2023-2024 Board of Directors

JENNIFER SCHAUERMAN, President, is a Partner in Woods Oviatt's Litigation Department where she concentrates her practice in insurance defense, insurance coverage, and personal injury 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.  Jennifer and her husband, Chris, reside in Irondequoit with their children Ashley and Allison.   

WENDE KNAPP, President-Elect, is Assistant General Counsel, Employment Law at Procore Technologies, Inc.  Wende is a forward-thinking legal, business, communications, and HR advisor, focusing her practice on employment law counseling and litigation. She has a BA from Canisius College, an MA from Seton Hall University, and her JD from University at Buffalo School of Law. 

After 16 years as a journalist and then a PR executive at Xerox, Wende made a career pivot in 2007. She went to law school and then worked in private practice as a Litigation and Labor & Employment attorney with amazing mentors and colleagues at Woods Oviatt Gilman and Harter Secrest & Emery. She re-joined Xerox in 2014 in its Office of General Counsel and then spent several years with Paychex launching a new service model for the more than 600 customer-facing HR team members. In late-2021, she joined Procore Technologies, Inc. a California-based, hyper-growth construction management software provider where she’s advising every level of the organization on HR- and employment law-related matters around the world and helping develop a global employment law department. Wende is also honored to be a 2011 Forty Under 40 honoree, a 2016 Up-and-Coming Attorney, the recipient of the 2017 Emerging Bar Leader Award, the former chair of the ATHENA International Awards, and past president of Women’s Council, a Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Affiliate. Wende has also been a proud member of GRAWA since 2010 and has served in a variety of capacities including, but not limited to, on the Board of Directors, as WBASNY Delegate and on the following committees: strategic planning, nominating, and women’s connections. She is also currently the board secretary for New York Kitchen and a board member for Causewave Community Partners.

A proud Buffalonian, Wende is married to her partner-in-crime and favorite global traveling companion, Joseph, as well as is an avid DIY-er and has spent the last 23 years honing her electrical, plumbing, and construction skills on her City of Rochester home and cottage on Conesus Lake. She has three adorable, and sometimes mischievous, rescue dogs – Dolly, Hugo, and Gracie Lou!

JOSIE SHEPPARD WILSON, Immediate Past-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 served 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.

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 (21) and Mary (18).

Jaime J. Welch, Programs Co-Chair, is Of Counsel in the Real Estate Development and Finance Department at Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, where she concentrates her practice in the areas of title insurance, commercial real estate transactions, finance and development.  Jaime has been in practice for 15 years, with previous experience as underwriting counsel and real estate settlement counsel at title companies in Rochester and northern Virginia.  Jaime received her B.A. from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.  She is admitted to practice in New York, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Jaime has been an active member of GRAWA since she returned to the Rochester area in 2018. She co-chaired the Family and Careers Committee from 2020-2022. In Jaime’s prior practice in Virginia, she was an active member of the local bar associations and the Real Estate Forms Committee, promulgating area real estate contracts.  Jaime and her husband, Jonathan, an analyst with RAND Corporation, reside in Pittsford with their children Colleen, 9, and Alden, 6.

Tiffany D’Angelo, Programs Co-Chair, is an in house trial attorney for Allstate Insurance where she focuses her practice on defending personal injury actions, including motor vehicle accidents; falls and dog bite cases. She received her Bachelor’s Degree cum laude from Syracuse University and her JD from Syracuse University College of Law.   Tiffany is a member of GRAWA and the MCBA litigation council.  This past year, Tiffany was awarded the Daily Record’s Legal Excellence Award. Previously, Tiffany volunteered with the Center For Youth’s Crisis Nursery and the Pittsford Community Library.  Currently, Tiffany is on the board of MCBA’s Lawyers for Learning Program and has been a volunteer with that organization for the past six years.  During her free time, Tiffany enjoys reading; running; golf and spending time with her 8 year old daughter, Julia and two dogs.

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 in the Litigation Division of the Monroe County Law Department. As a Deputy County Attorney in the Litigation Division, Alissa defends the County against a wide variety of claims. Alissa is a proud graduate of the University of Rochester and SUNY Buffalo Law School. She received her J.D. cum laude in 2013 and began practicing in January 2014. Alissa resides in the City of Rochester with her husband Dan, human children Sophia and Colin, and fur children Maddie and Rosie. 

