Wilma B. Liebman

Current Position: Adjunct professor, New York University School of Law; author, advisor on labor law and workplace policy in domestic and global settings; chairman, Dunlop Commission on Agricultural Labor (a private, collectively bargained dispute resolution body).

Past Positions: Visiting scholar, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, 2015-2018; Member and Chairman, National Labor Relations Board (1997-2011); Deputy Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (1995-1997)

Education: AB, Barnard College, 1971; JD George Washington University Law School 1974.

LERA Activities: LERA national member since 2001; member IRRA national executive board 2002; panelist at numerous LERA policy forums and annual conferences; recipient of LERA Lifetime Achievement Award 2014.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Member, Board of Directors, Economic Policy Institute since 2012; co-chair Council of Advisors of the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy at The New School for Social Research 2019; senior fellow of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutger's SMLR 2019.

Significant Publications: "The Labor Question a Century Later," le Travail au XXI Siècle, editions atelier.com, September 2019;   Does Federal Labor Law Preemption Doctrine Allow Experiments with Social Dialogue?, Harvard Law and Policy Review, online (January 2018) http://harvardlpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Liebman-Dialogue.pdf;   Debating the Gig Economy, Crowdwork and New Forms of Work, Soziales Recht, Bund Verlag (December 2017).

Tamara L. Lee, Esq.

Shannon Gleeson

Vision Statement: In research, teaching and service, I am unapologetic in my commitment to critical race theory and intersectionality in labor relations theory and praxis. It is this very commitment that provides the foundation and the bridge connecting my research interests in Cuban participatory democracy and worker political advocacy in the United States. In my professional service I have vowed to radically confront our differences with the hope of building stronger, more equitable solidarity and more inclusive knowledge, movements and institutions. I will always speak truth to the power of cultural diversity and the strength of our collective scholarship and practice.

Current Position: 2016-Present Assistant Professor, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations

Past Positions: 2014-2016 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations; 2011 Staff Attorney for Chairman Liebman and Chairman Pearce, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.; 2001-2008 Labor Management Relations Examiner, National Labor Relations Board, Chicago, IL; 1997-1999 Production Supervisor, Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Downers Grove, IL

Education: PhD, Cornell University (Labor Relations, Law and History), 2016; JD, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2007; MS, Cornell University (Industrial Relations) 2013; MS, Loyola University-Chicago (Industrial Relations), 2001; BS, Northwestern University (Industrial Engineering), 1996

LERA Activities: LERA national member since 2014; presenter LERA 71st Annual Meeting, "Radical Confrontation of Industrial Relations Theory: The Troubling Lack of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality within Industrial Relations Research" Cleveland, OH, June, 2019; Presenter LERA 71st Annual Meeting, "A Critical Case Study of the Women's March and Intersectional Organizing" Cleveland, OH, June 2019; Presenter LERA 70th Annual Meeting, "The Women's March: Intersectional Organizing and Building Unity on Our Differences" Baltimore, MD, June 2018; Session Organizer LERA 70th Annual Meeting, "Intersectional Organizing: How to Deeply Engage in Cross-Movement Solidarity" Baltimore, MD, June 2018

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Morehouse College, Advisory Council for International Comparative Labor Studies Program (2018-Present); Labor Research and Action Network, Advisory Committee (2016-Present), Conference Planning Committee (2016-Present), New Scholars Award Committee (2016-Present); Founding Member, Rutgers Faculty Women of Color Subcommittee (2016-Present)

Significant Publications: Tapia, Maite, Tamara Lee and Mikhail Filipovitch (2017). Supra-union and intersectional organizing: an examination of two prominent cases in the low-wage U.S. restaurant industry. Journal of Industrial Relations, 59(4), 487-509; Lee, Tamara L. (2016). The union's dual role in Cuban labour restructuring. International Union Rights, 23(1), 3-5; Griffith, Kati L. and Tamara L. Lee (2012). Immigration advocacy as labor advocacy. Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, 22(1), 73-117.

Vision Statement: LERA and the entire field of industrial relations is at a crossroads, as the institutions designed to protect working people come under further attack.  Worker and Management organizations are undergoing fundamental transformations in response, and new paradigms are needed to understand the implications of this changing landscape in an era of heightened inequality, racism, xenophobia and misogyny. My goal is to strengthen LERA's ability to engage around these issues, across the policy, social movement, and academic spheres.

Current Position: 2014 to Present - Associate Professor, Cornell University, ILR School, Department of Labor Relations, Law & History, Department of Sociology (by courtesy), Latina/o Studies Program (teaching faculty)

Past Positions: 2008 to 2014 - Assistant to Associate Professor, University of California - Santa Cruz, Department of Latin American & Latino Studies, Department of Sociology (affiliate); 2011 to 2012 - Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Santa Clara University

Education: 2008 Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Group in Sociology and Demography; 2006 M.A. University of California, Berkeley, Demography; 2005 M.A. University of California, Berkeley, Sociology; 2002 B.S. Santa Clara University, Sociology and Anthropology; 2002 B.A. Santa Clara University, Spanish.

LERA Activities: Bada, Xóchitl, Shannon Gleeson, and Els de Graauw.  2018.  'Union Organizing, Advocacy, and Services at the Nexus of Immigrant and Labor Rights.' p. 91-113. In No One Size Fits All: Worker Organization, Policy, and Movement for a New Economic Age.  Edited by Janice Fine, Linda Burnham, Kati Griffith, Minsun Ji, Victor Narro, and Steven Pitts.  LERA Research Volume Series (distributed by ILR/Cornell University Press).; 2014 'Legal Status as Precarity Multiplier: Social & Economic Consequences of At-Will Employment & Unjust Termination for Unauthorized Workers.' Labor Employment Relations Association Annual Meeting, Portland, OR 6/1/14.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Gleeson, Shannon. 2012. Conflicting Commitments: The Politics of Enforcing Immigrant Worker Rights in San Jose and Houston. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.*2014 Hon. Mention, Thomas & Znaniecki Best Book Award, ASA International Migration section; International Editorial Board, ILR Review (2015-present); Chair, American Sociological Association Labor and Labor Movements section (2014-2015)

Significant Publications: Bada, Xóchitl and Shannon Gleeson. (Eds.) 2019.  Accountability across Borders: Migrant Rights in North America.  Austin: University of Texas Press;  Griffith, Kati and Shannon Gleeson. 2017. 'The Precarity of Temporality: How Law Inhibits Immigrant Worker Claims' (special issue on "Migrant Workers", edited by Judy Fudge) Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal. Vol. 39:1 (111-141); Gleeson, Shannon. 2016. Precarious Claims: The Promise and Failure of Workplace Protections in the United States. Oakland: University of California Press.

Jody Hoffer Gittell

Ruben J. Garcia

Vision Statement: Having been involved with LERA since my days as a student at MIT in the early 1990s, I'm excited to witness its resurgence in recent years and to see my colleagues and students at Brandeis University's Heller School gravitating toward LERA.  In the great tradition of industrial relations, I've had the pleasure of combining research and practice in my work, and I see this combination as one of LERA's greatest strengths.  Even more important to me is LERA's core purpose - to promote the dignity and well-being of all workers.  My vision for LERA is to help expand our impact around this core purpose.

Current Position: Professor, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management; Exec. Director, Relational Coordination Research Collaborative Chief Scientific Officer, Relational Coordination Analytics; Treasurer, Seacoast NAACP; Advisory Board, Greater Seacoast Community Health Center

Past Positions: Visiting Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2018; Acting Director, MIT Leadership Center, MIT Sloan School of Management, 2010-2011; Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School, 1995-2001.

Education: Ph.D., Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, 1995; M.A., Political Economy, The New School for Social Research, 1991; B.A., Political Science, Reed College, 1985.

LERA Activities: Member, K-12 Education Council, LERA, 2017-present; Member, Awards Committee, LERA, 2015-2018; Executive Board, LERA, 2010-2013; Co-Chair, Health Care Industry Council, LERA, 2007-2012; Co-Chair, Airline Industry Council, LERA, 2004-2007; Chair, Nominating Committee, LERA, 2006-2008; Co-Chair, Work and Employment Relations Network, LERA, 2002-2004; Outstanding Young Scholar, LERA, 2004.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Best Paper of the Year, Douglas McGregor Memorial Award, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 2008; Best Article on Organizational Change, Douglas McGregor Memorial Award, Honorable Mention, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 2006; Best Book Award, Sloan Industry Studies, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2005.

Significant Publications: Gittell, J.H., Ali, H.N. (2020). Relational Analytics: A Guidebook for Research and Action.  London: Routledge (under contract); Havens, D.S., Gittell, J.H., Vasey, J. (2018). "Impact of Relational Coordination on Nurse Outcomes: Achieving the Quadruple Aim," Journal of Nursing Administration, 48(3): 132-140; Gittell, J.H. (2016). Transforming Relationships for High Performance: The Power of Relational Coordination.  Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.

