USF Law Review Symposium Speaker Bios
Amy Bach
Executive Director
United Policyholders
Amy Bach has been a professional insurance consumer advocate since 1985 and an attorney since 1989. She co-founded United Policyholders in 1991 and serves as the organization's Executive Director and primary spokesperson, shaping and overseeing the Roadmap to Recovery™, Roadmap to Preparedness, and Advocacy and Action programs. As a property insurance affordability and availability crisis impacts a growing number of home and business owners across the country, Bach and her team are guiding consumers and advancing solutions.
A nationally recognized expert on property insurance, regulation, law and public policy matters; Bach is an official Consumer Representative with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an appointed member of the California Insurance Commissioner’s Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force and the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance to the U.S. Treasury, and an Associate Board Member, Redwood Credit Union Services Group.
Bach is frequently interviewed in print and broadcast media, and is the author of numerous publications including "The Disaster Recovery Handbook", "WISE UP: The Savvy Consumer's Guide to Buying Insurance,” and a contributor to several editions of “Buying Your First Home” (Nolo Press).
Sara Clark
Partner
Shute Mihaly & Weinberger LLP
Sara Clark’s career highlights include helping cultural fire practitioners and prescribed fire advocates put more good fire on the ground, by advising fire collaboratives, developing reports and strategice plans. providing subject matter experise, and advancing policy solutions. Clark works with the Colorado River Indian Tribes to protect cultural resources throughout the ancestral homelands of tribal members, by securing tribal monitors, enforcing adequate government-to-government consultation, and reducing project impacts.
Clark is the lead counsel representing Endangered Habitats League and California Native Plant Society in successful litigation and settlement, leading to the permanent protection of nearly 1,300 acres of key wildlife habitat in Proctor Valley, California.
Clark was awarded the 2020 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (“CLAY”) Award, for work on behalf of the Peninsula Open Space Trust to protect the Coyote Valley. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Save the Redwoods League. She is the Co-Leader of Shute Mihaly Weinberger’s efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion within the firm, the legal profession, and our communities. Clark is an Adjunct Professor of Conservation Transactions at UC Law San Francisco. Previously, she served as Board Chair of Bay Area Wilderness Training.
Clark is a member of the Bar of the State of California, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central, and Eastern Districts of California, and the courts of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
Clark received her JD from Berkeley Law, master studies in Urban Planning from New York University, and her AB in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard.
Deborah Halberstadt
Special Advisor on Biodiversity and Inclusive Insurance
California Department of Insurance
Deborah Halberstadt is the Special Advisor on Biodiversity and Inclusive insurance at the California Department of Insurance. In this role, she advises the Commissioner and the Department on the development and implementation of strategic initiatives associated with protecting and restoring biodiversity, and promoting social and environmental justice in the context of insurance regulation. Deborah guides innovation in insurance in order to mainstream biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making, while at the same time redressing social inequities.
Deborah is a visionary and persuasive leader and an accomplished attorney. She has worked at the forefront of climate law and policy in California in her roles as Senior Climate Policy Advisor with the Department of Insurance, Deputy Secretary for Coastal and Ocean Policy with the California Natural Resources Agency, Executive Director of the California Ocean Protection Council, Deputy Attorney General with the Environment and Land Law sections of the California Department of Justice, and Federal Legislative Liaison in the Office of the Governor. She clerked for the Alaska Supreme Court and was cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.
Deborah loves exploring the wonders of nature with her family – the wilder, the better – and concluding with a decadent cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows.
Deborah received her B.A. from Stanford and her J.D. from Berkeley Law.
Elizabeth Hausler
Founder
Build Change
Dr. Elizabeth Hausler is a globally recognized civil engineer and social innovator dedicated to creating disaster-resilient housing around the world. She is the founder of Build Change, a nonprofit social enterprise that has transformed how housing is designed, financed, and constructed in lower income, disaster-prone regions. Since its founding in 2004, Build Change has worked across more than 30 countries, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to live in safer homes and influencing billions of dollars in investment toward resilient construction.
Dr. Hausler brings a rare blend of technical expertise, practical experience, leadership, and systems thinking to her work. She earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, after completing degrees at the University of Illinois and the University of Colorado. Her early hands-on experience in her father's masonry business helped shape her commitment to practical, locally-driven solutions. As a Fulbright Scholar in India, she observed firsthand the disconnect between traditional post-disaster aid models and local needs—a realization that inspired the founding of Build Change.
