As the daughter of immigrants, Uzma uses empathy, compassion and diligence to meet the needs of the immigrant community. She is active in her community and beyond. Uzma volunteers as a service coordinator for survivors of domestic violence in South Asian and Muslim communities, helping them resolve legal issues and receive social services. Nareen Kim has more than two decades of legal experience. She has extensive experience in all areas of housing law, including private and subsidized eviction advocacy, termination of housing choice vouchers, reasonable arrangements, condition issues and foreclosures. Throughout her career, Nareen has been a zealous advocate for those who need justice but may not have access to it. Most recently, she was a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services, where she represented low-income tenants who were illegally evicted or at risk of losing their subsidies. Nareen has also worked as a hired attorney at Legal Aid Chicago, representing impoverished clients in the areas of family, housing, employment and consumer law. Prior to civil justice, she was a criminal defense attorney with the Lake County Public Defender`s Office and the Evanston Community Advocate`s Office. Lizzy worked as a law clerk for a Superior Court judge in Anchorage, Alaska, and clerked for the Alaska Public Defender Agency. After living out of state for several years, Lizzy returned to Illinois to bring her legal skills and experience to the communities where she grew up. Kevin Sheehan is a staff lawyer motivated by community advocacy and seeks the best possible outcomes for low-income clients with our housing law practice.
He brings non-profit legal aid experience in community work and as a lawyer for housing staff. Kevin has also served as legal counsel to the President of the Illinois Senate and has experience advising and drafting policies focused on racial justice and justice. He is committed to helping others. He has provided pro bono services to Equip for Equality and served on the Associate Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society Ambassadors. Aimee Gutierrez joined the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic in 2021 as an articling student in our immigration law practice and returned for the first time as a bilingual (Spanish) AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member. It supports lawyers and staff in education and awareness-raising projects related to domestic violence legal aid. Her interest in advocacy was first sparked during her second year of study. This discovery inspired Aimee to pursue a career in victim and witness advocacy. Prior to joining the clinic, Marina volunteered with the Regional Program for the Settlement and Integration of Asylum Seekers in Quebec in Montreal, as well as an internship at the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante in Mexico City, a non-profit organization that exposes migrant labor abuses in the United States. She also has experience as a paralegal at a private immigration firm in Chicago.
Prior to joining NSLAC, Ian worked on comprehensive housing issues including eviction defence, foreclosure, termination of housing choice vouchers, reverse mortgages, deposits, condition issues, rent disputes, and illegal lockouts. These cases overlapped with other areas of civil law, including family relations, immigration and inheritance. Ian`s nonprofit legal career began as a student intern at the Cook County Public Defender`s Crime Trial Division. Prior to law school, he worked in alumni relations and development at the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Public Interest Law Institute. Esmeralda is a bilingual professional who works with the immigration law firm to conduct legal research to assist with litigation, communicate with clients, obtain documents, and assist with administrative and paralegal support work. As our urban areas continue to expand and the presence of immigrants outside Chicago`s city limits increases, Marina Maric, a suburban Indigenous resident, strongly believes in the clinic`s work to expand access to pro bono legal services to suburban immigrant communities. As a bilingual domestic violence lawyer, Rebecca provides direct legal advice to survivors of domestic violence. It has developed a range of innovative initiatives and approaches to reach survivors and provide them with the comprehensive legal assistance and services they need to lead productive and safe lives. Rebecca helps build NSLAC`s strategic partnerships and works to identify emerging issues and trends in the region to develop intersectional solutions to support survivors and improve the justice system and community response to domestic violence to provide survivors with holistic pathways to independence from abuse. Uzma is a first-generation, multilingual, Pakistani-American lawyer with a passion for social justice and equality. She has legal experience in both the private and public sectors, working for reputable law firms in Chicago and Cook County.
Jan is a non-profit professional with a legal, financial and customer service background. And good luck. He was fortunate to be born in a relatively wealthy Poland, at a time when 55% of the world`s population lived on $2 a day. He was also fortunate to live in a place with easy access to higher education – Jan graduated from high school at a time when only 6% of the world`s population was a university graduate. He has lived on three continents – gaining intercultural experience in developing and industrialized countries – and speaks three languages (English, Polish and Italian). Jan`s responsibilities at the clinic span all aspects of non-profit operations – from internal practice development, process design and improvement, to external community collaboration, and partnership management. Before entering the non-profit world, he was a trader in the financial markets. Jan is a member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) in Chicago. We are required by the HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and other applicable laws to maintain the privacy of your health information, to inform individuals of our legal obligations and privacy practices with respect to that information, and to comply with the terms of this statement. We are also required by law to notify data subjects after a breach of their unsecured health data. Jack Hanson joins NSLAC with strong ties to Lake County and the suburbs of Cook County and experience working with and for non-profit organizations. He is a former author of Legal Service Grants and served as AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America).
Charlotte Coats is a committed lawyer with a keen interest in advocating for the most vulnerable and underrepresented in our society. Prior to joining the clinic, Charlotte articled on the Family Violence Team at the Legal Aid Society of Chicago. His articling experience with Legal Aid Chicago and Legal Aid Chicago, the Citizen Advocacy Center and Prairie State Legal Services has provided him with extensive experience and background in public interest law. As a JD candidate, Charlotte received a 711 license to provide legal services in the state of Illinois and has represented survivors of domestic violence on family rights issues. As a law student, she was an active member of the DePaul Center for Public Interest Law and held several leadership positions. Prior to joining the clinic, Nicole supported immigration law counselling programs at community organizations, including the North Suburbs Legal Aid Clinic. He provided training on immigration law, practice and ethics, technical legal assistance, advice on the Department of Justice`s recognition and accreditation process, and provided general mentorship to organizations and staff. Nicole has experience with a number of immigration cases, including naturalization, adjustment of status, U and DACA visas.
She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. In addition to Rachel`s work with NSLAC, she received a 36 Under 36 award from the Jewish United Fund Chicago. She volunteers with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs` Immigration Justice campaign. She also has professional experience in the education and legal sectors.