Vision Statement: I have been a member of LERA since I was a fellow at the University of Wisconsin in 2001. LERA has always represented the best traditions of labor-management cooperation.  LERA is essential to its members developing the research, law and workplace relations needed for the 21st Century workplace with its opportunities in technology, diversity and new organizing in the U.S. and abroad. I would like to work toward new regional networks for LERA chapters from my base as Co-Director of the Workplace Law Program at UNLV.  I would be honored to receive your vote to serve on the LERA Executive Board.

Current Position: I am a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Workplace Law Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Boyd School of Law, where I have taught since 2011.  My courses include Labor Law, Employment Law, International Labor and Employment Law, and Constitutional Law. I served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research at the Law School from 2017 to 2019.

Past Positions: From 2003 to 2011, I was a Professor at California Western School of Law in San Diego and Director of the Labor and Employment Law Concentration. From 2000 to 2002, I was a William H. Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where Professors Carin Clauss, James Jones and Joel Rogers supervised my graduate research. From 1996 to 2000, I represented unions and employees at the Rothner, Segall & Greenstone law firm in Pasadena, CA.

Education: BA, Stanford University, 1992; JD, University of California Los Angeles, 1996; LL.M. (Master of Laws) University of Wisconsin Law School, 2002

LERA Activities: LERA member, since 2001; panelist LERA Meetings in Atlanta, San Diego; Author, Perspectives at Work; Member San Diego Chapter 2003-2011, Participant in panels on labor-management cooperation; Advisory Board Member, Labor Research Action Network (coordinating with LERA meetings), 2018-

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Elected Fellow, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, 2019; Executive Committee Member, The Labor Law Group, 2017-; Editorial Board Member, Employee Rights & Employment Policy Journal, 2009-

Significant Publications: Marginal Workers:  How Legal Fault Lines Divide Workers and Leave Them Without Protection (New York University Press, 2012);Politics at Work After Citizens United (Loyola Law Review 2018);New Voices at Work: Race and Gender Identity Caucuses in the U.S. Labor Movement (Hastings Law Journal 2002).

Javier Ramirez

Ana Avendaño

Vision Statement: There is no other organization in the labor and employment community that has the same level of diversity in practice and thought combined with the impressive talent and passion of its membership.  As impressed as I am with LERA’s work and members, I am equally baffled as to why membership numbers are not greater.  As a LERA board member, I intend to work with other LERA members to understand why people participate in LERA… and why they don’t.  How do we build on the success that attracts our current membership while expanding our offerings, resources and/or profile to attract and motivate greater engagement?  A LERA membership should be a desired asset for any practitioner, academic, neutral or policy maker because of its reputation, relevance, usefulness, and network.  I would be honored to work closer with LERA to explore these dynamics and ensure the long term viability of this essential organization.

Current Position: Director of Agency Initiatives for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).  The division of Agency Initiatives (AI) includes; the Office of Conflict Management Prevention (OCMP), Office of Strategy Development (OSD), Center for Conflict Resolution Education (CCRE), Institute of Conflict Management (Institute), and the National Labor Management Conference. 

Past Positions: FMCS Commissioner 2005-current; Prior to FMCS Javier spent over fourteen years in labor relations negotiating contracts, and resolving disputes in areas such as immigration, contract administration, communication, staffing, and politics (Federal, State and Local).

Education: Western Illinois University

LERA Activities: Member since 2005, conference presenter at both national and chapter events.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: FMCS Director's award, recognized by the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and along with the FMCS Chicago field office created the Affinity negotiation model for collaborative bargaining.

Significant Publications: Javier’s efforts have been featured in Rolling Stone, Chicago Tribune Magazine, Chicago Lawyer Magazine, cited in the New York Times Best Seller Fast Food Nation, and recognized by the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Vision Statement: LERA's mission and multidisciplinarian approach remain relevant and essential as countries around the world grapple with extraordinary change in labor markets, the nature of the employment relationship, and rapidly changing demographics. To increase its impact, and ensure its continued relevance, LERA must attract young people, as well as scholars and practitioners of color.  My goal is to help LERA reach these communities, and amplify their voices within LERA's ecosystem. 

Current Position: President, Minga Strategies, 2019.  I help unions and non-profits think beyond tradition. I also help organizations create workplaces where passion and creativity thrive, and bulllies do not.

