AWI December Fundamentals Series

Wyatt Ryder

Cisco Systems

Wyatt Ryder, PHR, AWI-CH, is the Americas Employee Relations Leader at Cisco Systems, a Fortune 100 technology company. Wyatt leads a team overseeing complex employee relations matters, crisis support, and workplace investigations across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Wyatt conducts hundreds of workplace investigations in his role and provides multilingual employee relations support to 90,000 employees globally on matters including discipline, performance, and safety. Before serving in his current role, he worked for DaVita Kidney Care as an Internal investigator, primarily supporting California HR matters and employee relations roles with Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants and the State of Colorado. Wyatt is from Boulder, CO, and holds a bachelor’s in Political Science and Russian Studies from the University of Colorado. He enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, and when not hiking or backpacking, he loves to brew craft beer—he has made more than 1,000 gallons of beer to date! 

Rachel Koegel

Director of Equal Opportunity Investigations

Nearpass & Koegel PLLC

Rachel Koegel, AWI-CH is a founding partner of Nearpass & Koegel PLLC, a boutique law firm in Upstate New York dedicated to providing neutral client services. Rachel has conducted and overseen hundreds of workplace and campus investigations, involving allegations of misconduct, including discrimination, harassment, sexual assault, and retaliation. Rachel provides her expertise to clients who need timely, thorough, and impartial investigations, as well as other neutral client services, including Title IX hearing officer/adjudication services, informal resolution facilitation, training, and expert witness testimony. Prior to specializing in investigations and other neutral client work, Rachel practiced law at a global employment law firm. After years of litigating employment cases in state and federal courts, Rachel joined a prestigious university as its first specialist in workplace and campus investigations and oversaw the university’s investigative team, which grew by 500 percent during her time there. Rachel serves as part-time faculty at AWI’s week-long training institute, has taught the AWI Workplace Investigations Basics Seminar, and is a co-convenor of the newly established AWI Upstate New York Local Circle.

Abby Warren

Associate

Robinson & Cole LLP

Abby Warren, AWI-CH is a partner in Robinson+Cole’s Labor, Employment, Benefits + Immigration Group, where she represents employers in labor and employment matters. She focuses her practice on counseling private sector employers, including multinational corporations, health care organizations, educational institutions, and manufacturers, in all areas of employment law. Abby also defends employers in federal and state court and before administrative agencies. In addition to counseling and litigation, she provides workplace training for clients and conducts workplace investigations.

Julie Bryan

HR Investigator

Waypoint Workplace Investigations

Julie is the Founder and Principal of Waypoint Workplace Investigations, where she helps organizations navigate the complexities of workplace concerns using over 20 years of experience as a business litigator and counselor and more than a decade conducting and auditing workplace investigations as both an external attorney investigator and an internal employee relations investigator at Amazon. Julie has conducted over 400 investigations into reports of employee concerns, from minor policy violations such as using profanity to bullying, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and sexual assault.  While at Amazon, Julie developed a global training program and analyzed data from thousands of investigations to determine trends, pain points and identify opportunities to improve the workplace culture and ensure employees feel supported.  Julie regularly teaches webinars on investigation skills and serves as faculty for the AWI Training Institute.

Diana Suber

The Employment Law Solution

Diana Suber(she/her) has over twenty years of legal experience in both the private and public sectors. Immediately prior to working for ELS, she served as an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Social Security Administration, defending disability claims filed in federal court. Earlier in her career, Diana worked for over nine years as an employment defense attorney at two large law firms — Jones Day and McGuireWoods, practicing all aspects employment law, including litigating matters arising under federal and state anti-discrimination laws, conducting fact investigations, troubleshooting, and counseling a wide range of clients. 

She also served for over a decade as an appellate staff attorney for the Honorable Justice Robert Benham of the Supreme Court of Georgia where she became well versed in state law and honed her skills in research and writing. At ELS, Diana has used her skillset in all aspects of employment law defense, including litigation, mediation, and workplace investigations. Diana received her law degree from Harvard Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Emory University. In addition, she is certified in Title IX investigations and has been designated to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of Georgia. 

Admissions 

• Georgia 
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit

Education 

• J.D., Harvard Law School 
• B.A., Emory University 

Winter Hankins

HankinsLaw - Equity Workplace Investigations

Winter Hankins, AWI-CH, is an experienced attorney workplace investigator, licensed in the State of California, and is an Association of Workplace Investigators Certificate Holder (AWI-CH). She has conducted complex workplace investigations for private and public employers (sworn and non-sworn employees). In addition, Winter has over 10 years of prior experience in handling claims involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and leaves of absence under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA). She has extensive experience overseeing workplace investigations and advising employers regarding next steps in addressing investigation findings, including discipline and preserving due process rights. Winter is passionate about cultivating diverse and positive workplace culture, which is furthered by her prompt, thorough, and impartiality in conducting investigations. 

Cara Trapani

Buehler Trapani LLP

Cara Trapani, JD, AWI-CH, is a partner at Buehler Trapani LLP, the successor firm to one of Northern California’s oldest workplace investigations law firms. Cara has significant experience investigating allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other misconduct. Her deep understanding of workplace dynamics and dedication to fostering healthy workplaces led her to transition from a career in litigation to workplace investigations. Before co-founding Buehler Trapani LLP, Cara litigated civil rights and employment claims at a boutique litigation firm in San Francisco.

Ms. Barbara Rohrer

Law Office of Barbara A. Rohrer

Barbara Rohrer, AWI-CH began her legal career more than 20 years ago in Michigan, specializing in labor and employment law. She has vast experience advising employers, conducting investigations, and litigating on behalf of both employers and employees. In 2014, Ms. Rohrer accepted the position of Human Resources Director aboard the MAGTFTC/MCAGCC Marine Corps Base located in Twenty-Nine Palms, California. She led and directed the Human Resources department for the NAF Civilian employees supporting base operations and served as a Director on the Marine Corps Community Services Board. She became licensed to practice law in California in 2018. Currently, she serves as SRVP and General Counsel for California Dairies, Inc. She is experienced in both external and internal investigations, and in providing investigation oversight and guidance.