Episode 5

Eddie Adkins retired in July 2018 after serving as a partner for 26 years in two major accounting firms in Washington, DC (first, at Ernst & Young LLP for 12 years, and later, at Grant Thornton LLP for 14 years). Eddie was a nationally recognized expert in the tax treatment of employee benefits and compensation. During his career, he was quoted in most of the nation’s major newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. He wrote over 50 articles that were published in various professional journals. He made nearly 70 presentations at professional conferences, where he was consistently rated as one of the top presenters by conference attendees.

During his time at Grant Thornton, Eddie received awards at both the local and national levels for his passionate leadership in the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. He also devoted time to the local community by serving on the board of one of Washington’s largest social services agencies, Family Matters of Greater Washington. In 2014, Eddie was the recipient of the prestigious John G. Theban Award for Meritorious Service to Family Matters.  

An avid animal lover, Eddie now spends time volunteering at the SPCA of Anne Arundel County, Maryland and serving on the Strategic Advisory Group of Mosaic Harmony, a community choir devoted to using music to promote unity among individuals of diverse backgrounds. He enjoys spending time with his husband, Jeff, and with his two dogs, Barney and Hazel Pearl.

Throughout his career, Robert Falk’s legal expertise has helped advance important health care and social causes. Falk is a health care attorney with 15 years of private practice experience at prominent national law firms and over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector.

Prior to joining Truth Initiative, Falk served for 11 years as the general counsel and corporate secretary of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. During his tenure, he supported the organization’s work on policy changes such as the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” repeal and the passage of marriage equality and employment nondiscrimination legislation by state legislatures.

Falk, recipient of the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally of Justice award, advised both the Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on legal issues including election and campaign finance law, nonprofit tax issues, real estate, human resource matters and intellectual property.

Prior to the Human Rights Campaign, Falk served as general counsel of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, an HIV/AIDS social service agency, and as acting general counsel at D.C. General Hospital. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Princeton University.

He currently serves as a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s global board of directors.

Michelle E. Phillips is a Principal in the White Plains office of Jackson Lewis P.C.  Ms. Phillips is a member of the firm's Diversity Committee. Ms. Phillips handles various types of employment litigation with an emphasis on sexual and racial harassment.  She also counsels clients on a variety of labor and employment matters concerning Federal and State employment laws.  She frequently conducts and advises clients on internal investigations and leads employment discrimination, diversity, sexual harassment and LGBT seminars and webinars for a broad range of clients.

Ms. Phillips is a featured speaker at HRNY, NY, NJ and CT SHRM, ACC Corporate Counsel, ABA Labor and Employment Law Conference, Out & Equal Workplace Conference and other prominent organizations.  Ms. Phillips conducts training on race, ethnic, intergenerational, interfaith, LGBT & other inclusion issues.  She is a national speaker on such issues as an employer's duty to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of employees, sexual stereotyping in the workplace and respecting each individual's gender identity & expression.