2025 Equal Justice Conference: Schedule

2025 Equal Justice Conference

7:30am PDT

Breakfast - Coffee sponsored by Everlaw Golden Gate Foyer Conference Registration Lobby Level Exhibitor Showcase Golden Gate Foyer Lactation Room - Sponsored by Complete Equity Markets, Inc. Union Square 12 Quiet Room - Sponsored by NLADA Mutual Insurance Co., RRG Union Square 11

8:30am PDT

Opening Plenary Continental Ballroom 4-6

10:00am PDT

Cultivating Self Awareness to Become a Better Advocate Golden Gate 8Rachel Schaefer • Shonda Mosby • Emmanuel Bonilla Developing Training and Credentialing Standards for the Future of Justice: Ascendium and Frontline Justice’s Community Justice Worker National Taskforce Continential 8Rebecca Rapp • Rebecca Sandefur • Brian Rubin • Nikole Nelson Ethical and Practical Considerations for Deploying a Generative AI Chatbot in Legal Self-Help Websites (Ethics) Continential 2Ayyoub Ajmi • Katherine Stocks • Stephanie McDonald Expanding Access to Justice through Legal Technology Plaza Room AChriselle Raguro • Pablo Ramirez • Sateesh Nori • Jennifer Zelnick Funding the Future: Supporting Law Students to Stay on the Path to Public Interest Careers Plaza Room BNira Geevargis • Sue Schechter • Phong Wong • Ashley Lowe MIE Roundtable for Legal Services Executive Directors and Managers Golden Gate 6Yvonne Mariajimenez • Jacquelynne Bowman Pathways to Growth: Building Professional Development for Mission Impact Continential 9Jared Smith • Julia Wilson • Amy Petkovsek Returning to Appalachia for Name Changes Golden Gate 7Molly Russell • Ming Wong • D'lorah Hughes Strengthening Neighborhoods with Pro Bono Support Continential 7Kayla Hogan • Katie Cronin • Katie Nolen The Art of the Ask – Partnering with Board Members to Make Successful Face-to-Face Solicitations Continential 1Kate Marr • Emily Wing What's the Right Amount of Right to Counsel: The Conversation Continues Union Square 17 & 18John Pollock • Samira Nazem • Bob Glaves

11:00am PDT

CLE/Help Desk Golden Gate Foyer CLE/Help Desk Golden Gate Foyer

11:30am PDT

Exhibit Hall Drawing Lobby Level ABA Free Legal Answers Administrators - Invitation Only Continential 1 California Directors Meeting Golden Gate 6 Democracy Protection Continential 3 LSC Pro Bono Innovation Fund Grantees (Closed Meeting) Continential 7 Medical-Legal Partnership "Power Hour" Golden Gate 7 Pro Bono Opportunities with Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network Golden Gate 8 Project Managers Continential 8 Ready, Set, Secure: Navigating Technology and Security Assessments Plaza Room B Reproductive Rights Continential 9 State Pro Bono Support Staff Plaza Room A Transactional Pro Bono Continential 2

1:15pm PDT

Advancing Elder Justice in Older Marginalized Communities Through Estate Planning Tools Union Square 23 & 24Anna Darr • Erica Costello • Dominique Sanz-David • Bertha Sanchez Hayden Advancing the Mission: Leveraging Efficiencies & Automating Tasks with AI Continential 9Kristi Schulenberg • Russ Bloomquist CLIMB: Engaging Pro Bono Lawyers to Aid Low Income Entrepreneurs and Combat Generational Poverty Continential 8Casey Burke • Julian Write Jr. Cy Pres Awards: The Latest News and Tips on an Important Source of Legal Aid Funding Continential 7Bob Glaves • Bill Boies • Salena Copleland Data and Diversion: Lessons Learned from the NCSC Eviction Diversion Initiative Union Square 17 & 18Samantha DiDomenico • Samira Nazem Data is the New Lego: Using Data Analytics to Build Legal Aid Success Continential 3Stacy Zinken • Ashley Oborn • Jessie Campbell • Heidi Behnke Debt Collection Lawsuits in the Courts: Trends, Resources, and Reforms to Make a Difference Continential 1Giulia Duch Clerici • Eshaan Kawlra • Nora Ryan Enhancing Legal Access Through Accessible Kiosks Plaza Room ACandi Rivera • J Singleton • Laura Steinbach Ethics and Pro Bono Delivery (Ethics) Plaza Room BLauren Gilbride • Ellyn Rosen • Jenny Mittelman Holistic Engagement: The Significance of Talking Circles Union Square 19 & 20Autumn Smith-Amy Navigating Indigenous Advocacy: Resources for Representing Native American Clients Golden Gate 7Cody Nelson • Stephanie Hudson • Cina Littlebird Overcoming the Access to Justice Gap For Asylum Seekers and New Arrivals Golden Gate 8Estuardo Cifuentes • Ted Jacobs • Jenifer Wolf-Williams • Jessica Riley Pro Se Support From Pro Bono Attorneys: The Supply and Demand Landscape Continential 2Tali Albukerk • Samantha Biggio • Sharon Goldsmith Rethinking Board Governance: The Core Responsibilities of a Purpose Driven Board Golden Gate 6Silvia Argueta • Julia Wilson • Monika Varma

