Essentials of Human Resources 2021-2022

Sara brings more than a decade of legal experience to the Walter | Haverfield Education Law Group. Previously, Sara served as assistant legal counsel at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) where she advised ODE staff on education law matters, worked closely with the Ohio Attorney General’s office on litigation, ensured compliance with state and federal law, drafted education-related rules to implement in the Ohio Revised Code and facilitated administrative hearings with ODE. Prior to her time at ODE, Sara founded her own multi-state general practice law office where she represented hundreds of clients on a broad range of litigation and transactional cases.

Kate Davis is a member of Bricker & Eckler's Education group and practices in the firm's Dayton office. She counsels public sector clients on a variety of issues with a particular emphasis on labor and employment matters, including collective bargaining, grievance arbitration and representing employers before the State Employment Relations Board. She also partners with school districts and higher education institutions on a variety of issues, including administration of policies, public records issues, student affairs, constitutional issues, real property tax valuation and exemption laws and compliance with federal laws. Kate regularly advises clients regarding employment and labor-related matters involving Title VII, FMLA, ADEA, ADA, FLSA and R.C. Section 4112 issues, and frequently assists clients with policy revision and training.

Jason Stuckey advises a multitude of public sector clients with a focus on school districts and higher education institutions. He advises clients on compliance with a wide array of issues including but not limited to federal and state labor and employment issues, employee disciplinary concerns, contract issues, licensure issues, FERPA issues, ethics issues, the Ohio Open Meetings Act, student-related disciplinary matters, residency and custody disputes, public records requests, FERPA, and the drafting and implementation of policies. Jason also has extensive experience representing clients in collective bargaining negotiations, labor arbitrations, and employee grievances. He has also represented clients before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, state and federal courts; including the Court of Appeals. Jason has also advised higher education clients on Title IX and NCAA compliance issues.

Brad Bennett is an employment and labor attorney who works with public sector employers, including school districts, townships, municipalities, county agencies and boards of developmental disabilities. Experienced in state and federal employment and labor compliance, he counsels and represents public clients in all aspects of labor law, including negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, grievances, mediations and arbitrations. Additionally, he comprehensively represents employers in employment litigation in both federal and state courts and defends employers before various administrative agencies, including the EEOC,OCRC, SERB and the SPBR. Brad also drafts, revises and reviews employee handbooks, policies and job descriptions, as well as conducts internal investigations and in-house training.

A former high school English teacher, Aaron Rothey is an education attorney with firsthand experience in Ohio's public school system.

Prior to finishing law school at The Ohio State University, he earned a Master’s of Education degree from Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in English with honors from Ohio State. In law school, Aaron was a Moritz Merit Scholar, the executive note editor for the Ohio State Law Journal, and an active participant in the Moot Court Program.

Kacy joined Sedgwick in 2014 and has been in the Third Party Administration industry since 2001.  Kacy attended Columbus State Community College majoring in architecture. Kacy has held various roles over the past 21 years including managing claims, representing clients at workers compensation and unemployment hearings, managing workers compensation programs as an account executive, safety consulting and project management. In her current role, Kacy is responsible for managing the state fund training program, assisting with the management of the unemployment operations and managing the onboarding process of new partners. 

Since1994 Roger has been perfecting best practices in unemployment costcontrol.  His extensive training and experience have positioned him to effectively manage all aspects of unemployment, in all U.S. states and variousterritories.  He is a frequent facilitator for unemployment, often leading instructional engagements on unemployment cost control strategies for employers.  Currently he is a member of the World Speakers Association, the American Professional Speakers Association, the Ohio Speakers Association, and the International Association of Workforce Professionals.

Terry Harrell has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, specializing in 403(b) and 457 plans. As Voya’s Ohio Valley Regional Vice President for Tax-Exempt Markets, he is responsible for new business and on-going service for public schools throughout central and southern Ohio. Terry is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and resides in Dublin, Ohio.

Lisa Stevens serves as an Account Development Executive at American Fidelity. She brings more than a decade of experience serving solely the education community.

In her role, Lisa works closely with school districts in Ohio to help develop employee benefit plans that meet their needs. She often speaks locally and nationally to associations, business managers, and superintendents on topics such as Section 125 Plan, & Other IRS Compliance, Properly Utilizing Reimbursement Accounts (HSAs, HRAs, FSAs), and Creative Strategies for Insurance Benefits. Lisa is known for her communication abilities and can simplify difficult topics and explain them in everyday language, making implementation and understanding compliance much easier.  

Having been nominated by her company for six consecutive years as Account Development Executive of the year, you can be assured that Lisa is a trusted resource for you and your school district.

Cyndie is an accomplished health care consultant with 30+ years of experience.  Her background includes account management with insurance carriers like CIGNA Healthcare, where she was exposed to the carrier side of the healthcare business.  She has worked as a consultant for the past 17 years.   

Cyndie currently oversees the Ohio Public Sector Practice as team lead.  She provides a long history of experience with consortia building and management, union relationships and education, public sector compliance issues and employee engagement.