Our Orlando Team

Elisabeth Centeno Lopez joined KIND in 2017 as Managing Director 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!

Carmen Jones joined KIND’s Orlando Office in March 2023 as a Staff Attorney. Prior to joining KIND, Carmen was a Staff Attorney at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and an Assistant Public Defender for Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit. Carmen obtained her JD from the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law. Before attending law school, Carmen was a police sergeant with the Miami-Dade Police Department and served in the U.S. Navy. Carmen earned her BA from Florida International University.

Sarah Elizabeth Elouaradia joined KIND in May 2023 as a Staff Attorney for the Orlando office, where she provides direct representation for migrant children facing removal proceedings in both state and immigration court. Sarah is also responsible for training and mentoring attorneys who volunteer their time to represent one of KIND’s clients in pursuit of immigration relief. Sarah majored in political science and minored in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish at the US Naval Academy. In May 2010, she graduated and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. After ten years of service, she resolved to continue serving her country by becoming an immigration attorney. Sarah’s passion for immigration law stems from both of her parents’ stories of assimilation to the United States and her desire to serve others. Sarah graduated from George Mason University School of Law in May 2018 and practiced in private firms in and around DC, Maryland, and Virginia. In November 2019, Sarah first discovered KIND after volunteering to represent two brothers from Honduras. The experience was a success for the clients and Sarah, inspiring her to devote more time to pro bono work. She and her family moved to central Florida in June 2021 where she maintained her own solo practice as an immigration attorney until being fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with KIND as a Staff Attorney, an organization she has admired since the beginning of her career. She is admitted to practice law in DC, Maryland, and Florida.

Kiara Talancha joined KIND in September 2022. Kiara grew up in Lima, Peru, and moved to Florida when she was eight. She attended Florida State University and earned Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and International Affairs. After undergrad, Kiara worked as an immigration specialist but wanted to do more. She attended Barry University School of Law and graduated in May 2022 with a Juris Doctorate. While in law school, Kiara served as a legal assistant at Orlando Center for Justice, providing support to multiple attorneys and communicating with clients on their immigration cases. Kiara’s work has been guided by her passion to help others and for justice.

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!