Working Towards Nine Women Lawyers Association of Michigan

Host Nicole Smithson speaks with Zenell Brown, a DISC assessment administrator. In this episode, Zenell explains what the DISC assessment is, the four types of behavioral types identified by the DISC assessment, and what our behavioral type can teach us about our leadership and communication styles.

Zenell Brown is the Region 1 administrator for the State Court Administrative Office, the former executive court administrator of the Wayne County Circuit Court, president of the Detroit Bar Association, author of Coffee and Conversations, Inclusion and Belonging, and a WLAM director.

Nicole Smithson is currently president-elect of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, creative director of Working Towards Nine, and editor-in-chief of the WLAM Journal. She is also on the editorial board of the Women Lawyers Journal, the journal of the National Association of Women Lawyers. Nicole graduated from Wayne State University Law School and the University of Detroit Mercy.

Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.

WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.

WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all who listen. If you would like a free transcript of an episode, please email ⁠⁠wtn@womenlawyers.org⁠⁠.

In this episode of Working Towards Nine, our Secretary Kristina Bilowus sits down with the Michigan Center for Civic Education (MCCE) Ellen Zwarensteyn to discuss the role of MCCE, its impact on civic engagement, and opportunities for pipelines to law.

Ellen Zwarensteyn serves as the Executive Director at the
Michigan Center for Civic Education (MCCE).  The Michigan Center for Civic Education is Michigan’s K-12 civic education non-profit organization dedicated to providing meaningful professional learning and student engagement opportunities for civic and law-related education. A few signature programs include Mock Trial, We the People, Project Community, Civic Dialogue, and so much more. 

Ellen comes to MCCE as an educator. A teacher and administrator, Ellen has coached nationally top ranked policy debate teams and brings almost 30 years of coaching, teaching, and/or facilitating experience. Furthermore, her Masters in Communications focused on how simulated and
experiential educational opportunities, specifically through policy debate, aids civic education and political learning by fostering personal and civic efficacy through agency and voice.

In her role with MCCE, Ellen partners with various stakeholders working to advance civic education. A founding member of the MiCivics Coalition, MCCE continues to seek champions and input for our next steps for more vibrant civic education experiences. Also at MCCE, Ellen works with all schools who wish to enhance and advance civic education. MCCE also partners with numerous state and national organizations, including iCivics, Center for Civic Education, the National Constitution Center, and more. She is also a graduate of several MCCE programs (including We the People and Mock Trial) and can speak to the experiences from organizational, administrative, teacher, and student perspectives.  

MCCE works with students, teachers, administrators, and
community members to motivate students to impact their civic communities. MCCE continues to expand its goals to ensure that each and every student has an authentic and meaningful experience in learning about and engaging in civics and law.  MCCE hopes that, with additional capacity and resources, one day soon every student in every school will be energized by authentic civic learning while every teacher, administrator, and stakeholder values and re-prioritizes civic education as the bedrock of all learning, as the core of our shared civic identity. This identity would permit us to recognize historical inequities while relishing Constitutional possibilities and proposing civic remedies.

Kristina received her JD from Cooley Law School, and her LLM from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She received her BA from Madonna University. She currently serves as an Assistant Director at MSU College of Law, where she advises, provides career counseling, and offers professional development assistance for law students and new attorneys. Previously, she practiced family law and criminal defense in metro Detroit.

 Kristina is very active in leadership and professional organizations, including serving in organizations like WLAM (Secretary), ICBA DEI Committee (Co-Chair), OCBA DEI Committee (Co-Chair), SBM YLS (prior Chair), SBM BOC, SBM Strategic Planning Committee , MCCE Board Member,  and various leadership roles within the WLAM regions and committees.

Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠,
and ⁠Twitter⁠.  

WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.  

WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all
who listen. If you would like a free transcript

Host Carrie Almassian speaks with the Honorable Jane Beckering, a United States District Court Judge in the Western District of Michigan, and the most recent Article III judge appointed to the federal bench.  Judge Beckering began her career as a commercial litigator in Chicago, Illinois.  She later returned to Grand Rapids where she practiced negligence and wrongful death cases. In 2007, Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Judge Beckering to the Michigan Court of Appeals, where she served until the senate confirmed her nomination to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan in December 2021.  Among other achievements, Judge Beckering served as the President of the Grand Rapids Bar Association and as served on the Hillman Advocacy Program steering committee for 22 years.

 

Carrie Almassian is an Assistant United States Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Michigan.  She works in the Civil Division and defends the United States in its agencies in civil litigation including Title VII actions, tort actions brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Administrative Procedure Act matters, and immigration litigation.  Carrie earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a J.D. from Wayne State University. 

 

For more information about the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, please visit https://www.miwd.uscourts.gov/.

 

Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.  

 

WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.  

 

WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all who listen. If you would like a free transcript of an episode, please email ⁠⁠wtn@womenlawyers.org⁠⁠. 

The National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations (NCWBA) is a unique organization of women’s bar associations, for women’s bar associations, representing approximately 35,000 women lawyers.  It provides a national forum for exchanging ideas and information vital to organizational growth and success in today’s profession.

For leaders of women’s bar associations, active participation in the NCWBA is an easy way to access the wisdom and experience of peers in other states and provinces, to give or get inspiration and to keep up with the challenges faced by those who juggle the competing concerns of law practice, bar leadership and personal life.

The NCWBA is an affiliate of the American Bar Association, with a vote in the ABA House of Delegates. The NCWBA works closely with the ABA sections and commissions, as well as with other ABA affiliate organizations.

