Board of Directors

W. David Hubbard serves as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel for Verizon Communications.  He is located in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and leads Verizon’s Consumer Marketing, Products, Growth and Revenue legal team which provides support for Verizon’s portfolio of Consumer businesses including Verizon Wireless, Verizon Telecom, Verizon Consumer Markets, and Visible, among others. He and his team provide support to Verizon Consumer Group’s Chief Revenue Officer and are responsible for providing legal counsel and guidance for all consumer products, devices and services; business initiatives and national advertising and marketing campaigns targeting consumers in all media; marketing strategy; advertising litigation; regulatory and network compliance; promotions; sweepstakes; external communications; corporate responsibility and compliance with state and federal regulations as well as applicable consumer protection laws. In addition to the above, Mr. Hubbard previously led Verizon’s Intellectual Property and Digital media legal teams and served as the General Counsel for the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon which is dedicated to solving critical social issues in the areas of education, healthcare and energy management, particularly in underserved communities. 

Prior to joining Verizon, Mr. Hubbard was an associate with Kelley Drye & Warren LLP (formerly Collier Shannon Scott, LLP) in Washington, DC. He earned his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Maryland at College Park, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa and Benjamin Banneker Scholar. He currently serves on board of directors for a number of organizations including: BBB National Programs, –which is dedicated to fostering trust, innovation and competition through self-regulation, monitoring, and dispute resolution; the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan New York -- which fosters honest and responsive relationships between  businesses and consumers; Brightpoint Care -- a leading nonprofit provider of high-quality medical and mental health care as well as social support services to people, families and communities challenged by health disparities; Employment Horizons -- a not-for-profit agency providing comprehensive employment, training and job placement services to people with disabilities and other disadvantages; and the Association of Corporate Council of New Jersey -- which provides legal education, networking, pro bono opportunities and career advancement.  In addition, he and his wife (Tamiko Hubbard)  co-founded Sweet Reads, a literacy-based non-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an early love of reading by providing children in underserved communities with books. 

Mr. Hubbard is the Co-chair of Verizon’s Public Policy, Legal, & Security Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, and also oversees Verizon’s Legal Internship Program. He is a member of the Maryland Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, National Bar Association, and American Bar Association where he previously served as co-chair of the Section of Litigation Internet & Privacy Committee. He is also a recent recipient of Verizon’s Credo award in July 2020, which honors employees who exemplify Verizon’s core values action and have a positive mark on their teammates, Verizon’s customers and our communities in a significant way. He was also named to the Lawyers of Color “Hot List” in 2014, featured in Modern Counsel Magazine in 2016, highlighted as one of America’s most influential Black Lawyers by Savoy magazine in 2018 ,and one of the Nation’s Best Lawyers of Color in 2019.

Jocelyn Hunter is a senior legal executive with over thirty years of experience assisting businesses navigate legal risks as they grow and pursue their strategic objectives. She is an effective leader and legal partner with a proven crisis management skill set and a track record of superior judgment. She has broad legal expertise and is a trusted, business oriented advisor on legal issues relating to Corporate and Securities, Governance, Executive Compensation, Benefits, Employment and Labor Law, Supply Chain, International Operations, Merchandising, Intellectual Property, Data Incident Response/Privacy, Tax, Commercial Litigation and Regulatory Investigations. Currently, Jocelyn serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel with The Home Depot where she is responsible for legal issues relating to Corporate and Securities, Commercial Litigation and Tax as well as general counsel for two of the Company’s business units. Since early 2014, she has been the leader of the Company’s cross functional team charged with responding to data incidents. 

Since joining The Home Depot in 1997, Jocelyn has held positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining The Home Depot, she was Associate General Counsel at Dun and Bradstreet Software where she was responsible for defending the Company’s Intellectual Property, for deescalating dissatisfied customer claims and avoiding litigation and for all employment related legal work as well as some of their transactional/contract work. Before joining Dun and Bradstreet, Jocelyn was an associate at Paul Hastings where she worked in the Employment Law Department. She began her career as an associate at Mack and Bernstein specializing in Litigation, Employment and Labor Law. 

