Alternative Dispute Resolution Center

Kathleen Carnes
Director/Mediator

Biography

Kathleen is a full-time faculty member at Haile College of Business' Accounting, Economics & Finance Department, teaching Business Law since 2011. Since 2016 she has served as the Director of Haile College's Alternative Dispute Resolution Center. In this role, Kathleen also co-chairs the annual Lou Manchise Labor-Management Conference held each year at NKU and directs the mediations and arbitrations facilitated by the ADR Center.

Prior to joining Northern Kentucky University, Kathleen practiced law for twelve years in various capacities. She remains Of Counsel at Dinsmore and Shohl where her practice primarily includes labor and employment law in defense of employers. Kathleen specializes in advising Companies regarding compliance with Title VII, the National Labor Relations Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and various other state and federal employment statutes and regulations. She also worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, where she investigated and prosecuted unfair labor practices and as the Director of Personnel for a large state agency/cabinet where she oversaw all aspects of human resources. Kathleen graduated cum laude with a BA in Political Science from the University of Louisville and her JD from the University of Cincinnati where she was an executive member of the Moot Court Board.

Teressa L. Elliott
Arbitrator/Mediator

Biography

Teressa L. Elliott received her J.D. degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1990 and has been a licensed attorney in Kentucky since October, 1990. Professor Elliott practiced law full-time from 1990 until she began teaching full-time in 2003. From 1990-1997, Professor Elliott was a staff attorney at Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, Inc. and from 1997-2003, Professor Elliott had her own law practice focusing on domestic relations law and during this time, she also worked as an Assistant Campbell County attorney prosecuting misdemeanors and juvenile cases.Professor Elliott is also licensed to practice law in the local federal courts. Professor Elliott began teaching as an adjunct at Northern Kentucky University in 1992 and began teaching full-time in the Haile/US Bank College of Business in 2003. Professor Elliott is a Professor who teaches legal environment of business, business ethics, emerging enterprise law, and classes in the M.B.A. program. Professor Elliott also taught a comparative law course in London through the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad (CCSA) at Northern Kentucky University five times from 2005-2014. Professor Elliott received the Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Teaching in 2005, the Dean's Citation for Organizational Citizenship in 2006, Faculty of Distinction from Student Support Services in 2006 and 2007, and the Outstanding Business Law/Finance Faculty Award from the Finance and Accounting Student Organization (FASA) in 2011. Professor Elliott has written and published on the subject of alternative dispute resolution and is an arbitrator, mediator, and founding board member of the ADR Center here at Northern Kentucky University. In her work for the ADR Center, Professor Elliott has mediated a number of domestic relations cases and has arbitrated cases involving police officers and corrections officers.

John Gray
Mediator/Board Member

Biography

John Gray brings nearly two decades of experience in labor relations and conflict resolution to his work. He served as a Commissioner for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for 14 years, where he played a key role in resolving complex labor disputes and fostering constructive labor-management relationships nationwide.

Prior to joining FMCS, John spent 5 years as a Labor Relations Mediator with the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB). Over the course of his 19-year career, he has successfully mediated more than 1,700 labor disputes across the public and private sectors.

A dedicated educator and mentor, John has served as a new mediator trainer for FMCS, Northern Kentucky University's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Center, and has even shared his expertise internationally with the country of Myanmar.

In addition to his mediation work, John is a seasoned trainer and facilitator. He has trained thousands of participants in a wide range of ADR programs focused on enhancing communication, collaboration, and effective conflict management.

Throughout his FMCS career, John was recognized for his outstanding contributions with 19 service awards, including the prestigious 2018 Director’s Award for Excellence.

John's work is grounded in a deep commitment to helping labor and management find common ground through mutual understanding and practical problem-solving.

