FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2008

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1 2008 AILA SPRING CLE CONFERENCE FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2008 L ENFANT PLAZA HOTEL WASHINGTON, DC FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES Fausta M. Albi is a Partner with Larrabee Mehlman Albi Coker LLP, a firm focused on employment-based immigration law. Ms. Albi presently serves as the Chair of AILA's National CBP Liaison Committee and the Chair of the CBP Liaison Committee for the San Diego Chapter. She also participates as a mentor with AILA's Attorney Mentor program. Ms. Albi is the Immediate Past Chapter Chair for San Diego, and has chaired the Congressional Liaison and Advocacy Committees for the AILA San Diego Chapter. Ms. Albi is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law. Jim Alexander is a Managing Partner at Maggio & Kattar in Washington, DC. He has been assisting individual and institutional clients on immigration matters since he joined the firm in His practice focuses on employment-based visas for employees of new enterprises to Fortune 500 corporations. Mr. Alexander also advises the firm s corporate clients on employment-based temporary and permanent visa solutions for foreign national employees, I-9 and public access file compliance, and on outbound (non-us) visa needs. He is a nationally recognized expert on the complex problems that gay immigrants face and has represented numerous HIV positive individuals to obtain waivers of inadmissibility. Mr. Alexander also handles visas for professionals and other highly skilled individuals, asylum, family, and naturalization applicants. Michael L. Aytes currently serves as associate director of Domestic Operations for USCIS. He began his career with legacy INS in 1977 and, in transition to DHS, was appointed director of Information and Customer Service Division. Mr. Aytes has served in various positions in INS, including as the first assistant commissioner for Service Center Operations, managing the INS Service Centers. Mr. Aytes received a degree in Public Administration from the University of Missouri. Heather Bupp-Habuda, Esq., Ethics Advisor and Educator. Ms. Bupp-Habuda is a 1990 graduate of Washington College of Law at American University. She is in private practice and licensed in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Ms. Bupp-Habuda s practice focuses on advising about ethical issues, including unauthorized practice of law, conflicts of interest, legal technology and lawyer practice management. She is an expert in evaluating legal fee disputes and allegations of legal malpractice. At Georgetown University she teaches Legal Ethics and Legal Technology in the Paralegal Studies Program and also teaches Legal Ethics at Washington College of Law, American University. In addition, Ms. Bupp-Habuda creates and teaches Continuing Legal Education classes for the D.C. Bar. She has taught and written about the implications of the 2007 amendments to the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. The Guide to the New Rules of Ethics that she co-wrote was published in the March 2007 Washington Lawyer. As Legal Ethics Counsel for the District of Columbia Bar, Ms. Bupp- Habuda provided guidance to Bar members as well as members of the public on ethical issues. She is a frequent speaker with the American Bar Association and the Bar Affiliates in Washington, DC and surrounding areas. Jeanne A. Butterfield has served as AILA s Executive Director since January She received her juris doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and is a member of the Massachusetts bar. Before coming to AILA in 1993 as director of Advocacy, Ms. Butterfield practiced law in Boston. She served as legal director of Centro Presente, a Central American refugee center in Boston, and also directed the Boston-based Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project. Ms. Butterfield is a nationally recognized expert on immigration law and policy and regularly appears in print and broadcast media. She speaks regularly throughout the country at law schools and continuing legal education conferences. Ms. Butterfield serves on the board of the National Immigration Forum and is an ex-officio member of the board of directors of the American Immigration Law Foundation.

