There's More Work to Be Done: Cultivating & Fostering Diversity at Every Level

Evelyn is an accomplished senior legal advisor, strategic business partner, and passionate diversity thought leader, specializing in global labor & employment matters, including the thoughtful and compliant execution of DEI strategy, with demonstrated success across Fortune 500 organizations.

Evelyn offers over a decade of experience delivering expert, high-touch, innovative - yet practical - day-to-day legal support for workforce solutions that culturally align with organizational values and drive business objectives while enhancing employee experience and bolstering the employer brand.

Clients praise her ability to quickly cultivate trust by leading with authenticity and asking the right questions, describing her as a creative, pragmatic, business-minded yet empathetic problem-solver who can breathe levity into crisis.

In her roles, she’s led highly effective teams and fostered an environment where individuals flourish. This commitment to skill-building and career advancement has resulted in a 100% promotion rate among her direct reports.

As a highly effective communicator and trusted team leader, she has a penchant for team collaboration and cross-functional relationship building. Her leadership style is centered around authenticity, empowerment, and a shared commitment to excellence.

A proud Afro-Latina, native Spanish speaker, and first-generation everything, Evelyn is an avid champion of diversity in the legal profession and beyond, long committed to social issues affecting communities of color.

As a forward-thinker, she has expanded her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by founding Ella Elevates LLC, a career strategy and consulting firm, helping premier organizations create a diverse leadership pipeline by equitably supporting, empowering, and elevating professionals of color.

Evelyn is a frequent speaker on topics at the intersection of law, diversity, and career development, and an enthusiastic mentor to young professionals of color wholeheartedly invested in their collective success.

Christine leads the Legal and Compliance team, responsible for compliance and legal support across all of LEE’s work and affiliated entities. Before joining LEE as the organization’s first full-time general counsel, Christine served on the Teach For America legal affairs team counseling the organization on tax-exempt organization law, contracts, lobbying, and compliance. Prior to Teach For America, she served as the first general counsel at Victory Schools.

Christine began her career as a Teach For America corps member, teaching third grade in the South Bronx. Christine serves her community as a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel NYC Chapter’s Women & Gender Committee and as an officer of her children’s public school PTA.

Christine holds an AB from the University of Georgia, an MSEd from Bank Street College of Education, and a JD from the Villanova University School of Law.

Andy Yoo is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Pearson, the world’s leading learning and education company, whose corporate mission is to improve people’s lives through learning. He has significant experience leading teams and working in the education sector ranging from K-12, Higher Education, and Adult professional/vocational training and employability. His work focuses on Publishing, Educational Technology, Copyright and Trademark, Online Learning, Learning Platforms, Educational Research, Digital Content Distribution, Antitrust, Consumer Protection, Strategic Partnerships, Litigation and In-House operations.

He is also passionate about and head of the Diversity and Inclusion efforts within the Pearson Legal Function. In order to increase diversity in the legal profession, he serves on the Board of the Pipeline to Practice Foundation and the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and is active with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), Diversity Lab, NAMWOLF and the National Federation of the Blind. Prior to Pearson, he was associated with the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and in-house at Viacom.

Andy graduated with a B.A. from Cornell University and received his law degree from NYU where he was a member of the Law Review and Order of the Coif.