Fern Schair serves as the chair of the Center’s advisory board. The advisory board helps guide program development at the Center. Advisory board members include the following individuals:

• Honorable Denny Chin – United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Kevin J. Curnin – Founding Director of Public Service Project, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
• Bruce A. Green (Ex Officio) – Louis Stein Professor of Law, Fordham Law School; Director, Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, Fordham Law School
• Peggy A. Healy – Senior Vice President, Covenant House
• Gail Hollister – Murray Professor of Law, Emerita, Fordham Law School
• Seymour James – Partner, Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea & LoTurco, LLP
• Constantine N. Katsoris – Wilkinson Professor of Law, Fordham Law School 
• Mary Ellen Kris – Consultant, United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries
• Maura Kathleen Monaghan – Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
• Jacqueline Nolan-Haley (Ex Officio) – Professor of Law, Fordham Law School; Director, Fordham ADR & Conflict Resolution Program
• Carlos G. Ortiz – General Counsel, Goya Foods, Inc.
• Marisa M. Peterson – Former General Counsel, American Arbitration Association; Adjunct Professor, Fordham Law School
• Timothy G. Reynolds – Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
• Robert C. Sheehan – Pro Bono Partner, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP
• Michael K. Stanton Jr. – Partner, Ferguson Cohen LLP
• Herbert Sturz – Trustee, The Open Society Institute; Founding Chair, Expand ED Schools
• Irene A. Sullivan – Retired Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
• A. William Urquhart – Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

John D. Feerick

John D. Feerick, the Founder and Senior Counsel of the Feerick Center for Social Justice, was the Dean of Fordham Law School from 1982-2002. He has held the Sidney C. Norris Chair of Law in Public Service since 2004 and was the Leonard F. Manning Professor of Law from 2002-2004. John began his career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; he spent 21 years (1961-1982) there, developing and heading up their labor department.

John has been a dedicated public servant throughout his career. Most recently, he has served as a member of the three-person Special Master Panel in the McCain homeless family rights litigation (2003-2005); was appointed to a three-member Referee Panel in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York (concerning education equity; 2003); and was the Chair of the Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections (2003). From April 2007 to February 2009, John served as Chair of the New York State Commission on Public Integrity. He is the co-chair of Chief Judge Advisory Council in the Attorney Emeritus Program. Previously, John was the President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1992-1994); Chair of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity (1987-1990); and President of the Citizens Union Foundation (1987-1999).

Elizabeth B. Cooper

Elizabeth B. Cooper, the Faculty Director of the Feerick Center, joined the Fordham faculty in 1995. Liz teaches primarily in the Law School's clinical program (the Litigation Skills clinic, the Civil Rights Clinic, the Center’s Social Justice Clinic, and currently, the Urban Policy Clinic); she also has taught courses in Fundamental Lawyering Skills, Institutional Reform Through the Courts (with Professor Feerick), and AIDS and the Law. Her scholarship has focused on issues of autonomy, particularly in the context of bioethics, HIV/AIDS, Marriage rights, Equality and the pedagogy of clinical teaching.

Before coming to Fordham, Liz taught at Brooklyn Law School for one year and at Rutgers-Newark Law School as an adjunct law professor. She was a Gibbons Fellow in Public Interest and Constitutional Law at the Newark, NJ law firm of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione (1992-1994) and was a Skadden Fellow/Staff Counsel at the ACLU AIDS Project (1990-1992). Following graduation from New York University School of Law (1988), where she was a Root-Tilden Scholar, she clerked for the Hon. Anne E. Thompson, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court of New Jersey. She is a 1983 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dora Galacatos, the Executive Director to the Feerick Center, is a Fordham Law alumna (1996), with experience working in city government, the not-for-profit sector, and legal services for low-income individuals. Prior to coming to Law School, Dora worked for the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice and the New York City for Mayor's Office of Drug Abuse Policy from 1989 to 1993, where she focused on program development, program evaluation, and policy analysis. As part of a Skadden Fellowship (1997-98), Dora helped establish a family day care network at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Dora had served as Staff Director to the New York City Family Homelessness Special Master Panel, working alongside John Feerick. Dora also served as a law clerk to the late-Honorable Milton Pollack (1996-97) and, more recently, to the Honorable Paul A. Crotty (2005-2006), both District Judges in the Southern District of New York. Dora is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in History (1987), and the New School for Social Research, where she was a Kaplan M. Fellow and received a Master of Science in Urban Policy (1993).

In 2009 Dora was honored by The New York County Lawyer's Association with their Public Service Award. In 2011, Manhattan Legal Services awarded her its Medal of Honor. In 2013, MFY Legal Services, Inc. recognized Dora with its Partner in Justice Award. Dora is a former chair of the New York City Bar Civil Court Committee.

Email: galacatos@fordham.edu Tel. 212-636-7747.