2 William Carlson, Ph.D. is Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training Administration, DOL. Dr. Carlson is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University (Ph.D.) and Radford University (M.S. and B.S.). He has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia, and lectured for Virginia Center for Public Policy and Virginia Institute of Government. Cheryl R. David handles all aspects of immigration law with an emphasis on deportation and family-based cases. She served as Chair of the N.Y. Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Her current positions include: Chair of the national liaison committee with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement on behalf of AILA; Director on AILA s Board of Governors; Board of Directors of the City Bar Fund; Chair of AILA NY ICE - Detention & Removal Committee, Co-Chair - NY AILA Chapter of the pro-bono committee; Member of the Immigration & Nationality Committee of the City Bar. Ms. David is a frequent lecturer on deportation and family-based immigration issues. She is admitted to the bar in N.Y., M.A., the Second Circuit, and the Southern and Eastern Districts of N.Y. Robert C. Divine is the chairman of the immigration group of Baker Donelson. He served as the first chief counsel of USCIS. He served as acting director and then acting deputy director of USCIS. He is the author of Immigration Practice, a 1,600-page practical treatise on all aspects of U.S. immigration law. He has also litigated significant business matters, including contract, commercial, product liability, antitrust, ERISA benefits, business torts, and immigration-related criminal matters. Marshall D. Fitz is AILA Director of Advocacy. Mr. Fitz leads AILA s education, lobbying and coalition-building efforts in furtherance of fair and reasonable immigration-related policies. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and served on the Virginia Law Review. After graduation, he clerked for Judge Bruce M. Selya on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In the following years, he practiced immigration law in Washington, D.C. at Hogan & Hartson, LLP. Jerome G. Grzeca is the founding partner of Grzeca Law Group, S.C., and has practiced business immigration law for over eighteen years, in both Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is listed with the Best Lawyers in America. Currently, he is a Director of AILA's Board of Governors, a member of AILA's DOS Liaison Committee and Business subcommittee Chair of the Annual Conference Planning Committee. Leslie A. Holman is the founder of Holman Immigration Law a law firm located in Burlington, Vermont and limited to the practice of immigration and nationality matters. She represents both corporate and individual clients. She currently serves as a member of AILA s National CBP liaison committee and its Interagency committee. She also serves as the AILA New England Chapter s liaison to regional ports of entry. She speaks frequently on immigration and is a guest lecturer at the Vermont Law School. She was inducted into the Who s Who in American Law. Jeff Joseph is a graduate of the University of Denver, College of Law. He is a past Chapter Chair of the Colorado Chapter of AILA and has served on the AILA Board of Governors. Jeff serves on the AILA/EOIR Liaison Committee. He formerly served two terms as chair of the AILA Amicus Committee, and as a former member of the AILA/ICE Liaison Committee. In 2004, he received the Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer of the Year Award from AILA. In 2005, he was named a finalist in the Denver Bar Association/Denver Business Journal Best of the Bar Awards. In 2008, Jeff was nominated by the Denver Business Journal as one of Denver's "Forty under 40" which recognizes forty young entrepreneurs for their business skills, leadership and community service. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Jeff was named a Colorado Superlawyer by Colorado Superlawyer Magazine (reserved for the top five percent of all licensed attorneys in the State of Colorado) Magazine also named Jeff a Top Lawyer in the area of immigration law for 2006, 2007 and He has been qualified as an expert witness before the state and federal courts on employment-related and criminal-related immigration issues, and is a frequent local and national lecturer on various immigration topics. Jeff has been a speaker at the annual AILA conferences every year since 2001, and he has also addressed numerous other regional and state immigration conferences. Jeff is an adjunct professor of immigration law at the University of Denver, College of Law. 2

