Staff & Board

Staff

Adam Martin, Esq. *
Staff Attorney, Immigration Program
(315) 640-4891

Amelia Kohli, Esq.
Debt Program Director
debt@vlpcny.org
(315) 640-4890

Bethanie Hemingway
Director of Community Engagement
volunteers@vlpcny.org
(315) 579-3991

Cheri Blair
Pro Bono Coordinator, Talk-to-a-Lawyer Program 
communityclinics@vlpcny.org
(315) 949-2118

Cindy Mills
Director of Finance & Administration
finance@vlpcny.org
(315) 640-4895

David Bonagurio
Law Clerk/Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow

Fahimeh Zaheri, Esq. *
Immigration Staff Attorney, ONA Legal Counsel of CNY
(315) 907-6606

Grace Sullivan, Esq.
North Country Immigration Attorney

Gregory Johnson, Esq.
Tenant Defense Program Director
housing@vlpcny.org
(315) 907-4303

Jennifer Powell, Esq.
Immigration Staff Attorney, Afghan Legal Services

Katie Miles
Eviction Prevention Program Assistant

Kelsey Williams
Finance Assistant

Kristin Netti
Program Assistant, Civil Legal Programs

Laura Cardoso
Immigration Pro Bono Coordinator

Lizeth Ortega
Immigration Program Manager

Luz Marina Zender
Pro Bono Coordinator, Tenant Defense Program
housing@vlpcny.org
(315) 579-2577

Mallory Livingston, Esq.
Director of LGBTQ Program
lgbt@vlpcny.org
(315) 849-9234

Marisol Estrada Cruz
Law Clerk

Mary C. John, Esq.
Co-Deputy Executive Director & Director of Family Law Program
family@vlpcny.org 
(315) 579-2574

Naomi Godbey, Esq. *
Director of North Country Immigration Program, ONA Legal Counsel North Country
immigration@vlpcny.org 
(315) 956-3033

Pauline Smith
Pro Bono Coordinator/Paralegal of Small Business & Nonprofit Program

Sal F. Curran, Esq.
Executive Director
executivedirector@vlpcny.org
(315) 579-2576

Samantha Aguam, Esq.
Co-Deputy Executive Director & Director of Elder Law Program
elder@vlpcny.org
(315) 579-2579

Sara McDowell, Esq. *
Deputy Executive Director for Immigration Programs
immigration@vlpcny.org
(315) 579-0178

Silvana Vergara
Senior Legal Fellow/Department of Justice Accredited Representative
immigration@vlpcny.org
(315) 949-3817

Sylvia Espinosa de los Monteros, LL.M.
Senior Law Clerk, Tenant Defense Program
housing@vlpcny.org

Tamana Tajik
Immigration Program Assistant, Afghan Legal Services

Tamara Scanes
Intake Manager 
info@vlpcny.org
(315) 471-3409

Tara Dion
Program Assistant

Tara Nelson
Grant Accountant

Zamzam Mohamed
Immigration Program Assistant

*Admitted in the highest court of one of the other US states, practice in New York is limited to federal law

Board of Directors

2024 Officers

• President
  Mary Miner, Hancock Estabrook LLP
• Vice President
  Mary Gasparini, Attorney Grievance Committee, 4th Judicial Department
• Secretary
  Ellen Weinstein, Retired, New York State Courts
• Treasurer
  Amy Wiles, NBT Bank

2024 Board Members

• Jan-Juba Arway, Center for Court Innovation & RISE
• Lori Beirman, Dannible & McKee LLP
• Benjamin Burdick, Burdick Law PLLC
• John Boyd, New York State Courts
• John Callahan, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC
• Andrew Croom, Legal Services of Central New York
• Donald Doerr, Fifth Judicial District, New York State Courts
• Zach Forward, Barclay Damon LLP
• Brittany Hannah, Pillinger Miller Tarallo LLP
• Palmer Harvey, Syracuse Tenants Union 
• Emilee Lawson Hatch, Bousquet Holstein PLLC
• Dafni Kiritsis, Syracuse University College of Law
• ​Hon. George Lowe, Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC
• Simphiwe Maqubela, Special Olympics New York
• Ranette Releford, Citizen Review Board for City of Syracuse
• Kathy Royal, Upstate Medical University
• Cliff Tsan, Past President of Board of Directors, VLPCNY
• Jeffrey Unaitis, Onondaga County Bar Association
• Kara Williams, Allyn Family Foundation
• Kimberly Wolf Price, Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC