NYLAG - Key Persons


A. Alet

Job Titles:
  • Director

Abby Biberman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, Public Benefits Unit

Abby S. Milstein

Job Titles:
  • Chairman EMERITUS

Adames, Anabel

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Adelman Cabral

Job Titles:
  • Maya - Paralegal

Adler, Gillian

Job Titles:
  • Manager, Development Operations and Reporting

Alet Haywood

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, Domestic Violence Law Unit
  • Haywood
Alet is the Director of NYLAG's Domestic Violence Law Unit. Alet represents survivors of intimate partner violence in family law and immigration matters. In addition to her own practice, Alet leads a team of attorneys, paralegals, volunteers, post-graduate fellows, law students, and interns who serve survivors of intimate partner violence in matrimonial, family law, and immigration related matters. Alet has also led trainings and presentations to educational, governmental, non-profit, and religious organizations on various family law issues including danger assessments and safety planning in intimate partner/domestic violence cases, technology-facilitated abuse, child welfare litigation and investigations, and racial disparity and disproportionality in child welfare litigation. Before joining NYLAG, Alet worked with Sanctuary for Families where she provided legal representation to survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence in family law-related matters. At Sanctuary, Alet also led the Child Protection Initiative, where she provided consultations, trainings, and supervision to clients and staff regarding cases involving child protective issues and child welfare litigation.

Alison Lavan - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Member of the Leadership Team
Alison joined NYLAG in 2016 with 15 years of experience in accounting, auditing, and financial management in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining NYLAG, Alison held positions at Credit Suisse and Ford Models. She served as Vice President of Finance at Jitasa, an outsourced accounting firm focused on nonprofits, where she gained extensive experience and passion for managing the complex financial challenges facing nonprofits. She worked with over 50 organizations in this capacity, including charity: water, New York Cares, and the Battery Park Conservancy.

Alla Kazakina

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Project Director, Family Justice Centers and RISE

Amira Samuel

Job Titles:
  • Director of the Pro Bono & Volunteer Unit
  • Director, Pro Bono & Volunteer
Amira Samuel is NYLAG's director of the Pro Bono & Volunteer Unit. In this role, she builds and maintains NYLAG's pro bono relationships and partnerships, developing new opportunities, special projects and initiatives that advance NYLAG's mission, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) priorities and fundraising goals. Amira designs and oversees legal and best practice CLE trainings in collaboration with NYLAG attorneys and shapes and leads professional engagement and recruitment efforts for NYLAG's law school, and emeritus attorneys. Previously, Amira was the pro bono manager at the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice and the director of Economic Justice Programs at FreeFrom. From 2010-2016, Amira represented Orthodox Jewish survivors of domestic violence in their civil and rabbinical court matters as the Project Eden Coordinator at NYLAG.

Anderson Ward

Job Titles:
  • Emily - Director, Institutional Giving & Government Relations

Anderson, Katelynn

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Angela Eslava

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Paralegal

Anna Luft

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Project Director of the Public Housing Justice Project
Anna Luft is the Project Director of the Public Housing Justice Project (PHJP) at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG). As Project Director, Anna created and leads the first team of legal advocates in New York City solely devoted to advancing the rights of public housing tenants. Under Anna's leadership, PHJP provides eviction defense, affirmative litigation, policy advocacy, and community clinics to the New York public housing community. Before coming to NYLAG, Anna was a staff attorney on the Collateral Consequences Team at Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where she represented systems-impacted clients in a wide range of related civil matters. Anna's writing has appeared in the New York Daily News, and City Limits.

Arellano, Anna

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Arellano, Matilde

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Ashburn, Andrea

Job Titles:
  • Justice Catalyst Fellow / Staff Attorney

Attar, Nicole

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Austrich, Angelica

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Avila, Debbie

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Bachrach, Shoshana

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Bains, Navi

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Ball, Courtney

Job Titles:
  • Chief Diversity and People Officer

Barrios, Sheila

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Bartholome, Mei Li

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Bash, Jon

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Baum, Navruz

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Belkin, Anna

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Beltre-Amarante, Carolina

Job Titles:
  • Intake Specialist / Paralegal Case Handler

Berina, Bella

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Administrative Assistant

Berkman, Deborah

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney, Project Director / Bishop, Tea - Senior Staff Attorney

