EBCLC has a talented and diverse staff who are deeply committed to EBCLC’s dual mission of training the next generation of social justice lawyers while increasing access to justice and ending poverty. Staff members are active in local, regional, national and international conferences on legal services and clinical legal education. We are proud of the many individual and collective accomplishments of our staff, and of the many awards they have received for their exceptional service and teaching.

Rudy Alejo ext.356

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Clean Slate Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2011)

B.A., Philosophy and English, California State University, Fresno (2008)

Rudy Alejo first came to EBCLC as a law student intern in 2010, and stayed for the next three semesters. Rudy was awarded the Sax Prize for Excellence in Clinical Advocacy for his work as a clinical law student in EBCLC’s Clean Slate Practice. Following graduation, Rudy joined the Law Offices of Cliff Gardner in Berkeley, where he worked on criminal appeals and other post-conviction remedies for indigent clients serving either death or LWOP sentences. Rudy came back to EBCLC in May 2012 to help gear up Clean Slate’s litigation program, which enforces consumer protection laws for people with criminal records through affirmative litigation. Prior to law school, Rudy worked as an electrician for ten years in the Central Valley. Needless to say, Rudy is a real fan of the weather here.

Ed Barnes ext.317

Director, Income Practice

J.D., New York University School of Law (1977)

B.A., Linguistics, Brown University (1969)

Ed Barnes has been a supervising attorney at EBCLC since 1988, and Director of the Income practice since 1995. In 2010, Ed took a fixed-term appointment as an Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Social Services. Before coming to EBCLC, Ed worked at DNA Legal Services on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, and at the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County. He has also been a math teacher for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. Ed is the author of numerous welfare policy changes; and has handled major litigation concerning public assistance and health care.

Rosa Bay ext.316

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Health Practice

J.D., Boston College Law School (2008)

B.A., Sociology, UC Berkeley (2001)

Rosa joined the Health Practice in 2010 to launch free legal clinics at five middle schools in Oakland as part of the Elev8 program, a national initiative dedicated to improving the health and educational outcomes of middle school youth in underserved communities by providing students and their families with a coordinated array of services and supports at school. Before returning to EBCLC where she interned while in law school, Rosa practiced litigation in San Francisco at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

During law school, Rosa volunteered for the Boston College Immigration Asylum Project and at Greater Boston Legal Services, where she helped develop a series of legal workshops for immigrant survivors of domestic violence as part of the Latina Know Your Rights Project. Rosa was also an active member of the Boston College Latin American Law Student Association and served on its executive board. In 2009 and 2010, she served on the board of the San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association. Prior to law school, Rosa was a vocational rehabilitation counselor in Oakland for several years.

Martha Brown ext.330

Director of Finance and Administration

B.A., East Asian History, Wesleyan University (1975)

Martha Brown brings over nearly thirty years of non-profit management experience to EBCLC. She worked for many years at the Exploratorium, San Francisco’s premiere interactive science museum, and is a co-founder of Fifth Stream Music, a non-profit arts performance and education organization. Her experience includes all aspects of organizational development and operations, including financial and personnel management, project and proposal development, and strategic planning. She holds a MSW degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore with an emphasis in community organizing and started her life in the San Francisco Bay Area as an organizer with Citizens Action League, a statewide grassroots advocacy organization.

Mari Castaldi 510-548-4064 ext.610

Program Coordinator, Neighborhood Justice Clinic

B.A., Oberlin College, Politics & Latin American Studies

Mari began working at EBCLC’s Neighborhood Justice Clinic in 2012. Most of her legal experience stems from her years working for immigrant rights at several non-profit and private immigration law firms (both in rural Ohio and throughout California) where she did paralegal work, community organizing and teaching English and Know-Your-Rights trainings. A Spanish speaker, Mari has also studied and worked in Nicaragua, where she was an assistant on an academic research program as well as a researcher for the Jesuit Migrant Services. As a student at Oberlin College, Mari received the Aaron Wildavsky Memorial Prize for Excellence in Public Policy work, and also chaired a public education advocacy organization called Oberlin Young Educators.

