Workplace - Organizational Development Expert Witnesses: 11

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, and trainer.

Mr. Olson's company, A.T. Olson Consulting, LLC, is certified by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) as a Verified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB); and the State of Oregon's Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) as a Service-Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (SDVBE) and Emerging Small Business (ESB).

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.

Mr. Olson is a published co-writer of Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society, 7th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall, and Multicultural and Diversity Strategies for the Fire Service, Pearson Prentice Hall. Further, he is an adjunct college professor teaching Civil Liability in Criminal Justice courses. 

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. 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:

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Police Practices and Procedures Police Investigations and Arrests

Human Resources Practices and Investigations Negligent Hiring, Retention, Failure to Train/Supervise  Bias, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

View Aaron T. Olson's Consulting Profile.

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

Dr. Caren Goldberg, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned professor of Human Resource Management. She provides expert witness and litigation support services in employment law cases. 

Dr. Goldberg has written over 50 peer-reviewed papers and three book chapters on Diversity, Discrimination, Stereotypes, and Sexual Harassment. She has been quoted in numerous magazine and newspapers, and has appeared on Dateline, NBC, Voice of America, and numerous local affiliate news programs to discuss discrimination and harassment. 

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) honored Caren as one of 100 diversity thought leaders from business, consulting, government, and academia, based on her research contributions in this area. More recently, SHRM appointed her to a task force charged with developing professional standards in Diversity and Inclusion.

Litigation Support - Professor Goldberg has been retained by both plaintiff and defense attorneys to testify on matters such as Stereotyping and Harassment / Discrimination climates. In addition, she has testified on the extent to which HR practices are consistent with the scholarly and practitioner literature in HR and how subjectivity in HR practices such as selection, compensation, promotion, appraisal, and termination decision may introduce bias.

Dr. Goldberg provides a variety of services including:

• Assistance Preparing for Depositions and/or Trials in Discrimination and/or Harassment Cases
• Test Validation Services
• Assistance with or Outsourcing of Diversity and/or Sexual Harassment Training Programs
• Assessment and Critique of Opposing Expert's Assumptions, Conclusions, and Prior Research  

Steven Elson, PhD, has 35 years in executive leadership of not-for-profit organizations providing Mental Health and Residential Services to Children and Youth with complex trauma and/or presenting challenging and disruptive behavioral/emotional issues. 

Dr. Elson has overseen services provided to more than 50,000 vulnerable children and youth and their families in a highly regulated, compliance driven industry. Payors have included both public (Medicaid) and private (commercial insurance and private pay) and involve multiple and complex funding streams. Significant growth and new lines of business were attained in all leadership positions/organizations while achieving state and national recognition for training and service excellence. 

Background Experience - As CEO, Dr. Elson launched training and consultation services directly impacting organizations in 15 states and seven foreign countries. He has been actively involved in virtually all significant public policy initiatives affecting child welfare and children's mental health in California. Industry leadership includes Board membership on five state-wide and one national association.  Dr. Elson has been elected and served a term as President in each of the six associations. 

Begun in 2020, independent consultation has included work with five California nonprofits ranging in size from $2 million to $60 million, a state-wide industry association and a California County Child Welfare Agency.  Consultation has included serving as Interim Executive Director for an organization undergoing a leadership transition.

Litigation Support - With three decades as CEO of multi-service child and family agencies -- a highly litigious industry which has provided him experience in civil lawsuits -- Dr. Elson has extensive knowledge of children's mental health service delivery, residential treatment, regulatory/licensing issues, oversight, and compliance. He has been solicited to provide expert testimony in public interest lawsuits directed at state noncompliance with federal law.  His services are available to Plaintiff or Defense Attorney seeking expertise concerning civil lawsuits.

Children's Residential Treatment and Mental Health Areas of Expertise:

Service Delivery Licensing Issues Regulatory Compliance Organizational Oversight Board Development

Relevant Policies and Procedures Industry Standards Best Practices National Trends

View Dr. Steven Elson's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Palmer Morrel-Samuels is a Research Psychologist with extensive training and experience in Statistical Analysis and Assessment Design. He has done a considerable amount of research and applied work on communication, testified to the U.S. congress on employee motivation and its linkage to objective performance metrics, published several articles on survey design in Harvard Business Review, among others, and wrote several patents to assist in the administration and analysis of workplace assessments. Dr. Morrel-Samuels currently teaches graduate courses on survey design and research methodology at the University of Michigan. 