Fern Schair has been Chairperson of the Feerick Center Advisory Board since its inception. Her professional positions include: Senior Vice President of the American Arbitration Association, Chief Administrative Officer of the New York City Bar Association, Program Development Officer for Civil Justice Programs at the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), and Director of Civil Justice Programs at the Fund for the City of New York. Her current civic positions include member of the Board, Immediate Past President, and Co-Founder of the Children’s Law Center; former Chair and current Board member of the Fund for Modern Courts; Vice-Chair of the Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts (NY); Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee on Court Interpreters; former Board Chair and current Emeritus Board member of Legal Services-NYC; Co-Chair of the Chief Judge’s Advisory Council on the Attorney Emeritus Program; Co-Chair of the Committee on Non-lawyers and the Justice Gap; and member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the First Judicial Department. Ms. Schair attended Cornell University and graduated from St John’s School of Law.

Email: schair@law.fordham.edu Tel. 212-636-7746.

Clementine Schillings, the Assistant to Dean Feerick, has a background in Human Rights Law and International law having completed a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of the West of England, Bristol and a Master’s Degree at Queen Mary University of London. Since graduating she has interned at various institutions, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime working in their New York office, Eurojust (the European Agency on Judicial Cooperation), and VluchtelingenWerk Nederland (The Dutch Refugee Council).  Email: cschillings@fordham.edu Tel. 646-346-5169

 Administrative and Programmatic Assistant for the Feerick Center.

Wilma Tamayo-Abreu. On June 30, 2015, the Bronx News recognized Wilma Tamayo-Abreu with its 25 Women of Influence Award. Wilma was recognized, in part, for her contributions in connection with the Bronx CLARO Program, one of the three limited legal advice clinics for people dealing with consumer debt that the Feerick Center helps to administer. Since its inception in June 2009, Wilma has been instrumental in developing the Program into the powerhouse that it is today. Prior to joining the Feerick Center she served as a Corporate Event Coordinator at the IBM Conference Center in Palisades, NY and as a Branch Business Manager at Banco Popular. Wilma was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to NYC with her family when she was a teenager. After receiving her high school Diploma from Dewitt Clinton HS in 1997 she moved to Vermont to attend Middlebury College. Wilma is an advocate for immigrant’s rights and access to higher education for immigrants.

Email: wtamayoabreu@law.fordham.edu Tel. 212-636-7671.

2018-2019

Shirin Dhanani, Class of 2018 
Elizabeth Snyder Wood, Class of 2018

2017-2018

Elizabeth Perez, Class of 2017

2016-2017

Sara Purvin, Class of 2016

2015-2016

Justin Brown, Class of 2015
Sofia Linarte, Class of 2015

2014 - 2015

Michelle Lee, Class of 2014

2013-2014

Anna Stallmann, Class of 2013

2012-2013

Deena Schwartz, Class of 2012
Andrea Vazquez, Class of 2012

2011-2012

Marcie Kobak, Class of 2011
Anitoshia Johnson, Class of 2011
Damian Treffs, Class of 2011

2010-2011

Tamara Alexander, Class of 2010
Joe Costello, Class of 2010
Gerrald Ellis, Class of 2010
Paolo Meireles, Class of 2010
Lynda Tooker, Class of 2010
Scott Wagner, Class of 2010

2009-2010

Shireen Ahmed, Class of 2009
Mary Cox, Class of 2009
David Friedman, Class of 2009
Brandon Gershowitz Class of 2009
Yelena Kozlova, Class of 2009
Kathryn Newman, Class of 2009

2008-2009

Suzana Carlos, Class of 2008
Michael Higgins, Class of 2008
Emilio Justiniano, Class of 2008
Jessica Selman, Class of 2008

2007-2008

Nyssa Fajardo, Class of 2007
Gerard Haskins, Class of 2007
William Lim, Class of 2007
Erynne Novetsky, Class of 2007
Elisabeth Prael, Class of 2007
Leigh Tuccio, Class of 2007

2006-2007

Jonathan Benovitz, Class of 2006
Adonaid Casado, Class of 2006
Stephen Cincotta, Class of 2006
Carrie Loewenthal, Class of 2006

Azalea Capers LEEAP Education Program Coordinator 2018-2019

Azalea Capers is an AmeriCorps VISTA member helping to support and coordinate the Educational component of the Legal Economic, and Education Advancement Project (LEEAP). Azalea recently received her Master's degree in International Affairs from The American University of Paris in Paris, France. While abroad she helped youth from Paris suburbs learn English through the use of Hip-Hop. Upon completion of her year of service at the Feerick Center, Azalea would like to pursue a law degree in Public International Law.

