Meet our team
ImmDef has profound experience and a proven track record of serving clients from all over the world, with particular cultural competence serving Latin-American immigrants. Many of our staff members are immigrants themselves or the children or grandchildren of immigrants. As such, our team is able to draw upon our deep roots in the communities that we serve in order provide culturally

competent legal services. ImmDef regularly hosts trainings to assist our staff in providing trauma-informed services and we have held trainings to address culturally competent services for particular populations including LGBTQ clients. The majority of ImmDef's client-serving staff are bilingual in English and one or more additional languages. The vast majority of clients we serve are Spanish speaking, and as such, many of our staff have a high degree of Spanish language proficiency. Further, we have staff who speak the following languages: Farsi, French, Japanese, Punjabi, Hindi, Tagalog, and Amharic.
Leadership

Lindsay Toczylowski
Executive Director
Lindsay is a social entrepreneur whose work to increase access to justice for immigrants is at the forefront of the movement for universal representation. Lindsay also served as the Overseas Operations Director at Asylum Access, an international nonprofit that fights for the rights of refugees in the global South. She was recently named one of California’s Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers by the Daily Journal. Lindsay is the proud mother of two revolutionaries-in-training, and they are her inspiration to keep fighting for social justice every day.
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Susan Alva
Associate Director
Susan was born in New York City to Mexican and Dominican immigrant parents. She has held various leadership roles defending vulnerable communities and worked on several high-profile cases, including the El Monte Thai garment workers case. She is on the Boards of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Susan is a fierce defender of immigrant's rights and through her work, many lives have been positively impacted.
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Bhairavi Asher
Managing Attorney
Before joining ImmDef, Bhairavi represented abused and neglected foster children in dependency court at the Children’s Law Center. She also volunteered in Tanzania as an English Teacher and as a Legal Advocate for Asylum Access providing legal aid to asylum seekers and refugees. When she is not working, you can find her hiking, running, exploring new places, or hanging out with friends and family.

Margaret Cargioli
Managing Attorney
Margaret has worked on behalf of underserved indigent groups, including victims of domestic violence and asylum seekers throughout her legal career. In 2010 she received an award from the International Institute of New Jersey for her legal immigration work on behalf of survivors of torture fleeing persecution. She was also a recipient of the Joseph Doherty Civil Rights Fellowship.
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Nicole Cortes
Human Resources Manager
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Cynthia Felix
Managing Attorney
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Iliana Gomez
Managing Attorney
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Yliana Johansen-Mendez
Legal Services Director
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Arlette Lozano
Paralegal Coordinator
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Carlos Olivares
Administrative Coordinator
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Reashly Pineda Leon
Case Management Coordinator
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Axel Sawczuk
Finance and Operations Director
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Jennifer Toledo
Paralegal Coordinator
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Jonathan Barrales
Support Services Manager
Jonathan graduated from CSULA with a degree in Latin American Studies. Before joining ImmDef he worked as a Community Organizaer at Eastside Café and also Co-Founded El Sereno Bungalows Collective. His favorite part about working at ImmDef is his passionate, hard-working and intelligent coworkers and seeing the confidence our clients feel when we help them navigate the unjust immigration system.
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Devin Chatterton
Managing Attorney
Since her time in college, Devin has been a passionate advocate for marginalized groups. During her second summer of law school, Devin successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal for the First District under then California Attorney General Kamala Harris. When not working, Devin likes spending time with her family or keeping active with boxing, Pilates, or treadmill cardio classes.
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Mickey Donovan-Kaloust
Directing Attorney
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Diana Gama Salmeron
Program Coordinator
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Daniel Gonzalez
IT Supervisor
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Leah A. Jones
Managing Attorney
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Joyce Noche
Legal Services Director
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Laura Olmos
Operations Manager
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Natalia Rodriguez
Paralegal Coordinator
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Amanda Schuft
Directing Attorney
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Eric Vera
Managing Attorney
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Sarena Bhatia
Managing Attorney
Prior to ImmDef, Sarena adjudicated applications for refugee status at UNHCR. Before law school, she served as an AmeriCorps member with the IRC in San Diego, where she coordinated a family education center for resettled refugees in the community and taught an after school program. During her spare time, you can find Sarena exploring LA and re-acquainting herself with life on the West Coast.

