Overcoming Obstacles: Success Stories of Arbitrators of Color

Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PDT

Join us for a transformative webinar, Overcoming Obstacles: Success Stories of Arbitrators of Color,” via Zoom, on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 2 pm EST, as we celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Through compelling narratives and inspiring anecdotes, this program will spotlight the remarkable achievements of arbitrators of color who have triumphed over adversity. By sharing their journeys, we aim to underscore the invaluable contribution of diverse perspectives in shaping fair and just arbitration outcomes. Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired and empowered by stories of resilience and success in the field of ADR.

The webinar will feature panelists, Ms. DeAndra Roache, esteemed arbitrator, mediator, DRB practitioner, and an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, renowned for her expertise in labor, employment, and construction disputes on both domestic and international levels, Dr. Chika Anyichie, a seasoned arbitrator specializing in legal business regulation, compliance, and litigation, with a background spanning the US Federal Government, NGOs, and the Private Sector, and a prolific author in Business and Arbitration Law, and Ms. Deborah Enix-Ross, Senior Advisor at Debevoise & Plimpton, NY, and the current Vice President of the World Justice Project,  having held several leadership positions in the ABA, IBA, and WIPO, duly recognized on Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact list, and lauded for her commitment to equity. The program will be moderated by Ms. Blanca Martinez, Mendoza, a Mexican lawyer specializing in international arbitration, international trade law, public international law, as well as constitutional and administrative law.

Register here for the event:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CPch1F5TSTeed1dvHsBIEg

PANELIST BIOS

DeAndra Roaché, FCIArb

Ms DeAndra Roaché, FCIArb is an arbitrator, mediator and DRB practitioner with a full-time domestic and international ADR practice.  She specializes in labor, employment, and construction disputes, and possesses a unique/rare blend of professional skills and experiences that are highly desirable and beneficial to the industries and parties she serves.  She is an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law where she teaches Mediation.

Prior to starting her ADR practice – Cynergis Dispute Resolution Services, Ms. DeAndra Roaché worked at large global law firms in Washington, DC before amassing over a decade of extensive experience in the Labor/Collective Bargaining, Arbitration and Mediation processes unique to the Railroad industry as well as rail infrastructure and related projects as a labor relations professional in the Washington, DC corporate office of “America’s Railroad”– Amtrak.

Ms. Roaché is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, serves on numerous labor and commercial arbitration and mediation panels and permanent rosters as well as a member of the Florida Department of Transportation’s Dispute Review Board.  She is also a member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation’s (DRBF) Region 1 (US, Canada, Caribbean) Board of Directors and chairs its Mid-Atlantic Region of DRB Practitioners.  Ms. Roaché has co-chaired several DRB Working Groups including DRB training for the CPR International Institute and is an architect of their Dispute Board Model Rules.

Deborah Enix-Ross, Esq.

Ms. Deborah Enix-Ross serves as the Senior Advisor for Global Engagement within the International Dispute Resolution Group, as well as a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee at Debevoise & Plimpton, a renowned law firm in New York.

Prior to her role at the firm, Ms. Enix-Ross held several distinguished positions. She served as a Senior Legal Officer and Head of the External Relations and Information Section at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center in Geneva, Switzerland, the Director of International Litigation at Price Waterhouse’s Dispute Analysis and Corporate Recovery Services Group, and as the American representative to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration.

Ms. Enix-Ross has held several notable positions within the American Bar Association (ABA). She is the Immediate Past President of the ABA and previously served as Chair of the ABA House of Delegates, the organization’s 600-member deliberative body. Additionally, she has served as the former Chair of the ABA Center for Human Rights and its Business and Human Rights Project. Ms. Enix-Ross also held the position of Chair for the ABA Section of International Law, where she served as the Goal IX Officer and co-founded the Women’s Interest Network (WIN). As Chair of the International Law Section, Ms. Enix-Ross led an International Legal Exchange (ILEX) delegation to Ghana (where she delivered an address commemorating the country’s 50th anniversary of independence), Liberia and Sierra Leone. She is a former Chair of the ABA’s Section Officers Conference, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

She is currently Vice President of the World Justice Project and a member of the Advisory Committee of the New York Law School Alternative Dispute Resolution Skills Program. She is a former Vice Chair of the International Bar Association (IBA) Bar Issues Commission and a past ABA representative to the IBA.

Ms. Enix-Ross was named on the 2022 Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact list. She is recognized for being “a change maker who uses her empathy, insight and savvy to make the world a better, more equitable place.” She received her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1981, a Diploma in Comparative Law from the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law of Columbia University in 1989 and a Certificate in International Law from the London School of Economics in 1979.

Dr. Chika Anyichie, PhD, FCIArb

Dr. Chika Anyichie serves as an arbitrator with extensive experience in legal business regulation, compliance, program policy implementation, litigation, and data management. Her diverse background encompasses involvement in United States Federal Government operations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and the Private Sector. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), and on panel with FINRA.

Dr. Anyichie’s expertise extends beyond legal matters, as she is a prolific author of numerous articles in Business and Arbitration Law. She is a member of Arbitral Women and served as a representative in United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), working group II: Dispute Settlement, 72nd session, 2020.

Dr. Anyichie holds a PhD in International Arbitration Law from University of Aberdeen, LL.M with Merit in International Business Law from University of Central Lancashire, U.K, and LL. B in Law from Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. She has a Master’s Certificate in Human Resources Management from Cornell University, reflecting her unwavering commitment to professional development. She is a Barrister and Solicitor with the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

MODERATOR BIO

Blanca Martinez Mendoza

Ms. Blanca del Carmen Martínez Mendoza is a Mexican lawyer specializing in international arbitration, international trade law, public international law, as well as constitutional and administrative law.

Her experience includes investment arbitrations representing Mexico and participation in the negotiation processes of international agreements as a member of the Legal Counsel Office at the Ministry of Economy in Mexico. Her practice has also been focused on domestic, administrative and constitutional proceedings, as well as tax law. She is a lecturer at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) in Mexico.