Team

As Executive Director, Monique brings years of experience to lead Centro Legal into the next chapter of its storied history. Monique has already dedicated several years of service to Centro Legal and is committed to Centro Legal‘s mission and vision. Monique previously served as Interim Co-Executive Director and Directing Attorney of the Tenants’ Rights Practice, leading a dedicated team of attorneys and advocates working to prevent evictions of low-income tenants in the East Bay Monique has represented low-income tenants in the East Bay for ten years. Monique worked as a housing staff attorney with Bay Area Legal Aid where her practice focused on eviction defense in the context of subsidized housing and representation of tenants in fair housing matters. Prior to that, Monique spent five years as the managing attorney of the Eviction Defense Center in Oakland. While at the Eviction Defense Center, Monique litigated over a thousand cases on behalf of low-income tenants facing eviction from their homes in Alameda County and parts of Contra Costa County. While at the Eviction Defense Center, Monique gained extensive experience in unlawful detainer jury trials. Monique holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). While in law school, Monique was the recipient of the Hon. Cruz Reynoso Social Justice Fellowship. She also served as co-chair of the La Raza Law Students’ Association. A first-generation college student, Monique holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California State University, Hayward. Monique is from Hayward, CA. Monique is a member of the East Bay La Raza Lawyer’s Association and the Alameda County Bar Association. She serves on the Alameda County Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Nomination Committee.

Maciel has worked in the immigration legal services field for over 20 years, having worked at private immigration law firms, serving as Director of Legal Services at Catholic Charities of the East Bay, Managing Director of the Immigrants’ Rights team at Centro Legal de la Raza before moving to Native American Health Center as their Director of External Affairs.  She was also instrumental in the creation and growth of Stand Together Contra Costa, the first rapid response network for Contra Costa County.  She has led hundreds of free community events where immigrant communities were provided with free legal application assistance, legal screenings, Know Your Rights information, family preparedness, and immigration policy updates. Maciel was born in Oakland and raised in Fruitvale.  She has focused her career on investing in and advocating for community empowerment and facilitating opportunities for immigrant and underrepresented communities. She has worked with the Native American community in Oakland, as she is half Yaqui. She has volunteered and fundraised for Big Brothers Big Sisters, San Francisco Food Bank, and the East Oakland Boxing Association. Maciel was also a member of the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno from 1996 – 2017 where she taught dance and also toured Mexico with the professional company.  Maciel currently serves as the Board Chair for the East Oakland Boxing Association which is a youth development wellness organization dedicated to empowering underserved youth in East Oakland.  She holds a BA in Political Science with a concentration in Public Affairs & Administration from Cal State East Bay.

As Litigation Director for Centro Legal, Jesse supervises our individual, impact, and class action lawsuits in state and federal court, to protect the rights of low-income and immigrant workers, tenants, and other clients and communities and improve conditions more broadly. Jesse first worked at Centro as a Skadden fellow, teaching an introductory law class and running a site-based legal clinic at Melrose Leadership Academy, a public junior high school in East Oakland. Since then, Jesse has been Centro Legal’s Interim Legal Services Director and Executive Director, and has practiced law in the areas of workers’ rights, tenants’ rights, immigration, and consumer protection. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Jesse completed both federal district and appellate court clerkships on the Ninth Circuit, for Judges Dean D. Pregerson and Richard A. Paez. Jesse also worked as a Neighborhood Law Attorney for the City of Oakland, bringing lawsuits on behalf of tenants living in substandard housing and immigrant victims of fraud. Jesse’s commitment to the rights of low-income and immigrant communities stems from his work before law school as a teacher, social worker, and factory worker in Oakland and Fremont, California, and his hometown of Tucson, Arizona.

Sam joined the Tenants’ Rights Practice at Centro in 2020. She has represented tenants living with low incomes in housing and eviction defense cases since graduating from law school in 2014. At Centro, she maintains a caseload of unlawful detainer, rent board, and subsidized housing cases. Prior to joining Centro, Sam was a supervising attorney on the housing team at Bread for the City, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. Sam received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and received her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She is from Covina, CA.

