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Lauren Elfant
Attorney, Family Defense
LaurenE@bronxdefenders.org
Before and during her coursework towards a J.D. at Temple Beasley School of Law, Lauren clerked and interned at many offices including the Philadelphia Public Defenders, the Philadelphia Federal Defenders, Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, Temple Legal Aid Office, and the Law Offices of Lawrence G. Metzger.  She also volunteered at Philadelphia Legal Assistance.  At Temple Law, she was selected as a fellow for the Rubin Public Interest Law Honor Society, and served as the Symposium Editor of the Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review.  Lauren was active in the Temple Chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild and the Women’s Law Cause and the Steering Committee for the Student Public Interest Law Network.  She received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Women’s Studies and Latin American Studies, where she graduated summa cum laude.

Kevin J. Estwick
Investigator
kevine@bronxdefenders.org
Kevin graduated from Columbia University with a BA in International Politics and African American Studies where he was a Kluge Scholar, a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, a Co-Founder of Columbia University Concerned Students of Color, and served in the political committee and co-chaired the black heritage committee of the Black Students Organization.  He most recently worked for America Reads as their Site Co-Coordinator and for Now Forward Music, Inc as a Temporary Executive Assistant.  During his summers, Kevin was a Counselor for the Junior Statesmen of America at Yale University and an Intern for Pastors for Peace.  Kevin is fluent in Spanish.

Keren Farkas
Attorney, Family Defense
KerenF@bronxdefenders.org
At NYU School of Law where Keren earned her J.D., she was also the Co-Managing Editor of the Review of Law and Social Change and a participant in the NYU Children’s Rights Clinic, the NYU Civil Litigation Clinic, and the Courtroom Advocates Project.  Keren also holds a Masters in Education with an emphasis in Risk and Prevention for Children and Families from Harvard and a B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley, where she graduated with a Distinction in General Scholarship. During law school, Keren interned at The Door and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, clerked at the Los Angeles Country Public Defender, and was a Summer Associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.  And during her Masters program she interned at Mental Health Commission for Children at Massachusetts's Executive Office for Health and Human Services.

Walter Fields
Attorney, Family Defense
WalterF@bronxdefenders.org
Walter came to The Bronx Defenders after working as an Associate Attorney at Lansner and Kubitschek, where he practiced in Family Law and Civil Rights Law.  Previous to his work there, Walter worked for the New York Counsel on Adoptable Children as a Lead Agency Attorney in Family Law and General Practice Law and as and Associate Attorney at Cambio, Votto, Cassata & Gullo in the area of Insurance Defense. Walter received his J.D. from Pace Univesrity School of Law where he received the 2000-2001 Andrew Block Merit Scholarship and was active in the Public Interest Law Students Organization.  He also holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Sacred Heart University.

Kara Finck
Managing Attorney, Family Defense
KaraF@bronxdefenders.org
A graduate of Columbia College and recipient of a national Truman Scholarship, Kara worked as an Associate Planner at the Vera Institute of Justice developing programs aimed at reforming the child welfare system, and at The Bronx Defenders as a Planner overseeing community outreach and youth programs. At Columbia Law School as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, she served as the Executive Articles Editor of the Columbia Law Review and participated in the Child Advocacy Clinic. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Reginald Lindsay in the Federal District Court of Massachusetts. As a Skadden Fellow, she worked at The Door’s Legal Services Center representing young people in foster care before returning as an attorney to The Bronx Defenders. 

Jennifer Friedman
Attorney, Civil Action
JenniferF@bronxdefenders.org
Jennifer received her JD from New York University School of Law in 2007, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow.  At NYU, Jennifer was in the Immigrant Rights Clinic and on the board of the Review of Law and Social Change.  She spent her summers at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona and at the Institute for Comparative Studies in Criminal Justice's Gender and Criminal Justice Project in Guatemala City, Guatemala. During her studies, Jennifer interned with with the International Center for Transitional Justice, the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, Immigration Equality, and the Center for Constitutional Rights.  Prior to law school, Jennifer worked as a caseworker in a Bronx domestic violence shelter and as a human rights advocate in Guatemala.  She received her BA from Smith College in Sociology and Women's Studies and is fluent in Spanish.

Amy Gallicchio
Supervisor, Homicide Practice
AmyG@bronxdefenders.org
After graduating from Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, Amy became a E.Barrett Prettyman/Stuart Stiller Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center, representing adult and juvenile defendants in the District of Columbia Superior Court and teaching third year law students in a Juvenile Justice Clinic. After the completion of her fellowship, Amy worked as an Assistant Public Defender and Senior Trial Attorney at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, where she tried hundreds of misdemeanor and felony matters, conducted countless suppression hearings and has represented thousands of indigent clients in all phases of criminal defense representation. Amy is bilingual in Spanish and brings to The Bronx Defenders experience with high profile and complex criminal matters including homicides.

Dawit Getachew
Community Outreach Associate/ReEntry Net Associate
dawitg@bronxdefenders.org
Dawit received his B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University where he was a John Kluge Scholar, a recipient of the Juliette Tyler Lewis Civic Award, and recognized as 100 Black Men of America’s Youth of the Year.  Also while working on his undergraduate degree, Dawit served on the Executive Board of Columbia’s Black Students Organization and The Brotherhood Project of African Heritage Peer Membership Program.  He has served as a volunteer with Katrina on the Ground, as a summer intern for the International Monetary Fund for two summers, as a Summer School Teacher for Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School, and as a Food Service Program Monitor for the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C.  Dawit is fluent in Amharic and has a working knowledge of Spanish. 

Janet Gibson
Arraignment Clerk
janetg@bronxdefenders.org
After graduating from Queens College at the City University of New York, Janet began her career as an information manager at Stern & Watson, Inc. She stayed with the company as the company as its performance led it to be acquired successively by Ward Howell, Inc., LAI Worldwide, and finally by TMP Worldwide. For almost 20 years, she performed research and maintained the company’s library.