Michael W. Hawkins
Mediator/Board Member

Biography

Mike is a partner in the Labor, Employment and Appellate Practice Groups at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. With more than 40 years of experience as an attorney and hundreds of successful mediations, Mike uses a tried and true approach that enables both parties to comfortably maneuver through the process toward resolution while ensuring their interests are protected. He understands that mediation involves compromise and negotiation, and he provides each party with a Preparation Guide that ensures the process remains on track and consistent throughout the mediation. This approach has resulted in a better than 80% success rate in settling disputes.   A neutral for the American Arbitration Association (AAA) since 1992, Mike has been successful in mediating and arbitrating employment-related claims and commercial disputes. Litigation involving discrimination laws, contact and non-compete issues, wrongful discharge claims, construction and domestic relations. He recently served as Chair of The Cincinnati Bar ADR Committee and is a frequent speaker on Mediation and Conflict Resolution. He also taught Mediation and Conflict resolution at Xavier University in Cincinnati for three years.  Mike uses his career experiences to establish credibility and build trust throughout the mediation process. As an attorney, Mike has extensive experience in labor and employment law matters, handling a variety of cases in courts throughout the country, including two before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mike also cares about people. He is well-known for his humanitarian actions, including countless mission trips on behalf of Refugees International and The American Red Cross. Balancing his legal experience and a compassion for serving others, Mike has served as Chair of The Cincinnati Human Relations Committee and Bridges for a Just Community, where he demonstrated a unique ability to connect with a diverse group of people to reach a common ground. These experiences help Mike to relate to others’ needs and build the trust needed to reach win-win resolutions for the parties in a mediation. 

William "Bill" Heekin
Arbitrator/Board Member

Biography

Mr. Heekin is a full-time labor arbitrator and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) neutral.  He is presently on the arbitrator and/or factfinder rosters maintained by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), National Mediation Board (NMB), the City of Louisville, Kentucky Labor/Management Committee, The Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB), and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation.Arbitration issues decided include discipline, discharge, promotion and upgrading, layoff, recall bumping, posting, incentive rates or standards, job classification, overtime, holidays, and vacations, fringe benefits, discrimination, management rights, and arbitrability.  Industries having served include aerospace, airline, automotive, food, metals, broadcasting, chemicals, clerical, coal, communications, construction and building, distillery, glass, health care, machinery, manufacturing, maritime, retail stores, service industries, shop building and dry dock, quarry, textile, transportation, utilities, and warehousing.  Public sector experience includes having served as arbitrator, mediator and factfinder in the resolution of both grievance and contract negotiations impasse disputes arising in the various fields of governmental service (police, fire, education, county and municipal civil service).Mr. Heekin’s education includes Northern Kentucky University (NKU)/Salmon P. Chase College of Law–J.D. (1983) Xavier University – B.A., Economics (1977).  His professional affiliations include the National Academy of Arbitrators and the Ohio Bar Association.

Sarah B. Kelley
Board Member

Biography

Sara Kelley serves as Deputy General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at Miami University. In this role Sara is responsible for providing legal advice and consultation on a wide range of legal and policy issues impacting the University with a focus on labor and employment law as well as student life. Sara joined Miami in 2020 after 10 years as in-house counsel at Northern Kentucky University. Law is a second career for Sara having over a decade of experience as a social worker. Sara enjoys bringing her legal knowledge and counseling skills together to provide advice and counsel to her Miami colleagues facing legal quandaries.  

Sara received a B.S. in Human Development from the Cornell University, an MSW in Social Work Administration from University of Cincinnati, a JD from Chase College of Law, and is licensed to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky.

Jim Kruer
Mediator

Biography

Jim has been in the legal profession for over a third of a century, and still believes in making a difference in his clients’ lives. He concentrates his efforts in family law, mediation, plaintiffs’ personal injury work, and general litigation. A life-long Northern Kentucky resident, Jim is a graduate of Covington Catholic High School, Xavier University, and Chase College of Law. Demonstrating his commitment to local non-profit organizations, Jim serves on the Boards of the Children’s Law Center, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, and the Northern Kentucky Bar Foundation.

Jim is licensed to practice in Kentucky and Ohio, and is an experienced mediator, having facilitated over 1,000 mediations to successful conclusion.

