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Named by Landscape Ontario as 2020 and 2021’s Garden Communicator of the Year, gardening has been Mr. James’ hobby and profession for over 40 years. A graduate of Niagara Parks School of  Horticulture, a Master Gardener, writer, and teacher, he focuses on eco-gardening techniques, which makes sense since he grew up surrounded by nature. He has spoken from the Maritimes to Seattle and landscaped from Nova Scotia to California. Mr. James has had the honor to be part of creating the Ontario Landscape Tree Planting Guide, the Grow-Me-Instead guide, the Ontario Horticultural Apprenticeship Curriculum and the national Red Seal Occupational Standard, and the Master Gardeners Reference Manual. He has participated in chairing the Environmental Stewardship Committee for Landscape Ontario, the Environmental Committee for the Perennial Plant Association, moderating the Master Gardeners of Ontario Facebook page, judging the All-American Selections garden competition and Hamilton’s Monarch Awards. Mr. James has been the Ontario spokesperson for Garden Days Canada and he has appeared on many radio shows and on television and has instructed at the college level for 17 years. He owns ‘Sean James Consulting & Design’.

Ms. Cooper is a member of Cooper, Riesterer, & Gross PLC, Attorneys at Law, located in Brighton, Michigan. She specializes in real estate and municipal law, counseling commercial and residential property owners, sellers, buyers, landlords, tenants, and brokers on all aspects of real estate and zoning law. Ms. Cooper is municipal counsel to a general law township and municipal water authority in Livingston County. She advises clients on their simple and complex transactional and litigation issues including purchase and sale agreements, land contracts, leases, site acquisition, development, financing, quiet title, riparian rights, easements, boundary disputes, variances, and zoning approvals. Complicated issues are often referred to her for creative solutions. Ms. Cooper is a frequent speaker, presenter, and moderator for various realtor groups and brokerages, the State Bar of Michigan’s Real Property Law Section, and various other community organizations. She is a certified instructor for CE Marketplace, Michigan’s continuing education center for real estate professionals. Ms. Cooper has been practicing law for 22 years, graduating from Wayne State Law School in 2003 cum laude and Michigan State University’s James Madison College in 1998 with high honors.

Ms. McKay is a recognized leader in environmental policy with more than two decades of experience at the intersection of science, law, and public policy. She has built a career advancing water resource protection through strategic advocacy, coalition-building, and deep engagement with regulatory and legislative frameworks. Her work is known for bridging technical expertise and policy solutions to address complex environmental challenges across the Great Lakes region. Until recently, she served as chief policy and government affairs director for the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, where she led the organization’s comprehensive policy agenda to strengthen water resource protections at the local, state, and federal levels. Earlier in her career, Ms. McKay worked with the Public Interest Research Group and in the Michigan Legislature. She was appointed by former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Great Lakes Commission, the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Authority, the Land Information Access Association Board of Directors, and the Northern Michigan Area Committee. She also serves on the Environmental Council Board of Directors, rising to its chair from 2022 to 2024. Ms. McKay holds dual degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Michigan State University.

Ms. Rivette is a professional engineer with over 30 years experience in water resources.
She has an Environmental Engineering degree from Michigan Technological University. In the stormwater world, she spent over 10 years with the City of Grand Rapids, where she managed their Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit. This included revising their stormwater code, reviewing land development permits, and leading the City’s green infrastructure initiatives. She also worked closely with MS4 managers across the state to work jointly on MS4 permit compliance and ensure consistency of programs in West Michigan.

Ms. Isely is a veteran of the West Michigan legal and environmental communities and has held a number of positions in the nonprofit and academic sectors focused on research, policy implementation, and collaboration. She’s served in leadership and as the interim executive director, deputy director, and director of water programs at the West Michigan Environmental Action Council; as project manager for West Michigan Strategic Alliance’s Green Infrastructure Initiative; research associate for the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University; Sea Grant Fellow with the Great Lakes Commission; and litigation attorney for Legal Aid of Western Michigan and the Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project, Inc. Ms. Isely has more than 30 years of experience in law, water policy, research, outreach, and public speaking. She holds a J.D. degree from Wayne State University Law School, an M.S. degree in Biology from Grand Valley State University, and a B.S. degree in Finance from the University of Maryland. She is appointed to the Michigan State Waterways Commission and serves on the Community Advisory Group for the PFAS contamination at the various Wolverine Worldwide contaminated sites in Northern Kent County (MI). She has published several academic and technical papers on environmental and collaborative management topics.

