Board of Directors

  • George Varghese, WilmerHale, Board Chair

    George P. Varghese is a Partner at WilmerHale and draws on more than a decade of leadership experience in the US Department of Justice to advise clients on litigation involving federal and state governments. Prior to WilmerHale, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

    He also serves as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Section and is a member of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston.

  • Adrianne Ortega, Ropes & Gray, Vice Chair

    Adrianne Ortega is a Partner at Ropes & Gray and has broad experience advising health care and higher education clients on complex and innovative transactions and regulatory matters. Adrianne is also co-leader of the firm’s public finance practice and advises on public and private financing transactions for non-profit health care and higher education entities.

    Adrianne is co-chair of the Ropes Multicultural Forum, which sponsors initiatives aimed at promoting and supporting diverse lawyers.

  • Louis Mercedes, Mintz Levin, Treasurer

    Lou is a corporate attorney at Mintz Levin who focuses his practice on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, strategic business transactions, and recapitalizations. He has experience advising clients on US and international deals, and represents clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, health care, technology, telecommunications, and media.

    He is also a member of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and a Board Member of United South End Settlements.

  • Carla Reeves, Goulston & Storrs, Clerk

    Carla Reeves is an employment lawyer and litigator at Goulston & Storrs who advises employers on legal matters arising out of the employment relationship, including recruitment and hiring, workplace policies, performance management, separations, and strategies for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also conducts trainings on strategies for interrupting bias, and prevention of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace.

    Carla is also a member of the Boston Bar Association’s Women of Color Attorneys Leadership Forum and the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association.

  • Donald Deng, State Street, Member

    Donald Deng is a Vice President and Senior Litigation Counsel at State Street Bank and Trust Company. Donald advises various of State Street’s business units concerning legal and regulatory disputes. Prior to joining State Street, Mr. Deng was a Counsel in the WilmerHale Litigation/Controversy and Securities Departments, and a member of the Business Trial Group.

    Donald is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Lawyers Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing & Homelessness.

  • Christopher Hart, Foley Hoag, Member

    Chris Hart is an experienced civil litigator and human rights lawyer with a focus on cybersecurity and global data protection. As co-chair of Foley Hoag’s Privacy and Data Security practice, Chris counsels clients on data privacy and cybersecurity compliance, incident response, government investigations, and litigation stemming from an organization’s data management and governance practices.

    Chris is also the President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, Region 1, and is currently serving as Treasurer of the Boston Bar Association.

  • Srikanth Reddy, Goodwin Procter, Member

    Srikanth Reddy is a partner in Goodwin's Litigation department and a member of the IP Litigation practice, where he concentrates his practice on intellectual property opinion and litigation matters. He is also a member of the firm’s Life Sciences Disputes group and currently serves as the Boston Hiring Partner.

    Srikanth has served as a member of Goodwin’s Hiring Committee as well as its Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CRED) and on its Community Service Steering Committee.

  • Danielle Pelot, Choate, Member

    Danielle Pelot is a partner at Choate where her practice experience spans life sciences, healthcare, financial services, higher education, transportation, and similarly regulated sectors.

    She works routinely with her clients on compliance measures and risk mitigation strategies as well as responses to federal and state enforcement actions, whistleblower claims, and fraud allegations.

    In addition to her practice, she previously served as one of the firm’s Hiring Partners.