Read feature guest biographies of the 2016 Law and Government Networking Forum tomorrow at LondonHouse Hotel Chicago.
Moderator
Marlo Rodriguez, The Court Reporter Chronicles
Marlo Rodriguez, CSR, RPR has been a court reporter in Chicago for almost 20 years and is the Founder of The Court Reporter Chronicles, an international organization supporting independent court reporters. Marlo currently works at Certus Deposition Services serving as Executive Vice President specializing in complex litigation. She is licensed in Illinois as well as holds a national certification allowing her to court report in other states.
Marlo previously owned her own agency called Marlo Reporting & Video Services, which was WBE and MBE certified, and which was also chosen as HLAI's preferred court reporting agency.
Marlo is passionate about promoting court reporting, court reporting services and products, its advancement, and mentoring court reporting students. She is grateful for an amazing group of friends that continue to support her in her now and future endeavors.
Discussion Panelists
Martin Castro, Chair, US Civil Rights Commission,CEO - Castro Synergies, Interim CEO, Casa Central
Marty Castro is the President and CEO of Castro Synergies, LLC, which provides strategic consulting services to corporations, entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations that seek to collaborate with and have a positive social impact on diverse communities.
Mr. Castro was appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in January of 2011. In March 2011, President Obama elevated Mr. Castro to the position of Chairperson of the USCCR, making him the agency's eighth Chair since the formation of the Commission, and the first Latino Chairperson in the over half-century history of the USCCR.
In December 2009, Mr. Castro was appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to Chair the Illinois Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission is the State public body that arbitrates complaints of civil rights violations in housing, employment, public accommodations and financial credit.
Mr. Castro is on the board of directors of the National Museum of Mexican Art; the only accredited Latino Museum in the United States. He also serves on the board of the Chicago Community Trust. Mr. Castro is also chair and co-founder of New Futuro, LLC. Mr. Castro is a former national board member of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and former chair of the Hispanic National Bar Association's U.S. Supreme Court Committee. Mr. Castro is also the former chair of the Judicial Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois, by appointment of U.S. Senator Richard Durbin.
For his leadership and accomplishments, Mr. Castro has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the National Medical Fellowships' Humanitarian Award; the Hispanic National Bar Association's Cesar Chavez Humanitarian Award; the Edwin A. Rothschild Civil Liberties Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois; and the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel, Chicago Chapter.
Mr. Castro is the proud product of Head Start and affirmative action in higher education. He received his B.A. in political science in 1985 from DePaul University and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1988. Mr. Castro was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Roosevelt University in December 2011 for his work in the area of social justice.
Currently Mr. Castro serves as Interim President and CEO of Casa Central, a Chicago non-profit serving the Hispanic community. Mr. Castro provides executive leadership and assists Casa Central in strengthening its relationships with partners, donors, and advocates.
Homero Tristan, Partner, Tristan & Cervantes
Homero Tristan is the Founding Partner of Tristan & Cervantes. His practice includes counseling companies in Labor & Employment Law, as well as Corporate Transactions. Formerly, Mr. Tristan was an attorney with the National Labor Relations Board for the Chicago Region, where he investigated hundreds of unfair labor practice charges and prosecuted numerous trials. Later, he entered private practice at Jackson Lewis LLP, one of the largest national firms dedicated to representing management in the area of Labor & Employment Law.
Mr. Tristan is active in the local political landscape, and routinely advises clients regarding Government Relations. He is one of the founders of the Chicago Latino Public Affairs Committee, a political action committee that is engaged in state and local races. In 2008, former Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Mr. Tristan to serve as Commissioner of Human Resources for the City of Chicago.
Mr. Tristan is a graduate of Loyola University, DePaul University College of Law and has a Masters of Science in International Relations from Loyola University Chicago School of Business.
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Metropolitan Family Services
Karina Ayala-Bermejo is currently the General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Metropolitan Family Services. As General Counsel she is responsible for all legal matters for Metropolitan. As of April 1, 2015, she also serves as the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services.
Prior to Metropolitan, she worked for the City of Chicago in Mayor Daley’s administration as Acting Commissioner, First Deputy Commissioner and Managing Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Human Resources. Prior to working for the City of Chicago, she spent seven years as the Director of Community Services for the Chicago Bar Association where she encouraged attorneys to take on pro bono work and collaborated with the bar and various divisions of the CircuitCourtofCookCounty on initiatives to improve the justice system.She also served as the first Executive Director of the Sun Times Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program, a foundation that mobilizes the legal profession around mentoring youth. She was instrumental in securing a $2 million dollar cy pres award, the largest in CookCounty’s history for Lawyers Lend-A-Hand. Ms. Ayala-Bermejo legal career began as an attorney in the Litigation Division of the Chicago Board of Education handling labor and employment matters.
Ms. Ayala-Bermejo has been a leader in the legal community and the community at large for over 20 years. She was appointed as Commissioner for the Cook County Human Rights Commission where she serves as its Vice-Chair. She was also recently appointed as a Commissioner for the Commission of the Status of Latinas in the Legal Profession. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund; Dean’s Advisory Council for the DePaul University College of Law; Board of the Public Interest Law Initiative; Board of the Center for Conflict Resolution; Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association; and Executive Board for Illinois Partners for Human Service.
She is the former President of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois where she founded their mentoring program, JD Mentors now in its 12th year. She served in numerous positions for the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) including General Counsel; National Vice President of Programs; National Vice President of Regions; and Regional President (WI, IL, MI, IN). She was also appointed as a Commissioner for the American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession.
Ms. Ayala-Bermejo was born in Jalisco, Mexico. She resides in Chicago with her husband Frank, and three children (Liam 12, Elijah 10 and Abbey Rose 8). She is a graduate of Loyola University-Chicago and her JD is from DePaul University College of Law.
Ennedy Rivera, General Counsel. Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Evelyn Sanguinetti, State of Illinois
Ennedy D. Rivera is General Counsel to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Evelyn Sanguinetti, and legal liaison to the Department of Human Rights, Human Rights Commission, Torture Inquiry & Relief Commission, Guardianship & Advocacy Commission, Department of Labor, Illinois Power Agency, Illinois Pollution Control Board, Illinois Commerce Commission, and the Illinois Department of Transportation. In addition, Ms. Rivera assists in overseeing the clemency review process for the Office of the Governor. Before joining the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Ms. Rivera was a Senior Associate at the Law Office of Wysocki & Smith, where she focused on civil litigation, municipal law, general practice and criminal/immigration defense. Ms. Rivera is a proud graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and DePaul University School of Law.
Claudia E. Castro, Associate Attorney, Odelson & Sterk, Ltd., President - Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
Claudia Castro, a graduate of Proviso Township High School District 209, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Loyola University Chicago and her Juris Doctor from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. She began her legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago where she prosecuted hundreds of bench and jury trials. Claudia served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board, and prior to joining the State, she was General Counsel for the Illinois Coalition against Sexual Assault in Springfield.
Throughout her career, Claudia has worked closely with the Latino communities providing assistance and education in criminal justice issues. Her litigation experience and fluency in Spanish earned her a position as an instructor with the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG) Alliance Partnership Program, where she participated in training programs in trial advocacy for prosecutors throughout Mexico.
Currently, Claudia serves as President-Elect of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. She was the former Young Lawyers Division National President of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Claudia also served on the Board of Directors and as President-Elect of the National Hispanic Prosecutor’s Association. In 2012, Claudia was named as one of Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s 40 Illinois Attorneys under Forty to Watch List.
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