Nery Castillo-McIntyre ext.338

Pro Bono & Communications Coordinator

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2010)

B.A., English & Religious Studies, University of California at Berkeley (2002)

A.A., Liberal Arts, Santa Monica College (1999)

Nery Castillo-McIntyre joined EBCLC as its first Pro Bono & Communications Coordinator in 2012. He holds the distinction of having served as an intern in almost all of EBCLC’s clinics, including the Housing Practice, the Neighborhood Justice Clinic, the Clean Slate Practice, the Immigration Clinic, and the Community Economic Development clinic. Indeed, EBCLC was the first organization in which Nery learned he could love his job. After graduating from law school, Nery worked briefly as a Post-Bar Fellow at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, where he had already served as a Summer Intern while still a law student. However, the assignment was cut short once he regained permanent status as a Pre-Bar Juris Doctor. A native speaker born and raised in Guatemala, Nery is the founder, editor and writer of a mixed martial arts blog in Spanish that inspired his motto: “I’m a writer, not a fighter.”

Brendan Darrow ext.375

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Housing Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2010)

B.A. History; Political Science, University of Pennsylvania (2007)

Brendan Darrow joined EBCLC in the Fall of 2010, as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Housing practice. The fellowship was made possible by the generosity of the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Foundation, and focused on providing direct legal representation to tenants living in foreclosed properties. The silent victims of the foreclosure crisis, tenants lawfully rent over 50% of the foreclosed properties in California. After the fellowship, Bren remains focused on representing tenants in and out of court, to preserve affordable housing, prevent blight, and ensure stable housing for tenants caught up in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis. During law school, Bren was a clinical student and intern in EBCLC’s Housing practice for two years. Bren also regularly attends Centro Legal de la Raza’s Spanish language tenant’s rights workshops.

Elisa Della-Piana 510-548-4064 ext.614

Director, Neighborhood Justice Clinic

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2002)
B.A., History, University of Utah (1999)

Elisa is a 2002 Boalt graduate and former EBCLC intern. During law school, she worked for the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco and the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s office. After graduation, she clerked for Judge David F. Levi, Eastern District of California; and Judge Betty B. Fletcher, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Elisa then spent four years at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, with funding from a Bingham, McCutcheon Equal Justice Works fellowship and a Soros Justice Fellowship. At Lawyers’ Committee, she provided individual representation through the Homeless Rights Project, worked on policy issues related to homelessness, and co-counseled on impact litigation, including the successful class action suit Kincaid v. City of Fresno. She joined EBCLC in 2008 to direct the Neighborhood Justice Clinic, EBCLC’s satellite office at 3130 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. As NJC director, Elisa supervises the General Legal Clinic, the Consumer Law Clinic, and EBCLC’s homeless rights work.

Sharon Djemal ext.313

Supervising Attorney & Clinical Instructor

J.D., Columbia University School of Law (1998)

B.A., Political Science, Macalester College (1991)

Sharon Djemal joined EBCLC’s Housing Practice in 2000. In law school, Sharon participated in numerous public interest activities, and earned Columbia’s highest clinical award, the Jane Marks Murphy Prize for interest and proficiency in clinical advocacy. Prior to her work at EBCLC, Sharon was a Soros Fellow at the Urban Justice Center’s Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project, providing eviction prevention and community education to public housing tenants in New York City.

Christopher Douglas 510-548-4064 ext.611

Staff Attorney and Clinical Instructor, Neighborhood Justice Clinic

J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law (2005)

B.A., Cultural Anthropology and Philosophy, Bridgewater State University (1999)

Chris joined EBCLC’s Neighborhood Justice Clinic in 2012. He brings over six years of experience to the NJC from his work in the bay area at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, where he specialized in government benefits, disability rights and immigrant access to safety net benefits. A native Puerto Rican, Chris is fluent in Spanish and has strong ties to the Latino community of the bay area. His work has focused on direct legal representation and community education and organizing to provide legal assistance to individuals and families while helping communities learn to better advocate for themselves. Considering himself an “old school” community lawyer, Chris has developed and implemented various community initiatives to increase access to safety net benefits and legal services for the disabled, the elderly and immigrant populations of San Mateo County and has received numerous community awards and commendations for his efforts.

Victoria Flores ext.336

Contracts Manager

B.A., English Literature, San Francisco State University (2005)

Victoria Flores joined EBCLC in July, 2007 as a Contracts Manager. Prior to coming to EBCLC, Victoria worked for nearly four years in development/contract management for several organizations in the Bay Area. When not at the Law Center, Victoria provides consulting services and technical assistance to non-profits.

