2022-2023 Board of Directors

JOSIE SHEPPARD WILSON, President, is Of Counsel in the commercial litigation group at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, with a particular practice focus in construction and surety, toxic tort, products liability, premises liability, and personal injury. Her prior experience includes representing companies, municipalities and individuals in breach of contract disputes, complex commercial litigation, personal injury matters, discrimination lawsuits, unfair labor practice claims and municipal procurement litigation. In December 2022, Josie Sheppard Wilson was listed in the prestigious Power 50 Law List published by Rochester Business Journal and Daily Record. From 2020 to the present, Ms. Wilson has been listed in the annual Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. In, 2015, she received the Daily Record's Up & Coming Attorney Award. As a result of her dedication to pro bono work, Ms. Wilson was the sole recipient in New York State for the 2015 New York State Bar Association President's Young Lawyer Award, as well as a recipient of VLSP's William E. McKnight Award. Ms. Wilson has been consistently named a New York State Bar Association Empire State Counsel Honoree every year since 2013.

Ms. Wilson is also very active with the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA), and will serve as the President of GRAWA for 2022-2023. Ms. Wilson serves as a Board of Director for the Volunteer Legal Services Project (VLSP) and member of the New York State Bar Association, Monroe County Bar Association (MCBA), and Rochester Black Bar Association (RBBA). She previously served as a Board of Director for RBBA, and Trustee Board Member for the MCBA.

Ms. Wilson graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor's of Science in Real Estate and Land Use Economics. She earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Ms. Wilson is admitted to practice in the State of New York, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York and U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York.

JENNIFER SCHAUERMAN, President-Elect, is a Partner in Woods Oviatt's Litigation Department where she concentrates her practice in insurance defense, insurance coverage litigation, personal injury, and construction/surety litigation. Jennifer received her J.D. degree from the University at Buffalo Law School. She received her B.A. from Nazareth College. She was named "One to Watch" in 2021 for Litigation- Construction and Personal Injury Litigation- Defendants by "The Best Lawyers in America." She also received University of Buffalo Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Award in 2016. In 2013, she was named an "Up & Coming Attorney" by The Daily Record. In both 2014 and 2016, Jennifer was named "Upstate New York Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine.

STACEY E. TRIEN, Immediate Past-President, is a Partner with Adams Leclair, LLP, where she focuses on employment law and commercial litigation, representing businesses and individuals involved in lawsuits and arising out of employment law disputes, employment discrimination claims, and contractual issues. Stacey also provides employment law support to businesses and educational institutions by reviewing and updating policies and procedures, performing internal investigations, conducting training on sexual harassment and general compliance matters, preparing employment contracts and severance agreements, and offering human resources guidance.

Stacey is an alumna of Brighton High School and received a B.A. from the University of Rochester, cum laude, after which she attended The George Washington University Law School. Stacey then practiced business and employment litigation in Miami, Florida for a decade before deciding to move back to her home-town of Rochester, where she joined her current firm. On moving to the area Stacey immediately joined GRAWA and was invited to join its Board of Directors, which was integral to her success in becoming a leader in the local legal community. Stacey is a proud recipient of GRAWA’s President’s Award in 2018 for her work on the PAD project, providing access and dignity to women in need of hygiene products. Stacey and her husband Joe Abramsky met as counselors at Camp Seneca Lake in Penn Yan, New York, and live in Pittsford.

REGINA MACADAM, Treasurer, works in-house as Assistant General Counsel at Rochester Regional Health. She began her career as a health care attorney in Washington, D.C. After working in D.C. for six years, Regina returned to her hometown of Rochester, New York. She worked at a number of law firms in health law, the last one Harris Beach PLLC, before joining Rochester Regional Health in 2017. She received her B.A. from Columbia College, cum laude, in 1990 and her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1993. Regina joined GRAWA when her oldest daughter was a baby, and spent many years attending Family & Career Committee meetings as she juggled career and family, eventually serving as co-chair of that committee. She served on the Memorial Art Gallery Board of Directors for 15 years. Regina and her husband, Stephen, live in Brighton with their two daughters, Maggie (18) and Mary (15).

Carolina Hale, Program Committee Co-Chair, is Assistant Counsel for the New York State Justice Center where she provides protection for people with special needs.

KATHERINE MCCARLEY, Program Committee Co-Chair, is an Associate at Underberg & Kessler LLP. Focusing her practice on litigation, Katherine has assisted in the litigation of estate, health care, and corporate matters. After receiving her Bachelor’s from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, Katherine continued to the University at Buffalo School of Law and graduated in May 2020. Although not a Rochester native, born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Katherine decided to plant roots in Rochester when she served as a Summer Intern for the MCBA Clerkship program in 2018. Having recognized the opportunities for making connections and the networkability of the Greater Rochester Area, Katherine determined Rochester, New York was a great place to start her career. When not working, Katherine is either spending time with her family, painting, bowling, or taking long walks in an effort to maintain her cool, calm and collective demeanor.

