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About Us

Staff & Leadership

Our staff is comprised of individuals who are the best and brightest in their fields, committed to dismantling injustice and pursuing lasting change.

Our Staff

Kelechi Agbakwuru Housing Justice Counsel
Email

Ayesha Ahsan Equal Justice Works Fellow
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Kaitlin Banner Deputy Legal Director
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Renee Brandon Executive Office Administrator
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Ariel Derby Development Associate
Email

Ryan Downer Legal Director
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Ellie Driscoll Legal Fellow
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Tanya Edelin Chief Operating Officer
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Nadya Harrison Housing Justice Advocate/Investigator
Email

Joanne Lin Executive Director
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Stacey M. Litner Parole Program and Advocacy Lead
Email

Mirela Missova Senior Counsel
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Melissa Nussbaum Development Director
Email

Marja Plater John E. Nolan Youth Justice Senior Counsel
Email

Caitlin Russi Housing Justice Counsel
Email

Chelsea Sullivan Associate Counsel
Email

Dee Um Legal Fellow
Email

Joanna Wasik Deputy Legal Director for Economic Justice
Email

+ Not yet admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia, but admitted to practice law in another jurisdiction. Practicing law in the District of Columbia under the supervision of Washington Lawyers’ Committee attorneys barred in the District of Columbia pursuant to D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 49(c)(9)(B).
++ Not yet admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia, but admitted to practice law in another jurisdiction. Practice limited to federal court matters.
+++ Not admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and not engaged in the practice of law.

Our Leadership

Officers

Joseph Davis, Co-Chair
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Avis Buchanan, Co-Chair

Brian D. Schneider, Treasurer
ArentFox Schiff LLP

Joanne Lin
Executive Director (ex officio)

Board Members

John A. Freedman Arnold & Porter LLP
John C. Keeney, Jr. Association of Zoos and Aquariums
J. David Folds Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C.
Elizabeth B. McCallum Baker & Hostetler LLP
Roscoe C. Howard Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Kevin Metz Center for American Progress
Nowell Bamberger Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Joseph M. Sellers Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Stacey Grigsby Covington & Burling LLP
George D. Ruttinger Crowell & Moring LLP
Gooch Patnaik Desmarais LLP
George Breen Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Gail L. Westover Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
Maureen D. Hardwick Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Daniel A. Tishman Fish & Richardson P.C.
Joseph D. Edmondson, Jr. Foley & Lardner LLP
Emily P. Grim Gilbert LLP
Jaime A. Santos Goodwin Procter LLP
Barry J. Pollack Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler LLP
Matthew S. Hellman Jenner & Block LLP
Nathaniel G. Ward Jones Day
Thomas G. Allen Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Jennifer G. Levy Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Jonathan Su Latham & Watkins LLP
Joshua A. Levy Levy Firestone Muse LLP
Alex C. Lakatos Mayer Brown LLP
Omar Vincent Melehy Melehy & Associates LLC
William P. Barry Miller & Chevalier Chartered
Douglas W. Baruch Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Jay Williams Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Susan E. Huhta Outten & Golden LLP
Jamie S. Gardner Paul Hastings LLP
Jeannie S. Rhee Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Justin Alex Proskauer Rose LLP
Rebecca Rizzo Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
John P. Relman Relman Colfax PLLC
Leon Rodriguez Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Steven P. Hollman Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Mark P. Guerrera Sidley Austin LLP
Stephen J. Harburg Retired Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Partner
Tara L. Reinhart Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Julia M. Jordan Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Patrick McGlone Ullico Inc.
Emilio W Cividanes Venable LLP
Theodore A. Howard Wiley Rein LLP
Beth Wilkinson Wilkinson Stekloff
Brenda Lee Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
Liat Rome Williams & Connolly LLP
Amandeep S. Sidhu Winston & Strawn
Chantale Fiebig Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Dwight P. Bostwick Zuckerman Spaeder
Judith Winston

 

Ashley N. Tomillo ArentFox Schiff LLP
Emily B. Lewis ArentFox Schiff LLP
Laurel LaMontagne Chanock ArentFox Schiff LLP
Mario A. Torrico ArentFox Schiff LLP
Megan E. Daily ArentFox Schiff LLP
Shoshana Golden ArentFox Schiff LLP
Erin Steele Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Mary Marston Crowell & Moring LLP
Catherine H. Betts Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
James W. Cowan Fish & Richardson P.C.
Kareem W. Ramadan Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Brandon Levey Gilbert LLP
Sarah A. Sraders Gilbert LLP
Olamide S. Orebamjo Jones Day
Maria I. Pradilla Picas Jones Day
Christopher J. Rydberg Latham & Watkins LLP
Juliana M. Andonian Levy Firestone Muse LLP
Sandeep A. Prasanna Miller & Chevalier
Jackson Hagen Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Ron Williams Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Diogo Metz Paul Hastings LLP
Michelle Liu Paul Hastings LLP
Leighton Watson Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Sean Lee Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Paulina Olivares Sidley Austin LLP
Jasmine V. Martinez Venable LLP
Nya Gavin Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Sydnei Jones Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Tania Martinez Wilkinson Stekloff
J. Tyler Knoblett Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Gannam E. Rifkah Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

The Corporate Advisory Board (CAB) has been in existence since 2010 and was created to offer the business community the opportunity to participate with the Committee in accomplishing our mission of addressing issues of discrimination and poverty in our community.

The CAB companies offer business perspectives and advice on Committee matters; work with Committee lawyers and co-counsel to provide legal services and support on Committee cases; serve as partners with the Committee’s Education Project in the DC public schools; and attend Committee events throughout the year while establishing closer ties with our many supporting law firms.

The Committee is pleased to thank and recognize our CAB Members:

Members:

BDO, Anthony M. Lendez

BDO, Nidhi Rao

Savills, Richard Rome

Members of the WLC’s Board of Directors provide leadership in building relationships with the legal business community to increase support for the Committee. CAB membership is for a 12-month period from the month your membership begins.

Corporate Outreach Committee:

The Board’s Corporate Outreach Committee is chaired by Jennifer G. Levy of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

For more information about the Corporate Advisory Board, please contact Melissa Nussbaum.

MATCH EXTENDED: Double your impact for justice and equity!

For a limited time, our Board of Directors will match all donations, one-to-one, up to a campaign total of $91,200. Your gift will have two times the impact, supporting our work advancing justice and equity work.

Give now, and your tax-deductible gift will be matched. Every donor, every dollar counts. This offer expires on Dec. 31, so don't miss this incredible opportunity.

DONATE NOW