Stefanie joined the College as the Assistant General Counsel and Contracts Administrator in 2022. While she’s originally from Massachusetts, Stefanie has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2008.
Before joining Oxy, Stefanie was a litigator for nearly seven years, most of that time with the boutique firm Hirschfeld Kraemer. While practicing, Stefanie’s main areas of focus were higher education and labor and employment law. Stefanie has a wealth of experience handling legal issues such as student and faculty speech, Clery reporting, involuntary faculty dismissals, employee terminations and discipline, serving as a Title IX hearing officer, disability accommodation and interactive process, employee discipline, leaves and benefits, state and federal wage and hour audits and disputes, independent contractor issues, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, employment contracts, and pre-employment and privacy issues, including background checks and drug and alcohol testing. During her time as a litigator, Stefanie obtained favorable results for her clients in state and federal courts, arbitrations, mediations, and agency forums, including the Department of Industrial Relations, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
While attending the University of California Los Angeles Law School, Stefanie represented indigent clients with Public Counsel and spent a summer working with the General Counsel of Simmons College (now Simmons University). Stefanie also served as an extern to the Honorable Christina A. Snyder, United States District Court, Los Angeles. Stefanie received her undergraduate degree in Psychology/History from Smith College.
An avid runner, hiker, biker, and walker, Stefanie is always on the move. You can frequently catch her zooming around West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Venice. When she’s not out exploring, Stefanie loves to cook, garden, and explore the world of craft beers. Stefanie is active with NACUA – the National Association of College and University Attorneys – as well as numerous animal rescue organizations.