Grace Mackey Streicher, Judicial Evaluations Committee Co-Chair, is an appellate and trial support attorney at Harris Appeals, P.A., based out of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  She has over a decade of litigation and clerkship experience. Before joining Harris Appeals, Grace served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester, and as a career clerk at Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.  Over the course of her clerkships, Grace drafted hundreds of orders, opinions, and bench memos.  Before clerking, Grace practiced as a civil and commercial litigator in Boca Raton.

At Harris Appeals, Grace’s practice concentrates on appeals, dispositive and evidentiary motion practice, and research and writing support in state and federal court.  She holds a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Ohio, and New York.

When not researching and writing, Grace enjoys spending time with her family, reading, walking, taking fitness classes, and volunteering with the Roc City Rotary club. 

Lakeshia S. McCloud, Media Committee Co-Chair, is a Supervising Attorney in Legal Assistance of Western New York’s (LAWNY) Regional Consumer Law Unit. She is committed to stopping predatory and abusive practices that trap her clients in financial insecurity. The consumer unit has served over 1,000 people to date and helped eliminate more than $500,000 in debt for low-income New Yorkers. Previously, Lakeshia was employed as a Staff Attorney at LawNY where she helped Seniors who were being financially, physically, and/or emotionally abused. Similarly, while a Staff Attorney she helped crime victims and their family members looking to obtain civil legal help. Lakeshia earned her J.D. from Albany Law School in 2015 where she started her work with civil legal services. She enjoys being an active member of the all three local bar associations.

Elizabeth deV. Moeller, Media Committee Co-Chair is a Deputy County Attorney in the Children’s Services Unit prosecuting abuse and neglect petitions on behalf of the Department of Human Services in Family Court, as well as appearing in the Appellate Division on appeals involving these petitions. Prior to her current position, Elizabeth spent  three years working for The Legal Aid Society of Rochester as an Attorney for the Child, representing children in custody, abuse and neglect, and juvenile delinquency proceedings. Elizabeth spent the first 12 years of her career as a civil appellate attorney as an associate of John A. Cirando, Esq. in Syracuse, New York.

Elizabeth grew up in the North Country, attended Syracuse University for her undergraduate education, Lehman College for her Master’s Degree in early childhood education, and returned to Syracuse University for her law degree.  Elizabeth previously worked on communications as a member of the Central New York Women’s Bar Association board and is excited to now have the opportunity to serve on the GRAWA board. Elizabeth is also a member of the Legislative Committee of the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Elizabeth lives in the City of Rochester with her partner, Charles, and her six-year-old daughter. Her home is crowded with visits from her grown step-sons, a dog and a cat, and piles of books. 

Emily M. Scott, Legislative Chair, attended University of Rochester and University of Baltimore School of Law where she received her J.D. She is barred in the state of Maryland and New York. Emily has focused her career around public service and providing representation for underserved and unrepresented populations in the family court system.  She has volunteered for several community organizations both in the Buffalo and Rochester area.  Emily has been active in GRAWA, co-chairing the Books and Bottles Committee.  Emily is a certified foster parent and an avid runner.

ERIN ELMOUJI, Membership Chair, is a Partner at the firm of Weaver Mancuso Brightman PLLC, where she focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation.  Erin received GRAWA's President's Award in 2022, was awarded the Legal Excellence Award as an Up and Coming Attorney in 2021 by the Rochester Business Journal and The Daily Record, was named "One to Watch" in 2021 for Commercial Litigation by "The Best Lawyers in America," and has been consistently recognized by SuperLawyers® from 2015-2022. 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 and joining the firm of Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP in 2019. 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 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, and was a co-chair of GRAWA's Diversity Committee for the past two years. Erin also serves on the Litigation Council of the MCBA, and was selected as one of only eleven community members comprising the inaugural antiracism task force of the MCBA: the President’s Commission on Anti-Racism. Erin lives in Pittsford with her husband (Adil), and their four daughters.

