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| Meet the Bet Tzedek Staff . . . |
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"wE ARE Bet Tzedek"
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EXECUTIVE Administration
MITCHELL A. KAMIN, President/CEO
Mitch joined Bet Tzedek in 2003. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with a B.A. degree, Phi Beta Kappa and with highest honors, in 1989. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1993. Following a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York, Mitch began his legal career as a Skadden Fellow at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Upon completion of his two-year fellowship, he was hired as a supervising attorney. While there, Mitch represented poor residents in the North Manhattan neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights in areas of public housing, civil rights, family law and criminal law. During his four years with NDS, Mitch took a six-month hiatus to work in the capital punishment project of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
After working in private practice for one year in New York, Mitch returned to his native Los Angeles where he worked at O’Melveny & Myers and eventually joined the law firm of O’Neill, Lysaght & Sun in 2000, where he became a partner. His practice focused on complex civil litigation, business crimes and civil rights. Mitch is admitted to practice in the State of California and the State of New York, and has tried cases in both state and federal courts. He is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School and presently serves on the Funding Committee of the State of California Commission on
Access to Justice and the Fee Waiver Subcommittee of the AOC Working Group on
Enhanced Collections and proudly serves as the President of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Association of California. Mitch also served as a California delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in Washington D.C. in December of 2005.
MICHELLE WILLIAMS COURT, Vice President and General Counsel
Prior to joining Bet Tzedek, Michelle litigated state and federal discrimination cases, First and Fourth Amendment constitutional claims, predatory lending cases, and a wide variety of other public interest and civil rights cases. In addition, Michelle served as a Civil Rights Fellow with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where she participated in several ground-breaking Fair Housing Act cases. Michelle is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and serves as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities Elder Rights Committee. She served by appointment by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George on the Judicial Council Probate Conservatorship Taskforce and also served on the California State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. Michelle has served as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School and is a volunteer faculty member for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). She has held several leadership positions in women’s bar associations, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 2008 by Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles in recognition of her dedication to public service. Michelle was featured as a 2006 Southern California Super Lawyers "Rising Star," was named as a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2007 and 2008, and was named one of California’s Top 20 lawyers Under 40 years old. Michelle is a graduate of Pomona College and Loyola Law School.
FERNANDO SALGUERO, Director of Administration and Finance
Fernando, who was born in Argentina, spent 20 years in Boston before coming to California. He holds a BSIE and an MBA from Boston University. Fernando has comprehensive accounting and business experience from working in both the profit and nonprofit sectors and has been an auditor and commercial lender in the Northeast.
MATTHEW SCELZA, Director of Development and Marketing
Matt Scelza brings nearly 15 years of nonprofit experience to his role as Development Director. Matt oversees all private fundraising at Bet Tzedek, with personal responsibility for major gifts and planned giving. In his five years with Bet Tzedek, Matt has helped the organization grow its private fundraising from less than $3 million to nearly $5 million annually. Most recently, he was the Statewide Programs Director for California Literacy, where he was Project Director for two national initiatives and created the nation’s first statewide Health Literacy Initiative. He also has experience as an ESL teacher in Boston and New York City. Scelza graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in American Studies, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1994 and with a M.A. in Education in 1995.
ILEANA PRADO, Human Resources Director
GUS T. MAY, Directing Attorney, Wilshire Office
Gus graduated from Northeastern University Law School in 1991. Gus joined Bet Tzedek in 2001 and serves as the Directing Attorney of Bet Tzedek's office in the mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles. Gus oversees the Employment Rights Project, Kinship Care Project and the Elderlaw/Conservatorship Clinic. His legal career has been devoted entirely to working in the public interest. Before joining Bet Tzedek, Gus was the Legal Director at Public Interest Investigations where he oversaw employment discrimination investigations for the Los Angeles City Office of Discrimination Investigations. Prior to that, Gus worked as the Litigation Director at the Center for Law in the Public Interest, as a Public Interest Fellow with a private public-interest oriented law firm, and as a law clerk for two federal district court judges, the Hon. Lawrence K. Karlton in the Eastern District of California, and the Hon. A. Howard Matz in the Central District of California.
