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EXECUTIVE LEADERS SEMINAR SERIES
Charter School Legal Issues:
What You Need to Know
SPEAKER BIOS
co-sponsored by
the University of Delaware’s
Institute for Public Administration
and
Delaware Academy for School Leadership
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Speaker Bios
Robert Bambino, CPCU, ARM
Senior Vice President, Risk Management
Wright Risk Management
Bob is in charge of Wright Risk Management’s risk-management and loss-prevention
department. He has over 30 years experience in risk management, training, coverage
analysis and claims management. Bob manages a staff of 15 highly experienced loss- and
risk-control professionals. In his capacity, he has spearheaded many innovative programs
to help his clients control risk for many types of exposures, including comprehensive programs addressing employment practices liability, premises liability, fleet operations, security claims, and recreational liability. Bob and his staff have written handbooks addressing employment-related
practices, student travel, and risk transfer.
Bob is an instructor at Hofstra University (Hempstead, N.Y.), where he teaches insurance and risk-management
courses in the Center for Continuing Education and Professional Advancement (CCEPA). He is also the coordinator
of the CPCU program at CCEPA. Bob received his B.S. degree from Hofstra and his Chartered Property Casualty
Underwriter and Associate in Risk Management designations from the American Institute for CPCU – Insurance
Institute of America. He was recently recognized as an Outstanding Course Leader by the Institutes.
Bob has made dozens of presentations for various organizations around the country, including the Public Entity
Risk Management Association (PERMA), National Business Officers Association (NABO), Nonprofit Risk Management Center, and the International Association of School Business Officials (ASBO). He has written over 20 articles
for various journals, most recently for the Loss Control Interest Group of the CPCU Society.
William W. Bowser, ESQ.
Partner
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Bill represents both private and public employers in labor negotiations, union campaigns,
binding-interest arbitration, and employment discrimination and wrongful-termination
lawsuits. Bill regularly represents employers in administrative proceedings before the
NLRB, the Delaware PERB, the EEOC, the Delaware Department of Labor, and other
government agencies.
Bill also regularly counsels employers on issues relating to employment agreements, restrictive covenants, tradesecret agreements, employee discipline and termination, and the FMLA and ADA. He assists employers on avoiding
litigation by developing effective employee handbooks, policies, and procedures, and he provides training to in-house
counsel, human-resource professionals, supervisors, and employees.
Bill was selected by Best Lawyers in America© as the 2012 Delaware Management Labor Lawyer of the Year. He is
also listed as a top employment lawyer in the 2011 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for
Business.
As an editor of the Delaware Employment Law Letter, Bill has written dozens of articles on labor and employment
law. Bill is a frequent speaker on labor and employment law in Delaware and across the country, including the
annual meeting of the Delaware SHRM and the National Public Employment Relations Association (NPELRA).
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Speaker Bios
Bill received his J.D. degree cum laude from Villanova University. He is a member and past chair of the Delaware
State Bar Association’s Section of Labor & Employment Law and is treasurer of the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer
Foundation of Delaware. Since 2000, Bill has served as the Governor-appointed Chair of the Delaware Cancer
Consortium.
Allyson Britton DiRocco, ESQ.
Associate
Morris James, LLP
Allyson B. DiRocco focuses her practice on employment law, education law, and professionalliability litigation in state and federal courts. In her employment counseling and litigation
practice, she defends the interests of employers in allegations of discrimination, wrongful
discharge, and constitutional claims in the case of public employers. In her education law
practice, Allyson provides counsel to private and public schools regarding matters such as
benefits, employment and student/parent matters. In Allyson’s professional liability litigation practice, she
represents the interests of Delaware healthcare providers and professionals in general matters.
Allyson joined Morris James LLP in 2007. She graduated cum laude from Widener University School of Law. She
clerked for The Honorable Myron T. Steele of the Delaware Supreme Court in 2006-2007. Allyson received her B.S.
in psychology from Washington College in 2002.
