Sarah Decker
Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
Sarah Decker is a Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist for the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was initially hired by the Department of Labor as a Wage and Hour Assistant in 2012, and shortly thereafter became an Investigator, a position she held for 8 years. As an Investigator, she enforced Federal labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Service Contract Act (SCA), the Davis Bacon and Related Contracts Act (DBRA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), and certain provisions set forth by the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding temporary workers with H- Visas. In 2020, Sarah accepted a position as the Albany District’s Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist (CORPS). As a Community Outreach Specialist, Sarah educates employees and employers about the Federal labor law requirements. She is originally from Richmond, VA and came to federal employment by way of the Peace Corps, serving two years as an English teacher in Kazakhstan.
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George Mavrantzas
Vice President of Strategy & Thought Leadership
ADP
George is a seasoned payments executive with over two decades in the prepaid industry with the last 17 years specifically in payments. Prior to ADP, George held several executive and senior level positions at firms including Global Cash Card, rapid! PayCard, Incomm, ITC Financial Services, T-Mobile, and Powertel. He has worked in all facets of prepaid and payment operations including but not limited to: Executive Management, Business Development, Project Management, Customer Service, Implementation, Relationship & Account Management, Thought Leadership and Social Media Expansion.
As Vice President of Strategy and Thought Leadership at ADP, George is a member of the Wage Payments Executive team. He devises and executes strategic decisions for the business & delivers thought leadership and on-site presentations.
George is a recognized expert and prolific speaker in the payments industry, and he is invited to speak at over 50 industry conferences a year to educate professionals on the ever changing payments landscape & benefits of electronic pay.
He is a national member of the American Payroll Association. In addition, he is a member of the APA’s National Speakers Bureau and a recipient of the APA’s Citation of Merit for his contributions to the payroll industry.
George is a graduate of the University of North Florida and resides in Jacksonville, Florida. |
Nicole DuBois
Assistant Vice President
Robert Half
Nicole DuBois is an Assistant Vice President with Robert Half with nearly a decade of management experience focused within the finance industry. Local to the Capital Region, Nicole has led teams to new levels of success both onsite and remotely. Nicole joined Robert Half in 2018 to launch their consulting divisions in both Syracuse and Albany, New York and has successfully grown both practices year over year.
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Ronald L. Moser, CPP - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Payroll / Employee Benefits Consultant
Taxing Matters
As Human Resources Administrator, for the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Schools, Ronald Moser was responsible for handling payroll, personnel, and employee benefits matters. He has over 35 years of experience in these areas, having worked as Tax Preparer, Supervisor of Payroll/Benefits, and Accounts Payable, Employee Benefits Supervisor and Human Resource Manager.
Mr. Moser currently serves on the American Payroll National Speakers Bureau, Champs, APA’s IRS Issues Committee, APA Government Task Force Subcommittee on Pay Cards, Board of Contributing Writers, President-Elect for the Greater Nashville Chapter and APA Ambassador. Mr. Moser has also served as Co-Chair of the Government/Public Sector Task Force and K-12 Education Task force. He has served on the American Payroll Associations Hotline, Education Committee, Nominations and Elections Committee, Board of Advisors and has served as a Vice President of the APA’s Board of Directors. He is a cofounder of the Buffalo Niagara APA Chapter and has served as President and Education Coordinator of the Buffalo Niagara Chapter. Additionally, he has served as New York Statewide Conference Chair, and has taught the APA’s Payroll Professional Learning Series.
He received the APA's Meritorious Service Award in 2003, a Special Recognition Award in 2005, Payroll Man of the Year in 2007.
Mr. Moser, who has served on the Board of Advisors of the IRS Small Business Assistance Center in Western New York, has held the designation of Certified Payroll Professional since 1993. He also holds a Degree in Accounting.
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Chris Harrigan
Partner
Barclay Damon LLP
Chris counsels and represents employers in labor and employment-related matters, including in employment litigation in federal and state courts and before the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the NYS Division of Human Rights. From Fortune 500 companies to small family-owned businesses, Chris has extensive experience counseling clients and litigating claims regarding workplace discrimination and the enforcement of noncompetition agreements.
Chris additionally advises clients on business issues that include collective-bargaining negotiations, labor arbitrations, unionorganizing campaigns, executive-employment agreements, wageand-hour-law investigations, employee theft, severance agreements, the development of employment policies, and the preparation of restrictive covenants and noncompetition agreements. In addition, Chris represents higher education institutions, charter schools, and public school districts in employment-law issues and education-law matters, including student disciplinary issues.
