ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE COUNSEL AMERICA
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER
2016 Officers and Board Members
President
Colleen Zak Hess
Colleen Zak Hess is Assistant General Counsel for ANSYS, Inc., a publicly traded engineering simulation
software company with over 2,700 employees worldwide. ANSYS is headquartered at Southpointe with multiple
offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. She provides general corporate legal advice to ANSYS and
its international subsidiaries, with emphasis in compliance, employment, export, intellectual property and
litigation. Prior to joining ANSYS as a Senior Attorney in 2005, Colleen was an associate with Reed Smith LLP
and a law clerk to the Honorable Gary L. Lancaster of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Pennsylvania. She received her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, in 1997 from the University of Pittsburgh School
of Law where she was Lead Articles Editor of the Law Review. She also received her B.A. degree from Pitt,
magna cum laude, in Political Science and History in 1994. She lives in Chartiers Township, Washington County
with her husband and four children. She most recently served as President Elect and Vice President – Programs
for the Chapter.
President-Elect
Vinita Sinha
AND
Vice President-Membership
Vinita Sinha is a Strategic Transactions Advisor for Highmark and served as General Counsel of HM Health
Solutions Inc., a technology services company and subsidiary of Highmark. She also serves as a pro-bono
advisor to the West Penn Regional Center, an EB-5 regional center that puts overseas capital to work in Western
Pennsylvania to help drive economic development and create jobs in the region. She previously worked at Eckert
Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, where she focused her practice on mergers and acquisition, finance, corporate
securities and general corporate matters. She has an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University
of Wisconsin- Madison and received her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Duquesne University where she was an
editor on Duquesne’s Law Review. Ms. Sinha most recently served as Secretary of the ACC Western
Pennsylvania chapter.
Treasurer
Conniel Malek
Conniel Malek is Associate Counsel in the Legal Department of Alcoa Inc., located in Pittsburgh. She is business
unit counsel responsible for managing all legal matters for Alcoa’s Spectrochemical Standards business and
also supports Alcoa’s Capital Procurement and Architectural Products business units. In addition, she advises
other business units on transportation, procurement, energy and other regulatory matters. She graduated cum
laude from Cornell University in 2003 and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006.
Secretary
Cara Group
Cara Group is sole In-House Legal Counsel at Newton Consulting, LLC, a leading provider of business strategy,
information technology, and human resource management consulting, providing customer-focused, valuesdriven solutions to clients as they move from vision to reality. Newton Consulting is headquartered in
southwestern PA with a presence in many cities across the United States as well as in England and Canada.
She earned her B.A. in History from West Virginia Wesleyan College and her J.D. from Duquesne University,
School of Law.
Vice President-Advocacy
Marcy Smorey-Giger
Marcy Smorey-Giger is an adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Duquesne
University School of Law. Ms. Smorey teaches a professional skills course for third year law students: “In-House
Counsel in Modern Corporations” as well as “Corporate and Business Law.” Previously, she was the Chief Legal
Officer and Corporate Secretary for DynaVox Inc. DynaVox is the leading provider of speech generating devices
and symbol-adapted special education software used to assist individuals in overcoming their speech, language
and learning challenges. She has 20 years of legal and business experience, and her expertise as a legal
business partner encompasses corporate, operations, governance, compliance, securities, M&A, IP, healthcare
and litigation management. Prior to joining DynaVox, Ms. Smorey was the Corporate Counsel and Secretary of
WESCO International, Inc. Ms. Smorey received a Juris Doctor degree from the Duquesne University School
of Law. In addition, she holds a Master of Science degree from the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental
Science at Duquesne University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Westminster College. Ms. Smorey
previously served as Vice President-Membership.
Vice President-Communications
Kristen Budris
Kristen Budris is Corporate Counsel at Industrial Scientific Corporation, the global leader in gas detection and
safety analytics. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Industrial Scientific has offices in 22 countries. Kristen is
responsible for legal matters relating to customer and procurement contracts, and provides legal advice to
different business teams across the company. Kristen began her career at Weinheimer, Schadel & Haber, where
she focused on legal malpractice defense. Prior to joining Industrial Scientific as Assistant Corporate Counsel
in 2013, she worked in the Office of General Counsel at K&L Gates.
Kristen is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and has been selected as a Young Lawyer’s
Division Fellow by the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She volunteers with Sojourner House and the Uptown
Legal Clinic.
Kristen is a graduate of Duquesne University and Duquesne University School of Law.
Vice President-Pro Bono Initiatives
Richard Heiser
Dick Heiser is a vice president in FedEx Ground’s Legal Department. He leads a team of more than fifty legal
and compliance professionals who represent FedEx Ground before state and federal administrative agencies
and provide the company with legal services related to employment law, labor law, transportation law,
environmental law, and other independent contractor and compliance issues. He is a graduate of Franklin &
Marshall College, and he received his J.D. degree from Duquesne University School of Law.