In 2009 Allyson was named in the Delaware Volunteer Legal Services Pro Bono Honor Roll for her volunteer work
for The Office of the Child Advocate, Delaware, as guardian ad litem on behalf of abused and neglected children.
She is also an executive committee member for Girls, Inc. of Delaware and is the Chair of the
Professional Networking Group of Girls, Inc. of Delaware. Allyson is the Chair of the Labor and Employment Law
Section of the Delaware Bar Association.
Jennifer L. Kline, ESQ.
Procedural Safeguards and Monitoring
Delaware Department of Education
Jennifer Kline is an Education Associate with the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE). She currently manages
the State’s special-education due-process hearing system, and other state-level procedural safeguards available to
parents of children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Ms. Kline serves
as the lead staff at DDOE responsible for monitoring school districts, charter schools, and other local educational
agencies to ensure compliance with state and federal special-education regulations.
From 2000 to 2006, Ms. Kline was in private practice with the law firm of Morris, James LLP in the areas of general
and special-education and employment law. From 2006 to 2009, Jennifer was a Deputy Attorney General for the
State of Delaware and served as counsel to the Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the
Exceptional Children Resources Group.
Ms. Kline graduated cum laude from the Widener University School of Law in 2000. She resides in Sussex County
with her husband and two children.
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Speaker Bios
Adria Martinelli, ESQ.
Council
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Adria has practiced employment law at Young Conaway since 2001. She counsels and
represents employers and management on a wide range of labor and employment matters.
She specializes in the defense of employment discrimination lawsuits, including Title VII,
ADEA, ADA, FMLA, and retaliation. Her litigation experience includes state and federal
lawsuits, labor arbitrations, and administrative proceedings involving discrimination and
harassment, retaliation, and common law claims. She served as first chair in a federal trial
including discrimination and retaliation claims, in which all claims were dismissed against
her public-sector client.
Adria also counsels and trains public-sector clients on compliance with Delaware’s procurement laws and Freedom
of Information Act.
James H. McMackin, III, ESQ.
Associate
Morris James, LLP
In his employment, education and governmental relations law practice, Jim primarily
appears before members of the Delaware court, arbitrators, and administrative bodies. He
frequently counsels and represents clients on matters involving enforcement of non-compete
agreements, defending clients in suits alleging discrimination and retaliation, and enforcing
and defending contractual obligations.
In addition to counseling clients in litigation, Jim frequently serves as primary counsel in matters concerning
negotiating and drafting contracts; representing clients before various administrative bodies, including the
Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, the State Board of Education, and the Delaware Division of Industrial
Affairs; and complying with Delaware education laws.
Beyond the courthouse, Jim is a frequent guest on seminar panels and presenter on topics concerning employment
and education law. As former chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the Delaware State Bar Association,
Jim is asked to comment upon pending and proposed legislation. He is also an Associate Member of the Board of
Bar Examiners, and is recognized in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Jim received his J.D. degree cum laude from Widener University School of Law in 2002. He is a member of
Delaware State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section and served as chair from 2009-2010, vice chair
from 2008-2009, and secretary from 2007-2008; the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law
Section; Claymont Community Center Board of Directors; and the Archmere Academy Alumni Council.
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Speaker Bios
Mary Ann Mieczkowski
Exceptional Children Resources
Delaware Department of Education
Mary Ann Mieczkowski is the Director of Exceptional Children Resources with the Delaware Department of
Education. Mary Ann was the Supervisor of Special Education Services for the Appoquinimink School District for
ten years and thoroughly loved working with the students, parents, and other educators.
Mary Ann has a Bachelors degree from the University of Delaware in Elementary Education and Special Education
and a Masters degree from Johns Hopkins University in Special Education, specifically the education of students
with severe and profound disabilities. Teaching and advocating for students who have difficulty advocating for
themselves has been the main focus of Mary Ann’s professional career.