Team Administrator
FaustaG@bronxdefenders.org
Fausta came to The Bronx Defenders with an extensive background in both administration and management and immigration counseling.  She has also served as the Assistant Director of S&S Tax Service.  Fausta received her degree in Business Administration from O&M University in Santo Domingo, DR and her Paralegal Certificate at the Center for Immigrant Rights.  Fausta is also fluent in Spanish.

Rebecca Greenberg
Attorney, Civil Action
RebeccaG@bronxdefenders.org
 Originally from Toronto, Canada, Rebecca is a 2001 graduate of McGill University with a B.A. in International Development Studies. Following graduation, she worked in New York City as a legal advocate with the Urban Justice Center's Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project, where she helped clients fight eviction and obtain welfare benefits. Rebecca then lived and worked in Mexico for the Centro Ecologico Sian Ka'an, a community-based Mexican non-governmental organization focused on using money earned through eco-tourism endeavors to fund environmental education programs in local schools. She is a graduate of the CUNY School of Law, where she was a member of the New York City Law Review Editorial Staff, the Public Interest Law Students Association, a teaching assistant for the Economic Justice Project Lawyering Seminar, and a legal intern with the Battered Women's Rights Legal Clinic. Rebecca was awarded the Charles H. Revson Public Interest Fellowship, which she used to spend the summer working at Make The Road By Walking in Bushwick with Basta!, the environmental justice and housing project. She is fluent in Spanish.

Vivianne Guevara
Client Advocate
vivianneg@bronxdefenders.org
Vivianne began at The Bronx Defenders as a Client Advocate Intern while working as a Social Work Outreach Specialist for the Bowery Resident’s Committee and finishing up her MSW at Columbia University School of Social Work. Vivianne also worked as a Social Work Intern for the Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, as a Program Associate for the Institute for Trauma and Resilience at the NYU Child Study Center, and as a Volunteer ESL Instructor at Asociacion Tepeyac. While at Columbia, Vivianne served as an Editor of Columbia’s Journal of Student Social Work and was a Contributing Member to Columbia’s Office of Diversity, Human Rights and Social Justice student advisory group. Prior to entering the field of Social Work, Vivianne was an administrative assistant at organizations in various sectors. She received her BA in Psychology from New York University and is proficient in Spanish.

Abram Handler
Investigator
AbramH@bronxdefenders.org
Abram graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in Philosophy, where he was a John Jay Scholar. His investigative skills were cultivated from his work as a Reporter at both The Durango Herald in Colorado and The Columbia Daily Spectator. During college, Abram was also a GED Math Teacher for the Columbia Community Impact Program and a Writer and Researcher for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.   He has extensive experience with Computer Programming and is proficient in Spanish.

Ben Hanna
Client Advocate, Criminal Defense 
BenH@bronxdefenders.org 
Ben graduated in 1989 Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Communications from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  Ben has worked as a substitute teacher at all grade levels in rural Madison County Illinois; a teacher’s aide in Highland, Illinois, where he worked one-on-one for three years with an Asperger’s Syndrome teen; an in-home and community trainer for Judevine Center for Autism in St. Louis, MO, where he worked with high-functioning teenage autistic and Asperger’s Syndrome males; a resident assistant & youth counselor for Green Chimneys, where he worked & lived with teenage LGBTQ youth; an independent living specialist for the Palace Employment Shelter, where he worked with single working homeless adults; and as an outreach specialist for the Bowery Residents’ Committee, where he worked with the street homeless population.  Ben graduated with his MSW from the Columbia University School of Social Work in May 2007 and first came to The Bronx Defenders as a social work intern during his second year of studies. 

Joy Haviland
Attorney, Criminal Defense 
JoyH@bronxdefenders.org 
Joy comes to the Bronx Defenders after receiving her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. During law school, Joy worked on post-conviction cases as a member of the Death Penalty Clinic where she co-wrote an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in Baze v. Rees, an action challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures. Joy also interned at the San Francisco Public Defender, the Alameda County Public Defender, and the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center. Joy received her B.A. from Pitzer College where she was a member of the women's water polo team.

Jaime Herrero
Attorney, Criminal Defense 
JaimeH@bronxdefenders.org 
Jaime received his J.D. in 2008 from the University of Texas School of Law, where he served on the editorial board of the Texas Journal of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. Before joining the staff at The Bronx Defenders, Jaime interned at the University of Texas School of Law Criminal Defense Clinic and the Legal Aid Society. He holds an undergraduate degree in History from Case Western Reserve University.

Leah Horowitz
Attorney, Criminal Defense 
LeahH@bronxdefenders.org 
Leah’s commitment to justice for low-income communities started long before she entered law school. As a high school student, Leah volunteered at the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and Choices for Success, educating young people about domestic violence. Later, while studying for her BA in Sociology at Cornell University, Leah helped to found Books Through Bars, a local project to provide books to individuals incarcerated in New York State. After graduation, she worked for two years at the Alternative to Incarceration Center as a case manager, counseling and referring clients to necessary social services. Leah went on to attend Fordham University School of Law, where she was a member of the Stein Scholars Program in Public Interest Law and Ethics, as well as President of both the Fordham Law Drug Policy Reform Project and the Fordham Chapter of the Youth Advocacy Center. In addition to interning at the Legal Aid Society, Leah volunteered throughout law school with The College Initiative, teaching math to incarcerated and non-incarcerated individuals at the Queensborough Correctional Facility.

Matthew Kadushin
Attorney, Criminal Defense
MatthewK@bronxdefenders.org
Matthew was a staff attorney at the Public Defender Service in Washington D.C for nearly four years before joining us here at The Bronx Defenders. While earning his J.D. at New York University School of Law, Matthew interned at the Southern Center for Human Rights, where he drafted memorandum of law on evidentiary issues, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Inc., where he worked on a Texas death penalty case that came before the Supreme Court. He received his undergraduate degree, in Political Economy and History, from Muhlenberg College.