Past Positions: United Way Worldwide, Vice President, Labor Engagement, 2014-2019; AFL-CIO, Assistant to the President for Immigration and Community Action; Director of Immigration; Associate General Counsel; 2004-2014; National Labor Relations Board, Attorney, Appellate Court; 1996-1998.

Education: BS, ChemE, UC Berkeley, 1985;   JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1992.

LERA Activities: Long-time LERA member; panelist, LERA 70th Annual Meeting, "Enough! Strategies to End Sexual Harassment in the Workplace;" panelist on various panels throughout the years on immigration-related issues, as well as worker centers and non-standard organizing.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Co-founder, Survivors Know (https://SurvivorsKnow.org) leadership development program for survivors of sexual harassment and sexual violence, 2019; Co-founder, International Labor Recruitment Working Group (https://fairlaborrecruitment.wordpress.com/), 2011; Member of the drafting committee, ILO Convention 189 (Decent Work for Domestic Workers), 2011.

Significant Publications: Ana Avendaño, #MeToo Inside the Labor Movement, New Labor Forum, Vol. 28, No. 1 (2019); Ana Avendaño, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Where Were the Unions?, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 43, No. 4 (2018); Ana Avendaño & Jonathan Hiatt, Worker Self-Organization in the New Economy: The AFL-CIO's Experience in Movement Building with Community-Labor Partnerships, Journal of Labor, Capital and Society, Vol. 45 No. 1 (2012).

Matt Capece

Julie Farb

Vision Statement: Solid research can make people's lives better.  I know this because since 1989 I have seen it first hand in Tennessee, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida and other states.  And LERA members have been part of it.  It is vital for LERA to continue as a platform for the networking of facts, and ideas, because in these turbulent times for employment policy, solid research is more important than ever. The livelihoods of workers, their families, employers and an economy that works for everyone depend upon it.

Current Position: For the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, I assist construction stakeholders, including law-abiding employers, to pass and enforce legislation aimed at ending the plague of wage theft, employment tax and workers' compensation premium fraud. I track state and federal legislation, cases, research and am an expert witness at bill hearings and a resource for union staff, researchers, media, the insurance industry and enforcement agencies.

Past Positions: General Counsel, Carpenters Local Union 210, Western Connecticut 1991 to 2003; Business Representative, New England Regional Council of Carpenters 1996-2003.

Education: JD, University of Connecticut School of Law, 1988; BA, American Studies, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 1982

LERA Activities: TERRA annual conferences in 2011, 2013, 2017: Presentations on the causes and effects of 1099 misclassification and off the books employment in the construction industry; LERA 2011 and 2012: Panel member at annual meetings on violations of employment and tax laws.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Member of carpenter locals 210 and 326, 1985 to present; member and legal subcommittee chair of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation Employment Misclassification Advisory Committee, 2014 to present; Samuel Gompers Award,  International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, 2018.

Vision Statement: My vision for LERA is to harness academic analysis more directly in support of worker voice, and to help inform LERA’s activities from a practitioner perspective. Ongoing technical change, fractured employment relationships, and the need for more high-quality employment make it critical that we not only anticipate changes and impacts, but proactively include workers in determining and shaping the “future of work.” LERA’s unique capacity to connect research on specific industries to practitioners is an important strength, and I hope to help focus LERA’s activities to improve the links between deep academic analysis and the real experience of workers. 

Current Position: As Director of Growth Strategies at the AFL-CIO, I support our affiliate unions' organizing priorities. My team of strategic researchers and campaigners partners with unions on industry research, comprehensive growth strategies, and a robust strategic research training program in order to build capacity for membership and density growth across the Federation. I also serve on the AFL-CIO internal staff team supporting the Commission on the Future of Work and Unions.

Past Positions: I have twenty years of experience as a strategic researcher in the labor movement, the last seven of those being at the AFL-CIO. Previously, I have worked at SEIU 32BJ, Good Jobs First, and the MLK Seattle/King County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Education: BA University of Wisconsin, 1992; MA University of Washington. Urban Planning, 1997

LERA Activities: I have been a LERA member for several years and look forward to getting more involved.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Workers' Rights Consortium, Advisory Council Member

Lu-Ann Glaser

Kim Sullivan

Vision Statement: LERA plays a key role in bringing LER practitioners, academics, and other thought leaders together to reflect on and study the past, navigate the present, and seek solutions for the future.  My vision for LERA would be for the organization to advance its mission by harnessing the energy, passion, and possibility of an increasingly diverse workplace and leveraging the evolving technological landscape.  The savvy use of digital and social media platforms and bringing geographically dispersed participants together for programs and projects are just a few of the ways that the LERA can accelerate its influence in the field.

