Feerick Center Leadership and Staff

Jojo Annobil and Mary Ellen Kris serve as the co-chairs of the Feerick Center’s advisory board. The advisory board helps guide program development at the Center. Advisory board members include the following individuals:

• Jojo Annobil – Executive Director, Immigrant Justice Corps
• Jennifer Jones Austin – Chief Executive Officer Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
• Eleanor Brown - Professor of Law, Fordham Law School
• Norrinda Brown - Associate Dean, Fordham Law School
• Bradley J. Butwin – Partner and Chair, O'Melveny & Myers LLP 
• Honorable Denny Chin – United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 
• Jennifer Ching – Executive Director, North Star Fund
• Denis F. Cronin – President, Royalnest Corp.; Former President, Fordham Law Alumni Association
• Kevin J. Curnin – Retired Partner and Public Service Director, Stroock
• 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 –  Retired Senior Vice President, Covenant House 
• Seymour James – Partner, Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea & LoTurco, LLP; Former President, New York State Bar Association
• Constantine N. Katsoris – Wilkinson Professor of Law, Fordham Law School
• Mary Ellen L. Kris – Consultant, United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries
• Maura Kathleen Monaghan – Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
• Carlos G. Ortiz – Vice President and General Counsel, Goya Foods, Inc.
• Timothy G. Reynolds – Retired Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates
• James P. Sauter - Partner, O’Neill, DiManno & Kelly
• Thomas J. Schwarz – Interim President, Drew University
• Robert C. Sheehan – Retired Partner, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates
• Michael K. Stanton, Jr. – Partner, Ferguson Cohen LLP; Former President, Fordham Law Alumni Association
• Irene A. Sullivan – Retired Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates
• Susan E. Welber – Staff Attorney, The Legal Aid Society

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.

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, the Faculty Director of the Feerick Center, has been a professor at the Law School for over 25 years. She currently teaches the Legislative and Policy Advocacy Clinic, and previously has taught litigation/civil rights clinics, the Center’s Social Justice Clinic, Institutional Reform Through the Courts (with Professor Feerick), among other offerings. Her scholarship addresses issues of dignity and autonomy in numerous contexts including bioethics (particularly HIV/AIDS policies), the rights of LGBTQ individuals (especially marriage equality), and the importance of ensuring that BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women students and attorneys do not have to conform their appearances (e.g., clothing, shoes, hairstyles) to dominant culture expectations in the workplace. She also has written about aspects of clinical teaching pedagogy.

Before coming to Fordham, Liz taught briefly at Brooklyn Law School and was an adjunct law professor at Rutgers Law School (Newark). She was a Gibbons Fellow in Public Interest and Constitutional Law at the Newark, NJ law firm of Gibbons, P.C. (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, 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 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Emerson Argueta was born in El Salvador, emigrated to the United States with his family in the early 1990s, and settled on Long Island. Emerson’s experience working in immigration started in his first year at Fordham University School of Law when he volunteered with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project. He continued advocating for immigrants through multiple service trips to the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, and internships with the Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) and Human Rights First.

After graduating Fordham Law in 2018, Emerson was selected for the Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC) Justice Fellowship, placed with IJC's Adults with Children project where he represented vulnerable women and children living on Long Island facing removal to countries where they fear gang and domestic violence. He continued serving the Long Island immigrant community as a supervising attorney for CARECEN's Removal Defense team, mentoring IJC fellows and recent law graduates in removal defense. Emerson joined the staff of the Feerick Center for Social Justice as Associate Director in August 2023. Emerson earned his BA degree from Columbia University.

Email: eargueta[email protected]

Kevin J. Curnin, Fordham Law School '95, is consulting with the Feerick Center for Social Justice in the design of a new national advocacy training institute grounded in movement lawyering, anti-racist, and community organizing principles and actions, with the goal of training and supporting community-based advocates from different backgrounds and experiences who are interested in advancing transformative social change. Kevin brings to this role a wealth of prior experience, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of a small university and prior to that almost 25 years at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where he was a partner and the founding director of the Public Service Project, a pioneering and award-winning pro bono program known for innovative, collaborative approaches to community economic development, disaster legal relief, and in-court access to justice models. Kevin is a recipient of the Law School's Louis J. Leftkowitz Public Service Award (2002) and the Center's Champion of Justice Award (2013) as well as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Social Justice Award from Dartmouth College (2017).

Email:  [email protected] 

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. 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 former Fordham Law School dean, Professor John D. Feerick. Dora also served as a law clerk to the late-Honorable Milton Pollack (1996-97) and 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 Jacob M. Kaplan Fellow and received a Master of Science in Urban Policy (1993).

In 2009, Dora was honored by The New York County Lawyers 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 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Terra Firma.

Email: [email protected] | Tel. 212-636-7747 | Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

Johanna Ocaña is the Senior Coordinating Attorney of Pro Bono Initiatives at the Feerick Center. Johanna comes to the Feerick Center from Bronx Legal Services, where she represented tenants and tenant associations organizing to better their living conditions and enforce their tenant and Fair Housing rights. Prior to law school, Johanna worked as a paralegal at the New York Legal Assistance Group focused on eviction defense and public benefits advocacy. Additionally, she organized with workers and tenants at the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops on campaigns against wage theft in New York and displacement and gentrification in the Lower East Side of New York City. Johanna received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University and her law degree from CUNY School of Law.