Milinda Kakani
Attorney, Family Defense
MilindaK@bronxdefenders.org
Milinda first made her way to the Bronx as a sixth grade teacher at P.S. 4 after receiving her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.  After working for two years as a teacher and earning her M.S in childhood education at St. John’s University, Milinda went to law school at the University of California, Hastings. She has interned at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, U.C. Hastings’ Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, the ACLU of Northern California, and the Federal Public Defenders of the Central District of California.

Jim Kenniff
Team Leader, Family Defense
jimk@bronxdefenders.org
Jim came to The Bronx Defenders after working for four years as a partner at Reddin-Eliou & Kenniff, where he devoted his legal practice to contested matrimonial and family law matters.  Previously, he also practiced family law as an associate at John A. Gemelli, P.C. Jim earned his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School, where he was the Administrative Manager of the Michigan Journal of Gender and Law and a legal writing instructor for the school’s legal writing program.  After law school, Jim served as a law clerk for the Honorable Patrick J. Duggan in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  He has litigation experience at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft as an associate in Securities and Complex Litigation and at Rains & Pogrebin, P.C. as an associate in Labor and Employment Litigation.  Jim also holds a B.A. in Psychology from Hofstra University, where he graduated cum laude as a four-time Provost Scholar.

    
Emma Ketteringham
Team Leader, Family Defense
EmmaK@bronxdefenders.org

Emma joined the family law practice after several years as an attorney at The Bronx Defenders in the criminal practice.  She has also represented parents and families in family court and federal court as an attorney at the civil rights firm, Lansner and Kubitscheck.  Before that, Emma worked as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison.  Previously, Emma had clerked for two judges, first in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, then at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She has also worked as a legal assistant at the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, a publications assistant at the League of Women Voters, and a law clerk at the American Civil Liberties Union for Southern California. She is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, where she was a teaching assistant for First Year Legal Practice and Writing and a court advocate for survivors of domestic violence. Emma holds a BA in Political Science from Trinity College.

Philippe Knab
Attorney, Civil Action Practice - Housing
philippek@bronxdefenders.org
Philippe joined The Bronx Defenders after working as a Staff Attorney at Bushwick Housing & Legal Assistance where he represented low-income tenants in housing court.  While working towards his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, Philippe worked as a Legal Intern for the Fair Hearing Office of the New York City Housing Authority, a Legal Intern for the Elder Law Clinic at BLS Legal Services Corporation, and as a Research Assistant for the New York State Unified Court System.  He has also worked as a Legislative Intern for the Office of the New York City Council Member Alan Jay Gerson and as Field Staff for the Senate Campaign for US Senator Paul Wellstone.  Philippe received his B.A in Philosophy from Macalester College.

Allison Korn
Attorney, Family Defense
AllisonK@bronxdefenders.org
Before getting her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law, Allison Co-Founded the Student Hurricane Network and served as the Co-Chairman of the Administrative/Development Committee and the Director of Mississippi Projects Student Trips Committee.  She was also an Intake Counselor at the Mississippi Center for Legal Services during a summer.  During law school, Allison served at the Legislative /Policy Clinic, as a panelist at the Equal Justice Works Conference, and a Roundtable Speaker for the Working in Public Interest Law Conference.  Allison is a recipient of the Adams and Reese Pro Bono Award, 2007 and the Law Association for Women "Women in Law" Award, 2007. She also holds a B.A. in English and French from Roanoke College where she was a Bittle Scholarship Recipient.

Molly Kovel
Attorney, Civil Action
MollyK@bronxdefenders.org
Molly (Mariana) Kovel is a 2008 Skadden Fellow representing Bronx Defenders clients on a wide range of employment and criminal records issues.  Before joining our office, she clerked for the Honorable Robert M. Levy in the Eastern District of New York. Molly received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a student leader of the National Lawyers Guild chapter, a participant in the Urban Communities Clinic, and a member of the Law Review.  She has interned at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt in the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. She received her undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 2001, majoring in history with a focus on American social movements.

Lorraine Landrau
Parent Advocate
LorraineL@bronxdefenders.org 
Loraine first worked at The Bronx Defenders as the receptionist for many years.  As the first face our clients see when they walked in the door, she was friendly, welcoming, invested in assisting our clients and their families in any way she can. In 2007, after 6 years with The Bronx Defenders, she became a parent advocate.  Lorraine is now able to help our clients in crisis in a different way - by keeping their families together.  Before coming to our offices, Lorraine volunteered in the New York City public school system and worked as an administrative assistant at several business and private offices. While working for The Bronx Defenders, Lorraine is simultaneously pursuing a degree in social work as an undergraduate student at Lehman College. Lorraine is also bilingual in Spanish and English.  

Sohaye Lee

Susan Lee

Scott Levy
Attorney, Criminal Defense
ScottL@bronxdefenders.org
Scott received his J.D. cum laude in 2007 from Harvard Law School, where he was the Special Projects Editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.  He first came to the Bronx Defenders as an undergraduate intern in 2001 and later returned to work fulltime as an investigator. While in law school, Scott participated in numerous clinics and criminal justice student groups while also working with the Southern Center for Human Rights, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, Ferguson Stein Chambers Gresham & Sumter, and the Legal Aid Board in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Following graduation, Scott clerked for the Honorable Nancy Gertner in the Federal District Court of Massachusetts before returning to the Bronx Defenders.  He graduated magna cum laude from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs. Scott is proficient in Spanish and Italian.

Robyn Mar
Attorney, Criminal Defense
RobynM@bronxdefenders.org
Robyn received her JD from the NYU School of Law, where she participated in the Juvenile Defender Clinic representing children accused of crimes in the Bronx. At NYU, Robyn served on the boards of the Multiracial Law Students' Association and the Prisoners' Rights & Education Project while also working as a member of the Capital Defender Clinic, an Executive Editor of the Review of Law & Social Change and a teaching assistant for both the Lawyering Program and Professor Derrick Bell. She has interned at the San Francisco Office of the Public Defender, the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center and the San Francisco offices of Morrison & Foerster. She has also taught English in Beijing and legal research in New York State prisons. Robyn graduated cum laude from Columbia University, where she majored in Political Science with a concentration in Human Rights.

