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Staff

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    • Tonia Allison
      Member Services Coordinator

      Tonia Allison joined the Foundation staff as Development Processing Assistant in September 2010 and currently serves as the organization's Member Services Coordinator. Before coming to Public Justice, Tonia had three years of gift processing experience with the United States Naval Academy Foundatio Read More...
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    • Paula Athey
      Legal Assistant

      Paula Athey assists Students' Civil Rights Project Director Adele Kimmel, Debtors' Prison Project Attorney Brian Hardingham, Director of the Environmental Enforcement Project Jim Hecker, and Staff Attorney Alexandra Brodsky. She manages the case intake process, including fielding calls, routing r Read More...
    • Leslie Bailey
      Director, Debtors' Prison Project

      Leslie A. Bailey is Director of the organization's Debtors' Prison Project, in Public Justice's Oakland, California office. Leslie litigates complex public interest cases and appeals involving civil rights and liberties, consumer protection, and court secrecy. She has briefed, argued, and won cases  Read More...
    • Mollie Berkowitz
      Students’ Civil Rights Project Fellow

      Mollie Berkowitz is a fellow with the Students’ Civil Rights Project. Previously, she was the Peter and Patricia Gruber Fellow in Women’s Rights at Public Justice. In addition to litigating cases concerning civil rights in schools with the SCRP team, Mollie’s fellowship focuses on clarifying i Read More...
    • F. Paul Bland, Jr.
      Executive Director

      F. Paul Bland, Jr., Executive Director, manages and leads Public Justice's legal and foundation staff, guiding the organization’s litigation docket and other advocacy. Paul has argued and won more than 40 cases that led to reported decisions for consumers, employees or whistleblowers, including Read More...
    • Alexandra Brodsky
      Staff Attorney

      Alexandra Brodsky is a staff attorney at Public Justice. She litigates cases concerning sex and race discrimination in schools, among other civil rights issues. Alexandra’s recent and ongoing cases include: Doe v. Fairfax County School Board, in which Alexandra successfully argued an appeal i Read More...
    • Austin Bryniarski
      Food Project Research Paralegal

      Austin Bryniarski joined Public Justice in 2021 as the Food Project Junior Paralegal. Before joining Public Justice, Austin contributed research and writing to several organizations and served as the Lazarus Fellow at the Yale Sustainable Food Program, where he collaborated with students, faculty, s Read More...
    • Matthew C. Clifford
      Law Fellow

      Matthew C. Clifford is the Law Fellow at Public Justice. He litigates cases across Public Justice’s diverse issue areas, with a focus on forced arbitration and the privatization of public goods and services. During law school, Matt was involved in the American Constitution Society, and served a Read More...
    • Jessica Culpepper
      Food Project Director

      Jessica Culpepper is Director of Public Justice's Food Project.  Before joining Public Justice, Jessica was a Barker Fellow and Staff Attorney at the Humane Society of the United States in the Farm Animal Welfare Division. There  she worked primarily on fighting pollution from Concentrated Ani Read More...
    • DanShell Evon
      Office Manager

      DanShell Evon is the Office Manager for Public Justice, based in the National Office located in Washington, DC. DanShell brings over 20 years of administrative experience in Office Management, Human Resources, and Accounting. She is responsible for managing the daily operations of the D.C. office Read More...
    • Karla Gilbride
      Co-Director, Access to Justice Project

      Karla Gilbride, Co-Director of the Access to Justice Project, joined Public Justice in October 2014 and became co-director of the Access to Justice Project in 2021. Her work focuses on dismantling structural barriers that make it more difficult for people harmed by corporate or governmental abuse to Read More...
    • Susan Gombert
      Senior Meetings & Events Manager

      Susan Gombert, CMP is Senior Meetings & Events Manager at the Public Justice Foundation. She is responsible for all aspects of the Foundation's meetings and special events, and is a staff liaison to the Foundation's Gala Committee. Prior to joining Public Justice, Susan was the Membership Dir Read More...
    • Brian Hardingham
      Senior Attorney

      Brian Hardingham is a Senior Attorney with the Debtors' Prison Project. He is based in the Oakland, California office of Public Justice. Before joining Public Justice, Brian clerked for Judge Jane Stranch on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Cormac Carney in the Central District of Califo Read More...
    • Jim Hecker
      Director, Environmental Enforcement Project

