National LGBT Bar Association and Foundation appoint board members

The National LGBT Bar Association and Foundation, the country’s largest organizations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied legal professionals, recently appointed four new board members.

“For more than a quarter century, The LGBT Bar has brought together the best and brightest legal minds in the country, and our new board members reflect that commitment to excellence and service,” said the organization’s executive director, D’Arcy Kemnitz. “As we celebrate important legal victories, while at the same time battling attempts to enshrine discrimination into the law, The LGBT Bar’s work to ensure that our profession is able to best serve our community and families, is more important than ever. The diverse background and expertise of our newly appointed board members will be critical in our work to foster inclusiveness, help build cutting-edge legal strategies and provide our profession with the best professional opportunities available anywhere.”

The four new members are:

Kylie Byron, Association At-Large: Kylie Byron is an associate in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She received her J.D. from the Washington University School of Law in 2014. Byron’s practice focuses on consumer and credit reporting, background checks and wage and hour litigation. Byron also consults and speaks on employment-related legal issues facing the transgender community, and on developing best practices for including and accommodating transgender and transitioning employees in the workplace.
Gregory Cheikhameguyaz, Association Treasurer: Greg Cheikhameguyaz is in-house counsel for the Aviation Services division of AAR CORP in Chicago.  His practice focuses on commercial contracts, corporate law and mergers and acquisitions.  He was previously with Axiom Global, Inc.  He holds a J.D. and an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.  He also completed a Maîtrise en Droit at the Université de Montpellier in France. Greg grew up in the Côt.  He is admitted to practice in New York and Illinois.
Joseph White, Association At-Large: Joseph White joined Office Depot in 2009 and manages the transactions team, which is responsible for reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts across all business functions.  In addition, his team provides ongoing guidance with respect to all Office Depot advertising and marketing activities.

White received his undergraduate degree (BS), summa cum laude, from the College of Charleston in 1996 and his JD degree, magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina in 1999, where he served on the South Carolina Law Review.  Prior to joining Office Depot, Joseph was an attorney with the law firms of Dewey Ballantine, LLP, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, LLP and served as in-house counsel for Compass Group, The Americas Division, where his practice concentrated in mergers & acquisitions and general corporate and contract law.

White is licensed to practice law in New York and Florida (Authorized House Counsel).  He is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and serves on the National Legal Industry Council of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Todd Dickinson, Foundation At-Large: Q. Todd Dickinson most recently served as executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), an association of over 15,000 members, and one of the world’s leading policy and advocacy organizations in the field of intellectual property.  Prior to AIPLA, Dickinson served as under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, vice president and chief intellectual property counsel for the General Electric Company, and a partner and co-chair of the IP practice group of the Howrey law firm.

A long-time leader in a number of IP organizations, including the Intellectual Property Owners Association and the American Bar Association Section on IP Law, Dickinson has been five times named as one of the “50 Most Influential People in Intellectual Property” by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine, and is a 2012 inductee into the IAM “Intellectual Property Hall of Fame.”  He has also been honored to have the Q. Todd Dickinson Inn of Court named after him in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.

Dickinson earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Allegheny College in 1974, and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977.

In addition to the new board members, several of the Bar's existing members will assume new roles. Eduardo Juarez, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will take over as the president of the National LGBT Bar Association, while Dale Noll, Akerman LLP, will rise to the position of president-elect. 

“The LGBT Bar’s board represents the very best of our profession,” Kemnitz said. “As we prepare for our largest Annual Conference and Career Fair yet, and as we help organize and lead the discussions that will move our community forward in the months to come, the board has a meaningful role to play. With this new leadership, we are better positioned than ever before to raise the bar on excellence in the profession, and equality within our community.”