Office of General Counsel and Secretary Announces New Staff Appointments

The Board of Trustees has approved the appointments of higher education attorney Josh Nolan as interim vice president, general counsel and secretary, and Krista Anderson as the office manager and senior paralegal. Nolan will replace Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Donica Varner, who, after serving Oberlin for four years, has accepted the vice president, general counsel and secretary position at Cornell University. Her last day on campus is June 30. 

Nolan is a partner in the higher education practice group at Bricker & Eckler, an Ohio-based firm. Throughout his career, he has helped numerous universities, public institutions, and private colleges handle many facets of education law, including Title IX, and he manages sensitive litigation and administrative actions for individuals, institutions, and universities. He joined the office June 1 and has been on campus daily to allow for a thorough onboarding and transition. 

Nolan’s primary areas of responsibilities include: employment and labor, academic HR, student affairs, litigation and agency complaints, governance issues, compliance, diversity, equity and inclusion/nondiscrimination/anti-harassment policy violations, and athletics. 

The college has contracted with Bricker & Eckler to provide interim general counsel and corporate governance services until a regular appointment is made. President Carmen Twillie Ambar is appointing a search advisory committee to work with the executive search firm Spencer Stuart to conduct a national search. 

The office of General Counsel and Secretary also welcomes Lorain County native Krista Anderson as the new office manager/senior paralegal. Anderson brings to the role more than 20 years of experience as a legal secretary, paralegal, and law office manager. Most recently, Anderson worked as firm director and chief litigation paralegal of a law firm in downtown Cleveland specializing in professional liability and insurance defense, in which she was a key player in the establishment of a new law office. 

Prior to joining the legal field in 2007, Anderson worked as an office manager for her family's automotive repair business in Lorain County. She fills the role formerly held by Jonathan Herr, who left the college in early June.