Staff
Jessica Berry, Director of Child Welfare Advocacy
Jessica joined the CLCM in September 2009 as recipient of a Skadden Fellowship. Jessica earned her B.A. from the University of Chicago, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, and has an M.S.W. from the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Following law school, Jessica clerked for the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and then for the Honorable Diana Gribbon Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. As a fellow at the CLCM, Jessica focused on representing adolescents in child welfare, education, and mental health matters. In her current role as Director of Child Welfare Advocacy, Jessica represents youth ages 0-22 in child welfare and education matters and is involved in systemic reform efforts related to the Massachusetts child welfare system. Since 2017, Jessica has also taught and supervised law students in the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Program (JRAP) clinic at Boston College Law School.
Samantha Cardwell, Staff Attorney, Medical-Legal Partnership
Samantha joined the CLCM in October 2022. Samantha holds a Master of Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine and a Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law where she received a full-tuition scholarship as a Health Law Scholar. Before attending law school, Samantha served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, where she worked as a Community Health and Malaria Prevention Specialist before extending her service for a third year as Peace Corps Togo’s National Malaria Prevention Coordinator. During law school, Samantha interned with the Immigration Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services where she advocated for asylum seekers, with the Health Care Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office where she worked on policy and litigation matters, and with the Northeastern University Program for Human Rights and the Global Economy where she contributed to water rights research. As the Medical-Legal Partnership Attorney at CLCM, Samantha will work with the Mass General Brigham Chelsea Health Care Center to provide legal aid to children who face barriers to educational access or are at risk for school exclusion.
Jenny Chou, Director
Jenny Chou joined the CLCM as Director in October 2023. Most recently, Jenny was the Deputy Director of South Coastal Counties Legal Services. She was Senior Attorney and Racial Justice Fellow at the Center for Law and Education (CLE) where her legal work focused on ensuring a quality education for public school students in Massachusetts, particularly those who were most affected by exclusionary policies and practices of various school districts. She also represented low-income, mostly court-involved students while at the EdLaw Project. Jenny has been in private practice, has served as the consulting attorney for the education team at Medical-Legal Partnership Boston, was an associate at Stern, Shapiro, Weissberg and Garin and at the Criminal Defense Division of the New York Legal Aid Society. Her community-based legal services experiences included projects of the Harry Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund and based in the Asian Outreach Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services. Jenny is a graduate of Wellesley College and Boston College Law School.
Jack Diaz, Operations Associate
Jack joined CLCM in March 2024 as the Operations Associate. Jack graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelors in Project Management. With a wealth of diverse experience, they have played a key role in restructuring internal processes and handles data management alongside colleagues. They have demonstrated an ability to manage complex projects, ensure data integrity, and work effectively across teams. Before joining CLCM, Jack worked in various nonprofit organizations, advocating for the homeless and fighting food insecurity. They are part of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and previously worked at Rescuing Leftover Cuisines, rescuing 17,574 lbs of food over the course of 3 months. These positions have honed their operational, administrative, and project management skills.
Jacklyn Gurany, Staff Attorney
Jackie joined the CLCM in January 2018. She represents children in federal immigration proceedings as well as before the Asylum Office. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California (B.S. 2006) and Northeastern University School of Law (J.D. 2010). Prior to joining the Children’s Law Center, Jacklyn practiced in San Antonio, Texas, where she represented both children and adults in immigration proceedings, focusing on asylum and removal defense.
Jennifer Gonzales, Bart Gordon Fellow
Jennifer joined CLCM in June 2024, shortly after graduating from Northeastern University School of Law School. While in law school, Jennifer was a student attorney in the Immigrant Justice Clinic and Domestic Violence Clinic Practicum. She represented immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. and survivors of domestic violence in immigration matters. Prior to NUSL, she served as an AmeriCorps Legal Advocate of Massachusetts at Project Citizenship following her graduation from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in English (2020). As a Bart Gordon Fellow, Jennifer will represent low-income immigrant children in Massachusetts in immigration proceedings, with a focus on special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) cases..
Shauna King, AmeriCorp Legal Advocate
Shauna King joined CLCM in September 2024 as an AmeriCorps Legal Advocate of Massachusetts. AmeriCorps Legal Advocates of Massachusetts is a one-year service program that embeds advocates into legal aid programs to open doors to justice, invigorate organizations and cultivate the next generation of public leaders. Shauna works primarily with the Immigration team and is passionate about helping low-income youth navigate a complex legal system. Before exploring her interest in law through her AmeriCorps service, she worked at a public relations agency and taught English in Spain. Shauna graduated summa cum laude from Virginia Tech with Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Public Policy and Public Relations.
