top of page

Gallogly Family Foundation

Public Interest Law Fellows

Image by Peng Chen

2023 Fellows

Esther Davila

American University '23
Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.

Esther assists immigrants seeking public benefits by providing educational outreach on the intersection of immigration and public benefits law, screening clients for benefits eligibility, helping with benefits applications, and appealing denied claims.

Niki Iman Saleh

American University '23
National Immigrant Justice Center

Chicago, Illinois

Niki advocates for immigrants who are Limited English Proficient and in detention centers in the Midwest through direct representation and administrative advocacy.

Francesca Lipinsky DeGette

University of Colorado '23
CED Law at The Community Economic Defense Project
Denver, Colorado

Francesca is a housing attorney representing renters in Colorado who are facing housing insecurity.  She helps clients with a variety of housing matters including eviction defense.

Sally Vandenberg

University of Texas '23
Root & Rebound

Greenville, South Carolina

Sally supports low-income families impacted by mass incarceration in South Carolina by providing direct legal services to parents facing legal barriers to reentry, including housing and employment rights, custody and visitation issues, and child support modifications.

2022 Fellows

Megan Cox

American University '22
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia

Megan helps unaccompanied immigrant children who have mental or physical illnesses and disabilities gain access to quality legal services and medical care.  She provides direct representation in immigration matters and community education on the intersection between disability, immigration, and the human right to access health services.

Chloe Kempf

University of Texas '21
ACLU of Texas

Houston, Texas

Chloe seeks to defend and expand the rights of LGBTQ+ students in Texas by challenging discriminatory discipline and over-policing in schools through direct representation, community outreach, and impact litigation.

Melina Leodas-Whelan

University of Colorado '22
Colorado Legal Services
Denver, Colorado

Melina represents survivors of discrimination, trafficking, violence, or persecution on immigration and employment matters.  She serves clients from the Migrant Farm Worker Division and Survivor Services Unit of Colorado Legal Services.  

Carolina Rivera Nelson

University of Texas '22
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)

Washington, D.C.

Carolina advocates for Latino and English-Learner students affected by COVID-19 learning losses and trauma through the use of direct representation, advocacy, and community outreach.

Liam O'Halloran-Veazey

University of Texas '22
Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY)
Bath, New York

Liam focuses on helping low-income residents in rural Western New York gain greater access to mortgages, low-interest credit, and community development investments.  He represents individuals and groups in litigation regarding rent-to-own agreements, substandard housing, and predatory land contracts.

2021 Fellows

Jess Hallam

University of Texas '21
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
New York, New York

Jess advocates for people with mental health disabilities and substance use disorders who face adverse housing and employment action as consequences of their participation in diversion programs.  
 

Kelly Hogue

University of Texas '20
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

San Antonio, Texas

Kelly uses individual representation and community-based strategies to prevent displacement and advocate for affordable housing in San Antonio.  She prioritizes low-income residents facing the loss of their homes due to tax foreclosures, predatory development practices, and code enforcement violations.

Natasha Viteri

University of Colorado '21
Towards Justice

Denver, Colorado

Natasha represents low-wage Latinx workers in Colorado to resolve workplace safety issues and create a healthier and more empowered workforce.
 

Matthew Forstie

University of Colorado '21
Colorado Legal Services

Louisville, Colorado

Matt works to enhance the housing and financial security of low-income residents of Boulder County, Colorado by providing direct representation to clients in eviction defense, collections defense, and public benefits cases.
 

Khatia Mikadze

American University '21
CAIR Coalition

Washington, D.C.

Khatia represents detained immigrants with bond and merits cases.  She focuses on representing clients who are entitled to relief because of recent federal litigation.

2020 Fellows

Sahar Takshi

American University '20
Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE)

Washington, D.C.

Sahar provides direct legal representation to low-income seniors relying on the District of Columbia's Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (EPD) Waiver, which allows Medicaid receipients to age in place.  She also educates pro se litigants and trains pro bono attorneys on the EPD Waiver.    
 

Elena Thompson

University of Texas '20
ACLU of Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Elena focuses on defending students in K-12 public education from discrimination by school administrators on the basis of race, sex, and LGBTQ status through direct representation, integrated advocacy, and impact litigation.

Allison Gordon Wright

University of Texas '20
Equal Justice Center

Austin, Texas

Allison works on immigration and employment law issues for clients living in remote, under-served cities, towns, and rural areas around Texas. 
 

Hannah Yates

American University '20
Blue Ridge Legal Services

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Hannah represents historically under-served rural seniors living in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  She works to improve rural seniors’ access to aging services and prevent elder abuse and neglect.

