Brooks W. Boron is an Attorney and Principal at Lemmerbrock & Boron, LLC. He currently practices labor and employment law, representing public and private labor unions and employees. He attended The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law where he received his J.D. along with a Certificate in Dispute Resolution. During his time at Moritz, Brooks served as the Editor-in-Chief for the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, the official journal for the American Bar Association's Section on Dispute Resolution. Prior to law school, he graduated in three years from the George Washington University after studying Political Science, Economics, and Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. Brooks has a passion for community service with the goal of improving the lives of others through law and policy. At the age of 12, he was the youngest precinct leader in the country for a Presidential campaign. Ever since, he has stayed highly involved with politics and community service.

Sara Clark, a Columbus, Ohio native, is a distinguished legal professional with a passion for education and an extensive background in school law. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Ohio State University and received her juris doctor degree from Capital University Law School.
 
As a licensed attorney and member of the State Bar of Ohio, Sara brings a wealth of legal knowledge to her role as Chief Legal Counsel at the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA). In her current capacity, Sara provides technical assistance and consultation services to Ohio’s school board members and the diverse districts they serve, helping them to understand their responsibilities in an increasingly complex legal environment.
 
Sara is a frequent presenter and lecturer in the area of school law throughout the United States and has authored numerous articles in various state and federal publications.

Sarah Rudolph Cole is the Michael E. Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution. She teaches courses in mediation, arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, torts, and labor law. She is a professional arbitrator and mediator and arbitrates labor, employment, and commercial cases for AAA, CPR, and the State of Ohio. A nationally prominent expert on alternative dispute resolution, Professor Cole researches and writes about legal and policy issues that arise because of the increased use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the justice system, particularly arbitration and mediation. Her scholarship has been published in journals including the Washington University Law Review, the UC Davis Law Review, and the Georgia Law Review. She is also co-author of Mediation: Law, Policy and Practice, the leading treatise in mediation, and of Dispute Resolution: Negotiation, Mediation and Other Processes, one of the country's leading dispute resolution casebooks. She is also a co-author of Discussions in Dispute Resolution: The Foundational Articles. Professor Cole has held numerous service and leadership positions. She is a member of the American Law Institute and an American Bar Foundation Fellow. Additionally, she is a steering member of the Divided Community Project at Moritz College of Law. Professor Cole received the 2022-23 ABA Section on Dispute Resolution Outstanding Scholarly Work Award. In 2022, she received the CPR Outstanding Article Award and the Outstanding Book Award.

Don Collins is a former SERB General Counsel and now serves as an Arbitrator, Fact Finder and Mediator.   His practice includes both private and public labor and employment matters as well as mediating employment cases in Federal Court.  He serves on the Ohio State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Executive Council and is Chair of OSBA’s Public Sector Labor and Employment Committee.  He is currently on the neutral panels for FMCS, AAA, FINRA, SERB and the City of Columbus. He was an Adjunct Professor at Capital University where he taught Labor Law for 5 years and has guest lectured on Labor Law at various law schools throughout Ohio.  
He received his BA from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Public Administration from Penn State and his JD from Capital University Law School.

Scott H. DeHart represents public and private sector employers in litigation in federal and state courts, arbitrations, civil service appeals, and administrative proceedings. Scott's practice also covers private and public sector labor law, including the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, impasse proceedings, and defending unfair labor practice (ULP) charges. Scott completed his B.S. in Human Resources at Wright State University and his J.D. at New York Law School.
Before joining Zashin & Rich in 2016, Scott pursued a full-time career as a Human Resources practitioner, serving as HR Manager for the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and as Director of HR for Columbia University's School of Engineering. Scott holds HR certifications from the HR Certification Institute (PHR) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP).