      Jim Hecker, Environmental Enforcement Project Director at Public Justice, received an undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Illinois, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Jim received his J.D., magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law. He earned distinctions  Read More...
    • Leroy Hughes, Jr.
      Vice President of Operations

      Leroy Hughes, Jr. joined Public Justice in March 2020. Leroy’s primary responsibility includes oversight of operations, human resources, information and technology as well as administrative services supporting the organization’s east and west coast offices. Prior to joining Public Justice, Le Read More...
    • Sara Jex
      Development Communications Associate

      Sara Jex is the Development Communications Associate. She is responsible for drafting donor correspondence, maintaining development-related social media posts, and supporting our fundraising program. She joined Public Justice’s Washington, D.C. office in March 2021. Sara previously interned wit Read More...
    • Shariful Khan
      Skadden Fellow

      Shariful Khan is a Skadden Fellow with the Students’ Civil Rights Project. In addition to litigating Title IX and VI cases with the SCRP team, Shariful’s fellowship focuses on drawing out the link and overlap between racial harassment and discriminatory discipline in academic environments. As Read More...
    • Jane Kim
      Seneca Falls Fellow

      Jane J. Kim is a Food Project Fellow with Public Justice in Washington, D.C. Jane litigates high-impact cases with a focus on promoting competition in America’s agriculture industry. Jane believes in creating a more equitable food system by amplifying the voices of local communities and taking dow Read More...
    • Adele P. Kimmel
      Director, Students’ Civil Rights Project

      Adele P. Kimmel, Director of Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project, is based in the DC Headquarters of Public Justice. Since joining the law firm in 1994, Adele has worked on wide range of civil rights cases, representing prisoners and immigrant detainees who were beaten, sexually assa Read More...
    • Shelby Leighton
      Staff Attorney

      Shelby Leighton joined Public Justice in March 2022 as a staff attorney in the Access to Justice Project. She litigates high-impact cases with the goal of making the civil court system a fair, equitable, and effective tool for those with less power to win just outcomes and hold those with more power Read More...
    • Kathleen Morris
      Legal Assistant/Operations Coordinator

      Kathleen Morris joined Public Justice in January 2012 and currently serves as Legal Assistant/Operations Coordinator, based in our West Coast office. Prior to coming to Public Justice, Kathy worked as a paralegal for a small civil litigation practice which represented clients in a wide variety of  Read More...
    • David Muraskin
      Food Project Litigation Director

      David S. Muraskin is a Food Project Senior Attorney with Public Justice in Washington, D.C. He focuses on impact litigation to promote sustainable alternatives to the industrial animal agriculture system. His docket consists of constitutional, consumer, worker, and environmental cases. Of part Read More...
    • Victoria W. Ni
      Vice President of Finance

      Victoria W. Ni, Vice President of Finance, is based in the Oakland, Calif., office of Public Justice. Prior to her current role with the organization, Vicky litigated a wide range of cases focused on protecting and ensuring the rights of consumers, workers, victims, and individuals with disabilities Read More...
    • Leah M. Nicholls
      Co-Director, Access to Justice Project

      Leah M. Nicholls is Co-Director of the Access to Justice Project, working in Public Justice’s Washington, DC headquarters. Leah litigates high-impact civil public interest cases at the trial and appellate levels, including cases involving access to courts, court secrecy, consumer protection, and P Read More...
    • Ellen Noble
      Budd Attorney

      Ellen Noble is the Budd Attorney at Public Justice where she litigates high-impact public interest appeals. Her practice covers a wide range of issues, including access to justice, civil rights, workers’ rights, consumer protection, constitutional law, and court secrecy. Ellen has briefed and a Read More...
    • Karen Ocamb
      Director of Media Relations

      Karen Ocamb is the Director of Media Relations. She is an award-winning journalist who, upon graduating from Skidmore College, started her professional career at CBS News in New York where she clerked for such luminaries as Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and Bob Schieffer. Her last assignment was prod Read More...
    • Jacquelyn Oesterblad
      Skadden Fellow

      Jacquelyn Oesterblad is a Skadden Fellow in the Debtors' Prison Project, where she litigates cases related to the criminalization of poverty and homelessness. Jacq's work is particularly focused on the fines and fees impacting unhoused people in her home state of Arizona. Jacqui received her J.D Read More...
    • Steve Ralls
      Vice President of External Affairs