Julia Cummings AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator 2018 - 2019

Julia Cummings is a 2018-2019 AmeriCorps VISTA Member and Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator.  She is helping to support the Feerick Center’s Legal Economic and Educational Advancement Project (LEEAP) relating to consumer debt defense, credit-related education, and identity theft assistance.  Julia will be deeply involved this year with all aspects of the Feerick Center’s work related to the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island CLARO Programs.  Julia graduated from SUNY Geneseo in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a minor in Legal Studies. She is very excited to be working with the Feerick Center to help combat social injustice and economic inequality within New York City and plans on pursuing a law degree after her year of service to continue fighting such issues.

Kaitlyn Filzer AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Volunteer Lawyers for Veterans Program, Project Coordinator 2018-2019

Kaitlyn Filzer is a 2018-2019 AmeriCorps VISTA member and Project Coordinator for the Volunteer Lawyers for Veterans Program. Kaitlyn is a recent graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Toledo. She practiced law in Eastern Tennessee, focusing on transactional work.  At the Feerick Center she is building a career in public interest by assisting underserved communities through direct advocacy and project development. Over the past few years, Kaitlyn has interned and volunteered with various nonprofit organizations and government agencies. During law school, she worked for Advocating Opportunity, an organization that provides holistic representation and advocacy for human trafficking survivors, and interned with the Office of the Ohio Attorney General and the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals. She is honored to have the opportunity to provide legal resources to our country's veterans.

Dilon Goncalves LEEAP Education Program Coordinator 2019-2020

Dilon Goncalves is a 2019-2020 AmeriCorps VISTA serving and coordinating the educational component of the Legal Economic, and Education Advancement Project (LEEAP Ed.). Dilon is a recent graduate of the University of Iowa from which he received a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication along with a certificate in Human Rights. A Chicago native with Angolan roots he is looking forward to working with various neighborhoods throughout New York to address educational inequities through improved access to high-quality public high schools.   Following his VISTA service, Dilon hopes to pursue a law degree and a public interest career focused on combatting racial, social, and economic injustice.  

Evan Mullen AmeriCorps VISTA Leader  2018-2019

Evan Mullen is an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader who is helping to expand the capacity of the Feerick Center and partner organizations that are funded through the Corporation for National and Community Service. Evan graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Joseph’s University; he majored in International Business and minored in Spanish and Economics. Following his graduation, Evan served his first year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA Member with the Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey.  He is looking forward to pursuing his passion for advancing justice for low-income, marginalized, underrepresented and underserved communities at the Feerick Center for Social Justice.

Daniella Torres 

AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator 2019-2020

Daniella Torres is a 2019-2020 AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow coordinating the Attorney Emeritus Program, a dual effort by the Feerick Center for Social Justice and the New York State Unified Court System connecting older attorneys with pro bono volunteer opportunities in nonprofit organizations within the Greater New York Region. In 2017, she received an individualized Bachelor of Arts in National Security from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and was awarded the Founders’ Day Award upon being named a University Honors Scholar. Daniella looks forward to pursuing a law degree after her service and launching a career in law and public policy.

AmeriCorps VISTA Members

2019-2020
Dilon Goncalves, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Daniella Torres, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

2018-2019
Julia Cummings, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator 
Azalea Capers, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Kaitlyn Filzer, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Volunteer Lawyers for Veterans Program, Project Coordinator 
Camilla Leonard, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Veteran's Program Coordinator
Evan Mullen, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader  
Cora Vasserman, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

2017-2018
Azalea Capers, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Naama Hod, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Camilla Leonard, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Veteran's Program Coordinator
Cora Vasserman, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

2016-2017
Luigi Bonifacio, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Brian Bowen, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Shannon Litvin, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator

2015-2016
Christine Brathwaite, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Yolanda Garcia, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator
Donita Krasniqi, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

2014-2015
Liza Carroll, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Matthew Q. English IV, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus & LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Kyle Giller, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator

2013 -2014
Priscilla Alabi, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Katie McConnell, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Sara Trongone, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator

NYC Civic Corps Members 

2014-2015
Donita Krasniqi, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Chelsea Wilson, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

2013-2014
Nicholas Macri, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Samantha Varn, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

2012-2013
Laura Backus, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Brandon Ruben, NYC Civic Corps Member – LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
Anting Wang, NYC Civic Corps Member – LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator

2011- 2012
Ayanthi Gunawardana, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Joanna Laine, NYC Civic Corps Member – Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

New York Women's Bar Association Foundation Fellows

Fellows for the Year 2015-2016
Karen Ansong '16
Virginia Brown Anderson '16
Tzipora Zeines '18

Fellows for the Year 2014-2015
Laura Wooley ‘16
Razeem Zaman ‘16

Fellows for the Year 2013-2014
Lauren Irby ‘15
Sofia Linarte ‘15

Fellows for the Year 2012-2013
Chrissie Cahill ‘13
Jennifer Puchalski ‘14

Fellows for the Year 2011 -2012
Zohra Ahmed ‘13
Marisa Menna ‘13

Fellows for the Year 2010 -2011
Donella Green ‘12
Andrea Vazquez ‘12