Board of Directors

Shelley Dempsey

A member of the Connecticut, District of Columbia, and U.S. Supreme Court bars, Shelley earned her undergraduate degree in International Relations from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and her Juris Doctor at the American University Washington College of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review. In her professional career, Shelley first practiced regulatory law at the Federal Communications Commission and then practiced as a regulatory associate attorney for Chadbourne, Parke, Whiteside, and Wolf (now known as Chadbourne Parke) in Washington, DC. She represented firm clients before several regulatory agencies, including the FCC, EPA, and FERC, and covered Congressional hearings on Capitol Hill. She then retired to raise four sons and devoted time to volunteering for several non-profit and educational organizations where she served in Executive leadership roles and on several Boards of Directors. Currently, Shelley also sits on the Board of A Better Chance of Wilton, CT, where she is the Director of College Counseling and Coaching for its scholars. 

Shelley joined FACE in 2014 as a result of her concern for the due process rights of college students who are accused of sexual misconduct and the need for reform of Campus Disciplinary Procedures, including Title IX Investigations and subsequent Campus Disciplinary Board hearings. She advocates for the rights of students on Capital Hill and has also “lobbied” against the recently enacted Affirmative Consent law passed in the Connecticut Legislature.

Justin Dillon

Justin Dillon is a partner at Dillon PLLC in Washington, D.C. He has gained nationwide attention for his work representing students and professors in campus misconduct cases, which he and his firm have handled at more than 80 schools across the country. He was the first lawyer in the country to win summary judgment against a university in a campus sexual assault case, which he did against George Mason University in 2015. He has been published or quoted regarding campus sexual misconduct issues in more than a dozen national news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and National Public Radio.

He also has spoken on these issues before organizations such as the American Bar Association, the Association of Title IX Administrators, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, Harvard Law School, and the University of Kentucky’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women.  Immediately before joining KaiserDillon, Justin spent five and a half years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, DC.  He is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School.  

Norma J. Fox

Norma graduated from Swarthmore College in 1982 and became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1993. She was a Vice President and Corporate Actuary for Life Reassurance Corporation of America and Swiss Re Life & Health America. She was responsible for financial reporting and actuarial systems development until her retirement. Norma has been volunteering with FACE since 2018 because she is concerned about the devastating impact wrongful allegations and unfair adjudication procedures have on students and families. She also serves on the board of a private school specializing in Nonverbal Learning Differences and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Cynthia P. Garrett

Cynthia P. Garrett is an attorney admitted to the bar in California, where she lives with her husband, who is also an attorney, and where they raised their three children. Ms. Garrett was a published member of the Law Review at the University of San Diego School of Law and graduated Magna Cum Laude, after which she practiced civil litigation for several years in San Diego. Garrett earned her undergraduate degree from Rollins College in Florida, where she graduated with Highest Distinction.

Ms. Garrett served on the boards of nonprofits focused on foster children before becoming a member of FACE’s board of directors in 2014 and served as FACE Co-President from 2016 through 2022. As a representative of FACE, Garrett has lobbied for fair Title IX campus disciplinary procedures on both the state and federal levels, written numerous articles, comments, and position papers, met with Department of Education officials including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Candice Jackson, served on an American Bar Association task force which developed recommended Title IX procedures, serves as a liaison for two sexual misconduct projects with the American Law Institute, and has been interviewed on radio and television and quoted in various articles.

Samantha Harris

Samantha Harris is a partner at Allen Harris Law, representing the rights of students, faculty, and staff on campuses across the country. Samantha has dedicated her career to protecting free speech and civil liberties for more than 15 years. After graduating from Princeton University with an undergraduate degree in Politics, she went on to study law at the University of Pennsylvania. Following a federal clerkship and a brief stint as a litigation associate at Pepper Hamilton LLP, she joined the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, where she worked to change university policies and practices that denied people their most fundamental rights. Whether she is defending clients, speaking to crowds at conferences, or educating the general public about their rights in an educational setting, Samantha relishes the opportunity to use her knowledge, experience, and passion to help others.

KIMBERLY C. Lau

Kimberly C. Lau is Partner and Chair of the Title IX/College Disciplinary Department of the law firm of Warshaw Burstein, LLP in New York City. Her experience includes state and federal practice, trials, arbitrations, mediations, and appeals in commercial litigation and Title IX/college disciplinary matters. Kimberly has successfully represented numerous students, both male and female, in nearly 200 cases, addressing a broad spectrum of disciplinary matters, including academic dishonesty, theft, harassment, sexual misconduct, and gender discrimination at major colleges and universities across the country. She regularly serves in a critical advisory role for both complainants and accused students during student disciplinary proceedings. Her experience in representing both parties allows her to provide a fuller context to her clients in their cases.

 Kimberly has authored numerous articles on issues affecting how colleges and universities handle sexual assault on campus, the federal privacy statutes impacting student education records, and tips based on her extensive experience in handling cases in this area across the nation at both public and private education institutions. Kimberly regularly presents continuing legal education courses and programs on Title IX at FACE conferences and with providers such as Lawline, ExecuSummit, Warshaw Burstein LLP, and Lycurgus Group. Kimberly’s expertise in Title IX and college disciplinary matters has been featured on national news outlets, such as CNN, ABC's Nightline, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and she has been quoted in national news media, including Newsweek, Yahoo News, The New York Observer, and The Daily Beast.

ERIC ROSENBERG

Eric Rosenberg is the managing partner at Rosenberg & Ball Co. Lpa in Granville, Ohio. He has represented upwards of 100 students in Title IX university-level disciplinary proceedings and filed over 20 lawsuits on behalf of falsely accused students across the country. Eric’s experience includes dozens of jury and bench trials, which repeatedly resulted in attorney fees and punitive damage awards of over $1,000,000.00.