Legal Aid at Work Staff

Joan Graff (she/her) has been President of Legal Aid at Work since 1981.

Sam (he/him) represents workers who have been subject to wage theft and misclassification and otherwise denied their rights to dignity, fair treatment, and a voice in their workplaces.

Laura Alvarenga Scalia (she/her/ella) defends and promotes the rights of people with disabilities who face discrimination in employment and unequal access to government programs and services.

Athena (she/her/ella) is a 2024 Equal Justice Works Fellow with the National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights program.

Alexx Campbell (he/him/él) is a staff attorney in the Wage Protection Program. He represents workers who have experienced wage theft.

Jessica (She/Her) is the Senior Central Valley Workers’ Advocate for the Central Valley program that is under the Gender/LGBTQ program.

Victoria Chan (she/her) is an Attorney & 2024-2025 Foundation for Advocacy, Inclusion, and Resources (FAIR) Fellow with the Wage Protection Program and Work & Family Program.

As head of our human resources function, Howard leads our efforts to recruit and retain talented and dedicated staff and create an environment where they can thrive.

Kevin (he/him) cultivates the strategic alliances that make our mission possible.

BreAnna (she/her) supports our staff, clerks, and network administrator in a variety of operations related tasks including leading onsite management tasks.

Abigail Cruz (she/her) is a Justice Catalyst Fellow with the Wage Protection Program at Legal Aid at Work.

DeCarol Davis is the Director of the Community Legal Services program, which provides free legal services to low-wage workers at Workers’ Rights Clinics throughout California. 

Ana plays an integral role in the daily operations and flow of our office and is the first Legal Aid at Work staffer that many of our clients speak with.

Isabel is a Skadden Fellow in the Gender Equity &LGBTQ Rights and National Origin and Immigrants Rights Programs.

Franchesca (she/her) is a paralegal who provides legal support, including researching civil procedure and local rules, calendaring deadlines, and preparing legal documents.

Lee (they/she/he)works to ensure smooth operations for our Worker Rights’ Clinics Program.

Mike Gaitley (he/him) is a staff attorney in the Community Legal Services program, where he has developed and nurtured a model for providing free legal services through a Workers’ Rights Clinic that has been emulated by numerous legal organizations.

Pilar (she/her/ella) is the VP of Programs and Litigation and oversees the delivery of legal services across the organization as well as LAAW’s impact litigation.

Natalia Gottschalk (they/she/elle/ella) is the Work and Family Program Advocate at Legal Aid at Work.

Steve (he/him) manages fundraising and development campaigns for Legal Aid at Work.

Chris (he/him) focuses on employment practices that affect immigrant workers, language minorities and others who face discrimination because of where they or their families come from.

Ian (he/him) joined the Legal Aid at Work team in May 2020, acting as both Accounting and Human Resources manager.

Having served 15 years in and out of the prison system Sandra (she/her/hers) draws from her own personal experience to help others with employment, housing, and educational discrimination.

Shazzy Kamali (she/her) is a Staff Attorney in the Work and Family Program at Legal Aid at Work.

Alison (she/her) oversees and manages the organization’s staff, fellowship, and law clerk recruiting.

Galina oversees a variety of day to day financial and accounting functions to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the financials at LAAW.

Scout (they/them) brings experience in board relations, fundraising, and advocacy, holding a Master in Social Work from San Jose State University.

Elizabeth (she/her) represents low-wage workers facing employment discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, military, or veteran status.

Savannah (she/they) oversees the organization’s client-facing self-help legal resource center, social media channels, website, and email marketing.

Molly provides legal services to individuals whose criminal records and disabilities compound and intersect to create barriers to living wage employment.

Greg (he/him) manages Legal Aid at Work’s donor database and collaborates with other members of the development team on fundraising appeals and events.

Lynnette Miner (she/her/hers) joined Legal Aid at Work as a Senior Staff Attorney in the Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights Program in January 2022.

Scott (he/him) focuses on optimizing our day to day office operations and technology to facilitate the delivery of services to our clients.

Kim Ouillette (she/her/ella) represents workers experiencing wage theft, retaliation, and other violations of their workplace rights.

Julia (she/her/ella) assists with the Work and Family and SURVIVE and provides legal advice, direct legal services, and trainings for workers struggling with family and medical crises.

Madeleine (she/her) acts as a project coordinator for LAAW’s grant application and reporting processes and works to ensure that LAAW’s grants align with its overall programmatic strategy.

Cynthia (she/her/ella) is the Temporary Central Valley Workers’ Advocate for the Central Valley program that is under the Gender/LGBTQ program.

Supporting lawyers across Legal Aid at Work’s programs, Tishon looks up rules and prepares pleadings, subpoenas, deposition notices, spreadsheets, client correspondence, and other documents.

Valerie (she/her) provides legal support across all programs in the organization including researching civil procedure and local rules, performing analysis on discovery, and preparing legal documents.

Sela (she/her) provides legal advice and representation to pregnant workers and new parents, workers struggling with family and medical crises, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

King (he/him) provides language assistance and legal information to low-income workers with limited English capacity.

Maria Tapia-Hernandez is an attorney in the Community Legal Services Program, which provides free legal services to low-wage workers at over a dozen Workers’ Rights Clinics throughout California.

As the Operations Associate at Legal Aid at Work, Joselyne is responsible for many aspects of LAAW’s daily operations and offering support to staff.

Sharon Terman (she/her) provides legal advice to workers in low-wage jobs, represents employees facing family medical crises, advocates for policy change to promote family-friendly workplaces.

George Warner (he/him) represents workers who have been subjected to labor trafficking and wage theft, and workers seeking to obtain wage replacement benefits, including Unemployment Insurance.

Katie (she/her) is a Staff Attorney in the Work and Family Program and for Project SURVIVE.

Stacy Villalobos (she/her/ella) spearheads Legal Aid at Work’s Ban the Box and Fair Chance work representing job seekers with criminal records.

Lawrence (he/him) is responsible to the organization’s financial health and sustainability as well as day-to-day operations such as IT and office management.

Erica (she/her/ella) directs workers to the appropriate resources by serving the helplines.