Liam Galbreth ext.331

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Health Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1999)

B.A., Politics, University of California at Santa Cruz (1994)

Liam Galbreth joined EBCLC in 2001 as an attorney in the Income practice and a member of the Family Advocacy Services Team. In 2003 he moved to the Health practice. In 2002 he co-chaired the Alameda County Bar Association Community Projects Committee. While in law school, Liam interned at EBCLC for two semesters.

Sheila Hall ext.329

Director, Health Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1984)

B.A., English, University of California at Berkeley (1978)

Sheila Hall joined EBCLC in 1999 and has served as the Director of the Health practice since 2001. Since 2006 she has been the Legal Director of the East Bay Medical-Legal Partnership, a medical-legal collaboration between EBCLC and Children’s Hospital Oakland. Before coming to EBCLC, Sheila worked in private practice in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sheila has served on several planning bodies, including the Community Collaborative Planning Council for the Oakland Transitional Grant Area, the California HIV/AIDS Planning Group, and the Executive Committee of the Family Care Network, an interdisciplinary collaborative focused on meeting the needs of HIV-positive women and children.

Eliza Hersh ext.374

Director, Clean Slate

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (2005)

B.A., Letters, Wesleyan University (1998)

Eliza Hersh is a graduate of Boalt Hall. While in law school Eliza interned at EBCLC, in the Boalt Death Penalty Clinic, and in the offices of the Alameda County and Contra Costa County Public Defenders. She joined EBCLC’s staff following a clerkship with Chief Judge Martha Vázquez, United States District Court, District of New Mexico. Prior to law school Eliza worked as a capital case investigator at the California Appellate Project and the Habeas Corpus Resource Center. She has also worked as a victim liaison in the field of Defense-Initiated Victim Outreach (DIVO), which offers a platform for survivors of capital murder to get their needs met by the criminal process while maintaining the integrity of the defense.

Luan Huynh (currently on leave) ext.371

Staff Attorney, Income Support

J.D., UCLA School of Law (2005)

B.A. Political Science and Communications, UCLA (1999)

Luan Huynh is a supervising attorney in the Welfare Law and Policy Practice where she specializes in state level problems like the budget, domestic violence, and child exclusion policies. Luan started as a Shartsis Friese Public Interest Fellow in the practice in 2005 because she had the language capacity to serve Southeast Asian immigrants, who like herself, grew up on welfare. Luan also spent one year working in the Housing Practice representing clients being terminated from public housing or facing rent increases before the Oakland and Berkeley Rent Board.

Luan was previously a district representative for a California assemblymember, a secretary to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, a law clerk at the Working People’s Law Center, an immigration legal intern in the Philippines, and a carnie at various county fairs. She is raising Kyla and Lukas with her husband Richie. Luan likes to make films in her spare time.

Sushil Jacob ext.340

Skadden Fellow, Green-Collar Communities Clinic (GC3)

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2011)

Sushil Jacob is a Skadden Fellow and Staff Attorney at the East Bay Community Law Center, where he is launching the Green-Collar Communities Clinic (GC3). Sushil received his J.D. in 2011 from Boalt Hall. Prior to attending law school, Sushil worked in India for two years on community economic development projects, including Just Change, a large farmer and indigenous cooperative in South India. Inspired by the power of cooperative business development, he focused his law school studies on the intersection of business law with the environmental justice/green jobs movements. He believes in the power of organized communities to win struggles for economic justice and build locally-owned, environmentally responsible businesses.

Marc S. Janowitz ext.370

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Housing Practice

J.D., New College of California School of Law (1980)

B.A., University of Maryland (1969)

Marc Janowitz joined EBCLC as a consulting attorney in 2002 after many years of providing pro bono assistance to EBCLC clients, with a focus on affirmative law suits in the Housing practice. In 2005 he became a staff attorney. Marc previously operated the Law Offices of Marc S. Janowitz in San Francisco where he specialized in representing residential and commercial tenants. He has lectured widely in California on landlord-tenant issues for business and professional groups, including the Real Property Section of the State Bar of California.

From 1994-2002 Marc served as an elected Commissioner on the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. In 2003, he successfully litigated Drouet v. Superior Court before the California Supreme Court establishing the right of tenants to assert retaliation claims in Ellis Act evictions.

