SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

OPENING REMARKS: William Fishlinger, Esq.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, WRM America
Mr. Fishlinger founded Wright Risk Management, a New York based insurance and risk financing consulting firm. He then went on to form the first public sector cooperative purchasing programs in New York State. In 1980, he formed the State’s first cooperatively financed Workers’ Compensation programs for public schools. In 1989, he formed the first public sector owned property and casualty insurance company, the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR). In 1993, along with the Municipal Council of the State of New York, he formed the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR). Mr. Fishlinger has lectured extensively in the areas of general litigation, environmental law, medical malpractice, risk management and insurance. A graduate of St. John’s University School of Law and the State University of Maryland, he is admitted to practice law in both the Federal and State courts of New York. He also served in the United States Air Force.

LEGAL - CIVIL: Beth Kahn, Esq.
Partner, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP
Ms. Kahn’s legal practice focuses on employment law. She counsels employers, handles litigation, and provides sexual harassment training for her clients. She was also lead counsel in two landmark decisions granting governmental immunities for social workers arising out of child abuse allegations. She is MPP’s practice group leader for Employment Law, and served as the Insurance group leader for over eight years. She is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and was selected to the Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™ - Labor and Employment Law for 2011.

LEGAL - CRIMINAL: William Hodgman, Esq.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, Target Crimes Division
While serving in different trial assignments and special prosecution units over the course of a 32 year career with the District Attorney's Office, Mr. Hodgman has tried to jury over 140 felony cases, including 40 murder cases. His experience includes the successful 1991 trial prosecution of Charles Keating for securities fraud, the 1993-1994 investigation of Michael Jackson regarding child molestation allegations, and the 1994-1995 murder prosecution of O.J. Simpson. Mr. Hodgman was selected as the Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year by the California District Attorneys Association in 1992 and in 2000 was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in Washington, D.C.

COMMUNITY: Rick Phillips, MS Ed.
Executive Director, Community Matters
Mr. Phillips is a nationally-recognized educator, speaker, facilitator, and trainer who brings years of expertise and practical experience to schools and communities across the continent. He has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, and many print, radio, and regional/ national interview shows as an expert on violence prevention and empowering youth. He has been a principal and teacher at elementary, middle, and high schools, a school district and county office of education administrator, and a Regional Director at the Healthy Kids Center for the California Department of Education.

MEDIA: Judith Marlane, Ph.D
President of Marlane Media Consultants
Professor Emeritus, Cinema and Television Arts, California State University, Northridge
Dr. Marlane has extensive experience as a producer, writer and broadcaster within the media industry. An award winning author, her most recent non-fiction book is Women in Television News Revisited. She was the first woman Chair and the first woman full Professor in the history of the Radio, Television, Film department at California State University, Northridge. She also is President of Marlane Media Consultants which provides consultation services to the broadcast and print media, as well as associated industries, on issues relating to media ethics, gender,age, race, ethnicity and sexual harassment. Dr. Marlane earned her Master's and Doctoral degrees from Columbia University in New York.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Wendy B. Smith, Ph.D, LCSW
Dr. Smith will discuss effects of sexual abuse on child and adolescent development, and the impact of these types of interpersonally traumatic experiences on children's sense of self and safety. She is the author of Youth Leaving Foster Care: A developmental, relationship-based approach to practice (Oxford University Press). She maintains a private practice in psychotherapy, and is Director of Instructional Enhancement at the USC School of Social Work, where she has taught many courses in child and adolescent development. She serves on the Boards of Directors for United Friends of the Children and Venice Family Clinic, and on the Children's Rights Advisory Committee for Human Rights Watch.

LAW ENFORCEMENT: Kathleen McChesney, Ph.D
CEO/Principal, Kinsale Management Consulting
Dr. McChesney has held unique leadership positions in the FBI, the United States Catholic Bishop’s Conference and The Walt Disney Company. She has published articles and major reports on various law enforcement and child-abuse prevention issues. She recently published a book entitled Pick Up Your Own Brass: Leadership the FBI Way. She has received several prestigious awards including the US President’s Meritorious Achievement Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Policing, and the Hildegard Van Bingen Award. She currently serves on several government and non-profit boards.