Ms. Hunter is a leader in the legal community and in the local community in which she lives. She is a Board Member of the American Employment Law Council, a member of the Advisory Board for the Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies, a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a Member of the Board of Trustees of Duke Law School. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Alliance Theatre where she serves on the Executive Committee and is also Chair of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta History Center. Finally, Ms. Hunter is a member of the National Strategic Committee of The Links Incorporated. Jocelyn was the recipient of the Georgia Multicultural Leadership Award in 2013. Jocelyn earned her JD and BA from Duke University. 

Elizabeth A. Allen is NPR Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Secretary. She joined NPR in February 2021 with 25 years of legal experience. Before joining NPR, Ms. Allen spent 16 years at Gannett Co., Inc. serving as its Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, where she oversaw the operations of the Law Department, helped the company execute its strategic plan and managed a broad range of complex commercial negotiations and litigation. When the company’s publishing business was spun off in 2015 to create the then-new Gannett, she counseled extensively to support its new public status and Board of Directors. Ms. Allen first joined Gannett as Assistant General Counsel in 2004. In her various roles at the company, she was a key advisor on issues relating to corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, complex commercial negotiations, administrative proceedings, litigation, antitrust, and executive compensation, among other legal work. 

Prior to joining Gannett in 2004, Ms. Allen was an associate at Nixon Peabody LLP. She specialized in antitrust, litigation and compliance investigations and has participated in related professional and industry organizations. Ms. Allen served as the National Policy Advisor to National Bar Association President Clyde Bailey, and for several years as chair of the NBA’s Communications Law section. She has been active in the News Media Alliance and the Media Law Resource Center. Ms. Allen earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center 

David Cohen joined IAB in 2020 as CEO. Cohen is a widely respected advertising agency leader who, prior to IAB, served as President, North America for MAGNA, Interpublic Group’s (IPG) centralized media intelligence, investment, and innovation arm. In this role, Cohen was responsible for more than $20 billion in media spend. During his tenure, Cohen structured and executed large global transactions on behalf of IPG and its clients, with such major IAB member companies as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Twitter, and Verizon Media. 

Prior to MAGNA, Cohen served as Chief Investment Officer of UM, ensuring that digital innovation, data, and technology acumen flowed throughout the agency to drive performance. From 2001 to 2011, Cohen served in critical, transformational roles at UM during the explosive growth of digital advertising, including Chief Media Officer, Chief Digital Officer, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Director of Digital Communications. In the late 1990’s, Cohen was responsible for launching and building IPG’s digital practice. 

Cohen has a long history of working with trade organizations including IAB and 4As, where he served as chairman of the Interactive Marketing Committee. He has also been instrumental in initiating several vital industry-wide programs, including the cross-industry video initiative currently being facilitated by EY. Cohen is a Queens native, with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Adelphi University. He was recognized by Adweek as a “Media All Star” and was part of the “Adweek 50” in 2012. 

Mr. Hernandez is Group General Counsel, Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever. Prior to his most recent elevation to his current role in July 2022, Mr. Hernandez served as Global VP & General Counsel, Data, Privacy & Digital for Unilever Canada, where he was responsible for all legal matters and heads up the Legal Marketing Group at Unilever USA which oversees the go-to-market strategy that supports Unilever’s brands. Since joining Unilever in 2002, Mr. Hernandez has held various positions in Latin America, USA and the U.K.

Previously, Mr. Hernandez was Global General Counsel for Marketing based in Unilever’s headquarters in London. In that position, Mr. Hernandez’ team was responsible for advising Unilever in all legal matters related to marketing, advertising, innovation, privacy, e-commerce, contracts, media, intellectual property, quality, sustainability, and dispute resolution across all categories: Beauty, Personal Care, Home Care, Foods and Refreshments.  Mr. Hernandez’ previous international experience includes areas such as M&A, major commercial transactions, compliance, corporate audit, litigation and employment.

