Our Orlando Team

Elisabeth Centeno Lopez joined KIND in 2017 as Managing Attorney for KIND’s Baltimore Office. With years of experience managing a robust legal services program for unaccompanied children (UC) in Maryland, she now serves as Managing Attorney for KIND’s new Orlando field office and is excited to help advance KIND’s mission in Florida. A first-generation immigrant, Elisabeth has long sought ways to advance the rights of immigrants, refugees, and children. As an undergraduate at Stanford University, Elisabeth worked as a Spanish-language interpreter and research assistant with Stanford Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and interned with Public Counsel’s Children’s Rights Project and Adoption Project. Prior to law school, Elisabeth worked for Human Rights First (HRF) in New York City as a John W. Gardner Public Service Fellow, supporting HRF’s Asylum Representation Program and Never Torture campaign. While at Yale Law School, Elisabeth served as a student director and intern with the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization’s Immigration Legal Services Clinic and Domestic Violence Clinic, representing clients in asylum, VAWA, and family law matters. After graduating, she practiced immigration law as a firm-sponsored staff attorney/fellow with the Immigration Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services. Thereafter, Elisabeth was a litigation associate (and KIND pro bono attorney) for several years at Ropes & Gray LLP before departing the firm to clerk for The Honorable Stephanie A. Gallagher of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Since joining KIND, Elisabeth has taught advanced lawyering skills as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carrey School of Law. Elisabeth earned her dual B.A. degrees in International Relations and Art History at Stanford University and her J.D. at Yale Law School. She is admitted to practice law in California and the District of Columbia.

Bio coming soon!

Dalton D. Dennis joined KIND in 2024 as Staff Attorney for KIND’s Orlando field office. Dalton earned his B.A. from the University of Mount Union, where he studied Political Science, Legal Studies, History, and Chinese Language. As an undergraduate, Dalton worked as a member of the University of Mount Union’s Pre-Law Society on civil rights programs in collaboration with the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Dalton also participated in the University of Mount Union’s National Security & International Affairs travel seminar, where he and his cohort traveled to the United Arab Emirates to study and evaluate the economic development and security concerns of states in the Persian Gulf Region. Dalton earned his J.D. from Cooley Law School, where he was selected to serve as a teaching assistant to esteemed constitutional law professor Brendan Beery for three consecutive terms and received the Distinguished Student Award of his graduating class for exceptional performance. After graduating and before joining KIND, Dalton was a litigation attorney (and KIND pro bono attorney) at Dennis Law Group, PLLC, where he found his passion in advocating for the rights of children and other vulnerable populations and developed experience and expertise in litigating criminal, family, juvenile dependency, and related immigration matters. Dalton is admitted to practice in the State of Florida.

Bio coming soon!

Rubi Arvizu Mendoza joined KIND in April 2023 as a Paralegal for KIND’s Orlando Office, where she supports multiple attorneys with individual client matters. As a first-generation immigrant, Rubi has always supported immigrant communities with defending and preserving their individual rights. Prior to joining KIND, Rubi served as the Immigration Program Coordinator for Many Languages One Voice (MLOV) in Washington, D.C. During her time at MLOV, Rubi aided in connecting immigrants to a range of needed public benefits and immigration legal services with partner attorneys. While at Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, Rubi served as a Student Attorney in the Advanced Immigration Clinic representing clients in cases involving asylum, TPS, and adjustment of status petitions. Rubi also served as Vice-President of the Immigration Law Society, where she helped organize several free citizenship clinics for the Central Florida immigrant community. Rubi earned her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Journalism from Stetson University and her J.D. from Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law. She is an advocate for immigrants and social justice and is excited to help advance KIND’s mission in Florida.

Bio coming soon!