GRANT R. SPECHT, Directing Attorney, Valley Office
Grant joined Bet Tzedek in 2002 and is the Directing Attorney of Bet Tzedek's Valley office in North Hollywood. He graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1980 and received his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1985. Grant’s previous work includes 12 years with Channel Counties Legal Services Association, first as a staff attorney and later as Managing Attorney of the firm’s Ventura County office in Oxnard. Prior to his work with Channel Counties he served as a Deputy Public Defender with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office. Grant’s litigation experience includes class actions, administrative appeals and writs of mandate, unlawful detainer defense, and civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. He has represented indigent clients in a wide variety of civil legal matters: Social Security and government benefits, housing, health care, employment, education, consumer issues, and individual rights
VELINDA MACKEY, Director of Public Grants
Velinda joined Bet Tzedek in 1995 as the Grants Administrator, and currently serves as the Director of Public Grants. Velinda is responsible for managing eight municipal and state grants that provided sustained funding for fifteen individual projects and initiatives within all five of Bet Tzedek’s practice areas. Velinda holds a B.A. degree from U.C. Riverside, a Masters in Public Administration from USC, and received her J.D. degree in 1994 from Western State University, College of Law.
QUINTAN ANA WIKSWO, Communications Director
Quintan joined Bet Tzedek in 2006 as the Deputy Director of Development and grew the foundation giving portfolio from under $500,000 to more than $1.6 million annually. For the past 20 years, Quintan has held management positions within a diverse spectrum of anti-poverty and human rights NGOs, as well as writing and research fellowships at institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her expertise is creating and implementing rapid-growth diversified fund development programs and communications strategies. Prior to joining Bet Tzedek, she spent a year developing programs with the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation and along the Arizona/Mexico border. She graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in History in 1996, and earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing with University Presidential Honors at San Francisco State University.
WENDY MARANTZ LEVINE, Director of Litigation & Pro Bono
Wendy proudly joined Bet Tzedek in 2005. She is responsible for overseeing Bet Tzedek's Litigation Units and coordinates all Pro Bono and Volunteer activities. Wendy also supervises Bet Tzdedek's Holocaust Reparations Unit and the international Holocaust Survivors Justice Network, which was honored by the American Bar Association in 2009 with the Pro Bono Publico Award for assisting Holocaust survivors with reparations claims through the assistance of pro bono attorneys throughout the United States, Canada and Australia.
Wendy came to Bet Tzedek from Irell & Manella LLP. Before Irell, Wendy served as a Clinical Teaching Fellow in the Appellate Litigation Clinic at Georgetown University Law, and from 1999-2000, Wendy clerked for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Wendy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 1995, and in 1999 graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was Executive Editor of the Michigan Law Review and won the Campbell Moot Court Competition. Before attending law school, Wendy worked as a Production Coordinator for opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and later consulted for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Wendy is a Founder of the Beauty Bus Foundation; has served on Duke University's Board of Visitors and Council on Women's Studies; serves on the Camp Committee for Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps; and has been active with the Jewish Federation.
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Attorneys & ADVOCATES
JOSE D. ALARCON, Debtors' Rights
ERIKSON ALBRECHT, Kinship Care Attorney
KIRSTEN W. ALBRECHT, Kinship Care
DEBORAH BALDWIN, Public Benefits Director
MARC L. BENDER, Litigation and Training Supervisor - VSP
PHIL BERTENTHAL, Self-Help Clinic Coordinator
Phillip oversees Bet Tzedek's expanding project assisting individuals in conservatorship and elder abuse proceedings at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Phil obtained his undergraduate degree from Grinnell College in Iowa and his J.D. from NYU in 1972. He started his legal career as a staff attorney at MFY Legal Services in New York and subsequently moved to Washington State where he worked for Evergreen Legal Services. He moved to California in 1980 and served as Supervising Attorney at the Youth Law Center in San Francisco. Subsequently, he became Litigation Director of Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation, a position he held for 13 years. After taking a year off from the practice of law to accompany his wife to Jerusalem while she attended rabbinical school, Phil moved to Los Angeles where he worked for the State Department of Social Services representing the Community Care Licensing Division. He returned to legal services practice last year and has coordinated the downtown clinic since last October.
JOHANNA ("Jo") BLOOMFIELD - Directing Attorney
Jo supervises Bet Tzedek’s Outreach & Education Unit, which serves the legal needs of low-income seniors and other clients at senior center sites and other community center sites throughout Los Angeles. She also oversees Bet Tzedek’s case intake procedures and drafts simple wills. Jo graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University in St. Louis in 2001. She graduated magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law in 2005, where she was Senior Note Editor of the Duke Law Journal and received the Faculty Award for Distinction in Family Law. During law school, Jo actively participated in public interest work, devoting hundreds of hours to the AIDS Legal Project and the Children’s Law Clinic. Prior to joining Bet Tzedek, Jo clerked for the Honorable Susan H. Black on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and worked as a litigation associate at Latham & Watkins LLP.
ANNA BURNS, Consumer Protection
ALLA CHASNIK, West Hollywood Project
MATTHEW E. DECAROLIS, Staff Attorney, Employment Rights Projects
Matt has worked at Bet Tzedek since 2005, serving clients primarily through the Employment Rights Project. Based at Bet Tzedek’s Wilshire office, Matt files wage claims on behalf of workers, advocates for policy changes in favor of low-income workers, and educates workers about their rights. In addition, he defends tenants facing eviction, provides legal outreach to senior citizens, and helps coordinate Bet Tzedek’s law clerks. Matt graduated summa cum laude with a degree in economics and Latin American studies from the University of Notre Dame, and participated in study-abroad programs in Mexico City and Chile. He later received his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. Matt has also lived and worked with immigrants at Casa del Migrante, a shelter house in Tijuana, Mexico, founded by Roman Catholic missionaries.
EDWARD J. ELSNER, Litigation and Training Supervisor - VRP
YOLANDE ERICKSON, Conservatorship Program Attorney
LISA HOFFMAN, Holocaust Services Advocate/Attorney
Lisa D. Hoffman joined Bet Tzedek’s Holocaust Services Project in 2007, where she assists survivors who are seeking reparations and other forms of compensation from various European countries and engages in advocacy on a variety of issues affecting the survivor community. Lisa came to Bet Tzedek after working for seven years in the Litigation Department of Morrison & Foerster LLP. She earned her J.D. at UCLA School of Law in 1998 and her B.A. at Yale University. She also worked at Bet Tzedek as a summer law clerk while at law school in 1996. Before attending law school, Lisa worked for five years as a field representative and legislative aide to U.S. Representative Anthony C. Beilenson (Ret.).
PEGAH KAMRAVA, Housing Litigation Attorney
MICHELLE KEZIRIAN, Sydney Irmas Housing Conditions Project Director, Housing Unit
As Director of the Sydney Irmas Housing Conditions Project, Michelle litigates complex multi-plaintiff affirmative matters and is a public policy advocate for affordable housing throughout Los Angeles. Michelle received her law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Davis. She has practiced in both the private and nonprofit sectors and comes to Bet Tzedek after serving as a Senior Staff Attorney at Inner City Law Center. While in private practice at Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May (now Reed Smith), Michelle taught Honors Moot Court as an adjunct faculty member at Santa Clara University School of Law. Her work has been recognized with her naming as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2007 and 2008, and she remains active in the community serving on the Board of Directors of Downtown Women’s Center and as President of the Junior League of Los Angeles.
KEVIN KISH, Director, Employment Rights Project
Kevin focuses on combating illegal retaliation against low-wage workers who seek to enforce minimum labor standards in the workplace and litigates cases involving human trafficking for forced labor - a form of modern-day slavery. Kevin graduated from Yale Law School in 2004, and holds a B.A. in sociology/anthropology from Swarthmore College. He joined Bet Tzedek in 2004 as a Bet Tzedek fellow representing workers in wage and hour claims in various low-wage industries in Los Angeles. After clerking for Judge Myron Thompson of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Kevin returned to Bet Tzedek in 2006 as a Skadden Fellow.
