Board of Advisors

Judge smith has the longest tenure of all Article III judges within the Third Circuit who are in active service, and he is the only judge in the history of the Circuit to have served as both a chief district judge and chief circuit judge.

Judge Smith has served by appointment of the Chief Justice of the United States on the Judicial Conference of the United States (JCUS) Space and Facilities Committee, concluding a three-year term as chair on September 30, 2016. In the 1990s, he served on the JCUS Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules. He is currently a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making body of the Federal Judiciary, and also sits on its eight-member Executive Committee.

Prior to his elevation to the Third Circuit, Judge Smith was the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He joined the District Court in 1988.

While on the federal bench, he has participated in various rule of law programs for the judiciary in a number of Eastern European Countries. Judge Smith also serves as an adjunct professor at Penn State Law, where he teaches a seminar on class actions. In 2016, the law school presented Judge Smith its first "Leadership Award," and, in 2017, Penn State presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Award, the University’s highest alumni honor.

Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, Judge Smith was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, Pennsylvania; District Attorney of Blair County, Pennsylvania; and the managing partner in the law firm of Jubelirer, Carothers, Krier, Halpern and Smith. He resides in Altoona, PA with his wife, Karen.

Bob has more than 30 years of experience in navigating insurance companies in their corporate, transaction and regulatory matters. He has extensive experience in structuring, negotiating and closing complex transactions for insurance clients, including M&A, corporate finance, capital extraction, reorganizations and reinsurance transactions.

Bob guides large insurance and financial institution clients through regulatory matters at the federal and state level across the US, with a particular focus on property and casualty, life, title, and surplus lines carriers. These services include navigating investigations and market conduct examinations, force-placed insurance, rate regulation, rate filings, and regulatory approvals. As an active participant of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meetings, Bob is at the forefront of insurance regulatory developments.

Bob developed his business acumen and deep insurance industry knowledge after spending 11 years as a business executive and chief insurance regulation executive for Balboa Insurance Group, and prior to that, as executive officer and general counsel of National Information Group and its insurance subsidiary, the Great Pacific Insurance Company. Bob also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of The Ahmanson Insurance Companies.

He serves as the national leader of BakerHostetler's Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving practice.

Ed's experience includes the legal and administrative specialties required to establish and successfully guide the operations of charitable and educational organizations, healthcare institutions, and trade associations. He advises families, family offices, and their professionals with respect to the tax- efficient accumulation, management, and distribution of their personalwealth. His advice is often sought with respect to the governance and "best practices" of such organizations and the maintenance of their tax-exempt status, as well as the tax and practical aspects of contributions and other financial support programs. A significant aspect of Ed's practice involves the application of the tax laws to family and business financial arrangements, including the preparation of related documents to conserve and transfer wealth, the administration of such arrangements, and the representation of clients before legislative, judicial and regulatory branches of government at all levels.

For his entire professional career, Ed has lectured throughout the United States and has written extensively, including articles and speeches for the American Law Institute and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He frequently chairs continuing education programs for private wealth professionals and has been an adjunct tax professor at the Georgetown University Law Center for 37 years, where he currently teaches and coordinates a graduate-level 10 credit certificate program in Advanced Estate and Charitable Planning. Ed also teaches at Penn State Law.

Mike graduated with a B.S. in Finance from Penn State, achieving high distinction and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, cum laude.

Mike served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Edward N. Cahn, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Paul's legal experience has been focused on matters relating to investment management including mutual funds, investment advisers, retirement investing, corporate governance and charitable investing. Prior to his role at Morgan Stanley, Paul was General Counsel at the ICMA Retirement Corporation in Washington, DC, a firm that provides investment management services to state and local government retirement plans. Paul spent the first twelve years of his career as Principal and Assistant General Counsel of The Vanguard Group of Investment Companies in Valley Forge, PA.

Paul is a 1984 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law and holds a BA in History from Penn State (1981).