An economist focused on the intersection of sustainable watershed management and urban planning, Ms. Viars employs a strategic blend of policy instruments and financial tools to forge innovative solutions for pressing urban water challenges. Rooted in collaboration, her approach prioritizes diverse social and cultural values of nature to foster equitable participation and resource allocation, building both climate resilience and economic prosperity for all communities. Ms. Viars holds both an M.S. degree and a B.S. degree in Economics from the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. She previously served as an adjunct professor in Economics at Grand Valley State University and participates in various regional environmental advisory committees and as a Great Lakes Senior Environmental Leadership Fellow.

Mr. Landsman has over 10 years of executive leadership experience operating one of the DC metropolitan area’s oldest and most respected property management firms, as well as hands-on experience managing a large and diverse portfolio of multifamily properties. He has served a broad range of clients and industries with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Booz Allen Hamilton, and a boutique patent litigation firm. Mr. Landsman attended Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies where he graduated summa cum laude, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Management and Technology. He also earned a Master of Science degree from the University College London’s School of Public Policy. Mr. Landsman is deeply interested in fostering more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable communities. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and volunteering as a member of the Maryland Clean Energy Center’s Advisory Council, the Board of Trustees and Building and Grounds Committee of Temple Emanuel, and the Takoma Park Police Chief’s Advisory Board.

Savaria is a global leader in home elevators and residential and commercial accessibility lifts, Mr. Baker and has been with Savaria for nine years. Prior to joining the Savaria team, He held sales and marketing roles with Sleeman Breweries and Baker-Blais Marketing. Mr. Baker holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from HEC Montréal. He is an accredited AIA presenter, certified coach and avid public speaker.

Named by Landscape Ontario as 2020 and 2021’s Garden Communicator of the Year, gardening has been Mr. James’ hobby and profession for over 40 years. A graduate of Niagara Parks School of  Horticulture, a Master Gardener, writer, and teacher, he focuses on eco-gardening techniques, which makes sense since he grew up surrounded by nature. He has spoken from the Maritimes to Seattle and landscaped from Nova Scotia to California. Mr. James has had the honor to be part of creating the Ontario Landscape Tree Planting Guide, the Grow-Me-Instead guide, the Ontario Horticultural Apprenticeship Curriculum and the national Red Seal Occupational Standard, and the Master Gardeners Reference Manual. He has participated in chairing the Environmental Stewardship Committee for Landscape Ontario, the Environmental Committee for the Perennial Plant Association, moderating the Master Gardeners of Ontario Facebook page, judging the All-American Selections garden competition and Hamilton’s Monarch Awards. Mr. James has been the Ontario spokesperson for Garden Days Canada and he has appeared on many radio shows and on television and has instructed at the college level for 17 years. He owns ‘Sean James Consulting & Design’.

Mr. Connelly focuses his practice on state, local, and federal economic development incentives and all aspects of public finance, including the issuance of bonds and conduit financing by public bodies. Mr. Connelly counsels developers, private businesses, and governmental entities seeking to utilize public financing sources in connection with capital development. He regularly appears before city councils, boards of county commissioners, boards of township trustees, and school district boards of education to advise on public financing matters. He is also experienced in assisting Ohio port authorities and other public sector clients with the issuance of debt. Mr. Connelly has served as underwriter’s counsel for the Ohio Treasurer of State on several large debt issuances for projects throughout Ohio. As a certified public accountant (inactive), he has experience with a broad range of state and local tax matters, including appearing before local boards of revision and the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals on real property valuation matters. Mr. Connelly is the incoming chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Taxation Committee, which he has been involved with for more than 12 years. He received his J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law, summa cum laude, and his B.S. in accounting, magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University.

Mr. Dimengo is an Ohio tax attorney serving as the first call his clients make when faced with a tax challenge. Mr. Dimengo represented the Cincinnati Reds before the Ohio Supreme Court to exempt their purchases of bobbleheads (and other promotional items) from Ohio sales/use tax. Mr. Dimengo concentrates his practice on Ohio sales, income and commercial activity taxes as well as transactions with federal tax implications. This includes comprehensive Ohio tax audits, appeals, and planning; sales of real property; and the acquisition/sale of businesses. Mr. Dimengo earned his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, and his masters of taxation and his J.D. degrees from The University of Akron.