2:30pm PDT

Break TBA Exhibit Hall Drawing Lobby Level

2:45pm PDT

Advancing Justice Initiatives Through Alternative Dispute Resolution Continential 8Jennifer Shack • Tracey Frisch • Christopher Gibson • Greg Kochansky • Jacqueline Harvey Best Practices: Protecting LGBTQ+ Families from Executive Orders and Providing Legal Safeguards for Clients Facing Challenges Due to Attacks on Federal Law and State Legislative Golden Gate 8Michelle Garcia Building A Feedback Culture: With an Emphasis on the Feedback You Are Afraid to Give Plaza Room AMatthew Canuteson • Melinda Fithen • Maggie Robb Charitable Giving x Pro Bono. How Can We Help Make the Legal World Thrive? Continential 9Diego Cartagena • Marnie Berk • Molly Meltzer • Ben Weinberg Collaborative Models for Pro Bono Engagement and Empowering Librarians to Address Legal Inequities Union Square 17 & 18Karen Westwood • Stephanie Beaugh • Pauline Afuso Combatting the Negative Impacts of Incarceration On Families and Children Continential 7Stephanie Taylor • D'Adre Cunningham • Kathleen Creamer Gen AI for Self-Represented Litigants: the Final Frontier of Access to Justice? Union Square 19 & 20Thomas Martin • Sateesh Nori • Natalie Knowlton • Rodrigo Camarena Harnessing Pro Bono Power to Defend and Advance Racial Justice Continential 1Chriselle Raguro • David Daniels • Nikki Endsley • Susan Hoffman Intake Process Improvement: Enhancing Legal Aid Efficiency and Client Experience Continential 3Jane Ribadeneyra • Angela Tripp • Cynthia Sadkin • Fatima Dadabhoy Responding to the Evolving Funding Landscape for Legal Aid - Federal Funding Panel Discussion Continential 2Jennifer Bentley • Yvonne Mariajimenez • Luise Stone • Anne Sweeney Supersized Pro Bono: Exploring Pathways to Growing Pro Bono Staff Golden Gate 6Heidi Behnke • Matthew Kugizaki • Adam Heintz The Last “Affordable Housing”: Protecting Mobile and Manufactured Home Communities Before and After Disasters. Golden Gate 7Sam Abel-Palmer • Kristine Hansen • Michelle Trunkett • Andrew Rumbach Using Data in Advocacy Plaza Room BFarah Majid • Hannah Honeycutt • Shunna Jeter Utility Debt: Its Impact on Low-Income Communities and Strategies for Challenging and Reforming Predatory Practices Union Square 23/24Ellen Degnan • Jenifer Bosco • Robert Ballenger • Sylvia Orduno

4:00pm PDT

4:15pm PDT

A Tale of Two Coordinated Intake Systems Union Square 19 & 20Sarah Coffey Bowes • Kirra Jarratt • Karen Wabeke • Ashley Graham-Wantanabe Design Pro Bono Projects to Create Volunteer Choice: A "Choose Your Own Adventure Story." Continential 7Teresa Mathern • Bobbi Saltzman Fairness and Accountability in an Anti-DEI Environment Continential 1Jonathan Puente • Megan Connelly • Nathanael Player From Data to Action: Engaging a Broad Array of Stakeholders to Respond Meaningfully to Statewide Civil Legal Needs Assessments Golden Gate 8Gretchen Slusser • Hannah Honeycutt Going For It—Starting a Pro Se Self-Help Center with Resources You Already Have Union Square 23 & 24Amanda Pearl • Kellye Fleming • Meghan Wheeler Harnessing the Power of Collective Action: Lessons (so far) from the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance Continental 8Ben Weinberg • Brenna DeVaney • Rosalyn Nasdor • Diane Lucas How Legal Services Programs are Innovating with Generative AI to Enhance Client Services Golden Gate 6Angela Tripp • Scheree Gilchrist • Vivian Hessel Legal Help for Kinship Caregivers: Developing Innovative Service Delivery Models to Meet Emergent Client Needs Union Square 17 & 18Elizabeth Wehner • Angela White • Molly Russell • Kate White

