Category: Speaker

As business woman and a mother, Carrie Charlick – along with partner Marcia Cubitt – has built Essential Bodywear to uplift and support women.  With only $500 in their pockets and the hope to make a difference in their family life and for women everywhere, Charlick and her partner saw their business idea as a way to bring income to many women so that they could be at home with their children. As Chief Executive Officer of Essential Bodywear, Charlick remains true to a strong sense of mission: to support and uplift women everywhere by revolutionizing the way they shop for quality, properly fitting bras through home parties.

Thomas Cohn is Director and Senior Counsel, Sales & Marketing at New Avon LLC, a $1 billion private equity-backed North American carve-out from Avon Products, Inc. A member of the Personal Care Products Council, the Company sells a variety of cosmetics and beauty products, jewelry, fashion and home products through a direct sales model. New Avon LLC is a stand-alone, private company, building on the heritage of Avon Products. Mr. Cohn provides legal advice regarding marketing, advertising and claims substantiation; promotions, sweepstakes and contests; sales, merchandising and pricing. In addition, he works closely with marketing colleagues and is responsible for claim substantiation and challenges, product labeling review, promotions/sweepstakes/contests, contract drafting and advertising review, including TV, print, brochure, online/digital marketing and social media. He also advises on product innovation, pricing and other merchandising matters, as well as ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, including the FTC, FDA and other federal and state regulatory agencies. Mr. Cohn also provides legal support in the area of intellectual property, including managing trademarks, such as clearance, prosecution, registration, portfolio management, as well as licensing for the product lines and advising on day-to-day trademark matters, domain names, copyrights, rights of publicity, and patents, as needed. He also works with the sales and commercial teams, including advising on regulatory issues, such as FTC/state law compliance regarding multi-level marketing, earnings opportunity, and incentive programs. As General Counsel of Atlantic Coast Brands, a direct response cosmetics company, Mr. Cohn handled all legal matters, including new product development, advertising, marketing and promotions, intellectual property, litigation, business partnerships and regulatory compliance. As Deputy General Counsel, Regulatory at NBTY, a leading global vertically integrated manufacturer, marketer and distributor of nutritional supplements worldwide, under many Company and third party brands with over 22,000 products, Mr. Cohn coordinated all local, state, federal and international regulatory compliance. After leaving FTC, Mr. Cohn served as of counsel at Venable LLP, where he counseled companies on federal and state consumer protection regulatory compliance and represented them in FTC and state AG investigations and law enforcement actions. As Director and Assistant Director of FTC’s Northeast Region, Mr. Cohn managed antitrust and consumer protection investigations and law enforcement actions, and local and regional outreach efforts to educate consumers, businesses, and law enforcement agencies on fraud identification and avoidance, and how to comply with antitrust and consumer protection laws enforced by FTC. Mr. Cohn also served the FTC as Counselor to the BCP Director and Senior Attorney in the Division of Marketing Practices. Mr. Cohn is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts and graduated from Yale College and Boston University School of Law. He is co-chair of the New York State Bar’s Cosmetics Law Committee and past chair and member of the New York City Bar’s Consumer Affairs Committee.

As Director of Creative Design at Scentsy, Kris is responsible for shaping the creative vision for the brand alongside Scentsy’s Chief Creative Officer. Kris and Scentsy’s Design Team have received regional and international acclaim for outstanding creative work in product campaigns, photography, and social media content and engagement. With a focus on driving Consultant productivity, Kris is a hands-on leader in creative concepting, delivering strategic and emotionally resonant designs that positively impact Scentsy’s bottom line. With more than 25 years of graphic design, art direction and creative management experience, Kris constantly strives “to interpret and translate information into an organized and beautiful visual experience.” Prior to her career at Scentsy, Kris held leadership positions at Coldwater Creek and Eddie Bauer, where she managed and inspired creative teams while developing stories and visual content for seasonal key product initiatives and brand awareness. Kris lives in Eagle, Idaho, with her husband, 8-year-old son and two ridiculously spoiled dogs. When she’s not at work, she enjoys travel, cooking and spending time with her family on the water and on the slopes.