Jesus “Chuche” Chavez, joined Centro Legal on March 2020 as the Communications Manager. Today he is Interim Director of Development, supporting Centro Legal’s fundraising and communication strategies with the Executive Director. Jesus enjoys interviewing our clients and getting to know them personally because it helps build community trust. Previously, he worked at Civicorps in West Oakland, and prior to moving to Oakland, he worked for several LGBTQ organizations in Washington DC. He hails from the agricultural lands of Visalia, CA in the Central Valley and graduated from UC Berkeley (Class of 2013). During his free time, Jesus enjoys watching RuPauls’ Dragrace, playing board games, hiking and going for runs around Lake Merritt.

As a member of the Workers’ Rights Program, Veronica focuses on wage and hour cases involving wage theft, employee misclassification, and unlawful withholdings, among other issues. She assists workers in recovering unpaid wages, meal and rest break pay, other related damages and penalties, and has successfully negotiated numerous wage and hour cases. Veronica also works on cases concerning employment harassment and discrimination (race, national origin, age, and sex discrimination claims). While in law school, Veronica volunteered at Tenants Together and served as a law clerk at the East Bay Community Law Center doing civil eviction defense proceedings. As a certified law student with the UC Hastings Civil Justice Clinic, Veronica represented one of her clients at his superior court trial. Veronica later joined the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center’s Wage Protection Program where she represented low-wage workers at various hearings and also counseled clients at the Wage Claim Clinic and Workers’ Rights Clinic. Veronica has some immigration experience from her work as paralegal for Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP and as a volunteer translator for the Lawyers’ Committee Pro Bono Asylum Program. Veronica obtained her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. Veronica is passionate about social justice and is committed to empowering low-income, marginalized communities. She also has a special interest in animal rights.

As a Sr. Intake Coordinator at Centro Legal de La Raza, Jacob coordinates with all departments and staff  to assist call-in and email clients and to receive individuals and families coming in for appointments and walk-ins. Jacob is also part of the Wellness Committee for Centro Legal.  Prior to joining Centro Legal, Jacob was a volunteer as a Medical Assistant at which he provided medical screenings and medical exams to patients in the Bay Area. While working with the Street Level Health Project, an organization that honors the historical contributions of immigrant communities to create an inclusive society, Jacob was instilled with the value of safety net services, especially for the uninsured recently-arrived immigrant communities. Jacob’s passion for working with the migrant community stems from his own experiences as the son and grandson of Mexican immigrants. He studied at Unitek College, where he trained and recognized as a certified Medical Assistant.

Diley is one of the welcoming faces at Centro Legal when clients arrive. She listens to clients and provides information about our clinics, referrals with other nonprofit organizations and private attorneys. Previously, Diley also previously worked as a Legal Assistant in immigration cases in Oakland, California. She has significant experience as an attorney in her home country. Diley was motivated her to complete her Paralegal Studies certification at San Francisco State University in order to provide better services to our community. Diley originates from Cuba. She immigrated to Mexico 13 years ago and eventually moved to the United States. Her passion is to help people with any issue due to her own experience as immigrant. Diley is always willing to help clients and staff towards peace and justice.

Jesus “Chuche” Chavez, joined Centro Legal on March 2020 as the Communications Manager. Today he is Interim Director of Development, supporting Centro Legal’s fundraising and communication strategies with the Executive Director. Jesus enjoys interviewing our clients and getting to know them personally because it helps build community trust. Previously, he worked at Civicorps in West Oakland, and prior to moving to Oakland, he worked for several LGBTQ organizations in Washington DC. He hails from the agricultural lands of Visalia, CA in the Central Valley and graduated from UC Berkeley (Class of 2013). During his free time, Jesus enjoys watching RuPauls’ Dragrace, playing board games, hiking and going for runs around Lake Merritt.

Jimmy was raised in Lancaster, CA the high desert of Antelope Valley. They relocated to the Bay Area in order to pursue a degree in Environmental Science at San Francisco State University. Jimmy comes to Centro Legal de La Raza with a background in finance operations and plans to leverage their experience to help fulfill Centro Legal’s mission. In their free time; Jimmy is an avid runner, loves painting and creating special effects makeup looks.

Jennifer has worked at Centro Legal since 2010. She has over ten years of experience working in nonprofit administration and an extensive background in fundraising. In her role as finance manager, Jennifer provides support to Centro Legal’s programs and staff and helps to ensure Centro Legal is a thriving organization. Prior to joining Centro Legal, Jennifer worked at the Unity Council on community and economic development projects in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, including environmental education and supporting small businesses and the day labor community. As a part of a volunteer collective, Jennifer led educational events and raised funds to provide legal support for families impacted by the femicides in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Jennifer has engaged in anti-racist training and is committed to being an ally working in solidarity with communities of color. Jennifer is honored to be able to support Centro Legal’s legacy and vision of equity and justice. Jennifer holds a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Julie is a member of Centro Legal’s Pro Bono Team, supervising pro bono clinics and representing families and unaccompanied children seeking asylum and other forms of relief from deportation before the Immigration Court and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. Prior to coming to Centro Legal, Julie was a supervising attorney at the Immigration Center for Women and Children, representing immigrant victims of crime in affirmative petitions. Julie graduated from NYU School of Law and became a staff attorney, then supervising attorney, at the Brooklyn Family Defense Project, with the goal of keeping families together and protecting clients’ fundamental rights. In that capacity, she acted as assigned counsel to indigent parents at risk of losing their children to foster care in Brooklyn family court. Julie moved to California and following the presidential election, she was compelled to focus her legal practice on advocating for immigrants. Julie is proud to represent and work alongside immigrants as part of Centro Legal’s immigration practice.

Abby’s work at Centro consists primarily of defending children and families who are at risk of deportation while seeking asylum and other humanitarian relief before the Immigration Courts and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prior to joining Centro, Abby worked at a small immigration law firm on a wide range of removal defense and family-based cases, as well as appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals and Ninth Circuit and litigation in federal district court against the Department of Homeland Security. Before entering the field of immigration law, Abby authored a manual for the New Mexico Public Defender’s Office advising the criminal defense counsel on how to best avoid harsh immigration consequences for their noncitizen clients. While at the New Mexico Attorney General’s office, she litigated against businesses that committed fraud against immigrants and other vulnerable populations. After graduating from U.C. Hastings with a concentration in Public Interest Law, Abby clerked for U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez of the District of New Mexico. Abby’s article published in the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal argues for a more humane approach to immigration law enforcement. At Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ asylum project she volunteers as a mentor attorney for pro bono attorneys handling asylum cases. Abby is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.

Lynsay is an Immigration Interim Supervising Attorney in Centro Legal’s Youth Project, where she works with youth seeking asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and other forms of immigration relief. Prior to joining Centro Legal, Lynsay was a university teacher, researcher, and administrator focused on human rights and modern Latin American history. Most recently, she taught an undergraduate course on the history of refugee law and policy. She served as Executive Director of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Program and Associate Director of an interdisciplinary social science research institute. She has been a volunteer lawyer with the East Bay Community Law Center’s Immigration Program and Dilley Pro Bono Project. Lynsay also worked previously as a human rights attorney at a California nonprofit focused on California women’s prisons, and she was a California Women’s Foundation Women’s Policy Institute fellow. Lynsay holds a B.A. in History from Harvard University, a J.D. and Ph.D from UC Berkeley, and an M.A. from the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

As a Senior Paralegal at Centro Legal, Patricia works closely with clients who have been victims of crime in the U.S. Patricia also provides assistance to attorneys by supporting mental health evaluations that would allow the clients to demonstrate that the severity of the past harm (to establish persecution) and to illustrate how being forced to return would affect the clients (to establish other serious harm or future persecution). Patricia is also the Volunteer Interpreter Coordinator providing interpreters to the immigration clinics with partnering San Francisco law firms. Patricia graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Chicano and Chicana studies, Spanish and Labor and Workplace studies. Patricia is an alumni of the Youth Law Academy at Centro Legal.

