Employee and Program Assessment (Skill, Performance, Leadership) Expert Witnesses: 8

Aaron T. Olson has decades of experience in the field of Police and Human Resources. His foundation of knowledge and skills comes from a career in law enforcement, and being a college educator, expert witness, consultant, trainer, and private investigator.

Background Experience: Mr. Olson has 26 years of police experience with the Oregon State Police managing assignments in communications, recruitment, and patrol. He supervised and evaluated both police and non-police employees. He was a member of the OSP Procedures and Rules Advisory Committee and worked with Oregon's Department of Justice legal team in rewriting and validating OSP's trooper and cadet applicant hiring process. 

As a patrol supervisor, Mr. Olson directed major crime scenes and motor vehicle fatalities investigations. He reviewed and approved administrative, police, and use of force reports. He investigated allegations of police officer misconduct, conducted background checks, and participated in specialized tasks in community policing, dignitary protection with the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies. In his tenure he had experience in police pursuits, the use of physical force and deadly force and next-of-kin death notifications.  

Mr. Olson is a former human resources investigator with Local Government Personnel Institute, Salem, OR. He conducted background and misconduct investigations on city and county employees and city and county elected officials, as well as city police chiefs. His misconduct investigations included sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environments. He wrote the investigative reports and made the findings of facts on all misconduct allegations.

Besides being an expert witness, Mr. Olson is a private investigator. He is insured and bonded, and licensed through the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, Private Investigator License #113509.

Mr. Olson is a published co -writer of multiple books, CARE Approach: Seeking Solutions to Human Problems and Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society. Further, he is an adjunct professor teaching at a community college and state university.

Litigation Support: Mr. Olson meets the criteria of an expert witness as outlined in the Federal Rules of Evidence. He has experience as an expert on cases involving police misconduct, police procedures, police and non-police use of force, police pursuits; wrongful death; personal injury; employer investigations on employees; and cases involving employer negligent hiring, negligent training, negligent supervision, negligent retention, management performance and retaliation. He also has experience in reviewing criminal cases for defense attorneys. Mr. Olson's services are available to attorneys' representing plaintiffs and defendants and include diagnostics, thorough reporting, depositions, arbitration hearings, and trial testimony as needed. Contact him today for a free initial consultation.

Areas of Expertise:

View Aaron T. Olson's Consulting Profile.

Allison West, Esq., SHRM-SCP, AWI-CH

In 2000, after practicing law at a San Francisco Labor and Employment boutique, Allison started Employment Practices Specialists to fulfill her personal mission of helping companies build and maintain safe, respectful and productive workplaces.

Allison focuses her practice on conducting workplace investigations, delivering one-on-one sensitivity training for executives, managers and employees concerning sexual harassment, discrimination, and diversity awareness issues, coaching managers and employees with disciplinary and/or behavioral problems, providing expert witness and litigation assistance.

Litigation Support - Allison improves case effectiveness well before trial by suggesting strategies, investigating and uncovering facts, and performing research. She assesses the technical merits and the time/money/risk equation of a case, offering suggestions to counsel on the advisability of moving forward or settling. Allison's thorough knowledge of both Employment Law and Employment Practices can bring to your case the clear and comprehensive overview you need.

Areas of Expertise:

Allison specializes in developing and delivering interactive training programs in the US and internationally that address employment law and human resources issues.

Allison was brought into CBS News to deliver harassment training immediately after Charlie Rose was terminated and went on to deliver training at 60 Minutes, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and other CBS programs. She trains at organizations of all sizes and industries, nationally and internationally.

Allison is a frequent top-rated speaker at local and national events such as the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Annual Conference & Exposition where she has been ranked as one of the top ten highest rated speakers.

Ramona Powell, SPHR, founder of exPRt HR Consulting, LLC, has 30 years of C-Suite Human Resources and Expert Witness Experience. She prides herself on linking human capital with business strategy.

Litigation Support - A nationally certified Senior Professional in Human Resources, Ms. Powell has a proven track record as an expert witness. Having served as an expert on over 25 cases, legal professionals for plaintiff and defense retain her for her proven ability to provide clear and concise opinions in cases covering a wide variety of topics. As an experienced business partner, she delivers results across all strategic and operational Human Resource practice areas.

Areas of Expertise:

Discrimination

Employment

Background Experience - Ms. Powell has proven experience developing peak performing HR organizations that support business strategy, productivity, and profitability. She is a strategic business partner to C-suite, with global experience in technology, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution operations in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, and Australia across diverse industries. Ms. Powell is responsible for the successful design and implementation of strategic HR initiatives, building and developing high performance HR teams, and aligning people strategy with corporate strategy.

View exPRT HR, LLC's Consulting Profile.

Beth De Lima, MBA, SPHR-CA. consults with Plaintiff and Defense attorneys in regard to human resource management, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), discrimination and related topics.

Ms. De Lima is nationally certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources with a California specific certification (SPHR - CA) by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and was appointed to sit on the Employee Health, Safety, and Security Special Expertise Panel, 2006-2010. She is a certified mediator, U.C. Berkeley, Extension Program and had been appointed to the Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne County Superior Court Mediation Panels. Specifically, Ms. De Lima can assist you in preparing responses and compiling evidence for existing cases. Her litigation support services may be used to:

• Formulate questions for depositions
• Conduct investigations and interviews
• Evaluate the adequacy of personnel policies
• Analyze evidence and presentation materials
• Identify case weaknesses and alternative strategies
• Document employee physical suitability for work
• Determine "reasonable accommodation"

Please visit her website at www.hrmconsulting.com for more details. Ms. De Lima has offices in Murphys and San Jose California and are available at your convenience to discuss cases on a confidential and complimentary basis.