Betz, Heather

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Betz

Bishop, Brenda

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Attorney

Blair Sordetto

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director, Operations & Technology

Bloodgood, Max

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Blum, Alex

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Bodell, Cole

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Attorney

Bogart, Valerie

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel

Bowen, Jillian

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Bravo, Denise

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Brennan, Jane

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Brennan, Kathleen

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Bridget M. Healy - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the BOARD

Brodsky, Marina

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Bromberg, Katherine

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Burda, Ervis

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Financial Counselor

Campanelli, Edward

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director

Campigotto, Maria

Job Titles:
  • Interim Associate Director

Caplow, Yonit

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Cardenas, Ana Maria

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Carla Guzman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, Tenants' Rights Unit

Carroll, Melissa

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Cedeno, Ruth

Job Titles:
  • Senior Financial Counselor

Chalisa, Aziz

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Chao, Jennifer

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Chen, Alexandra

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Chen, Deborah

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Senior Supervising Attorney

Chen, Samantha

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Chen, Wenrui

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Chiel, Ethan

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Christensen, Dana

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Chua, Melissa

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Chua

Chung, Sarah

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Chung, Sonya

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Claros Benitez

Job Titles:
  • Jackelinne - Paralegal Fellow

Cohen, Sophie

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Collins, Emma

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Concha, Mario

Job Titles:
  • Receptionist

Courtney Ball

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Chief Diversity & People Officer
Courtney Ball is a human resources practitioner and people advocate. She takes great pride in her ability to empower people to authentically lead. Before joining NYLAG, she served as the inaugural director of people and culture at REFORM Alliance, a nonprofit organization advocating for just parole and probation laws and policies in the US. She also led the HR team at Eurasia Group and got her start working in the legal field in San Francisco. In her role as Chief Diversity and People Officer at NYLAG, Courtney is excited to build out the DEI strategy and provide transformative holistic service to our clients.

Curran, Elizabeth

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Cutler, Allison

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Cárdenas, Margaret

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Dabush, Miriam

Job Titles:
  • Fiscal Director

Daly, Kathleen

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Damara Parra

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, Financial Empowerment and Advocacy Unit
With over a decade of experience providing financial empowerment services to at-risk and vulnerable communities, Damara leads a team of knowledgeable and compassionate financial counselors committed to helping New Yorkers build strong financial foundations, overcome financial barriers, and create pathways to financial security. Since its inception in 2009, counselors at the Financial Empowerment and Advocacy Unit have empowered clients to make informed financial decisions and take control of their financial futures. Damara previously served as a supervising financial counselor and as a senior financial counselor in the unit. Before joining NYLAG, Damara worked at Urban Upbound, providing financial and housing counseling services to low-income New Yorkers.

Danielle Tarantolo

Job Titles:
  • Danielle
  • Director, Special Litigation Unit

Daphne Schlick

Job Titles:
  • Director, Consumer Protection Unit
In her role at NYLAG, Daphne oversees the Foreclosure Prevention Project, The Office of Financial Empowerment's Debt Collection Project, and the Access to Justice of the NY State Courts' Volunteer Lawyer For a Day Project (VLFD) in the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond counties. She is also a vocal public advocate for consumer economic justice and legislative change, both through local NYC coalition groups and a variety of community workshop presentations. Daphne previously practiced family law at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation legal services, representing survivors of intimate violence in their orders of protection, custody, and visitation proceedings, as well as advocating for survivors' consumer rights. She also previously interned at NYLAG's Family Law Unit. Daphne has worked for a variety of government and nonprofit agencies, including the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, the Legal Aid Society, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Chicago Public Arts Group.

Davis, Brendan

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Deborah Berkman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director of the Shelter
  • Director, Shelter and Economic Stability Project
  • Shelter and Economic Stability Project Director
Deborah Berkman is the Director of the Shelter and Economic Stability Project at New York Legal Assistance Group's (NYLAG's) Public Benefits Unit. Deborah advocates for single adults and families in need to be provided with habitable emergency shelter and housing subsidies so that they may transition to permanent housing. Deborah also represents these and other low-income clients in accessing public benefits, including cash public assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (food stamps) and Medicaid. Formerly, Deborah worked in NYLAG's Special Litigation Unit bringing class action and other impact litigation based on systemic denials of rights or benefits. Deborah is also employed as an Adjunct Clinical Law Professor at Brooklyn Law School, teaching classes relating to poverty, public interest and civil rights law. Prior to these positions, Deborah spent her career fighting on behalf of the disenfranchised at the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and in private practice.