Judge Gibson graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1970, with a Bachelor of Science degree, and, in 1975, he received his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from the Dickinson School of Law. While in law school, he was an editor of the Dickinson Law Review. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in June 1970 and, following completion of airborne and ranger training, he served as an armor officer until 1975 and as a JAG officer until 1978. Following his release from active duty, he continued to serve in the United States Army Reserve and, in 1996, retired as a Colonel, JAG, USAR. In 1991, he and his JAG Detachment were activated during the first Gulf War.

From 1978 to 1997, Judge Gibson practiced law as a sole practitioner in Somerset, Pennsylvania. During that time, he served as a public defender, attorney for Children and Youth Services, solicitor for a school district and various municipalities, and as solicitor for Somerset County. He was elected to the Somerset County Court of Common Pleas in 1997. During his time on the common pleas bench, he was instrumental in establishing Victim Impact Panels and a Juvenile Drug Court-the second such court in Pennsylvania at that time.

President George W. Bush appointed Judge Gibson to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on September 23, 2003. Judge Gibson is an adjunct instructor at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law and a member of the Board of Counselors for the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. In 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Judge Gibson as a member of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Judge Gibson is the former co-chairman of the Flight 93 Task Force. Composed of members from all over the United States, this group was tasked by Congress to establish both a national memorial to the passengers and crew of Flight 93 and a national park at the site where Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001.

Experience:

• Successfully managed Cooper v. Goldfarb, the longest running patent interference in U.S. history. This 18-year conflict involved three appearances before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), and two appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit).
• Successfully represented the University of Iowa before the BPAI and the Federal Circuit in an interference proceeding involving the use of polynucleotides to treat allergy by selectively stimulating the immune system. The Federal Circuit decision made new law regarding the statutory deadline within which an applicant may provoke an interference with a patent. 
• Successfully represented MIT in two patent interferences before the BPAI with respect to methods for detecting genetic defects.
• Briefed and argued three litigation related appeals to the Federal Circuit, one being the seminal case of Vitronics Corporation v. Concentronic, Inc.
• Briefed and argued three ex parte appeals to the Federal Circuit, one being In re Sullivan, overturning a board decision of obviousness.
• Participated in five patent infringement trials, three of which were jury trials.

Activities:

• American Bar Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM)
• Boston Bar Association
• Boston Patent Law Association

Walter C. Grollitsch

Walter C. Grollitsch is an attorney and leader with over 15 years of legal experience in working with entrepreneurs, startups and corporations all over the world. more..

Kenneth D. Henderson

As Deputy Chief Council, Kenneth served as supervisory counsel to the Bankruptcy/Enforcement Section of the Legal Office of the Department of Revenue.

Kenneth joined the Department of Revenue in 1979 as a Bureau Director, and during his 37-year career with the department he also served as Acting Chair of the Board of Appeals, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Revenue, Deputy Secretary for Taxation, Acting Secretary of Revenue, Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel, and Acting Chief Counsel.

A Certified Public Accountant, Kenneth earned his bachelor's degree in Accounting, cum laude, from the Penn State Smeal College of Business and received his juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania. He started his career as a tax specialist at Coopers & Lybrand in Philadelphia and also served as a Tax Attorney at for E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to joining the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

Kenneth has served as a visiting professor at St. Augustine's College, the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Dillard University, Southern University, and Hampton University. He serves on the Medical Review Committee for Highmark, Inc., and previously served on Highmark's Medicare Part B Oversight Committee. At Penn State, he previously served on the Executive Board of the Alumni Council of the Penn State Alumni Association as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and was president of the Alumni Board of Directors of the Smeal College of Business Administration.