As a Senior Paralegal for the Immigrant Rights Youth Team at Centro Legal, Silvia works primarily with unaccompanied children seeking special immigrant juvenile status, asylum and other forms of relief from deportation before the Immigration Court and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. At Centro’s Youth Project, she works with unaccompanied minors seeking special immigrant juvenile status, asylum, and other forms of immigration relief in their removal defense cases before the Immigration Court and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Silvia also served as a legal assistant in the Tenants’ Rights Program. Prior to joining Centro Legal, Silvia has significant experience at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, first as an administrative assistant to the attorney staff, and later as the sole paralegal in the Asylum Program, working with families, unaccompanied minors, and individuals seeking asylum. Her responsibilities included screening clients for asylum eligibility, translation of client documents, chaperoning clients to Immigration Court, filing at Immigration Court, and assisting in placing cases with pro bono attorneys.  Silvia’s commitment to protecting immigrant communities and rights stems from her own experience as an immigrant from Mexico City. She is a certified bilingual administrative assistant and has participated in a multitude of trainings to increase her knowledge and capacity to serve Centro’s clients.

As a Sr. Program Intake Administrator, Genesis communicates and guides individuals towards the services Centro and other organizations provide. Prior to Joining Centro Legal, Genesis interned with Project Connect – a recruitment and retention center, where she served as a mentor, role model and activist for low-income, undocumented college and high school students. Genesis has always been invested in serving her community. She holds a B.A. in Consumer and Family Studies from San Francisco State University. Through her personal and undergraduate experience Genesis has learned the importance of serving individuals to gain access to resources and improve their lives.

As a Staff Attorney at Centro Legal, Omar primarily works with detained individuals who are in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. Prior to joining Centro Legal,  Omar gained experienced in working with clients seeking a range of immigration relief including asylum, u-visas, t-visas, and deferred action for childhood arrivals at California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Omar supported immigration legal services at The Lawyers’ Committee for Civils Rights of San Francisco where they honored Omar with its Outstanding Community Service Award in recognition for his advocacy for immigrant families. During law school, Omar was a member and research assistant of the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic. and a research assistant for immigration law professors Amagda Perez and Leticia Saucedo. In these roles, Omar advocated for clients before the asylum office, worked on various immigration petitions focusing on family reunification, and helped advance efforts to create a California network of Latino lawyers, professors, and legislators. While attending UC Santa Barbara contributed to a range of local social issues; Omar guided underserved Latino students and families through college and financial aid applications, addressed affordable housing and climate change issues at Public Advocates, and interned at Oakland City Hall at the office of Councilman Noel Gallo. A proud Fruitvale native, Omar focuses on immigration law given his experience as a son of Mexican immigrants in a diverse Oakland community. Omar holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the UC Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctor from the UC Davis. He is a currently a board member of the UC Davis Immigration Clinic Alumni Council.

As a Pro Bono Legal Assistant, Deisy works with both pro bono placed cases with legal firms outside Centro Legal and with non-detained immigrants at Centro Legal on a variety of immigration relief cases ranging from asylum to citizenship. As an immigrant herself, she became passionate about immigrants’ rights and social justice issues in the communities around her. Prior to joining Centro Legal, she was involved in a variety of public service and legal service organizations around the Bay Area during her time in college. Deisy was also previously a DreamSF Fellow at OneJustice where she acquired her experience working with pro bono attorneys and coordinating mobile legal clinics in rural areas of California. Deisy holds a simultaneous Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Chicano Studies. She hopes to continue her education by either pursuing a law degree or exploring social work in relation to working with immigrants. As a true Gemini, she has many interests including going on as many adventures as possible, dancing, yoga, bullet journaling and reading for fun. She loves arts and crafts and going into nature (you can find her at the beach or in the sun).

As Centro’s Immigration Senior Know Your Rights Coordinator, Ana’s passion for helping people shines while serving clients through Know Your Rights presentations, attends tabling events and participating in other outreach programs. Prior to becoming a part of Centro Legal’s Immigration team, Ana worked at the Immigration Center for Women and Children in Oakland. There, she supported the Center through answering incoming clients’ questions, and helped to ground them in their rights. Ana earned a simultaneous Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley in Ethnic Studies and Society & Environment. As an undergrad, she was an active member of M.E.Ch.X.A. de UCB, where she served as the External Coordinator.