DeCoteau, Peterson

Job Titles:
  • Financial Counselor

Deen, Shanna

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Associate Supervising Attorney

Del Grande, Rebecca

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Staff Attorney

Devins, Elissa

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Diabate, Sekou

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Staff Attorney

Diaz-Vendrell, Gabriela

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Domingo, Nicole

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Dooley, Katelyn

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Dubnytska, Khrystyna

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Paralegal

Duran-Buchsbaum, Julietta

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Dutan, Karen

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Dutta, Sukanya

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Eberts, Noelle

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Ed Campanelli

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, Tenants' Rights Unit
Ed joined NYLAG as associate director of the Tenants' Rights Unit (TRU) in August 2017, the same month that the right to counsel for tenants became law in NYC. Ed supervises TRU's Queens team and helps guide new and recent law school graduates in becoming part of the next generation of attorneys providing NYC tenants with a fair shake at preserving their homes, keeping their families stable, and averting homelessness. Ed started his legal career at the AIDS Center of Queens County representing indigent HIV-positive individuals in Housing Court, Family Court, and before various administrative tribunals. Immediately prior to NYLAG, Ed was a staff attorney at the community-based nonprofit Housing Works, Inc., where he focused almost exclusively on housing-related matters for clients.

Elderkin, Emily

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Ellen Piris

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Staff Attorney

Emily Ward

Job Titles:
  • Director of Institutional Giving & Government Relations
In her role at NYLAG, Emily is responsible for institutional giving and managing the lifecycle of grants and contracts. Emily is also the main point of contact with our valued partners in government and philanthropy, whose support is critical in helping NYLAG achieve our mission. Prior to joining NYLAG, Emily worked in similar positions at the Police Athletic League of NYC, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and St. Francis College.

Escobar, Ana Maria

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Fatehi, Sarvar

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Feingold, Zara

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Felix, Samantha

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Fenn, Sophia

Job Titles:
  • Skadden Fellow / Staff Attorney

Fernandez, Ashley

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Fernandez, Daysi

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Fetrow, Kate

Job Titles:
  • Associate Supervising Attorney

Fletcher, Allen

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Foley, Ryan

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney, Project Director

Foote, Will

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Fox, Jonathan

Job Titles:
  • Director

Freites, Claudia

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Gaon, Felicia

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Staff Attorney

Gellerman, Alena

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Gil, Lisbeth

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Administrative Assistant

Giler, Diana

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Ginsburg, Rafi

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Glashan, Maybeline

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Goldfarb, Shelley

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Gonzales, Iris

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Gonzalez, Ivan

Job Titles:
  • Financial Counselor

Gonzalez, Lesly

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

González, Mel

Job Titles:
  • Project Director
  • González

Goodman, Izzy

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Greenberg, Julia

Job Titles:
  • Associate Supervising Attorney

Grimaldi, Michele

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Grosz, Maya

Job Titles:
  • Director of Training

Guaman, Carolyn

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Guerra, Nichole

Job Titles:
  • Director of Philanthropic Partnerships

Gupta, Prachi

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Guzman, Carla

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director

Hacker, Jacquelin

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Hartman, Rachel

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Heather Betz

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, LGBTQ Law Project Unit
  • Director, LGBTQ Law Unit
Heather supervises a team of attorneys and paralegals representing LGBTQ New Yorkers in a range of civil legal matters, including family law, housing and employment discrimination, immigration, and name and gender marker changes. She also leads the unit's systemic advocacy and public education efforts. Prior to joining NYLAG, Heather directed the Dreamer Pro Bono Project at Cornell Law School. She was previously a senior staff attorney at the HIV Law Project, where she represented people living with HIV/AIDS. Heather was also an Echoing Green Fellow at Immigration Equality and began the organization's in-house representation of LGBTQ and HIV+ immigrants seeking asylum and other relief from deportation.