Ann Mathews
Attorney, Criminal Defense
AnnM@bronxdefenders.org
Ann Mathews graduated magna cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2002.  While at NYU, she participated in the New York Capital Defender Clinic and was an Articles Editor for the NYU Law Review.  Before joining The Bronx Defenders, Ann clerked for the Honorable M. Blane Michael of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and spent several years as a litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York. Ann received her undergraduate degree from Columbia, where she majored in Middle Eastern Languages and Culture.  She also received a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia.  Before attending law school, Ann worked, among other places, as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill and spent a year in Lusaka, Zambia working on a public health project.

Edward McGowan

Team Leader, Criminal Defense
edwardm@bronxdefenders.org
Edward came to The Bronx Defenders with more than 15 years of experience as an attorney specializing in criminal defense and civil rights law. He began his legal career as a staff attorney with the criminal defense division of the Legal Aid Society in Manhattan.  In 1994, he joined the firm of Sivin & Miller, Esq., where  he expanded his practice to include tort litigation, with particular focus on cases involving police brutality, false arrest and malicious prosecution.  Three years later, with a partner, Edward formed the firm of Goldstein & McGowan, LLP, which concentrated on civil and criminal trial practice.  His article, “Eighth Amendment Proportionality in the Aftermath of Harmelin v. Michigan,” was published in the New York Law School Journal of Human Rights.  Edward received his J.D. from New York Law School in 1992, and also holds a B.F.A. in drama from New York University.  

 

Avery McNeil
Parent Advocate
AveryM@bronxdefenders.org
After graduating from college, Avery began here as an Investigative Intern through a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship in criminal justice.  In the Fall, The Bronx Defenders hired her as a Development Assistant to help with the organization’s 10th Anniversary Benefit Gala. She now joins the Family Defense Practice as a Parent Advocate. Avery graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in European Colonial History and a concentration in Human Rights.  As an undergraduate, Avery directed Artists Reaching Out, an afterschool arts program taught by student volunteers at a high-needs public school in Harlem.  She was a recipient of The New York Times Guild Scholarship and a Deans List Scholar.  She has also interned at the Center for Reproductive Rights and Family Care International.  Avery has lived in both France and South Africa and is fluent in French.

Marika Meis
Assistant Director of Litigation and Training
Attorney, Criminal Defense

MarikaM@bronxdefenders.org 
After working as an attorney at The Legal Aid Society and Appellate Advocates, Marika continued her commitment to defending indigent clients by coming to work at The Bronx Defenders. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA with distinction in English Literature and cum laude J.D from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. While in law school, she externed at the United States District Court—Northern District of California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where she earned an Excellence Award.

Kaity Mejia
Receptionist
kaitym@bronxdefenders.org
Before coming to The Bronx Defenders, Kaity worked at Lincoln Hospital as a phlebotomist and with medical records.   Kaity has also worked as a Data Entry Specialist and a Cashier. She graduated from CUNY Bronx E.O.C. with a Medical Assistant Certification in 2007.  Kaity is bilingual in Spanish and English and holds a certificate in CPR and First Aid.

 

Mary Anne Mendenhall
Attorney, Family Defense
maryannem@bronxdefenders.org
Mary Anne received her JD from Brooklyn Law School, where she was an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Fellow. She has interned at The Gulf Region Advocacy Center, the Federal Defenders of San Diego, the Federal Defenders of New York, and the Brooklyn Law School Capital Defender and Federal Habeas Clinic. Prior to law school, Mary Anne worked for Lansner & Kubitschek, where she worked on the trial and appeal of Nicholson v. Williams, a class-action lawsuit credited on a national level for sparking change in the handling of all kinds of child protection cases. Mary Anne graduated from Dartmouth College in 2002, with a double major in English and Spanish. She is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Portuguese.

Kathryn Miller
Attorney, Criminal Defense
KathrynM@bronxdefenders.org
Kathryn received her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley where she graduated Order of the Coif.  While in law school, she worked on Alabama post-conviction capital cases as a member of the Boalt Hall Death Penalty Clinic.  Kathryn also interned at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, the Drug Policy Alliance, the East Bay Community Law Center’s Housing Unit, and the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of Arkansas.  She served as Managing Editor of the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, participated in a student-run employment clinic, and received regional and national awards for her outstanding advocacy in Moot Court.  Before law school, Kathryn spent two years teaching middle school in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward.  She holds a B.A. in History from the College of William and Mary and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Helen Montalvan
Parent Advocate
HelenM@bronxdefenders.org 
After receiving her A.A.S in Public Administration from Hostos Community College, Helen worked as a receptionist at Aquarius Inc. As a Parent Liason, she advocates and provides social work services for parents involved in the child welfare system, acting as a case manager for clients’ court and service needs.


Jodi L. Morales-Vargas
Attorney, Criminal Defense
JodiM@bronxdefenders.org
Jodi began as a legal intern at The Bronx Defenders before coming back with a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law to practice law.   During Law School, Jodi was a Berg Fellow and participated in the Family Court Clinic and the Public Interest Law Student Association and served as the Community Service Chair in the Latin American Law Student Association and the Secretary of the Minority Law Student Alliance.  She also interned for Judge Lee Hand Elkins of the New York State Family Court in Brooklyn and for the immigration practice of the New York Legal Assistance Group.  Jodi received her B.A in English from SUNY Buffalo where she graduated Cum Laude.  She is fluent in Spanish.

Amanda Nadel
Team Leader, Criminal Defense
AmandaN@bronxdefenders.org 
Amanda got her first experience in the field of indigent defense while she was still an undergraduate at Brown University, interning at the Rhode Island Office of the Public Defender. After receiving BA in Public Policy and American Institutions, Amanda was selected as a Project Otzama Fellow and lived in Israel for a year, serving underpriviledged populations and communities throughout that country. While she was a student at New York University School of Law, Amanda interned at the Federal Defender Clinic, the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and several private firms. She began work at The Bronx Defenders shortly after graduation. Amanda is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and fluent in Hebrew.

 

Ryan Napoli
Attorney, Family Defense
RyanN@bronxdefenders.org
Ryan joined the Bronx Defenders after working as a Staff Attorney at the West Side SRO Law Project, where he advocated on behalf of low-income SRO tenants. Ryan has also worked as Senior Counsel at the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs and as a staff attorney at MFY Legal Services. He has volunteered at Neighborhood Defenders Service of Harlem and interned at the Public Defender Service in Washington D.C. While earning his J.D. at the University of Maryland, he fought for the release of a Post 9/11 detainee and started an organization that monitored the INS Special Registration Program in Baltimore.

Jenay Nurse
Attorney, Criminal Defense
jenayn@bronxdefenders.org
Jenay came to The Bronx Defenders after working as an Associate at Debevoise and Plimpton LLP.  She received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of law where she graduated cum laude and was an Associate Editor of the Journal of International Human Rights and the Secretary for the Black Law Students Association.  At Northwestern, Jenay was in the Bluhm Legal Clinic and she externed for the Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly from the United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois. Jenay worked as a Criminal Defense Intern for the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem following her first year of law school.  She also holds a B.B.A. in International Business and Consulting from Emory University.

Adeola Ogunkeyede

Attorney,  Criminal Defense
AdeolaO@bronxdefenders.org 

Adeola received her JD from Tulane Law School where she was a member of the Criminal Law Clinic, president of the Public Interest Law Foundation, and coordinator of the Street Law Program in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. During law school she worked for the ABA’s Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project and the D.C. Public Defender Service.  She was the 2008 recipient of the Crest Award for Service and Leadership and was awarded the General Maurice Hirsch Award, presented each year to the graduating student who contributes most distinctively and constructively to university or community needs.  After graduation, Adeola interned for Judge Carl Stewart of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit where she worked on federal habeas and death penalty cases.  Before law school, Adeola worked on civil rights cases in Washington, D.C.  A native of Queens, N.Y., Adeola received her B.A. from Duke University.

Justine Olderman
Team Leader and Managing Attorney, Criminal Defense 
JustineO@bronxdefenders.org
After graduating from the University of Michigan with highest honors in Comparative Literature, Justine received her J.D. from New York University School of Law. During the academic year, Justine was Managing Editor of the Review of Law and Social Change and participated in both a criminal appeals clinic and a criminal defense clinic, representing indigent clients in misdemeanor and felony cases. During her summers, she interned at the Legal Aid Society and the Capital Defender Office during the summers. At NYU, Justine was awarded the George P. Faulk Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship; she graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif. Justine spent two years clerking for Judge Robert J. Ward in the Southern District of New York before joining The Bronx Defenders in 2000.

  

Michael Oppenheimer
Attorney Criminal Defense 
MichaelO@bronxdefenders.org
Michael received his J.D. from the CUNY School of Law in 2006, where he represented clients in Queens Criminal Court through CUNY’s Defenders Clinic and served as the 2005-2006 Thurgood Marshall Fellow of the New York City Bar Association. Following his law school graduation, Michael earned an LLM while serving as a Prettyman Fellow at the Georgetown Law Center, where he represented adults in misdemeanor and felony cases and supervised third-year law students in court. Michael has interned at the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, the Innocence Project New Orleans and the Public Defender Service of Washinton D.C. Prior to law school, he spent three years as a staff investigator at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Michael recieved his B.A. in Law and Society from American University in 1999.

 

Marc Ramirez
Benefits Advisor

MarcR@bronxdefenders.org

Marc brings a unique and personal perspective on the criminal justice system, having served time in prison, which makes his work especially meaningful. During his time there, Marc worked as the Administrative Aide for the Chaplain, and as the Education Department Clerk and Employment Resource Center Aide - spearheading a “Relay for Life” committee that worked with the American Cancer Society and starting a new program called Reaching Out the Provide Enlightenment where people in prison met with young people to help them make decisions to avoid involvement in the criminal justice system. Marc has extensive experience in legal research. He also is a certified personal trainer and is conversant in Spanish.

Kumar Rao
Attorney, Criminal Practice
kumarr@bronxdefenders.org
Kumar received his J.D. cum laude from NYU School of Law where he was a Research and Writing Editor for the Moot Court Board, on the Board of the Public Interest Law Foundation, and involved in Law Students for Human Rights and the South Asian Law Students Association.  During law school, Kumar worked as a Student Practitioner at NYU’s Immigrant Rights Clinic, a Legal Intern for the Center for Constitutional Rights, and a Criminal Defense Intern at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.  Upon graduation, Kumar worked as a Litigation Associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP before coming to The Bronx Defenders.  Before law school, Kumar was an Advocacy Intern at Human Rights Watch, an International Volunteer for VOICES in Bangalore, India, and the Coordinator of Media Relations and Development at Jupiter Media Metrix.  Kumar also holds a B.B.A from the University of Michigan.

Seann Patrick Riley
Deputy Director
SeannR@bronxdefenders.org 
Seann graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in Government. For two years following graduation, he lived on the island of Saipan, where he was a high school teacher and principal. Upon returning to the United States Seann attended the University of Michigan School of Social Work. While earning his MSW, Seann worked at the W.J. Maxey Training School for Boys, a maximum-security facility for delinquent male youth. Seann then matriculated at Tulane University Law School, where he earned his J.D. During law school, Seann worked at the St. Thomas Community Law Center, the Louisiana Appellate Project, and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. He was also a member of the Tulane Law School Criminal Defense Clinic. Seann was selected as a Prettyman Fellow at the Georgetown law Center following graduation, where he represented adults in misdemeanor and felony cases, as well as supervised third-year law students in court. Seann received his LLM from Georgetown University.  He has been an Adjunct Professor at both Fordham Law School and Seton Hall Law School. He is currently a faculty member with the Southern Public Defender Training Center. Before becoming Deputy Director, Seann was a Team Leader for the Training Team.

