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First Inaugural Derechos y Esperanza Labor and Employment Conference: Empowering Low‑Wage Workers

 September 24 – 25, 2026 

2026 Conference Schedule

This schedule is subject to changes.

*The State Bar of Arizona does not approve CLE activities; however, this activity may qualify for up to 10 credit hours.

Day 1| Thursday, September 24

8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Welcome
  • Angela Banks, Interim Dean and Charles J. Merriam Distinguished Professor of Law, ASU Law
  • David Lopez, Distinguished Professor of Practice, ASU Law
8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Taking Wage Theft Seriously: Legal Strategies in the Age of Rising Vulnerability and Inequality (1.5)
10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Break
10:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Current Challenges in Labor Organizing Low-Wage Service Workers (1.5)

12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Lunch and David Seligman, Towards Justice
  • David Seligman, Executive Director, Towards Justice

1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Modern Day Slavery: The Shifting Landscape of Labor Trafficking (1.5)

2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Reinvigorating Retaliation Protections for Low-Wage Workers (1.25)

4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Advocating for Immigrant Workers in a Punitive Immigration Enforcement Environment (1.25)
  • Moderator: Christopher Ho, Director, National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights Program, Legal Aid at Work
  • Mary Yanik, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Tulane Law
  • Kate Suisman, Attorney, Campaigns Coordinator, Northwest Workers’ Justice Project
  • Maha Ibrahim, Director, Gender Based Violence and Harassment Law & Programming, Equal Rights Advocates
  • Andrea Cervantez, Power in Numbers

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Book Talk and Reception at Arizona Latino Arts and Culture Center, Professor Ruben Garcia, University of Hawaii
  • Ruben Garcia, Leonard Hoshijo Endowed Chair in Labor Law, UH Law

Day 2 | Friday, September 25

8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Welcome

8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Noreen Farrell, President of Equal Right Advocates in Conversation Monica Ramirez, Founder President, Justice for Migrant Women Erika Andiola, Political Director of National Day Labor Organizing Network
  • Erika Andiola, Political Director of National Day Labor Organizing Network

9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

“The Five Cs and the History of Low Wage Work in Arizona” (.5)

9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Awarding of “ASU Civil Rights, Migration, and Workplace Law Derechos y Esperanza Worker Justice Lifetime Achievement Award” to Jennifer Abruzzo, of counsel at Bush Gottlieb, ALC, Senior Advisor to the President at Communications Workers of America, Harvard's CLJE Fellow
  • Jennifer Abruzzo, of counsel at Bush Gottlieb, ALC, Senior Advisor to the President at Communications Workers of America, Harvard’s CLJE Fellow

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies and the Low-Wage Workforce (1.25)

11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

From Worker Rights to Worker Justice (1.25)
  • Moderator: Shefali Milczarek-Desai, Distinguished Public Service Scholar; Associate Professor of Law; Co-Director of the Bacon Immigration Law and Policy Program, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
  • Noreen Farrell, Executive Director, Equal Rights Advocates
  • Steve Ury, SEIU
  • Monica Ramirez, Founder and President, Justice for Migrant Women
  • Michael McQuarrie, Associate Professor and Center Director, Center for Work and Democracy, The Sanford School, ASU
  • Evelyn Rangel-Medina, Associate Professor of Law, Temple Law

12:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Lunch, Awards, Closing Reception
  • Closing celebration lunch and awarding of “ASU Civil Rights, Migration, and Workplace Law Derechos y Esperanza Southwestern Worker Justice Award” to Councilwoman Betty Guardado