As Buchanan’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Mr. Freeman is responsible for advancing and expanding diversity throughout the firm and across the legal industry as a whole. He develops and drives the firm’s diversity initiatives related to attorney hiring, retention and advancement. He oversees the firm’s affinity groups and promotes mentorship and sponsorship as key retention initiatives. Additionally, he collaborates with Buchanan’s clients to meet and advance their diversity and inclusion goals and coordinates partnerships for mutually-beneficial programs such as internships, thought leadership, speaking engagements and more. Mr. Freeman is also involved in nurturing key partnerships to drive strategic diversity and inclusion marketing, as well as business development initiatives. He has been a champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession throughout his career, including in his roles as a litigation partner and a Chief Diversity Officer at his previous firm. He is a sought-after speaker and has published articles on various diversity-related topics, including the impact of stigma and discrimination, implicit bias, allyship and imposter syndrome, among others. Outside of the firm, he has served as president of the Garden State Bar Association (GSBA) and under his leadership, the GSBA raised nearly $100,000 and awarded scholarships to a record number of diverse law students. He also worked tirelessly in this role to increase diversity in the judiciary by endorsing scores of attorneys of color to be appointed to the bench. He is chairman of the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region (BBBS) – the fourth largest agency in the nation, providing mentors to nearly 4,000 children in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area. On behalf of the agency, Mr. Freeman has made numerous television appearances to promote BBBS programs and events while raising awareness of its mission and need for more mentors. Specifically, he has inspired dozens of black men to volunteer as mentors, a demographic that is in dire need. Further, he has donated hundreds of pro bono hours in legal services over the years to the agency. Mr. Freeman founded, and has chaired for a decade now, the Burlington Camden Achievement Foundation, which runs the Beautillion program—a scholarship and mentoring program designed to prepare high school males of color for college and subsequent life. To date, over 120 young men have completed the program; they’ve been accepted to over 650 colleges around the country and Freeman’s foundation has awarded them over $155,000 in scholarships. In 2019, he was named Diverse Attorney of the Year by the New Jersey Law Journal and received the Minority Business Leader Award from the Philadelphia Business Journal. In 2018, he was listed as one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers in America by Savoy Magazine and was named “South Jersey’s Man of the Year” by South Jersey Magazine.

An entrepreneur and seasoned public company executive, Jo Anne is the Founder and CEO of Clear Strategy Co. As a trusted legal advisor for more than 30 years, Jo Anne worked for and represented leading companies in the finance, manufacturing, mining, and high tech industries. Clear Strategy, Jo Anne leverages her experience to help companies do well while doing good. Before launching Clear Strategy, Jo Anne served as the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of a public company in the tech sector, where she was Chair of the company’s disclosure committee, and a member of the company’s first ESG oversight body. Previously, she served in leadership roles for a Fortune 100 company in the manufacturing space where, with her own teams, she focused on talent development, DEI, and worked with others to architect and deploy a data governance framework.

Aman Bhullar is
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Allied Mineral Products, a global
manufacturer of engineered ceramic solutions. Aman serves on the company’s
executive team and oversees all legal matters, including commercial
contracts, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, litigation, and
mergers and acquisitions. Aman joined Allied from Arconic Inc. (formerly
Alcoa Inc.), where she worked for 13 years, departing as lead counsel for
Arconic’s Engineered Structures business unit, a $2B+ multi-material
solutions provider for the aerospace, defense, automotive and oil and gas
industries. While at Alcoa, Aman also spent two years leading the company’s
anti-bribery program following the company’s settlement with the U.S.
Government for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Aman received
her JD, cum laude, from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and
Bachelor of Arts degrees, cum laude, in Political Science and Biology from
West Virginia University.

Donny Ching was appointed Legal Director of Shell plc in 2014 and oversees a global legal and compliance team of around 1000 staff. He joined Shell in Australia in 1988 and worked for Shell companies in Hong Kong, London and Singapore before moving to The Hague in 2011 to become the General Counsel of Shell’s Project & Technology business. His passion for DE&I is reflected in his membership of the Advisory Board of the Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law programme sponsored by Thomson Reuters and as one of the founding sponsors and currently Chair of the GCD&I initiative. He is the recipient of Chamber Europe’s 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Diversity & Inclusion Award.

Nina M. Faber is Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for MSA Safety, Inc., a global manufacturing company based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania and listed on the NYSE. Founded in 1914, MSA develops and manufactures safety products that enhance the health and safety of workers throughout the world. In her role, Nina is the principal architect of MSA’s global DE&I vision and strategy. She partners with company leaders, coaching them on inclusion building DE&I leadership methods, while also helping to deploy enterprise-level DE&I programs. Nina also serves as an external ambassador for the company, partnering with third-parties on DE&I advancing initiatives that impact MSA’s communities and stakeholders. A licensed attorney, prior to Nina’s leadership of DE&I, she held various roles with MSA, both in HR and within the company’s legal department. Before her time in-house for MSA, Nina was an attorney for Reed Smith, LLP and clerked for Hon. Thomas M. Hardiman, US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Hon. Arthur J. Schwab, US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; and Hon. Judith F. Olson, Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Nina is a member of the Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, where she chairs the Program Committee. She also serves on the Pittsburgh Women’s Alliance Events Committee and is an Honorary Member of her local fire department, providing volunteer legal and HR counsel when needed. Nina completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame and received her JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Jason is the Managing Partner of the Pittsburgh office and a partner in the firm’s Global Commercial Disputes Group. His practice focuses on both complex commercial litigation and financial services litigation, including numerous class actions related to both. Jason has handled a wide array of matters involving diverse areas of litigation, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, complex business disputes, securities litigation, and vast array of general commercial litigation. He has advised Fortune 500 companies, global financial institutions, corporate directors, foreign issuers, and various other corporate entities. For two years, Jason served as in-house counsel for a large financial institution, managing and defending a significant portfolio of mortgage-related litigation which has given him a unique perspective of the rigors and pressures on in-house counsel that enables him to provide ultra-responsive client service. He performed all functions of an in-house counsel, including overseeing more than 300 matters, developing strategy and settlement recommendations, supervising outside counsel, and advising client decision-makers. In addition, Jason managed a team of lawyers at Reed Smith providing similar in-house functions. Upon returning to Reed Smith, Jason managed a large portfolio of those same cases as outside counsel for the same client. Jason has acted as lead counsel in jury and bench trials in state and federal court. He has also handled matters in alternative dispute resolution forums, including the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).