Speakers

Susan Garea is a partner at Beeson, Tayer & Bodine in Oakland, California, where she focuses on representing unions and workers. She is a member of the California State Bar (2008) and is admitted to practice before the California District Courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth and D.C. Circuits. She is a former Member of the Board of Directors, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee. She received a B.A. from Northwestern University in 2001 with majors in African-American Studies and Economics. She received her J.D. in 2008 from University of California at Los Angeles, School of Law, and is a graduate of David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy and with a concentration in Critical Race Studies. Her previous work experience includes Associate attorney, Gilbert & Sackman (2008-2010) and elementary school teacher (2001-2005).

Thomas Lenz is a partner in the Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo law firm with an office in Pasadena, California. He leads the firm’s labor relations team and handles matters for clients across California and the west. He began his career as a field attorney with NLRB Region 21 in Los Angeles where his caseload regularly made use of his fluency in Spanish. He served the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section when it was a part of the State Bar of California. He Chaired the Section during the year the Section transitioned from the State Bar to the California Lawyers Association. He continues to serve as an Advisor to the Section. He is frequently consulted by the media on workplace issues. He teaches at USC Gould School of Law. His victories at the District of Columbia Circuit in Nova Plumbing and Colorado Fire Sprinkler cases were recently cited by the NLRB in the effort to enact a new rule on voluntary recognition of labor unions in the construction industry.

Catherine Ventola is a Supervisory Attorney at Region 32 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Oakland, California. The regional offices of the Board are responsible for processing representation petitions and unfair labor practice charges. As a supervisory attorney, Catherine oversees a variety of tasks carried out by a team of field attorneys and field examiners, including the analysis and recommendation as to the proper course of action in unfair labor practice charges, the negotiation of voluntary settlements, prosecution of meritorious cases where settlement has not been reached before Administrative Law Judges, and injunction and subpoena enforcement litigation before the District Court. Catherine has worked for the NLRB since April 2000.