Current Position: Labor Relations, Mid-Atlantic Division American Water, 2017-present

Past Positions: Manager of National Programs & Initiatives, ADR and International Services, and Mediator, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 2003-2017; President, Keystone Areal Local, State Director of Legislation & Publicity, Pennsylvania Postal Workers Union, and National Arbitration Advocate, American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO 1994-2002.

Education: BS, Penn State University, Organizational Leadership, 2011.

LERA Activities: President Virtual LERA, 2018-present; member, Central PA LERA; LERA 2019 Distinguished Practitioner Award; Member LERA Program Committee, 2016.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Director's Award, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, 2010; Designee of Named Scholarship: The Lu-Ann J. Glaser Scholarship for Higher Learning, Keystone Area Local, APWU, 2002.

Vision Statement: As an organization, LERA's platform and influence enable significant and impactful change across the employee relations continuum. Is it essential to bring together labor, business, academics, and neutral partners to deliver outcomes that will result in creative practices in the field of employee relations.

Current Position: Chief HR Officer, Encompass Health 2019 - Present

Past Positions: Vice President and Chief People Officer, Kaiser Permanente, 2017 - 2019; Chief Human Resources Officer, UT System, 2016 - 2017

Education: BA, Texas Southern University, 1997; Master's of Science, University of Houston, 2013

LERA Activities: I joined LERA briefly when I worked at Walgreens. I am looking forward to contributing in a bigger way to the LERA organization and working closely with LERA members.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Advisory Board Member, University of Houston; Former Washington STEM Board Member, Seattle Washington.

 Beverly Harrison

Thomas B. Wassel

Vision Statement: Ten years ago I attended a national LERA conference as  president of the Long Island, NY chapter and was appointed to the National Chapter Advisory Committee

I am assisting with the revival of the Buffalo chapter and to foster communication I attend the NYC, NJ and LI chapter meetings.

Current Position: Arbitrator/Mediator 2010-to present

Past Positions: VP Human Resources Labor Relations Nassau Community College 1983-2010; Counsel to the President for EEO/Affirmative Action State University of New York at Stony Brook 1981-83; Counsel to the President for Labor/Legal/EEO of State University of New York at Oneonta 1974-1981

Education: B.A.  State University of New York at Oneonta in Political Science; J.D. University of Illinois Champaign Urbana; Cornell University ILR School, Scheinman Institute for Conflict Resolution; Labor Arbitrators Development Program (completion summer 2011); FMCS course 2015

LERA Activities: Past Prescient Long Island Chapter of LERA (2008-2010), Regional Representative for the National LERA Chapter Advisory Committee since 2009; Member NJ LERA; Member NYC LERA
Member New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators  

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Site Director for LPGA*USGA Greater Newark Girls Golf www.greaternewarkgirlsgolf.com(I teach girls 7-17 the skills of golf and how to be good citizens); United States Golf Association Regional Affairs Committee; Member of 3 Golf Associations  Women's Golf Association of NJ; Ladies Professional Golf Association of NJ; Farmstead Women's Golf Association.

Vision Statement: The field of labor relations is facing its greatest period of challenge and change since the modern labor movement began in the 1930's. LERA needs to continue to be both an important resource for research and education and a change agent helping to mold the future of the labor world. Growing the ranks of practitioners (labor and management), while maintaining LERA's traditional focus on scholarship, is vital to the success of this endeavor. I hope to be a part of broadening LERA's imprint on the new developments occurring daily in political and academic circles.

Current Position: Partner, Cullen and Dykman LLP, 1983 to present. Responsible for all aspects of labor and employment matters for the Firm. Regular lecturer and trainer for clients and members of the public.

Past Positions: Adjunct Professor, State University of New York, Old Westbury, 2011-2019; Adjunct Professor, Long Island University, Old Brookville, 2008.

Education: BA, Adelphi University, 1980; JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1983

LERA Activities: Member of Long Island LERA, 1985 to present. Past President and Membership Chair; currently Newsletter Editor and Web Master; Member of National LERA for approximately 10 years. Regular attendee at Annual Meeting.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Member, New York State Bar Association. Member, Labor and Employment Law Committee; Member, Nassau County Bar Association. Former member of Board of Directors; member, Labor and Employment Law Committee; Trustee, Jericho Public Library.