Sandy Santana joined Children’s Rights as chief operating officer in 2012 and became executive director in 2015. From 2006 to 2012, Sandy served as Managing Director of Legal Outreach, an organization that levels the educational playing field for minority, low income, and first-generation students through rigorous academic programming. Prior to joining Legal Outreach, he was a corporate associate in the Boston office of Goodwin Procter LLP and in the New York office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP. His legal practice focused on international corporate finance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity matters.
Sandy is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jeremiah Program, a national organization leveraging education to disrupt the cycle of poverty for single mothers and their children, two generations at a time. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Manhattan Legal Services, an organization that provides free legal representation to fight poverty and promote racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. Sandy received his B.A. from Harvard College and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Our Executive Team
Samantha Bartosz joined Children’s Rights following 17 years as a litigation attorney in Chicago and as a government lawyer in Washington, DC. She served within the Executive Office of the President during the second term of President William Jefferson Clinton, where she provided counsel to senior White House officials on a variety of legislative, policy, and administrative matters. During this time, she represented the Executive Office of the President in a wide range of congressional, independent counsel, and Justice Department investigations. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Samantha was a partner in a private law firm practice where she addressed commercial, environmental, civil rights, criminal, product liability, and shareholder disputes. She also served as Assistant Special State’s Attorney for DuPage County, IL, in a special grand jury investigation and subsequent criminal trial against former prosecutors and police officers for obstruction of justice.
At Children’s Rights, Samantha has conducted an extensive litigation practice and successfully obtained consent decrees or a court injunction on behalf of classes of children in federal actions brought in Michigan, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Texas. She earned her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the Loyola University School of Law in 1986. Samantha has presented as a featured speaker at multiple American Bar Association and National Association of Counsel for Children annual conferences.
Harry Frischer is the Chief Counsel of Children’s Rights. He joined Children’s Rights in 2016 after retiring as a litigation partner at Proskauer Rose LLP. Harry has more than 40 years’ experience conducting complex litigations. He has tried cases in federal courts, state courts, and numerous arbitration forums, and has argued appeals in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals and state appellate courts. At Children’s Rights, Harry heads teams of attorneys representing children in class action litigation in various jurisdictions throughout the United States seeking structural reform of child welfare, juvenile incarceration, education, and healthcare systems. He served as the lead trial attorney in the successful trial of a class action on behalf of incarcerated youth in Iowa, which resulted in a Court order prohibiting solitary confinement and punitive restraints and requiring the State to provide adequate mental health care.
Harry holds a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was an editor of the Columbia Law Review, a James Kent Scholar and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. A passionate advocate for children, he served on the board of New York City’s Court Appointed Special Advocates for more than a decade, including four years as chairman.
Camilla Jenkins joined Children’s Rights in June 2018. Previously, she served as the Director of Communications at the New York Legal Assistance Group, a legal services provider serving low-income New Yorkers, where she was responsible for raising awareness for the vital role that legal representation plays in combatting discrimination, ending poverty and creating opportunity. She was also the Director of Communication at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, managing the firm’s media relations program to drive recognition for the expertise and leadership of its partners, and its longstanding commitment to pro bono work.
During her corporate career Ms. Jenkins was the Vice President of Communications at Fujifilm America, where she led marketing and communications for the company’s US affiliates at a time when Fujifilm was repositioning its brand as the market dramatically shifted from analog to digital technology. Earlier, she managed communications for the multinational healthcare firm, Becton Dickinson and Company and founded and grew her own PR/Marketing agency serving clients in the retail, technology, health care, and media.
Ira Lustbader is the Litigation Director and Chief Program Officer at Children’s Rights. Ira has been with Children’s Rights since 1999, and directs its national program of campaigns to disrupt and address structural failures in child-serving systems such as child welfare, juvenile justice, and health care systems, as well as the development of partnerships and coalitions. He oversees Children’s Rights’ work in partnership with other NGO’s and pro bono law firms in federal civil rights class action litigation, which includes cases at various stages in over 20 states at any given time. Prior to joining Children’s Rights, Ira was a civil litigator at two New York City law firms. He is on the leadership team of the ABA Litigation Section Children’s Rights Litigation Committee, was a 2016 Children and Family Leadership Fellow at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and has presented and published on issues concerning the rights of children and government accountability. Ira received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and his law degree from Boston University School of Law.