3 Linda Kenepaske has been practicing immigration law for more than 20 years. As a solo practitioner, she handles all types of immigration cases; however, her first love is deportation/removal defense. She currently serves as the chair of the AILA EOIR Liaison Committee and chair of the Immigration and Nationality Committee of the New York City Bar Association. June H. Kunsman is a senior career foreign service officer who has served as a consular officer in Mexico, Costa Rica, Poland, Pakistan and Russia. She has also served in the Department of State in Washington, DC in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, the Operations Center and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. A 1997 graduate of the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, she is currently the Managing Director of the Office of Visa Services. Mary Loiselle is Acting Assistant Director for Management, Detention and Removal Operations, ICE, DHS, Washington, D.C. Susan M. MacLean is a Partner in the firm of Zulkie Partners, LLC which specializes in business immigration law. Susan has spoken on labor certification, H-1B and other business related issues and was a member of the AILA ACWIA and PERM comment teams. She has served on various AILA committees and was the 2005 AILA Annual Conference Program Chair. She is currently the Chair of the National AILA DOL Liaison Committee. Elissa McGovern is Regulatory and Policy Manager for the Department of Labor s Office of Foreign Labor Certification. She was formerly Of Counsel to the firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP, focusing on legislative and agency advocacy on immigration issues affecting employers in the global marketplace. Ms. McGovern is the former Associate Director of Liaison for AILA and a past Chair of the AILA DC Chapter. Ms. McGovern received her JD from NYU School of Law and her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Manhattanville College. Sharon R. Mehlman is a Partner with Larrabee Mehlman Albi Coker LLP in San Diego where she practices employment-based immigration law with an emphasis on the technology sector. Sharon is the Chair of AILA s Service Center Operations Liaison Committee, past Chair of the California Service Center liaison committee and past Chair of the San Diego Chapter. Sharon is listed in Best Lawyers and in Who's Who Legal, California. She is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law. Lynden D. Melmed was appointed Chief Counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on January 2, Mr. Melmed manages a legal program of approximately 130 attorneys and is responsible for advising the Director and other USCIS senior leaders on all legal issues that arise within the agency. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Melmed served as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator John Cornyn, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship. He advised the Chairman on all legal, legislative and operational issues within the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee, including legislative strategies on comprehensive immigration reform and border security proposals. Mr. Melmed also served as an attorney in the INS General Counsel s office, the USCIS Office of the Chief Counsel and the Office of General Counsel in the Department of Homeland Security. Before joining the federal government, Mr. Melmed practiced immigration law in Dallas, Texas with the law firms of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen and Loewy LLP and Jackson Walker LLP. Mr. Melmed is a graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A., J.D.). Paul M. Morris is the Executive Director for Admissibility and Passenger Programs, Office of Field Operations, US Customs and Border Protection. In his current position, he administers immigration policy and programs for all CBP ports of entry. He also oversees eleven directorates, the Fraudulent Document Analysis Unit, the Admissibility Review Office, Office of Alien Smuggling Interdiction, Shared Border Programs, Electronic Systems Travel Authorization, National Targeting Center-Passenger, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Travel Entry Programs, Traveler Policies Division, Passenger Programs and Trusted Traveler. He was most recently the CBP Service Port Director in Great Falls, Montana, where he managed 21 ports of entry in both Montana and Idaho. Prior to that, he held a variety of positions with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. As the Deputy District Director for the Portland, Maine District, he oversaw INS investigations, adjudications, removal and detention, and inspections operations in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. As an Assistant Chief Inspector with the Office of Inspections, Headquarters, Mr. Morris managed several national programs and worked with 3

4 Congressional offices to develop significant new legislation. He has held positions with the Border Patrol in addition to his work at land, sea, air, and preclearance ports of entry. After the transition to CBP, Mr. Morris worked in the Transition Management Office where he made significant contributions to the Frontline Officer and Unifying Symbols Working Groups. He has also served in several other significant details such as the detail as acting Officer in Charge to the Norfolk Sub-Office of the INS in the wake of September 11, 2001, Visa Waiver Program country reviews, and the joint Congress and INS town hall efforts to promote implementation of 1996 immigration legislation. Hon. David L. Neal was appointed as Chief Immigration Judge in March Prior to this appointment he served as Acting and Assistant Chief Immigration Judge respectively, and immigration judge at the Headquarters Immigration Court. Judge Neal also served as special counsel to Director of EOIR; chief counsel to the Senate Immigration Subcommittee. Prior he practiced immigration law in Los Angeles; also was the director of policy analysis for AILA National. He is a graduate of Wabash College, Harvard Divinity School, and Columbia Law School. Michael