Hannah Comstock
Managing Attorney
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Cathy Dreyfuss
Supervising Attorney
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Renee Garcia
Development & Communications Manager
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Kimberly Harbin
Managing Attorney
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Eva Leiva Partnoy
Program Coordinator
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Lisa Okamoto
Directing Attorney
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Jonathon Orta
Paralegal Coordinator
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Natalie Sanchez
Finance Supervisor
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Munmeeth Soni
Director of Litigation and Advocacy
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ImmDef Team

Alejandra Aguilar Ruiz
Paralegal
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Soledad Alejandre
Paralegal
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Fernanda Antonello
Staff Attorney
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Karina E. Ramos
Staff Attorney
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Chelsea Bell
Staff Attorney
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Rosana Carretero
Receptionist
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Kely Cortes
Paralegal
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Andrea Debroy
Legal Assistant
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Daniela Diaz
Paralegal
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Miriam Enriquez
Staff Attorney
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Dani Gies
Staff Attorney
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Annabel Gonzalez
Paralegal
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Llaned Huerta
Law Clerk
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Shoshana Kushner
Staff Attorney
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Amanda Manalo
Staff Attorney
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Mary Mattingly
Human Resources Associate
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Camila Mojica
Law Clerk
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Mayra Navarro
Staff Attorney
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Alina Pastor-Chermak
Law Clerk
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Andres Peña
Paralegal
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Sandra Ramirez
Legal Assistant
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Adan Rodriguez Zavala
Staff Attorney
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Michelle Saucedo
Equal Justice Works Fellow
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Sarah Shlemon
Program Associate
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Edwin Vargas
Staff Attorney
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Juana Warlick
Program Associate
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Paola Aguirre
Operations Associate
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Cesia Alvarez
Staff Attorney
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Maricela Baltazar
Case Management Associate
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Sandra Bautista
Paralegal
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Nicholas Borkowski
Staff Attorney
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Marcos Cerna Gonzalez
Staff Attorney
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Ismael De Anda
Legal Assistant
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Roberto De La Peña
Development & Communications Assistant
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Lucia Diaz
Staff Attorney
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Nicholas Garces
Staff Attorney
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Carmen Godinez-Tapia
Program Associate
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Kathleen Gutierrez
Legal Assistant
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Mona Iman
Staff Attorney
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Amy Lopez
Paralegal
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Ana Karen Manjarrez
Case Management Associate
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Madeline McCormick
Case Management Associate
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Muñoz Stefany
Paralegal
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Jennifer Norris
Staff Attorney
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Sandra Patlan
Staff Attorney
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Johana Peña
Paralegal
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Paulina Reyes
Staff Attorney
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Luis Rodriguez
Staff Attorney
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Allyssa Scheyer
Law Clerk
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Katie Siler
Staff Attorney
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Jacqueline Vargas
Paralegal
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Alma Zazueta
Paralegal
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Carmine Aiello
Staff Attorney
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Caitlin Anderson
Staff Attorney
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Anna Barie
Executive Assistant
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Alejandra Becerra
Paralegal
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Kelly Camacho
Program Associate
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Michael Citrin
Legal Fellow
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Brenda De Leon
Paralegal
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Edgar Diaz Gonzalez
Paralegal
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Eduardo Doering
Staff Attorney
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Oscar Garcia Mendoza
Case Management Associate
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Anna Rae Goethe
Staff Attorney
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Dulce Guzman
Program Associate
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Marc Jacome
Staff Attorney
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Selene Lopez
Paralegal
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Rogelio Maravilla
Paralegal
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Ethan Metcalfe
Executive Assistant
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Neysa Nankervis
Staff Attorney
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Marlene Olarra
Administrative Assistant
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Harlan Peebles
Operations Associate
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Sarah Poblano
Paralegal
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April Rios
Paralegal
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Madeline Sachs
Paralegal
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Carson Scott
Legal Fellow
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Elaine Torres
Staff Attorney
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September Cervera
Staff Attorney
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