Herman, Tiffany - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Human Resources

Herron, Adam

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Hess, Mark

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Hincapie-Rodrigo, Sofia

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Holtzman, Rachel

Job Titles:
  • Education and Policy Consultant

Hor, Albert

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Horn, Graham

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Howden, Anthony

Job Titles:
  • Associate Supervising Attorney

Howe, Julie

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Hoxha, Florida

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Hu, Alexander

Job Titles:
  • Senior Coordinating Attorney

Hunter, Alison

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Hunter, Maria

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Hunter

Hurwitz, Miriam

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Hyatt, Conor

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Iacono-Henderson, Angelica

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Iannone, Gwen

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Ilic, Vilma

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Jacobs, Joelle

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Jeffrey Herbert

Job Titles:
  • Member of the BOARD

Jeffrey, Randal

Job Titles:
  • General Counsel / Judge, Lateef - Database & Reporting Administrator

Jessica Selecky

Job Titles:
  • Director, Special Education Unit

Jill Maxwell - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Vice President
Jill Maxwell is a movement lawyer dedicated to building power in NYC communities using strategies that include direct services, impact litigation, and advocacy. Jill started her career as a staff attorney at NYLAG and rejoined as a Vice President in 2023. As a VP, Jill supports NYLAG's legal services programs and contributes to strategic planning and management as a member of the executive team. Before rejoining NYLAG, Jill was Deputy Counsel at CUNY's John Jay College. She supported the College's mission to ensure the success of its majority-BIPOC student body, many of whom are NYC public school graduates, immigrants, and first-generation college students, by providing advice and representation on a range of legal issues and matters.

Jin, Minjung

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Jodi Ziesemer

Job Titles:
  • Policy Director - Immigration Emergency Response, Immigrant Protection Unit
Jodi leads a large team of innovative and passionate immigration advocates. In addition to overseeing staff, she works with senior management to establish and implement a strategic vision for the unit, undertakes the management and reporting on grants and deliverables, and develops effective programs to meet client needs. Prior to joining NYLAG, Jodi was a supervising attorney at Catholic Charities in their Unaccompanied Minors Program. In addition, she has worked for the past ten years representing a wide variety of immigrants in front of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (Immigration Court) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Jodi worked as a Board of Immigration Appeals representative for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago and as a paralegal at Fitzgerald and Company, LLC in Boston. Jodi served an adjunct professor at St. John's University. Help us provide free legal services to children and adults in need of a lawyer.

Johnson, Nate

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Jois, Elizabeth

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Jonathan Fox

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, Tenants' Rights Unit
NYLAG's Tenants' Rights Unit represents New York City tenants with low incomes and strives to preserve safe and affordable housing for its clients by defending them in eviction cases and by asserting their rights affirmatively under tenant protection laws. Before becoming director, Jonathan served as a supervising attorney in TRU. Prior to that, Jonathan was a supervising attorney in NYLAG's Storm Response Unit representing Sandy-affected families in consumer-related legal matters, especially issues related to unscrupulous home improvement contractors. Before joining NYLAG, Jonathan worked at The Financial Clinic, where he handled consumer law cases for New Yorkers experiencing poverty and survivors of intimate partner violence in the areas of foreclosure defense, debt collection defense, tax, and bankruptcy.

Judge Gertrude Mainzer

Job Titles:
  • Fellow
Help us provide free legal services to children and adults in need of a lawyer.

Julie Brandfield

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, LegalHealth

Jung, Dana

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Kathryn O. Greenberg - Founder

Job Titles:
  • FOUNDER
  • HONORARY CHAIRMAN

Kats, Irina

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Katzman, Jennifer

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Kelly Ann

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Khokhar, Tayyaba

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Kipnis, Jennifer

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Kobayashi, Yoko

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Kotowski, Michael

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Kwong, Julia

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Lasam, Carmina

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Lauren Reiff

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, Immigrant Protection Unit
Lauren is the Associate Director of the Immigrant Protection Unit. She has over a decade of practice in immigration law, more than 8 of which have been here at NYLAG, where she has focused on removal defense and emergent needs. She has also been closely involved in expanding IPU's community-led programming to respond to the needs of our newest New Yorkers. Lauren oversees onboarding and training programs for all IPU staff to ensure uniformity of practice and adequate support for her team. Lauren is also an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School, where she co-teaches a clinic focused on removal defense.

Lavan, Alison - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Lavan

Leggat, Maya

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Lesser, Joshua

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Liguori, Karol C.