Marjorie McAndrews joined Children’s Rights as Director of Finance in August 2012. Previously, she served as the Director of Finance at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a multi-service non-profit that advises on and manages nearly $200 million in annual giving in more than 50 countries. She was also Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administration of the Fund for the City of New York, where she oversaw and directed administrative and financial management of a multi-service non-profit with a budget of $30 million and 250 employees at multiple sites.
During her corporate career at Verizon, she was selected to the Chairman’s elite Finance Process Review team. As a result of her work, resources were re-directed that reduced costs, attained best-in-class status, and saved $35 million in annual expenses.
Marjorie earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Molloy College. She has also completed executive-level leadership training from Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School. She enjoys swimming, biking, cooking, and entertaining for family and friends.
Marissa C. Nardi is a Lead Counsel at Children’s Rights. Since joining Children’s Rights in 2018, she has led or helped lead investigations, federal class action litigations, and monitoring cases on behalf of children in state systems. Marissa is currently leading the Bryan C. v. Lambrew litigation and the C.P.X. v. Garcia monitoring case.
Prior to joining Children’s Rights, she was litigation associate at Winston & Strawn LLP in New York, where she primarily practiced antitrust litigation while maintaining an award-winning pro bono practice. Marissa’s pro bono experiences include successfully first-chairing an asylum trial, achieving guardianship for an unaccompanied minor, prompting a federal investigation and litigation on human trafficking, and helping free a wrongfully convicted person from prison.
Marissa earned a J.D. with an advocacy concentration in 2012 from Cornell Law School, where she served as Note Editor for the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, Head Coach of the Cornell University Mock Trial Team, and President of the Cornell Law School Mock Trial Board. In 2009, she received a B.A. in Psychology, cum laude, and with departmental honors, with minors in Anthropology and Dance from Barnard College of Columbia University. In her spare time, Marissa enjoys dancing, volunteering, and travelling.
Susan Reeves is the Director of Talent & Operations at Children’s Rights. She joined Children’s Rights as the Executive Assistant to the Founder and Executive Director in August of 2009. Since stepping into her latest role in late 2019, Susan has been responsible for the organization’s support structure. She directs all human resources functions, facilities management, and office services (including information technology management and systems development), with a focus on integrating those functions with the operations of the organization. Prior to her employment at Children’s Rights, Susan worked at the global public relations firm Porter Novelli as Vice President of Corporate Human Resources.
Susan graduated from New York University, summa cum laude, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences with a concentration in International Studies.
Leecia Welch joined Children’s Rights in September 2021. She brings extensive legal experience in the child welfare field, including 17 years at the National Center for Youth Law where she was most recently the Senior Director of Child Welfare and Legal Advocacy.
Leecia is co-counsel in the seminal Flores v. Garland case, representing a nationwide class of detained immigrant children to enforce a settlement that governs their release and treatment in federal immigration custody. She has also served as co-counsel in M.B. v. Tidball, which resulted in a groundbreaking settlement reforming the use of psychotropic medications on children in Missouri’s foster care system, and M.B. v. Howard, which addressed extreme housing instability and inadequate mental health care services for foster children in Kansas. She is also class counsel on D.S. v. Washington DCYF, which demands that the state end its practice of forcing youth in foster care to sleep in unlicensed and unsafe settings, including hotels, and provide youth with the services and supports necessary for prompt reunification or placement in family-like settings
Leecia has been recognized by the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, the Impact Fund, and was the 2021 Janet Reno Endowment Women’s Leadership Award.
Shereen A. White joined Children’s Rights in 2019 as a Senior Staff Attorney. In 2021, she took on the role as CR’s first Director of Advocacy & Policy. Her work focuses on expanding community and organizational partnerships to collectively reimagine systems impacting youth and families. Prior to joining CR, she represented The School District of Philadelphia in special education matters as an Assistant General Counsel. Shereen also represented children involved in the child welfare system as a Child Advocate Attorney at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Early in her career, she was a Commercial Litigation and Family Law Associate at Fox Rothschild, LLP.
Shereen earned a J.D. from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law in 2009. She was actively involved in the school’s Inclusiveness Commission and Black Law Students Association and volunteered at local nonprofits, including the SeniorLAW Center and Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in History from Duke University. She is a Board Member and Co-Chair of the Governance Committee for her community library, The Free Library of New Hope & Solebury. Outside of work, Shereen enjoys weekend walks and family movies with her husband and two sons.
