KE
Samantha Stevens is the director of Licensing at Michigan State University. Her primary responsibility is to grow
licensing revenue to support student scholarships and programming. By implementing marketing objectives; finding
new retailers at the local, regional, and national levels; approving product lines and designs, and developing cohesive
partnerships with key stakeholders on and off campus, our University Licensing Programs are in the midst of
significant growth in royalties generated. In addition to her licensing responsibilities at MSU, Stevens serves on the
board of directors for the International Collegiate Licensing Association. Currently, she is serving as 2nd vice
president and was responsible for planning the 2018 ICLA Winter Symposium in conjunction with the Sports
Licensing & Tailgate Show this past January in Las Vegas. Prior to joining the Michigan State University Licensing
Program, Stevens had a short stop in Oxford, Ohio as the manager of trademarks & licensing at Miami University. In
addition, she spent seven years in Boone, North Carolina as the assistant athletics director for marketing and
licensing at Appalachian State University. Stevens is a two-time graduate of Wright State University with a bachelor
of science degree in business marketing (2003) and a master of education degree in health, physical education &
recreation (2006). Her husband, Clint, and her have two children: daughter Sailor (9) and son Zane (5).
Sasha Lazarevich, deputy city attorney, has vertically prosecuted all intellectual property (‘IP’) criminal matters for
the Intellectual Property Prosecution Section (‘IPPS’) of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office since 2015. As the first
prosecutor hired into this specialized position, Lazarevich built out a criminal enforcement program from the ground
up. This includes developing prosecution best practices, which have led to notable results such as a 98% conviction
rate and financial restitution paid to victim IP owners in every case. To date, Lazarevich has reviewed and prosecuted
hundreds of IP criminal matters. She handles all stages of proceedings, including jury trials, and sets litigation
priorities for the criminal section of her division. Lazarevich’s cases involve IP violations arising from several
industries including technology, pharmaceuticals, fashion, personal care, and entertainment. As a result of the
overwhelming success of her enforcement efforts, Lazarevich spends significant time presenting IP prosecution best
practices to law enforcement and industry representatives. Thus far, she has provided training to over 2000 officers
from over 36 state, local, and federal agencies as well as dozens of brand owners from across the United States.
Lazarevich has also conducted trainings for over 100 prosecutors, including California Bar Association accredited
MCLEs. More recently, the focus of Lazarevich’s work has turned to the sale of counterfeit and illegal pharmaceuticals
including fake Xanax and Viagra, which can cause serious injury and death. She is also working on an initiative to
improve enforcement of cybercrimes with an IP component especially in regard to criminal activity occurring on the
dark web. Prior to her work as an IP crimes prosecutor, DCA Lazarevich worked on routine criminal matters including
driving under the influence cases and violent offenses. She is also a former Googler. Ms. Lazarevich received her juris
doctor from University of Washington and her bachelor of arts in political science from Columbia University. DCA
Lazarevich has won numerous awards for her efforts to protect IP rights.
Sean Pager is professor of law at Michigan State University and associate director of the Michigan State Intellectual
Property, Information & Communications Law Program. He earned his juris doctor degree at the University of
California at Berkeley, graduating in the Order of the Coif. Following law school, he practiced as a litigation associate
at Howard Rice in San Francisco and clerked for the Honorable Judge James Browning on the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to entering academia, Pager earned a master of laws in international law from the
European University Institute in Florence, Italy, while studying on a Fulbright Fellowship. Pager’s scholarship explores
the interplays between global intellectual property law and international economic governance. Much of his recent
work has focused on the development of creative industries. He is particularly interested in legal capacity building
issues related to “creative upstarts,” a rubric that embraces both independent artists and emerging content industries
in the developing world. Pager is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Copyright Alliance and the
Association of Teachers and Researchers in Intellectual Property Law.
Seth Wood is the manager of asset protection at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., and responsible for brand protection
enforcement online and across the Americas. For well over a decade at A&F, Seth collaborates cross-functionally with
partners within legal, public relations, marketing, human resources, information security, and various product and
customer-facing teams on matters relating to brand protection and risk. Seth holds a bachelor of science degree in
sociology and criminology from the Ohio State University.
Sheila Francis, director of strategic partnerships & economic research at INTA is focused on establishing strategic
partnerships and channels with consumer associations, non-IP professional organizations and academia. Apart from
this, Ms. Francis also manages the association’s research function to produce impact studies. Ms. Francis has a law
degree from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law and master’s degree in professional studies from the
George Washington University specializing in the field of law firm management. Prior to joining INTA, she practiced
in field of trademarks and managed a team of marketing and business development professionals for an international
IP law firm.
17