Camille Johnston is responsible for leading communications initiatives at Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Johnston came to Johns Hopkins from Siemens USA, where she developed, lead, and implemented an integrated communications, marketing, and brand strategy for Siemens across the U.S. Previously, Ms. Johnston served at The White House, as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for First Lady Michelle Obama. 

Prior to the White House, Ms. Johnston worked as a communications consultant for the Entertainment Industry Foundation on the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, the nationally televised fundraising special that aired simultaneously on ABC, CBS and NBC and raised more than $100 million for cancer research.  From 2005 to 2008, Ms. Johnston was the Senior Vice President of Communications for the Los Angeles Dodgers, overseeing corporate communications, media relations, internal communications, publications, and broadcasting. 

A veteran of the 1992 and 1996 Clinton-Gore campaigns, Ms. Johnston served as Communications Director for Mrs. Tipper Gore, Press Secretary for Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Education Secretary Richard Riley, and Communications Director for OSHA.  At the end of the Clinton Administration in 2001, Ms. Johnston joined Rodale Inc. the largest independent publisher in the U.S. as Vice President of Corporate Communications. From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Johnston was the Director of Communications for WBBM-TV in Chicago, Illinois. 

Ms. Johnston holds a B.A. in political science from UCLA and is based in Washington, DC. 

Bringing 30 years of industry experience in marketing and communications, Marla joined the 4A's in May 2017 to help define and shape the future focus for the association. Under her leadership, the4A's purpose is to help empower its members to deliver insightful creativity that drives commerce, and influences culture all while moving the industry forward. 

As the former CEO of MEC North America, beginning in 2011, Marla drove the agency’s strategic initiatives with a focus on delivering growth for its people, clients and the industry. Marla led MEC to become a major disruptor in the area of talent management with its innovative approaches to attracting, nurturing and retaining the industry’s top talent. MEC NA was cited in Fortune's "Great Places to Work" feature and was named in Advertising Age's  "Best Places to Work in Advertising and Marketing" in 2015. 

Prior to joining MEC, Marla spent 12 years at Mediavest, where she oversaw the Procter & Gamble Communications Planning assignment for North America, and previously managed a multi-client team. Marla began her career at DMB&B before moving to Ammirati Puris Lintas. Marla serves on the Boards of The Ad Council, AEF (ANA Educational Foundation), Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA). Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), and The Marketing Standards/General Assembly. 

Joel Katz is EXL’s Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer and is a member of EXL’s Operating Committee. Joel joined EXL (NASDAQ:EXLS) in 2023. He brings significant experience building structures, programs, and training that promote cultures of integrity and compliance and drive high levels of employee engagement.  

Prior to joining EXL, Joel served as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and Head of Employment Law for Booz Allen, a publicly traded management consulting firm.  Before Booz Allen, Joel was the Chief Integrity and Compliance Officer for Resideo Technologies. Previously, he held several legal leadership positions with CA, Inc., including serving as the company’s chief ethics and compliance officer and building the compliance program that contributed to CA being named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for four consecutive years. Joel began his career with Williams Mullen LLP, representing companies in labor and employment related legal issues. 

Selected as part of Compliance Week magazine’s class of 2016 top minds and recognized as a top ethics and compliance officer by the Ethisphere Institute in 2013, Joel earned his JD with distinction from Hofstra University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He is a Kallman Executive Fellow of the W. Michael Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University and former board member of the Ethics and Compliance Association and the Ethics Research Center. 

Bob Liodice is chief executive officer of the ANA. He previously served as executive vice president, responsible for member relations and business development with a primary focus on strengthening relationships with ANA member companies and broadening the membership base. Bob joined the ANA as senior vice president in 1995. 

Prior to the ANA, he was vice president of global marketing and sales for Grupo Televisa, a major worldwide broadcaster. His previous experience includes more than 15 years in marketing and financial management at Kraft General Foods and tenure as category marketing manager for the Jell-O and Bakers brands.