Agnes Rodriguez
Arraignment Clerk
AgnesR@bronxdefenders.org 
As an arraignment clerk, Agnes helps prepare court papers and case information in criminal court for attorney-client interviews and assists in database management. Before coming to The Bronx Defenders, Agnes worked as an Accounting Supervisor and Legal Secretary at Rogers, Wughalter & Kaufman and a financial associate at Citibank. Agnes is currently working toward her degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology from St. John’s University. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. 



Kate Rubin
Team Leader, Director of Policy and Community Outreach
KateR@bronxdefenders.org 
Kate has extensive experience working with grassroots communities around criminal justice issues in the fields of direct services, education, and public policy reform. In the past, Kate has taught computer skills to women on probation and parole at the Fortune Society; published a newsletter of essays, arts and literature for and by people in prison in New York State through Critical Resistance NYC; and run reading and writing programs for incarcerated youth in upstate New York. Before coming to us, Kate worked as a Research Associate for the Economic Justice Project at the Brennan Center for Justice.  At The Bronx Defenders, Kate coordinates Reentry Net/NY, an online resource center on the consequences of criminal proceedings in New York State.  She also oversees community engagement and policy reform initiatives.  She graduated Cornell University summa cum laude with a B.A. in History.   Kate serves on the Policy Committee of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry & Employment (ICARE) and the Board of Directors of the Center for Urban Pedagogy.

Velvet J. Sanchez
Team Administrator
velvets@bronxdefenders.org
Velvet comes to us most recently from Community Access Inc., where she served as the Administrative Coordinator for Supportive Housing.  She has extensive experience working as an Administrative Assistant for Community Access, Samaritan Village, HELP SEC, and HELP USA Morris Ave.  Velvet received her A.A.S. in Business Administration from Monroe College, where she graduated Cum Laude.  She is also in the process of attaining her Bachelors in Criminal Justice. 

Ariel Sankar 
Parent Advocate
ArielS@bronxdefenders.org 
Ariel comes to The Bronx Defenders from National Advocates for Pregnant Women, where she worked as a legal assistant.  She graduated from University of Michigan in 2006 with a BA in Social Science and a Minor in Spanish.  During college, Ariel attained fluency in Spanish while studying at Universidad de Compultense in Madrid.  Immediately after graduating, she taught English in Argentina before coming back to the states to work as a research assistant at the Center for Health Services Research at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Lourdes Santiago
Office Manager
LourdesS@bronxdefenders.org 
Lourdes joined The Bronx Defenders in October 2003. Before she joined us, she worked as an Office Manager at The Law Office of Christopher L. Esposito in Bronx, NY. Prior to that, she worked as a Legal Assistant for James Kousouros, Esq. in Queens, NY. She received her A.S., in Biology, from the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, CA. She is currently pursuing her degree in Business Management from Lehman College.

Raphael Schlowsky
Legal Advocate
raphaels@bronxdefenders.org
Raphael has a background in acting and received his BFA from the Moscow Art Theater School in Russia.  Raphael is a co-founder of Studio Six Theatre Company, a NYC-based non-profit theater, where he acts and directs.  He has worked as a Grants Assistant for the Foundation for Jewish Culture in New York, as an Online Content Moderator for Noggin.com, as an Interpreter for the Moscow Art Theater School, and as an Assistant Producer for the Simon and Schuster Interactive.  Raphael is also fluent in Russian, proficient in Spanish, and intermediate in French.

Jenny Semmel
Attorney, Criminal Defense
JennyS@bronxdefenders.org 
Jenny graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was Kaufman Public Interest Fellow and a member of the Harvard Defenders, investigating cases and representing clients in show-cause hearings. Throughout her time at Harvard, Jenny interned at criminal defense organizations, including the Legal Aid Society, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and the Criminal Justice Institute. Upon graduation, Jenny joined the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where she conducted two felony jury trials. After a brief tenure at New York County Defender Services, Ms. Semmel came to The Bronx Defenders. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in English and Political Science and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Mohamed Sheriff
Team Administrator
MohamedS@bronxdefenders.org 
For several years prior to joining The Bronx Defenders, Mohammed was a member of the Board of Directors at Na We Yone, Inc., where he referred clients in need of legal assistance to immigrants’ rights organizations, provided support and counsel to refugees, and advocated for immigrant rights. Previously, he taught English and Math to seventh grade students in Sierra Leone and owned his own business.  Mohamed received his A.A.S in paralegal studies from Hostos Community College. He is currently pursuing his B.A in Political Science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Mohamed is multilingual in Creole, Mandingo, Soninkay, and English. 

Jocelyn Simonson
Attorney, Criminal Defense
JocelynS@bronxdefenders.org
Jocelyn graduated cum laude with a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review. Prior to joining the Bronx Defenders, she clerked for Judge B.D. Parker on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  During law school, Jocelyn worked with the Federal Defenders of New York, the Legal Action Center of New York, the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, and the Capital Appeals Project of Louisiana. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Yale, from which she graduated magna cum laude.

Scott Simpson
Attorney, Criminal Defense
ScottS@bronxdefenders.org
Scott graduated from the University of Michigan Law School where he was a Dean's Public Service Fellow, an associate editor of the Michigan Journal of Law Reform and a student attorney in the law school's general clinic.  As a law student, Scott interned for the Federal Defender for the Western District of Washington and The Defender Association in Seattle. He has also worked as a paralegal for Peter Goldberger, a criminal defense attorney who specializes in federal post-conviction practice. Scott holds a B.A. in History from Haverford College, where he graduated with honors.