As Centro’s Immigration Senior Know Your Rights Coordinator, Ana’s passion for helping people shines while serving clients through Know Your Rights presentations, attends tabling events and participating in other outreach programs. Prior to becoming a part of Centro Legal’s Immigration team, Ana worked at the Immigration Center for Women and Children in Oakland. There, she supported the Center through answering incoming clients’ questions, and helped to ground them in their rights. Ana earned a simultaneous Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley in Ethnic Studies and Society & Environment. As an undergrad, she was an active member of M.E.Ch.X.A. de UCB, where she served as the External Coordinator.

Sam joined the Tenants’ Rights Practice at Centro in 2020. She has represented tenants living with low incomes in housing and eviction defense cases since graduating from law school in 2014. At Centro, she maintains a caseload of unlawful detainer, rent board, and subsidized housing cases. Prior to joining Centro, Sam was a supervising attorney on the housing team at Bread for the City, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. Sam received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and received her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She is from Covina, CA.

David joined the Tenants’ Rights practice at Centro Legal de la Raza in 2021. He represents tenants in unlawful detainer proceedings, as well as rent board and housing authority hearings. David joins Centro from a stint as a housing attorney/clinical supervisor at the East Bay Community Law Center. He previously operated the Law Office of David Hall in Oakland where he represented residential tenants. Prior to that he worked for the Neighborhood Law Corps in the Oakland City Attorney’s Office and volunteered with the Public Interest Law Project and Tenants Together. David has a B.S in Anthropology and History from James Madison University and an M.A. in Rhetoric and Cultural Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Nirali is a Tenants’ Rights staff attorney who assists and represents low-income tenants facing evictions, unlawful rent increases, uninhabitable conditions and harassment. She’s passionate about working directly with community members and fighting for the right to safe and adequate housing for all people. Prior to working at Centro, Nirali attended Berkeley Law School where she focused on racial justice work. She was a Housing Clinical Student and Tenants’ Rights Workshop Leader at East Bay Community Law Center, and assisted in the representation of a client on death row in the South through Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic. Nirali was also an Economic Justice Law Clerk at Bay Area Legal Aid, a Fair Housing Tester at Asian Law Caucus, and a Coblentz Civil Rights Fellow at the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. In 2019 Nirali was the recipient of Berkeley Law’s annual Sax Prize for Clinical Advocacy. Nirali received her bachelor’s degree in political science and environmental studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked as a Legal Assistant at ACLU National’s Racial Justice Project.

Emily Bao grew up in Hong Kong and received a BA in Sociology from the University of Chicago. She moved to Virginia and graduated from Washington & Lee University School of Law. During law school, she interned at nonprofit organizations in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia working on juvenile justice policy change and providing direct services for homeowners undergoing mortgage foreclosure. She also worked for a civil legal aid clinic assisting with child custody and adoption, and preparing wills. Prior to joining Centro Legal, Emily did fair housing work at Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, where she counseled and represented clients in administrative complaints and mediations, provided fair housing training for housing providers, and advocated for policy change at the local, state, and federal level. Emily believes in housing justice for all and is passionate about dogs and cats being part of that.

Karina Mora is a recent graduate of Berkeley Law. While at Berkeley, she participated in EBCLC’s Housing Clinic and Consumer Justice Clinic. In the Housing Clinic, she focused on representing clients in settlement conferences at the Hayward Superior Court. In the Consumer Justice Clinic, Karina worked on a number of issues such as student debt counseling, identity fraud, credit score reporting, and consumer debt collection. Karina served as Membership Co-Chair for Women of Berkeley Law, and as Senior Executive Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law. Karina has a B.A. in Political Science and English from UCLA and a Masters in English Literature from the University of Chicago. In her free time she enjoys cycling, pottery and cooking. She recently completed the Sea Otter Classic in Monterrey, which she greatly enjoyed! She looks forward to working with the Tenant Rights Team to keep our community in their homes.

Gregory Ching received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Ching served as a law clerk in the Office of Mayor Edwin M. Lee. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining Centro Legal, Mr. Ching worked as a litigation associate, where he focused on intellectual property litigation and complex commercial disputes. He has also provided legal services in the areas of estate planning, and federal and state taxation. Before beginning his legal career, Mr. Ching worked in music supervision and as an audio engineer, performing technical work for major motion pictures and television shows. Mr. Ching enjoys golfing, craft beer, and playing with his dog.