Our Staff
Valerie Achille joined Children’s Rights as a Staff Attorney in 2022. She received a History and American Studies B.A., magna cum laude, with minors in Women’s Studies and Legal Studies. She earned a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she graduated as a James Kent Scholar. At Columbia, she served as Notes Editor for the Journal of Law and Social Problems, Secretary of the Prison Health Initiative, and President of Christian Legal Society. Prior to joining CR, Valerie was a litigation associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she worked on pro bono matters involving disability rights and criminal legal reform.
Nancy Andujar began her career in the non-profit sector in 2001 working for various organizations such as Children’s Aid and Family Services, Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children at the Archdiocese of Newark, and Kean University Foundation. She joined Children’s Rights in 2021 during the height of the pandemic overseeing the Donor Database. She is responsible for data integrity at Children’s Rights and deeply values our donors and their privacy.
Sarah Beisner graduated from Grinnell College in 2022 with a degree in Psychology and Spanish. While at Grinnell College, she interned with the Center for Children’s Law and Policy and completed an independent research project on the experiences of dually-involved youth in the Iowa child welfare and youth justice systems.
Katrina (Katie) Braun is a Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2021, she clerked for Hon. Robert E. Bacharach on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and served as a legal fellow at the ACLU of North Carolina where she represented migrant farmworkers fighting to exercise their civil rights, individuals subjected to an unlawful “gang injunction,” and a child in immigration court.
Katie earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude, and an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts, both in 2018, and served as Notes Editor on the Harvard Law Review. Before law school she worked as a paralegal in immigration law and earned her B.A. from Georgetown University, summa cum laude, in 2012. Outside of her work at Children’s Rights, Katie produces a fiction podcast and enjoys singing, running, and going on travel adventures.
Erin Brown serves as Children’s Rights’ Grants Manager. She is the owner of Brown Consulting, LLC, and provides non-profit development consulting services to organizations nationwide, with a special focus on foundation research, and grant writing and reporting. Previously, Erin was the Grants Manager for the San Francisco-based Homeless Prenatal Program, adding 23 new institutional funders over a two-year period. Prior to that, she was the Assistant Director of Saint Louise House, an Austin-based supportive housing community for women and their children, where she created and implemented annual fundraising plans to quadruple service capacity.
Erin earned an MPA with a focus on non-profit management in 2007 from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, where she worked as a Research Assistant for the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, and contributed to a study of non-profit capacity-building resources in Central Texas. In 2003, Erin received a BA in history and criminal justice, cum laude, with an Honors College diploma from Indiana University. She has also completed post-graduate studies at the Franciscan School of Theology. Erin teaches classical ballet and is an avid (but slow) runner, with three full and six half-marathons under her belt.
Kristina Chenault is the Senior Communications Manager at Children’s Rights. Before joining Children’s Rights in 2020, she was the Communications Coordinator at the Population Health Collaborative (PHC) in Buffalo, NY. At PHC, she was responsible for leading education and awareness campaigns to improve social determinants of health, community engagement, and health equity issues facing diverse and historically under-resourced populations in the Western New York region. Kristina’s experience also includes brand development and management for nonprofits, primarily in health and human services.
Kristina earned a B.A. in Social Sciences, with a concentration in Health & Human Services and Community Mental Health in 2010 from the University at Buffalo. Outside of work, Kristina enjoys hikes with her partner and her dog, traveling with her family, reading, and exploring new cuisines.
Kathryn (Katie) Deuel is a Philanthropy Officer with Children’s Rights and joined the team in spring of 2023. Before Children’s Rights, she worked in development for the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam and secured major gifts for student scholarships, academic programs and vital campus priorities. Other roles at the college included planning and implementing special events and activities as needed by the President’s Office and the college at-large.
Katie started her career as a photojournalist with Gannett in the newspaper industry. She went on to run a commercial photography studio and taught photography courses at several colleges. She is originally from Newfoundland, Canada and attended Kent State University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in 2000.
Stephen Dixon joined Children’s Rights in 2009. Since then, he has supported colleagues doing investigations and litigating cases in numerous states. Prior to this work, Stephen led a child advocacy office in Louisiana where he represented hundreds of children in both child welfare and delinquency proceedings. For his work in juvenile court, he was the recipient of the National Association of Counsel for Children Outstanding Legal Advocacy Award. Stephen co-founded the Juvenile Law Clinic at the LSU Law Center, where he was also an adjunct professor of law. He was lead counsel in In Re C.B., 708 So.2d 391 (1998), a landmark case on the right to treatment for youth in custody and the right to trial by jury for youth at risk of being placed in hard labor.