Jeannine Abukhater Lambert
Board Member

Biography

Jeannine Abukhater Lambert has served in various roles at NKU Chase College of Law since receiving her Juris Doctor in 2011. She has worked in the communications, alumni, and advancement offices. She currently manages all special events and conferences along with alumni relations and alumni programming at Chase College of Law. She also administers the student training programs in advocacy, transactional law, and law and informatics, as well as the honors program, the W. Bruce Lunsford Academy for Law, Business + Technology. Prior to joining the administration at Chase, Jeannine and her husband taught English in Busan, South Korea.   Jeannine is licensed to practice law in Kentucky and opened the Law Office of J. Abukhater Lambert practicing in immigration, criminal, and family law. Prior to attending law school, Jeannine worked in event planning with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and London Community Orchestra, and played cello in the London Community Orchestra. She is a member of the We Three Strings trio, and plays cello at weddings and other special events. Jeannine is passionate about supporting members of the local legal community and in her community service endeavors. She is very involved in the Northern Kentucky Bar Association, and is co-chair of the Women Lawyers Section and a former committee chair of the Young Lawyers Section. She also volunteers with the Young Lawyers Truancy and Mediation program.  Jeannine received her Bachelor of Arts in history with a minor in Islamic Studies from the University of Kentucky where she played in the Symphony Orchestra and studied French, Italian, and Arabic.

John Lucas
Mediator/Board Member

Biography

John is an adjunct faculty member in the Business Law and Accounting Department teaching Business Law since 2016. John also serves as Vice President of the Northern Kentucky University Foundation and Chairperson of the Corporate Governance Committee.   For 28 years until his retirement in 2016, John served in numerous positions at Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., formally known as The Union Central Life Insurance. During his career, he served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. In addition, he was in charge of claims litigation and participated in numerous mediations in the settlement of law suits on a national basis. At this time he is redirecting his career to mediation and is available to mediate cases involving insurance and business
matters. John is also recognized as an “Approved Mediator" in the Kentucky court system involving civil matters John graduated with BA in Political Science from Northern Kentucky University and received a Master Degree from Xavier University. He received his JD from Chase College of Law.  

Louis J. Manchise
Mediator/Chairman

Biography

Louis J. Manchise has been a mediator in the Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area for the past 33 years. Most recently before joining the faculty at NKU, he served as Director of Mediation Services, Federal Mediation Service (FMCS) in Cincinnati. He is very well known in the conflict management community as a dedicated, hard working, fair and creative problem solver.

Andrea L. South
Mediator

Biography

Dr. Lambert South is an Associate Professor in Communication Studies. She received her Ph.D. in family communication from the University of Denver, her M.A. in interpersonal communication from Texas Tech University, and her B.A. in communication and psychology from the University of Kansas. Her areas of expertise include divorce, stepfamilies, co-parenting, family favoritism, adolescent residential treatment centers, and conversations surrounding death. She also has general expertise in communication strategies, interpersonal communication, and business communication. Professor Lambert South is widely involved in the NKU community both on- and off-campus. In addition to serving as a Mediator for the Northern Kentucky Alternative Dispute Resolution Center for the last twelve years, she is the interim Chair of the NKU IRB, and is the Communication Studies and Health Communication program director. Dr. Lambert South has served as the Chair of the Family Communication and Master’s Education divisions for the National Communication Association. She has also served as the Chair of the Interpersonal and Small Group Interest Group for the Central States Communication Association. She is active on numerous review boards and is on the editorial board for the Journal of Family Communication, Women and Language, and the Journal of Communication Pedagogy.Dr. Lambert's research program examining divorce, favoritism, death, and adolescent treatment has yielded over 50 competitively selected papers at international, national, and regional conferences. She has published in journals such as the Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, Communication Research Reports, Behavioral Sciences, and Qualitative Research Reports.

Judge Karen A. Thomas
Mediator/Board Member

Biography

Judge Karen A. Thomas serves on the Campbell County (Kentucky) District Court, and is Chief Regional District Judge for the Northern Region. She was president of the Kentucky District Judges Association for consecutive terms, in 2007 and 2009. She holds a Juris Doctor from Chase College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Northern Kentucky University.   

Stephen Yungbluth
Mediator

Biography

Dr. Yungbluth is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Kentucky and his B.A. from Xavier University. His primary areas of study include Interpersonal, Organizational, and Small Group Communication with a special emphasis in the area of conflict management.