); the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA); the Railway Labor Act (RLA); the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA); the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA); the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act); the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX); the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank); the False Claims Act (FCA); the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, including Sections 501, 503, and 504; Executive Order 11246; the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA); Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX); the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983; constitutional claims arising under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause; and analogous state labor, employment, civil rights, and whistleblower laws. Recognized for nationally significant contributions to retaliation and whistleblower jurisprudence through extensive writing, speaking, and professional education. Regularly presents continuing legal education (CLE) programs and professional training for attorneys, judges, governmental entities, educational institutions, employers, and organizational leaders on labor and employment law, retaliation and whistleblower law, workplace investigations, labor relations, disability accommodation, higher education compliance, and alternative dispute resolution. Brings a broad institutional perspective informed by work across labor; public and private sector workplaces; and K-12 and higher education institutions. Experienced in evaluating legally and factually complex disputes involving statutory, constitutional, contractual, and regulatory issues and producing clear, well-reasoned written analyses.

Experienced in mediating employment, civil rights, and organizational disputes involving termination, discipline, accommodation, harassment, retaliation, and workplace governance. Brings deep subject-matter expertise in labor and employment law and a judicially minded approach to evaluating risk, remedy, and resolution.

I practice as a facilitative, evaluative mediator who is pragmatic, structured, and deeply attentive to the human dynamics that underlie workplace conflict. My approach is grounded in respect, neutrality, and procedural fairness. I work to create a space in which parties feel heard and understood while remaining focused on resolution. Particularly in employment and civil rights disputes where power imbalances, identity, and reputational concerns often shape the conflict, I am intentional about establishing trust and clear expectations at the outset of the process. I tailor each mediation to the needs of the parties and the posture of the case. I am comfortable using joint sessions, caucuses, or a hybrid approach depending on what will best facilitate progress.

Hampton University (Ph.D., Business Administration - 2018); Northwestern University (M.A., Public Policy & Administration - 2013); University of Georgia School of Law (J.D. - 2008); Spelman College (B.A., Economics - 2004, B.A., Political Science - 2004).

Admitted to the Bar: Georgia.

American Law Institute; American Bar Association; Labor and Employment Relations Association; American Bar Foundation; Association of American Law Schools; National Bar Association.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS: Law Review Articles: • Equal Protection Retaliation, 62 WAKE FOREST L. REV. __ (forthcoming 2027). • Retaliation: A Business Decision, 79 FLA. L. REV. __ (forthcoming 2027). • Surveillance as Retaliation, 59 GA. L. REV. 517 (2025). • Integrating Interference Theory, 104 B. U. L. REV. 185 (2024). • Enforcing Equity, 118 NW. U. L. REV. 577 (2023). • Rationing Retaliation Claims, 13 U C IRVINE L. REV. 993 (2023). • Featured in the Worklaw section of Jotwell: The Journal of Things We Like (Lots) on May 9, 2024 • Enduring Exclusion, 120 MICH. L. REV. 1667 (2022). • The Disparate Impact of Digital Surveillance, 101 B. U. L. REV. (Forthcoming 2027) (with Kristin N. Johnson). • Preserving Pandemic Protections, 42 BERKELEY J. EMP. & LAB. L. 321 (2021). • Protecting Protected Activity, 95 WASH. L. REV. 1891 (2020). Book: • LEARNING EMPLOYMENT LAW (West 2nd ed.) (with Francis Mootz, Leticia Saucedo, Michael Malanska & Angela Morrison)(2024). Book Chapter: • Three Workforces, One Institution: Labor Relations in Higher Education in FIFTY YEARS OF HIGHER EDUCATION LAW & POLICY: WHERE ARE WE NOW? (Patricia Salkin et al. eds.)(forthcoming 2027). Recent Speaking Engagements: • Restraining Retaliation by Contract: Reimagining Retaliation Protections Through Collective Bargaining, Labor and Employment Relations Association, Minneapolis, MN, May 2026. • The Long Shadow of Labor Law, Labor and Employment Relations Association, Minneapolis, MN, May 2026. • State Constitutions as Guardians of Justice: Advancing Equity for Marginalized Communities, ABA Section of State, Local & Tribal Government Law, Atlanta, GA, April 2026. • Retaliation at Work: Free Speech and Employee Protections Across Sectors, ABA Section of Civil Right and Social Justice Bootcamp, March 2026. • Advice from Faculty Advisors and Administrators, SCRIBES American Society of Legal Writers National Conference for Law Review Editors, Virtual, March 2026. • Speech, Surveillance, and Retaliation in Public Employment, ABA Section of State, Local & Tribal Government Law, San Antonio, TX, February 2026. • New Law Professors: New Law Professors, Thrive Not Survive, AALS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, January 2026. • The Future of Law and Multiracial Democracy Symposium by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, October 2025. • Retaliation: A Business Decision, Lutie Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Workshop, sponsored by California Western School of Law, June 2025. • University of Arizona School of Law Faculty Colloquium, Surveillance as Retaliation, March 2025. • ABA Midyear Meeting, ABA Section of State & Local Government Law, Phoenix, AZ, Discharge of Government Employees, February 2025. • Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and Louisiana Judicial College Annual Joint CLE, Workplace Torts, December 2024. • Cornell Work Law Junior Scholar Workshop, Whistleblower Parity, November 2024. • AALS Women in Legal Education Mid-Year Meeting, hosted by The University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, CO, October 2024. • National Employment Lawyers Association, Surveillance as Retaliation, Birmingham, AL, September 2024. • 16th Annual Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law (COSELL), sponsored by The University of San Diego School of Law and California Western School of Law, Whistleblower Parity, San Diego, CA, September 2024. • Association of American Law Schools Section on Employment Discrimination Law 2024 Summer Workshop, Whistleblower Parity, July 2024. • 18th Annual Lutie A. Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop hosted by Duke University School of Law, Whistleblower Parity, June 2024. • Privacy Law Scholars Conference hosted by Georgetown Law Center, Surveillance as Retaliation, May 2024. • Culp Colloquium hosted by Harvard Law School, Surveillance as Retaliation, May 2024.

Hourly Rate: Not provided Daily Rate: Not provided Study Rate: Not provided Cancellation: Not provided Cancellation Period: Not provided Comment: Compensation rates, established by the AAA, are set forth in the applicable Consumer Mediation Procedures.

English

United States of America

Birmingham, Alabama