ANNE LAINER, NLADA Consumer Law Fellow, Housing Project
Anne joined the Real Estate Fraud Team in September 2007 as the NLADA Consumer Law Fellow. Prior to coming to Bet Tzedek, Anne clerked for Justice Barry T. Albin of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Anne graduated with a degree in history from Columbia College. She later received her J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 2006. During law school she interned at South Brooklyn Legal Service's Foreclosure Prevention Project. Anne was a summer law clerk with Bet Tzedek in 2004.
JANET R. MORRIS, Long Term Care Project Director
Janet has practiced in the area of elderlaw for the past 25 years. Through her Long Term Caregiver Project Ms. Morris assists victims of Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. She has also served as a past Director of Bet Tzedek's Nursing Home Advocacy Project. She has served on numerous statewide committees and as technical advisor to many projects concerning the legal rights of elderly and incapacitated individuals. Janet is advising the State of California Alzheimer's Guidelines Committee on Legal Issues, and serves on the Board of Directors of the LA Alzheimer's Association She has co-authored numerous articles and publications, including the “Caregiver Companion”, and has delivered hundreds of speeches in both English and Spanish. In 2005, Janet received the Caregiver of the Year Award from AARP and KCET for her professional contributions in this area. Ms. Morris received her B.A. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco. She is a past and current faculty member of Continuing Education of the Bar and National Business Institute training attorneys in elderlaw issues.
JACLYN R. ROSENSON, Self-Help Project Coordinator
Jaclyn works in the Elder Law Unit, where her area of specialization is in Conservatorships and Elder Abuse Restraining Orders. She earned her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she graduated in 2008. She holds a B.A. and A.A. from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA in 2005. Her recent employment history is as Holocaust Restitution Advocate at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, Research Assistant for Honorable Michael Nash, Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Courts in Los Angeles Notable work and/or recognition
DOMINIQUE SANZ-DAVID, Family Caregiver Project
Dominique joined Bet Tzedek’s Family Caregiver Project in 2008. She came with five years of legal experience at the San Francisco Superior Court, first as a three-year clerk to the Honorable James Warren in the court’s Law & Motion Department, and later at the court’s ACCESS Center helping self-represented litigants with civil and probate actions. Dominique earned her degrees from Pomona College and UC Hastings College of the Law.
VOLKER J. SCHMIDT, Holocaust Services Attorney
Since 2004, Volker J. Schmidt served as a Bet Tzedek volunteer in the area of German pension benefits. Volker received the State Bar of California "Wiley W. Manuel Award" for pro bono legal services to the poor in 2004, 2005 and 2006. From August 2006 through July 2007, Volker worked as a law clerk for the German Federal Constitutional Court (German Supreme Court). Volker was responsible for drafting responsive briefs on behalf of the Court in challenges of the Court's decisions before the European Court for Human Rights and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in cases concerning economic rights and due process issues. Volker is admitted to practice law in California, Washington, D.C. and Germany. For almost eight years, Volker worked as a attorney in private practice in Los Angeles and in Germany. Volker was qualified as a consulting attorney for the German Consulate General in Los Angeles and the German Embassy in Washington D.C. in the areas of German business and immigration law. Before private practice, he served with the German State Department as a foreign service officer and staff legal counsel in France and Germany.
JODY L. SPIEGEL, Nursing Home Advocacy Project Director
Jody Spiegel is Director of the Nursing Home Advocacy Project of Bet Tzedek Legal Services. She received her B.A. degree from Wellesley College in 1982, and her J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Law Center in 1985. Prior to joining Bet Tzedek in 2001, Ms Spiegel was a trial attorney with a private law firm and litigated cases in federal and state courts throughout the country. At Bet Tzedek, Ms. Spiegel specializes in the laws governing long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and residential care facilities. She counsels, advises, and litigates on behalf of facility residents and their families. She develops and promotes policies to improve the quality of care and quality of life for disabled and older adults through legal and legislative advocacy, community partnerships, and education. She also is a frequent lecturer to community and professional organizations, and the author of several consumer guides on long-term care laws and practices. Ms. Spiegel is on the Board of Directors of the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, and the Assisted Living Consumer Alliance. She also is a member of the WISE Long-Term Care Ombudsman Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee.