      Steve Ralls, Director of External Affairs, first joined Public Justice in April 2015 as the organization's Director of Communications. In his current role, Steve oversees Public Justice's communications and development teams, which are responsible for the organization's media, marketing, outreach &a Read More...
    • Lisa Reed
      Food Project Paralegal

      Lisa Reed joined Public Justice in 2019 as the Food Project paralegal, supporting the Food Project in all aspects of their work. Before joining Public Justice, Lisa worked as a litigation and government contracts paralegal. She received her Master’s Degree in Political Science from Boston College. Read More...
    • Ameesha Sampat
      Food Project Organizing Director

      Ameesha Sampat, Food Project Organizing Director, is responsible developing and overseeing the Food Project’s organizing and outreach strategies. She joined Public Justice’s Washington, D.C. office in October of 2017. Prior to joining Public Justice, Ameesha managed digital strategies at Asia Read More...
    • Norma Sapp
      Business Manager

      Norma Sapp is the Business Manager, located in Public Justice's DC headquarters.  Norma has spent much of her career managing office operations for both non-profit organizations and for-profit companies in the Washington, D.C. area. Norma is responsible for supporting and coordinating the organi Read More...
    • Surbhi Sarang
      Food Project Staff Attorney

      Surbhi Sarang (she/her) joined Public Justice's Food Project as a staff attorney in 2022. Before joining Public Justice, Surbhi worked on food and agricultural policy as an Associate Attorney at Earthjustice with the Sustainable Food & Farming program. Surbhi has spent her career working on e Read More...
    • Lucy Sears
      Director of Communications

      Lucy Sears, Public Justice’s Director of Communications, supports the Communications team with the organization’s messaging strategy, media outreach and other communications efforts. Lucy previously served as the Communications Coordinator for the National Association of Conservation District Read More...
    • Kelly Simon
      Senior Director of Development

      Kelly Simon joined the Public Justice staff as Director of Development in October 2017. Prior to beginning this role, Kelly served as the Director of Development for the Pro Bono Institute, a legal organization dedicated to enhancing and strengthening pro bono programs of large law firms and legal d Read More...
    • Dan Snyder
      Senior Attorney

      Dan is the senior attorney for the Environmental Enforcement Project. Dan graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2010, Order of the Coif, and has been practicing public interest environmental law ever since. He enforces our nation's environmental laws against polluters, representin Read More...
    • Yvonne Stewart
      Legal Assistant

      Yvonne Stewart joined Public Justice in 2011 as a Legal Assistant. She assists Executive Director Paul Bland, Senior Attorney Leah Nicholls, Cartwright-Baron Senior Attorney Karla Gilbride, and Access to Justice Attorney Stevie Glaberson on their many public-interest cases. Yvonne has over 25 yea Read More...
    • Tammy W. Sun
      Vice President of Legal Affairs

      Tammy Sun is the Vice President of Legal Affairs at Public Justice, based in the Washington, DC office.  Tammy has worked as a civil rights attorney litigating prison conditions cases in the South and served as a public defender in Washington, DC and Oregon.  Prior to joining Public Justice, Tammy Read More...
    • Holly Tippett
      Director of Foundation Relations

      Holly joined Public Justice as the Director of Foundation Relations because she sees an opportunity for foundations to support the work. Holly has extensive experience raising funds for social justice organizations, wildlife advocacy nonprofits, workforce development initiatives and even local opera Read More...
    • Megan Varvais
      Communications Associate

      Megan Varvais joined Public Justice as the Communications Associate in July 2022. Prior to that, she served in Governor Gavin Newsom's administration as a science communications specialist. Before joining the governor's office, Megan spent nearly a decade advocating for consumers and workers, pro Read More...
    • Masha Vernik
      Food Project Communications and Organizing Coordinator

      Masha Vernik is the Food Project Communications and Organizing Coordinator. She crafts strategic narratives and builds power with affected communities to build a regenerative, humane, and independently owned food system. Prior to joining Public Justice, Masha was the Food Policy Advisor with Peace R Read More...
    • Anita Yandle
      Access to Justice & Justice Catalyst Fellow

      Anita N.H. Yandle (she/they) is the Justice Catalyst and Access to Justice Litigation Fellow at Public Justice. She litigates cases with access to justice concerns — such as Article III standing, arbitration provisions, and immunity — on behalf of human trafficking victims, undocumented immigran Read More...
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