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Andrew Mickler
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Shaundi Best
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Thereza Osias
Thereza represents low-income facing eviction in housing court. Prior to joining NYLAG, Thereza worked at the Legal Aid Society in the Housing Help Program. She clerked for the Honorable Hiram Puig-Lugo at the Superior Court for the District of Columbia prior to joining the Legal Aid Society. Thereza obtained her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and her B.A. magna cum laude from Cornell University.
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Jodi Ziesemer
Jodi leads the large team of innovative and passionate immigration advocates that is NYLAG’s Immigrant Protection Unit. In addition to overseeing staff, she works with senior management to establish and implement a strategic vision for the unit, undertakes the management and reporting on grants and deliverables, and develops effective programs to meet client needs. Prior to joining NYLAG, Jodi was a Supervising Attorney at Catholic Charities’ Unaccompanied Minors Program. She has worked for the past fifteen years advocating for a wide variety of immigrants with Immigration Court, USCIS, and federal court. Jodi was also an adjunct professor at St. John’s University.
Jodi has a J.D. from New York Law School, a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Bachelor’s Degree from Grinnell College.
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Savannah May
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Layla Malamut
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Daniel Espo
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Melissa Chua
Melissa provides legal and programmatic guidance to the Immigrant Protection Unit’s team in all areas of the unit’s wide-ranging practice. She began her career at NYLAG in 2008, serving for over seven years as a Staff Attorney and Supervising Attorney in IPU. In those roles, Melissa worked on a wide range of immigration matters, including removal defense, asylum, and relief for survivors of violence. During that period, Melissa also worked NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit in filing federal challenges in immigration cases, including Tsamcho v. Napolitano, and served on Judge Katzmann’s New York Immigrant Representation Study Group, contributing to the Group’s 2011 report, Accessing Justice: The Availability and Adequacy of Counsel in Removal Proceedings. In 2015, Melissa joined the International Rescue Committee as the Director of Immigration, where she was responsible for developing agency-wide policies and practices on immigration and supervising the oversight of immigration field staff in the IRC’s 24 field offices. Melissa later served as an Adjunct Professor at Cardozo Law School, where she taught the course on Immigration Law. Melissa rejoined NYLAG in 2019.
Following law school, Melissa spent three years as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, handling a range of complex commercial litigation and pro bono matters, including detained and non-detained asylum cases. Melissa received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she also received a certificate in Refugee and Immigration Law, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Colgate University.
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Diana Giler
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Dora Mendez
Dora Mendez is Director of Human Resources responsible for strategic human resource planning to provide NYLAG with the best, diverse talent available and to position it as an employer of choice within the non-profit sector.
Before joining NYLAG, Dora served as Human Resources Director at The Bridge, Inc. where she led the HR integration of affiliate organization Weston United Community Renewal, Inc. She also served as Director of Training, Workforce Planning and Development at Win (formerly Women in Need).
Dora’s career in public service also includes working as an investigator of employment and housing discrimination complaints for the NY State Division of Human Rights and at HELP USA’s Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC). During her tenure at HELP’s FHJC, she supported the development and facilitation a unique training program on fair housing rights for survivors of domestic violence.
Prior to which, she served as Director of the District Office for former NYC Councilmember Gale A. Brewer and as a Paralegal Specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of NY under the outstanding scholar program.
Dora earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration at the City University of NY- John Jay College of Criminal Justice; where she is now an Adjunct Professor. She is a lifelong New Yorker and currently resides in Harlem with her husband, Dylan Rogers, and their two children.
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Anna Arellano
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Jahna Locke
Jahna represents low-income tenants facing eviction proceedings in Queens. Jahna previously worked in NYLAG’s Public Benefits Unit, where she assisted clients with elder justice and elder abuse issues. Jahna received her J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and her B.A. in International Studies and Spanish, from the University of Wyoming.
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Whitney Pasternack
Whitney assists clients in all aspects of Housing Court proceedings, including representing tenants in holdover, nonpayment, and HP cases. Prior to joining NYLAG, Whitney was a public interest fellow in the Housing Law Project at Mobilization for Justice. Whitney received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her B.A. magna cum laude from SUNY Albany.
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Ryan Foley
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Anamaria Segura
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Raphael Ruttenberg
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Gwendolyn Hartstein
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Julie Gilgoff
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Jackeline Rodriguez Rojas
Jackeline is a Staff Attorney with the Immigrant Protection Unit. She works on the NYCitizenship program, rotating between the Queens library locations. Prior to joining NYLAG, Jackeline was a staff attorney at Catholic Charities’ Unaccompanied Minors Program where she represented minors before USCIS, Family, and Immigration Court. She received her J.D. from Andres Bello Catholic University and a Master of Laws from Fordham University.
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Sarah Chappell
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