Rural Veterans: Civil Legal Challenges & Discharge Upgrades
Kimberly Adams, Community Legal Aid Services, Akron, OH
Bridget Fuselier, Baylor Law School
David H. Myers, Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
James Richardson, Veterans and Military Law Section, Federal Bar Association
Lynn Rodriguez, Texas A&M University School of Law
Hillary Wandler, University of Montana Law
The Future of Oil & Gas in Appalachia
Timothy McKeen (Moderator), Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Jamie Chapman, Antero Resources Corporation
Andrew Graham, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Lauren Turner, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Friday Lunch Featured Speaker
Dr. John Deskins, Bureau of Business and Economic Research, West Virginia
University
Working for Recovery: How Civil Rights Laws Can Improve the Prospects for Successful
Rehabilitation and Gainful Employment for Drug and Alcohol Addicts
Anne Marie Lofaso (Moderator), WVU College of Law
Linda Batiste, Job Accommodation Network
Ashley Bledsoe, Southwestern Regional Day Report Center
Robert Edmundson, WVU Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry
Patrick McGinley, WVU College of Law
Samuel Petsonk, Mountain State Justice
West Virginia Legislative Goals
Honorable Charles S. Trump (Moderator), Judiciary Chair, West Virginia Senate
Honorable Mitch Carmichael, President, West Virginia Senate
Honorable Tim Armstead, Speaker, West Virginia House
Honorable John Shott, Judiciary Chair, West Virginia House
LGBTQ+ Appalachians
Jennifer Oliva (Moderator), WVU College of Law
Todd Brower, UCLA School of Law
Kristina Hash, WVU School of Social Work
Samuel Leizear, WVU School of Social Work
Cris Mayo, WVU LGBTQ Center
Matthew Sparks, Freelance Writer and Editor
Jordan Woods, Arkansas School of Law
Criminal Justice in an Epidemic
Valena Beety, WVU College of Law
Wendy Bach, University of Tennessee College of Law
Barbara Fedders, University of North Carolina School of Law
Cortney Lollar, University of Kentucky College of Law
Economic Development Challenges in Appalachia: Case Studies in Infrastructure
Investment, Entrepreneurship, and Community Economic Development in Tennessee
and West Virginia
Priya Baskaran (Moderator), WVU College of Law
Eric Franklin Amarante, University of Tennessee College of Law
Katherine Garvey, WVU College of Law
Lauren Rogal, Vanderbilt University Law School
Kelly Workman, West Virginia Department of Commerce
Parallel Worlds: Comparing Rural Development to Development in International
Countries
Jena Martin, WVU College of Law
Karon Powell, Southern Adventist University
Educational Reform Efforts in West Virginia
Robert Bastress, WVU College of Law
Trey Kay, Host of the Us & Them Podcast
Bren Pomponio, Mountain State Justice
Joshua Weishart, WVU College of Law
Legal and Regulatory Reform: A Pathway of Hope for Appalachia
Danielle Waltz (Moderator), Jackson Kelly PLLC
Richie Heath, Bowles Rice LLP
Jason Huffman, Americans for Prosperity
Thomas Kleeh, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Friday Dinner Keynote
Professor Lisa Pruitt, UC Davis School of Law
Appalachian Healthcare: Barriers and the Government Programs that Address Them
Robert Davis (Moderator), Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy
Stephen Butera, Department of Veterans Affairs
Hilda Heady, Atlas Research
Leah Heimbach, Healthcare Management Solutions
Jennifer Oliva, WVU College of Law
Black Lung in the 21st Century: Disease, Law, and Policy
Christine Pill (Moderator), WVU College of Law
John Cline, Black Lung Attorney
Dr. A. Scott Laney, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Dr. Edward Lee Petsonk, WVU School of Medicine
Evan Barret Smith, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
Saturday Lunch Featured Speaker
Honorable Michael J. Aloi, U.S. Magistrate Judge
Coal and Appalachia: Lessons from the Past, Prospects for the Future
Charles DiSalvo (Moderator), WVU College of Law
Mike Becher, Appalachian Mountain Advocates
Ted Boettner, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy
Brandon Dennison, Coalfield Development Corporation
John McFerrin, Beckley Attorney
Patrick McGinley, WVU College of Law
Heirs Property and Access to Justice: Changing the Conversation
Ann Eisenberg (Moderator), University of South Carolina Law
Mavis Gragg, The Gragg Law Firm PLLC
Jesse Richardson, WVU College of Law
John Schelhas, USDA Forest Service
The Appalachian Narrative, Policies, and African Americans in West Virginia
Anne Marie Lofaso (Moderator), WVU College of Law
Lauri Andress, Department of Health Policy, Management & Leadership, WVU
Rico Moore, Solo Practitioner in Charleston, West Virginia
Meshea Poore, President, West Virginia State Bar
Hope in the Hills: Legal Aid of West Virginia’s Strategic Response to Appalachia’s
Challenges
Marjorie McDiarmid (Moderator), WVU College of Law
Priya Baskaran, WVU College of Law
Katherine Garvey, WVU College of Law
John Tull, John A. Tull & Associates
Elizabeth Wehner, Legal Aid of West Virginia
Kate White, Legal Aid of West Virginia
Adrienne Worthy, Legal Aid of West Virginia
Views on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Appalachia from the Bench
and Bar
Jeff Smith (Moderator), Prosecutor, Lawrence County, OH
Honorable Russell Clawges, Jr., Circuit Court Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit, WV
Honorable Patricia Keller, Family Court Judge, 6th Family Court Circuit, WV
Cindy Stanton, Chief Public Defender, 28th Judicial Circuit, WV
Richard Walker, Federal Public Defender, Northern District of West Virginia
Broadband Expansion in West Virginia
Chris Walters, Capital Insurance Group
Charlie Dennie, Alpha Technologies
Rob Hinton, West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council
