Courtney Q. Brooks is a Professor at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (“UNH Law”). In 2020, she took over from co-panelist John Burwell Garvey as the Director of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program (“DWS”), the first and only curricular-based bar admission program in the United States.
Prior to taking over as the Director of the DWS Program in 2020, Courtney was the Director of the Legal Residency Program at UNH Law which allows students to apply classroom knowledge in real-world legal setting by working under the supervision of attorneys and other professionals.
Before joining UNH Law, Courtney worked as a commercial litigation and products liability attorney in New Hampshire and the San Francisco Bay Area. Courtney's email address is Courtney.Brooks@law.unh.edu.
Lorena Dobbie joined the Standardized Patient Program University of Toronto in 1999 as a standardized patient and currently holds the position of Training and Recruitment Specialist. She has presented at National and International conferences on best practices in SP methodology, EDI in SP programs including community-based engagement in Medical Education. Lorena has a Specialist Degree in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toronto and is She is completing her Masters of Education in Adult Education and Community Development with an emphasis on Social Justice at OISE, University of Toronto. Lorena has also worked as a researcher and consultant on documentary films in Canada and is a contributing author to an Australian textbook on Animals in Film, 2023. Lorena's email address is l.dobbie@utoronto.ca.
John Burwell Garvey directed the (U.S.) nationally acclaimed Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program (“DWS”) at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law from the program’s inception in 2005 through 2020. The program has been featured in both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. It was the subject of an independent study by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System published in 2015 called “Ahead of the Curve – Turning Law Students into Lawyers.” The program was also a 2015 recipient of the ABA’s prestigious E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award.
John has over 40 years of law practice experience, including three in the United States Navy JAG Corps. Following that, he practiced primarily in New Hampshire. He chaired the litigation department at a major New Hampshire law firm and was selected by his New Hampshire peers for Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.
John served on the Carnegie Foundation’s Initiative on the Future of Legal Education and National Jurist identified him in 2013 as one of the 25 most influential people in the United States in legal education. He has taught Evidence, Pretrial Advocacy, Advanced Pretrial Advocacy, Negotiations/Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Client-Counseling. In addition to teaching at UNH Law, John taught Problem Solving, Decision-Making and Negotiation: An Introduction to Being Intentional, for many years at the Management Leadership Development Program at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College. He is an active mediator and arbitrator, selected for membership by the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. John was selected by his peers in Best Lawyers in America as the 2014 and 2017 Mediator of the Year in New Hampshire. In furtherance of his hands on, simulation-based interactive teaching methods, he is the lead author (with Professor Charles Craver of George Washington) of the 2021 Carolina Academic Press Skills & Values course book entitled ADR: Negotiation, Mediation, Collaborative Law, and Arbitration (2d ed.), which is designed for both in-person and online simulation. John's email address is John.Garvey@law.unh.edu.
Erica Green is responsible for all educational development and activities for the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED), including the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP). She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University and was called to the Bar in Nova Scotia in 1997. Erica worked in private practice for 15 years focusing on Family Law, Real Estate, and Wills and Estates before joining the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, in their Education & Credentials Department. While at the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society she was involved in all aspects of articling, including facilitating their Bar admissions course. She became involved with the creation of PREP during her time at the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and has participated in all roles and areas of development. Erica's email address is Erica.Green@cpled.ca.
Shelley Kierstead is an Assistant Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Her research interests lie in the areas of family law, access to justice, and dispute resolution. She has also conducted research in the conflict of laws area, completing a Master of Laws degree focusing on this topic at the University of Toronto 1993. Professor Kierstead first taught Legal Research and Writing (LRW) at Osgoode in 1993, and became Director of the LRW program at Osgoode in 2002. In 2005, she completed a doctoral dissertation in the family law area and obtained a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Since 1997, Professor Kierstead has also coordinated a parent education program for separating parents entitled the “Parent Information Program.” This program is an initiative of Osgoode’s Centre for Public Law and Public Policy. Research Interests: Family Law, Legal Process. At Osgoode she also has developed, with Paul Maharg, a Simulated Client program in the 1L Legal Process course; while in Osgoode Professional Development she was part of a team that developed the use of SCs in a Certificate in Family Law for lawyers. Shelley's email address is skierstead@osgoode.yorku.ca .