Mr. Fry is a business tax attorney who provides clients with trusted advice concerning significant transactions, tax planning, and difficult challenges encountered in their daily operations. Mr. Fry’s practice focuses on state and local tax compliance and controversies, including Ohio and multistate sales/use tax, commercial activity tax, and personal income tax issues, and in federal income tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service. Additionally, because of his tax background, he often advises clients regarding the business and tax implications of commercial and real estate transactions. As the former chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Taxation Committee, Mr. Fry has been asked to present his opinion concerning tax laws and policy to Ohio legislatures. These opportunities have given him invaluable insight into the legislative process and the practical considerations that mold tax policy. Mr. Fry earned his J.D. degree, summa cum laude, and his masters of taxation degree from The University of Akron.

Since his admission to the bar, Mr. Koblentz has engaged in the general practice of law with an emphasis in litigation. Currently, Mr. Koblentz devotes the greatest portion of his practice to the area of professional responsibility, which includes, but is not limited to, legal ethics, attorney discipline, bar admission applications, attorney conflicts of interest, disqualification of counsel, law firm formations and dissolutions, legal malpractice representation as both plaintiff and defense counsel and service as an expert witness. Mr. Koblentz also practices in complex and general civil litigation, general and whitecollar criminal defense, probate, real estate, small business counseling, and domestic relations. He has been a speaker at continuing legal education seminars throughout Ohio and several other states on well over 100 occasions on behalf of a number of governmental and judicial bodies, law schools, bar associations, and proprietary organizations. Mr. Koblentz has also appeared as a guest lecturer at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and the University of Akron Law School. He has been rated “AV” and listed by Martindale-Hubbell in the bar register of preeminent lawyers since 1990. He has been recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyer in Cincinnati Magazine and a Leading Lawyer in Northeast Ohio by Inside Business Magazine.

Mr. Saito is an exceptional legal scholar on the subject of taxation. His scholarship focuses on how the tax law shapes social policy, the management of the tax system and tax law’s interaction with democratic ideals. Professor Saito currently teaches courses in federal income taxation and tax policy. His research has been published in several legal journals including the Connecticut Law Review, the Georgia State Law Review and the Fordham Urban Law Journal. Prior to joining Ohio State, Professor Saito held academic appointments at Northeastern University School of Law and Harvard Law School. He previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division in the Court of Federal Claims Section, where he litigated federal tax cases. Professor Saito also served as a clerk to Judge Richard R. Clifton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as a legislative assistant for a member of Congress.

Mr. Sleggs has extensive experience in the area of property tax litigation and related matters. For nearly 37 years, he has handled property tax matters in all 88 Ohio counties and in various jurisdictions throughout the country. His accomplished litigation profile includes experience at all levels of Ohio courts and administrative agencies, inclusive of arguing before the Ohio Supreme Court on numerous occasions. Specifically, Mr. Sleggs successfully argued the landmark appeals of Sharon Village Ltd. v Licking Cty. Bd. of Revision, 78 Ohio St.3d 479(1997) [the preparation and filing of a complaint with an Ohio board of revision constitutes the practice of law], Dayton-Montgomery Cty. Port Auth. v. Montgomery Cty. Bd. of Revision, 113 Ohio St.3d 281(2007) [Ohio Board of Tax Appeals cannot revert back to county’s original value after taxpayer satisfies its burden] and Akron City School Dist. Bd.of Edn. v. Summit Cty. Bd. of Revision, 139 Ohio St.3d 92(2014) [Supreme Court defines “recent” in relation to an arm’s-length sale as occurring 24 months before or after a tax lien date]. Mr. Sleggs earned his undergraduate degree at Miami University at Oxford and his juris doctorate degree from The Case Western Reserve School of Law.