HINNA UPAL, Nominating Committee Chair, provides practical solutions and strategic guidance to multinational employers on a wide range of international employment and compliance concerns and in litigation. Her competencies cover a range of workplace topics, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and accommodations at the state and federal levels and before administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the New York State Division of Human Rights. She also guides employers on the intricacies associated with employment in multiple nations and the difficulties associated with conflicting jurisdictional obligations.

Before joining Littler, Hinna was the deputy general counsel at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She also served as a law clerk to the Hon. William E. Smith, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, and Justice Francis X. Flaherty, Rhode Island Supreme Court.

ALISSA BRENNAN, Judicial Evaluation Committee Co-Chair, is a Deputy County Attorney at the County of Monroe.

JODIE L. RYAN, Judicial Evaluation Committee Co-Chair, is Partner at the Rochester law office of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP. She concentrates her practice in the area of civil and commercial litigation with emphasis on personal injury, products liability, asbestos disease litigation, chemical exposure/toxic torts and commercial collections matters. Jodie received her Bachelor’s Degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo cum laude, and her J.D. from Albany Law School. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the Fairport Baptist Homes Caring Ministries Foundation from 2009 to 2015. Jodie is also a past president of GRAWA (2017 to 2018) and has served in a variety of other board positions, including Judicial Evaluation Committee and Nominations Committee chair. Currently, she is also a member of the Rochester Women’s Network, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Defense Research Institute (DRI). She is also a member of the American Bar Association, Monroe County Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association. Jodie frequently volunteers her time to Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County where she assists with landlord/tenant matters and name change petitions.

Jodie is a past recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Award for Pro Bono service The Daily Record’s Up and Coming Attorney award. In 2019, Jodie received The Daily Record’s Attorney of the Year Award, as she was honored as a Leader in Law. The award is given to attorneys who demonstrate professional accomplishment, exceptional character, integrity and ethics, and commitment to their clients and community.

Lakeshia McCloud, Media Committee Co-Chair, works for Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.

LAUREN WHITING, Media Committee Co-Chair, is a Trust Fiduciary Officer at ESL Trust Services, LLC. Lauren focuses her practice in the areas of trust and estate administration. She oversees the daily administration and asset management of trusts, communicates with beneficiaries, donors, and fiduciaries, facilitates distributions, reviews and files trust tax returns, and maintains accounting records.

Lauren received her Bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University (magna cum laude) and her J.D. (cum laude) from Michigan State University College of Law. Lauren serves as a Board Member for the Monroe County Bar Association Trust and Estates Section, the Estate Planning Council of Rochester, and as an Advancement Committee member of The Volunteers of America Upstate New York. Lauren was recently named as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Trusts & Estates and Trusts & Estates - Litigation. In 2018, Lauren received the Daily Record’s Up & Coming Attorney Award. Lauren enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with her two-year old daughter, Aubree, husband, Jake, family, and friends.

VICKI BELSTADT, Legislative Chair, is a Staff Attorney at Just Cause New York.

JENNIFER JOVCEVSKI, Membership Chair, is a Corporate Associate at Nixon Peabody LLP in the firm’s Corporate Group and is the Host and Creator of the She Talks Law® podcast, a podcast which provides legal education to women entrepreneurs and business owners nationwide.  Jen counsels public and privately held clients on various corporate legal matters, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.  A former urban Teach for America teacher, Jen also established a niche practice area in charter school law and represents charter schools across the northeast.  Aside from GRAWA, Jen is also quite active in the Rochester women’s community as Governance Chair for the Board of Trustees of the Young Womens College Prep Charter School and a member of the Rochester Chamber Womens’ Council and Monroe County Bar Association Business Law Council.  Jen was named an ATHENA Young Professional finalist in 2023, a recipient of the “Forty Under 40” Award by the Rochester Business Journal in 2022, the “Up and Coming Attorney” Award by the Daily Record in 2019 and is listed in the SuperLawyers® Rising Star, 2016-2023 Editions.  She was also named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list in 2023 in the area of Corporate law.  A Canandaigua native, Jen now resides in Rochester with her husband, Jimmy, and 2 young sons, Jax and Jagger.

SENOVIA MONCADA is a CLE Committee Co-Chair.

REBECCA RUSSO, CLE Committee Co-Chair, has been an attorney with Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.'s (LawNY®) Rochester office since 2007. She formed the Finger Lakes Legal Care medical legal partnership, a project of LawNY®, which embeds attorneys in healthcare settings. The project helps patients of participating practices address social determinants of health. Rebecca co-supervised LawNY's Health Law Unit for six and half years, before pivoting to focus on medical legal partnership client services and program development full time in 2021. Before joining LawNY, Rebecca was the Legal Program Coordinator at Syracuse University College of Law's Disability Law and Policy Program where she managed projects for students and community members on accessibility awareness. She is a 2020 recipient of the Daily Record Excellence in Law award, serves as the Vice President of Inclusive Woods and Us, is an active member of the National Lawyers Guild Rochester Chapter, and is the proud mom to a second grader in the RCSD. Rebecca received her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and is a graduate of Brandeis University.

