RI Employment
Law Summit

Mark Adams is Director of Compliance at the Employers Association of the NorthEast (EANE), where he leads HR compliance operations and directs programs for affirmative action, background checks, and data surveys. A frequent writer and speaker, Mark advises management and C-suite leaders on issues from drug testing to FMLA to independent contractor classification, and is the primary author of EANE's legal e-alerts. He holds a JD from Western New England College School of Law.

Fran DeLuca is a Shareholder at Ogletree Deakins, where he represents employers in labor and employment disputes, including discrimination and retaliation claims, wage-and-hour class and collective actions, whistleblower cases, and unfair competition matters. He has appeared before the EEOC, NLRB, U.S. Department of Labor, and OSHA. Fran also advises employers on handbooks and policies, internal investigations, leaves and accommodations, sensitive terminations, and trade secrets.

David Gomes is Chief Civil Rights Officer and Title IX Coordinator at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he leads the Office of Civil Rights and serves on the Chancellor's Cabinet. He has held professional and executive roles across human resources, healthcare, the appellate courts, private law practice, and financial services. David also teaches Employment Law and Employment Discrimination as an adjunct professor at UMass Law, and holds a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.

Kate Hancock is Director of Human Resources at Saint Elizabeth Community, the oldest and largest nonprofit eldercare provider in Rhode Island, where she leads the HR and payroll teams. She brings more than 20 years of HR experience in multi-site, mission-driven organizations. Kate holds an MBA from UMass Dartmouth, is pursuing her JD at UMass School of Law, and placed second in the 2025 NYSBA Stein Memorial Writing Competition for her research on animals as workplace accommodations.

Walter Hunter is a full-time mediator and arbitrator with more than 40 years of experience in labor and employment law. He serves on panels for the American Arbitration Association, Labor Relations Connection, and the Rhode Island Superior Court, and has been selected in more than 200 cases. A graduate of West Point and the University of Virginia School of Law, Walter was previously a partner at Edwards & Angell, Vice President of Administration at Brown University, and a Shareholder at Littler Mendelson.

Rachel Reingold Mandel is Associate General Counsel, Litigation and Employment, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Before going in-house, she spent nearly 20 years in law firm practice as an employment litigator and advisor. Rachel helps organizations balance innovation and compliance, including the growing use of AI tools across the employment relationship, and is known for practical guidance that respects both business goals and legal obligations.

Bob Morsilli is a Shareholder at Ogletree Deakins, where he helps employers maintain productive workforce relations in both unionized and union-free workplaces. He has negotiated hundreds of collective bargaining agreements across healthcare, higher education, human services, logistics, hospitality, and manufacturing. Bob also defends employers in labor arbitrations, before the NLRB, and in discrimination, wage-and-hour, and reduction-in-force litigation, and is known for proactive advice that aligns workplace policy with business goals.

Judge William E. Smith served more than 23 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, including six as Chief Judge, the youngest in the district's history. He presided over more than 130 trials, authored more than 1,600 opinions, and regularly mediated cases from his own docket and those of fellow judges. Before his 2002 appointment, he practiced labor and employment law for 15 years at Edwards & Angell. He now serves as a mediator, arbitrator, and neutral evaluator with JAMS.

Felicia Sullivan is Senior Counsel, Labor and Employment, at Rhode Island Energy, part of PPL Corporation, where she advises management on employment litigation, leaves of absence, wage and hour, compliance and ethics, and labor law. She previously served as in-house counsel and Director of Labor and Employee Relations at Cambridge Health Alliance, with about 4,700 employees and 14 unions, and as General Counsel at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. She began her career as a criminal prosecutor, trying more than 50 jury trials.