EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Marielena Hincapié, Los Angeles office
Marielena Hincapié is the executive director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the main organization dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low-income immigrants in the U.S. Under her executive leadership, NILC has grown, and has been able to more strategically use a combination of litigation, policy, communications, and alliance-building strategies to effect social change for everyone striving to achieve the American Dream. Ms. Hincapié is highly respected for her legal and political strategies as well as her ability to connect with both Spanish- and English-speaking communities. Seen as a bridge builder within the immigrant rights field as well as across broader social justice sectors, she is committed to supporting community and labor organizing efforts. Ms. Hincapié also is a frequent lecturer at national and international conferences addressing issues of migration, and works closely with emerging leaders in the social justice movement. Ms. Hincapié began her tenure at NILC in 2000 as a staff attorney leading the organization's labor and employment program, and then served as NILC's director of programs from 2004 and 2008. During that time, she successfully litigated law reform and impact litigation cases dealing with the intersection of immigration laws and employment/labor laws. Before joining NILC, Ms. Hincapié worked for the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco's Employment Law Center, where she founded the Center's Immigrant Workers' Rights Project. She holds a juris doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law, served on the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration, and is currently a member of the Jobs with Justice Board of Directors. An immigrant from Medellín, Colombia, Ms. Hincapié is the youngest of 10 children.

Executive Assistant: Claudia Lara

Legal & Policy Team

Sonal Ambegaokar, Health Policy Attorney, Los Angeles office
Ms. Ambegaokar monitors, analyzes and makes recommendations concerning federal, state and local policies affecting low-income immigrants' access to affordable health care. Prior to joining NILC in 2005, she served as supervising attorney of the Health Consumer Center of Los Angeles, a project of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, overseeing a multi-language consumer hotline that provides callers with help on a variety of health-related issues. Prior to her law career, Ms. Ambegaokar worked for several years as a business analyst. She earned her juris doctor degree from the University of California at Davis. Follow Sonal on Twitter: @Sonal_NILC.

Ellen Battistelli, Policy Analyst, Washington, DC, office
Ms. Battistelli works on behalf of the health and wellbeing of immigrant populations. She has more than 25 years of experience in public policy and program development focused on women's and children's health issues. She worked for three members of Congress, then served for six years on the staff of the Civil Service Subcommittee chaired by former Rep. Patricia Schroeder. Prior to joining NILC, Ms. Battistelli was a policy analyst for a number of nonprofit advocacy organizations, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Child Welfare League of America.

Tanya Broder, Senior Staff Attorney, Oakland
Ms. Broder focuses primarily on analyzing the ways in which federal, state, and local governments have been implementing the welfare implementing the welfare and immigration laws passed in 1996. She writes articles and policy analyses, provides technical assistance, co-counsels litigation, and presents trainings to legal and social service providers, legislative staff, and community-based organizations. Before joining NILC in 1996 she worked as a policy analyst for the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights and as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County in Oakland.  Ms. Broder holds a juris doctor from Yale Law School.

Shiu-Ming Cheer, Immigration Attorney, Los Angeles office
Ms. Cheer focuses primarily on providing technical, legal, policy and other forms of support for organizations in Arizona that are fighting state and local immigration enforcement measures. Prior to working at NILC, she held the positions of Soros Justice Fellow and managing attorney at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network’s Los Angeles Detention Project and children’s attorney at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project.  In those roles, she represented detained immigrants facing deportation.  She also was the civil rights coordinator at South Asian Network and a public benefits attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.  She holds a juris doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law.

Adey Fisseha, Policy Attorney/Campaign Coordinator, Washington, DC, office
Ms. Fisseha monitors, analyzes, and makes recommendations regarding federal legislative developments affecting immigrants, particularly in the area of immigration law. Immediately prior to rejoining NILC in the fall of 2008, she was a fellow at Manhattan Legal Services, representing low-income New Yorkers in consumer debt issues.  Before attending law school, she was a NILC policy analyst (2000–05) and, prior to that, a legislative aide to Rep. Howard Berman.  She holds a juris doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Follow Adey on Twitter: @Adey_NILC.

