AmeriCorps VISTA Programs

The Feerick Center for Social Justice receives support through AmeriCorps for its Legal, Economic and Education Advancement Project (“LEEAP”) and serves as a sponsoring site. AmeriCorps’s VISTA Program brings VISTA members to the Feerick Center and to two of the Center’s partnering organizations, Legal Assistance of Western New York and Pro Bono Net. VISTA members devote a year of service to anti-poverty efforts through capacity-building initiatives, specifically by leveraging volunteers to engage in a variety of pro bono projects.

The Feerick Center is proud to partner with Legal Assistance of Western New York and Pro Bono Net as part LEEAP.

Currently, AmeriCorps VISTA members support the following projects:

  • 2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    Monique Boamah
    2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Leader

    Monique’s work has involved me working collaboratively with non-profit and legal organizations, serving as an advocate for tenant eviction prevention and affordable housing. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA Community Organizer in Westchester County, New York under the VISTA Affordable Housing Preservation Program (VAHPP). Her impactful experience with the VAHPP project, tied with her personal story, garnered her passion for public service, advocacy, and an interest in law. Thereafter, she worked as a consultant providing civic engagement services to help execute project assignments for the local government, non-profit, and private sector. Monique is currently continuing her education at Mercy College to obtain a B.A. in Behavioral Science with a minor in Legal Studies.

    Princess Dang
    2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator

    Princess Dang is the 2023-2024 Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator at Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice. She briefly worked as a College Connection Mentor at a youth empowerment non-profit organization and law firm in Nashville and previously as a Domestic Violence Advocate at a legal organization. She has a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Legal Reasoning and Analysis and graduated with highest distinction at Baylor University. Princess aspires to have a lifework committed to the pursuit of social equity and aims to do so with relentless compassion. After her AmeriCorps service, Princess plans to continue her journey toward furthering a legal education that will equip her with the tools to zealously and critically advocate for marginalized communities.

    Liz McMillan
    2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator

    Liz McMillan pivoted to the nonprofit world after 20 plus years working as a Project Manager in Film and Television. Helping others and working on meaningful projects has become her new passion. Working as an AmeriCorps VISTA, she gets the chance to gain valuable experience at the Feerick Center while serving her community. On her off days she volunteers for WE ACT for Environmental Justice working on campaigns that lead to bills being passed.

    Mitchell Taylor
    2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator

    Mitchell Taylor serves the Feerick Center as an NYC Consumer Advocacy Project Coordinator. He holds a B.S.B.A. in International Business from Georgetown University. His prior experience in financial services includes working at an investment bank and a fintech startup. Now, he aims to promote economic justice for New Yorkers as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Feerick Center. He plans to attend law school after his year of service to continue representing financially underserved communities.

    Spencer Wang
    2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator

    Spencer Wang is a 2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA and Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator at Fordham Law School's Feerick Center for Social Justice. He is originally from Wayne, New Jersey, and graduated from Emory University with a BBA in Business Administration and PPL (Philosophy, Politics, and Law). During college, Spencer worked for non-profits like Human Rights First and led Emory’s student mutual aid fund supporting low-income students. He is passionate about empowering underserved communities and is committed to racial and socioeconomic justice. Following his time at AmeriCorps, he hopes to attend law school and pursue a legal career in civil rights or public interest law to reform the systemic injustice and inequity present within our institutions.

    2022-2023 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    Isabela Coppler, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator
    Jordan Eady-Lee, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator
    Madeleine Foley, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator
    Shannon Porter, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
    Sean Tan, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator

    2021-2022 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    Kelsey Benjamin, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator
    John Kauffman, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Feerick Center Veterans Rights Project (FCVRP) and the COVID Response Project (CRP) Project Coordinator
    Kimberly Martinez, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator
    Theresa Mahoney, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator
    Ashley Ramsay, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator
    Alero Simon, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader

    2020-2021 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    Kelsey Benjamin, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator
    Patrice A. Bryan, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
    Molly Miller, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator
    Matty Motylenski, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Feerick Center Veterans Rights Project (FCVRP) and the COVID Response Project (CRP) Project Coordinator
    Ella Shlonsky, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Coordinator
    Jordan Williams, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator

    2019-2020 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    Katherine Alonzo, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Consumer Debt Program Coordinator
    Taylor Bessinger, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Volunteer Lawyers for Veterans Program, Project Coordinator
    Dilon Goncalves, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Education Program Coordinator
    Maris Moon, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
    Daniella Torres, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, LEEAP Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

    2018-2019 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    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 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    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 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    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 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    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 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    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 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

    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 NYC Civic Corps Members

    Donita Krasniqi, NYC Civic Corps Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
    Chelsea Wilson, NYC Civic Corps Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

    2013-2014 NYC Civic Corps Members

    Nicholas Macri, NYC Civic Corps Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
    Samantha Varn, NYC Civic Corps Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

    2012-2013 NYC Civic Corps Members

    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 NYC Civic Corps Members

    Ayanthi Gunawardana, NYC Civic Corps Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
    Joanna Laine, NYC Civic Corps Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator