2018ACC WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

CHAPTER LEADER BIOGRAPHIES

President / Stephanie Sciullo
Stephanie L. Sciullo is Deputy General Counsel & Director of Litigation for MSA Safety, a global manufacturer of safety products committed to workers' safety for over 100 years. Stephanie is responsible for managing all aspects of MSA's litigation portfolio. Since joining MSA, Stephanie has implemented several initiatives resulting in million-dollar cost savings and improved quality of defense through process improvement and efficiency tools. For these programs, in 2015 the Legal Intelligencer recognized MSA’s Law Department as the Best Legal Department in Pennsylvania for Outside Counsel Management, and in 2014, the Association of Corporate
Counsel named MSA a “Value Challenge Champion.”
Stephanie now sits on the Global Steering Team for the ACC's Value Challenge. Along with fellow board member Marcy Smorey-Giger, Stephanie is also adjunct faculty at both the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University Schools of Law, teaching a full-semester course about the unique legal obligations of in-house counsel. Prior to MSA, Stephanie 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. Stephanie currently
serves as President Elect and Vice President – Programs for the Chapter.
President-Elect
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Vice President-Membership / John Unice
John Unice is Assistant Secretary and Senior Counsel at Covestro LLC. He is Covestro’s global litigation counsel and also guides the Company’s U.S. polycarbonates business on matters of commercial law, antitrust/anticorruption regulations, and general corporate compliance. 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 2009, John was a litigator at Jones Day-Pittsburgh for 10 years as well as Eckert Seamans-Pittsburgh briefly.
John received a B.A. in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. John currently serves as Vice President – Membership for the Chapter.
Treasurer / Kirsten Sigurdson
Kirsten Sigurdson is Counsel for Highmark Health, the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network and HM Health Solutions Inc., 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. Prior to joining Highmark Health, Kirsten was a Staff Attorney at U.S. Steel Corporation providing litigation and commercial counsel to various business units throughout the corporation. She began her legal career in private practice as a litigator at Burns White LLC. Kirsten 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.
Secretary / Beth Dodson
Beth A. Dodson is Director and Senior Counsel in the Civil Litigation group at The Bank of New York Mellon. Beth manages a variety of civil litigation matters on behalf of the bank across the United States and also advises business lines on how to best manage risk. Prior to joining BNY Mellon two years ago, she was in private practice for seven years representing clients in the financial services and insurance industries in litigation matters. She graduated magna cum laude from Duquesne University School of Law where she was a member of the law review, a professor’s assistant in the legal research and writing program, and a member of the Women’s Law Association. Beth is very committed to pro bono work and serves as regional chair of the BNY Mellon’s pro bono committee and is a member of the executive board of the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership.
Vice President-Advocacy / 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. Mr. Heiser currently serves as Vice President-Pro Bono Initiatives.
Vice President-Communications
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Member of the Board / 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, values-driven 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. Ms. Group currently serves as Secretary.
Vice President -
Pro Bono Initiatives / Josh Stein
Josh Stein is Counsel at Alcoa Inc., where he engages in a broad commercial practice and specializes in US Government contracts. Josh holds a JD and MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to his legal career, Josh served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania (2000-2002), where he worked as communications manager for a Romanian affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.
Vice President- Programs / Ron Vassel
Ron Vassel is Assistant General Counsel for ANSYS, Inc., an S&P 500 company that develops, markets, and supports engineering simulation software. Ron has global oversight of commercial matters and has primary responsibility for M&A/strategic transactions, trade compliance and procurement. He has a B.A., J.D., and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and values succinctness.
Immediate Past President / Vinita Sinha
Vinita Sinha serves as Global Corporate and Commercial Counsel for the Getinge Group, a multi-billion publicly-traded global healthcare technology and life sciences company. Ms. Sinha previously served as General Counsel for HM Health Solutions Inc., a technology services company. She was previously an Associate at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions, 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 currently serves as President for the Chapter.
Member of the Board / Kristen Budris
Kristen Budris is Counsel at Highmark Health, where she focuses on data privacy and compliance with HIPAA. Prior to joining Highmark Health, Kristen was Corporate Counsel Industrial Scientific Corporation, a leader in gas detection and safety analytics, and also worked in the Office of General Counsel at K&L Gates. Kristen began her career at Weinheimer, Schadel & Haber, where she focused on legal malpractice defense. She volunteers with Sojourner House, and also serves as a co-chair for the Pittsburgh chapter of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Kristen is a graduate of Duquesne University and Duquesne University School of Law. Kristen currently serves as Vice President – Communications for the Chapter.
Member of the Board / Andrea Clark Smith
Andrea Clark Smith is the Senior Associate Counsel and Vice President, Employee and Labor Group for UPMC. At UPMC, Andrea leads a team of employment, labor law and business immigration specialists charged with addressing all employee -related issues that arise throughout the UPMC Health System, including employment litigation. Immediately before joining UPMC, Andrea worked at American Airlines in Fort Worth, TX as Managing Director and Employment Law Counselor, providing employment law counseling to American’s East Coast, European, Caribbean, Central & South American Regions. Throughout her a career with UPMC and American, Andrea has lead various diversity and inclusion efforts including: Manager of American Airlines’ Minority Counsel Program, Working Committee Member for the national Call to Action committee and LDLC programs, and Executive Sponsor – Legal Department for UPMCs Corporate Employee Experience team.
Currently, Andrea is a member of the American Employment Law Council and the National Employment Law Council. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, and serves in an advisory capacity for the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity and Inclusion Coalition – a group of Pittsburgh law firms and Corporate Legal Departments who are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive Pittsburgh legal community. Andrea earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law and her B.A. from Spelman College – both in Atlanta, GA.
Member of the Board / C. Justin Conrad
Justin Conrad serves as an in-house Real Estate Attorney for Crown Castle, the nation’s largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure. Justin works with the Real Estate Acquisitions (REA) team who is charged with securing Crown’s long-term interest through real estate transactions in a portfolio of over 40,000 cell towers across the United States and Canada. Prior to joining Crown, he was in private practice with law firms specializing in oil and gas/energy and medical malpractice defense litigation, respectively.
Justin earned his J.D. degree from Duquesne University School of Law and his B.S. in Finance (with a German minor) from Penn State University. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a cause that is very near and dear to his heart.
Member of the Board
2nd term expires 2019 / Joe 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. Joe currently serves as Vice President – Advocacy for the Chatper.
Member of the Board
1st term expires 2019 / Nathan Platt
Nathan C. Platt is Associate General Counsel for Liberty Tire Recycling, LLC headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He joined Liberty Tire Recycling’s legal department in 2013 after spending a decade in private practice where he focused on business law, litigation, and general corporate matters. As Senior Corporate Counsel for Liberty Tire Recycling, Nate is responsible for a diverse range of corporate legal matters which include business contracts, litigation, litigation management, employment law, real estate, acquisitions, and general business law matters.
Member of the Board
1st term expires 2019 / Krista Thompson
Krista L. Thompson is Commercial Counsel at GENCO, A FedEx Company. Barred in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia and recently admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, Krista began her career in New York City contracting for merchandise and concessions to be purchased for and sold in Broadway theatres. At GENCO, Krista is responsible for negotiating transactional matters and strategically resolving commercial issues within the third party logistics world.
Krista is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a pro bono attorney advocate for military service members and veterans and coaches the Mock Trial Team at her alma mater, Bethel Park High School. Krista serves as the Legal Advisor for the Mon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Group and as a Trustee for the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, and was selected as a recipient of this year's Pittsburgh Business
Times BusinessWoman First Award honoring the area's top women executives.

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