DC Prisoners’ Legal Services Project Staff

Philip Fornaci, Executive Director
Philip_Fornaci@washlaw.org

Philip Fornaci joined DC Prisoners Legal Services Project (DCPLSP) as Executive Director in August 2003, after serving for nearly five years as Executive Director of the Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC), the federally-designated protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities. In addition to primary management and fundraising responsibilities, Mr. Fornaci manages DCPLSP’s public policy work and pro bono efforts with area law firms. A 1991 graduate of the George Washington University School of Law, Mr. Fornaci worked with DCPLSP as a law clerk in its early years, focusing on correctional policies affecting HIV-positive prisoners. After law school, he joined the staff of Whitman-Walker Clinic Legal Services Program, and became its Director in 1994. He served as the Director of Fellowships at the National Association for Public Interest Law before joining MDLC in 1999.


Deb Golden, Staff Attorney:
Deborah_Golden@washlaw.org

Ms. Golden has been with DCPLSP since 2000. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School in 1998, Ms. Golden received the prestigious Skadden Fellowship to serve the civil legal needs of domestic violence survivors in Appalachian Kentucky. At the conclusion of her fellowship, Ms. Golden moved to DC and joined DCPLSP, where she has taken on some of our most important litigation. She has handled cases challenging discrimination against and mistreatment of prisoners with HIV; advocating for reproductive rights of women prisoners held in the D.C. Jail; challenging exorbitant telephone rates for families seeking to remain in contact with incarcerated loved ones; and seeking damages for a woman prisoner sexually assaulted in D.C. jail facilities.


Ivy Lange, Staff Attorney
Ivy_Lange@washlaw.org

Ms. Lange joined DCPLSP’s staff in 2002 as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, after graduating from American University’s Washington College of Law. In her capacity as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, Ms. Lange developed an education series held in DC Halfway houses for people anticipating release and assisted clients with all civil matters that arise as a result of having a criminal record (housing and employment discrimination, child support and custody issues, and public benefits). She also advocated for better resources and services to aid individuals in the process of reintegration into society after incarceration. In September 2004, at the expiration of her fellowship, Ms. Lange became a Staff Attorney with DCPLSP. She works on conditions of incarceration issues for those held in the D.C. Jail and Correctional Treatment Facility and continues to do advocacy and public policy work on issues affecting ex-offenders.