Alvaro M. Huerta, Skadden Fellow, Los Angeles office
Mr. Huerta works to defend and advance the rights of low-income immigrants and their family members through litigation, administrative advocacy, and community education. His fellowship aims to ensure that low-income immigrant families are not wrongly denied access to quality health care as states and municipalities implement federal health care reform. Before joining NILC as a Skadden Fellow in 2011, Mr. Huerta clerked for Judge Harry Pregerson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to law school, Mr. Huerta worked at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, where he directed the organization’s communications, community education, and advocacy strategies on various local, state, and federal immigration issues. Mr. Huerta holds a bachelor of science from Yale College and a juris doctor from Stanford Law School. He is the son and grandson of Mexican immigrants to the United States.

Mai P. Lam. Huynh, Policy Associate, Washington, DC, office
Ms. Huynh, monitors developments in federal appropriations, immigration and public benefits policy.  Prior to joining NILC, she worked at several direct-service organizations, dealing with women's issues and low-income youths.  She also has worked abroad with several NGOs that dealt with victims of human trafficking and domestic violence survivors.  She received her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and is currently working towards her Master in Public Administration at George Washington University. She is an immigrant from Vietnam.

Linton Joaquin, General Counsel, Los Angeles office
Mr. Joaquin became NILC's first general counsel in September 2008 after having served as executive director since 2004.  Prior to that, he was NILC's legal director.  In his 30 years of legal practice, Mr. Joaquin has gained national recognition for his expertise in immigration law and in litigation to preserve and promote immigrants' legal rights.  He has served as lead or principal counsel in numerous class action lawsuits, such as Walters v. Reno, requiring the Immigration and Naturalization Service to comply with due process in charging immigrants with civil document fraud; Orantes-Hernandez v. Meese, prohibiting the INS from coercing a nationwide class of Salvadoran refugees into abandoning their right to seek asylum, and requiring the agency to allow detained class members access to counsel and legal rights materials; and Perez-Funez v. District Director, enjoining the INS from having detained children waive their right to a hearing without first having access to legal advice.  Prior to joining NILC in 1990, Mr. Joaquin served as executive director and director of litigation for the Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) in Los Angeles, and staff attorney for the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO.  He also has taught immigration law on an adjunct basis at the University of Southern California Law School (1997) and Southwestern University School of Law (1991-1996).  Mr. Joaquin holds a juris doctor degree from the University of California (Boalt Hall).

Melissa Keaney, Staff Attorney, Los Angeles office
Ms. Keaney focuses on promoting the rights of low income immigrants through litigation, technical assistance, and administrative advocacy.  Her main work areas focus on immigration enforcement, with particular focus on programs that permit local law enforcement to collaborate in immigration enforcement.  She also serves on the litigation teams challenging anti-immigrant measures in Arizona, Utah, Georgia, South Carolina, and  Alabama. Prior to joining NILC, Ms. Keaney worked for a non-profit in Israel/Palestine.  Ms. Keaney holds a juris doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.

Don Lyster, Director of NILC's Washington, DC, office
Mr. Lyster manages the DC office and provides strategic support to its staff by helping direct their legislative and administrative advocacy. He also helps to develop an overall vision for NILC's policy agenda. Prior to joining NILC, Mr. Lyster was a congressional aide for ten years, serving in various capacities for Sen. Paul Sarbanes, Sen. Edward Kennedy at the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, and Congresswoman Hilda Solis, for whom he was legislative counsel and, later, chief of staff. He also worked at the American Immigration Law Foundation and a government relations consulting firm. Mr. Lyster holds a juris doctor from The Catholic University of America and a bachelor of arts from Loyola University in Maryland. He is the son and grandson of Irish immigrants. Follow Don on Twitter: @Don_NILC.

Sheila Miller, Senior Paralegal, Los Angeles office
Ms. Miller has extensive experience with case management, multidistrict litigation, investigative research, and court liaison at the state and federal levels.  Prior to joining NILC, she worked as a supervising paralegal for a national securities litigation firm in Los Angeles.  She has gained a wide breadth of knowledge in the areas of management while holding positions in several prominent law firms focusing on securities litigation, criminal defense and civil rights, including serving as an office administrator with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.  A certified professional in her field, she is pursuing her master's degree in business management.  She is a Herbert Lehman Scholar and has served as the vice president of the board of Dare2Dream Scholarship Society, LLC.