Rachel Johnson-Farias ext.394

Equal Justice Works Fellow, Starting Over Strong, Sponsored by the Morrison Foerster Foundation, Clean Slate Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2012)

B.A., Critical Theory & Social Justice, Occidental College, Los Angeles (2009)

Rachel Johnson-Farias first came to EBCLC as a law student intern in 2011, and stayed until her graduation from Boalt in 2012. As a law student, Rachel received the Francine Diaz Memorial Award for her commitment to social justice. That commitment inspired Rachel to create a project that extends EBCLC’s adult reentry services to young people. The result is Starting Over Strong (SOS); a project which provides holistic reentry legal services to young people in Alameda County hoping to seal their juvenile records. As an Equal Justice Works Fellow serving Bay Area youth, Rachel embodies the mission of the East Bay Community Law Center: to promote justice and build a community that is more healthy, secure, productive and hopeful.

Gracie Jones ext.323

Intake Specialist, Housing Practice

Gracie Jones joined EBCLC in 2003 as the Receptionist. In 2006, she became the Housing Intake Specialist. Before coming to EBCLC, Gracie worked at the Berkeley Housing Authority and served on the Section 8 Voucher Program team.

Tanya Koshy ext.344

Staff Attorney, Clean Slate Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2010)

B.A., Africana Studies and Political Science, Wellesley College (2005)

Tanya Koshy joined EBCLC in 2011. Previously, she worked at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she helped to coordinate its Second Chance Legal Clinic, which assists people with criminal records in removing barriers to employment and housing . As a law student, Tanya interned in the Clean Slate Practice in 2008. She also interned at the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section, which investigates law enforcement agencies, and other federal funding recipients, to ensure their compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prior to law school, Tanya was a paralegal at Neufeld Scheck and Brustin, LLP a civil rights law firm in New York City that focuses on litigation involving wrongful convictions and police brutality.

Laura Lane ext.309

Director, Housing Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1996)

M.A., Comparative Literature, San Francisco State University (1992)

B.A., Classics, Hunter College (1988)

Laura Lane joined EBCLC as a supervising attorney in 1997 and directs the Housing practice.  As a law student Laura worked in EBCLC’s Health practice, at the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County, and at the American Civil Liberties Union.  A recipient of an echoing green Public Interest Fellowship, in 1996 Laura founded and directed a project providing free legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Contra Costa County.

Laura has taught housing law and policy at Boalt Hall School of Law and at Golden Gate University, School of Law.  In 2003, she was honored at a reception in San Francisco by Housing Rights, Inc. in recognition of her contributions to fair housing in the East Bay.

Erin Le ext.312

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Health Practice

J.D., Northeastern University School of Law (2010)

MPH, Tufts University School of Medicine (2010)

B.A., Chinese Language and Culture, Dartmouth College (2003)

Erin Le first joined EBCLC briefly in 2011. She works with clients referred to the Health Practice through EBCLC’s Medical-Legal Partnership with Children’s Hospital Oakland, as well as with clients living with HIV/AIDS. Through her law and public health training, as well as her work with several Medical-Legal Partnerships, she strives to address the socio-economic roots of health disparities and works toward minimizing such inequity. A former 2nd grade teacher, Erin interned at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley’s Health Legal Services, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, before permanently joining EBCLC’s Health Practice in 2012.

Jonathon Marley ext.321

Director of Development & Planning

Fellowship, Health Care Administration, Johns Hopkins University (1988)

M.P.H., Health Policy and Management, Harvard University (1987)

A.B., Human Biology, with Honors, Stanford University (1984)

Jonathon Marley founded EBCLC’s development department in 1994 and has served as Development Director since that time. Before joining EBCLC, he worked with the Over 60 Health Center in Berkeley, directed the Teen Clinic and HIV Program at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland, and interned at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.

At Harvard, Jonathon co-founded the Health and Human Rights Group, and later helped to start both the International Campaign to Free Geronimo Pratt and the New Village Community Public Charter School of the East Bay. In 1999 he created the Anti-Bias Curriculum Project, which currently helps Kindergarten – 5th grade students in public schools understand and appreciate differences related to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, family income, and language. Jonathon serves as a Director on the boards of The Mosaic Project in Oakland and the People’s Life Fund in Berkeley, as well as on the Advisory Board for the Bay Area Community Land Trust (BACLT). He is a former Commissioner for the City of Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission.