Neifach became principal legal advisor to the assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in July As principal legal advisor, Mr. Neifach oversees approximately 800 attorneys across the country who are responsible for representing the DHS in removal proceedings before immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and advising ICE s numerous enforcement components on everything from labor law to Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues. Mr. Neifach has served as director of immigration and visa security policy at the Homeland Security Council (HSC) since October 2005, where he has played a central role in formulating and coordinating the president's national priorities for immigration and visa policy. He has been the primary policy lead on a number of the president's initiatives related to immigration and visa security. Mr. Neifach possesses a wealth of experience in immigration law and policy and has demonstrated tremendous achievements as a leader. Prior to his tenure at the HSC, Mr. Neifach was director of immigration policy at DHS. Mr. Neifach also served as an associate general counsel in the INS legal proceedings program between July 1995 and February 2003, where he served on the Attorney General s Advisory Committee on Denaturalization Issues and ran the INS Office of General Counsel s National Denaturalization Program. He also served as special counsel and chief of staff during the transition of INS s Office of General Counsel to ICE/CIS Office of the Principal Legal Advisor. Donald Neufeld is Deputy Associate Director of Domestic Operations, USCIS, in Washington, DC. He has 24 years of experience with USCIS and legacy INS, and has held various leadership positions at USCIS/INS Headquarters, the Los Angeles and Miami Districts, as well as the California Service Center. Barry O'Melinn serves as Deputy Principal Advisor for DHS s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In that capacity, he supervises approximately 800 attorneys and 200 administrative and support personnel who are responsible for conducting DHS s administrative immigration litigation before EOIR. He also advises the Agency in matters involving customs law, immigration detention and enforcement and Federal Protective Services. Mr. O Melinn began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County New York. He joined INS in 1996 as Assistant District Counsel and was appointed Chief Appellate Counsel in Mr. O Melinn is a graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law where he received his J.D. in Shawn Orme is the managing partner of the Houston office of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. He specializes in complex global immigration matters for large multinational clients. He currently serves as chair of AILA's USCIS Liaison Committee and is a frequent national speaker. Mr. Orme is listed in Best Lawyers in America and also named a "Super Lawyer" in Texas. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Michigan Law School. 4

5 Juan P. Osuna was appointed as a Board of Immigration Appeals member in August 2000 and later as acting chairman. He received a B.A. degree from George Washington University, a J.D. from the Washington College of Law at The American University, and an M.A. in Law and International Affairs from The American University's School of International Service. Mr. Osuna served at West Group and as a consultant for Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., in Washington, D.C. Brian Pasternak is the PERM Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. James Jim Pritchett is Director of the Office of Legislation, Regulations and Advisory Assistance in the Department of State s Visa Office. Jim has served in a number of positions with the State Department, including overseas tours in Mexico and Hong Kong. He has also worked for the Department of Justice s Executive Office of Immigration Review and as a congressional staffer. Jim is a native of Alabama and attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Washington and Lee University School of Law. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. Punam S. Rogers, is a senior associate at Foley Hoag LLP. She provides representation to a wide range of U.S. employers, from start-ups to multi-nationals, who are seeking to hire non-resident foreign professionals, scientists, business persons and artists who need to obtain temporary or permanent immigration status in the U.S. Ms. Rogers also represents asylees and refugees on a probono basis. Ms. Rogers is a board member of numerous professional and community affiliations, including, but not limited to, serving as a member of AILA Department of Labor Committee, Immediate Past Chair of the AILA s New England Chapter, Co-Chair of CBP-Logan, Boston Committee, Co-Chair of ProBono Liaison committee for the NE Chapter, Founding and Current Board member of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston, and a member on the Board of Advisors Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Services. She frequently lectures on various topics of immigration law at law conferences and industry based conferences locally and nationally. Ms. Rogers received her B.A. from Rutgers University and her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law. Patrick Shen was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on