Paul Maharg's work currently focuses on interdisciplinary educational innovation, the design of regulation in legal education and the use of technology-enhanced learning at all levels of legal learning and assessment. At Osgoode Hall Law School he is Distinguished Professor of Practice – Legal Education, where he works in the law school and in Osgoode Professional Development. Previously he was appointed to professorial positions at Strathclyde, Northumbria, ANU and Nottingham Trent law schools and colleges. Paul has authored or edited five books on legal education and is the founder and co-editor of two book series, ‘Emerging Legal Education’ and ‘Digital Games and Learning’. He is Consultant Editor of the European Journal of Law and Technology. He holds Visiting Professorships at Hong Kong University Faculty of Law, and Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, is part-time Professor of Law, Newcastle University Law School, and an Honorary Professor, The Australian National University College of Law. He blogs at http://paulmaharg.com. Email: pmaharg@osgoode.yorku.ca.
Delon Pereira joined the University of Toronto in June 2017 and has significant experience in the management of national licensure exams, standardized patient programs, health education and business operations. Delon oversees the business management, human resources, financial resources, and operations at the SPP as well as ensuring embedding education and intentional Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion practices in the program.
Delon previously worked at the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators as Manager of Operations, Examinations and managed the Pan-Canadian Physiotherapy Competency Written and Clinical Exam for Canadian as well as Internationally Educated Physiotherapists. As Senior Exam Coordinator at Touchstone Institute (previously, Centre for the Evaluation of Health Professionals Educated Abroad) she coordinated assessments for Internationally Educated Physicians, Specialty Medicine, Internationally Educated Nurses and Nurse Practitioner program.
Delon is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and has a Project Management Certificate from the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto. She also holds a Bachelor of Science (Microbiology) from Bangalore University, India and a Master of Business Administration from Mount Carmel Institute of Management, Bangalore, India.
Noel Semple is Associate Professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. He studies access to justice. His work asks how the law and legal institutions work in real life, and it aspires to improve their ability to do so. Empirical research (both quantitative and qualitative) and policy analysis are key tools in his scholarship. He draws upon and seeks to contribute to the law and society and empirical legal studies traditions. Email: Noel.Semple@windsor.ca
His doctoral focus was the custody and access arrangements made for children following the breakdown of their parents’ relationships. His dissertation critically analyzed the litigation and settlement mechanisms used to resolve these disputes, and their costs and benefits for the children involved. The severe lack of affordable and professional legal assistance in the family law field became obvious during this research, and inspired Noel’s postdoctoral research agenda. He teaches and writes in the fields of civil dispute resolution, legal ethics and professionalism, and family law. He has taught Legal Process at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and Children and the Law at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law.
His book Legal Services Regulation at the Crossroads: Justitia’s Legions is available now from Edward Elgar Press in hardcover and as an affordable e-book. This book was written during a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where Noel was also a Visiting Scholar in Residence at the Centre for the Legal Profession. Noel’s work has appeared in the International Journal of the Legal Profession, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, and the Family Court Review, among other journals. Noel's email address is Noel.Semple@uwindsor.ca.
Angela Yenssen is a lawyer, social worker, and Simulated Client trainer. She held middle management positions in health care and social services in Ontario for several years before transitioning from her social work career to a legal career. She currently practices law in Ontario's community legal clinic system focusing on housing and social assistance law. She has provided training for Simulated Clients for the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED), Osgoode Hall Law School, and the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. She holds a Juris Doctor as well as Master's degrees in Social Work and Public Policy and Administration. Angela's email address is yenssena@yorku.ca.