M.C. Linthicum is a staff attorney in the Tenants’ Rights Program, where they assist low-income tenants facing eviction, unlawful rent increases, uninhabitable conditions and harassment. M.C. recently graduated from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where they focused their studies on disability rights and anti-discrimination law. During law school they interned at Legal Aid at Work advocating for the rights of workers with disabilities. They were also the recipient of the Moore and Hunt Family Law Fellowship advocating for equality in LGBTQ family law at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. M.C. also spent one summer at the Oakland civil rights law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian and Ho, where they worked on anti-discrimination class action lawsuits. Prior to law school, M.C. worked in social services, providing direct care to community members experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, as well as people experiencing mental health crises. Most recently before law school they worked at Bay Area Community Services in Oakland as a Housing Advocate for low-income elders. They have a deep personal commitment to Disability Justice and keeping their community members in safe and affordable housing.

Lorena works with the Tenants’ Rights team. She coordinates the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program (RAP) and Alameda County clinics that offer brief services. She also works closely with directing attorney Leah Simon-Weisberg as the administrative assistant for the housing program.  As a student, Lorena started her internship at Centro Legal, shortly after she joined the Tenants’ Rights team. She is currently studying International Studies at Cal State East Bay.

Alejandra joins Centro Legal as a Staff Paralegal on the Tenants’ Rights team, where she assists low-income tenants facing eviction, unlawful rent increases, uninhabitable conditions, and harassment. Alejandra is an elected member of the Diversity Committee at Centro Legal; she is the Chair of the sub-committee for Recruitment. Alejandra graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley.

As a paralegal on the Tenants’ Rights team, Noel Munger provides direct services to tenants and supports Centro Legal’s attorneys on their case work. He helps clients navigate legal remedies for habitability violations, harassment, unlawful eviction, and unlawful rent increases. His work supports tenants in the areas of eviction defense, administrative hearings in the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program, and affirmative litigation.

Ann Marie was born and raised in Stockton and relocated to the Bay Area to complete her sociology degree with an emphasis in social work at California State University East Bay. She has ten years of experience working in affordable housing and several years providing homeless services to the most vulnerable in San Joaquin and Alameda Counties. She has also managed the Keep Oakland Housed, Keep Hayward Housed and Keep Emeryville Housed programs. She is passionate about advocating, supporting and uplifting underserved communities, which has led her to Centro Legal de la Raza to continue to be of service to those in need. Her favorite pastime is witnessing the beauty and innocence of being with her eight-month-old son and watching him discover and getting excited about the simplest things in life.

Israel was born and raised in the Central Valley of California. After attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, Israel relocated to the Bay Area. Prior to Centro Legal, Israel worked as a housing organizer for a number of years fighting alongside tenants in Oakland.

Eduardo joined the Tenants’ Rights practice at Centro Legal in 2020. He was previously a housing organizer when he regularly attended Centro Legal’s tenant clinics to organize tenants to build community power. He now works at Centro Legal as the Senior Outreach Coordinator for the Tenants’ Rights practice where he builds collaborative relationships with community-based organizations, as well as coordinate outreach efforts through workshops, presentations, and marketing in order to maximize community engagement. He also directly assists tenants facing potential displacement, substandard living conditions, and harassment. Eduardo has lived in the Bay Area since 2007. He attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy. He enjoys travelling, reading philosophy, dark comedies, and wandering around unfamiliar places.

Grant is a staff attorney with Centro’s Tenant’s Rights team, where he assists tenants fighting eviction, discrimination, uninhabitable conditions, and unlawful rent increases. He’s passionate about empowering community members in their pursuits for adequate and affordable housing.  Grant’s favorite part of the job is working directly with clients. His least favorite part of the job is wearing a tie. Grant attended the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. During school, he interned at the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, the Lawyer’s Committee for Better Housing in Chicago, and Indiana Legal Services in Bloomington, IN. Prior to law school, Grant worked as a Tenant Counselor at the Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco and as a Complaint Counselor at the ACLU of Missouri in St. Louis. He received his undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University. Off the clock, Grant is an outdoor enthusiast, D&D adventurer, competitive powerlifter, and seasonal produce enjoyer.