He is a member of the boards of directors of The Advertising Council, Advertising Research Foundation, Advertising Self-Regulatory Council, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, Advertising Educational Foundation, Digital Advertising Alliance, Trustworthy Accountability Group, and World Federation of Advertisers.

Bob holds bachelor degrees in accounting and management and an M.B.A. in finance from New York University. 

Sandi L. Masino is an internal audit, controls, and financial expert with over 30 years’ experience in leading large, highly regulated, and publicly traded corporations undergoing significant industry and market change. She most recently held the role of Vice President and Deputy Chief Audit Executive (CAE) at Fannie Mae, having previously served as Chief Audit Executive at Booz Allen Hamilton and Sallie Mae. In addition to her internal audit senior leadership experience, Ms. Masino spent more than a decade as an external financial auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP which was later acquired by Ernst & Young, and previously led external and internal financial reporting and operations as Controller of Sallie Mae. 

Ms. Masino’s work includes significant engagement with Boards of Directors and high levels of collaboration with sophisticated legal, ethics, audit, technology, risk, operations, and compliance corporate teams.  

Ms. Masino earned her B.A. in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude, from Villanova University. She is an active, certified public accountant in Maryland. 

Carla Michelotti is a recognized leader with decades of experience helping companies and their brands anticipate and navigate successfully through every type of legal challenge. In her primary career, Carla was Executive Vice President, Chief Legal, Government & Corporate Affairs Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, with legal responsibility for the global company, including "bet the company" litigation, management restructuring, merger and acquisitions, employee issues, and negotiation of hundreds of multiple and varied agreements. As a "C" Suite executive of the global communication agency, she advised many of the world's most valuable brands including McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Diageo, Hallmark, Pillsbury, Philip Morris, Altria, Kellogg, Samsung, and Coca-Cola. Currently a trusted business consultant providing strategic legal and corporate marketing counsel, Ms. Michelotti is internationally recognized for  having had key roles in developing regulation and self-regulation advocacy strategies and policies for the marketing/advertising industry regarding commercial free speech, privacy, food and beverage advertising, intellectual property, and digital issues.

Ms. Michelotti has received numerous honors including: Induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame; Anti-Defamation League's Women of Achievement  Award; American Advertising Federation (AAF) "Barton A. Cummings Gold Medal";  Digital Advertising Alliance "DAA Privacy Icon" Award; European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) "Best Practice" Award; Chicago Advertising Federation "Lifetime Achievement Silver Medal" Award; International Advertising Association (IAA) "Medal of Achievement"; IAA "Champion" Award, being named "Chicago Catholic Lawyer of the Year"; Justinian Bar Association "Award of Excellence"; DePaul "Outstanding Service to the Profession" Award; Girl Scout's "Tribute to Achievement"  Award; named "Chicago Ad Woman of the Year"; and listed in the "Today's Chicago Woman Hall of Fame".

Ms. Michelotti is active on several boards including DePaul University Board of Trustees, the American Advertising Self-Regulatory Organization (BBB National Programs); the  International Advertising Association (IAA), the  American Advertising Federation (AAF), the International Council of Advertising Self-Regulators (ICAS); Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and NW Indiana; Junior Achievement of Chicago; The House of the Good Shepherd. Carla is Self-Regulation VP of the IAA, VP Government Affairs of the AAF, and is a VP of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Marketing Commission. She is a past Chairman of the AAF and the Illinois Bar Foundation, a "Fellow" of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Illinois Bar Association (ISBA), and an active member The Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, as well as the ABA, ISBA, Chicago, and Justinian Bar Associations.

Prior to joining Leo Burnett Company, Inc, Ms. Michelotti was a corporate attorney with Jewel Companies, Inc.
Carla earned her BA and JD from DePaul University, which also awarded her an honorary Doctorate of
Humane Letters.
 