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Lisa Rivera - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • President
As NYLAG's president and CEO, Lisa leads a team of nearly 400 staff and a $56 million organizational budget. Her role centers on NYLAG's strategic growth, with an emphasis on building innovative outreach and pro bono partnerships and strengthening NYLAG's client-centered, trauma-informed advocacy for New Yorkers in need of civil legal services. Lisa has devoted her entire professional career to advancing social, economic, and racial justice for all New Yorkers. She joined NYLAG in 2003 as a staff attorney and has since held numerous positions including acting director of the Domestic Violence Law Unit, director of strategic initiatives and, most recently, managing attorney overseeing NYLAG's legal programs, professional training programs for staff, and strategic planning. Prior to joining NYLAG, Lisa worked at the National District Attorney's Association where she assisted in developing trainings on domestic violence, sexual assault, and forensic evidence. Lisa also co-directed the Domestic Violence Clinical Center in conjunction with St. John's University School of Law, where she was an adjunct professor.

Lopez, Bruno

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Loui, Ryan

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Luft, Anna

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney, Project Director

Lynch, Keegan

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

López, Daniela

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Paralegal

Maher, Lindsey

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Maltez, Melissa

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal and DOJ - Accredited Representative

Margolis, Eric

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Maria Hunter

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, Public Benefits Unit
Maria Hunter leads the Public Benefits Unit (PBU), which works to ensure that families, children, and the elderly experiencing poverty, and those with disabilities, veterans, and other vulnerable populations, have access to the public benefits to which they are entitled, including public assistance, veterans' benefits, SNAP benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income. PBU also provides life planning assistance in order to help clients access and maintain these critical benefits in the future. Maria was previously the supervising attorney for the Elder Law Practice where she led a team that represented senior clients on issues regarding access to public benefits, advance planning, and elder abuse.

Maria, Melissa

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Marroquin, Jessica

Job Titles:
  • DOJ Accredited Representative

Marshall, Molly

Job Titles:
  • Coordinator
  • Executive

Mattana, Maxine

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Maxwell, Jill - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Maya Grosz

Job Titles:
  • Director of Training
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, Training
Maya Grosz comes to NYLAG after more than 20 years as a legal educator, facilitator, and legal services lawyer. Before joining NYLAG she served as a consultant facilitating conversations about antiracism, equity, and inclusion. From 2009-2019 she was a law professor and Director of the Legal Practice Curriculum at Seton Hall Law School, where she supervised the experiential practical skills courses and programs, and she taught in the first year Introduction to Lawyering course. Prior to her position at Seton Hall, she taught Lawyering for three years at New York University Law School. Before she entered teaching, Maya was an attorney at Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where she represented clients in a range of civil matters including abuse and neglect cases in family court, eviction proceedings, and federal police misconduct cases. In the year after law school graduation, Maya clerked for Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV on the Southern District of New York.

McClean, Holli

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

McGovern, Aidan

Job Titles:
  • Digital Marketing & Communications Coordinator

McNamara, Ryan

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Meier-Castillo, Annalisa

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Paralegal

Mejos, Bella

Job Titles:
  • Grants and Contracts Analyst

Mel González

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, Employment Law Project
  • Employment Law Project Director
Mel supervises a team of lawyers and paralegals representing low wage workers across New York dealing with wage theft, discrimination, harassment and other labor issues, through litigation in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, policy advocacy and community-based partnerships including public education and organizing support. Mel is committed to law and organizing methods of legal advocacy aimed at empowering our communities. Prior to joining NYLAG, Mel worked as an associate at Lichten and Liss-Riordan, bringing class and impact litigation on behalf of low wage and immigrant workers. Before that, Mel worked as an Equal Justice Works fellow at Make the Road New York, with a project focused on supporting NYC delivery workers. Mel speaks Spanish.

Melissa Chua

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Co - Director, Immigrant Protection Unit
  • Director, Immigrant Protection Unit
Melissa provides legal and programmatic guidance to the Immigrant Protection Unit's (IPU) team in all areas of the unit's wide-ranging practice. She began her career at NYLAG in 2008, serving for more than seven years as a staff attorney and supervising attorney in IPU. In those roles, Melissa worked on a wide range of immigration matters, including removal defense, asylum, and relief for survivors of violence. In 2015, Melissa joined the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as the director of immigration, where she was responsible for developing agency-wide policies and practices on immigration and supervising the oversight of immigration field staff in the IRC's 24 field offices.Melissa later served as an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School, where she taught the course on Immigration Law. Melissa rejoined NYLAG in 2019. Following law school, Melissa spent three years as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, handling a range of complex commercial litigation and pro bono matters, including detained and non-detained asylum cases.