Stephen is the author of “The Worst of Both Worlds: Punishments and Procedures for Children in Louisiana,” 30 Southern Law Review 329 (2003). He earned his B.S. from Louisiana State University, and received his law degree from the LSU Law Center. He is also a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College. Stephen is married to Dr. Debbie Dixon. They have two sons.
Leah Dunbar graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 with degrees in Criminology and Politics, Philosophy & Economics. She was part of the Penn Undergraduate Law Journal, the PPE Undergraduate Advisory Board, the Penn Band, and the Synchronized Swimming Team. During her summers, she worked as an intern for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania, the Public Interest Law Center, and the Chief Public Defender of Delaware County.
Lindsey Frye is a Senior Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in December 2019, she was an associate at Moore & Van Allen, PLLC in North Carolina. At MVA, Lindsey maintained a varied litigation practice and handled large-scale regulatory investigations for banking clients. She represented incarcerated individuals in Section 1983 litigation against the state for constitutional harms that occurred while in state custody, and represented criminal defendants on a pro bono basis in federal RICO indictments. Prior to MVA, she clerked for Judge Frank Whitney in the Western District of North Carolina. Lindsey attended UNC School of Law, where she graduated in 2014 with honors.
While at Children’s Rights, Lindsey has represented children in foster care who are unnecessarily confined in institutions, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as children who do not receive special education services while incarcerated, in violation of the IDEA. She served on a trial team that successfully negotiated settlement for foster youth in Arizona who were not receiving appropriate health care. She also engages in monitoring work in metro-Atlanta, where she helps oversee the state’s compliance with the Kenny A. consent decree.
Daniele Gerard joined Children’s Rights in 2016. She received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was Notes Editor on the Journal of Environmental Law, and received awards for exceptional interest and proficiency in advocacy and clinical offerings, and best brief in first year moot court. A former litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Staff Attorney at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, she was also a member of the development staff at Food & Water Watch for three years.
Since joining Children’s Rights, Daniele has been responsible for organizing a team preparing for trial, taken and defended depositions, drafted expert reports, monitored cases, run two advocacy projects, coordinated panels on mental health and child welfare, and established the Interfaith Coalition for Children’s Rights. Outside her work with CR, she currently serves as an officer of Three Parks Independent Democrats, and as a board member of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee of the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
Meredith Giovanelli is a Policy Analyst for the Advocacy & Policy Department at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2021, they were a research assistant at GMHC, studying the implementation of behavioral health models to improve HIV health outcomes. Meredith’s previous experience also includes working in constituency services for the House of Representatives, specializing in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security casework.
In 2021, Meredith earned a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy Analysis from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. In 2019, they received their B.S. in Public Health with a concentration in Health Disparities and a minor in Evolutionary Anthropology from Rutgers University. Outside of work, Meredith likes to take walks with their dog in Prospect Park, cook meals for friends, and do crossword puzzles.
Claire R. Glasspiegel is a Senior Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2019, she was a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP in New York, where in addition to her complex litigation practice she focused on family law and immigration pro bono work. In 2017, she externed in the Legal Aid Society’s New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, and she received the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award in recognition of her pro bono achievements.
Ms. Glasspiegel received her B.A. in 2010 from Washington University in St. Louis and her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2015. At Columbia, she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar and represented adolescents and young adults aging out of foster care in the Child Advocacy Clinic. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, trying new restaurants, and spending time outside with her family.
Noah Gross graduated from the University of Michigan in 2023 with Highest Distinction and a BA in Sociology with a double-minor in Afroamerican and African Studies, and Education for Empowerment. At Michigan, Noah was a part of the Prison Creative Arts Project, the Division of Public Safety and Security Student Advisory Board, and completed a capstone entitled “Project-Based Learning and the Carceral Space: Theory + Implementation.” Before joining Children’s Rights, Noah worked with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, the DC Department of Corrections, BreakFree Education, and the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. He is an aspiring cook, above-average basketball player, and enjoys the company of his friends and family.
Anna Hackel graduated from New York University in 2022 with a BA in Global Liberal Studies and a double-minor in French, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. At NYU, she led Untold Herstories and the Alliance for Environmental and Social Justice, and wrote a senior thesis entitled “Due Process Denied: The U.S. Immigration System and Unaccompanied Minors.” Before joining CR, Anna worked with UNICEF, the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, and the USC Shoah Foundation.