Michelle advises her WarnerMedia clients on various matters involving (i) compliance with FCPA/anti-corruption and OFAC/export control laws, including development and implementation of anti-corruption and OFAC policies, guidance, and compliance training programs, (ii) investigations of alleged violations of policies and/or laws, (iii) advocacy/lobbying with government authorities, (iv) conflicts of interest, and (v) certain regulatory compliance matters not falling under WarnerMedia's Standards of Business Conduct, such as FCC and ADA compliance. Prior to joining WarnerMedia, Michelle spent 7 years at renowned global law firm Jones Day, where she focused on corporate and securities law. In addition to her substantive work, Michelle is committed to pro bono activities involving criminal justice and voting rights, including WarnerMedia’s partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative and Fulton Co. GA’s Deputy Registrar program.

Michelle is a cum laude graduate of Duke University, where she earned a BA in English and Political Science with a minor in Classical Studies, and a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where she was an editor of the Dickinson Law Review and a member of the Woolsack Honor Society. In her leisure time, Michelle enjoys reading, yoga, cooking, and spending time with her husband and two children.

Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy was appointed in July 2020 as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Prior to her appointment, Justice Kennedy served as a Justice of the Supreme Court, New York County, commencing in January 2016, after election in November 2015. She was elected to Civil Court in November 2005 and thereafter served in Criminal Court (January 2006-September 2008), Civil Court (September 2008-December 2009), Family Court (January 2010-December 2010), as Acting Supreme Court Justice (January 2011-December 2012) and as Supervising Judge of Civil Court, New York County (January 2014-December 2015). She is also a former Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, where she taught a Juvenile Justice seminar for ten years.

Before her election to Civil Court, Justice Kennedy served as Principal Law Clerk to Hon. Barry A. Cozier when he was an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department (March 2001-December 2005) and when he was a Justice in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, New York County (May 1999-March 2001). Prior to her clerkship with Justice Cozier, Justice Kennedy served in the Office of the Corporation Counsel, New York City Law Department, as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Bronx Family Court Division (August 1992-August 1994) and in the Bronx Tort Division (August 1994-August 1997), where she was promoted to Tort Trial Specialist and later to Assistant Deputy Chief.

Justice Kennedy is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Bar Association and past chair of the organization’s Special Committee to Encourage Judicial Service. She is also an Executive Committee member of the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association; member of the Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions of the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of New York; member of the Board of Overseers of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she received her law degree; and an Advisory Board Member of Penn State Law. Justice Kennedy is also the Past President of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ).

A frequent speaker at various conferences, she has received numerous professional awards, including the 2021 John E. Higgins, Esq. Diversity Trailblazer Award from the New York State Bar Association; the 2020 Inspiration Award from the New York Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law; the 2017 Diversity Leadership Award from Penn State Law; the 2015 Alumni of the Year Award from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; the 2014 Award from the New York County Lawyers’ Association Civil Court Practice Section; and the 2012 Pat Irvin Personal Service Award from the Association of Black Women Attorneys.

She also has experience with the Lanham Act, Sherman Antitrust Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Freedom of Information Act, and the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law. Recently, she served on a team that successfully secured a preliminary injunction for a number of non-profit entities against the federal government and on a team that successfully defended against significantly valued breach of contract claims. Alison is experienced at handling various stages of litigation, including pleadings, discovery, motions, and appeals. She serves on the Firm's e-Discovery Committee.

Alison coordinates the Pro Se Pro Bono ADR Program for the Western District of Pennsylvania, matching pro se litigants with pro bono counsel for ADR purposes. In addition, she is active in the Firm's pro bono efforts before trial and appellate courts. She successfully argued an immigration appeal before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, litigated a landlord tenant action before the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, and assisted a client in reaching settlement as part of the Pro Se Pro Bono ADR Program. She is active in the community, serving on the board of directors for Hosanna House, Inc. and the Penn State Law Board of Counselors.

Alison is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Allegheny County Bar Association.

Stephen has over 25 years' experience as a practicing attorney licensed in Illinois and Ohio. Prior to joining Ameren in 2020, Stephen was a Managing Counsel at BP for over 19 years leading the downstream legal team in the Americas. With a global team of over 26 legal professionals in Chicago, Houston, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Wayne, NJ, Stephen was accountable for the provision of legal services to various BP businesses including three refineries, various terminals, industrial plants, pipelines, logistics assets, 8000+ BP, ARCO and ampm branded service stations along with other fuel, petrochemical, Air BP and Castrol lubricant marketing interests and over 5000 employees. Throughout his BP career, Stephen served on various executive teams and boards to advise senior executives on a wide range of areas including commercial strategies, litigation, antitrust, employment, labor, pricing, advertising, real estate, lending and environmental as well as in other key legal matters.

Stephen graduated with a B.S. in Business Logistics from the Pennsylvania State University in 1993 and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve Law School in 1996. Stephen also serves as an Executive Advisory Council member of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles. Stephen and his family currently live in St. Louis, Missouri.

Prior to her current role, Kelly served as an Assistant Chief of the Trials Division, overseeing all of Montgomery County’s drug and firearms prosecutions. She was also previously Captain of the Grand Jury and Drug Units. In addition to her current role in the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, she serves as a Legislative Liaison on behalf of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, advocating on behalf of the Commonwealth’s District Attorneys with state legislators, including speaking with elected Senators, Representatives, and their staff on proposed and existing legislation. Kelly graduated from Juniata College in 2007 and from Penn State Law in 2010. While at Penn State, she served as the President of the Student Bar Association, as well as on the executive board for the Penn State Law Review. She resides in Montgomery County, PA, with her husband Kent, also a 2010 graduate of Penn State Law, and their three sons.

In addition, she is responsible for the legal support in many areas of law, including insurance, advertising and marketing, tax and privacy. Sarah also oversees the ASI Corporate Compliance and Ethics program and provides legal guidance to ASI's President and senior management.

Sarah joined AARP in 1989 as Associate General Counsel and has had increasing levels of responsibility in since that time. She was instrumental in the establishment of ASI as a legal entity and was assigned to AARP Services at its inception in 1999. Since then she has been responsible for providing legal counsel and guidance on a number of complex matters and for preparing and filing corporate documents, drafting Board resolutions and bylaws, and ensuring that we are in compliance with all federal and state regulations and statutes. Sarah serves as Corporate Secretary to the ASI Board of Directors and Counsel to the AARP Insurance Trust. She also served as General Counsel to AARP Financial Inc.

Prior to coming to AARP, Sarah was a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission in the Bureau of Consumer Protection and was responsible for the Commission's case against General Motors, the first case authorizing the use mediation and arbitration to settle consumer complaints. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, with distinction, and earned her JD at The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.

Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Steve Miller, is a versatile power industry professional with Fortune 500 senior executive and top-tier law firm experience.

After serving as a U.S. Navy officer, Steve began his energy career representing large investor-owned utilities and public power entities at the D.C. firms of Dickstein Shapiro, and Miller, Balis and O’Neil. From 2002 to 2014, he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Constellation Energy’s power (nuclear, fossil and renewable) generation/development businesses, where he led the formation and structuring of several international nuclear joint ventures and nuclear development company, UniStar Nuclear Energy. Prior to arriving at X-energy, Steve was a member of the energy practice in the D.C. office of Hogan Lovells, where he represented nuclear and emerging energy technology clients, including X-energy, on diverse corporate transactional and project development matters.

Steve earned his juris doctorate from American University’s Washington College of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University.

After 25 years of practice, including almost twenty with two of the world’s largest law firms, Kevin became the Managing Partner of Caffrey Hill, PLLC – a boutique law firm counseling a closely-held international client base on issues including litigation, litigation avoidance, and fiduciary best practices.

As an integral part of his practice, Kevin is committed to mentoring and pro bono service. The son of an Airborne paratrooper, Kevin has proudly represented veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts in matters before the Department of Veteran Affairs. He has also counseled asylum seekers, conducted investigative work for the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions, and served as an instructor at the Zambian Institute for Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE), in Lusaka, Zambia. He has been a guest presenter and speaker on trust litigation, effective legal writing, the American litigation process, and legal issues facing start-up businesses in forums across the United States, as well as Asia and Africa.