Prior to this position, she worked for many years at the Delaware Department of Education, providing leadership
and training in Positive Behavior Support, the Delaware Inclusion Project, and the Delaware Alternate Portfolio
Assessment. Mary Ann also coordinated the Interagency Collaborative Team, which provides support and funding
for students with mental-health issues and interagency supports. Mary Ann’s teaching career has provided her
with the experience and leadership to develop these statewide projects to assist teachers and students in moving
forward.
Michael P. Stafford, ESQ.
Associate
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Mike specializes in education law issues, including special education, student rights and
discipline, school policies and procedures, and staff-termination issues, for both private
and public schools. In particular, he has represented school districts in special-education
disputes in both administrative due-process hearings and federal and state courts. Similarly,
Mike has handled numerous student rights’ issues, including complex disputes over
students’ free speech rights and discipline issues, such as search and seizure and expulsion
hearings and appeals. He also works with school administrators to develop or revise policies and procedures and
provides school staff development and training on a wide variety of topics.
Mike is a regular speaker at Dr. Perry Zirkel’s annual special education conference at Lehigh University.
On numerous occasions, he has also represented employers in a range of matters such as wrongful discharge and
employment discrimination lawsuits, including Title VII, ADEA, ADA, EPA, and state employment statutes.
He has also advised foreign and domestic corporations, organizations, and financial institutions on a variety of
business immigration matters including obtaining and renewing temporary work visas such as H-1b’s and
employment-based permanent residency.
In 2011 Mike was honored with the Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Award (for environmental protection).
Mike received his J.D. degree from Duke University and is a member of the Delaware State Bar Association’s Labor
and Employment Section, the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, the American Immigration
Lawyers Association, and the Education Law Association.
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Speaker Bios
David H. Williams, ESQ.
Partner
Morris James, LLP
Managing Partner of Morris James LLP since 2004, David H. Williams focuses his practice
in the areas of employment law and education law. In employment law, his practice involves
representation of employers in all varieties of litigation and administrative proceedings,
including employment discrimination, discharge, constitutional claims, wage and hour
issues, unfair-labor-practice claims, and restrictive covenants; arbitration involving
employment-related disputes, and the interpretation and application of collective-bargaining
agreements; counseling aimed at avoiding employment claims; and collective bargaining.
In education law, his practice involves counseling educational institutions on all legal issues, and representing
such clients in litigation and administrative proceedings relating to discharge of employees; expulsion of students,
Students’ rights; Freedom of Information Act compliance; collective bargaining; and constitutional issues, including
due process and freedom of speech and the establishment clause.
Sources “highlight his strong negotiation style and singularly strong knowledge of employment law in relation to
the education sector” (Chambers 2011). Described as doing “a phenomenal job,” his experience, particularly in the
educational sector, is one of his primary assets, and clients like the fact that he is “level headed and reasonable
(Chambers 2007). He is listed among the Delaware Super Lawyers® for 2007-2010.
David received his J.D. degree in 1975 from Dickinson School of Law and is a member of the Delaware State Bar
Association’s Labor and Employment Law Sections, the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law
Sections, the National Association of School Attorneys, is president of the Delaware Council of School Board Attorneys,
and is the Delaware Office of Child Advocate’s guardian ad litem on behalf of abused and neglected children.
Barry M. Willoughby, ESQ.
Partner
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Barry is Chair of the Employment Law Section of YCS&T. He also serves as a member of
the firm’s Management Committee. His practice focuses on the representation of employers
in claims of employment discrimination, retaliation, “whistleblower,” and other “wrongful
discharge” cases under federal and state law, including defense of charges of racial and
sexual harassment. Barry also defends public employers in First Amendment, due-process,
equal-protection, and other constitutional law allegations. He represents employers in
union-related conflicts, including representation in organizing campaigns, unfair-labor-practice proceedings, and
grievance/arbitration hearings.
Barry received his J.D. degree cum laude from Dickinson School of Law and is a member of the Delaware State Bar
Association’s Employment Law Section (former chair), Labor Law Committee (former chair), the American Bar
Association. He is also a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers and an Associate of the Society for
Human Resources Managers (SHRM).
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