About us: Our Staff

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & LEGAL ADVOCATE

Jill (they/them, elle/ellx) is an immigration attorney licensed to practice in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. They come to VAAP from Vermont Law and Graduate School where they taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law and directed the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Previously, Jill practiced as a Vermont Poverty Law Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid and an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Sanctuary for Families New York. Jill partners with Connecting Cultures–New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma (NESTT) as their legal director and also serves on the Vermont Judiciary’s Access to Justice Coalition, regional and national committees of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Vermont Queer Legal Professionals co-founding leadership team. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized Jill’s achievements by honoring them as one of 2023’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40.

Click here to download Jill’s curriculum vitae.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR & PARALEGAL ADVOCATE

Marnie (she/her, ella) is a Cuban lawyer and U.S-trained LLM who is pursuing Vermont attorney licensure through Vermont Law Office Study. She earned her law degree from the Havana University Faculty of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2014. She completed her LLM as a Global Energy Fellow at Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment in 2023. Marnie's legal career focuses on energy law and policy and US immigration law. Marnie has been deeply involved in legal research, writing, and case management related to renewable energy projects, regulatory compliance, and environmental law. In addition, she has experience handling immigration cases, providing support to individuals navigating the immigration system, and advocating for fair and just immigration policies. In 2022, Marnie co-founded Alviera Group LLC, assisting immigrants in establishing themselves legally, economically, and socially in the United States, while supporting clean energy access and energy efficiency solutions for the immigrant community. Marnie serves as adjunct faculty at Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, teaching their Global Sustainability Field Class to Cuba every year.

Click here to download Marnie’s curriculum vitae.

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CORPS FELLOW & LEGAL ADVOCATE

Cam (she/her, ella) is a 2024 graduate of Vermont Law and Graduate School and is honored to join Vermont’s inaugural class of IJC Fellows. During law school, Cam worked as a law clerk for Legal Services Vermont, and provided direct immigration services and community advocacy to as a student clinician at the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. She played a part in reinstating her school’s National Lawyers Guild chapter and has been active in other movement advocacy projects on campus and beyond. Cameron has always prioritized community-driven work, which leads her to IJC. She is honored to join VAAP as their Unaccompanied Children Program Justice Fellow and is eager to work and grow alongside the amazing team!

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CORPS FELLOW & LEGAL ADVOCATE

Emma (she/her, ella) is a 2023 graduate of American University Washington College of Law and practiced with California’s Immigration Center for Women and Children. During law school, Emma worked with immigration firms and nonprofits in the DC area with a focus on affirmative and defensive asylum casework, VAWA, U-Visa, and SIV applications, and humanitarian parole. She was a student attorney at the American University Washington College of Law Immigrant Justice Clinic where she worked on asylum defense and naturalization cases. Her work focuses on assisting unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings as part of IJC’s unaccompanied children program. She is particularly excited to help fill this much needed service void in Vermont, a state in which she has family and has spent a lot of time, and holds dear.

COMING SOON: IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CORPS FELLOW & LEGAL ADVOCATE

Catalina (she/her, ella) is a graduating lawyer from Vermont Law and Graduate School, class of 2025, and an incoming Katzmann Justice Fellow at the Immigrant Justice Corps, class of 2025-27. Originally from New Jersey, Catalina now calls Vermont home. Her passion for immigration rights stems from her undergraduate studies in World Religion and Arabic as well as her own Colombian community and roots. In law school, Catalina worked as a Peggy Browning Fund Fellow at Migrant Justice/Justicia Migrante and as a student clinician and intake specialist at the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Catalina hopes her experience as a VAAP legal fellow will allow her to expand her work protecting the rights of immigrant workers facing injustice while extending her advocacy to safeguard the vulnerable undocumented community in Vermont.

CONTRACT COMPTROLLER

Jamie (they/them) is a licensed CPA in Vermont and Pennsylvania with 9 years of experience in various accounting and finance roles. Currently, Jamie serves as the Director of Finance (CFO) for a network of cooperative grocery stores and auto service centers with annual gross revenues of $90M. Jamie also currently serves as Treasurer of the Board of Directors for two Vermont based nonprofit organizations. Jamie enjoys serving clients in various industries in their hours outside of their full-time job.