Melo, Mathias Joshua

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Meléndez Margarida

Job Titles:
  • Maru - Staff Attorney

Mena, Bryant

Job Titles:
  • Office Manager

Metzger Levitt

Job Titles:
  • Phoebe - Paralegal

Meyer, Simone

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Meyers, Sara - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer

Mezquita, Eva

Job Titles:
  • Financial Counselor

Michelle Spadafore

Job Titles:
  • Senior Attorney
  • Project Director of NYLAG 's Disability Advocacy Project
  • Project Director, Disability Advocacy Project
  • Senior Supervising Attorney and Project Director of NYLAG 's Disability Advocacy Project
Michelle Spadafore is the Senior Supervising Attorney and Project Director of NYLAG's Disability Advocacy Project. She previously worked at the AIDS Center of Queens County, a community-based nonprofit organization that provides services to people living with HIV/AIDS. Her background includes Social Security law, access to public benefits, and consumer credit issues. She has been involved in a number of impact litigation cases focused on improving SSA's handling of non-disability appeals including Amin v. Kijakazi, Ershteyn v. Berryhill, and Campos v. Kijakazi. NYLAG Senior Attorney Michelle Spadafore told The Washington Post that federal changes to eligibility for Social Security disability payments would cut off older, disabled New Yorkers from their primary source of income.

Miller, Bobbi

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Minkoff, Lia

Job Titles:
  • Legal Program Manager

Miramon, Denisse

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Miriam Dabush

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Fiscal Director

Mitchell, Valerie

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Molyneaux, Cameron

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Morales, Nadia

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Moreno, Rachel

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Morgan, Hayden

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Morris, Elizabeth

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Naghavi, Seyyed

Job Titles:
  • Controller

Needleman, Ira

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Neff, Adrienne

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Neuhaus, Benjamin

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Nichole Guerra

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director of Philanthropic Partnerships
  • Fundraising
In her role at NYLAG, Nichole works to build and deepen partnerships with individual and corporate donors to both maximize the impact of their giving while also securing the flexible dollars needed for NYLAG to grow and respond to evolving community needs. Prior to joining NYLAG, Nichole worked in similar roles to prevent hunger among New Yorkers experiencing poverty and homelessness at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, to ensure housing and supportive services for marginalized communities nationwide at Corporation for Supportive Housing, and to end all forms of homelessness in Connecticut at the Partnership for Strong Communities.

Nuñez, Stephanie

Job Titles:
  • Intake Specialist / Paralegal Case Handler

O'Farrell, Nicholas

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

O'Sullivan, Leilani

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Oettgen, Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Olaya-Pineda, J. Camilo

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Ouedraogo, Fatima

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Pacheco, Jennifer

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Page-Pollard, Olivia

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Palacios, Diana

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Palma, Maria Nava

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Park, Jin Sun

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Senior Supervising Attorney

Parker, Fallon

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Parra, Damara

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Parra

Patterson, Seanna

Job Titles:
  • Benefits & Payroll Manager

Paul, Puja

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Pena Gonzalez

Job Titles:
  • Daniela - Staff Attorney

Pepe, Claudia

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Perez, Shantal

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Pineda, Erick

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Pires, Shelly

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Paralegal

Porcher, Elliot

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Preville, Tracy

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Quest, Dillon

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Quintanilla, Blanca

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Rahman, Abeed

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Ramirez Trejo

Job Titles:
  • Jorge Eduardo - Coordinating Senior Attorney

Ramroop, Nikki

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Randal Jeffrey - Chief Legal Officer

Job Titles:
  • General Counsel
  • Member of the Leadership Team
Randal has worked at NYLAG for the past 20 years, first as a staff attorney in the Special Litigation Unit, then as a unit director, and now as general counsel. As general counsel, he provides assistance to the President, senior management team, and program directors on contract, personnel, and compliance issues. Randal also serves as an in-house resource for all staff on matters of professional legal ethics and works with NYLAG's Board on matters of nonprofit governance. He also oversees legal matters involving NYLAG as a party. Prior to coming to NYLAG, Randal was a pro se law clerk with the Second Circuit's Staff Attorney's Office and a Georgetown fellow at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.