Kevin currently serves on several Boards, including the Penn State Law Board of Advisors, where he has served since the Board’s founding. He is a graduate of Boston College (BA in English, with a minor in Russian Studies) and the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Dickinson Law Review.

Christie serves as outside general counsel and provides corporate governance and strategic transaction-related counseling for a number of organizations, both tax-exempt and for profit. Prior to joining the firm, Christie worked at a large international law firm and then as in-house counsel for mid-size publicly-traded company headquartered in Pittsburgh. Christie serves on the firm’s Oversight and Executive Committee and the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Christie previously served as Chair of Talent Management, a strategic position responsible for recruitment, retention and promotion, the Chair of Recruiting and Hiring and Associates Committee.

Christie is serving as co-Chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association, Gender Equality Committee, a strategic advisory committee, which launched the Women's Institute for Leadership in Law ("WILL"). The program was awarded the American Bar Association Partnership Award and recognized by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Christie was selected as a recipient of the 2019 Pittsburgh Business Times Women of Influence Award, which honors the region's most influential business women at for-profit companies, nonprofits and government entities. She is also active in a number of women's professional organizations and organizations that support diversity and inclusion.

Christie is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where she earned a BA in International Politics, and a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where she was a member of the Woolsack Honor Society and Order of the Barristers.

Prior to joining the Board, Judge Ward served as Deputy General Counsel for the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In that capacity, she led a staff of attorneys, paralegals and support personnel providing legal advice across a wide array of NOAA programs that manage the nation's commercial and recreational fisheries and protect at-risk marine species and their habitat. That work included the timely resolution of significant legal issues relevant to NOAA's mission in over 200 rulemaking actions annually, as well as providing critical litigation support to the Justice Department in a docket that, on average, included approximately 100 pending federal court cases. During her tenure at NOAA, Judge Ward was recognized twice for her work with the Commerce Department Gold Medal, the Department's highest award.

Prior to joining NOAA in 2004, Judge Ward served as trial attorney, Assistant Chief, and ultimately as Deputy Chief in the Justice Department's Environmental Defense Section, where she litigated on behalf of EPA and other federal agencies in both federal district and appellate courts. That litigation included defending rules issued and other actions taken by EPA under federal pollution control laws, representing the United States against claims of responsibility for costs to cleanup polluted sites, defending against claims challenging federal agency compliance with federal and state pollution control laws, and prosecuting violations of the Clean Water Act. Before joining the Justice Department in 1987, Judge Ward was an associate with the Environmental Department of Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen in Philadelphia, PA.  Judge Ward earned her Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and Bachelor of Science Degree in Mineral Economics with Highest Honors from the Pennsylvania State University.

He advises developers and corporations on complex redevelopment projects, environmental liability transfers, and the management and mitigation of environmental risk through the use of unique contractual mechanisms and specialized environmental insurance products. Curt structures, negotiates and manuscripts specialized environmental contracts and insurance products, including pollution legal liability, contractors’ pollution and integrated environmental risk programs.

Areas of Concentration:

• Brownfield redevelopment
• Complex project
• Military base reuse
• Environmental risk and mitigation
• Environmental insurance products
• Real estate finance
• Professional & Community Involvement:
• Board Member, Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law,Board of Counselors Awards & Recognition
• Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Environmental Law, 2012-2015
• Team Member, The Legal 500 United States, "Top Tier" Firm in Real Estate, 2013
• Listed, USA Guide, 2005-2006, 2008-2013
• Team Member, a Law 360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2011 and 2012
• Member, Winning Team, Chambers USA Award for Excellence, Real Estate, 2010

Education:

• J.D., The Dickinson School of Law
  • Member, Dickinson Law Review
  • Member, Appellate Moot Court Board
• B.S., Political Science and Communications/Rhetoric, University of Pittsburgh, 1989