Maureen Ohlhausen is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises industry-leading clients on complex antitrust and litigation matters, with a focus on high-profile cases. Sought after for her depth of experience on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related issues, Maureen is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad. 

After finishing law school and clerking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Maureen joined the FTC in 1997. She held a series of roles at the agency over the next 12 years, rising to the position of Director of the FTC Office of Policy Planning, where she led the agency’s work on e-commerce and headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the broadband and internet sectors. She then went into private practice at a leading telecommunications law firm, where she headed the FTC practice group. 

In 2012, Maureen was confirmed by the Senate as a Commissioner of the FTC and was appointed Acting Chairman in January 2017, a role she held until May 2018. As Acting Chairman, Maureen directed all aspects of the agency’s antitrust work, including merger review, conduct enforcement, and all consumer protection enforcement, with an emphasis on privacy and technology issues. Under her leadership, the FTC won several influential merger challenges in court and reached a number of key digital privacy settlements.

To date, Maureen is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC. 

Following the end of her term at the FTC, and immediately prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Maureen was chair of the global antitrust and competition practice at Baker Botts, based in that firm’s Washington, D.C., office. 

A recognized thought leader, Maureen is a frequent author and speaker, and is often quoted by leading print and broadcast media on antitrust, FTC, and privacy and data security matters. She has published dozens of articles on antitrust, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, FTC litigation, telecommunications, and international law issues in prestigious publications. During her tenure at the FTC and in private practice, she testified more than two dozen times before Congress, including before the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Antitrust Sub-Committee. She also testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission. 

Eric D. Reicin joined BBB National Programs as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2019 and serves as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors.

The home of independent industry self-regulation in the United States, nonprofit BBB National Programs oversees more than twenty national industry self-regulation programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years.

Under Eric’s leadership, BBB National Programs fosters trust, innovation, and competition in the marketplace through the development and delivery of cost-effective third-party self-regulation, dispute resolution, and other programs. BBB National Programs’ industry self-regulation and dispute resolution programs include the National Advertising Division (NAD), National Advertising Review Board (NARB), Data Privacy Framework, BBB AUTO LINE, Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI), Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), RMAI Services, Class Action Settlement Program, Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR) (501(c)(3)) and its Self-Regulation Incubator, CBPR Privacy Programs, VPP Privacy Programs, Teenage Privacy Program (TAPP), and the Coalition for Better Advertising Dispute Resolution Program.

Also under Eric’s leadership, BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in teen-directed marketing, technology, AI, and other emerging areas.

Eric also serves as President and CEO of BBB National Programs' Charitable Foundation, the Center for Industry Self-Regulation (501(c)(3)). In this role, he is leading efforts to incubate new industry self-regulation programs, promote academic research of industry self-regulation, and promote the development of higher education coursework on industry self-regulation. Industry self-regulation is a form of “soft law” that bridges the gap between corporate compliance programs and the “hard law” of government regulation/laws. Under Eric’s leadership, the Center for Industry Self-Regulation is demonstrating how successful industry self-regulation systems create and deploy dynamic industry standards to reflect a market landscape that evolves faster than law and regulation. Eric recently spearheaded an effort with large corporations to incubate an industry self-regulation program focused on Principles for Trustworthy AI in Recruiting and Hiring.

Eric is a senior corporate and legal executive with over 30 years of experience assisting publicly traded and private companies and other organizations grow, manage transformational change, and weather regulatory and public scrutiny. Eric is also a creative business thinker and connector and has founded several national and local executive legal networks to share best practices and improve company and association performance.

Before joining BBB National Programs, Eric served as Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for MorganFranklin Consulting, LLC and MorganFranklin, LLC, a global management consulting firm and government contractor (DOD and civilian). He also led MorganFranklin’s Corporate Investigations & Dispute Solutions consulting practice. Eric’s strategy and execution work in MorganFranklin’s transformation from founder owned to an LLC with minority management ownership to an ESOP led to his recognition as the Association of Corporate Counsel – NCR Outstanding Chief Legal Officer in 2016. Vaco (backed by Olympus Partners) acquired MorganFranklin in July 2019.