Jon can be reached at .

Jaimee Arnone Modica ext.313

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Housing Practice

J.D., King Hall School of Law, University of California at Davis (2003)

B.A., University of California at Berkeley (1999)

Jaimee joined EBCLC in 2003 as an Equal Justice Works fellow in the Housing practice. The fellowship was generously supported by the law firm of Bingham McCutchen and focused on substandard housing in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. In 2005, Jaimee became a staff attorney in the Housing practice. During law school, Jaimee interned at EBCLC for several semesters, at La Raza Centro Legal and the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees, Local 2. Jaimee currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Marin Child Care Council.

Ana Maria Murillo ext.322

Deputy Director of Development

B.A., Latin American Studies Major, Education Minor, University of California Santa Cruz (1998)

Ana joined EBCLC in August of 2009, as the Deputy Director of Development, focusing particularly on cultivating relationships with major donors and law firms. She comes to EBCLC with eight years of fundraising and strategic relationship-building for community-based organizations, including serving as Executive Director for the U’wa Defense Project from 2001 to 2006, and most recently as Development Director for HOMEY (Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth) and Manager of Individual Giving at The Hesperian Foundation. Ana is of Indigenous Colombian ancestry and has worked for twelve years with Native communities in the U.S. and Latin America, primarily in Indigenous-led community development, cultural survival and women’s rights. Ana was born in Colombia and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco. Ana broke into the world of grassroots fundraising in 2001 as a fundraising intern through Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT), raising funds for La Pena Cultural Center, where she later served on the Board for four years. Ana currently serves on the board of Amazon Watch and also volunteers as Co-Director for the Mujer U’wa Initiative; a giving circle supporting Indigenous U’wa women in the jungles of Colombia to build female leadership, resist destructive petroleum extraction and contribute to peace building amid a war zone in their sacred land.

Ana can be reached at .

Osha Neumann 510-548-4064 ext.615

Consulting Attorney

J.D., New College of California School of Law (1987)

M.A., History, Yale (1962)

B.A., History, Swarthmore (1961)

Osha Neumann joined EBCLC as a Consulting Attorney in 2003. He has been in private practice in Berkeley since 1987, representing political protestors, victims of police misconduct and homeless people in cases regarding their civil rights. He is the chairperson of Community Defense Inc., a non-profit that promotes legal education for poor and marginalized communities. He is also an accomplished muralist responsible or many murals still to be seen in Berkeley.

Serina Rankins ext.357

Intake Specialist & Paralegal, Clean Slate Practice

AA, Paralegal Studies, Merritt College (2007)

Serina Rankins joined EBCLC in July 2007.  She was born and raised in Oakland, CA.  Serina has over 11 years of administrative experience, having worked at various non-profits and corporations in the Bay Area.  She is a member of the National Notary Association.

Ayana Roberson ext.301

Office Manager

Ayana Roberson has been at EBCLC since March 1998. Ayana manages the dual role of Office Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at EBCLC. She has years of administrative experience and has attended many computer related trainings. She previously worked at EBCLC in the early 1990s, before attending Clark Atlanta University. Ayana also has worked for the Center for Health Leadership where she interacted with public health officials from all over the country. Ayana served in the United States Army Reserves for seven years as a Medical Specialist.

Kerri Robertsonext.341

Legal Advocate, Clean Slate Practice

B.A., Villanova University (2012)

Kerri joined EBCLC in August 2012 as a Jesuit Volunteer in the Clean Slate Practice. As a JV, she is one of nearly 350 volunteers with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps working in various non-profits both domestically and internationally. Before EBCLC, Kerri interned at Catholic Relief Services where she worked to connect local university campuses with CRS’s regional office. While studying abroad in London, England, Kerri also interned at SalisburyWORLD, where she assisted refugees and asylum-seekers find housing, employment, and education opportunities. During her time at Villanova University, Kerri participated in numerous international mission experiences in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, where she completed various work, community-building, and education projects with the local populations.