Robyn Laukien, Staff Attorney
Robyn joined the CLCM in the fall of 1999. In addition to providing direct representation to her clients in the Lynn and Salem Juvenile Courts, she has coordinated and trained attorneys for CLCM’s pro bono program, and is involved with fundraising and event planning for CLCM. Robyn is a graduate of Wellesley College and Boston College Law School. Upon graduating from B.C. Law, she joined the Boston firm of Widett, Slater & Goldman as a corporate associate. After four years, she continued her business law practice at Bruker Corporation as in-house Corporate Counsel. While raising her two children, Robyn was an active volunteer at the New England Aquarium where she was an Overseer for 15 years. There, she engaged in outreach with children at Boston Head Start Preschools. This path led her to change her focus from corporate law to juvenile advocacy at CLCM.
Emily Paradise, Staff Attorney
Emily joined the CLCM in September 2017. Emily focuses on representing children in care and protection cases, at both the trial and appellate levels, and in delinquency cases. Before joining CLCM, she practiced on her own handling care and protection cases and criminal appeals, served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, and worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office . She is a graduate of Cornell University and The George Washington University Law School.
Frederic Paster, Paralegal
Frederic joined the CLCM in October 2023 as a Paralegal in the Civil Legal Aid to Victims of Crime (CLAVC) initiative. He supports CLCM’s casework, including in Child Welfare, Education, and Immigration matters. Frederic is an American University alumnus, graduating Cum Laude in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Justice and Law, a minor in International Studies, and specializations in Criminal Justice and Conflict Resolution. Having grown up on the North Shore of Massachusetts, Frederic is incredibly excited to assist in providing legal aid in his home communities. He plans on attending law school in the future.
Shruti Peri, Senior Education Attorney
Shruti has worked as a defender of youth rights for over 20 years, starting her legal career at the EdLaw Project in Roxbury, MA. She has continued her work as a post-conviction defender by supporting and advocating for youth throughout their commitment in the Department of Youth Services. Shruti serves as a Mentor Attorney for both the GCL Panel of the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Special Education Panel of the EdLaw Project. She was recently awarded the DYS Commissioners Award for her commitment and tenacity on behalf of DYS committed youth. In her work at CLCM, Shruti represents students to maximize their opportunity to learn through a quality education and seeks to address the systemic barriers that hold low-income children, children of color, English learners and those who are disabled from attaining their full educational potential.
Lauren Russell, Co-Director of Strategic Advocacy
Lauren joined CLCM in September 2024. As Co-Director of Strategic Advocacy, she will represent children on delinquency matters, at both the trial and appellate levels, and engage in systemic advocacy on behalf of court-involved children and youth. Lauren graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2011. Following law school, she was an attorney with the Youth Advocacy Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), where she represented juveniles on delinquency and youthful offender cases in Essex County. She received the Tenacious Initiative Award for Essex County from the Department of Youth Services in 2018. In December 2019, Lauren joined the Strategic Litigation Unit of CPCS. There, she pursued litigation at the trial and appellate levels, aimed at challenging injustices across CPCS’s practice areas, including systemic violations of the right to counsel. Most recently, Lauren was in private practice, where she handled delinquency trials and post-adjudication matters and cases at the Parole Board and Sex Offender Registry Board.
Alyssa Schnoor, Staff Attorney
Alyssa joined CLCM in December 2023. At CLCM, Alyssa represents child victims of crime in need of legal assistance throughout Massachusetts. Alyssa is a graduate of Tulane University and Suffolk University Law School. While in law school, Alyssa was a student attorney in the Family Advocacy Clinic, representing survivors of domestic violence in family law matters. Prior to joining CLCM, Alyssa was an Associate at the Boston law firm of Berluti McLaughlin & Kutchin LLP, practicing in the areas of business succession and estate planning.
Yong Ho (Allen) Song, Staff Attorney
Yong Ho (Allen) joined the CLCM in June 2023, shortly after completing his Master of Science degree in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (GMAP) at SUNY Binghamton. At the CLCM, Allen represents low-income immigrant children living in the Greater Boston area and beyond, focusing on special immigration juvenile status (SIJS), asylum, and other related immigration relief. Prior to joining the Children’s Law Center, Allen worked as a fellow immigration attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) where he advocated for Central American immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. A native and citizen of South Korea, Allen holds his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania (BA 2015) and law degree from Harvard Law School (JD 2020).
Alexis Williams Torrey, Co-Director of Strategic Advocacy
Alexis joined CLCM in September 2024, as the Co-Director of Strategic Advocacy. In this role, she will represent children and young adults in Essex County Juvenile Court, as well as pursue systemic efforts to keep children out of substitute care and improve the conditions of those children involved with the family regulation system and other carceral systems. Prior to joining CLCM, Alexis represented parents, young adults, and children in care and protection, guardianship, permanency for young adult, and child requiring assistance matters in the Essex County Juvenile Courts, first as an attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services’ Children and Family Law Division (CAFL), and then briefly in private practice. Alexis co-facilitates CAFL’s Client Advisory Board and assists as faculty in CAFL attorney trainings. In addition to her family defense experience, Alexis spent seven years clerking for the Honorable William E. Smith of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, and she clerked for the Honorable Paul A. Suttell of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Alexis holds a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law, and a B.S. in Psychology and Management from Boston College.