Speakers

Sarah Cramer is Manager of Administrative Services at Lathrop GPM LLP. Her primary focus is coordination, management and development of legal administrative assistants in the firm's Kansas City, Missouri, office. Cramer has more than 12 years of law firm experience in various legal support roles. She joined ALA in 2013 and is an active Greater Kansas City Chapter member, serving in various roles including Chapter President, Business Partner Committee Co-Chair and Membership Committee Chair. Sarah serves on ALA's Chapter Resource Team.

Andrea Everage, CLM, MHR, PHR, SHRM-CP, is a human resource professional with a master’s degree focused in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. She is skilled in administration, management, facilities, organizational development and recruiting. Everage attained her Certified Legal Manager (CLM)^® designation during the November 2020 testing cycle. 

Wendy Feiner, CLM, PHR, SHRM-CP, is the Office Administrator for the Las Vegas office of Fox Rothschild LLP. She has more than 20 years of experience in legal administration. Feiner is a member of ALA’s Las Vegas Chapter where she has served in a variety of positions, including her current role as Chapter President. On an international level, she was a 2018 Regional Conference Committee member and is currently an incoming member of the Chapter Resource Team. 

Brian Gilman, CLM, is Chief Operating Officer of Smith Debnam in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has 30 years of experience as a financial and operations executive in the telecommunications, financial services and nonprofit industries; the past 17 years have been spent in the legal profession. He currently serves on the ALA Board of Directors. His ALA service also includes President of the Raleigh-Durham Chapter and four years on its board, the ALA Regional Nominating Committee and Region 2 Representative. 

Kameelah Hakeem, MBA, is the Office Administrator at Blank Rome LLP’s Los Angeles, California, office. As the incoming President of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter, Hakeem is excited about 2021-2022 and bringing innovation and creativity by leveraging diversity and the talent in her chapter to offer continuing education to its members. She is also a new member of ALA’s Chapter Resource Team. Hakeem attended law school and has a master’s in business administration. She is a Notary Public and a certified life insurance agent. 

Stacie Hedrick entered the legal industry in December 1999 and is currently Director of Administration for Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, PC, in Denver, Colorado. She joined ALA in 2005 for its limitless educational and networking opportunities and has been an active member ever since. Hedrick is a member of the Chapter Resource Team and has served on various committees, including the Professional Development Advisory Committee and the Business Partner Relations Committee. She graduated from Colorado State University.

Marlys Hickman is the Office Administrator for the Philadelphia office of Fox Rothschild. She has been a member of the ALA for 10 years and is serving her second year as a member of the Chapter Resource Team. Hickman is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter and has served in a variety of roles with the chapter’s board, including as the Assistant Vice President of Business Partner Relations, Vice President of Business Partner Relations and Chapter President. She also served as a Planning Committee member for ALA’s 2017 and 2018 Business of Law Conferences.

Eric L. Hightower, CLM, SPHR, is the Director of Administration for Davis Agnor Rapaport & Skalny LLC. He manages the key areas of the firm’s operations and shares the responsibility for the implementation of the strategic plan and practice management. He is an active member in various roles on both the local and international levels of ALA. He currently serves on ALA’s Board of Directors and is a Past President of the Maryland Chapter. Hightower has a bachelor’s in business administration from University of Maryland University College and is currently pursuing his MBA. He was awarded the distinction of Unsung Legal Hero by The Maryland Daily Record and is a frequent speaker on the topic of best practices in legal management. 

Stephanie Hood is the Chief Operating Officer of Sulloway & Hollis in Concord, New Hampshire. With more than 25 years of law firm experience, she works closely with firm leadership to draft and improve process, develop and implement strategy, and focus on the financial and cultural health of the firm. Hood has served the Boston Chapter in many capacities, including as President. In addition, she has served as the President of the Foundation of ALA. She will join the Chapter Resource Team this spring.

Katherine Keele is the Chief Financial Officer at Lewis Wagner, LLP, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a member of the Indiana Chapter, where she served as Director of Communications for several years. She is currently serving her first term on the Chapter Resource Team.

Suzy Klepac is the Office Administrator at Kirk & Chaney PLLC in Oklahoma City, where she has worked since May 2017. Klepac has been a member of ALA since December 2014 and is a member of the Oklahoma City Chapter. Since 2015, she has served in an ALA leadership role either at the chapter or international level, including a two-year term as Chapter President and as the Chair of the Product and Service Review Committee. Klepac will begin a two-year term as a Chapter Resource Team member beginning May 2021. She also serves as a Co-Moderator for the First Five Online Community.

Amanda Koplos, CLM, CPA, is the Executive Director of Orlando-based Shuffield, Lowman and Wilson, P.A. She has more than 16 years of experience in law firm management at firms of multiple sizes. Koplos received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Texas State University and her MBA with a concentration in accounting from St. Edward’s University. Koplos has been active in ALA since February 2005. She has held numerous positions at the local, regional and international levels. She was on the Austin Chapter’s board for many years and served as the 2009-2010 Chapter President. She served on the 2012 Annual Conference Planning Committee, spent three years as a member of the Association’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Committee, and will officially begin her three-year term on the Association’s Board of Directors in May 2021.

Kevin S. Lee, JD, MDiv, is the Building Management Administrator for the City of San Jose. He has been in the legal profession for more than 25 years, working as a Senior Litigation Legal Analyst — specializing in intellectual property and general business litigation with several prominent law firms — and as a Legal Support Manager at the City of San Jose Attorney’s Office. Lee received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University. He earned his JD from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law. He also earned his master’s degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. Additionally, he served as a board member for ALA’s Silicon Valley Chapter and is currently a member of ALA’s Chapter Resource Team. He is also a member of the American Bar Association.

Clara Onderdonk is the Office Manager at Ernstrom & Dreste, LLP, in Rochester, New York. She is a member of the Western and Central New York Chapter, where she served as the Membership Officer from 2005 to 2007 and as President in 2008. She served ALA at the international level on the Annual Conference & Expo Committee, the Regional Nominating Committee as a member and chair, the Association Nominating Committee and as a Region 1 Representative. Onderdonk is currently on the Chapter Resource Team.

Sharon Stewart is Office Administrator for Lowenstein Sandler LLP in New York City. She has been an active member of ALA since 1999 and was formerly a member of the New Jersey and Capital Chapters. She has been a member of the New York City Chapter since 2007, taking the role of President from 2015 to 2016 and serving on several chapter committees. She has been an active member of the Chapter Resource Team since its inception in 2019.

Kathryn Vidal, CLM, SHRM-CP, is the Office Manager at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP. She has been a legal administrator since 1992. She has served ALA in several capacities, including Vice President and President of the Houston Chapter and member and Chair of the Regional Legal Management Conference Committee. She is currently on the Certification Committee and is an incoming member of the Chapter Resource Team. Vidal has a PhD in French.