Laura was named Lawyer of the Year in 2019 by Best Lawyers in America® for management-side employment law in the Syracuse area. She continues to be listed in Best Lawyers in America® and New York Super Lawyers®. 

Laura strives to be actively engaged with her clients, taking the time to understand each organization’s unique needs and goals, and providing tailored, practical advice.

Laura counsels employers engaged in a wide variety of industries, including higher education, public school education, manufacturing, service and financial sectors, not-for-profits, and health care. With a practice that includes all aspects of labor and employment law, Laura counsels employers with respect to day-to-day human resources management. 

In the case of higher education, Laura advises colleges and universities with respect to Title IX (policy development, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct investigations and hearings), as well as accommodating students with disabilities pursuant to Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She represents colleges and universities in Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigations and in federal and New York state court litigation.

Laura regularly defends organizations in New York State and federal courts, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the New York State Division of Human Rights. She also represents clients in arbitrations and mediations, negotiates collective bargaining agreements, and advises clients with respect to labor relations issues.

In addition to providing in-house legal training, Laura is a frequent lecturer. She has also authored and co-authored articles on a range of legal topics. Laura has been named to a national team of educational instructors for the National Center for Campus Public Safety's Trauma-Informed Sexual Assault Investigation and Adjudication Educational Program.

For five years, Laura served as Governor Andrew Cuomo’s appointee as Chair of the Fourth Department Judicial Screening Committee and a member of the Governor's State Judicial Screening Committee. These Committees evaluate the qualifications of judicial candidates and make recommendations to the Governor with respect to which candidates are highly qualified to hold judicial positions.  

Laiza Semidey is the Syracuse Surge Workforce Manager at Centerstate CEO. Laiza specializes in bringing different groups of employers, community-based organizations and education to the table. Laiza has been uniquely impacting Syracuse whether with a tech company herself or driving the surge initiative to help bridge the gap between employers and access to diverse talent.

Marla Byrnes, President of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Syracuse will lead a discussion on mental health awareness.  Mental health is an important part of our overall health and well-being.  It includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being.  It affects various aspects of our daily lives from how we think, feel and act.  It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices throughout our lifetime.

 It is more important than ever to support our family, friends and employees’ mental health.  It is essential for a productive society and workforce. Over the past year, we have experienced numerous changes and disruptions in our lives caused not only by the pandemic but political and social unrest.  This has caused many people to struggle with mental health issues.

 Attendees of this presentation will learn: 

Marla Byrnes worked at Hutchings Psychiatric center for 30 years as an RN.  During her time at Hutchings, she worked in inpatient, forensic, admissions, crisis outreach and outpatient clinics. She finalized her career as the Director of Nursing. Marla has been a member of NAMI Syracuse since 1983 when she sought information about brain illnesses because of her family history of mental illness. NAMI Syracuse, an affiliate of NAMI-NYS and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), is a non-profit, self-help, support and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of all persons affected by mental illness through outreach, education and community collaboration.

Marla is the current president of NAMI Syracuse. She has personal experiences with depression and her son struggles with schizoaffective disorder. She is passionate that our communities speak about mental illness as a medical condition that bears no shame for the person or their family. 

Cybersecurity- How vulnerable is your business to Cyberthreats?

Reggie DeJean

Reggie has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, working for insurance carriers and brokers. He currently leads Lawley’s Specialty Insurance department, where he consults with clients on coverages to protect themselves as well as their business. He has expertise in errors & omissions insurance, professional liability insurance, medical malpractice insurance, directors & officers insurance (D&O insurance), employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, cyber/network security (including privacy) liability and pollution coverages. 

Jessica Copeland 

Meg Tidd is an accomplished CEO. Meg oversees collaboration and communication across all departments and is responsible for driving all sister companies to achieve and surpass sales, profitability, and business goals and objectives. Meg is a graduate of the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School, where she obtained an MBA with a focus in Corporate Strategy and Marketing. She is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse and In 2016 was recognized as a Central New York Business Journal 40 Under Forty honoree. Meg also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Gifford Foundation, and is an M&T Bank Central New York Directors Advisory Council Member.

The software of your life constantly needs updates. The original code was written by early life experiences – many resourceful and some not. In order to lead effectively, now and in the future, we must become fully aware of our internal software or mindsets and make conscious updates to the software that no longer serves you. 

This presentation will teach you how to update your mindset software, including in the areas of Possibility, Growth, Curiosity and Responsibility. We will discuss your belief system – how it developed, whether it remains productive, and how to change it if it is not. 

Ralph Simone has spent over a quarter of a century helping individuals and organizations transform themselves, raise their consciousness, and perform at their fullest potential.

As a Black Belt in karate and an avid reader, Ralph understands the benefits of consistent practice and continuous learning as an integral part of leadership development.

He received his B.B.A. from Siena College in 1979 with a major in accounting. He is a Certified Professional Coach, specializing in leadership and organizational effectiveness, and has amassed over 15,000 paid client coaching hours.  Additionally, he holds the following certifications.

An accomplished writer and sought-after speaker, Ralph is currently writing a book entitled “Transforming: A Leader’s guide to Integrated Intelligence.” He also published “Making It Stick” and The Daily Re-Tweet.” 

Nicole Belyna, SHRM-SCP is a field services director at SHRM based in Alexandria, VA.  She possesses more than 15 years in human resources, specializing talent management and leadership.  She has worked extensively in the fashion/beauty retail, hospitality, and manufacturing industries.  Immediately prior to joining SHRM, Nicole was the talent strategy leader for a DC-area based manufacturer where she developed and executed the talent acquisition strategy, establishing the company’s reputation as a top workplace and employer of choice.  Additionally, Nicole is an experienced and dedicated volunteer leader, serving most recently as president for the District of Columbia Society for Human Resources (DC SHRM) and as a panelist of the talent acquisition Special Expertise Panel at SHRM.  Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The Sage Colleges in Troy NY and is proud to be a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).