Eric previously served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Sallie Mae, then a Fortune 500 diversified financial services company (NASDAQ: SLM). He spent 14 years working closely with the Board of Directors and senior executive management during times of transformational change, senior executive turnover, negative press, government investigations and class action litigation, financial uncertainty, and regulatory scrutiny. He also successfully led a large team of attorneys, compliance personnel, and professionals based in six cities. Several of Eric’s former deputies at Sallie Mae now serve as general counsel at publicly traded and private companies.

Eric is known in the marketplace for developing talent and building coalitions. His successes include identifying, cultivating, and sponsoring individuals along the journey to CEO, general counsel, and other senior executive positions. He also advises senior executives and general counsels as they work through complex crisis situations and transformational changes.

Eric served a six-year term on the global board of the Association of Corporate Counsel, which has a presence in 85 countries. Eric previously served as president of the Association of Corporate Counsel - NCR, the largest regional in-house bar association. Eric served as the 2016-2019 co-chair of the D.C. General Counsels Club. He recently served on the advisory board of the Georgetown University Law Center CCI and is an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the American Employment Law Council (AELC). Eric also served from 2019-2023 as Chair of the Cosmos Club Retirement and Employee Benefits Committee in Washington DC.  Eric is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. In 2019, Legal 500 named Eric to the General Counsel Powerlist – United States. Throughout his career, Reicin has written and spoken on the intersection of technology and the workplace, and more recently in the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Eric served as the chair of the Executive Leadership Team for the 27th and 28th Lawyers Have Heart 10K/5K benefiting the American Heart Association and serves on its Executive Leadership Team.

Eric is a member of the CNBC CEO Council, Forbes Nonprofit Council, the Economic Club of DC, and The Cosmos Club (DC)

Brent Sanders is an Assistant General Counsel with Microsoft Corporation where he leads Microsoft’s advertising and consumer marketing legal teams.  Brent and his team serve as trusted advisors to advertising and marketing professionals at Microsoft and are responsible for the legal management of Microsoft’s global advertising and marketing campaigns and Microsoft’s agency relationships.  Brent and his legal team provide corporate-wide review of Microsoft’s advertising, product packaging, PR, contests, sweepstakes, and promotions.  Prior to his current role, Brent’s team also oversaw the Worldwide Retail Sales & Marketing channel responsible for the distribution, marketing and promotion of Microsoft’s consumer software and hardware products. 

Brent is actively involved in self-regulatory and new legislative developments that impact the advertising community. He is the Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Marketing and Advertising Commission, is a member of the Association of National Advertisers Legal Affairs Committee, and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit Supporters Council of BBB National Programs.  

Prior to joining Microsoft, Brent was a partner in the Seattle office of Perkins Coie LLP, where he advised clients on legal matters related to advertising, promotions and intellectual property and prior to that he was Corporate Counsel at Amazon.com.  He received his J.D. from University of New Hampshire School of Law, his LL.B. from the University of Victoria and his B.Sc. from the University of Calgary. 

Mary Sophos held senior executive positions at the Grocery Manufacturers Association for 25 years, most recently as executive vice president for policy and strategic planning. Prior to assuming this position in 2010 she served as GMA’s senior vice president and chief government affairs officer, with responsibilities for state, federal and international affairs.  In addition to coordinating strategic planning and policy development across the organization, Sophos managed the GMA Board Committee on Health and Wellbeing as well as GMA’s Global Strategies Group, developing and leading industry’s engagement across these portfolios. 

Before joining GMA, Sophos served as assistant secretary of legislative affairs and deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs for the U.S. Treasury. Sophos also was assistant minority counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee, budget associate staff and legislative director to Rep. Tom Loeffler, and legislative assistant to the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Sophos earned a Bachelor of Science at Pitzer College, one of the Claremont Colleges, in California. 