Under her leadership, Build Change pioneered a homeowner-driven approach to rebuilding after disasters, focusing on shifting power to local builders and families to lead the reconstruction of their homes. Over time, the organization has shifted from reactive post-disaster rebuilding to proactive strengthening of existing buildings, working with governments, financial institutions, and international agencies to embed resilience into housing systems. Her “three-legged” theory of change—people, money, and technology—drives Build Change’s integrated approach, ensuring that safe housing is accessible, affordable, and scalable.
Dr. Hausler's work has earned widespread recognition. She was awarded the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Lemelson-MIT Prize for Sustainability, and was named to Forbes’ “50 Over 50: Impact” list in 2023. In 2025, she was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, honoring her lasting contributions to disaster resilience and housing innovation. Dr. Hausler has been featured by the New York Times, Elle Magazine, BBC News, ABC News and NPR All Things Considered.
Whether advising governments on retrofitting policy or developing digital tools for housing assessments, Dr. Hausler has remained committed to one core belief: everyone deserves a safe place to live. Her work has not only protected lives and livelihoods but has also shifted the global narrative around housing—from charity-based aid to resilient, community-led development. Today, she continues to champion scalable solutions for climate adaptation, urban resilience, and social equity in housing across the globe.
Clay Kerchof
Disaster Response & Recovery Branch Chief
Department of Housing and Community Development
Clay Kerchof is the Disaster Response & Recovery Branch Chief at the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD), where he leads policy and operations for California’s federal long-term recovery grants. In other roles with the State, he has served as HCD’s Climate & Transportation Section Chief where he managed efforts to strengthen alignment between State housing, climate, and transportation policies; and as an Associate Planner for Wildfire Resilience at the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (previously OPR), where he developed statewide wildfire planning guidance and facilitated recovery peer learning. Previously, Clay was a Policy Analyst with affordable housing nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners’ federal policy team in Washington, DC, where he advocated for federal affordable housing funding and stronger disaster recovery programs. Clay holds master’s in city planning from UC Berkeley and lives in San Francisco.
Duffy J. Magilligan
Partner
Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy
Donald J. Magilligan is a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy based in the firm’s San Francisco Bay Area office. Magilligan specializes in complex litigation involving wildfires, wrongful death, and business fraud.
Magilligan has tried 48 jury trials. He developed his trial skills during a ten-year career as a prosecutor in Santa Clara County (2012–18) and Contra Costa County (2008–12). Magilligan was recognized for distinguished service by the Santa Clara District Attorney, San Jose Police Department Gang Intelligence Unit, and the San Jose Police Academy where he taught ethics, evidence, and search and seizure.
Magilligan received his J.D. from the University of San Francisco. While at U.S.F., he was a member of the Law Review, served on the Student Budget Committee, and received the CALI award for being the top student in Torts. Magilligan sat on the Faculty-Student Steering Committee at the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good. During law school, Magilligan learned to try cases by watching experienced prosecutors at the United States Attorney’s Office, San Mateo District Attorney’s Office, and San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. Magilligan also clerked for the Honorable Maura Corrigan of the Michigan Supreme Court.
Magilligan has been recognized as a Super Lawyer since 2023.
Inspired by his time as a domestic violence prosecutor, Magilligan sits on the board of directors for CORA, San Mateo County’s only provider of comprehensive intimate partner abuse prevention services including housing, counseling, and litigation support. Magilligan is currently serving as the chair of the board.
Magilligan is on the board of the Consumer Attorneys of California, an organization consisting of more than 3,000 California lawyers who represent the interests of consumers as plaintiffs in civil tort actions and in the California Legislature.
Magilligan also sits on the board of the San Mateo County Trial Lawyers Association, which seeks justice for all by preserving and protecting the constitutional right to trial by jury for individuals in San Mateo County.
Magilligan is a frequent lecturer on topics including evidence, expert witnesses, and jury selection..
Kellan Martz
Of Counsel
Best Best & Krieger LLP
Of Counsel Kellan Martz is a member of the Municipal Law practice of Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), where he advises cities and public agencies on their services, operations, administration, regulation and obligations to constituents.