5:00pm PDT

NAPBPRO Annual Meeting Continential 2 NALP Mixer Vista Lounge

6:00pm PDT

EJC Reception The Melody

7:30am PDT

Breakfast - Sponsored by Complete Equity Markets, Inc. Lobby Level Conference Registration Lobby Level

8:30am PDT

Advocating for Sexual and Reproductive Health Access and Expanding Critical Legal Support Union Square 19 & 20Nell Brimmer • Jessie Campbell • Chris Buerger • Amy Chen Amplifying Client Voices: Practical Strategies for Curating and Elevating Client Stories Continential 8Kathryn Fanlund • Maria Duvuvuei • Patrick Maillet Best Practices in Pro Bono Immigration Golden Gate 6Jenna Gilbert • Nareeneh Sohbatian • Stephanie Baez Building and Sustaining Effective Research Partnerships Golden Gate 7Samantha DiDomenico • Rebecca Sandefur • Matthew Burnett Developing and Sustaining Student Loan Practices in Legal Aid Organizations Golden Gate 8Anna Anderson • Carolina Rodriguez How to Create INTERACTIVE, INNOVATIVE, and EQUITABLE (and fun!) Training Sessions Continential 1Phong Wong • Patrick Fodell • Judy Hale • Christine Daleiden Intern to Staff Attorney: Strategies to Build and Maintain Student to Staff Pathways Union Square 23 & 24Michelle Takagishi-Almeida • Vidhya Ragunathan • Steven Schulman Law School and Order: Special Pro Bono Unit Plaza Room AMolly Russell • Maria Almase • Jennifer Stephens Navigating Change: Leveraging Common Change Styles and Strategic Frameworks Continential 3Julia Wilson • Kelly Tautges Supporting Students to Maintain the Pro Bono Pipeline Continential 2Deborah Schlosberg • Linda Seely • Marissa LaVette • Allison Constance Technology and Non-Lawyer Solutions to the Access to Justice Crisis Continential 9Sacha Steinberger • Erica Nelson

9:45am PDT

10:00am PDT

50 Tech Tips Golden Gate 7Jane Ribadeneyra • Angela Tripp • MJ Smith • LaDierdre Johnson Beyond Natural Disasters: Expanding Legal Aid's Role in Crisis Response Union Square 22Brittanny Gomez • Christa Figgins • Josh Gaul Civil Justice Pathways to Foster Civic Culture Union Square 19 & 20Eduardo Gonzalez • William Wallace Pattern • Jules Sievert Community Justice Workers: Insights from Emerging Research in Alaska and Beyond Continential 3Sarah Carver • Rebecca Sandefur • Matthew Burnett • Brieanna Watters From Legal Desert to Legal Oasis: Pro Bono Trends, Challenges, and Solutions Continential 1Heidi Behnke • Ellie Tinsley • Elsa Gottfried Hot Topics in Civil Legal Aid Golden Gate 8Ron Flagg • Jason Vail • Radhika Singh Representing LGBTQ+ Clients and Families in a Changing Legal Landscape Continential 2L Orozco • Michelle Garcia • Simone Chriss The 2024 California Justice Gap Study: Utilizing Data and Research to Support Policy Initiatives Plaza Room AElizabeth Hom • Lisa Chavez Transforming Pro Bono Participation: Bridging the Gap Between Community Need and Attorney Interest Continential 9Gretchen Slusser • Julie LaEace Upstreaming Justice: Non-Attorney Interventions and Community-Based Solutions to Civil Legal Gaps Golden Gate 6Nikole Nelson • Ignacio Jaureguilorda • Dr. Rishi Manchanda

11:15am PDT

Exhibit Hall Drawing Golden Gate Foyer

11:30am PDT

Awards Luncheon Continental Ballroom 4-6

1:00pm PDT

1:15pm PDT

Birds of a Feather: Finding Commonality to Build Impact Continential 7Samantha Howell • Aili Monahan • Ana Reynolds-Sprague Building Bridges: Enhancing Pro Bono Impact Through Strategic Partnerships Continential 2Samantha DiDomenico • Erin Palmer • Lisa Dane • Lesley Johannesen • Dara Sheinfeld • Beth Hofmeister Faith, Pro Bono, and Reproductive and LGBTQ+ Rights: Collaborative Advocacy in Complex Legal and Cultural Landscapes Golden Gate 7Nell Brimmer • Ming Wong • Rev. Cameron Partridge Lifting the Veil: What Nonprofits Need to Know When Working with Firms on Direct Representation. Plaza Room ASteven Schulman • Jessie Campbell • Anne Chandler • Emily Heger Litigants as Experts: Leveraging User Testing and Feedback in Legal Services Union Square 22Nicole Kiker • Christian Noble Responding to the Evolving Funding Landscape for Legal Aid - Roundtable Discussion Golden Gate 8Jared Smith • Luise Stone • Shubi Deoras Strategies for Managing and Growing Your Outreach Program: Integrating Technology, Representation and Belonging Continential 3Aletheia Stratos • Sandra San Emeterio Fair Strengthening Guardianship Defense: Updated OAA Regulations and Legal Aid Innovations Continential 1Emily Jackson-Miller • Jim Berchtold Using Data-Driven Solutions to Empower Lawyers Serving Legal Deserts Continential 8Hannah Catt • Kari Burns • Ryann Peyton • Jessica Bednarz

2:30pm PDT

Exhibit Hall Drawing Golden Gate Foyer

3:00pm PDT

AI Co-Pilots for Eviction Defense, Reentry Services, and Beyond Union Square 23 & 24Margaret Hagan • Nora al Haider Clerks & Magistrates & Referees, Oh My! Leveraging Pro Bono Volunteers to Drive Fairness and Accountability in Limited Jurisdiction Courts Continential 1Mytrang Nguyen • Sarah Munro • Julian Castronovo • Maggie Niebler-Brown Educating Legislators About Legal Aid 2.0 Plaza Room ABetty Bali Torres • Laura Tuggle • Carol Bergman • Ron Flagg • Ashley Campbell Food is Medicine: How Legal Aid Partners with Health Clinics to Improve Food Security Golden Gate 7Christopher Gomez • Frank Tamborello • Alexandra Gay • Lindsay De May Justice Tech: New Horizons in Access to Justice Golden Gate 6Maya Markovich • Shellie Reid • Joanne Sprague • Kelli Raker Preserving and Protecting Intergenerational Homes: A Holistic Approach to Tangled Titles Union Square 22Roxane Crowley • Michael Froehlich • James Leonard Recent Developments in Racial Justice Litigation Post Students for Fair Admission (SFFA) v. Harvard Continential 2Nicholas Espiritu • Sophia Hall • Moira Heiges-Goepfert Solve the Problem That Brought Your Client to Legal Aid with Interdisciplinary Legal Services (Ethics) Golden Gate 8Carmen Wargel • Emily Calabrese • Michael Nesbitt Strategic Assessment Tools for Pro Bono Programs Continential 8Julia Wilson • Kelly Tautges Where Are They Supposed to Sleep? Leveraging Critical Public Defender Data in Non-Carceral Homeless Response Continential 9Ester Wilch • Elizabeth Cadiz • Grant Hartley

3:30pm PDT

CLE/Help Desk Golden Gate Foyer

4:30pm PDT

Access to Justice Network Continential 2 NLADA Native American Section Continential 1

7:30am PDT

Coffee Service Golden Gate Foyer Exhibitor Showcase Golden Gate Foyer

8:30am PDT

Networking Continential 7 Featured Salon: Current Events in Context: A Constitutional Law Perspective Continental Ballroom 4-6Dean Erwin Chemerinsky

10:00am PDT

Closing Plenary Brunch: Bridging the Justice Gap: Economic Empowerment and Access to Civil Legal Aid Continental Ballroom 4-6Jocelyn Frye • Annie Lee (EJW Fellow Alum) • Kirsten Anderson

12:00pm PDT

Frontline Justice Community Post-Conference (Registration Required) Golden Gate 6/7

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