2019 Fellows

Matthew Acosta

University of Oklahoma '19
Disability Rights Texas

Houston, Texas

Matthew provided legal and education advocacy services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system. He provided assistance with a variety of education-related issues, including the eligibility process for disability-related services at school, truancy, need for improved behavioral supports and/or disability services, denial of enrollment, services for youth who are several grade levels behind, bullying, and homelessness.

Arielle Chapnick

American University '19
CARECEN

Washington, D.C.

Arielle increased CARECEN’s capacity for direct legal representation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, educated local immigrant communities on changes in the TPS and DACA programs, and implemented innovative outreach methods to share information with community members of all ages. 

Marissa Ditkowsky

American University '19
Tzedek DC

Washington, D.C.

Marissa worked at Tzedek DC to provide direct representation, community education, and outreach to assist low-income DC residents with disabilities facing unfair, unjust, and, often, illegal debt collection practices. People with disabilities disproportionately face debt, whether due to the costs of medical care, an inability to work, coercion into predatory contracts, or other hardships or factors. Marissa used her experience as a disabled attorney to inform her work, and to focus on the specific needs and issues her clients face in fighting these inequitable practices.

Taylor Loynd

University of Texas '19
Georgia Legal Services Program

Atlanta, Georgia

Taylor provided wraparound education representation to students in rural Georgia who have behavioral and mental health needs to prevent improper, unnecessary, and unfair referrals to the juvenile justice system.

Dominique Perez-Sangimino

American University '19
Ayuda

Fairfax, Virginia

Dominique provided immigration legal services to domestic violence survivors in Northern Virginia. She represented clients in removal proceedings and before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

2018 Fellows

Kelsey Chapple

University of Texas '16
Bet Tzedek Legal Services

Los Angeles, California

Kelsey represented low-wage, primarily undocumented, female workers experiencing employment-related abuses such as harassment, discrimination, wage theft, and retaliation.

Katherine Conway

American University '18
Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition

Washington, D.C.

Katherine focused her work on representing bond eligible individuals detained in Virginia and Maryland immigration detention centers.  She helped individuals secure release from detention through direct representation, case placement and mentorship, and workshops with detained individuals.

Mackenzie Coplen

University of Oklahoma '18
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma

Olkmulgee, Oklahoma

Mackenzie worked in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Family Violence Prevention Program and represented victims of domestic violence, stalking, dating violence, trafficking, and sexual assault. She primarily assisted clients with protective orders, custody, and divorces. 

Marissa Latta

University of Texas '18
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Austin, Texas

Marissa represented low-income tenants in housing matters.  She focused on representing individuals who have been illegally denied housing because of their criminal background, and she  worked to improve housing access for people with past criminal justice involvement.

2017 Fellows

Rodolfo Castillo Altillo

American University '17
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)

Baltimore, Maryland

Rodolfo represented low-income unaccompanied minors in need of immigration legal services.  He also worked to connect immigrant families to community resources and services by building on existing medical-legal partnership models.

Kristin Donovan

American University '17
Legal Aid Justice Center

Falls Church, Virginia

Kristin provided legal services to low-wage immigrant workers in Northern Virginia's commercial cleaning industry.  Through advocacy and litigation, she helped cleaning workers recover unpaid wages and challenge workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. 

Megan Lambert

University of Oklahoma '17
ACLU of Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Megan practiced constitutional and civil rights law, including impact litigation which seeks to create structural change and advance the law toward a broader realization of human rights and social equity.  Her primary areas of practice included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, due process, equal protection, and criminal justice reform.

Austin Vance

University of Oklahoma '17
Oklahoma Indian Legal Services

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Austin provided representation for Native Americans with civil legal issues impacting them as members of a federally-recognized tribe including cases that invoked the Indian Child Welfare Act and tribal sovereignty issues.

Andrew Wascheck

University of Oklahoma '17
Oklahoma Lawyers for Children

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Andrew advocated for children who are in the custody of the Department of Human Services due to abuse or neglect. He worked to protect the children’s best interests during the duration of their custody.

2016 Fellows

Ge'Andra Johnson

University of Oklahoma '16
Metropolitan Fair Housing Council              Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Ge’Andra investigated complaints of housing discrimination, ensured compliance with state and federal fair housing laws, and litigated fair housing cases.

Corie O'Rourke

University of Oklahoma '16
Ayuda

Falls Church, Virginia

Corie provided direct representation for clients on immigration-related legal issues such as family-based immigration applications, humanitarian-based immigration applications, and removal defense.

Mary Beth Williams

University of Oklahoma '16
Oklahoma Indian Legal Services

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Mary Beth assisted Native Americans with civil legal issues impacting them as members of a federally-recognized tribe such as serving as a guardian ad litem in tribal court as well as drafting and executing wills and powers of attorney.

bottom of page