Randye Retkin

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Director, LegalHealth
Randye Retkin, Esq., is currently the director and founder of LegalHealth, a Division of NYLAG. LegalHealth is the country's largest medical-legal partnership, serving hospitals and community-based health organizations, including some VA hospitals. Prior to joining NYLAG, Ms. Retkin served as director of legal services for the Gay Men's Health Crisis, the nation's oldest and largest organization serving people with HIV/AIDS. Ms. Retkin served as a staff attorney with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS), where she established the VOLS Immigrants' Rights Project. She is a co-author of New York States' Standby Guardianship law and helped spearhead the recent expansion of the law to assist immigrant families. She is also an author of New York's Health-Related Legal Services law.

Rayavarapu, Gita

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Rebecca Wallach

Job Titles:
  • Director of the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program
  • Director, Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program ( EFLRP )
Rebecca Wallach is the director of the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program (EFLRP), which represents low-income New Yorkers in accessing and maintaining Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care services. Rebecca began her legal career at NYLAG as a Skadden Fellow advocating on behalf of "dual eligible" clients - those with Medicaid and Medicare - as their Medicaid long-term care services were transitioned to managed care. Following her Skadden Fellowship, she was a law clerk for Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom in the Eastern District of New York. She returned to NYLAG in 2017 to continue her advocacy for dual eligible and other vulnerable Medicaid recipients.

Regan, Brendan

Job Titles:
  • Financial Counselor

Reiff, Lauren

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director

Remy, Benjamin

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Retkin, Randye

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Retkin

Ricciardi, Logan

Job Titles:
  • Manager of Philanthropic Giving

Riser, Jared

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Rivera, Lisa - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • President
  • Rivera

Robinson, Shawna

Job Titles:
  • Manager of Engagement & Retention

Rodriguez Martine

Job Titles:
  • Lizaury - Staff Attorney

Rodriguez, Andreina

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Rodriguez, Andres

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Rodriguez, Jackeline

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Rodriguez, Katherine

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Rojas, Alma

Job Titles:
  • Senior Financial Counselor

Rojas, Nicole

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Romero Tepale

Job Titles:
  • Marcela - Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Rosario, Andrés

Job Titles:
  • Accounts Payable Coordinator

Rose Marie Cantanno

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, Consumer Protection Unit

Rosen, Diana

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Attorney

Rosenthal, Lindsey

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Rubin, Rebecca

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Rugg, Molly

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Ruiz, Gerry

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Ruiz, Jorge

Job Titles:
  • Senior Financial Counselor

Russell, Julia

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Russo, Lara

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Ruttenberg, Raphael

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Ryan Foley

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Project Director, Veterans Practice
Ryan is the project director of NYLAG's Veterans Practice, which provides assistance and advice to low-income veterans in the areas of VA benefits, discharge upgrades, public benefits, housing, consumer rights, and advance directives and planning. Ryan also designed and runs an experiential project for students at Columbia Law School, which has been in operation since the fall of 2021. Prior to joining NYLAG, Ryan worked as lecturer in law and attorney fellow at the University of Miami Health Rights Clinic's Veterans Rights Project. He also worked as the director of Veteran Legal Support Services at Operation Sacred Trust, a Supportive Services for Veteran Families-funded non-profit organization focused on assisting homeless veterans. Ryan previously served as chair of the American Bar Association's Military and Veterans Health Law Interest Group and participated in National Science Foundation research on Veteran Treatment Courts across the country.

Sai, Nancy

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pro Bono Coordinator

Salomone, Olivia

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Samuel, Amira

Job Titles:
  • Director of Volunteer
  • Program Coordinator
  • Samuel

Sanchez, Sierra

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Sara Meyers - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Member of the Leadership Team
Sara manages administration and operations for NYLAG, including human resources, information technology, and office management. She is responsible for developing and maintaining office-wide systems to track outcomes and improve productivity, works closely with the Finance Department to monitor budgets and reporting, and provides senior management with leadership and guidance, including multi-year strategic planning. Sara also oversees NYLAG's development team, which is responsible for the organization's revenue generation. Most recently, Sara was Assistant Vice President, Institutional Advancement at Hunter College, where she built a leadership team and developed organizational strategies for the Hunter College Foundation (HCF). Before joining Hunter College, Sara served for over ten years at two City of New York agencies. Earlier, she was Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Finance, and an Assistant Commissioner of the Taxi & Limousine Commission.

