Housing

David Carducci
Directing Attorney for Housing and Director of Litigation
University of San Diego School of Law, 1991

David Carducci leads the Housing Team at Legal Aid and has over 25 years of civil litigation experience. He is also responsible for the oversight of affirmative litigation at Legal Aid and professional development of young attorneys. He is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law and San Diego State University.  He previously worked at Bay Area Legal Aid and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, and served on the board of the ACLU of Northern California, after moving back to the Bay Area from San Diego in 1998. David is involved with youth baseball by umpiring Little League games in San Mateo County.

Mari Chatterjee
Operations Manager

Mari Chatterjee is the Housing Program Operations Manager at Legal Aid SMC. She is passionate about working with an organization that serves low-income communities and empowers people to assert their rights. Mari graduated from Universidad Centroamericana in Nicaragua with a Bachelor in Law and from Universidad de Valencia in Spain with a Master in Business Law. Prior to starting at Legal Aid SMC, Mari worked for five years as an attorney in Nicaragua.

Nadia Henze
Project Coordinator

Nadia Henze is a Project Coordinator at Legal Aid SMC. She is originally from Mexico City and graduated from Universidad del Valle de Mexico with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She also volunteered in an organization that helps kids with disabilities and taught basic English to low-income communities. Nadia moved to the Bay Area 4 years ago, and before starting at Legal Aid, she worked in a Family Law firm in San Francisco. She enjoys spending time with her husband and playing with her cats.

Meg Plambeck
Staff Attorney
Georgetown University Law Center, 2024

Meg Plambeck is a Legal Grad with the housing team at Legal Aid SMC. She attended law school at Georgetown University, where she gained litigation experience protecting marginalized and underrepresented communities. She recently moved to San Mateo with her two cats, and she is excited to work on behalf of San Mateo County residents to keep them in their homes. In her free time, she competes in Olympic-style weightlifting and enjoys exploring the trails and beaches around San Mateo County.

Erika Ramirez
Project Coordinator

Erika Ramirez is a Housing Project Coordinator at Legal Aid SMC. She is a San Francisco Bay Area native and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Social Justice at San Francisco State University. Her interest in Housing rights began in college, when she interned at Causa Justa Just Cause, a non profit in San Francisco that focuses on tenant advocacy rights.

Katie Roussos
Staff Attorney
CUNY School of Law, 2019

Katie Roussos is a Housing Staff Attorney at Legal Aid SMC. She began her legal career working in the eviction defense unit at Brooklyn Legal Services. She recently moved to California with her family and is excited to be working at Legal Aid SMC to help tenants keep their housing in San Mateo County. Prior to becoming a lawyer, she worked at a hotel worker’s labor union as an organizer and legal coordinator.

Shane Sagisi
Staff Attorney
Golden Gate University School of Law, 2018

Shane Sagisi is currently a staff attorney for Legal Aid SMC’s HomeSavers Project. During law school Shane completed a summer internship at Legal Services of Northern California’s Vallejo office, where he developed a passion for providing direct legal services to disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. Prior to joining Legal Aid SMC, Shane completed a fellowship at the Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco. Shane received his B.A. in Legal Studies at UC Santa Cruz and his J.D. at Golden Gate University School of Law.

Pro Bono

Stephanie Bilinski
Pro Bono Director
Seton Hall University School of Law, 2001

Stephanie E. Bilinski is the Pro Bono Director, overseeing all aspects of Legal Aid’s pro bono program. Stephanie reviews cases for placement, conducts training of volunteers and provides guidance and supervision to volunteer attorneys. Stephanie was the Supervising Attorney for Family Law at the Justice & Diversity Center of The Bar Association of San Francisco for seven years, where she was the recipient of the 2018 Brosnahan Fellowship Award. Prior to that Ms. Bilinski was a family law litigator and mediator, working in all courts in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ms. Bilinski received her J.D. cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, and her B.A. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College.

Ruby Romero
Senior Project Coordinator

Ruby Romero is a Senior Project Coordinator for the Pro Bono program at Legal Aid SMC, where she has worked since 1999. She enjoys serving the community and helping others.