Micaela Heery-Hyatt joined Children’s Rights in 2023. Previously, she was a litigation associate at White & Case LLP in New York where she pursued several significant pro bono efforts including a class action lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri alleging unconstitutional fines and fees. Most recently, Micaela was a law clerk to a magistrate judge in the Eastern District of New York and then a law clerk to a district judge in the Southern District of New York.
In 2016, Micaela earned a B.A. in History from Washington University in St. Louis, cum laude, with an additional major in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. She earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2019, cum laude. During law school, Micaela was selected as a Human Rights Fellow and spent a summer at a human rights non-profit in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales). Micaela was also an award-winning member of the Moot Court Board, a journal at NYU, and the Trial Advocacy Society. She graduated with the Order of the Barristers, a national award from her peers, and the National Moot Court Award.
Carly Hite joined Children’s Rights in 2022. Previously, she was a Skadden Fellow in her hometown of Buffalo, NY, where she worked to reduce the racially disproportionate use of school suspensions. In that role, she helped hundreds of children and families challenge suspensions; seek appropriate special education services; and access supports for students experiencing homelessness, involved in the family regulation system, and/or with limited English proficiency. Before her fellowship, she clerked with the Hon. Richard C. Wesley of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Hon. Lawrence J. Vilardo of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.
Carly received her B.A. in Economics and German Studies from Pomona College in 2012 and her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2018. Between college and law school, she served as a Fulbright Fellow in Cologne, Germany, and taught high school math in NYC. In her spare time, Carly enjoys skiing, travelling, and rooting for the Bills.
Eugénie is a Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2023, Eugénie clerked for the Hon. Eric R. Komitee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the Hon. Lavenski R. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Before clerking, she was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Eugénie received her B.A. in History from Yale University in 2014 and her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2019. During law school, she participated in the Criminal Defense Clinic and StreetLaw, a student project dedicated to teaching incarcerated and at-risk youth about their legal rights. She also interned at the Exoneration Initiative in New York. Between college and law school, Eugénie was a full-time volunteer in Bellevue Hospital’s Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and founded the Child Refugee Initiative, a non-profit aimed at connecting refugee children with supportive services and medical care in the U.S.
Aarti Iyer joined Children’s Rights as a Staff Attorney in 2023. She previously served as a staff attorney at A Better Childhood, where she advocated through federal impact litigation for abused and neglected children in state foster care custody. In that role, she investigated child welfare systems for harmful policies and practices violating the legal rights of children in foster care, and represented children in federal civil rights class actions across the country. Aarti holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago, as well as an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia University. In her free time, you can find her reading literary fiction, catching a movie at Film Forum, or trying out a new recipe.
Madeleine M. Kinney joined Children’s Rights in 2019. Previously, she was a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where she represented clients in complex commercial disputes, and maintained an active and diverse pro bono practice. Her pro bono experiences include representing clients in immigration matters and before city and state agencies, including the NYC D.O.E. and the NY D.O.L. Madeleine externed in the Legal Aid Society’s New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, and served as a member of Legal Services NYC’s Pro Bono Associate Advisory Board. In 2017, she was a recipient of the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award.
Ms. Kinney earned her B.A. degree in 2010 from Colgate University, magna cum laude, and her J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 2014, with honors. During law school, Ms. Kinney served as a legal intern at the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. Madeleine is co-author of Fostering Inequity, a 2020 report on how COVID-19 amplifies risks for LGBTQ+ youth in care, and Families over Facilities, a 2021 call to action to end the unnecessary institutionalization of children in child welfare systems.
Sarah Massoni is the Communications Coordinator at Children’s Rights. Before joining Children’s Rights in 2023, she graduated in 2018 from Hofstra University with a BA in English and a minor in Global Studies, and in 2021 she received her MA in Political Science with a concentration in International Affairs and Global Justice from Brooklyn College. She has had internship experiences with the International Rescue Committee, the United Nations, and Human Rights First. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crafting, and traveling with her family.
Hina Naveed joined Children’s Rights in 2023. Previously, she was the 2021-2023 Aryeh Neier Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) where she conducted research on, and pursued litigation and advocacy related to, the US child welfare system. Hina also authored an ACLU/HRW report, “If I Wasn’t Poor, I Wouldn’t Be Unfit” The Family Separation Crisis in the US Child Welfare System, in which she documented how the system too often removes children from their parents with scant evidence and limited protections for parents’ due process rights, and disproportionately impacts children from over-policed, underserved communities, especially people of color and people living in poverty.
Hina earned her B.S. as a Registered Nurse from the College of Staten Island in 2017 and her J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law in 2021. While pursuing her law degree, Hina worked in a child welfare agency serving children in the foster system and volunteered as a Registered Nurse during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Hina is a long-time immigrants’ rights activist and in her spare time advocates for dignity and permanency for undocumented immigrants in the US.
Stephanie Persson is a Senior Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights. Stephanie joined Children’s Rights in 2016, and has worked on multiple class action cases on behalf of children and youth. Her work has included advocating for improved state child welfare systems, eliminating harmful solitary confinement in juvenile facilities, providing adequate mental health care to children, and ensuring equitable support for kinship families seeking to foster relative children. Prior to joining Children’s Rights, she worked in Hong Kong, where she advocated for improvements in the Hong Kong child welfare system and supervised law students in clinical human rights courses.
Stephanie received her B.A. from the University of Washington and her J.D from Columbia Law School. While at Columbia, she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and received the Edwin Parker Prize and a Human Rights Institute Leadership Commendation.
Michelle Ramirez graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2023 with a degree in Public Policy and a Human Rights Sequence. While at Claremont McKenna, Michelle completed her senior thesis on “Examining the Equity of California’s School Funding Formula,” which aimed to measure the impact of equity-oriented school finance reforms in California on student achievement. Before joining Children’s Rights, she interned for the Learning Rights Law Center, the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights, and the Department for the Execution of Judgments at the Council of Europe.
Ruby Ritchin joined Children’s Rights in 2023. Previously, she was a legal fellow at Human Rights First where she supported representation of people seeking asylum and researched and published reports documenting the experiences of immigrants with disabilities in immigration proceedings.
Ruby earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2022. In law school, she participated in the Child Advocacy Clinic, served as an editor with the Harvard Civil Rights‐Civil Liberties Law Review, and researched solitary confinement in immigration detention. Before law school, Ruby worked in immigration advocacy and policy and directly with refugee communities. She received her B.A., cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016.
Eleanor Roberts is a staff attorney at Children’s Rights. Prior to starting at Children’s Rights she was a staff attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services. She was a law student intern at Yale Law School’s Jerome Frank Legal Services Organization, where she represented young people seeking release from incarceration and published a report about the termination of parental rights for children with incarcerated parents. As a 2L, she contributed to a brief for the Center for Constitutional Rights that challenged the government’s policy of separating children from parents with criminal records while in immigration detention. Eleanor is passionate about immigration issues and her college thesis included policy recommendations for expanding protections for unaccompanied minors. Her docket at CR will focus on litigation at the intersection of immigration and child welfare and other casework as well. Eleanor is a 2022 graduate of Yale Law School and a 2015 graduate of Princeton University. She is fluent in Spanish.
Amanda Sabia is a Financial Analyst. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2019 she was an Industry Analyst at Gartner. At Gartner she produced fact-based research documents, including forecasts and strategic recommendations for product managers in the consumer device and services industries. Amanda’s corporate financial background began at Verizon. There she was part of the CFO’s team providing actual versus budget analysis, writing excerpts for management discussion and analysis documents, recommending cost reduction strategies, and leading the finance team in merger integration.
Amanda earned her MBA with a concentration in Financial Management from Pace University. Amanda received her BA in Music Education from The College of New Jersey. She taught instrumental music to children with special needs. When not working, Amanda likes to swim, run (more like a fast walk), take care of her granddaughter and spend time with friends and family.
Kathleen (Katie) Simon joined Children’s Rights in 2021. Previously, she clerked for the Honorable Stefan R. Underhill of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and was a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP.
Katie received her B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2014 and her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2018. At Columbia, she was a James Kent Scholar, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and Managing Editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. While in law school, she participated in the Challenging the Consequences of Mass Incarceration Clinic and interned for the Brooklyn Defender Services, Family Defense Practice. Katie’s student note, “Catalyzing the Separation of Black Families: A Critique of Foster Care Placements Without Prior Judicial Review,” won the E. Allan Farnsworth Note Writing Competition in 2017 and was published in the Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems
Rejlond Sinani is a Senior Staff Accountant at Children’s Rights. Before joining Children’s Rights in 2020, he worked as an auditor for the Albanian Supreme Auditing Institution (ALSAI), where he provided audit programs for financial and performance audits by examining all the information and identifying areas of non-compliance. Rejlond got his start in the accounting industry after he finished his Bachelor’s degree in 2014 working as a staff accountant for a retail firm for three years where he managed receivable and payable accounts and provided daily reports to senior accountants.