Sawyer, Lily

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Schlick, Daphne

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Schlick

Schoenhaus, Seth

Job Titles:
  • Temporary Staff Attorney

Schofield, Joseph

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Sebastian, Kate

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Clerk

Sebastian-Cecilio, Delia

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Seelinger, Sav

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Seidman, Alison

Job Titles:
  • Special Projects Coordinator

Seyyed Naghavi

Job Titles:
  • Controller
  • Member of the Leadership Team
Seyyed joined NYLAG as Controller, overseeing financial operations and ensuring fiscal responsibility for this leading civil legal services organization. His expertise in budget management, audit oversight, and grant compliance will be instrumental in supporting NYLAG's mission to combat economic, racial, and social injustice. With an M.S. in Accounting, Seyyed has a proven track record of streamlining financial processes and empowering organizations to achieve their goals. He is deeply committed to supporting underserved communities and brings valuable experience from his previous roles at organizations dedicated to assisting LGBTQ+ youth, new immigrants, women and families in the Bronx, and individuals facing homelessness.

Shahinfar, Erin

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Shani Adess - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Sharma, Astha

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Sheedy, Marianna

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Sherwin, Howard

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Soto, Aura

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Spadafore, Michelle

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney, Project Director

Steiner, William

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Strouse, Taisa

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Sunday, Matthew

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Susano Trujeque

Job Titles:
  • Maribel - Paralegal

Susano, Maribel

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Svensson, Alana

Job Titles:
  • Grant Officer

Sánchez-Pagán, Iván

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Sánchez-Vela, Clara

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Paralegal

Tamayo, Wilma

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pro Bono Coordinator, Clinics

Tanner, Tyler

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Tapia, Paola

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Tarazona, Zaida

Job Titles:
  • Senior Financial Counselor

Tec Moo

Job Titles:
  • Rogelio - Coordinating Senior Paralegal

Thomason, Kathryn

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Tiffany Herman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Interim Director, Human Resources
  • People and Culture Strategist and Leadership Coach
Tiffany Herman is a People and Culture strategist and leadership coach. Tiffany has extensive years of professional Human Resources experience. Prior to her time at Square Roots Grow, Tiffany was the Deputy Director of Human Resources at Sanctuary for Families. Throughout her career, Tiffany has counseled and supported senior leaders to help them achieve strategic and organizational goals while mitigating risk. Along with strong business acumen, her comprehensive background in HR management, DEI, recruitment, retention, compensation, labor relations, policy interpretation, training, and development has resulted in effective organizational change.

Tinubu, Norma

Job Titles:
  • Interim Associate Director

Tirado, Destiny

Job Titles:
  • Volunteer Program Coordinator

Toke, Alex

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Torchiana, Claire

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Tourangeau, James

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Toussaint, Kevin

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Trinidad-Lira, Natalie

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Tseng, Vania

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Tuozhi Lorna Zhen

Job Titles:
  • Law Project Director

Urena, Carmen Arias

Job Titles:
  • Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow / Staff Attorney

Vasquez, Victoria

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Clerk

Vaz, Marie

Job Titles:
  • Associate Supervising Attorney

Vazquez, Marisol

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Velasquez, Diana

Job Titles:
  • Grants & Data Coordinator

Verbit, Zachary

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Victoria Goodlof

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Associate Director, Domestic Violence Law Unit

Vigil, Giselle

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

von Lilienfeld-Berry, Benita

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Wallach, Rebecca

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Wallach

Wallner, Mina

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Walser, Miles

Job Titles:
  • Coordinating Senior Attorney

Warshaw, J. Max

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Wayne, Adena

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Weaver, Amber

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Weisberg, Adina

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Weiss, Michelle

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

White, Najae

Job Titles:
  • Grants and Data Coordinator

Whitney, Annie

Job Titles:
  • Equal Justice Works Fellow / Staff Attorney

Wilson, Cydney

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Wolf, Debra

Job Titles:
  • Senior Supervising Attorney

Yadoo, Courtney

Job Titles:
  • Senior Staff Attorney

Yang, Barry

Job Titles:
  • Paralegal

Yankson, Michele

Job Titles:
  • Supervising Attorney

Yimam, Muna

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Zagha, Annie

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Zelleke, Mahlet

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Zhang, Grace

Job Titles:
  • Senior Paralegal

Zhou, Grace

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney

Ziesemer, Jodi

Job Titles:
  • Policy Director - Immigration Emergency Response