Mr. Carpenter brings a distinct client-centric perspective to the practice of law, shaped by more than a decade as in-house counsel and in executive leadership roles. He understands what clients expect, and strives to leverage his own experience and DRM’s deep bench to provide efficient solutions and practical risk management. Mr. Carpenter has represented clients and developed a wide variety of infrastructure and industrial projects in markets across the northeast, overseeing development of nearly 100 renewable energy projects from Maine to Michigan to Maryland; siting, permitting and defending solid waste operations in every state between New York and Maine; and permitting and defending quarry operations in upstate New York and Vermont. He has extensive experience with hazardous site cleanup and redevelopment as well, representing responsible parties at federally listed hazardous waste sites as well as redeveloping brownfields into productive commercial sites and renewable energy projects. Throughout all of these activities – whether as an attorney or client – respectful, honest communication (leavened with a healthy dose of humor) is the guiding principle of Mr. Carpenter’s professional code.

A native Vermonter, Mr. Cowan graduated from University of Vermont in 1980 with a B.A. degree in Geography. Since that time Mr. Cowan has been continously employed in the field of land surveying in Vermont and northern New Hampshire. After earning his professional license in 1987, Mr. Cowan was appointed to the Vermont Board of Land Surveyors in 1989, where he served for over nine years. Upon completition of his terms on the board he was named a Board Member Emeritus. Mr. Cowan serves on the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying on the committee which writes, prepares, and adminiters the standard examination for land surveyors. His experience includes boundary surveys of large woodland tracts for forest product companies and conservation groups, as well as subdivision and engineering surveys in urban and suburban settings. Recent interests include providing land surveying consultation services to engineers and other design professionals, and providing assistance in boundary location problems.

Mr. McPhee was born and raised in Rutland, Vermont, where he lives with his wife Nicole and their two children. He earned his B.A. degree, with great distinction, from Castleton State College in 1987. He was the first graduate to complete the Honors Program in History while at Castleton State College. He received his J.D. Degree from Vermont Law School in 1990 and graduated cum laude. While attending law school, Mr. McPhee served as a member and development notes editor for the Vermont Law Review.

Mr. Murphy has a broad practice grounded in all types of real estate matters. His litigation practice focuses on property law, including disputes involving title and boundary issues, easements, adverse possession and prescriptive easements; public and private road issues; title insurance claims; land use, zoning and Act 250; construction, condemnation and tax appeals. In the course of his practice, Mr. Murphy has represented landowners, developers, municipalities and neighborhood groups in matters before the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, the Vermont Supreme Court, Vermont Superior Courts, the Vermont Environmental Court, the Vermont Environmental Board, the Water Resources Board, multiple Act 250 District Environmental Commissions, and various municipal zoning and planning boards. His transactional practice focuses on representing property owners and developers to establish and manage their operating entities; to acquire, finance, permit, manage, lease and/or sell (including “1031 exchanges”) a wide variety of commercial, residential, hotel, recreational, office and shopping center properties; and to establish condominiums and common interest communities.

Mr. Speck serves as associate professor and Paralegal Program Coordinator at Tulsa Community College, where he is dedicated to advancing paralegal education and promoting access to justice. Mr. Speck’s academic credentials include a J.D. degree from Southern Illinois University and both B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma.

In addition to his academic role, Mr. Speck is of counsel at C. Craig Cole & Associates, where he represents clients in state and federal courts, administrative bodies, and arbitration and mediation proceedings. His practice areas encompass commercial and consumer litigation, insurance defense, employment law, contract disputes, premises liability, personal injury, and landlord-tenant matters. Mr. Speck is admitted to practice in Oklahoma, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma and the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Western and Northern Districts of Oklahoma. He is an active member of both the Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations. Mr. Speck’s scholarly contributions include co-authoring an article on Washington’s limited license legal technicians and their impact on access to justice, published in the Tulsa Lawyer.

Mr. West’s practice encompasses a variety of legal areas including family law, guardian ad litem work, civil litigation, estate planning, and municipal law. Mr. West attended Texas Christian University and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Psychology in 2015. He was a member of the John V. Roach Honors College and the TCU Wesley Foundation. Mr. West worked as an extern at the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office before working as a legal intern for NICHOLS | DIXON. He passed the bar in 2018 and became an associate attorney. Mr. West is licensed to practice law in all municipal and state courts, the Western District of Oklahoma, and several tribal courts. He is invested in his legal community and served on the Cleveland County Bar Association Executive Board, including as president for the 2022-2023 term. Mr. West has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for 2023 and 2024 following nomination and voting by his peers. He also currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Oklahoma Bar Association.