The Realities of Bias - Fact or Fiction

Linda M. Gadsby is the General Counsel at the National Board of Medical Examiners. 

Previous, Linda served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, and a leading developer of educational technology. She was responsible for handling the labor and employment law issues for the approximately 7,000 domestic employees, as well as international labor and employment issues in the UK, Canada, Puerto Rico, and other locations, immigration, and employee benefits law.

In recognition of her accomplishments, in 2014, Ms. Gadsby was honored by NYU School of Law’s Women of Color Collective, was named Alumnus of the month by NYU Law, and received Chambers USA Women in Law’s Outstanding Contribution to Mentoring Award. She has also been recognized by the Girls Scouts of Greater New York as one of their Women of Distinction, by the Network Journal Magazine as one of the Top 25 Women in Business, and by Diversity Magazine as one of their Top 100 Under 50 Executive Leaders. Ms. Gadsby previously served on the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy.

Mrs. Alvarado is currently Deputy General Counsel of First Cash Financial Services, Inc., a publically traded company on the NASDAQ stock exchange. She is the first person to hold this position within the company. Previously, she was an attorney with Tanner & Associates, P.C., in Fort Worth, and Hill Gilstrap, P.C. in Arlington, Texas where she specialized in labor, employment and commercial litigation and trials. Mrs. Alvarado is a graduate of Leadership Fort Worth’s Leading Edge Program.

She is currently serving on the Women’s Policy Forum Foundation Board, the Board of Girl Scouts Texas Oklahoma Plains, and an active member and past board member of Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas-Fort Worth Chapter (HWNT-FW). She serves on committees within these organizations.

In 2011, Mrs. Alvarado was selected as one of the recipients of the Fort Worth Business Press 2011 “40 under 40”. The “40 under 40” list honors select men and women under the age of 40 who are helping to shape the future through their business and community involvement.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Bentley University in Massachusetts, her Master’s in Business Administration from McCallum Graduate School at Bentley University in Massachusetts and her law degree from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Diana Toman joined Compass Minerals as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary in November 2015. Ms. Toman is responsible for directing the organization’s legal affairs, which includes corporate governance, merger and acquisition activity, SEC reporting, commercial matters, litigation oversight, environmental matters, corporate compliance, intellectual property, and labor and employment law, among other areas.

Prior to joining the company, Ms. Toman served as vice president, strategy and general counsel, Asia Pacific and Africa based in Thailand, for General Cable Corporation, a Fortune 500 global wire and cable manufacturing company. Her prior experience includes multiple roles in senior management, including corporate counsel and corporate secretary positions at Gardner Denver, Inc. and Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. She began her career as an attorney with the law firm of Levy & Craig, P.C.

Ms. Toman earned her doctorate in law from the University of Kansas School of Law and her master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in political science and english from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

N. Katie Manley is an Assistant General Counsel and Vice President at Cantor Fitzgerald. At Cantor Fitzgerald, Katie advises on a variety of labor and employment and related matters, including hiring, discipline, termination, onboarding, compensation, non-solicitation, non-competition, negotiating and drafting employee and independent contractor agreements, wage and hour compliance, accommodations, and workers’ compensation.

Prior to joining Cantor Fitzgerald, Katie served as the Labor and Employment Counsel for Burberry Limited’s Americas region.

Previously, Katie was an employment defense litigator in the Employment Law Department of Paul Hastings LLP. Her practice involved representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment law before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Katie also advised and counseled employers on preventative and risk adverse management practices, including compliance with various federal, state, and local laws.

Katie received her J.D. from Duke University School of Law and her B.A. from The University of Kansas. Katie is admitted to practice in New York and Georgia.