Our Washington, DC Team

Crystal Fleming is the Managing Attorney at KIND’s Washington D.C. office. Prior to joining KIND in April 2022, Ms. Fleming served as a Supervising Attorney in the Immigrant Protection Unit at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), where she oversaw a team representing unaccompanied children before New York Immigration Court, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the New York State Family Courts. She has also represented clients of all ages in a variety of immigration matters, including removal defense litigation, VAWA, U-Visa, Cancelation of Removal, asylum applications, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status applications. At NYLAG, Crystal was a member of the People of Color in Leadership Affinity Group where she worked to create a sense of community for NYLAG staff who identify as people of color, multi-racial, and ethnic minorities, and to advocate on issues of racial justice and equity. Ms. Fleming has been interviewed by the New York Times and Aljazeera on unaccompanied children and the current state of asylum laws. Ms. Fleming received her JD from Capital University Law School and her BS from George Mason University. She is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Virginia, New York, and New Jersey. Ms. Fleming is Salvadorian American and is fluent in Spanish.

Prior to coming to KIND, Kelly was a staff attorney at Connecticut Legal Services where she represented unaccompanied immigrant children and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in family and immigration matters. Her experience working with vulnerable client populations began during law school, when she spent two summers as a fellow at Jerome N. Frank Legal Services at Yale Law School in three clinics dealing with immigration and related matters. After clerking for the Honorable Robert E. Beach on the Connecticut Appellate Court, she continued representing low income clients as a LawyerCorps attorney at Greater Hartford Legal Aid, where she handled SSI, education, family, and immigration related matters. Kelly earned her JD from Western New England University School of Law with a concentration in criminal law. She has a BA in International Studies and Russian from Dickinson College, and is fluent in Spanish.

Lauren Graham Sullivan is a Senior Attorney serving the District of Columbia’s immigrant community. Prior to joining KIND, Lauren dedicated her legal career to representing immigrants in a variety of contexts including legal matters before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Consulates/Embassies, and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Her practice includes advocacy before the Boston and Miami Immigration Courts as well as complicated affirmative family reunification and naturalization cases before USCIS. In addition to her direct-representation experience with South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc., Catholic Charities, South Florida Justice for our Neighbors, and the Fonte Immigration Firm, Lauren was a Project Attorney for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network’s BIA Pro Bono project and National Children’s Project, giving her a unique understanding of the training, resources, and mentorship challenges facing pro bono attorneys representing vulnerable populations. Lauren grew up in Falls Church, Virginia and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy/World Religions from James Madison University. She completed her Juris Doctorate at Roger Williams University School of Law as a Public Interest Fellow and is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts. She is a proud resident of the District of Columbia with her Coast Guard JAG spouse and her three lovely little ladies.

Prior to joining KIND, Jessalyn worked in Boston as a court-appointed attorney for children and parents involved in child protection proceedings, students facing school offender and truancy petitions, and adults in mental health guardianship and commitment cases. Through her casework, Jessalyn was able to familiarize herself with reporting procedures for allegations of child abuse and neglect, services focused on reunification and permanency, and the difficulties faced by families and children in obtaining supports. Jessalyn was selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star for the Boston area in 2018. Jessalyn is active in other professional organizations, participating in various capacities with the Washington Council of Lawyers and in advocacy roles pertaining to the welfare of undocumented residents in Washington D.C. She has previously written Practice Point pieces for the American Bar Association’s Children’s Rights Litigation Committee. Jessalyn is a DC-area native and earned her JD from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and her BA from Pennsylvania State University.

Prior to coming to KIND, Rafael was an associate at a private law firm where he represented both unaccompanied immigrant children and adults fleeing persecution in Central America. Rafael grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, where he received his Bachelor of Laws from Monteavila University in 2014. During that year, he was part of the Student Movement in Caracas that protested against the Maduro regime. He came to the United States to pursue an LLM with a concentration in Constitutional Law at William & Mary Law School, from which he graduated with honors, before transferring to and graduating from the JD program, Rafael speaks English and Spanish and is licensed to practice law in New York and the District of Columbia.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Ambar Martin (she/her) is a Senior Paralegal at KIND's Washington, D.C. office. Ambar holds a bachelor's degree in International Affairs from Florida State University (FSU). During her time at FSU, Ambar was an active student organizer working closely with organizations such as Amnesty International USA. Prior to joining KIND, Ambar was the Project END and Immigration Paralegal at Ayuda where she focused on humanitarian immigration cases and immigration legal services fraud.

Bio coming soon.

Andy Morales supports the Legal Services team at KIND. She graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Fresno with degrees in Political Science and Latin American Studies. Prior to joining KIND, Andy had many experiences working with children including volunteering for Camp Kesem, a nonprofit organization that supports kids through and beyond their parent’s cancer, as well as assistant teaching in Verona, Italy. Andy also held multiple legislative internships in the federal government as well as the local government of Fresno. These opportunities exposed Andy to the work of KIND and led her to pursue a career with this organization. As an immigrant from Juarez, Mexico, she has always shown a passion for immigration reform and advancing the rights of those seeking refuge. Andy held an internship and part-time position in KIND prior to joining full-time as a paralegal for the ORR Emergency Intake Shelter in El Paso in May of 2021. She hopes to pursue both a Law and Masters of Public Policy degree to continue her advocacy.

Sixto Lazo (he/him) supports KIND’s Washington D.C. office, joining the KIND team in November of 2022 as a Temporary Paralegal. Sixto graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Homeland Security. Later, Sixto completed a Certificate in Paralegal Studies with VCU. Prior to joining KIND, Sixto has had over three years of experience serving as a teacher for unaccompanied immigrant children and adolescents at Youth for Tomorrow, a local nonprofit organization based in Northern Virginia. In his time serving as an educator, Sixto worked closely with recent child arrivals from Mexico, Central America and Afghanistan, focusing on mental health and trauma-informed methods of care to support their prior experiences when journeying to the U.S. Being raised by Salvadoran immigrant parents, Sixto has always had a passion for the defense and representation of immigrants and refugees. He supports a world in which the rights and well-being of children are protected as they migrate in search of safety. He hopes to pursue a J.D. to become an attorney in the near future.

Ingrid graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) where she double majored in Philosophy and Foreign Affairs with an specialization in Latin America. She has been working with the migrant population in the Northern Virginia area for the last six years. She started an internship at Immigrants First where she assisted immigration attorneys with a variety of cases. Later, she joined Catholic Charities Diocese of Arlington-Hogar Immigrant Services where she started as their legal assistant and end up managing their naturalization and citizenship program. While there she received her Board of Immigration Appeals partial accreditation and most of her knowledge of immigration law. Throughout her career, Ingrid has worked with different aspects of federal and state law. Ingrid is originally from Lima, Peru and is excited to continue her work with the immigrant community at KIND.

Marissa Ornelas is a Social Service Coordinator for the Washington DC office starting in September 2022. Marissa graduated from Saint Louis University where she majored in Sociology with a concentration in Urbanization, Immigration, and Demography. She has been working with the immigrant community for four years. Before joining KIND, Marissa was a Home Study and Post Release Services caseworker with Church World Service, where she coordinated referrals for unaccompanied children in the DMV area. Marissa was also a legal assistant at Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, where she provided legal services to detained children in the DMV area. In addition, she has worked with the Dilley Pro Bono Project where she assisted detained immigrant mothers and their children with credible fear interviews. She holds a graduate certificate from Oxford University in Forced Migration.