The Modern In-House Counsel’s Guide to Contracts 2026

Before joining the Office of General Counsel, Kelly served as director of Student Legal Services and interim director of Off-Campus Student Support at the Pennsylvania State University. Before working in higher education, Kelly was in private practice in Erie, Pennsylvania where her practice areas included in a wide range of litigation, alternate dispute resolution and transactional work. Kelly is the co-author of the 5th Edition of Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Law and Practice (Bisel 2022). She is active in the Pennsylvania Bar Association where has served in leadership roles, including as a member of the Board of Governors. Kelly received her B.A. in German Studies from the Pennsylvania State University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Elizabeth L. Pettis is the Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), where she provides legal support for all aspects of the agency’s operations. She also serves as the co-chair of the Governor’s Office of General Counsel’s (OGC’s) Transactions Practice Group and as a member of OGC’s Hiring Committee. Ms. Pettis has an extensive business, transactional, and regulatory compliance background within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in private sector. Prior to her appointment as Chief Counsel at PCCD, Elizabeth served as Deputy Chief Counsel for Transactions at OGC under two Governors, Chief Counsel at the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, Deputy Chief Counsel for Administration at the Department of Corrections, Assistant Counsel for Investment at the State Employees Retirement System, and Deputy Attorney General in the Antitrust and Health Care Sections of the Office of Attorney General. In the private sector, Ms. Pettis served as Corporate Counsel at Caterpillar, Inc. and as an Associate with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC. Elizabeth also currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Widener University, Commonwealth School of Law, and previously served as an Adjunct Professor at the Shippensburg University, John L. Grove College of Business. Prior to her legal career, Ms. Pettis served our nation in the United States Army for over 10 years as both a Commissioned and a Non-Commissioned Officer. Ms. Pettis received a B.A. in political science from Millersville University, an M.A. in public administration from Columbus State University, a J.D. from the Pennsylvania State University, and an LL.M. in international business and trade law from American University.

Elizabeth Rose Triscari (she/her/hers) is Senior Counsel for American Water, the largest U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company, based in Camden, New Jersey, employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide water, wastewater and other related services to more than 15 million people in 46 states. Ms. Triscari represents American Water in various regulatory proceedings, as well as in connection with acquisitions and litigation in state and federal courts. Ms. Triscari serves on the Executive Council of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession and as Chair of the PBA In-House Counsel Committee. She is on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation is a past member of PBI’s Board of Directors and past Chair of the PBA Public Utility Law Section. Ms. Triscari received her B.A. in Government from Cornell University and J.D. from Boston College Law School. Prior to joining American Water, Ms. Triscari served as Pennsylvania’s Deputy Small Business Advocate representing small business interests before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Dean Geibel is Chief Patent Counsel for Samtec, Inc., a $1B, privately-held, debt-free, global interconnect manufacturer headquartered in New Albany, IN. He earned a BS in Physics from Penn State in 1992, became a US patent agent in 1997, and earned his JD in 1999 from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. In 2016, Samtec selected Dean to create an IP Department from scratch. Prior to joining Samtec, he oversaw global patent prosecution of electrical and optical interconnects at Framatome Connectors International (FCI) and Amphenol Communications Solution (ACS). After looking exclusively at interconnects for the past 20 years, Dean has developed a commanding working knowledge of electrical and optical interconnect patents and products. Dean has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia. He is 2-for-2 before the Chinese Patent Re-examination Board, successfully defending against two separate patent oppositions. He has telecommuted since joining Samtec in 2016. Dean is a 1985 Honor Graduate of US Air Force Basic Military Training School and a 1992 Distinguished Graduate of Detachment 720, Penn State Air Force ROTC. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2014 as a Lieutenant Colonel with 25 years of service. Dean contributes over 50 hours a year to indigent inventors through the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, the Penn State Law Intellectual Property Clinic, and Indiana University. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Laurie and their two daughters.

Jada S. Greenhowe joined the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (“PHFA”) as Assistant Counsel in 2014. In her role as Assistant Counsel, Jada provides legal advice regarding an array of topics such as bankruptcy, credit reporting and third-party vendor management and oversight. She counsels PHFA’s secondary mortgage program, the Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, and represents the Agency in civil litigation matters including Actions to Quiet Title and Commonwealth Court appeals. She oversees federal and state regulatory compliance pertaining to the mortgage servicing industry, such as Act 91 (Homeowner’s Emergency Assistance Act), Act 6 (the Loan Interest and Protection Law) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act for PHFA’s Single Family mortgage program. In addition, she handles multi-party transactional real estate closings involving investor partnerships and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits in connection with PHFA’s Multifamily program. In 2013, Ms. Greenhowe obtained her Juris Doctor from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law. She earned a B.A. in Communication Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. Ms. Greenhowe is admitted to practice in the Western, Middle and Eastern District Courts of Pennsylvania. In addition, she is a member of the American Bar Association, the Dauphin County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association where she is a member of the PBA House of Delegates and where she also serves as co- Chair of the Civil and Equal Rights Committee (CERC), and is the co-Chair of CERC’s CLE Subcommittee, as well as its Young Lawyer’s Division (“YLD”) Liaison. In addition, she serves as the At-Large Chair to Diversity for the YLD, is co-Vice Chair of the In-House Counsel Committee and is the YLD Liaison to the Environmental and Energy Law Section. In 2019, Jada was selected as a member of the 2019-2020 class of the PBA’s Bar Leadership Institute.  She is also the 2021 recipient of the Minority Bar Committee’s (“MBC”) Rising Star award and is the current Chair of the MBC Houston’s Rising Star Award Committee.

Rebecca Braglio is a data privacy attorney whose practice focuses on operational privacy, compliance, and risk management in technology-driven environments. She currently advises a media publishing organization on privacy and consumer protection matters involving consumer health information, advertising, tracking and measurement technologies, vendor risk, and evolving state privacy laws. Her work includes privacy impact assessments, development of governance frameworks, and cross-functional support for responsible technology adoption, including AI-enabled tools.
Prior to her work in privacy, Rebecca practiced criminal defense at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, including representation of clients with serious mental health needs and appellate advocacy.