Championing Children's Rights: KIND's Pro Bono Volunteers Making a Difference

October 23, 2023

Headshots of Pro Bono Volunteers.At Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), we are proud to honor our pro bono volunteers, who provide crucial services to refugee and immigrant children. KIND’s pro bono volunteers are not just a part of our mission; they are at its very core. These dedicated individuals consistently go above and beyond, ensuring that unaccompanied children receive the legal protections they rightfully deserve on their journey to the United States, where they can pursue a life free of fear.

KIND’s commitment to this cause shines through our 60 Pro Bono Awardees, spread across our 17 U.S. office locations. Their unwavering dedication and commitment to safeguarding the rights of the clients they serve is inspiring. Each day, they go the extra mile to ensure that unaccompanied children have a voice to share their stories.

We are truly in awe of the incredible efforts made by our pro bono volunteers, who tirelessly work to protect and support these vulnerable children. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to these outstanding individuals for their continuous dedication in championing children’s rights. Join us in celebrating their exceptional work and commitment to ensuring that no child is left without a voice or the legal support they need.

Read more about KIND’s pro bono partners and how we are celebrating them during #ProBonoWeek2023.

Atlanta

Gautam Y. Reddy, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Molly Brannan and Samantha Skolnick, Alston & Bird LLP

Baltimore

Anna Mahaney, Ballard Spahr LLP
Jose Garcia, Kate Gonzalez, Laura Stevens, Alexandria Menosaba, Jessica Bratten, and Siaw Ching Lee, Capital One
Cecelia Travers Roudiez (not pictured)

Boston

Sarah Nyren, Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford LLP
Bill Lundin, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP
Kendra Berardi and Kristen Spirou, Robinson & Cole LLP

Fresno

Richard Keenan
Omar Parra, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Donna Kim, Rachel Suhr (not pictured), Zac Alpert (not pictured), and Sergio Almaguer (not pictured), Latham & Watkins LLP

Houston

Beth Gilman, K&L Gates LLP
Abigail Litow and Daniel Gross, Kirkland & Ellis LLP 
Cooper Fyfe, Holland & Knight LLP

LA

Miguel Loza, Jr., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Brandon Marvisi, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Nessa Forman, O’Melveny & Myers LLP

NY

Cristina Cahn-Speyer and Lauren Raschella, Bloomberg
Brielle Landis, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Yining Bei, Christina Bogdanski, and Joe Perry Baker Botts LLP

Newark

Kevin Bazur, Alfonso F. Ramos Law Office
Michael Friscia, Timothy Homlish, Matt Sklar, and Michelle Movahed (not pictured), McCarter & English LLP

Northern Virginia 

Melanie Garcia, DLA Piper
Brooke Matney, Cooley LLP
Connie Lee, Joseph West, Victoria Granda, and Audi Syarief, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Orlando

Miguel Rodriguez, Carlton Fields P.A.
Miguel Rodriguez, Novera Ahmad, Chad Dunham, Federico Maciá, and Jimmy Pham, Carlton Fields P.A.

San Francisco

Sarah Loecher, Paul Hastings LLP
Susan Kim
Cecilia Choy, Camila Bosio, Fabiola Diaz Vera, Anisa Noorassa, and April Weisbruch, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Seattle

Maria Santana, DLA Piper
Gregg Wisdom, Microsoft Corporation Inc
Stacy Shelhorse, Braden Penhoet, Michael Huseby, and Maria Santana (not pictured), DLA Piper

Washington, DC

Tannyr Pasvantis, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Joanne Hawana, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, P.C.
Alejandra Jovel, and Jeanhee Hong (not pictured), Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP

Family Separation Team

Will Miller and Emily Torstveit Ngara, Georgia State University College of Law