Adam Thoresen is a senior staff attorney with the public interest law firm, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. He has worked at JALA for over ten years, and his practice is currently focused on FCRA litigation related to landlord/tenant debts and other inaccuracies in tenant screening reports. Adam has litigated cases with all of the Big Three Consumer Reporting Agencies as well as specialty debt collectors whose focus is the collection of residential landlord/tenant debts. Adam handles cases on an individual and class basis under the FCRA, FDCPA, FCCPA, and other consumer protection statutes.

John Ukegbu is a senior staff attorney at Northeast New Jersey Legal Services, where he represents low-income consumers. He has served as a member of the District Ethics Committee and as a trustee for the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. He served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Special Civil Part Practice and is the second vice-president of the Hudson County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Western New England University School of Law. 

Angel Rose Kwaterski is the Consumer Law Priority Coordinator at Legal Action of Wisconsin and is currently based in their Oshkosh, Wisconsin office. Angel provides oversight, mentorship and training related to all consumer matters that the firm assists with. In addition to her role as Priority Coordinator, she is a staff attorney within the Elder Rights Project where she provides legal representation to Wisconsin residents aged 60 or older who are victims of crimes as it relates to housing, family, and consumer law issues. Angel specializes in consumer related issues such as auto fraud, financial exploitation, debt collection matters and bankruptcy. Angel received her Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University in 2013 and her Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School, now known as UIC John Marshall Law School in 2016.

Hilary Nat is the Assistant Managing Attorney of the Consumer Unit at Northeast NJ Legal Services.   She helps oversee the attorneys and paralegals in the unit.  Ms. Nat regularly practices in the area of Automobile Fraud.  She has created lectures on this topic for the public and for her organization to help everyone understand the issues involved in this area.   Ms. Nat also assists clients with debt collection, credit reporting, breach of contract, consumer fraud, and bankruptcy issues. Ms. Nat obtained her law degree at Thomas Cooley Law School and her undergraduate degree at State University of New York at Stony Brook.  

James A. Kowalski, Jr. has served as the President and CEO of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid since December 2012. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco School of Law, Jim served as an Assistant State Attorney in the Fourth Judicial Circuit from 1989-1996 before moving into a civil trial practice; he has tried more than 60 civil and criminal jury trials to verdict. Jim was one of the first consumer lawyers in the nation to uncover the mortgage banking practice of “robo-signing” (the Wall Street Journal blamed him for causing the housing crisis) and in December 2010, he testified before the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary on the topic of “Foreclosed Justice: Causes and Effects of the Foreclosure Crisis.” Jim was named “Consumer Protection Lawyer of the Year” in 2011 by the Consumer Protection Law Committee of the Florida Bar. He is the recipient of the 2014 Haas Public Service Award from UC Berkeley and in June 2016, Jim received the Florida Bar Foundation President’s Award for Excellence. In October 2018, Jim was named the “Consumer Advocate of the Year” by the National Association of Consumer Advocates. 

Matt Brooks is an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services and an Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by Mintz Levin and Fidelity Investments. His work focuses on consumer law issues, particularly consumer debt collection issues. Matt helps to run Greater Boston Legal Services’ Debt Collection Lawyer for the Day Program, which has served hundreds of clients in local Boston courts.

Ellyn Riedl is a staff attorney with Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS), the oldest and largest pro bono organization in the state of Maryland. In her role as staff attorney, she oversees MVLS’ Foreclosure Prevention pro bono program, which connects low income clients facing foreclosure with pro bono foreclosure attorneys throughout the state. She also runs several ongoing legal clinics, including the MVLS Consumer Protection Project clinic, which gives unrepresented consumers brief legal advice on debt collection cases, including landlord/tenant, debt buyer, bail bond, and original creditor matters. Ms. Riedl graduated with honors from University of Baltimore School of Law in 2012. Prior to joining MVLS, Ms. Riedl was a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Charles J. Peters in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and then worked for a private firm near Washington D.C. practicing estates and trusts.

Shanna Tallarico is a supervising attorney with the New York Legal Assistance Group’s (NYLAG) Consumer Protection Unit (CPU). As an attorney for NYLAG’s Consumer Protection Project, Shanna represents vulnerable New Yorkers by fighting fraud, predatory lending, and illegal debt collection practices. Shanna advocates on behalf of clients who are facing identity theft, debt collection scams, credit reporting errors, subprime loan conditions, and other personal financial crises. Shanna serves as a project attorney for the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) project. Through this program, she provides legal advice and guidance to OFE financial counselors and assists clients with consumer financial issues with a particular focus on student debt.  Shanna serves as the chair for the Civil Court Committee of the New York City Bar Association where she works to identify issues in the courts and address the needs of its litigants by advocating and taking positions that promote efficiency, justice, and access in the NYC Civil Courts.

Julie K. Robie is a Senior Attorney in the Consumer Law Practice Group at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and served as the Managing Attorney of that group for three and a half years.  The practice pursues systemic solutions to low-income consumers’ problems, handling bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosure, payday loan cases, auto title loan, property tax lien foreclosure, student loan, utilities, and vehicle repossession cases. Since 2012, Ms. Robie has served as editor of Ohio Consumer Law.  She joined The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland in 2004, after graduating from Yale Law School.  She earned her B.A. from Yale University in 1999.

Alysson Snow is a Senior Attorney leading the Consumer Protection Division of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc.  She provides direct legal assistance to a wide-range of consumer related issues, including debt defense, FDCPA and other consumer protection statutes, mortgage lending issues, student loans, auto fraud, and others.  Ms. Snow started two debt defense clinics that provide direct legal services to consumers who are sued by third party debt collection companies. Prior to working at Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc., Ms. Snow graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

Ana M. Storey is Director of Client & Community Services for Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). Ana joined LAFLA in 2000 as a staff attorney and served as Managing Attorney of LAFLA’s West Office, supervising LAFLA’s former Family Law and Consumer Law Units and, co-supervising LAFLA’s Self-Help Legal Access Centers. Ana currently serves on the Loyola Law School Alumni Board of Governors. She has served on the California State Bar’s Family Law Executive Committee, and as president of the Latina Lawyers Bar Association. Ana received a J.D. from Loyola Law School and B.S. Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California.

Tom Mlakaris the Deputy Director for Advocacy at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland where he is responsible for the legal work at the firm. He has worked as an attorney with Cleveland Legal Aid since graduating from The Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University in 1992. Tom has also served in a number of leadership positions in the Ohio and national legal services communities. He previously served on the National Legal Aid and Defender Association Board of Directors and the Civil Policy Group. Tom strives to be an ambassador for legal services in the community, for example, by his work as a trustee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.