Immediately prior to joining the firm, Kellan was deputy city attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. In this role, he represented city departments as general counsel on real estate, land use, leases and business contract matters. He also liaised with several local municipal bodies and state agencies, including the Office of the State Fire Marshal. At public meetings, Kellan provided legal advice on public works, real estate, construction, and contractual issues. He also was responsible for advising elected and appointed public officials on sensitive and high-profile legal concerns from members of the public, nonprofit groups, other officials and opposing counsels.
Michael Méndez
Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning
University of California, Irvine
Dr. Michael Méndez is an associate professor of environmental policy and planning, and chancellor’s fellow at the University of California, Irvine, an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, and Visiting Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). He previously was the inaugural James and Mary Pinchot Faculty Fellow in Sustainability Studies and Associate Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. Michael has more than a decade of senior-level experience in the public and private sectors, where he consulted and actively engaged in the policymaking process. This included working for the California State Legislature as a senior consultant, lobbyist, member of the California State Mining & Geology Board, and as vice-chair of the Sacramento City Planning Commission. In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Dr. Méndez to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. The board regulates water quality in a region of 11 million people. From 2023-2025, he was appointed by Deanne Crisell, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to serve on their National Advisory Council. In that capacity, council members advise the Administrator on all aspects of emergency management, including preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade disasters. His book “Climate Change from the Streets,” winner of 3 prestigious academic award and published through Yale University Press (2020), is an urgent and timely story of the contentious politics of incorporating environmental justice into global climate change policy.
Amanda Riddle
Managing Partner
Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle LLP
Amanda L. Riddle is the managing partner of Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle LLP, where she concentrates her practice on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on mass torts, wildfire and explosion litigation, and catastrophic damage cases. With over two decades of experience, Amanda has earned recognition for her leadership in some of the most high-profile mass tort cases in recent history.
Amanda has served in key leadership roles in proceedings, including the San Bruno Explosion Case, Butte Fire Cases, California North Bay and Camp Fire litigations against PG&E. She currently serves on the Trust Oversight Committee for the PG&E Fire Victim Trust, and as liaison counsel for the individual plaintiffs in the Eaton Fire Litigation against SoCal Edison. Over the last 15 years, she and her team have secured over $1.5B in compensation for over 6,000 clients. Her work combines deep legal knowledge with a strong commitment to client advocacy, particularly for those harmed by corporate negligence.
Amanda is a frequent speaker on topics such as mass tort strategy, plaintiff leadership, and women in the law. She is also actively engaged in USF Law where she coaches trial advocacy teams and serves on the Dean’s Board of Counselors.
David Saah
Professor and Director of the Geospatial Analysis Lab
University of San Francisco
Dr. Saah has been broadly trained as an environmental scientist with expertise in a number of areas including: landscape ecology, ecosystem ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, ecosystem modeling, natural hazard modeling, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial analysis. He has used these skills to conduct research primarily at the landscape level in a variety of systems. Dr. Saah has participated in research projects throughout the United States and Internationally. His academic research uses integrated geospatial science for multi–scale mapping, monitoring and modeling of environmental spatial heterogeneity, particularly in riparian, savanna, and forest ecosystems. These efforts include quantification of change in landscape pattern, investigating the linkages between pattern and processes, and understanding the pattern–process dynamic within different environmental management regimes. To complement this, Dr. Saah's consulting research interest and experience include: developing holistic decision support systems for resource management, assessing natural hazards, and quantifying ecosystem service valuation. In addition, all of his research addresses access, availability, and accuracy of geospatial and environmental datasets, and scale in natural resource and environmental research. Dr. Saah is committed to producing high quality research projects that integrate the most current science and technology. He is dedicated to the accurate dissemination of results from these endeavors through innovative presentations, publications, and workshops.
Shelley Ross Saxer
Laure Sudreau Endowed Chair in Law
Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
Professor Saxer has been teaching at the Caruso School of Law for over thirty-years and is a co-author of Contemporary Property, American Casebook Series, Thomson West (5th ed. with Colleen Medill, Grant S. Nelson, and Dale A. Whitman) and Land Use, American Casebook Series, Thomson West (8th ed. with David L. Callies, Robert H. Freilich, and Ashira Pelman Ostrow). She is also a co-author with Jonathan Rosenbloom on Social Ecological Resilience & Sustainability, Wolters Kluwer (2018). Saxer has written over thirty law review articles on topics such as civil forfeiture, eminent domain, regulatory takings, water law, law and religion, disaster law, climate resiliency, nuisance, and state action. While in law school, Professor Saxer served as the chief managing editor of the UCLA Law Review. Upon graduation, she clerked for the Honorable Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. of the Federal District Court for the Central District of California and then worked briefly as a corporate associate for the Century City law offices of O'Melveny & Myers. She is a member of the Order of the Coif, the American Bar Association, and the California State Bar. She has also been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Forest Schafer
Deputy Director
California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force
Forest Schafer is the Deputy Director of the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force, a collaborative initiative launched by Governor Gavin Newsom to align federal, state, local, and tribal efforts in wildfire mitigation, forest health, and community resilience. In this role, he advances cross-sector strategies for wildfire risk reduction and land management.