October 4, 2007 to be Special Counsel for Immigration-related Unfair Employment Practices in the Justice Department s Civil Rights Division. Previous to this appointment, Mr. Shen was Director of Government Relations at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP. He began his legal career through the Attorney General s Honor Program, and has served in the Justice Department in the capacities of law clerk for the United States Immigration Court, Assistant District Counsel for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service s New York District, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, and trial attorney in the Office of Immigration Litigation of the Civil Division. In addition, Mr. Shen was Chief Immigration Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 108 th Congress, and Director of Policy and Planning at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the Homeland Security Department. Prior to attending and graduating from Brigham Young University Law School, Mr. Shen was a sports reporter in Taiwan. He now resides with his wife and two children in Maryland, where he is a certified emergency medical technician and a volunteer with his local fire department. Howard A. Silverman is a partner in the law firm of Ross, Silverman & Levy LLP with over 20 years of experience in the field of immigration and nationality law. Mr. Silverman is the former Chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and is a former chair of the Boston chapter of the National Immigration Project. In addition, he is the on the AILA Immigration and Customs Enforcement Liaison Committee and Co-Chair of the New England AILA Chapter Immigration and Customs Enforcement Liaison Committee and Liaison to the Office of Chief Counsel in Boston. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF). Mr. Silverman has been a speaker at immigration law programs and workshops, and has three times been presented with the Mentor of the Year Award from the Political Asylum and Immigration Representation Project for his volunteer work supervising pro bono attorneys representing political asylum applicants. Mr. Silverman received his J.D. from Northeastern University School of law in

6 Barbara K. Strickland is a graduate of Western State University Law School. She is a sole practitioner, with a primary focus on family-based immigration and deportation defense. She is a member of the San Diego Chapter of AILA and has served as a member, chair and co-chair of the UPL committee. She has served as an advisor to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights, and the Mexican Consulate General in San Diego. She has been involved in several criminal and civil cases involving the unauthorized practice of law. Reid F. Trautz is an attorney and Director of AILA s Practice & Professionalism Center, where he provides guidance on management and ethics issues to help members improve their businesses and the delivery of services to their clients. He is a nationally-recognized author and presenter on these topics. His articles have appeared in numerous bar publications, including Law Practice Management, GP Solo, and Immigration Law Today. He is a frequent presenter at CLE conferences nationwide. rtrautz@aila.org. David Tyler is a career Foreign Service Officer and is currently serving as a Senior Advisor in the State Department s Visa Office. Formerly he was the director of State s National Visa Center in New Hampshire. His overseas postings have included Sierra Leone, Germany, Canada, and Israel, along with various assignments in Washington, D.C. He holds an M.A. in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. from Michigan State University. Thomas S. Winkowski is Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U. S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, DC. Mr. Winkowski was appointed Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, in August He manages an operating budget approaching $2.5 billion, directs the activities of 24,000 employees, and oversees programs and operations at 20 major Field Offices, 326 Ports of Entry, 58 operational Container Security Initiative ports, and 15 Preclearance Stations in Canada, Ireland, and the Caribbean. Previously, he served as Director Field Operations (DFO), Miami, U.S. CBP where he managed a workforce of over 2000 employees. As DFO, he was responsible for managing all inspectional operations at Miami International Airport, Miami Seaport, Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale International Airport, West Palm Beach/Fort Pierce, and Key West. Mr. Winkowski served as the Assistant District Director, U.S. Customs Service, Los Angeles, California from 1986 to 1995, followed by four years as the Port Director at Los Angeles International Airport. From there he went on to Miami as the Area Port Director, Miami, U.S. Customs Service in 1999, where he was responsible for operations at the Miami International Airport; Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures; Seized Property; and Trade Operations. Mr. Winkowski joined the U.S. Customs Service in 1975 as a cooperative education student. Upon graduating from Boston s Northeastern University in 1978, he was assigned to Los Angeles where he became a Customs Inspector. In 2004, he was awarded the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award by President Bush. 6