Randi Sinnreich
Social Worker
randis@bronxdefenders.org
Randi received her MSW from the Columbia University School of Social Work with a concentration in Advanced Generalist Practice and Contemporary Social Issues.  While working towards her MSW, Randi was a Social Work Intern at the Alternative to Incarceration Program at STEPS to End Family Violence and at the Queens Children’s Psychiatric Center Outpatient Psychiatric Facility.  Randi has also worked at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities, as a Research Assistant on Clozapine Treatment in Patients with Refractory Bipolar and Schizoaffective Disorders, as a Mentor for Torah Viable Alternatives, and as a Research Assistant for the Department of Psychology at Queens College.  Randi received her B.A. in Psychology from Queens College where she also won the James Kreuzer Award for Literary Promise.  Randi also holds a Masters degree in Applied Psychology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University."

Sarah Smith

After graduation from Brown University with a B.A. in Political Science, Sarah began her career as a union organizer and, later, a journalist, writing for The Village Voice, Harper's Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine, among others. After working in the Urban Justice Center's Family Violence Project, she returned to school to earn a law degree at the Georgetown University Law Center. While in law school, she interned for the Migrant Legal Action Program and the Juvenile Division of the Defender Association. Sarah is fluent in French and conversant in Spanish.

Karen Smolar
Trial Chief

J. McGregor Smyth
Managing Attorney, Civil Action Practice and Reentry Net Director

(McGregorS@bronxdefenders.org) 
McGregor established the Civil Action Project in 2000 and has extensive practical experience helping clients cope with the consequences of criminal proceedings and facilitating civil-defender collaborations. On behalf of his clients, he has advocated or litigated in nearly every venue in New York City - administrative, state, and federal. Prior to joining The Bronx Defenders, he graduated from Yale Law School, where he represented clients for two years as a student director of the Community Legal Services clinic.  He then served as a law clerk for the Hon. Charles P. Sifton, then-Chief Judge of the Eastern District of New York. He received his undergraduate degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. He is a recipient of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Law Fellowship, the Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Award, and the Skadden Fellowship.  He also serves on the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on Collateral Consequences of Criminal Proceedings, the New York County Lawyers' Association Task Force on Criminal Courts, the Social Welfare Committee of the New York City Bar, and on the Advisory Board of the New York City Policing Roundtable.

   

William C. Snowden

Investigator
WilliamS@bronxdefenders.org 
William graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Sociology of Law & Criminal Deviance. While in school he served as the president of his fraternity--leading his chapter in supporting The St. Jude’s Initiative, Habitat for Humanity and Feed My Starving Children. William also serves as a Policy Analyst for the political action committee Keeping African-Americans Political. He volunteers as a mentor to foster children through St. Vincent Services in Brooklyn and is proficient in Spanish.

 

Robin G. Steinberg

Executive Director

robins@bronxdefenders.org

Honored by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association for her, “exceptional vision, devotion and service in the quest for equal justice,” by the New York Bar Association for her, “outstanding contribution to the delivery of defense services,” and awarded Harvard Law School’s Wasserstein Fellowship in recognition of her “outstanding contributions and dedication to public interest law,” Robin Steinberg is a leader and a pioneer in the field of indigent defense. A 1982 graduate of New York University School of Law, Robin has been a public defender her entire career. Starting as a criminal trial lawyer with the Legal Aid of Society, continuing her career as a founding member and deputy director of The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and ultimately creating The Bronx Defenders in 1997, Robin has extensive experience in every aspect of public defense – from representing individual clients to creating a non-profit organization. From 1999 through 2001, she was a participant in the Executive Session on Public Defense, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and Harvard University. Today, Robin advocates nationally and internationally for holistic representation and the community defender movement, delivering papers, conducting trainings, and hosting visitors from around the world. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors for the New York State Defender Associations, Roger Williams Law School, and the Journal of Court Innovation, as well as on the New York City Alternative to Incarceration Board and the Center for Court Innovation Internal Review Board. She is a frequent teacher of trial skills to law students and professionals and a panelist and speaker about public defense management and holistic lawyering across the country and around the world. Robin is also the author of two articles: "Unprotected: HIV Prison Policy and the Deadly Politics of Denial"  (Harvard Journal of African-American Public Policy, 2005) and "Beyond Lawyering: How Holistic Lawyering Makes for Good Public Policy, Better Lawyers, and More Satisfied Clients" (NYU Journal of Law and Social Change, 2006).

Jacob Louis Stevens
Attorney, Criminal Defense
JakeS@bronxdefenders.org 
Jake Stevens, a graduate of Harvard University and NYU School of Law, has been at The Bronx Defenders since the winter of 1998. Prior to coming to The Bronx Defenders, he was managing attorney at the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, and staff attorney at the Neighborhood Defenders Service of Harlem and the Philadelphia Defender Association. He speaks both Portuguese and Spanish.

      

Gertrude Strassburger
Staff Attorney
gertrudes@bronxdefenders.org
Trudy came to The Bronx Defenders after practicing for several years at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she was Senior Note/Comment Editor of the Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review and a member of the National Lawyers Guild. While in law school, she spent several semesters working as a law clerk at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, representing clients during mediation hearings in the public housing departments. During her summers, she interned at ACORN, helping with legal challenges in housing discrimination, and was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship at the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project to work on prison conditions. Before attending Temple, Trudy worked as a community organizer for ACORN in Denver and for Clean Water Action in Philadelphia. She has also worked as an International Human Rights Observer in Chiapas, Mexico, documenting human rights abuses by military and paramilitary organizations. She is the author of Comment: Judicial Inaction and Cruel & Unusual Punishment: Are Super-Maximum Walls too High for the 8th Amendment?

