Mary Opperman is Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of Human Resources at Cornell University. Her role encompasses oversight of the Division of Human Resources, the Office of Inclusion and Belonging, Institutional Equity and Title IX Compliance, and the Center for Regional Economic Advancement. Prior to joining Cornell in 1996, Ms. Opperman spent 13 years in the human resource function at Harvard University. She also has served on numerous boards of local and national organizations, which currently include the boards of Tompkins County Area Development, the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County, the Sciencenter, the Boyce Thompson Institute, the National Academy of Human Resources Foundation, and Ithaca College. Ms. Opperman holds a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oneonta in Political Science and an M.S. in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University.
Event Overview
In this webinar, you’ll discover how several women leaders found their calling in labor management relations. From talent management, to compliance, to contract negotiation, our panelists will discuss the paths leading to their current roles as well as how each was inspired to pursue a career in labor and employment relations. Following the discussion will be a moderated question-and-answer session with the audience.
The third of three roundtable events featuring women leaders in employment and labor law policy and practice, these discussions are sponsored by a grant from The President’s Council for Cornell Women entitled “See One, Be One: Women Leaders in Labor Law.”
What You'll Learn
- Opportunities and career paths in labor and employment relations within unions and management
- What inspired and motivated our panelists to pursue their career paths
- The challenges that our panelists faced while navigating their careers and how they addressed them
Speakers
Nicole Buffalano is a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, a law firm offering litigation, corporate, labor and employment, and intellectual property services. Ms. Buffalano’s practice focuses primarily on traditional labor matters and the National Labor Relations Act. She represents clients in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, and other collective bargaining matters, as well as in proceedings before the NLRB, including unfair labor practices proceedings and union elections. Ms. Buffalano also counsels clients across a range of labor and employment issues, including those related to business organizations and corporate transactions, workplace investigations, employee handbooks, and collective bargaining related to the California Labor Code. Her clients span a variety of industries, such as sports and entertainment, hospitality, healthcare, automotive, trucking, maritime, and manufacturing. Before joining Morgan Lewis, Ms. Buffalano was an NLRB board attorney in New York and Los Angeles. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and J.D. from Catholic University.
Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a union of 1.7 million teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early-childhood educators.
Before her election as AFT president in 2008, Ms. Weingarten served for 11 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, representing approximately 200,000 educators in the New York City public school system as well as home childcare providers and other workers in health, law, and education.
Ms. Weingarten was included in Washingtonian’s 2021 Washington’s Most Influential People, and in 2013 the New York Observer named her one of the most influential New Yorkers of the past 25 years. She holds degrees from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Cardozo School of Law.
Samantha Dulaney is General Counsel for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE). In 2008, Ms. Dulaney was named as the first in-house counsel in the IATSE General Office. With a membership of over 150,000, IATSE is the largest labor union representing behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment and related industries. In her role, Ms. Dulaney assists in contract negotiation with some of America’s largest entertainment industry employers and provides assistance to union representatives on behalf of 360 IATSE local unions. She holds a Master’s degree in Letters of Law from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Dulaney is currently a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the Board of Directors of the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance.
Mary Opperman is Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of Human Resources at Cornell University. Her role encompasses oversight of the Division of Human Resources, the Office of Inclusion and Belonging, Institutional Equity and Title IX Compliance, and the Center for Regional Economic Advancement. Prior to joining Cornell in 1996, Ms. Opperman spent 13 years in the human resource function at Harvard University. She also has served on numerous boards of local and national organizations, which currently include the boards of Tompkins County Area Development, the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County, the Sciencenter, the Boyce Thompson Institute, the National Academy of Human Resources Foundation, and Ithaca College. Ms. Opperman holds a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oneonta in Political Science and an M.S. in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University.
Nicole Buffalano is a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, a law firm offering litigation, corporate, labor and employment, and intellectual property services. Ms. Buffalano’s practice focuses primarily on traditional labor matters and the National Labor Relations Act. She represents clients in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, and other collective bargaining matters, as well as in proceedings before the NLRB, including unfair labor practices proceedings and union elections. Ms. Buffalano also counsels clients across a range of labor and employment issues, including those related to business organizations and corporate transactions, workplace investigations, employee handbooks, and collective bargaining related to the California Labor Code. Her clients span a variety of industries, such as sports and entertainment, hospitality, healthcare, automotive, trucking, maritime, and manufacturing. Before joining Morgan Lewis, Ms. Buffalano was an NLRB board attorney in New York and Los Angeles. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and J.D. from Catholic University.
Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a union of 1.7 million teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early-childhood educators.
Before her election as AFT president in 2008, Ms. Weingarten served for 11 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, representing approximately 200,000 educators in the New York City public school system as well as home childcare providers and other workers in health, law, and education.
Ms. Weingarten was included in Washingtonian’s 2021 Washington’s Most Influential People, and in 2013 the New York Observer named her one of the most influential New Yorkers of the past 25 years. She holds degrees from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Cardozo School of Law.
Samantha Dulaney is General Counsel for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE). In 2008, Ms. Dulaney was named as the first in-house counsel in the IATSE General Office. With a membership of over 150,000, IATSE is the largest labor union representing behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment and related industries. In her role, Ms. Dulaney assists in contract negotiation with some of America’s largest entertainment industry employers and provides assistance to union representatives on behalf of 360 IATSE local unions. She holds a Master’s degree in Letters of Law from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Dulaney is currently a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the Board of Directors of the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance.
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