 

Sheila Abron (Willis) is a partner at Fisher Phillips, LLP, where she represents employers in all types of employment law matters, federal contractor compliance, and Title IX compliance. She frequently advises employers and speaks on topics regarding hiring, discipline, investigations, diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is co-Chair of the Firm’s Affirmative Action and Federal Contractor Compliance Practice group and co-lead’s the Firm’s diversity book club. She is a former president of both the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association and the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers’ Division. She is currently President of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations and serves on the South Carolina Bar Board of Governors. A former Staff Attorney for the South Carolina Supreme Court, she is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business. She is an active community volunteer, serving as a member of the Junior League of Columbia and the Board of Directors for Trustus Theater and the Riverbanks Zoo Society. She is a recipient of the Silver Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law and has been recognized as a Woman of Influence by the Columbia Regional Business report, a Best and Brightest 35 and Under by Columbia Business Monthly, and a Top 40 under 40 lawyer by the American Bar Association.

 

Tanya A. Grillo (Grillo Law, PLLC) is a criminal defense attorney based in Macomb County, MI. Ms. Grillo is the current Vice President of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, a Director at Large for The National Conference of Women Bar Associations, and a Past President - Women's Lawyers Association of Michigan; Macomb Region. From 2017-2018, she was the Regional Manager for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) for Lapeer, Oakland, Macomb, and St. Clair counties and worked to reform the indigent defense system. Upon returning to private practice in 2019, Ms. Grillo has her work in indigent defense and is the Managed Assigned Counsel Coordinator for the city of Southfield, MI. She is passionate about giving back to her community and profession and sits as the Chair of the Criminal Law Committee for the Macomb County Bar Association and an advocate for Friend of Foster Kids. Ms. Grillo received a Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida.

 

Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.  

WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.  

WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all who listen. If you would

In this episode of Working Towards Nine, our Marketing and Branding Director Lindsey LaForest sits down with Molly Ranns, the Director for the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program (LJAP). They discuss the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program and mental health in the law. Learn more about all that LJAP has to offer at https://www.michbar.org/generalinfo/ljap/home.

 

Molly Ranns is the Director for the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program where she has worked for the past 12 years.  She earned her Graduate Degree in Counseling from Michigan State University.  Molly is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Nationally Board Certified Counselor, and an Internationally Certified addictions therapist.  She is an Advisory Committee member to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and a member of the Federation of State Physician Health Programs.  Molly co-hosts a podcast produced by Legal Talk Network, SBM On Balance, which explores the intersection between practice management and lawyer well-being.  She was a member of the Task Force on Well-Being in the Law, a collaboration between the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan Supreme Court, and will now serve as Vice-Chair of the Commission on Well-Being.  She presents regularly on topics pertaining to law student and lawyer well-being and has extensive experience working with impaired professionals, substance use disorders, and mental health diagnoses.

 

Lindsey LaForest is an Associate Attorney at Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler PLC. She focuses her work on corporate law and real estate law, while also gaining experience in estate planning and commercial litigation. She is the current Director of Programming for the Women's Lawyers Association of Michigan; Wayne Region and the Marketing and Branding Director for the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Lindsey earned a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School.

 

To learn more about the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, visit this link -https://www.michbar.org/generalinfo/ljap/home.

Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.  

WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.  

WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all who listen. If you would like a free transcript of an episode, please email ⁠⁠wtn@womenlawyers.org⁠⁠. 

Loida L. Tapia has dedicated her career in building capacity for communities to engage in public policy and government both at the state and federal level. Loida led MI Poder, a new 501c4 in Michigan, to engage Latino communities across the state in civic participation and political advocacy.  She previously led the Redistricting Initiative for the Michigan Nonprofit Association; the largest statewide redistricting engagement program. In 2020 she led the ACLU of Michigan's Election Protection Program. In 2019 Loida established the Office of Public Engagement in the Michigan Department of State. As Director, she led internal analysis of policy to remove systemic barriers for marginalized communities to attain Secretary of State services and information. She led the implementation of a statewide public education strategy around new voting rights laws and helped establish the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.Prior to her work in Michigan, she served as a Senior Advisory on Workforce Planning and Talent Development to the Obama Administration. As a White House appointee to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, she led the strategic outreach in workforce development in diversity and inclusion. Loida’s previous roles include working in the U.S. Senate for the Assistant Minority Leader Dick Durbin (2009-2011), both 2008 and 2012 Barack Obama Presidential Campaigns (2007-2008) (2011-2012), and for Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid’s 2010 Senatorial campaign. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a proud resident of Detroit, MI. 

 

Abril Valdes Siewert has dedicated her career to social justice. Ms. Siewert has spent the last decade specializing in immigration law; however, recently joined the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission for the State of Michigan as an Administrative Law Specialist. She has worked with small and large firms, as well as non-profit organizations such as Lakeshore Legal Aid; and as the Immigrant Rights Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan. During her time at the ACLU, she co-authored the Michigan Crimmigration resource guide which was distributed throughout the state. Ms. Siewert is licensed in the states of Michigan and California. She received herJ.D., from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her B.A. in English, from California State University Los Angeles. She is a Governor Whitmer appointed Commissioner and Secretary for the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan, Secretary for the State Bar of Michigan’s Immigration Law Section, Director at Large and co-chair of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion committee for the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, as well as a Board of Director for the Hispanic Bar Association.

 

[SHOW NOTES]

 

United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book) http://tinyurl.com/4t9mc2ez

 

Women Don't Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation--and Positive Strategies for Change

http://tinyurl.com/55vazbpj

 

 

Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.  

 

WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards Nine Podcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.  

 

WLAM wants the WTN Podcast to be accessible to all who listen. If you would like a free transcript of an episode, please email ⁠⁠wtn@womenlawyers.org⁠⁠.