Joe Stegbauer is currently Senior Vice President & General Counsel – Corporate, Global Transactions, Grooming and Baby, Feminine and Family Care Sector Business Units, and Environmental, Social and Governance Practice at The Procter & Gamble Company. In this role, Joe leads the legal teams responsible for the Corporate Secretary’s Office, Corporate, Securities, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Global Transactions, Grooming (Gillette), Baby, Feminine and Family Care, and Environmental, Social and Governance Practice (ESG). 

Prior to his current roles, Joe was Vice President & General Counsel – India, Middle East, Africa and Central & Eastern Europe, based in Geneva, Switzerland and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Before that Joe led the teams responsible for all of P&G’s global transactions, including M&A, JVs, outsourcing and support of the Purchases organization. Joe has had various roles in the P&G Legal Division in the US and Europe, after spending some time in private practice. 

Joe is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. 

Michele M. Totonis is the Director of Legal Affairs / Legal Business Partner for Intellectual Property (IP); Product & Marketing Development; Licensing & Entertainment; and Corporate Communications for the LEGO Group of companies. Michele leads the company’s engagement on IP development, strategy, litigation, protection and enforcement and helps to formulate and execute the company’s marketing and entertainment related strategic initiatives. Michele negotiates the legal and business aspects of the company’s mission-critical, high-visibility IP licensing and entertainment deals, and is responsible for the legal relationship management for all major partners and licensors such as Disney (including Marvel and Lucasfilm), Warner Bros., DC, Universal, SONY, Netflix, and various premium car brands. Michele also handles other complex transactions for product and asset development for live action and animated television and theatrical motion picture development, including content creation, broadcast, distribution, licensing, merchandising, music rights, digital gaming and publishing. Michele drafted and implemented the global IP Strategy for the company; oversees IP related litigation; handles the legal review of general marketing, marketing to children, digital and brand marketing content reviews; and is responsible for the oversight and management of the global IP portfolio, as well as the policing efforts for the IP assets in all realms, such as online commercial and social networking sites. Michele developed and delivers training sessions for internal personnel regarding IP matters such as proper trademark and copyright use and patentability of new subject matter; as well as programs relating to children’s advertising rules and guidelines (CARU), COPPA legislation, GDPR, global packaging requirements, product testing requirements (CPSIA regulations), and marketing strategies and compliance. 

Michele has been a participating member of the CARU Supporters Council since 2008, is an active member of the International Trademark Association, the American Bar Association, the Connecticut Bar Association and is a frequent speaker at legal and business conferences and seminars on various subjects including intellectual property law, digital gaming, marketing to children, entertainment law, licensing, merchandising and brand protection. Michele began her career with the boutique intellectual property firm of Hosmer & Reiter in 1993, where she gained valuable experience in trademark, patent and copyright prosecution and licensing agreements for a variety of entertainment, merchandising and commercial clients via the firm’s relationship with LIMA (Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association) where Mr. Hosmer served as General Counsel. Michele then moved on to the Ahlstrom Corporation and from 2002-2008, served as its Chief IP Counsel where she managed Ahlstrom’s global IP portfolio.  Michele joined the LEGO Group in 2008. 

Michele earned her B.A. Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University, her B.S. Summa Cum Laude from Western Connecticut State University, and her J.D. Magna Cum Laude from the Quinnipiac University School of Law. She is admitted to the Bar in Connecticut. 

Prior to her legal career, Michele performed as a dancer in a variety of Broadway and off-broadway productions.  In her spare time, Michele and her husband enjoy spending time with their two sons attending various sporting activities the kids engage in, listening to their sons play in a musical concert, playing golf together as a family, spending time at amusement parks enjoying the thrill rides, especially the rollercoasters, listening to music, or gardening. As you might imagine, Michele has a vast array of LEGO® models on display throughout her home and office, many sets to play with and build, as well as hours of LEGO® animated programs to enjoy!