Megan Ryan 510-548-4064 ext.612

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Neighborhood Justice Clinic

J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law

M.A., Development Studies, Brown University (2000)

B.A., International Relations, Brown University (2000)

Megan joined EBCLC in 2009 as a law firm fellow in the Neighborhood Justice Clinic. In 2010, Megan became a staff attorney. While in law school, Megan interned for Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, La Raza Centro Legal and the Alameda District Attorney’s Office of Environmental and Consumer Protection. Megan was previously the Director of Operations for Partners for Democratic Change, an international alternative dispute resolution organization, where she had the opportunity to conduct trainings in advocacy, negotiation and mediation throughout the United States, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Tamura Saxton ext.367

Administrative Assistant

Tamura joined EBCLC in August of 2007. She was born and raised in Oakland, CA.  Tamura holds a degree in Fashion Merchandising. After working in the buying office of a catalogue company she decided to enter the legal field.  Before coming to EBCLC, Tamura worked as a legal assistant in a worker’s compensation law firm and a real estate law firm. Currently, Tamura is a student in the Los Angeles Mission College paralegal program.

Tirien Steinbach ext.373

Executive Director

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1999)

B.A., Art History, University of California at Santa Cruz (1994)

In March 2007, Tirien Steinbach became the third executive director of EBCLC.  Tirien joined EBCLC in 2001 in the Income practice where she incubated Clean Slate practice, which she directed. In 2006 Tirien served as EBCLC’s Director of Clinical & Program. Tirien is currently a Lecturer at Boalt Hall School of Law (UC Berkeley), and co-teaches "Community Law Practice at EBCLC," the companion seminar for Boalt students enrolled in EBCLC’s clinical program.

In law school, Tirien was active in the public interest and student of color communities, where she served as co-president of the Berkeley Law Foundation Student Steering Committee and Vice President of Recruitment for Law Students of African Descent. Upon graduating from Boalt, Tirien is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including an Equal Justice Works fellowship sponsored by the California Appellate Project, a Berkeley Law Foundation grant for her work at EBCLC, and the inaugural Thelton E. Henderson Social Justice Prize.

Linda Tam ext.368

Director, Immigration Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2000)

B.A., Psychology, Yale University (1996)

Linda Tam joined EBCLC in 2003 to develop an immigration specialty within the Health practice for people living with HIV/AIDS. She is a graduate of Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall) where she served on the Asian Law Journal, was recruitment co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and worked in the International Human Rights Law Clinic. Following law school, Ms. Tam clerked at the Executive Office for Immigration Review. She was a contributor on immigration law to “AIDS and the Law,” the leading treatise on HIV legal issues for eight years. She has spoken at regional and national conferences, and was awarded the 2009 Legal Services Award by the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. She speaks Spanish in addition to some French and Mandarin.

Tania Valdez ext.361

Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Immigration Practice

J.D., Berkeley Law, University of California at Berkeley (2011)

B.A., Sociology, Colorado State University (2007)

Shortly after graduating from law school, Tania joined EBCLC for a one-year fellowship in the Immigration Practice. She was then hired on as a staff attorney. During law school, she served as an editor on the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice and the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, and as Co-Founder of the Women of Color Collective and Co-Chair of La Raza Law Students Association. Her other activities during law school included internships with EBCLC, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (El Paso, Texas), Indian Law Resource Center (Washington, D.C.), and Accountability Counsel (San Francisco). Tania was named as a LatCrit Student Scholar in Fall 2010 in recognition of her paper entitled “Dispossession & Migration: Effects of NAFTA on Indigenous Women in Rural Mexico.”

Kate Weisburd ext. 311

Staff Attorney and Clinical Instructor, Youth Defender Project

J.D., Columbia Law School (2005)

B.A., Brown University (2000)

Kate joined EBCLC in 2012 to develop and launch the Youth Defender Project. Kate previously worked at the Death Penalty Clinic at U.C. Berkeley Law and supervised law students working on capital trials and appeals in the South. Kate is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where she interned with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (Criminal Justice Section), the Brennan Center for Justice, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Upon graduation, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lawrence K. Karlton, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Before attending law school, Kate worked as a death penalty investigator at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia.

Carolina Zanni ext.363

Administrative Assistant

Carolina was born and raised in Santiago, Chile and came to the United States in 1994. Carolina attended Contra Costa College, and after completing ESL classes, she graduated in 2001 with two Certificates of Achievement in Computer Systems Operations and Network Technologies.

Carolina worked as an administrative assistant for an Oakland based law firm, providing services in personal injury cases, such as car accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, class action suits, and toxic torts. With Spanish being her first language, Carolina also helped Spanish speaking clients with translations and legal documents.