Rejlond earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Tirana in Albania, and holds a Master’s degree in Executive Management with the thesis topic “European Union: Development Opportunity or a Risk for Albanian Businesses.” In his spare time, Rejlond enjoys many outdoor activities including biking, hiking, and tennis.
Matthew Soling is the Senior Development Operations Manager at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining the team in 2023, Matt worked for several non-profit organizations, including the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Sanctuary for Families, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, and International Center for Transitional Justice. He brings over 10 years of non-profit fundraising experience to Children’s Rights. Matt received his BA in Sociology and History from Loyola University Chicago.
Eric Thompson joined Children’s Rights in 1998. He received his A.B., cum laude, from Harvard College and his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. He also clerked for the Hon. William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Prior to joining the staff at Children’s Rights, Eric prosecuted child protective custody and termination of parental rights cases as Assistant Regional Counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services in Boston.
An experienced litigator, Eric has successfully led Children’s Rights’ litigation efforts in Milwaukee, Mississippi, and New Jersey. He obtained judicial recognition of a federal legal right to timely adoption filings for foster children under the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, and a state legal right to basic protections and services for foster children under the New Jersey Child Placement Bill of Rights. He has testified before Congress on child welfare reform efforts in the District of Columbia, spoken across the country about the legal rights of children, is published on the subject, and has served as a Harvard Law School Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow. When not supporting Children’s Rights litigation in his current Of Counsel role, Eric leads an academic mentoring and summer camp organization for low-income Boston students and is a weekend tennis warrior.
Katriel Tolin graduated from Columbia University in 2023, where she double majored in Anthropology and Human Rights. She wrote two senior theses entitled “Human Rights Critique of Anti-Trans Legislation in the US” and “Generation Lesbian: Lesbian Bars as a Site of Queer Longing and Imagination”. Before joining Children’s Rights, Katriel worked in various social justice and community-based spaces, such as the Michigan House of Representatives, Columbia Multicultural Affairs, The Amendment Project, and The Hunger Project.
Emmy Vargas began at Children’s Rights as a paralegal intern while a student at LaGuardia Community College. In March 1988 she joined Children’s Rights’ staff as a legal assistant and became senior administrative assistant in 2005. In 2019, Emmy stepped into the Operations Manager role, supporting the smooth functioning of the organization in all regards, including acting as liaison with building staff to maintain the office space, IT, vendor and supply management, and miscellaneous operational needs. Emmy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Kai graduated from Middlebury College in 2023 with a degree in English Literature and concentration in Creative Writing. They are a proud NY Posse Foundation alumnx. While at Middlebury, they served on the executive board for Women of Color and WRMC 91.1 FM Middlebury College Radio. In 2022, they were invited to contribute their work to the Bread Loaf Environmental Writer’s Conference and to the Middlebury-Oxford CMRS program. Before joining Children’s Rights, they interned at various immigration legal nonprofits such as UnLocal Inc. and found their deep interest in legal & community advocacy. Kai spent their summers working with gender expansive youth at community spaces such as the Middlebury Teen Center and Sadie Nash Leadership Project in Newark. In their free time, they enjoy printmaking, writing, and photography.
Jessica Zou is a Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights. Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2023, Jessica was a staff attorney in the Family Defense Practice of Brooklyn Defender Services. In that role, she provided trauma-informed defense to dozens of indigent parents, many of whom found themselves caught in the family regulation system due to intersecting issues like housing insecurity, cross-cultural/language dynamics, and overpolicing in marginalized communities. She also served as Head of Privacy Research & Outreach at Record Fixer, a legal tech start-up that helps justice-involved individuals preemptively remove their expunged or sealed records from criminal background databases before collateral consequences arise.
Jessica received her B.A. in public policy from Princeton University in 2016 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 2021. At Yale, she served as an executive editor on the Yale Law & Policy Review and participated in the Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic, Housing Clinic, and Gender Violence Clinic. She has interned with the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland, Oregon; the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia; and the Public Integrity Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General.