National Advisory Committee

Printer-friendly version

All NAC members must attend or be employed by an Equal Justice Works member law school and have a demonstrated knowledge of and commitment to expanding public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers.

National Advisory Committee Members 2011-2012

Ben Aguilar
Class of 2011
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
San Diego, CA

Dwayne Barrs Jr.
Class of 2013
William and Mary School of Law
Williamsburg, VA

Celeste Davis
Class of 2012
Boston University School of Law
Allston, MA

Jill Friedman
Director of Pro Bono and Public Interest Programs
Rutgers University Law School at Camden
Camden, NJ

Michelle Garcia
Class of 2012
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
New Orleans, LA

Monika Batra Kashyap
Associate Director, Access to Justice Institute
Seattle University School of Law
Seattle, WA

Kate Cramer Lawrence
Director of Public Interest Programming
The Dickinson School of Law, Penn State
University Park, PA

Shaye Loughlin
Associate Director, Center for Public Interest Law
DePaul University College of Law
Chicago, IL

Veronica Paricio
Director of Career Services
Roger Williams University School of Law
Bristol, RI

Bill Penn
Public Interest Law Coordinator
Lewis and Clark University School of Law
Portland, OR

Shane Dwain Smith
Class of 2013
The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
Salt Lake City, UT

Larry Spain
Director, Clinical Programs
Texas Tech University School of Law
Lubbock, TX

Lauren Tetenbaum
Class of 2011
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
New York, NY

Alex Tischenko
Class of 2012
Stanford Law School
Stanford, CA

Ben Aguilar

Ben Aguilar is a 3L at Thomas Jefferson School of Law where he is the President of the International Law Society. Ben is involved in various student organizations, including Law Students for Reproductive Justice, Phi Alpha Delta, and the National Lawyers Guild. He also serves as the American Bar Association's 9th Circuit Lieutenant Governor of Communications. Ben spent his first summer in law school interning at the Center for International Protection in Moscow, Russia where he assisted in providing legal aid to Russian nationals' victims of human right violations in filing complaints before the European Court of Human Rights. He spent the summer after his second year in law school taking law classes in Hangzhou, China. Ben is currently a legal intern with the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and the California Innocence Project. Ben received his B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Education from the University of California, Irvine in 2007.

Back to top

Dwayne Barrs Jr.

Dwayne Barrs Jr. is a second year student at William and Mary School of Law, where he's involved in student organizations, such as the National Trial Team and Phi Alpha Delta. He has served as an intern for the Chief Staff Attorney's Office of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Honorable Anthony J. Trenga of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Gwinnett County Solicitor's Office and Administrative Office of the Court. In 2010, Dwayne received his B.A. in Philosophy from Furman University, where he co-founded and served as President of the Furman NAACP, was a leader in the Furman University Gospel Ensemble, and participated in the Student Judiciary and Arbitration Board.

Back to top

Celeste Davis

Celeste Davis is a second year student at Boston University School of Law. At BU, Celeste serves as a student representative for the school's Public Service Committee and also is a career services co-coordinator for the Public Interest Project. This past summer, Celeste worked as a legislative and legal intern for the ACLU of Michigan where she helped advocate for civil liberties legislation through education, bill drafting, and legislative research. Prior to law school, Celeste received her Masters of Public Health in Health Management and Policy from the University of Michigan and directed the Community Health Division for a regional health care non-profit in Detroit. During her 1L year, she helped plan the school's first spring break pro bono service trip to Detroit. Since college, her interests have included women and children's health, HIV/AIDS, and legislative advocacy. Celeste received her B.S. in Psychology from Bennett College in 2003.

Back to top

Jill Friedman

Jill Friedman is the Director of Pro Bono and Public Interest Program at Rutgers Law School in Camden, New Jersey, focusing on community law-related education projects. In 2010, she inaugurated a Summer Law Institute for rising high school sophomores. She also teaches professional responsibility and interviewing and counseling, and directs the law school's Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project. Early in her career, Jill served as a Senior Staff Attorney in the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society in New York City. She has consulted to Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) and Good Shepherd Mediation Program, where she co-founded a divorce and child custody mediation project serving low and middle income families. Jill earned her A.B. at Yale University and a J.D. from New York University . She is a Director of New Jersey

Back to top

Michelle Garcia

Michelle Garcia is a 2L at Loyola College of Law New Orleans. She serves on the executive board of the Public Interest Law Group, the Black Law Student Association, the Association of Women Law Students at Loyola. She also co-founded and serves on the executive board of the Lambda Legal Alliance in addition to overseeing a school-wide mentoring program for minority students in New Orleans. She edits for the Loyola Law and Technology Annual and was elected Technology Chair of Loyola's Student Bar Association. This summer Michelle was awarded a grant from the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center to work in the juvenile division of Acadiana Legal Services. Prior to law school, she worked at an elementary school in Japan digitizing a literacy library. Michelle received her B.A. in history with a specialization in medieval education in Europe and the Middle East from Loyola University New Orleans.

Back to top

Monika Batra Kashyap

Monika Batra Kashyap is Associate Director of the Access to Justice Institute for Seattle University School of Law. She collaborates with local, statewide and national social justice organizations to create projects that develop the leadership capacities and legal skills of law students; develops social justice programming within the law school curriculum; supports student-initiatives related to social justice; connects law students to social justice lawyers in the local community; and develops and administers law school post-graduate fellowship programs. Before beginning with the Access to Justice Institute in 2008, Monika focused much of her time on immigration issues as an Adjunct Professor of an immigration law clinic at Seattle University, an Immigration Attorney with a law firm and an Equal Justice Works fellow working with immigrant youth in foster care at The Door Legal Services Center. She received her J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and her B.A. in Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University. Before law school, Monika did extensive community organizing and anti-trafficking work within the South Asian domestic worker community in New York City.