Senovia M. Moncada, CLE Co-Chair, is an Equal Opportunity & Title IX Investigator with the University of Rochester’s Office of Equity and Inclusion. Senovia ensures compliance with the University’s Policy against Discrimination and Harassment, as well as federal Title IX regulations. Senovia conducts internal investigations into allegations of discrimination and harassment on the basis of a protected class. Prior to joining the University of Rochester, Senovia was an Associate at a mid-size law firm in Rochester, New York, practicing civil litigation.

Senovia serves on various community boards, including the Women’s Bar Association in the State of New York, as Co-Chair of the Amicus Committee; the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, as Co-Chair of the CLE Committee; and Borinquen Dance Theatre, a Rochester based dance company that provides underrepresented students with the opportunity to develop and practice self-discipline through the mental and physical training afforded by dance. Senovia also volunteers with Operation Freedom Ride, a Rochester based dog and cat rescue, to foster dogs. 

Senovia is a 2018 graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law, and received her Bachelor of Arts in History, with a minor in Global Gender Studies, from the University at Buffalo in 2014.

LAURA A. MYERS, CLE Co-Chair, is Of Counsel at Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC. Laura is a versatile commercial litigator. She represents mid-market companies and large organizations across a variety of industries in matters integral to business operations. Laura provides risk avoidance counseling to clients to avoid costly adversarial situations and is experienced in alternative dispute resolution proceedings, including arbitration and mediation.  Laura is admitted to practice law in New York and Ohio, and is a registered patent attorney.  Prior to moving to Bond, Laura was the Managing Partner of The Wolford Law Firm, LLP, which was a Certified Woman Owned Business.

Laura has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation, Labor and Employment and Personal Injury Litigation for 2020 through 2023.  Laura has received the Daily Record’s Top Women in the Law Award, the Rochester Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 award, The MCBA’s Emerging Bar Leader Award, and The Daily Record’s Up & Coming Attorneys’ Award.  Laura is a graduate of the University at Buffalo where she obtained her law degree and MBA, and served as an Articles Editor on the Buffalo Law Review.  Laura, her husband Curtis and their two children,  Jacob and Evelyn live in Pittsford.

KAREEN ZEITOUNZIAN, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chair, is Senior Counsel at Harris Beach, PLLC, where she focuses her practice on business and commercial litigation.  She also concentrates a portion of her practice on the defense of medical providers and human service agencies on federal and state compliance matters.  Prior to joining Harris Beach, Kareen served in the Appeals Department of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, as well as in Monroe County Family Court.   

Kareen is a long-time resident of Rochester and an alumna of Pittsford Mendon High School.  She received a B.A. from the University of Rochester, cum laude, and her J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.  She has been a member of GRAWA and the Monroe County Bar Association since 2006.  She also serves as an active member of local and international civic organizations, including The Rotary Club of Fairport (where she is currently serving as Co-President) and NMD United, Inc.  As a result of her dedication to pro bono work and volunteerism, she was named New York State Bar Association Empire State Counsel Honoree in 2009, a recipient of VLSP’s William E. McKnight Award in 2010, and a recipient of Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow Award in 2015.  In December 2015, Kareen was featured in The American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights’ Lawyer Spotlight, and she was later invited to author a chapter in The American Bar Association’s 2017 publication, Grit, The Secret to Advancement.  Kareen was named “One to Watch” in 2021 and 2022 by The Best Lawyers in America. 

Kareen’s grandparents were survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, and her parents were refugees of the Lebanese Civil War (1975 - 1990).  Kareen was born in Athens, Greece and immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1981.  In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, musical and visual arts, and cultural food experiences.

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.

Jessica Naclerio, WBASNY Delegate, is an associate at Trevett Cristo where she focuses on criminal defense. Jessica received her undergraduate degree from Boston University, magna cum laude and her law degree from DePaul University. She began her career at the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office before entering private practice five years ago. She is a recipient of the 2019 Jeff Jacobs award and a 2020 NLG Pro Bono Service Award recipient. Jessica is a member of the Board of Directors at the Center for Youth where she serves as the chair of the Governance Committee. Jessica is also an adjunct professor at SU Law where she teaches trial advocacy. In her free time, Jessica enjoys spending time outside with her family and dogs, cooking and reading.