Joe DePetris is a Certified Public Accountant specializing in direct sales for more than 20 years. He is a veteran of more than 1,200 direct seller IRS Audits, and creator of 1SourceTax.com, a DSA affinity partner that helps direct sellers comply with tax laws.

As Amway North America’s head of marketing, Cindy Droog, APR, is responsible for the strategy, development and implementation of marketing plans in the United States, Canada and Dominican Republic. Her leadership spans the nutrition, beauty and home care categories for product launches; design and delivery of distributor and customer experiences; managing major sponsorships and reputation; and integrated communications. She joined Amway in 2006 and has since held roles in a variety of areas, including media relations, crisis and issues management, digital marketing and product brand management.

Prior to Amway, Droog served as vice president of client relations for Michigan-based North Star Public Relations; marketing manager for Valspar Corporation; and director of public relations for the Peoria Rivermen Minor League Hockey Club. She has also held roles at American Red Cross, Weber Shandwick, and as a featured columnist for a number of Midwest weekly newspapers.

Droog is current chairwoman of the Communications Committee of the United States Direct Selling Association, and has also served as Social Media Taskforce lead within the Advocacy Committee of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and enjoys volunteering, running, yoga, creative and humor writing, and most of all, numerous outdoor activities with her husband Tom and two sons, AJ and Alec.

Jane Fergason focuses her corporate law practice on helping companies in the United States and abroad with comprehensive business needs, such as mergers, acquisitions and dispositions of companies, franchise, direct sales, distribution, retail, sweepstakes and advertising. She works with well-established global organizations and startups. Jane is praised by clients for being a good listener and knowing how to make the transactions successful. She has earned a national reputation for litigation involving direct sales.

Her client work frequently includes:

• Structuring and documenting direct selling, franchise and distribution programs, including agreements and collateral documents.
• Advising companies on structuring direct selling, franchise and distribution relationships that comply with or avoid regulation under state or federal franchise disclosure, business opportunity or other dealer laws.
• Advising clients on special industry laws regarding the sale and distribution of motor vehicles, liquor, beer and wine, farm and heavy equipment, and motor fuels.
• Preparing disclosure documents, and state registration of franchise offers and counseling on compliance with all elements of federal and state disclosure regulations and franchisee recruitment.
• Structuring advertising and marketing programs and materials in compliance with federal and state laws.
• Addressing franchisor / franchisee, independent contractor and supplier / distributor relationships and related issues.
• Advising on sweepstakes advertising and promotions.
• Drafting manufacturing agreements.
• Advising on tax issues related to direct selling.

Jane is a popular speaker and writer on direct sales issues and trends. She is also an active leader in the Firm’s Dallas office, chairing Foley Gardere’s Women’s Council and co-chairing the Foley Gardere Alumni Relations Team.

Professional Affiliations

• Member, State Bar of Texas
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Dallas Bar Association
• Member, Lawyers Council and Governmental Relations Council, Direct Sales Association (Washington, D.C.)
• Co-Founder, Working Late

Community Involvement

• Board Member, Big Thought
• Member, The Dallas Assembly
• Board Member, The Elisa Project
• Graduate, Dallas Regional Chamber, Leadership Dallas
• Graduate, Leadership Arts Institute, Business Council for the Arts

Honors & Awards

• Recognized, The Best Lawyers® in America (Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith eds., Woodward/White Inc.)
• Corporate Law (2018)
• Recognized, Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine (2015, 2017)
• Franchise Law
• Recognized, AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell ®
• PEER REVIEW RATINGS™

Education

• J.D., Baylor University School of Law (1981), cum laude
• B.A., Baylor University (1979), summa cum laude

Admissions

• Texas (1982)