Forest brings over two decades of experience bridging on-the-ground operations and statewide policy. He spent nine years with the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, starting as a wildland firefighter before becoming the district’s forester. He later directed the Natural Resources Division at the California Tahoe Conservancy, overseeing the agency’s watershed, forestry, climate, and biodiversity programs.
At Lake Tahoe, Forest coordinated the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team and led development of the region’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, uniting 18 agencies in a cohesive strategy for community and landscape resilience. Forest is a Registered Professional Forester and holds a B.S. in Forest and Rangeland Management from the University of Nevada, Reno. Throughout his career, he has focused on applying collaborative and innovative solutions to reduce wildfire risk and build fire-adapted communities.
William Siembieda
Professor Emeritus of City and Regional Planning
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
William Siembieda, Professor Emeritus of City and Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo brings a land use planning perspective to the practice of resiliency, risk reduction and hazard mitigation. His focus is integrating informed choices in the construction of resilient and reduced-risk communities.
As Principal Faculty Researcher at Cal Poly’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Institute he is testing ways the Plan Integration Resilience Scorecard approach (PIRS) can inform land use decisions related to lowering the risks of catastrophic Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires. In this work he uses the fuels disturbance approach to lessen ignition probabilities and inform local land use decisions, This approach is being tested in several California jurisdictions.
His policy perspective reflects extensive international experience having served as subject matter expert to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Chilean National Center for Integrated Natural Hazard Management, and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.
At a statewide level, he co-directed the State of California Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (2018, 2013, 2010, 2007) that integrates an enormous range of state agency efforts under a common vision that included climate change as a hazard factor.
His knowledge is based on decades of research and practice. As a project team member he developed the Caracas Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Plan, the first of its kind in Latin America. While conducting field work on recovery in 15 Central American and Mexican communities struck disasters, he developed the asset-access-time model, an alternate to the standard SWOT method, and then the ASCI (Abandon, Support, Control and Integrate) framework for assessing how to make land use development decisions in high-hazard risk areas.
His work appears in a range of peer reviewed journals including: The Journal of Disaster Research, the Journal of the American Planning Association, the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, Encyclopedia of Wildfire and WUI Fires, and the International Journal of Disaster Risk Science Research.
Among his academic honors are: A Fulbright to Mexico, a Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship, and visiting research professor appointments at Kyoto University, Japan; and , the Pontifica Catholic University, Chile. In 2019, he was awarded the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) Distinguished Implementation Science Award.
Dr. Siembieda holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles and an Economics B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has held academic appointments at the University of New Mexico and the University of California-San Diego. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Robert Verchick
Gauthier-St.Martin Eminent Scholar and Chair in Environmental Law
Loyola Univeristy New Orleans
Rob Verchick is one of the nation’s leading scholars in disaster and climate change law and a former EPA official in the Obama administration. He holds the Gauthier-St. Martin Eminent Scholar Chair in Environmental Law and directs Loyola’s Center on Environment, Land, and Law (CELL). He is also the President of the Center for Progressive Reform and a former Harvard Radcliffe Fellow.
Verchick has written more than 60 articles and four books, including the best-selling, The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience (2023). His work has appeared in many venues, including the California Law Review, the Southern California Law Review, and the environmental law reviews at Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley.
He has taught as a visiting professor at Yale University, Peking University, and Aarhus University in Denmark. He has received several teaching awards, including at Loyola, Tulane, and Harvard.
Verchick comments frequently on radio shows such as NPR’s All Things Considered and has written commentary for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, and other publications.
In 2009 and 2010, Professor Verchick served in the Obama administration as Deputy Associate Administrator for Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In that role he helped develop climate change adaptation policy for the EPA and served on President Obama's Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force.
