Yolanda supports senior lawyers ready to take the next step in their careers.
 
A former executive lawyer at global public companies, the federal government and AmLaw 100, Yolanda Goettsch has 20+ years of legal experience working with business executives, board of directors, and lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and industries. Most recently, Yolanda served as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of The Vita Coco Company, Inc., a leading beverage company.  In this role, she led the Legal & Compliance team through the company’s initial public offering and in the transition from a private to public company. The Vita Coco Company is a Delaware public benefit corporation and certified B Corporation.  
 
Prior to her role at Vita Coco, Yolanda was Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Nasdaq, Inc., leading the Nasdaq Stock Exchange’s Listing Qualifications department. She also served as Deputy General Counsel in Nasdaq’s legal group advising on SEC financial reporting, financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, technology initiatives and corporate governance. 
 
Yolanda also previously served as Senior Counsel, Legal Policy in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of General Counsel, where she counseled the Commission on SEC rulemaking, enforcement actions and policy matters. She also spent several years in private practice in the Washington DC offices of WilmerHale and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Yolanda began her career serving as a judicial legal clerk in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. 
 
Yolanda holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and a B.A. from Yale University.  
 
As a first-generation lawyer that has worked her way up to leadership positions in multiple legal settings, Yolanda can provide a valuable perspective and practical advice for lawyers that are seeking senior in-house or other leadership positions. 
 
She is a certified holistic career development coach.  

Niki Irish, LICSW, Outreach and Education Coordinator for the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program, has over 15 years of experience in the mental health field, with a focus on wellbeing and addiction. For over ten years she served as the Senior Counselor for the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP), providing lawyers and law students with addiction and mental health assessments, counseling, consultation and psychoeducation. Niki currently serves as the Outreach and Education Coordinator for the LAP providing a variety of trainings and educational seminars to law schools, legal employers, voluntary bar associations, and other legal organizations.

Niki has a B.S. in Psychology and Family Studies and an MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, with a concentration in Employee Assistance Programs. She is licensed to practice clinical social work in the District of Columbia.

Jessie Joachim, LPC, LCPC provides lawyers and law students with addiction and mental health assessments, counseling, consultation and psychoeducation. She has over 10 years of experience in counseling with a focus in mental health, resilience, and substance use disorders. Jessie has a B.A. in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Community Counseling, with a concentration on Employee Assistance Counseling from Argosy University. She is licensed to practice professional counseling in the District of Columbia and Maryland. 

Partner, Mitchell Sandler

Whitney Peters is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and serves as an outpatient therapist at the Lindner Center of Hope.

She is a member of the Lindner Center of Hope OCD Treatment Team and is a specialist in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, ADHD, Body Focused Repetitive Disorders such as skin picking (excoriation disorder) or hair pulling (trichotillomania), Body Dysmorphia, Mood and Depressive Disorder, and PANS/PANDAS.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at The Ohio State University and later went on to earn a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wright State University. She has received extensive post graduate training and education in the field of Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, Anxiety, and OCD through the International OCD Foundation, TLC Foundation, and the CHADD Organization.

Prior to joining the Lindner Center of Hope, she worked as an outpatient counselor in community mental health, mental health court, private practice, and telehealth practice in Columbus, Ohio. She is a member of the International OCD Foundation and is a Grassroots OCD Advocate, a member of the TLC Foundation for Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors, the PANS/PANDAS Network, and The Tourette Association of America.

She has written articles and educational materials about OCD, presented at the International OCD Foundation annual conference, presented professional trainings, was invited as a guest speaker on the topic of anxiety for wellness summits, hosts a monthly OCD consultation, and fundraises for continued OCD research, awareness, and treatment with the annual One Million Steps for OCD Walk in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Attorney, Pilliero Mazza

Benita Talati is an attorney-turned workplace advocate specializing in helping women with chronic pain and illness find ways to stay in the workforce despite health or other life challenges.  She has presented on topics such as answering illegal interview questions, “know your rights” and how to overcome “unemployment depression.” She is currently a Senior Law Clerk Lead processing FOIA requests as a contractor supporting a federal government agency building on her prior experience as a Project Attorney. To manage multiple chronic health issues, she pivoted to working in the E-discovery field as a contract attorney and Project Attorney where she served as Team Lead on numerous occasions.

Prior to working as a contract attorney, she was a pre-litigation personal injury attorney and negotiated several settlements including some six figure settlements. 

A graduate of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, she was an Associate Editor of The Journal of Practical and Clinical Law and participated in the Student Hurricane Network disaster relief by volunteering in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Prior to graduation, she completed a legal externship at the U.S. EEOC and a plaintiff’s law firm in her home state of New Jersey.  Upon graduation during the Great Recession, she was admitted to the New Jersey Bar and briefly practiced ERISA law before beginning her career in the E-discovery field. 

In between attending law school and graduating with a BA in political science from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Ms. Talati earned a paralegal certificate from Middlesex County College and worked as a litigation paralegal. 

She is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association and licensed in New Jersey and D.C.

 To connect with her, visit www.linkedin.com/in/benitatalati.

Eric Webber is the Caron Legal Professionals Program Coordinator and Senior Behavioral Health Therapist at Caron Treatment Center.  He provides direct care through specialty lectures and counseling sessions focused on relapse, addiction interaction disorders, work/professional related issues, and other targeted needs. He conducts the Legal Professionals group and meets with legal professionals individually to provide counsel.  Mr. Webber is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Clinical Supervisor, and holds a Certificate of Competency in Problem Gambling, all through the Pennsylvania Certification Board; he is also a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist and a Certified Multiple Addiction Therapist through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals. He holds a master’s degree from Alvernia University.  

Joel West Williams has practiced meditation for more than 35 years. He has taught meditation to youth organizations throughout the United States and led community groups in Colorado and Washington, D.C. Joel’s legal practice focuses on federal Indian law. He has served in state, federal, and tribal government and was a managing attorney with the Native American Rights Fund for 9 years. He is a past-president of the Native American Bar Association of D.C. and the National Native American Bar Association. Joel is currently an attorney with Hobbs Straus Dean & Walker in Washington, D.C. and an adjunct professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School.