Chris also provides counseling and training to executives, supervisors, managers, and employees on topics such as positive employer-employee relations, anti-harassment compliance, wage-and-hour issues, workplace-misconduct investigations, documentation and performance reviews, and avoiding workplace violence.
In addition to his labor and employment practice, Chris serves as the firm's co-marketing partner.
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Michael Sciotti - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Partner
Barclay Damon LLP
Michael is a trusted advisor, trainer, and litigator to hundreds of employers on labor and employment matters. His practice includes defending employers, owners, and members of management in all types of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and retaliation claims brought under Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, GINA, NYS Human Rights Law, and Labor Law. Michael also defends wage-and-hour actions and claims, including class-action lawsuits, brought under federal and state law. He has tried nearly two dozen cases to verdict in federal and state court and before the NYS Division of Human Rights.
Michael also provides day-to-day counseling for employers on all aspects of labor and employment law and conducts internal investigations; audits; and supervisory and employee training , including sexual harassment-prevention training, on a regular basis. He has given over 700 labor and employment presentations to organizations that include the Society for Human Resource Management, the American Payroll Association, the American Corporate Counsel Association, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Northern District of New York Federal Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and Lorman Education Services.
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Rosemary Enright
Partner
Barclay Damon LLP
With over 15 years in management and leadership roles at multinational software company Oracle Corporation, Rosemary serves as the firm's Labor & Employment Practice Group leader, primarily concentrating on helping companies comply with state and federal labor laws. She has extensive experience handling matters involving discrimination in hiring, firing, and promotion; wages; benefits; civil-rights claims; and workplace investigations of discrimination and harassment claims. Rosemary also routinely drafts employee manuals, employment agreements, severance agreements, noncompetition agreements, and employment policies and procedures. Rosemary uses her hands-on experience with professional services, product development; training; and resource, facility, and operations management to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and needs of her business clients. Rosemary's business background is complemented by the four years she spent clerking at a small boutique law firm specializing in plaintiff-side employment matters. This experience gives her unique insight into how to counteract typical plaintiff strategies to maximize results for her clients.
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Rori Carney
Senior Tax Manager
Equifax Workforce Solutions
Rori Carney joined the Equifax Workforce Solutions Employment Tax Practice in September, 2012. With over twenty five (25) years of experience, Rori is a subject matter expert who specializes in all employment tax issues associated with mergers, acquisitions and internal reorganizations.
Working with the Equifax client base of over 3,600 accounts, Rori leads a wide variety of employment tax engagements within the practice focusing on compliance, advisory and controversy services. She has a strong technical knowledge of a wide variety of employment tax issues including state unemployment and withholding tax sourcing, federal and state payroll tax implications of mergers and acquisitions, federal and state taxpayer advocacy procedures and federal and state refund recovery analysis.
Prior to joining Equifax, Rori spent 11 years in with EY where she was a Senior Manager and a leader for the firm’s Employment Tax practice in the Midwest region. She has also worked with the KPMG state and local tax practice as an Employment Tax Manager and at Barnett Associates as an Account Executive. Rori has a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accountancy from Hofstra University and has been a Certified Payroll Professional since 2008. Rori resides on Long Island with her husband Ray, daughter Caleigh (a junior at Hofstra University) and their wheaten terrier, Lily.
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Nels Ross Cremean - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Speaker/Entertainer
Fun Forward
Nels Ross Cremean (“The Inspirational Oddball”) is an entertainer, speaker, teaching artist, and CEO of In Jest, Inc.. He strives to “defy gravity” and to help folks develop body, mind, and silliness. For “silly” comes from root words meaning happy and blessed! His background includes theater, juggling, circus, math, education, and uplifting audiences internationally for 25+ years… All to inspire more zest (and less stress). @NelsRoss @InJestInc www.NelsRoss.com
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Patrick DeForest
Assistant District Director of the Wage & Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor
After his military service, Patrick joined the Wage & Hour Division in 2010 as an Investigator in the Rochester Field Office. Patrick has lead and/or participated in over 600 investigative actions under all arenas of enforcement and now leads the investigative staff in the continuance of such efforts. As a former Marine, Patrick prides himself and instills in his staff to have personal and professional integrity.
Patrick has a BA in Criminal Intelligence with an emphasis on transnational organized crime, an MA in Organizational Management with an emphasis on public sector organizations, and is currently working toward his PhD in Public Administration. Patrick has also been an adjunct professor through the SUNY system teaching classes for the Homeland Security Management Institute (Intelligence Studies, Emergency Management & Organizational Facility Security).
Sarah, Patrick’s wife, a pilot and flight instructor, (yes she is cooler than Patrick) and Patrick have two boys, Blake (13) and Jovin (11), and custody of their niece Sofia (15). They live in Greece, NY.
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