Email: [email protected]

Crystal Reyes serves as a paralegal for the Feerick Center’s CLARO program. She is a New York native and is passionate about increasing language access and creating pathways to justice for her community. Prior to joining the CLARO team, Crystal worked at a Fair Housing non-profit, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and a private immigration law firm. Crystal received her B.A. from Denison University where she double majored in Black Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Email: [email protected]

Clementine Schillings, Senior Project Researcher and 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: [email protected] | Tel. 646-346-5169 | Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

2019-2020
Ellen McCormick, Class of 2019

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

2024-2025 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

Alex Alexakos 

2024-2025 AmeriCorps VISTA Member & CLARO Coordinator

Alex Alexakos is a NYC Consumer Advocacy Project Coordinator at the Feerick Center for Social Justice. He graduated from New York University with a B.A in Philosophy and Hellenic Studies. A New York City native, he aims to support the Center’s work towards economic justice. Alex plans to attend law school following his year of service as he aspires to continue to support marginalized and underserved groups within a legal context.


Khadija Bangura

2024-2025 AmeriCorps, Consumer Assistance Project Coordinator

Khadija Bangura is a NYC Consumer Advocacy Project Coordinator at the Feerick Center for
Social Justice. She is the child of Sierra Leonean immigrants and was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She graduated with degrees in political science and economics from a small women's institution called Salem College located in Winston-Salem, NC. After graduating from college, Khadija joined Teach for America and began her career as English and social studies teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. She is excited to take on this role and contribute to expanding access to legal services throughout NYC. Following her year with CLARO, Khadija hopes to continue her education by attending law school. Khadija enjoys reading, exploring her community by foot, and international travel in her free time.

Robert (Wes) Mahony 

2024-2025 AmeriCorps VISTA Member & AEP Coordinator

Robert (Wes) Mahony is a 2024-2025 Greater NYC Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator at Fordham Law School's Feerick Center for Social Justice. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in Philosophy and English Literature. Wes has prior legal experience in nonprofit criminal defense, at Lawndale Christian Legal Center, and in corporate litigation, at White & Case. He is passionate about expanding access to legal resources for underserved and marginalized communities. He plans to attend law school after his service and subsequently pursue a career in public interest law.


Renée Sanacora 
2024-2025 AmeriCorps VISTA Member & Immigrant Justice Project Coordinator

Renée Sanacora is the 2024-2025 Immigrant Justice Project Coordinator. She is originally from Guilford, Connecticut, and recently graduated from Yale College with a B.A. in Global Affairs. During college, Renée spent a semester abroad in South Africa working at a community outreach NGO, led communication and consent workshops for other undergraduate students, and worked as an intern with the Yale Economic Growth Center’s communications team. She is passionate about pursuing a career in international human rights and peace building, and following her year of AmeriCorps service Renée plans to continue her education in the field of international affairs.


Kaitlyn Schauer 
2024-2025 AmeriCorps VISTA Leader

Kaitlyn Schauer is the VISTA Leader for the 2024-2025 VISTA Cohort at the Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice. She is originally from Eugene, Oregon, where she graduated the University of Oregon with a B.A. in General Social Sciences with a focus in Law, Crime, and Society, as well as a minor in Legal Studies. Prior to joining the Feerick Center’s team, she worked at the “I Have A Dream” Foundation’s national office as their Development and Marketing Coordinator during her first year as an AmeriCorps VISTA. During her time there, she helped to build their capacity to serve even more underserved children in the education system. During her year at the Feerick Center, Kaitlyn hopes to gain further understanding of the legal system while supporting the current cohort of VISTAs in having a successful year of service.


Olivia Tafs 

2024-2025 AmeriCorps VISTA Member & AEP Coordinator

Olivia Tafs is a 2024-25 Americorps VISTA working on the Attorney Emeritus Program at Fordham Law's Feerick Center for Social Justice. She is a recent Fordham graduate with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish Language and Literature. She has previous experience as a nonprofit program coordinator with Anchorage Youth Vote and working with the Alaska Public Defender Agency. She is excited about the opportunity to help make legal aid accessible to all New Yorkers in pursuit of a more equitable justice system. Following her term with Americorps, Olivia is attending NYU Law and plans to pursue a career in indigent defense.

2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

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.

2023-2024 AmeriCorps VISTA Members

Monique Boamah, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
Princess Dang, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator
Liz McMillan, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, CLARO Coordinator
Mitchell Taylor, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, CLARO Coordinator
Spencer Wang, AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Attorney Emeritus Program Coordinator

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

On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Center, we note with gratitude that thanks to a historic gift to the Feerick Center by the New York Women's Bar Association (NYWBA) Foundation, from 2010 to 2016, an extraordinary group of Fordham Law School women students served as NYWBA Foundation Fellows and provided instrumental support to the Center's work.

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