EBCLC has a talented and diverse staff who are deeply committed to EBCLC’s dual mission of training the next generation of social justice lawyers while increasing access to justice and ending poverty. Staff members are active in local, regional, national and international conferences on legal services and clinical legal education. We are proud of the many individual and collective accomplishments of our staff, and of the many awards they have received for their exceptional service and teaching.

River Abeje

Supervising Attorney, Clean Slate Practice
J. D., Santa Clara University School of Law (1992)
B.A., Anthropology and Political Science, New School for Social Research (1980)

River Abeje became a supervising attorney for Clean Slate in 2007. Previously, she served as the Policy Specialist for the Office of Citizen Complaints advancing accountability of the San Francisco police department. As staff attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, she was involved in litigation challenging medical conditions at the largest women’s prisons in California and published several articles on legal and social issues for caregivers of children whose parents are incarcerated and substance dependent. She has also served as the Director of Diversity Programs for the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), receiving a BASF Award of Merit for her work.

Ed Barnes

Director, Income Practice
J.D., New York University School of Law (1977)
B.A., Linguistics, Brown University (1969)

Ed Barnes has been a supervising attorney at EBCLC since 1988, and Director of the Income practice since 1995. Before coming to EBCLC, Ed worked at DNA Legal Services on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, and at the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County. He has also been a math teacher for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. Ed is the author of numerous welfare policy changes; and has handled major litigation concerning public assistance and health care.

Martha Brown

Director of Finance and Administration

Sharon Djemal
Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Housing Practice

J.D., Columbia University School of Law (1997)
B.A., Political Science, Macalester College (1991)

Sharon Djemal joined EBCLC’s Housing practice in 2000. Prior to EBCLC, Sharon was a Soros Fellow at the Urban Justice Center 's Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project, providing eviction prevention and community education to public housing tenants in New York City. While a fellow, she founded a clinic at Columbia University School of Law, supervising an average of 15 students each semester. For more on her work at the Urban Justice Center,

While in law school, Sharon participated in numerous public interest activities, and earned Columbia ’s highest clinical award, the Jane Marks Murphy Prize for interest and proficiency in clinical advocacy. Sharon 's other involvement in community organizations stretches across the globe, from New York, Washington D.C., and Minnesota, to Nicaragua, Angola, and Israel.

Victoria Flores

Contracts Manager

Liam Galbreth
Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Health Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1999)
B.A., Politics, University of California at Santa Cruz (1994)

Liam Galbreth joined EBCLC in 2001 as an attorney in the Income practice and a member of the Family Advocacy Services Team. In 2003 he moved to the Health practice. In 2002 he co-chaired the Alameda County Bar Association Community Projects Committee. While in law school, Liam interned at EBCLC for two semesters.

Sheila Hall
Director, Health Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1984)
B.A., English, University of California at Berkeley (1978)

Sheila Hall joined EBCLC in 1999 and has served as the Director of the Health Law practice since 2001. Before coming to EBCLC, Sheila was a benefits advocate at the Marin AIDS Project, and in private practice in Los Angeles. She has served as a pro bono attorney for the AIDS Legal Referral Panel and the SSI for Children with Disabilities Project of the San Francisco Bar Association.

Sheila is a former board member of Project Inform, a national organization that provides information and advocacy regarding medical treatment for HIV/AIDS & Health. She is a member of the Ryan White HIV Health Services Planning Council for the Oakland Eligible Metropolitan Area, and in 2004 she was selected by the state Office of AIDS to serve on the California HIV Planning Group, the top advisory body on HIV policy and planning in the state.

Eliza Hersh

Fellow & Attorney, Clean Slate Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (2005)

B.A., Letters, Wesleyan University (1998)

Eliza joined EBCLC as a Clean Slate Fellow in 2006.  After graduating from Boalt, Eliza clerked for Chief Judge Martha Vázquez, United States District Court, District of New Mexico.  As a law student, Eliza interned at EBCLC and trained to be a victim liaison in the JustBridges program.  Prior to law school, Eliza worked as an investigator on post-conviction capital cases. 

Luan Huynh
Shartsis Friese Public Interest Law Fellow, Income Practice

J.D., UCLA School of Law (2005)
B.A. Political Science and Communications, UCLA (1999)

Marc S. Janowitz
Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Housing Practice

J.D., New College of California School of Law (1980)
B.A., University of Maryland (1969)

Marc Janowitz joined EBCLC as a consulting attorney in 2002 after many years of providing pro bono assistance to EBCLC clients, with a focus on affirmative law suits in the Housing practice. In 2005 he became a staff attorney. Marc previously operated the Law Offices of Marc S. Janowitz in San Francisco where he specialized in representing residential and commercial tenants. He has lectured widely in California on landlord-tenant issues for business and professional groups, including the Real Property Section of the State Bar of California.

From 1994-2002 Marc served as an elected Commissioner on the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. In 2003, he successfully litigated Drouet v. Superior Court before the California Supreme Court establishing the right of tenants to assert retaliation claims in Ellis Act evictions.

Gracie Jones
Intake Specialist, Housing Practice

Gracie Jones joined EBCLC in 2003 as the Receptionist. In 2006, she became the Housing Intake Specialist. Before coming to EBCLC, Gracie worked at the Berkeley Housing Authority and served on the Section 8 Voucher Program team.

Laura Lane
Director, Housing Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1996)
M.A., Comparative Literature, San Francisco State University (1992)
B.A., Classics, Hunter College (1988)

Laura Lane joined EBCLC as a supervising attorney in 1997 and directs the Housing practice.  As a law student Laura worked in EBCLC’s Health practice, at the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County, and at the American Civil Liberties Union.  A recipient of an echoing green Public Interest Fellowship, in 1996 Laura founded and directed a project providing free legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS in Contra Costa County.

Laura has taught housing law and policy at Boalt Hall School of Law and at Golden Gate University, School of Law.  In 2003, she was honored at a reception in San Francisco by Housing Rights, Inc. in recognition of her contributions to fair housing in the East Bay.

Margaretta Lin

Director, Community Economic Justice Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1991)
M.A., Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley (1991)
B.A., University of Virginia (1986)

Margaretta Lin joined EBCLC in 2003 to direct the Community Economic Justice practice. While in law school, Margaretta co-founded the Boalt Hall Studies in International Law and Women of Color Caucus. She was active in the Coalition for Diversified Faculty and a member of the California Law Review. After graduating from Boalt, Margaretta served as a law clerk to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Margaretta has been a civil rights lawyer and activist for more than a decade in the Bay Area. Margaretta was the founder and Executive Director of Youth Together, a youth organizing and educational justice organization working in Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond. She was a civil rights attorney at Public Advocates, where she was lead counsel on class action education discrimination cases. She has also served as an equity specialist with the federal desegregation assistance center and a research associate on a national research study on school diversity issues.

Jonathon Marley
Director of Development & Planning

Fellowship, Health Care Administration, Johns Hopkins University (1988)
M.P.H., Health Policy and Management, Harvard University (1987)
A.B., Human Biology, Stanford University (1984)

Jonathon Marley founded EBCLC's development department in 1994 and has served as Development Director since that time. Before joining EBCLC, he worked with the Over 60 Health Center in Berkeley, directed the Teen Clinic and HIV Program at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland, and interned at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.

At Harvard, Jonathon co-founded the Health and Human Rights Group, and later helped to start both the International Campaign to Free Geronimo Pratt and the New Village Community Public Charter School of the East Bay. In 1999 he created the Anti-Bias Curriculum Project, helping elementary school students in Berkeley public schools understand and appreciate differences related to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, family income, and language. Jonathon serves on the School Governance Council and the Academic Choice Advisory Council at Berkeley High School, and he is on the Board of Directors for the Peoples Life Fund in Berkeley.

Jaimee Arnone Modica
Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Housing Practice

J.D., King Hall School of Law, University of California at Davis (2003)
B.A., University of California at Berkeley (1999)

Jaimee joined EBCLC in 2003 as an Equal Justice Works fellow in the Housing practice. The fellowship was generously supported by the law firm of Bingham McCutchen and focused on substandard housing in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. In 2005, Jaimee became a staff attorney. During law school, Jaimee interned at EBCLC for several semesters, and at La Raza Centro Legal and the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees, Local 2.

Deborah Moss-West
Development Officer

J.D., Santa Clara School of Law (1994)
B.A., Social Science, San Jose State University (1988)

A Bay Area native, Deborah Moss-West joined EBCLC in 2000 and has served the agency in many capacities. As EBCLC’s first Program Director and then  Deputy Director, Deborah oversaw the agency’s human resources, fiscal and administrative functions. Her work also included providing organizational development and technical legal assistance to non-profits and small businesses. In October 2006, Deborah became EBCLC’s first Development Officer, focusing her efforts on law firms, corporate giving and cultivating relationships with EBCLC’s many supporters and major donors.  

Prior to coming to EBCLC, Deborah worked for twelve years in Human Resources, Civil Litigation, and Procurement. When not at EBCLC Deborah provides non-profit and small business consulting services and enjoys working with youth and teaching.  

Ayana Muhammad
Office Manager

Ayana Muhammad has been at EBCLC since March 1998. Ayana manages the dual role of Office Manager and Network Administrator at EBCLC. She has years of administrative experience and has attended many computer related trainings. She previously worked at EBCLC in the early 1990s, before attending Clark Atlanta University. Ayana also has worked for the Center for Health Leadership where she interacted with public health officials from all over the country. Ayana served in the United States Army Reserves for seven years as a Medical Specialist.

Jen Neuber

Receptionist

M.A., Rhetoric, University of California at Berkeley (2004)

B.A., Communication Studies, Macalester College (1999)

Jen Neuber joined EBCLC as a bilingual receptionist in 2006 with Spanish as her second language. Jen minored in Spanish at Macalester College and studied abroad for a semester in Bogotá, Colombia. Before joining EBCLC, Jen was a graduate student and teaching assistant in Film Studies and Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. While studying at Berkeley, she organized with Students for Justice in Palestine and a taught in Patten University's college program at San Quentin prison. Jen has volunteered with People United for a Better Oakland's Campaign for Community Safety and Police Accountability since 2004, and continues her work as an organizer in various local campaigns for community empowerment and social justice.

Osha Neumann
Consulting Attorney

J.D., New College of California School of Law (1987)
M.A., History, Yale (1962)
B.A., History, Swarthmore (1961)

Osha Neumann joined EBCLC as a Consulting Attorney in 2003. He has been in private practice in Berkeley since 1987, representing political protestors, victims of police misconduct and homeless people in cases regarding their civil rights. He is the chairperson of Community Defense Inc., a non-profit that promotes legal education for poor and marginalized communities. He is also an accomplished muralist responsible or many murals still to be seen in Berkeley.

Serina Rankins

Intake Specialist & Paralegal, Clean Slate Practice

AA, Paralegal Studies, Merritt College (2007)

Serina Rankins joined EBCLC in July 2007.  She was born and raised in Oakland, CA.  Serina has over 11 years of administrative experience, having worked at various non-profits and corporations in the Bay Area.  She is a member of the National Notary Association.

Margaret Richardson
Director, Clean Slate Clinic

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (2004)
M.P.A., Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2004)
B.A., History, University of Virginia, (1998)

Margaret Richardson joined EBCLC in 2005 as an attorney in the Clean Slate Clinic where her work focuses on protecting the rights of individuals at the intersection of poverty and criminal law. In July 2006 Margaret became the director of the clinic.

Prior to law school, Margaret worked to promote educational equity in San Francisco's public schools through Partners in School Innovation. As a law student Margaret worked in multiple practice areas at EBCLC and served as a student board member. Margaret recently finished a post-graduate fellowship at Boalt Hall's Center for Social Justice.

Tamura Saxton
Administrative Assistant

Tamura joined EBCLC in August of 2007. She was born and raised in Oakland, CA.  Tamura holds a degree in Fashion Merchandising. After working in the buying office of a catalogue company she decided to enter the legal field.  Before coming to EBCLC, Tamura worked as a legal assistant in a worker’s compensation law firm and a real estate law firm. Currently, Tamura is a student in the Los Angles Mission College paralegal program.

Tirien Steinbach

Executive Director

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1999)
B.A., Art History, University of California at Santa Cruz (1994)

In March 2007, Tirien Steinbach became the third executive director of EBCLC.  Tirien joined EBCLC in 2001 in the Income practice where she incubated Clean Slate practice, which she directed. In 2006 Tirien served as EBCLC's Director of Clinical & Program. Tirien is currently a Lecturer at Boalt Hall School of Law (UC Berkeley), and co-teaches "Community Law Practice at EBCLC," the companion seminar for Boalt students enrolled in EBCLC’s clinical program.

In law school, Tirien was active in the public interest and student of color communities, where she served as co-president of the Berkeley Law Foundation Student Steering Committee and Vice President of Recruitment for Law Students of African Descent. Upon graduating from Boalt, Tirien is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including an Equal Justice Works fellowship sponsored by the California Appellate Project, a Berkeley Law Foundation grant for her work at EBCLC, and the inaugural Thelton E. Henderson Social Justice Prize.

Linda Tam
Staff Attorney & Clinical Instructor, Health Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2000)
B.A., Psychology, Yale University (1996)

Linda Tam joined EBCLC in 2003 to develop an immigration specialty within the Health practice. At Boalt, Linda served on the Asian Law Journal, was recruitment co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and worked in the International Human Rights Law Clinic. At Yale, she received the Association of Yale Alumni Community Service Fellowship.

Linda has extensive work and volunteer experience in serving low-income clients and communities, including work most recently at La Raza Centro Legal, Disability Rights Advocates, the Department of Justice (Executive Office for Immigration Review) and the Asian Law Caucus. She also brings teaching and training experience, and ability in 5 languages in addition to English (Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Toisan and French). She is a contributor on immigration law to AIDS and the Law, the leading treatise on HIV legal issues.

Jeffrey Thomas
Deputy Director

Yvonne Troya

Staff Attorney & Clinical Supervisor, Health Practice

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2006)

B.A., Latin American Studies & Biology, Bowdoin College (1996)

Yvonne Troya joined EBCLC as a staff attorney in the Health Law Practice in 2007.  Prior to law school, Yvonne served as a paralegal in the Asylum Program of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco for five years.  There she worked with indigent immigrants from over 30 different countries.  During law school, Yvonne interned with the Employment Law Project of La Raza Centro Legal and worked as a summer associate at the law firm of Drinker, Biddle & Reath.  She also spent a semester working at the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) in Geneva, Switzerland in addition to interning with the International Human Rights Law Clinic at Boalt.

Vien Truong

Community Economic Justice Law Fellow

J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law (2006)

B.A., University of California, Berkeley (2002)

Vien joined EBCLC in 2006 as the first of the Community Economic Justice Law Fellow.  Vien worked throughout law school.  She clerked with the National Economic Development Law Center, providing legal assistance to nonprofits.  She was a summer clerk for U.S. Chief Magistrate, researching and analyzing issues before the court.  She also worked with a California State Senator, researching and developing state law. 

Vien was the founder and lead instructor for the Legal Assistance Program for Clarita Career College, a legal training program for entering legal professionals.  She also taught Street Law at Castlemont High School, a program that teaches law to high school students. 

Vien was born in a refugee camp in Hong Kong but was raised in Oakland.  She lives in Oakland now with her husband and 1.75 dogs.

Chauniqua Young
Development Associate

B.A., Liberal Arts, Sarah Lawrence College, 2002

Chauniqua Young joined EBCLC in 2003 as an Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator. In 2006 she became Development Associate. Previously, she worked with the Sarah Lawrence College Office of Admission as the Intern for Student of Color Recruitment.

Carolina Zanni
Administrative Assistant

Carolina was born and raised in Santiago, Chile and came to the United States in 1994. Carolina attended Contra Costa College, and after completing ESL classes, she graduated in 2001 with two Certificates of Achievement in Computer Systems Operations and Network Technologies.

Carolina worked as an administrative assistant for an Oakland based law firm, providing services in personal injury cases, such as car accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, class action suits, and toxic torts. With Spanish being her first language, Carolina also helped Spanish speaking clients with translations and legal documents.