Gallogly Family Foundation
Public Interest Law Fellows
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.