Jonathan Downes has over 30 years of experience in practicing labor and employment law in Ohio and has successfully negotiated over 500 labor agreements and has presented over 100 impasse proceedings and 100 arbitrations. He represents cities, townships, counties, school districts, and public officials throughout the State of Ohio. Jonathan also represents private employers in employment matters. He has argued cases before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Jonathan is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Jonathan is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Jonathan has been selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America – Employment and Labor Law” every year since 2010, as an “Ohio Super Lawyer” every year since 2004, one of “Central Ohio Top Lawyers” since 2009, and received the OHPELRA “Award of Excellence” in 2016. He is also certified by the Ohio State Bar Association (“OSBA”) as a Specialist in Labor and Employment law.

Michael Duco has over 39 years of experience in Labor Relations on both sides of the Table. He worked at the State of Ohio's Office of Collective Bargaining for 30.5 years. He was an advocate in Arbitration and Fact-Finding. The last 8 years at OCB he was the Deputy Director and the Chief Spokesperson for negotiations. He also was the Labor Relations Manager for the e City of Columbus for approximately 2 Years. He also worked for AFSCME, OCSEA, Local 11, AFL-CIO  for 6.5 years. At OCSEA he served as  the Field Service Director a then as General Counsel and operated as Chief Spokesperson on several contracts. 

In April of 2025 he transitioned to the middle of the table and works as an Arbitrator, Mediator and Fact-finder. He is on AAA, City of Columbus and CWA, and Ohio SERB's panel of neutrals.

Rita S. Eppler retired from her position as a United States Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration in Columbus, Ohio, appointed in June of 1997. She also served as the National Grievance Chair for the Association of Administrative Law Judges representing judges in arbitrations across the country.
Judge Eppler has extensive appellate experience including arguing two cases before the United States Supreme Court. Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 497 U.S. 502 (1990) (Ohio’s parental notification statute) and Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294 (1991) (determined the standard for review of Eighth Amendment prison conditions actions).   Prior to her appointment Judge Eppler was in public and private practice with a focus in labor and employment law as well as general civil litigation. For over 12 years she served as Chief of the Federal Litigation and Employment Law Sections for the Office of the Ohio Attorney General.
Judge Eppler has litigated complex class actions, bench and jury trials before in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. Illustrative cases include civil rights actions in the areas of school desegregation, search and seizure, human drug testing, excessive use of force, general challenges to the constitutionality of state statutes, and employment discrimination actions in the areas of race, gender, national origin, age, disability, and political discrimination.
Judge Eppler has been active in numerous civic and professional organizations including for example: Advocacy & Protective Services, Inc. (“APSI”), and a variety of positions for Congregation Beth Tikva and Holocaust Education programing in Columbus, Ohio. Judge Eppler, was married to the late David Goss, a professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Mathematics at The Ohio State University. She has two adult children; a daughter who is a special education teacher in the public schools; and a son completing his Ph.D. in Quantum Physics at the University of California at Berkeley.

Marc Fishel has been recognized by his peers as a Best Lawyers in America for his outstanding work in Employment and Labor Law. He regularly represents public and private employers in all areas of labor and employment relations, including all facets of contract negotiations, litigation, mediation, conflict resolution procedures, disciplinary matters (arbitration and civil service), the daily administration of internal policies, state and federal laws, and collective bargaining agreements. He serves as lead counsel before administrative agencies pertaining to personnel matters. Marc represents employers in litigation matters in both state and federal court.
Marc also serves as the Law Director for the City of Bexley, representing the city in various aspects of municipal law.

ATTORNEY

Kristin Seifert Watson is a Partner at Cloppert, Latanick, Sauter & Washburn in Columbus, Ohio. Kristin also works Of Counsel with Joyce Goldstein & Associates in Cleveland, Ohio. Kristin practices primarily in the areas of private sector labor and litigation. Kristin has represented unions and workers in labor and employment-related matters since 2004. Kristin has represented unions in arbitrations involving discipline, contract interpretation, and the commission of unfair labor practices. Kristin practices regularly before the National Labor Relations Board and the state and federal courts of Ohio, providing representation to unions in matters involving the NLRA, the LMRA, the LMRDA, ERISA and civil rights laws.