View Consulting Profile.

Brian L. Landers has nineteen years in Law Enforcement as well as over 25 years in law enforcement training and education, including experience as a police and jail academy director and a full-time criminal justice professor. He has served as an expert for both the plaintiff and defense in over seventy cases involving law enforcement and corrections in federal courts across the United States.

Experience: A former law enforcement officer, Brian started his career in patrol and K-9 and was promoted to supervision as a sergeant and eventually as a lieutenant in charge of the agency's training, tactical unit, and hiring procedures. He also handled a variety of investigations and use of force reviews for various agencies.

Brian currently works full-time as a professor of Criminal Justice. He was appointed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice to serve on the state's Tactical Advisory Committee and Law Enforcement Ethics Advisory Committee, was a Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coordinators Committee President, and was appointed by the Wisconsin State Legislature to the state 911 Advisory Committee. He also was elected to three terms as Mayor of the City of Wisconsin Dells and three terms on the County Board of Supervisors (Columbia Co. WI).

Brian frequently serves as a media consultant on police and criminal justice issues for ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox News affiliates, and has authored columns for Officer Magazine on police practices, training, and use of force.

Areas of Expertise:

Education:

View Brian L. Landers' Consulting Profile.

Virginia Rhodes, Ed.D. has an extensive background in public schooling with over 35 years of experience in duty and standard of care: teacher, principal, hiring, supervision, evaluation and instruction in K-12 settings. Her research and role as an elected school board member in a large city district informs her expertise in school policy and district administrative and teaching functions. Dr. Rhodes provides expert witness research, reports & testimony for districts and law firms, working with both plaintiff and defense cases. Dr. Rhodes' services are available nationally and internationally, as she is culturally competent, and travels regularly, presenting at conferences and observing schools. Previous cases have included student injury & death, religious/race, disability discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual abuse, physical abuse of children with multiple abilities, administrative supervision, teacher supervision, actions of paraprofessionals including teacher assistants, security guards, and school resource officers, as well as school evaluations & recommendations for school selection in domestic cases. 

Areas of school-related expertise include:

• Disciplinary policy & practices
• Standard of care and duty for administrative, teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff
• Safety issues: accidents, health & other safety and emergency procedures
• Physical and/or sexual abuse of students by staff or peers
• Teacher & administrator personnel issues: hiring/firing/discrimination/training/evaluation
• School climate, culture, SEL (social-emotional learning), trauma-informed practice
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) issues or incidents within both personnel and student settings
• Challenges of hIgh-poverty schools & districts
• Urban school research & new trends in teacher leadership
• Issues involving STEM, environmental, magnet, and other specialty programming
• Deposition & court testimony, document review & analysis
• Innovative & 21st-century practices vs. typical or common but unacceptable practices

View Dr. Rhodes' Consulting Profile.

Eric Kimberling, MBA, is one of the most recognized and respected independent Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems expert in the world, giving 100% unbiased advice to clients for more than 20 years. Mr. Kimberling has been quoted in hundreds of articles, including the Wall Street Journal, CIO Magazine and Fortune. He provides keynote speeches at industry conferences and universities worldwide, and continually provides industry thought leadership through his YouTube channel, along with blogs, podcasts, webinars. He is the author of multiple acclaimed books, including, “Lessons from 1,000 ERP Implementations,” “Guide to Successful Digital Transformations,” and others.

Throughout his career, Mr. Kimberling has been called upon to investigate the feasibility of litigation, provide witness testimony and build background reporting for the industry’s highest-profile ERP lawsuits, Waste Management v. SAP, Lyons Magnus, Inc. v. Fujitsu America, Inc.; Partner Services, Inc v. Avanade; Kathy Pishghadamian v. Nicor Gas; Flotek Industries, Inc. v. CD Group, Inc.; Midwest Tape LLC v. ESR Associates, Inc.; and Whaley Food Service Repairs v. Epicor to name a few. Eric is actively involved in implementations and project recoveries, giving him a unique and up-to-date experience with modern enterprise technologies.

Areas of Expertise:

Eric holds an MBA with an emphasis in operational strategy and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He is also Six Sigma certified and a certified practitioner of multiple ERP solutions, including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor and Infor, among others. He has won numerous industry awards for his experience and contributions, including Supply Chain Pro to Know and Best Independent ERP Blog from ERP Focus.

 View Eric Kimberling's Consulting Profile.

Maureen Clark, SPHR, President of Three Sixty HR, Inc., began her Human Resources career in finance and Fortune 100 manufacturing. Ms. Clark has been consulting in Human Resources for over 30 years serving more than 200 clients in the high tech, manufacturing, services, not-for-profit, education and public sectors. Ms. Clark is particularly skilled at analyzing difficult workplace problems and creating win-win outcomes. 

Ms. Clark's practice has expanded to include HR investigations (PI#27972), litigation consulting and expert witness testimony for both plaintiffs and defense. Ms. Clark is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, the Northern California Human Resources Association, the Association of Workplace Investigators, and the Forensic Expert Witness Association. 

Expert cases have included allegations of:

• Age and Pregnancy Discrimination
• Adequacy of Employer’s Response to a Complaint of Discrimination,
• Failure to Accommodate a Disability
• Adequacy of Employer’s Response to a Complaint of Sexual Harassment
• Negligent Hiring
• Wrongful Termination
• Constructive Discharge
• Failure to Comply with Meal and Rest Period Requirements
• Failure to Pay at Termination
• Discrimination Based on Disability
• Adequacy of Investigations
• Liability for a Tort Occurring During the Course of Employment
• Whistleblowing, Retaliation

View Maureen Clark's Consulting Profile.