KATERINA “KAT” KRAMARCHYK, Diversity Committee Co-Chair, is an associate at Harris Beach PLLC. Kat is a business and commercial litigator, and provides counsel to a wide range of diverse organizations including large and small technology companies, manufacturers, sureties, banks, hospitals and health care facilities, commercial property owners, and school districts. Kat received her J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University, cum laude (Justinian Honor Society), in 2013, and her M.B.A., with honors (Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society), from Union Graduate College in 2013. Kat is an active member of the Rochester community, having served on GRAWA’s Board since 2018, and the Monroe County Bar Association’s Board of Trustees since 2021. Kat was the 2017 recipient of the MCBA’s Raymond J. Pauley Award, the 2019 recipient of the MCBA’s Emerging Bar Leader Award, named one of The Daily Record’s Up and Coming Attorneys in 2020, selected to the 2021 and 2022 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list in the categories of Commercial Litigation, and Litigation – Intellectual Property, and was a 2023 recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyers Award, presented by the Young Lawyer’s Section.

When not working, Kat enjoys reading, exploring new cities, running, walking, hiking and yoga.

ERIN ELMOUJI, Diversity Committee Co-Chair, is Of Counsel to the law firm Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, where she focuses her practice on commercial litigation. Erin is a Fellow in the Trial Lawyer Honorary Society of Litigation Counsel of America, has been recognized in the SuperLawyers® Rising Star editions 2015-2018, 2020, and was named "One to Watch" in 2021 for Commercial Litigation by The Best Lawyers in America. Originally from the Southern Tier, Erin earned her B.A. and M.A. from St. Bonaventure University, and her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Erin practiced with the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in Manhattan for six years before moving to the Rochester area in 2018. Erin devotes a substantial portion of her practice to pro bono legal representation, primarily in the areas of social justice and protection of civil rights. While at Paul, Weiss, Erin was a key member of the team that successfully litigated a class action challenging the NYPD's discriminatory stop-and-frisk policies and practices, and she managed the team of Paul, Weiss attorneys representing incarcerated individuals seeking sentence commutation under the Obama Administration's Clemency Project 2014 initiative. In Rochester, Erin is an outspoken member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at Woods Oviatt, and has been actively involved in the Lawyers' Coalition for Racial and Social Justice, a coalition of the Monroe County Bar Association, Rochester Black Bar Association, and GRAWA. Erin has played a central role in planning and presenting a number of evocative and relevant programs sponsored by the Lawyers' Coalition for Racial and Social Justice over the last two years, including programs highlighting institutional bias in suburban schools, exploring movements to defund police, discussing the history and continued perpetration of voter suppression tactics, and increasing awareness of historical and current racial disparities in healthcare. Erin lives in Pittsford with her husband (Adil), and their three daughters.

CATHERINE CERULLI, WBASNY Delegate, Catherine Cerulli, PhD, is currently a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Dr. Cerulli is the Director of Susan B. Anthony Center and the Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization. She received a PhD in criminal justice from SUNY at Albany, NY in 2004 and her Master's Degree in criminal justice from SUNY at Albany, NY in 1998. She holds a JD from the University at Buffalo law school. Dr. Cerulli received the Excellence in Public Service award from the SUNY Albany Alumni Association in 2014 and the National Institute of Mental Health New Investigator Award in 2005.

She was formerly an Assistant District Attorney in Monroe County, New York, where she created a special misdemeanor domestic violence unit in 1995. She has been working on issues surrounding domestic violence and child abuse for over three decades, in a variety of capacities. Various federal agencies have funded Dr. Cerulli's work, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Justice, the Office on Violence Against Women, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Veteran's Administration. She works internationally to ameliorate violence and currently is assisting with projects addressing the health and welfare of individuals living in the Sub Mekong region. She is a founding Board Member for the Crisis Nursery of Greater Rochester, Inc., a grass roots organization providing emergency respite care for greater Rochester area families with young children.

MARIA JOSE CUBILLOS REED, WBASNY Delegate, is the owner of Cubillos Reed Law, PLLC, a solo practice concentrated in Family, Matrimonial, and Immigration Law. She sits on the Advisory Committee of the Fourth Department Attorneys for Children Program as well as the Advisory Committee for the Monroe County Assigned Counsel Program. Maria is a recipient of the 2020 Daily Record Excellent in Law, Top Women in Law award as well as the 2017 Empire State Counsel Award for pro bono service. Maria has been a speaker for the Monroe County Bar Association on immigration matters as well as on running a solo practice. Prior to starting her own practice, Maria worked in small boutique firms, a national collections law firm as well as at The Legal Aid Society representing children. Maria currently serves on the Board of CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Heritage Christian Services.

Maria is a native of Colombia and a fluent Spanish speaker. Maria is a graduate of the University of Rochester and Boston University School of Law.