 

Mishka Vertin
Client Advocate
mishkav@bronxdefenders.org
Mishka earned her MSW from the Columbia University School of Social Work.  While working towards her degree, she worked as a Per Diem Social Worker and an International Social Work Policy Intern at Planned Parenthood of New York City, as a Researcher for the Gulf Coast Children’s Health Project at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and as a Direct Practice Social Work Intern at the Employee Development Center.  Mishka has also worked as a cultural ambassador through Rotary International where she taught English at a school for street children, a Junior High Teacher at St. Bernard’s School, a Case Manager at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, and a Student Coordinator at the Luann Dummer Center for Women.  She has volunteered to be the Event Coordinator for Malaria No More at New York’s Veto the ‘Squito, a Peer Advisor at Columbia University School of Social Work, and a Corps Member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.  Mishka has completed intensive Spanish language studies at the Academia de Espanol Quito in Equador, has taught Spanish and literature at the St. Aloysius School in Harlem, and is fluent in Spanish.

Christina Villegas
Legal Advocate 
(christinav@bronxdefenders.org) 
Christina left her hometown in Queens, NY to pursue a History and Latin American Studies degree at Williams College. She took a year off to return to Ecuador and work for the woman's movement in the northern province Imbabura. During her undergraduate career, Christina was a Herbert H. Lehman Scholar and a 1945 World Fellowship Scholar and the 2005 Multicultural Center Student of the Year. She was also the Co-Chair for the Williams College Minority Coalition and President of the Latina Organization, Vista, which helped establish the first Latino Studies Program at Williams. Christina has worked as an organizer in South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign (an HIV/AIDS advocacy organization), as the Citizen Outreach Director for The Fund For Public Interest Research, and as a teacher for the Urban Scholars program. Christina is also a native Spanish speaker.

Kate Wagner-McCoy
Attorney, Family Defense 
(katew@bronxdefenders.org) 
Kate comes to The Bronx Defenders as a post-graduate Kirkland-Ellis Fellow. As an undergraduate at Harvard University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies, Kate was the co-director of the Mission Hill After-School Program. After graduation, she spent a year teaching sixth grade with Teach For America before going on to become the Program Coordinator for the Youth Enterprise Program at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services. Kate went on to attend Columbia University Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, a James Kent scholar, and a Columbia Human Rights Fellow. While in law school, she served as the Executive Editor of the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual and interned at the Children’s Law Center of Massachussets and The Bronx Defenders.

Mirenda Watkins
Attorney, Family Defense 
(mirendaw@bronxdefenders.org) 
Mirenda received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where she was an Article and Notes Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Gender & the Law and a recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award. While at Georgetown, Mirenda was a member of Black Law Students Association, and Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity while taking time out to mentor DC high school students through the Time Knowledge & Opportunity Program. Prior to joining the Bronx Defenders, Mirenda has held internships with the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General, the Supreme Court of Justice in Costa Rica, and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas-Family Court Division. Mirenda graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania and is proficient in Spanish.

Abe Weiss
Investigator 
abew@bronxdefenders.org
Abe received his B.A. from Columbia University in Political Science and Creative Writing. He is fluent in both Spanish and French. During his undergraduate career, he worked as an Editor and Columnist for the Safe Democracy Foundation in Madrid, and most recently returned from Guatemala where he worked as a Guide for a non-profit trekking company benefiting underprivileged Guatemalan children.

Jessica Willis
Parent Advocate 
jessicaw@bronxdefenders.org 
Jessica came to us while still an undergraduate student at New York University. She began her work at the Bronx Defenders as a strategy and evaluation intern, and has since helped coordinate the Better Ballots Coalition in the production of our 2006 Voter Education Guide. Jessica has also conducted internal and community-based research projects with our office, working closely with clients and community organizers. Jessica now works in our family defense practice as a Parent Advocate. During college, she tutored at the Neighborhood School in lower Manhattan and graduated from NYU cum laude with a degree in Latin American Studies.  Jessica speaks Spanish fluently and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

Edwin Wintle
Attorney, Family Defense 
(edwinw@bronxdefenders.org) 
Ed comes to The Bronx Defenders with a background in both law and literature. After working as an attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Ed was a long-time film agent with Curtis Brown, Ltd. He then went on to publish his own book, Breakfast With Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir (Miramax Books, 2005). Ed received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, where he was an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Fellow at the ACLU's LGBT Rights Project. He also served on the Law Review, litigated Title VII cases with the Federal Litigation Clinic, co-founded Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest, and received the Richard Elliott Blyn Memorial Prize for Civil Liberties upon graduating. Ed has volunteered with numerous organizations, including The Trevor Project, Living Beyond Belief, Village Visiting Neighbors, and ACT-UP.

Ben Wolff
Attorney, Criminal Defense 
(benw@bronxdefenders.org) 
Ben started his career with The Bronx Defenders as an investigator in 2001,and returned in 2007 with a J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley to begin his career as a public defender. In law school, Ben was awarded the Homer Mason Scholarship, clerked for the Capital Post Conviction Project of Louisiana and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, assisted refugees applying for asylum through the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and participated in the workers rights clinic of Centro Legal de La Raza in Oakland, CA. Outside of law school, Ben worked professionally on the west coast and in the south as a mitigation specialist and a court-appointed victim liaison on behalf of defense counsel in death penalty cases. Ben’s experience also includes work with youth in Esteli, Nicaragua, service as an Election Observer in Chalatenango, El Salvador, and work with the Missouri Democratic Party. While in college, Ben taught in a school for homeless children in Cape Town, South Africa and studied abroad in Nepal. Ben received his B.A. in Political Science from Davidson College and is fluent in Spanish.

Brenda Zubay
Client Advocate
brendaz@bronxdefenders.org
Brenda served as a Social Work Intern with The Bronx Defenders Family Defense Practice before joining us as a Client Advocate. She received her MSW from Columbia University with a concentration in Contemporary Social Issues and holds a B.S. in Social Work and Politics from New York University where she graduated Cum Laude. She spent a semester abroad at NYU in Prague studying Eastern European politics and social movements. Throughout college and graduate school, Brenda worked with the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office in organizing education & advocacy seminars on issues of global poverty and human trafficking. She was also an intern at the Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement House providing case management for Latino community members and co-facilitating a weekly forum for spanish speakers. Brenda is also fluent in Spanish.