Tyler Moran, Policy Director, Washington, DC, office
Ms. Moran coordinates the development and implementation of NILC's policy agenda, which is concerned with both federal and state policies that affect immigrants' access to public benefits and health care, immigrants' working conditions and rights as workers, and their rights and responsibilities under immigration law. She is one of the U.S.'s leading experts on how immigration and employment policies impact low-wage immigrant workers. Prior to being appointed policy director, Ms. Moran directed NILC's employment policy work, and she has played a key role in focusing attention on problems inherent in the federal government's electronic employment eligibility verification systems. She also has worked on workforce development issues and on immigrants' access to public benefits and to driver's licenses. Prior to joining NILC in 2002, Ms. Moran was a public policy consultant and the policy director for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition in Boston. Follow Tyler on Twitter: @Tyler_NILC.

Nora A. Preciado, Staff Attorney, Los Angeles office
Ms. Preciado focuses on promoting the rights of low-income immigrants through litigation, technical assistance, and administrative advocacy.  Her main areas of focus include immigration enforcement and workers’ rights issues.  Before joining NILC, Ms. Preciado was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Orange County office of the ACLU of Southern California, where she litigated cases dealing with immigrants' rights issues and conducted extensive community outreach and education.  She then joined the ACLU/SC's Los Angeles office, where she focused on immigration detention litigation and advocacy on conditions of detention.  Ms. Preciado holds a juris doctor degree from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall). Follow Nora on Twitter: @Nora_NILC.

Jenny Rejeske, Health Policy Analyst, Washington, DC, office
Ms. Rejeske advocates for federal, state, and local policies giving low-income immigrants meaningful access to affordable health care. Prior to joining NILC, she directed the health advocacy program at the New York Immigration Coalition, where she organized advocacy campaigns aimed at improving and protecting immigrants’ access to affordable health care and health insurance, working in partnership with community-based organizations, health care providers, legal services and social services agencies and other advocacy groups. Prior to that, she worked at community health centers in New York City and Estes Park, CO. She earned her MS in nonprofit management from Milano the New School for Management and Urban Policy. Follow Jenny on Twitter: @Jenny_NILC.

Emily Tulli, Policy Attorney, Washington, DC, office
Ms. Tulli’s advocacy focuses on maintaining and expanding the rights of low-wage immigrant workers; she monitors and analyzes federal legislative developments affecting immigrants in the workplace.  Prior to joining NILC, Ms. Tulli served as a staff attorney at Change to Win in Washington, DC, and, prior to that, at Legal Services of New Jersey in Bridgeton, NJ.  While at Legal Services, she represented low-wage immigrant clients in a variety of wage and hour cases, including a class action, and participated in a significant amount of farm labor camp outreach and community education.  Ms. Tulli holds a juris doctorate from The College of William and Mary. Follow Emily on Twitter: @Emily_NILC.

Karen Tumlin, Managing Attorney, Los Angeles office
Ms. Tumlin focuses on promoting the rights of low-income immigrants through litigation and administrative advocacy.  Currently she is litigating cases challenging state anti-immigrant ordinances and federal immigration detention policies.  Her practice also includes litigation on due process, detention, and employment issues.  Before joining NILC as a Skadden Fellow in 2005, Ms. Tumlin clerked for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Prior to law school, she worked as a research associate at the Urban Institute, where she coauthored studies on immigration, welfare, and language access issues.  She also spent a year as a Luce Scholar in Bangkok, Thailand, where she conducted a study on child trafficking in the region for the U.N. International Labor Organization.  Ms. Tumlin holds a juris doctor degree and a master of public policy from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall).

Communications & Development

Marisa Aguayo, Development Manager, Los Angeles office
Ms. Aguayo helps implement NILC's fund-raising goals.  This includes developing fund-raising strategies, researching funding prospects and coordinating all development-related communications activities.  Prior to joining NILC in 2004, she worked as a program director for the MultiCultural Collaborative, a social justice organization created after Los Angeles' 1992 civil unrest.  Prior to that, she was a development associate for El Rescate, a legal and social services agency serving immigrants in Los Angeles.