As a Housing Advocate for Centro Legal de la Raza, Paola coordinates clinics and assists clients in preparing answers to unlawful detainer cases. Prior to working at Centro, she interned at the UC Davis School of Law for their Undocumented and Unaccompanied Minors Project. As an intern, Paola worked to assist children fleeing from Central America seek asylum or special immigrant juvenile visas in the United States. Paola double major Sociology and Chicanx Studies as a graduate from the University of California, Davis.

Lynn has been an advocate for immigrant communities all of her life. As a child of refugees, she learned early on that lack of language access closed many doors for her non-English speaking parents. Throughout her career, from working as an AmeriCorps volunteer to her current position as an attorney with Centro Legal, Lynn continues the fight to help families access resources as she works for equal justice. A Bay Area native, Lynn earned her BA from St. Mary’s College of CA and her JD from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Karen was born in Mexico City and immigrated with her family to the Bay Area at the age of 3. Since then Karen has worked and volunteered with various Housing and Immigration justice organizations throughout the Bay Area. In 2020 during the midst of the pandemic Karen graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor in Communications and a Minor in Political Science. Karen is a passionate organizer and advocate for civil liberties and is honored to be part of the Centro Legal team!

As the Supervising Data and Policy Analyst, Katy supports the work of the Tenants’ Rights Program by researching emerging trends in the challenges faced by tenants, managing the program’s data, and analyzing local policies and services to help Centro determine how best to address the Bay Area’s housing crisis. Before joining Centro Legal, Katy taught classes on geography and urban studies at University of California, Berkeley and the San Francisco Art Institute. Her classes focused on gentrification, urban inequality, and creating equity in the classroom. Katy received her PhD in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation analyzed the political economy of neighborhood revitalization in the South Bronx in New York City. She studied how community organizations created new models for rebuilding disinvested neighborhoods in the 1970s and 1980s but have been increasingly sidelined as investment has returned to the area. Katy has been active in tenant organizing since 2010 in New York and the East Bay. Previously, Katy worked as an environmental educator in the Bronx and in Boston, teaching community members of all ages about their urban ecosystem. Katy holds a Master of Environment Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College.

As a member of the Workers’ Rights Program, Veronica focuses on wage and hour cases involving wage theft, employee misclassification, and unlawful withholdings, among other issues. She assists workers in recovering unpaid wages, meal and rest break pay, other related damages and penalties, and has successfully negotiated numerous wage and hour cases. Veronica also works on cases concerning employment harassment and discrimination (race, national origin, age, and sex discrimination claims). While in law school, Veronica volunteered at Tenants Together and served as a law clerk at the East Bay Community Law Center doing civil eviction defense proceedings. As a certified law student with the UC Hastings Civil Justice Clinic, Veronica represented one of her clients at his superior court trial. Veronica later joined the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center’s Wage Protection Program where she represented low-wage workers at various hearings and also counseled clients at the Wage Claim Clinic and Workers’ Rights Clinic. Veronica has some immigration experience from her work as paralegal for Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP and as a volunteer translator for the Lawyers’ Committee Pro Bono Asylum Program. Veronica obtained her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. Veronica is passionate about social justice and is committed to empowering low-income, marginalized communities. She also has a special interest in animal rights.

Dennyce was born and raised in Silicon Valley. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology with an emphasis in public policy from the University of California Davis. She hopes to continue her education by pursuing a masters in public policy. After briefly interning in D.C. for the Congressional Hispanic Caucuses Political Action Committee – BOLD PAC, she decided to return to the Bay Area to support, advocate and empower her community. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two fur-children, Mocha and Nilla as well as traveling all over the Bay Area to shoot black and white film. Pre-pandemic you could find her on skates playing roller derby with her team in Sacramento.

Dennyce was born and raised in Silicon Valley. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology with an emphasis in public policy from the University of California Davis. She hopes to continue her education by pursuing a masters in public policy. After briefly interning in D.C. for the Congressional Hispanic Caucuses Political Action Committee – BOLD PAC, she decided to return to the Bay Area to support, advocate and empower her community. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two fur-children, Mocha and Nilla as well as traveling all over the Bay Area to shoot black and white film. Pre-pandemic you could find her on skates playing roller derby with her team in Sacramento.