Litigation Services: Dr. Morrel-Samuels' education, practical experience, and distinguished authorship have made him a valuable resource for providing expert services in legal cases where workplace surveys or assessments are at issue, including:

• Statistical analysis of very large datasets, measuring the impact of corporate culture on performance and race discrimination.
• Analysis of a survey's validity, reliability, objectivity, fairness, accuracy, confidentiality, freedom from response bias, and conformance to The Uniform Guidelines pertaining to all workplace assessments.
• Statistical analyses of performance-related and survey-related data.
• Desiging and conducting employee and workplace surveys, including Electronic surveys.
• Disparate Impact & Disparate Treatment litigation.
• Careful job analysis using court-approved methodology in FLSA litigation.
• Performance appraisals, job evaluations, skill assessments.
• Program evaluations, especially when used in hiring, firing, or other job actions.

Expert Witness Experience includes: Assisted the NAACP in its amicus brief for the Ricci discrimination case. Was the sole statistician in a successful $100M breach of contract case (Tower Automotive v. UNOVA) that required analyzing 4 million rows of data. Testified for the ICC’s International Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Has successfully withstood Daubert challenges - most recently from the City of Indianapolis in a large discrimination case involving the city's fire department. 

For more information visit our website at www.ExpertWitnessPsychology.com

View 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.

Laurie Chua, SHRM-SCP, is a highly skilled Employment Practice Professional with over 25 years experience in working as an HR Professional employed by Fortune 25 companies and nonprofit associations, including Dell Computers, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and California Employers Associations (CEA).

Ms. Chua maintains an active multi-state HR consulting practice with in depth knowledge of California labor code, employment regulations, and opinion letters. She was previously employed by SHRM as an HR Knowledge Advisor, providing guidance and responding to resolve over 3,500 requests per year in HR compliance and best practices.

Ms. Chua is Certified by the Society for Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with emphasis in Human Resources Management and Labor Relations.

With extensive teaching and public speaking experience, Ms. Chua presents onsite management training seminars, conferences, webinars on sexual harassment, discrimination, disabilities in the workplace, as well as other programs focused on compliance. She has presented the SHRM Certification course globally to prepare HR professionals to sit for the intensive SHRM certification exam. Ms. Chua is highly skilled presenting the required AB1825 California's Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prevention training.

Litigation Support - As an HR Expert Witness, Laurie Chua has provided analysis for employment litigation cases. She is experienced and comfortable explaining California and Federal Employment Law to an audience, one-on-one, and over the phone. Ms. Chua has expert level knowledge in the areas of:

Employment Discrimination Employee Harassment Sexual Harassment ADA Disability Accommodations Wrongful Termination Retaliation Personnel Policies Title VII Issues Compensation

Employee Benefits Duty of Care Negligent Retention Recruitment Employability Employee Screening FCRA Background Investigations Employment Law Human Resources Policies and Procedures

View Laurie Chua's Consulting Profile.

Page Engineering is a professional consulting firm that combines Ergonomics, Industrial Engineering, and Health and Safety expertise. They have served industry leaders in the areas of Transportation, Shipping, Manufacturing, and Health Care throughout the United States and Canada. Established in 1994, their approach is bolstered by years of litigation scrutiny and backed by extensive application of ergonomics, human factors, epidemiologic, and occupational medical scientific literature. They specialize in human factors and ergonomics assessments, including both acute and cumulative exposures and their hands-on approach is backed by extensive research and measurement of actual work exposure to occupational physical factors and workplace design.

Litigation Support - The professionals at Page Engineering provide forensic engineering and root cause analysis expert witness services to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. Their areas of expertise include:

Ergonomics Human factors Musculoskeletal Injury Biomedical Injury Analysis Biomechanical Injury Analysis Health and Safety Industrial Hygiene Physical Demands Assessments

Usability Testing Occupational Accident Reconstruction Biomechanical Modeling Vibration Measurement Compliance Occupational Risk Management Return to Work Regulatory and Consensus Standard Initiatives

George B. Page, CPE, is a Certified Professional Ergonomist. Since founding Page Engineering, Mr. Page has been providing ergonomics services, integrating multiple disciplines (industrial engineering, safety, health, business, regulatory) to provide effective results, whether in the application of job analyses and job improvement processes or in physical job demands analyses. His experience includes conducting ergonomics analyses and research in the railroad industry, primarily, and in heavy industry, in general, for over 30 years. Clients include: Union Pacific Railroad, Kansas City Southern Railways, Association of American Railroads, FedEx, American Petroleum Institute, Food Marketing Institute, Food Distributors International, Blue Water Bridge Authority, USPS. His expertise includes job exposure assessments, physical demands assessments, accident reconstruction, forensic engineering.

Greg G. Weames, CPE, CCPE, CRSP, is a Certified Professional Ergonomist who provides forensic services regarding Musculoskeletal Injury / Disorder Risk and expert testimony. Since joining with Page Engineering, Inc., Mr. Weames has been asked to provide consulting services in ergonomics for over 500 cases involving civil lawsuit work-related injury/disorder claims. With training, education and experience in musculoskeletal injury and musculoskeletal disorder as a focus, he applies generally accepted methodology in his analysis of causation to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty. Mr. Weames has his expert witness experience from within the railroad industry, which includes transportation, construction maintenance, mechanical shop, communications and office environments which support a large variety of jobs and work tasks. Over the past 20 years of providing expert witness services, Mr. Weames has relied on independent, objective measurements of claimed exposures to occupational physical factors and the epidemiologic scientific literature, relevant ergonomics guidelines and standards to support his opinions. Mr. Weames has given depositions and has appeared at jury trials in both State and Federal US Court during his years doing expert witness work.

Stephen D. Fleming, CPE, CXLT, is an Industrial Engineer / Ergonomist whose background includes analyzing work environments and work tasks using industrial engineering work measurement methods and risk assessment models for different body regions. His expertise is in assisting industrial clients in applying ergonomics to workplace processes, tools, and equipment, including all major North American railroads, FedEx, Ford Motor Company, Lear Seating, USPS, and the Blue Water Bridge Authority. Mr. Fleming has been acknowledged for developing and implementing a methodology for measuring and analyzing exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) and hand-arm vibration (HAV).

View Page Engineering's Consulting Profile.

James W. Potts, JD, owner of Potts & Associates, has been assisting and representing employers of all sizes and industries regarding State & Federal employment law compliance for 45 years. He has been an expert witness for over 20 years and has assisted both plaintiffs and defendants. 

Throughout his professional career, Jim has attained a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Juris Doctorate Degree, Real Estate Broker License, and is also a former a Reserve Captain, a P.O.S. T. Certified Terrorist Investigator, a member of the Open Source Intelligence Team all as a twenty-year member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In addition, 

Jim is a certified Mediator through the Los Angeles County Bar Association and a former Master Teacher for the University of Phoenix having taught on the graduate and undergraduate levels. His course curriculums included, but were not limited to, Business Law, Employment Law, United States Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Ethics. 

Rounding off Jim’s career highlights, he is also an author having published his first book In July 2008 (Right to Counsel) and a second one in November 2013 entitled “Walking on Eggshells, Managing Minorities in the Workplace.” Jim has a third book, "The Master’s Will" which is currently under consideration by several publishers and producers and finally, on July 20,2021, Jim released his latest book, “Defending a Serial Killer” based upon a true story when Jim, as a law student, defended a serial killer on death row.  

Potts & Associates Company Profile

Litigation Support - James W. Potts offers expert witness services to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. He is experienced with cases involving the following issues:

Human Resources Interview Process Hiring, Termination Process Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Title VII Discrimination Complaints

FEHA Interactive Processes Wrongful Termination Workplace Retaliation Progressive Discipline Leaves of Absences Worker's Compensation Workplace Investigations

View James Potts' Consulting Profile.

Virginia Rhodes, EdD has an extensive background in public schooling with over 35 years of experience in duty of care: teacher, principal, hiring, supervision, evaluation and instruction in K-12 settings. Her work in research, and as a school board member in a large district grounds her expertise in school policy and district and administrative function. As principal and policy-maker, Dr. Rhodes was known for her work in reclaiming failing high schools, including moving an Ohio high school from 8% passage on the state science test to 54.5% in 2 years, collaboratively, within a contractual environment. Dr. Rhodes provides expert witness research, reports & testimony for districts and law firms, representing both plaintiff and defense. Dr. Rhodes' services are available nationally and internationally, as she is culturally competent,traveling, presenting at conferences and observing schools. Previous cases have included student injury, & death, religious/race, disability discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual abuse, administrative supervision, teacher supervision, actions of paraprofessionals including teacher assistants, security guards, and school resource officers, as well as school evaluations & recommendations for domestic cases.

Areas of expertise include:

• School and district disciplinary policy & practices
• Standards of care and duty for administrative, teacher and school staff 
• Teacher training/evaluation, administrative training
• School climate, culture, SEL (social-emotional learning), trauma-informed practice
• Diversity issues within personnel and student settings
• Urban school research & new trends in teacher leadership
• Deposition & court testimony, document review & analysis
• STEM, environmental, magnet, and other specialty programming
• Conditions Affecting Low-income Students: Mobility, Poverty, Trauma, Discrimination, Bias
• Challenges of hIgh poverty schools
• Innovative & 21st century practices 
• Academic achievement and program development
• Organizational planning & development

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:

Organizational Change Management Implementation Methodologies Sales Cycle Fraud and Misrepresentation Contract Compliance Consultant Errors

Budget Overages Project Governance Software Customization Project Team Staffing Software Schedule Delays

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.