Verchick, who grew up in the sun-scorched Las Vegas desert and survived Hurricane Katrina as a resident of New Orleans, has spent a career studying environmental resilience across the country. Committed to “place-based” analysis, he has paddled swamps, scaled glaciers, and dived among endangered corals, all to understand what is at stake and how we can protect the things we need—and love.
Verchick graduated with distinction and honors from Stanford University and with honors from Harvard Law School. For more information, including videos of interviews and keynotes, visit his personal website at www.robverchick.com.
Michael Wara
Director, Climate and Energy Policy Program and Senior Research Scholar,
Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment;
Senior Director for Policy, Sustainability Accelerator, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.
Michael Wara is a lawyer, scholar and advisor focused on sustainability policy. Wara is Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program and a senior research scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, where he manages a multidisciplinary team that provides fact-based, bipartisan, technical and legal assistance to policymakers engaged in the development of novel climate and energy law and regulation. Wara is also the Senior Director of Policy within Stanford’s Sustainability Accelerator where he connects Stanford students and faculty with cutting edge policy debates on climate, energy, and sustainability, leveraging Stanford’s analytical expertise to craft real world solutions to these challenges.
Wara was an appointee to the California Wildfire Commission which made recommendations to the state on better managing utility caused wildfires and served on the California Catastrophe Response Council, the oversight board of the Wildfire Fund. Wara has advised the California Senate, the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Office of Electric Infrastructure Safety on strategies to address the wildfire crisis. Wara also serves on the Tamalpais Valley Design Review Board in Marin County.
Prior to joining Woods, Wara was an associate professor at Stanford Law School and an associate in Holland & Knight’s government practice. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his Ph.D. in Ocean Sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Nancy P. Watkins
Principal and Consulting Actuary
Milliman Climate Resilience Initiative
Nancy Watkins is a principal and consulting actuary with Milliman in San Francisco. At the forefront of innovation in catastrophic risk, Nancy and her team serve insurers, trade groups, regulators, community/government entities and NGOs. Currently she is supporting the CDI for the implementation of its Sustainable Insurance Strategy. Other recent engagements include a white paper for the Casualty Actuarial Society to create wildfire mitigation credits for ratemaking, research for a WUI Data Commons on behalf of IBHS and CalChiefs, and a study exploring ways to rebuild the Town of Paradise to promote climate resilience.
Widely known as a thought leader in property insurance availability and affordability, Nancy leads the global Milliman Climate Resilience Initiative. She served on the California Office of the State Fire Marshal Risk Modeling Advisory Workgroup and was recently appointed by the U.S. Treasury Financial Stability Oversight Council as a member of its Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee.
David Weiss
Partner
Reed Smith
David is a partner in Reed Smith’s Litigation Insurance Recovery group and a member of the firm’s Retail & Consumer Goods group.
David has been representing corporate policyholders in complex insurance coverage disputes since 1990, from high stakes litigation and arbitrations to providing advice to policyholders with respect to the presentation of claims and the negotiation of settlements. He also assists clients in their procurement of insurance, including the drafting and negotiation of policy language and the review and analysis of insurance policy forms, and has assisted corporate clients in providing training to their personnel regarding various insurance issues. David also assists clients in analyzing insurance issues relating to mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.
David has extensive experience representing clients regarding insurance issues arising from securities and shareholder lawsuits. This includes leveraging insurance assets to assist clients in settling underlying disputes. For example, David was instrumental in helping to resolve complex claims against a corporation and its officers alleging losses arising from a stock option backdating scandal, convincing the insurers to contribute substantial coverage limits to resolve shareholder derivative and class action lawsuits, including coverage under Side A policies. In addition, David assisted another client in obtaining coverage for claims arising from alleged malfeasance by the company’s executive officers, including the CEO, who was convicted of fraud.
David also represents clients with regard to claims under cyber liability and data breach insurance coverages; claims under fidelity bonds; claims involving first party property damage and business interruption losses (including losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters such as wildfires and major storms); claims under mortgage insurance policies; and claims involving breaches of fiduciary duty, interference with contract and prospective economic advantage, products liability, environmental liability, employee theft, computer crime, mortgage fraud, and wrongful termination, among other things.
David currently is handling several large insurance coverage cases for aircraft leasing companies whose aircraft have been stuck in Russia since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
David also handles complex litigation outside the insurance recovery area, including commercial contract disputes and disputes regarding indemnification issues. In addition, he has a very active pro bono practice, specializing in matters related to criminal justice.