Back to top

Kate Cramer Lawrence

Kate Cramer Lawrence is the Director of Public Interest Programming at the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law, and an Attorney with the Children's Advocacy Clinic. Kate manages the Miller Pro Bono Program and the Center for Public Interest Law and Advocacy; coordinates with various organizations within the law school and the greater legal community on public services initiatives and resources, including loan repayment assistance programs, bar association pro bono projects, public interest law conferences and workshops; and counsels individual students on pursuing public interest careers. She also supervises certified legal interns in the Children's Advocacy Clinic. Kate has also volunteered with several legal services and advocacy organizations and has served as a law clerk with a private firm. She received her J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law and received her B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude, from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Back to top

Shaye Loughlin

Shaye Loughlin is the Associate Director of the Center for Public Interest Law at DePaul University College of Law, where she manages the day-to-day operations of the Center and works with faculty, students and alumni on program development, event coordination, marketing, business operations, and student advising and support. Shaye also oversees the Public Interest Law Certificate program, the Journal for Social Justice and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program. She is a member of the Program Advisory Board for the Public Interest Law Initiative. Prior to joining the Center, Shaye worked at the Community Economic Development Law Project and volunteered with the Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services. Shaye has experience leading service immersion trips with the Civic Education Project at Northwestern University and worked with the Volunteer Legal Service Program's Homeless Advocacy Project in San Francisco. Shaye received her B.A. in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame and her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.

Back to top

Veronica Paricio

Veronica Paricio is the Director of Career Services at Roger Williams University School of Law. She counsels law students and alumni on job search and application strategies and legal career opportunities in the public and private sectors. Veronica also oversees all major career development initiatives, including the summer public interest stipend program, federal work study program, on-campus interviews, resume referral programs and career symposia. She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Feinstein Institute for Legal Service and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, as well as a member of the Faculty Judicial Clerkship Committee. Before joining Roger Williams University School of Law in 2008, Veronica spent several years with the Office of Career Development at the University of Colorado Law School. She also has private sector experience in legal human resources and recruitment. Veronica received her B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College and completed Human Resources Management courses at New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. She is fluent in Spanish.

Back to top

Bill Penn

Bill Penn is the Public Interest Law Coordinator at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland Oregon where he has worked since 2007. He counsels students headed toward public interest, government, and judicial clerking careers, manages Lewis & Clark's Pro Bono Program and Loan Repayment Assistance Program, encourages student leadership through Lewis & Clark's student Public Interest Law Project, and offers support and encouragement to anyone with an idea to make the world a better place. He received his B.S. in Astronomy from Caltech and a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School. Previously, Bill worked in private practice, doing general civil work in a firm that he opened with a fellow Lewis & Clark graduate and later at a small firm focusing on bankruptcy, tax debt issues, and consumer cases. Bill has served in a number of volunteer and service positions both during law school and since including committee work for the Multnomah Bar Association.

Back to top

Shane Dwain Smith

Shane Dwain Smith is a second year student at The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, where he is the Pro Bono Student Fellow with the Pro Bono Initiative and the Student Director of the American Indian Pro Se Legal Clinic. He received a Master of Urban Planning degree from The University of Utah in 2007 and was a long range planner for West Valley City. Shane has provided guidance on urban planning to TreeUtah, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Campus Planning Advisory Committee of The University of Utah. He has also worked with organizations, such as the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center and Utahns Against Hunger. Shane received a B.S. in Sociology and Certificate in Criminology, as well as a B.A. in Environment and Behavior from The University of Utah.

Back to top

Larry Spain

Larry Spain is Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs at Texas Tech University School of Law. Larry teaches a civil practice clinic, mediation clinic, professional responsibility and family law. He also recruits and coordinates faculty and students for a variety of pro bono initiatives ranging from pro bono clinics in the community to faculty-sponsored CLE programs for pro bono attorneys and public interest practitioners. Prior to coming to Texas Tech in 2001, he was a Professor and Director of Clinical Programs at the University of North Dakota School of Law for 18 years. He has a long-standing commitment to access to justice issues and has worked with a variety of professional organizations and nonprofits on pro bono and legal services delivery. Larry received his B.A. from the University of Iowa and his JD from Creighton University School of Law.

Back to top

Lauren Tetenbaum

Lauren Tetenbaum is 3L at the Cardozo School of Law, where she leads the Advocates for Battered Women and Law Students for Reproductive Justice clubs. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007, where she interned for the Women's Law Project and participated in The Vagina Monologues. Lauren then returned home to New York City to pursue her Masters in Social Work from New York University while simultaneously studying law. In addition to her extracurricular activities, Lauren has interned for an employment discrimination firm, DoSomething.org, NARAL Pro-Choice NY, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, SAFER (Students Active For Ending Rape), and the New York Civil Liberties Union. This coming year, she will take part in Cardozo's Divorce Mediation Clinic as well as intern for the HIV Law Project, Safe Horizon, and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Lauren will continue to focus on immigrants', women's, and youths' rights in her career.

Back to top

Alex Tischenko

Alex Tischenko is a 3L at Stanford Law School, where he was the Vice President of the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy and is a Public Interest Fellow at the Levin Center for Public Service & Public Interest Law and Articles Editor for the Stanford Law & Policy Review's Redistricting Symposium. He has also worked to enhance several pro bono projects at Stanford, including the Voting Rights Project and the San Diego Alternative Spring Break trip. Alex has volunteered for the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, the Orleans Public Defenders, Community Legal Services and OneJustice. He served as a summer law clerk for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Advancement Project. Alex was able to assist low-income clients as a student of the Youth and Education Law Project. He was also a summer associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison. He received his B.A. in History, magna cum laude, from Pomona College in 2007.

Back to top