Peninsula Family Advocacy Project/Kids In Crisis

Jessica Arevalo
Senior Project Coordinator

Michelle de Blank
Supervising Attorney and Legal Director, Peninsula Family Advocacy Program
Hastings College of the Law, 1997

Michelle de Blank is Legal Aid's attorney specializing in education and access to healthcare for children with autism. She represents individual clients and also works extensively on systemic issues in both education and health. Michelle’s work has resulted in increased access to autism services for low income children in San Mateo County. Michelle is a graduate of Barnard College and received her law degree from Hastings College of the Law. Prior to coming to Legal Aid, Michelle worked at the Self-Service Center of the Santa Clara Superior Court and worked with individuals with mental health disabilities at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

Maraina Weyl
Project Coordinator

Health Consumer Center

Amira Elbeshbeshy
Directing Attorney and Director of Health Consumer Center
The Fordham University School of Law, 2011

Amira Elbeshbeshy is Director of the Health Consumer Center. After graduating from UC Irvine with a double major in Political Science and International Studies as well as a minor in Middle East Studies, Amira moved to New York City to pursue her law degree at The Fordham University School of Law. Upon graduating in 2011, Amira took a job as an agency attorney at the New York City Transit Authority, doing civil litigation defense for the Transit Authority. After moving back to the Bay Area, Amira earned her Master’s in social work with plans to continue working as an attorney in the non-profit sector.

Kathryn Greis
Staff Attorney
Harvard Law School, 2015

Kathryn Greis is a staff attorney working in Legal Aid SMC’s Health Consumer Center. Originally from New Jersey, Kathryn received her BA in Psychology from Middlebury College, and her JD from Harvard Law School. After a few years in private practice in New York with a focus on health law, Kathryn moved to Toronto and earned an LLM in Health Law, Ethics and Policy at the University of Toronto. Prior to returning to the U.S., Kathryn worked for four years in Toronto at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, which oversees the province’s health information privacy laws.

Natalie Keller
Project Coordinator

Araceli Jimenez
Project Coordinator

Camille Nguyen
Senior Staff Attorney
UC Irvine School of Law, 2016

Camille Nguyen is a Southern California native who graduated from UC San Diego with a major in Political Science and a minor in Visual Arts. At UCSD, she volunteered at a nonprofit for families affected by cancer, which sparked her interest in advocating for affordable access to healthcare. She is a part of UC Irvine School of Law’s fifth graduating class, where she was a student leader in its Public Interest Law Fund, SSI clinic, and Asian Pacific American Law School Association. Prior to coming to Legal Aid, Camille worked at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, where she represented clients with mental health disabilities.

LIBRE (Linking Immigrants to Benefits, Resources, & Education)

Tseada T. Berhanu
Senior Staff Attorney
University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, 2013

Tseada is a Senior Staff Attorney and works on immigration and public benefits cases. She holds a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley, an IMBA from the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, and a JD from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. During her time in law school, Tseada interned with various nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving underserved communities. After graduating, she began her career in private practice, focusing on immigration law, and later transitioned to Colorado Legal Services to serve low-income individuals with a diverse range of civil legal issues.

Jonathan Garcia
Supervising Attorney
Ventura College of Law, 2012

Jonathan Garcia is a bilingual attorney with a passion for immigration law. After graduating UC Santa Barbara with degrees in sociology and history, Jonathan worked his way through the Ventura College of Law as a graveyard shift supervisor at a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. After graduating law school, Jonathan went into private practice, primarily focusing on immigration law. Jonathan also spoke on local Spanish radio broadcasts, presented Know Your Rights seminars in conjunction with the Oxnard Mexican Consulate, participated in free legal clinics at the Simi Valley Clinic, and was a volunteer coach for Oxnard High School’s mock trial competitions team.

Vanessa Hearne
Project Coordinator

After graduating from law school in Peru 15 years ago, Vanessa Hearne moved to the Bay Area, where she continued her education and became a Paralegal. Currently, Vanessa works for Legal Aid SMC as a Project Coordinator for the LIBRE Project. Along with these professional pursuits, she attempts to keep up with her two young children and husband in her free time.

Jenny Horne
Directing Attorney
Stanford Law School, 1993

Jenny Horne works on the Teen Parent Project and Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence Project. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School and founded the Teen Parents Project as a Skadden fellow at Legal Aid in 1994. Prior to her fellowship, Jenny clerked for Judge Alfred Goodwin in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In recognition of her excellent work, she was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame; received the Silver Award from the Peninsula Partnership Council’s first biannual Children’s Report Initiative in 2002; and in 1999, received a Commendation from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the San Mateo County Perinatal Council for services provided to San Mateo County school-age parents.