Adela de la Torre, Communications Manager, Los Angeles office
Ms. de la Torre coordinates communication and media outreach efforts for NILC.  She serves as the organization's media contact person and facilitates interview requests.  Prior to joining NILC in 2009, Ms. de la Torre served as a media relations specialist for The George Washington University.  She may be contacted by phone at 213-674-2832 or 213-400-7822.

Acasia Flores, Development Coordinator, Los Angeles office
Ms. Flores is responsible for coordinating the planning and implementation of fundraising events, including the organization’s annual awards dinner.  She supports the organization’s ongoing fundraising and development efforts and maintains the administrative systems of the development department.  Prior to joining NILC, she was the Director of Operations for the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Richard Irwin, Editor, Los Angeles office
Mr. Irwin helps write, edits, designs, and produces the written resources NILC publishes, both online and on paper.  He has edited NILC's newsletter, Immigrants' Rights Update, since 1992.  Prior to joining NILC in 1990, he worked as a development officer for St. Joseph Center in Venice, CA, and in the education department of Los Angeles Catholic Charities' IRCA Legalization Program.  Prior to that, he taught English composition at Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA.

Operations

Alex Casillas, Administration/Human Resources Manager, Los Angeles office
Ms. Casillas is responsible for I/T and HR issues for the National Immigration Law Center. In this capacity, she works to ensure that NILC staff are compliant with HR regulations in states in which NILC operates. In addition, Ms. Casillas uses her advanced technological expertise to ensure the safety and stability of NILC’s technological systems. Before serving at NILC, Ms. Casillas was the operations manager for Design Science, Inc., a worldwide leader in developing, marketing and supporting software for scientific and technical communication. Ms. Casillas holds a PHR certification as well as a BA from California State University, Pomona.

David Hernandez, Office Coordinator/Research Assistant, D.C. office
Mr. Hernandez provides coordinating and administrative support to NILC’s Washington D.C. office. Prior to joining NILC, David worked as a translator, interpreter, and consultant for agencies and individuals in North Carolina. David was born and raised in Mexico City and immigrated to the United States as a child. He holds an International Business Degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he worked extensively to advocate for diversity and immigrants’ rights to higher education.

Jim Komagata, Director of Finance, Los Angeles office
As NILC's director of finance, Mr. Komagata oversees all of NILC's fiscal functions. His areas of responsibilities include managing the accounting department, grant budgeting, and financial reporting.  Prior to joining NILC, he worked for many years in financial management in nonprofit human services organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii, with a degree in business administration.

Claudia Lara, Senior Executive Assistant, Los Angeles office
Ms. Lara provides executive assistant support to NILC's executive director, executive team, and board of directors working out of the Los Angeles office.  Prior to joining NILC in 2011, Ms. Lara served as executive administrative assistant to the Saro Mortgage Co. for 3 years, and as legal administrative assistant with the Bander Law Firm for 1 year before that.  She is working to complete her bachelor degree in political science, and volunteers with the Union Station Homeless Shelter in Pasadena as well as with the Pediatric Heart Transplant at UCLA in Westwood, CA.

Bianca E. Marquez, Administrative Assistant, Los Angeles office
Ms. Marquez provides administrative support to NILC's Los Angeles office.  Prior to joining NILC in 2007, she worked with D.E.I worldwide as a marketing associate, as well as for Los Angeles City College as an assistant graphic designer.  She has an associate in arts degree and is working on a bachelor of fine arts degree.  Ms. Marquez designed the button that participants wore during Immigrant Day 2008 activities in California.

Bobbi Vigel, Staff Accountant, Los Angeles office
Mrs. Vigel is responsible for NILC’s daily financial activities, financial accounts, and grant maintenance. She has worked in the finance field for more than 10 years. Prior to her employment at NILC, Mrs. Vigel worked for a risk control consulting firm in Sacramento, where she managed the daily activities of self insurance groups and joint powers authorities managed by the company. She has worked as staff accountant for the National Immigration Law Center since August 2009.