Vice President-Programs
Stephanie Sciullo
Stephanie L. Sciullo is Associate General Counsel for MSA Safety, Inc., a publicly traded global manufacturing
company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Stephanie is responsible for managing all aspects of MSA's
litigation portfolio. Her expertise includes nationwide coordination of product liability claims and associated
insurance recovery efforts. Since joining MSA, Stephanie has implemented several initiatives resulting in milliondollar cost savings and improved quality of defense through process improvement and efficiency tools. In 2014,
Stephanie was recognized as a “Value Challenge Champion” by the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Stephanie also developed MSA's first pro bono initiative to provide wills to local firefighters and spouses,
furthering MSA’s mission to ensure that workers, “…their families, and their communities may live in health
throughout the world”. Along with Marcy Smorey-Giger, Ms. Sciullo is adjunct faculty at both the University of
Pittsburgh and Duquesne University Schools of Law, where they teach full-semester courses about the unique
legal obligations of in-house counsel. Prior to MSA, Ms. Sciullo litigated with Reed Smith LLP and earned her
J.D. and B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh where she was an editorial board member of the Law Review. Ms.
Sciullo previously served as Vice President – Advocacy for the Chapter.
Immediate Past President
Scott Seewald
Scott Seewald is Senior Counsel in the Legal Department of Alcoa Inc., located in Pittsburgh. He is responsible
for managing all legal matters for the Alcoa Power and Propulsion business unit. In addition, he provides legal
support to other Alcoa business units and legal guidance on energy and global security matters. Prior to joining
Alcoa, he was a senior attorney for six years in the Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission located in Washington, D.C. where he investigated corporate fraud at large public
companies. He started his career as a litigation associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Akin, Gump, Strauss,
Hauer and Feld, LLP. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and received
his J.D. cum laude from the Duke University School of Law in 1997. He most recently served as President of
the Chapter.
Member of the Board
Joseph Gette
Joe Gette is Corporate Counsel in the Legal Department of PPG Industries, Inc. He is the primary lawyer for
PPG’s global Strategic Planning and Corporate Development (M&A) functions. In addition, he is responsible for
managing all legal matters for PPG’s global Fiber Glass business unit. Prior to joining PPG, he was a corporate
associate at K&L Gates. He graduated from Allegheny College in 1994 and received his J.D. from the Vanderbilt
University School of Law in 1997. Joe also serves on the board of directors of Pittsburgh’s City Theatre on the
South Side.
Member of the Board
Krysia Kubiak
Krysia Kubiak is Assistant General Counsel in charge of federal energy regulatory issues and litigation at
Duquesne Light in Pittsburgh, PA. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and earned her law degree at the
Marshall-Wythe School of Law at William and Mary. She began her career as a deputy district attorney in
Colorado, where she was awarded the “Trial Hound” award (complete with stuffed dog). Krysia is currently CoChair of the Gender Equality Committee and the Pathway to the Bench Committee and is a former Chair of the
Women in the Law Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association.
Member of the Board
Joseph Napoli
Joe Napoli is an Assistant General Counsel at United States Steel Corporation where he has worked for 25 years.
He has extensive domestic and international experience in a variety of specialties including general corporate law,
finance, securities, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, joint ventures,
commercial transactions, litigation management, land use, and real estate. He most recently served as General
Counsel of U. S. Steel’s European operations in Eastern Slovakia where he managed a team of 25 attorneys who
addressed legal issues for a $4 billion enterprise. He is experienced in negotiating with a wide range of parties
including national and local governments, international and domestic enterprises, and other organizations. Joe
served on the Board of Directors of our Chapter and was President in 2009 before accepting his post in Europe
in January of 2010. He is member of the Board of Trustees of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation and also
serves on the Fellows Committee. He has written for the ACC Docket and is a frequent presenter at the ACC
Annual Meeting. Joe graduated from the Duquense University School of Law and earned his B.A. in
Communications at Duquesne University.
Member of the Board
M. Cristina Sharp
Crissy Sharp is an attorney in FedEx Ground’s Legal Department. She works in the Litigation Unit where she
focuses primarily on Labor and Employment lawsuits. As an attorney in the litigation unit, Crissy takes the lead
role in litigation matters and handles many cases exclusively in-house. Prior to working for FedEx Ground,
Crissy worked for U.S. Steel and the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. She received her J.D. degree
from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and was selected for the Order of Barristers. Crissy received her
B.A. degree from George Mason University. Crissy is also a Hearing Committee Member for the Pennsylvania
Disciplinary Board.
Member of the Board
Kirsten Sigurdson
Kirsten Sigurdson is Counsel for Highmark Health, the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health
Network and HM Health Solutions, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh, and provides health care and other
diversified services to consumers, business customers and government entities. She provides general
corporate and commercial legal advice to Highmark Health and its subsidiaries with an emphasis in commercial
transactions and compliance. She received her J.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and
her B.A. degree from the Pennsylvania State University. Kirsten is also a Hearing Committee Member for the
Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board.
Member of the Board
John Unice
John is Senior Counsel-Litigation and Environmental at Covestro LLC (formerly Bayer MaterialScience LLC). He
is Covestro’s global litigation counsel and also guides the Company’s U.S. manufacturing sites and product
safety/governance functions regarding compliance with environmental, chemical safety, and worker safety
regulations. Prior to joining Covestro in March 2015, John was a senior litigator at Bayer Corporation, Covestro’s
former corporate parent. At Bayer, John managed U.S. litigation matters for Bayer’s Material Science, Health
Care, and Crop Science affiliates. Before joining Bayer in late 2009, John was a litigator at Jones Day-Pittsburgh
for 10 years as well as Eckert Seamans briefly.
John received a B.A. in Leadership Studies (summa cum laude) from the University of Richmond and a J.D. from
the University of Pittsburgh (cum laude), where he also served on the Law Review.