KIM WILLIAMS, Paralegal, Family Caregiver Project
Kim specializes in providing legal assistance to caregivers and their families. She assists families in navigating the maze of public benefits, helps them plan for long term care services and specializes in maximizing consumers’ In-Home Supportive Services hours. Through legal and legislative advocacy, community partnerships and education, she develops and promotes policies to improve the quality of life and community care options for disabled persons, older adults and caregivers. She is a frequent lecturer to community and professional organizations and is the co-author of "The Caregiver Companion, A User-Friendly Guide to Providing At-Home Care" available through Bet Tzedek Legal Services.
DEBRA M. ZIMMERMAN, Consumer Protection Attorney
Debra, a graduate of UC Berkeley and Boalt Hall School of Law, has been a Consumer Protection Attorney with Bet Tzedek Legal Services since 1999. She specializes in the area of home equity fraud and represents clients in cases involving loss of title, predatory lending, foreclosure prevention and foreclosure fraud. Ms. Zimmerman has served as a consultant in the area of predatory lending and foreclosure fraud for local and national media, including public radio’s MarketPlace, CBS Undercover, the Los Angeles Times and Reuters International. She has been a presenter for numerous trainings provided to attorneys, law enforcement, social workers and others in the areas of real estate fraud, predatory lending and financial elder abuse.
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Paralegals/HEARING REPRESENTATIVES
NORA L. GHAMARI
MICHELLE GONZALEZ, SOVA Advocate
Michelle joined Bet Tzedek Legal Services in 2007 as the SOVA Advocate. In 2008, she was promoted to Hearing Representative. Michelle earned her B.A. in English from California State University Los Angeles and completed her Paralegal Certificate from the UCLA Attorney Assistant Program. Michelle is currently pursuing her J.D. from Glendale University College of Law. Consistent with her longstanding interest in the legal field, she continues to volunteer for the Housing Rights Center. Previously, she volunteered with Legal Aid Foundation Los Angeles employment and immigration units. Prior to joining Bet Tzedek, Michelle worked as a paralegal at two private immigration law firms in Los Angeles. Lastly, Michelle worked for five years at Bimbo Bakeries, a large multi-national corporation.
SPENCER LORD
CARMEN MARTINEZ
Carmen has worked in the legal field since 1996. In 2000, she joined Bet Tzedek as a Litigation Secretary. In 2007, Carmen became part of the outreach paralegal group as a Hearing Representative. Her duties include interviewing clients on a variety of legal issues at various Senior Centers throughout Los Angeles as well as making presentations in the community. Aside from her primary outreach unit, Carmen concentrates her caseload on Housing and Wills. Carmen holds an AA degree in English Literature from West Los Angeles College and is currently a student at California State University at Dominguez Hills majoring in English Literature with a minor in Criminal Justice and plans to attend law school upon graduation.
ANGELINA NABA
BERTHA SANCHEZ |
SOCIAL WORKERS
YADIRA GARCIA, Elder Law Unit Social Worker |
LEGAL SECRETARIES
LIZBETH ALVAREZ
TERESE BLEDSOE
RACHEL FARIAS
CONNIE HETH
VERONICA LEICHTER
Veronica’s areas of specialization are Conservatorships, Holocaust, West Hollywood Unlawful Detainers and Social Security.
IRENA PORTNOY
LIDIA ROMERO
MARIA URIBE |
ADMINISTRATION
DEVELOPMENT
KATHY ENGLISH, Special Events Coordinator
Kathy English has been a Bet Tzedek employee for ten years.
AMY PECKNER, Individual Giving Officer
Amy joined Bet Tzedek in 2008 as their Individual Giving Officer. Before Bet Tzedek, Amy worked at several nonprofits in Boston, MA including Temple Israel, Facing History and Ourselves, and National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association (NTSAD). Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Amy taught high school social studies in Concord, MA and London, England. She received her B.A. in history from the University of CA, Santa Barbara, where she was a member of Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society) and she received her M.A.T. at Tufts University.
FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
PURA VISTAL, Accounting Manager
JOFAYE LAMBERT, Accounting Clerk
DENA BERGMAN, Administrative Coordinator
PRO BONO
LAURA BOSSERMAN, Volunteer Coordinator
HUMAN RESOURCES
DEYONE LANE, Executive Assistant
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