William Heekin is a full-time labor arbitrator, mediator, and factfinder; as well as an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) neutral regarding individual rights, employee/ employer disputes. Presently on the labor arbitration and/or factfinding rosters maintained by the American Arbitration Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Mediation Board, the City of Louisville, Kentucky Labor/ Management Committee, the
Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation, and the State Employment Relations Board (Ohio). Currently serving and have previously served on a number of permanent labor arbitrator panels.

Issues having decided in arbitration include discipline, discharge, promotion and upgrading, layoff, recall, bumping, posting, incentive rates or standards, job classification, overtime, holidays, vacations, fringe benefits, discrimination, management rights, and arbitrability.

Tom Kruglinski has more than 35 years of experience working as a human resource professional and as a neutral labor-management facilitator and mediator.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Syracuse University and a master’s in labor and human resources from Ohio State University.
Following graduate school, Tom served for eighteen years as Executive Director of two not-for-profit neutral area labor-management committees (in the Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio areas). He trained and mediated for parties using various alternative dispute resolution techniques, including interest-based bargaining and problem solving, traditional mediation, and consensus-based committee processes. He also served as Coordinator for the Central Ohio IRRA (now COLERA), serving as its President in the 1993-94 program year.
After moving to New York in 2004, Tom served in various corporate positions, including as a training and organizational development manager for a large Caterpillar dealership, as an instructional designer and HR business partner for a large hospital system, and as a director of human resources for a dental services organization. He also had a private consulting business in training and organizational development from 2008 to 2015.
Tom completed the FMCS course, “Becoming a Labor Arbitrator” in 2021 and was mentored by several National Academy arbitrators and started a practice in labor arbitration. He is on the labor arbitrator rosters of the FMCS (serving the Northeast and Ohio), the American Arbitration Association, the NJ State Board of Mediation, the NJ Public Employment Relations Commission, the Labor Relations Connection, the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the State of Ohio/OCSEA Trial Panel of Mediators and Arbitrators.

Over 38 years of education and experience in criminal justice and corrections; graduated from the Ohio State University and has more than 34 years with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC). Proudly began career as a Correction Officer and has since served in a variety of enforcement, emergency response, investigative, human resources, compliance, and leadership roles.

As the Chief Inspector, currently leads a multidisciplinary team committed to safeguarding the rights of incarcerated individuals, investigating wrongdoing, fighting to keep our facilities safe from illicit and illegal activity, and ensuring operational and policy compliance.

Was the Chief of Labor Relations with ODRC and guided Ohio’s largest criminal justice agency in the enforcement of collective bargaining agreements and statutory employment rights; had oversight of agency arbitration advocacy efforts; represented one of the nation’s largest correction agencies in numerous contract negotiations; and architected comprehensive training efforts over multiple subject areas within the collective bargaining and employee accountability space.
Proudly served on the Arbitrator & Advocate Symposium Planning Committee for several years!

Stephen S. Lazarus is a principal in the law firm of Lazarus Law, LLC.  Mr. Lazarus is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law (J.D. 1988).   His practice is focused on the representation of public employees and their unions.  Representation encompasses contract negotiations, predisciplinary hearings and disciplinary appeals, lay-offs and job abolishments, litigation and appeals related to promotional examinations and civil service rules.   For over thirty years, Mr. Lazarus has acted as an advocate for public employee unions in hundreds of labor arbitrations through a statutory impasse procedure, and through negotiated procedures for disciplinary appeals and contract interpretation grievances.  Mr. Lazarus also defends public employees when civil rights violations are alleged.  
Mr. Lazarus is a member of the Cincinnati, Ohio and Kentucky State Bar Associations. He has lectured on civil service law, effective arbitration advocacy and negotiation strategy for the Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio Education Association, Cincinnati Bar Association, National Academy of Arbitrators, American Arbitration Association, Ohio State Employment Relations Board, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters, Arbitration and Mediation Service and University of Cincinnati College of Law.

 Arthur Pearlstein formerly served as Director of Arbitration and of the Office of Shared Neutrals at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). He has previously served FMCS as a mediator, as General Counsel of the Agency, and as head of the ADR and International Program. In addition, he has worked extensively in the area of dispute systems design in the workplace. He has substantial experience in arbitration and mediation as a private sector lawyer, manager, professor, and trainer. Arthur was Professor of Law and inaugural director of the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton University in Omaha. He has authored or co-authored book chapters and articles on arbitration, workplace dispute resolution, dispute systems design, and human resources, and spoken widely on these and other topics. Arthur received his J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School, holds a master’s in dispute resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University in California, and a B.A. from Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

 Tom Pontolillo has been appointed to the Arbitrator Rosters of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the National Mediation Board (railroad and airline cases), and to the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, Bureau of Mediation Roster of Neutrals as a Fact-Finder.  He regularly referees deadlocked disputes at the First Division of the National Railroad Adjustment Board involving multiple railroads and rail unions, and serves as Chairman and Neutral Member of eight permanent railroad arbitration panels (Special Boards of Adjustment and Public Law Boards).   He also has been selected to arbitrate grievances, including discipline, involving multiple Ohio municipalities and Public Safety and other unions, and he serves on the State of Ohio Office of Collective Bargaining / Ohio Civil Service Employees Association Mediation-Arbitration Trial Panel.  Additionally, Mr. Pontolillo was appointed by President Biden in 2024 to serve as a Member of Presidential Emergency Board No. 252, which chose between the Final Offers of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen in their contract dispute.  Mr. Pontolillo has served as a Vice President of the National Association of Railroad Referees since 2023.
Mr. Pontolillo’s background includes over a quarter century as a Union-side advocate. He has extensive collective bargaining experience, including several rounds of multi-employer bargaining and participation in five Presidential Emergency Board proceedings and two railroad industry interest arbitrations. Mr. Pontolillo also provided appellate representation for over 30 years—before the Federal Railroad Administration—for locomotive engineers whose certification or recertification had been denied, or whose certification had been revoked, pursuant to Subpart E (Dispute Resolution Procedures) of 49 C.F.R. Part 240.

Jerry B. Sellman is a full-time arbitrator, mediator, Fact-finder and Conciliator. He is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators. Since 1983, he has heard hundreds of cases in the Private, Public, and Federal Sectors. He started his arbitration career in the coal industry, but quickly expanded the practice into multiple industries through appointments from American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the Ohio State Employment Relations Board. He is currently on the AAA Commercial and Labor Rosters, the FMCS Roster, the National Mediation Board (NMB), and the State of Ohio State Employment Relations Fact-finding and Conciliation Roster. Arbitrator Sellman has been a member of a number of permanent Arbitration Panels, which currently include the AFGE and Bureau of Prisons, AFGE and U.S. Border Protection, Postal Service, Fraternal Order of Police, Social Security Adm. Panel 12, State Employment Relations Board (Ohio), and the UMWA and American Consolidated Natural Resource, Inc.
 Prior to devoting full-time to arbitration and fact-finding, his law practice was primarily focused on international business law. The combination of the two “specialties” resulted in an opportunity to become an adjunct professor at Capital University Law School, where he taught in its LLM Program for several years, and an invitation to address the Shanghai Judicial College and the Peoples Supreme Court of Justice in Beijing, China on the enforcement of arbitral awards just prior to China’s admission into the World Trade Organization.
He received his BA degree, with honors, from Otterbein University and his JD Degree, cum laude, from Capital University. He studied in Basel, Switzerland for one year and completed a summer law program at the University of Exeter in England.

ATTORNEY
PAST PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ARBITRATORS

Alan A. Symonette is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Villanova University School of Law. He is a former NLRB field attorney and in-house labor counsel. Currently, he is a permanent arbitrator under several national agreements including many in telecommunications, airlines, steel, and tire. In the public sector, he is the arbitrator at Tennessee Valley Authority (Power), at Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, among others. His work in Major League baseball is also highly regarded. He is the immediate past of the National Academy of Arbitrators and a fellow of the ABA College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.