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Executive director
Marielena Hincapié,
Los Angeles office.
Before assuming the
position of executive director in September 2008, Ms. Hincapié served as
NILC's director of programs, managing the organization's employment,
public benefits, and immigration work. Ms. Hincapié specializes in
and has dedicated her legal career to protecting and advancing the
rights of immigrant workers, particularly those who are undocumented.
She has authored numerous publications and policy analyses, provided
strategic assistance and training to thousands of legal and social
service providers, and to labor unions and community-based
organizations. Her work also has focused on using legal tools to
help support community and labor organizing efforts, as well as to help
build and strengthen community coalitions working to improve working
conditions for all low-wage workers. Ms. Hincapié is also a
frequent lecturer at national and international conferences addressing
issues of migration. She has litigated law reform and impact
litigation cases dealing with the intersection of immigration laws and
employment/labor laws, and she specializes in cases following the
Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB decision. Before
joining NILC, she worked for the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco's
Employment Law Center, where she founded the Center's Immigrant Workers'
Rights Project. Ms. Hincapié holds a juris doctor degree from
Northeastern University School of Law. She serves on the American
Bar Association's Commission on Immigration, and on the executive
committee of the National Lawyers Guild's Labor and Employment
Committee. She is the youngest of 10 children, and an immigrant
from Medellín, Colombia.
Legal & Policy Staff
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.
Jonathan Blazer,
Public Benefits Policy Attorney, Philadelphia.
Mr. Blazer's
main focus is on promoting
immigrant access to critical safety-net programs, particularly within state and
local programs. Prior to joining NILC, he was a national coordinator of
Project Voice, the nationwide immigrants' rights organizing initiative of the
American Friends Service Committee. From 1997-2003, he worked as a legal
services attorney in Philadelphia, where he specialized in welfare law and
founded the Language Access Project of Community Legal Services. Mr.
Blazer holds a M.A. in political theory from the University of Toronto, and a
J.D. from Stanford Law School. Mr. Blazer lives and works in Philadelphia.
Tanya Broder,
Public Benefits Policy Director, Oakland.
Ms. Broder focuses primarily on analyzing the ways in which
federal, state, and local governments have been 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.
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.
Joan Friedland,
Immigration
Policy Director, Washington, DC, office.
Ms. Friedland focuses on post-9/11 documentation,
data base, and information-sharing policy issues affecting low-income immigrants. Before joining NILC in 2002, she had a long career as a lawyer for nonprofit
organizations and in private practice in New Mexico and Florida, and has litigated
many civil rights and immigration cases. Ms. Friedland holds a juris doctor
from Harvard Law School.
Mai P. Lam Huynh,
Research Associate, Washington, DC, office.
Ms. Huynh monitors developments in immigration and public benefits
policy and provides administrative support for NILC's DC office. Prior to
joining NILC, she worked at Asian American LEAD as an advocate for immigrant
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.
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,
Loyola Public Interest Fellow, Los Angeles office.
Ms. Keaney's area of emphasis is
the enforcement of
immigration law by state & local authorities.
Vivek Mittal ,
Equal Justice Works Fellow, Los Angeles office.
Mr.
Mittal leads
a project providing technical assistance, documentation, training, and
litigation support with respect to state and local policies that mandate the use
of E-Verify,
the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security's pilot electronic employment eligibility
verification program also known as the Basic Pilot. Prior to joining NILC,
he provided research support to the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso,
TX, and was a researcher for SEIU’s Justice for Janitors Campaign in Houston.
He has also organized extensively with South Asian, Arab, and Muslim immigrant
and worker communities in the San Francisco Bay Area to oppose the federal
government’s National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS),
post-9/11 racial profiling and hate crimes, and the “war on terror.” He
holds a juris doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law, with a specialization
in critical race studies.
Tyler Moran,
Policy
Director, Boise, Idaho.
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.
Tolu Olubunmi,
DREAM Intern, Washington, DC, office.
Tolu Olubunmi joined NILC in December 2008 and focuses on advocating for passage
of the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. She
also is a board member of the United We DREAM Network and manages the media and
communications efforts of that organization. Ms. Olubunmi is a graduate of
Washington and Lee University, with a degree in chemical engineering.
Nora A.
Preciado, Employment Policy Attorney, Los Angeles office.
Ms. Preciado focuses on promoting the rights of low-wage immigrant workers
through litigation, technical assistance, and administrative advocacy.
Before joining NILC, Ms. Preciado was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the ACLU
of Southern California Orange County office, where she litigated cases dealing
with immigrants' rights issues and conducted extensive community outreach and
education. She then joined the ACLU Los Angeles office as an immigration
detention attorney, 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).
Karen Tumlin, Staff 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.
Dinah Wiley, Public Benefits Policy Attorney, Washington, DC,
office.
Ms. Wiley focuses on preserving and broadening immigrants' access to
health care and other critical public benefits and services.
Before rejoining NILC in 2006, she had served since 2000 as senior civil
rights analyst at the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office
for Civil Rights. She was a policy analyst at NILC from 1997 to
2000, specializing in public benefits issues affecting low-income
immigrants and their family members. Prior to that, she was legal
services director at Whitman-Walker Clinic, the largest HIV/AIDS service
organization serving the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
Administrative & OPERATIONS Staff
Marisa Aguayo, Grants 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 Specialist, 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.
Kris
Gangoo, Information Technology Manager, Los Angeles office.
Mr Gangoo's responsibilities include infrastructure planning, network
analysis, network support, and troubleshooting. Prior to joining
NILC in 2009, he worked as a regional IT manager for an international pipeline
services company, overseeing the IT infrastructure for four different
locations. He also worked for many years as an IT consultant and
administrator. He holds several of the industry's leading
certifications.
Bobbi Hord,
Staff Accountant, Los Angeles office.
Richard Irwin,
Editor and Publications Manager, Los Angeles office.
Mr. Irwin edits and helps
design and produce 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.
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.
Scott
Lowther, Director of Administration, Los Angeles office.
As director of administration, Mr. Lowther oversees all human resource
functions, day-to-day operations, information technology functions, strategic
and long-range planning, and special events, as well as providing staff and
supervisor training and coaching. He also participates on NILC’s
development team. Mr. Lowther has worked in human services and nonprofit
environments since 1978. He has held positions as executive director,
deputy executive director, and director of youth and community services; and he
has served as a strategic planning consultant and provided customized training
to a wide variety of organizations. Mr. Lowther co-founded Citizens for
Equal Protection in Omaha, NE, in the mid-1980s and has served as the co-chair
of Partners for the Public’s Health as well as Partners for Healthy
Neighborhoods in Oceanside, CA.
LaFae
McClendon, Human Resources Coordinator, Los Angeles office.
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.
Magdalena
Morales,
'09 Conference/Events Coordinator, Los Angeles office.
Mike Muñoz,
Program Coordinator,
Los Angeles office.
Mr. Muñoz coordinates and monitors NILC's
training activities. Working with the publications manager, he designs
and produces materials intended for print and on-line dissemination, focusing
on the production of community education materials. In addition to assisting
with the maintenance of management information, he provides support to NILC
and CIWC project staff, specifically on issues relating to trainings coordination.
Prior to joining NILC in 1997, he worked as an organizer and field director
for La Colectiva in East Los Angeles, and as an organizer for Service
Employees International Union Local 399 in Los Angeles.
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