Hope Nakamura
Of Counsel
UCLA School of Law, 1986

Hope Nakamura is considered a state-wide expert on government benefits. She graduated with an A.B. in Economics from Stanford University before attending the UCLA School of Law, and began working with Legal Aid SMC after working at the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C. During her time at Legal Aid SMC, she developed programs and worked in partnerships that educate and assist low-income families and individual residents who need safety net benefits.

Sylvia Navarro
Senior Project Coordinator

Ameyalli Rocha Coronel
Project Coordinator / Benefits Assistor

Ameyalli Rocha Coronel is a Program Coordinator/Benefits Assistor at Legal Aid SMC. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and was born and raised in San Mateo County. She graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and Minor in Legal Studies from the University of San Francisco. Before joining Legal Aid, Ameyalli spent time in Mexico advocating for political representation for Mexican citizens living abroad and also as a Meritorious Trainee at the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office: Justice Center for Women. She enjoys spending time with her dog, running and watching soccer.

Elder Rights & Income Security

Xitlalli Buenrostro
Project Coordinator

Brian Fraser
Staff Attorney
New York University School of Law, 2014

Brian Fraser is a Staff Attorney representing clients in elder rights and income security matters, as well as defending individuals in CARE Court. Prior to joining Legal Aid SMC, he was a senior staff attorney at Homeless Action Center, where he represented clients in Social Security and other public benefits matters. He began his career as a Ford Foundation Fellow with the Disability Rights Program of the American Civil Liberties Union. He received his JD from NYU and his BA in economics from UC Berkeley.

Scott Maurer
Consulting Attorney
Santa Clara University School of Law, 1995

Scott Maurer has been representing low-income consumers since 1996. As a consulting attorney at Legal Aid, Scott is helping consumers resolve their legal issues. He is considered an expert in fair debt collection, auto fraud, and consumer privacy. Scott teaches Consumer Protection and Civil Procedure at Santa Clara Law. He also supervises students who represent consumers at Santa Clara’s civil clinic. Scott received the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA's) Legal Services/Clinical Attorney of the Year in 2003.

Operations

Tatiana Colocho
Administrative Assistant

Lauren Gee
Contracts Administrator

Lauren Gee is the Contracts Administrator at Legal Aid SMC, capping a career that began as a satellite systems engineer and continued through biotech, big pharma, litigation software, and academia in various roles.  She's a native San Franciscan, a Cal Bear (twice), and an enthusiastic Giants fan.

Allison Marseille
Deputy Director

Allison Marseille is the Deputy Director at Legal Aid SMC. She loves the challenge of a workload with lots of moving parts, and is proud to be able to use her talents and skills to support this office of change makers and problem solvers. In her spare time, Allison enjoys spending time outdoors, but with little kids at home she’s mostly just happy to eat dinner sitting down.

Claudia Michel
Office Manager

Claudia Michel is the Office Manager at Legal Aid SMC. She thrives while supporting an office full of social justice warriors. Claudia loves spending time with her family and finding new DIY projects.

Liliya Mukha
Bookkeeper

Liliya Mukha is a Bookkeeper on the Operations team. Liliya received a degree in Economics from Gomel Cooperative Institute in Belarus and worked as an accountant in her home country, Georgia. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1993 and began her career at Legal Aid SMC in 2000. She enjoys baking, hiking, traveling, reading, and spending time with family.

Kathleen Rivas-Audelo
Receptionist

Kathleen is the receptionist at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. She graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from San Francisco State University ignited by her passion for understanding social dynamics, cultural diversity, and human behavior. In her free time she likes to read, hike, and try new restaurants!

Development & Communications

Sesa Ferdun
Development Associate

Sesa serves as a Development Associate on the Development & Communications team. She received a degree in International Studies and Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon in 2020 and is passionate about community development and outreach. She enjoys traveling, reading, and food science! Sesa was born and raised in the South Bay Area but spent the past two years living and working in Madrid, Spain! She is excited to be back in her home state contributing to meaningful work.

JC Renteria
Director of Development & Communications

JC currently leads the Development & Communications team. After he graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Biology, JC taught outdoor science to students in grades K-6 and managed summer camp programs across the country. He has since shifted to work in nonprofit communications and is passionate about helping clients and coworkers tell their stories. JC spends most of his time collecting hobbies like crocheting, bonsai, and baking.

Kurt Wigent
Development Associate

Kurt is a Development Associate on the Development & Communications team. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan, where he studied international relations and French. After graduation, he moved to France where he completed a master’s degree from the University of Bordeaux in international education while also teaching in French public schools. In his free time he likes to hike, camp, and discover new movies.