Our staff attorneys are valuable sources on many topics of interest to the media. For journalists who wish to speak with an Justice in Aging expert, please call Communications Director Vanessa Barrington at (510) 256-1200.
Those who have worked for Justice in Aging have made a big mark on the world, both before and after their tenure with us. Read more about our notable alumni.
Kevin Prindiville, Executive Director
Kevin Prindiville is Justice in Aging’s Executive Director. He is a nationally recognized expert on Medicare and Medicaid policy and has served as counsel in several class action lawsuits protecting low-income senior’s access to public benefits.
Kevin has a long history of developing partnerships and directing strategic advocacy efforts. The author of numerous articles, reports and briefs, he frequently testifies before legislators, presents at national conferences and works closely with both federal and state regulatory agencies. He also is quoted often in national and California media. Kevin is on the Board of Directors of the American Society on Aging.
Prior to joining Justice in Aging, Prindiville worked as a staff attorney at the Pennsylvania Health Law Project in Philadelphia where he represented low-income individuals having trouble obtaining health care. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of California, San Diego. Kevin is admitted to the California Bar.
Jennifer Goldberg, Deputy Director
Jennifer Goldberg is Justice in Aging’s Deputy Director, based in the Washington D.C. office. In this role, she works internally and externally to coordinate strategy, planning and evaluation across all of Justice in Aging’s programs. She also provides leadership for the National Center on Law and Elder Rights. Previously, Jennifer directed the Justice in Aging Health Team. Her teaching experience includes serving as adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to joining Justice in Aging in 2015, she was the Director of Advocacy for Elder Law and Health Care at Maryland Legal Aid. Jennifer spent fourteen years in legal services, advocating for low-income older adults on Medicaid, long-term care, income security, housing, and consumer issues. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange from 2011 – 2015. Jennifer received a JD from Harvard Law School; and a LL.M. in advocacy from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges.
Regan Bailey, Litigation Director
Regan Bailey works in Justice in Aging’s Washington D.C. office. As the director of Justice in Aging’s litigation activities, Regan represents low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities in federal court to preserve access to social safety net benefits. Regan’s work prior to joining Justice in Aging has been grounded in protecting the rights of low income people and people with disabilities in the context of health care and civil rights. Most recently, Regan was a Senior Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. There she enforced the Americans with Disabilities Act’s mandate that people receiving public services in the most integrated setting appropriate. Prior to joining DOJ, Regan’s worked for several Protection and Advocacy agencies and legal aid organizations around the country, including in West Virginia, the Navajo Nation, and Washington D.C. She also served as the Director of Legal Advocacy at Disability Rights Washington (Seattle) and as the Assistant Director for Public Benefits and Economic Stability at the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau. Regan is a graduate of the District of Columbia School of Law (now the University of the District of Columbia, David A Clark School of Law) and American University.
Amber Christ, Directing Attorney
Amber is Directing Attorney of the Justice in Aging Health Team, and is based in the Los Angeles office. She develops and implements projects and initiatives that improve access to health care and long-term services and supports for low-income older adults across the country. Amber is a lecturer at UCLA School of Law, teaching Public Interest for the externship program. Prior to joining Justice in Aging in 2013, Amber worked for Legal Aid of Western Missouri as Director of the Medical Legal Partnership at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to taking that position, she worked as a staff attorney for Legal Aid focusing primarily on representing clients with Social Security appeals and consumer issues. Amber is admitted to the California, Missouri, and Illinois bars and is a 2006 graduate of Washington University School of Law. She received her BA from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.
Tracey Gronniger, Directing Attorney
Tracey Gronniger is the Directing Attorney for Justice in Aging’s Economic Security team and is based in the Washington, DC office. She spent nearly ten years as a senior staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, in its Bureau of Consumer Protection. While there, she litigated a variety of cases to halt fraudulent and deceptive marketing practices, including actions to stop fake Medicare schemes, government grant scams, and phony business opportunities. She also coordinated the Bureau’s Legal Services Collaboration and Every Community Initiative, which seek to ensure that the agency meets the consumer protection needs of underserved and at risk consumers, including older Americans. In that role she worked with a wide range of legal services organizations and community advocates to identify and address pressing consumer protection issues, and to respond to their needs for relevant training, information, and resources. Tracey is currently an At-Large Director on the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Board of Directors and a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). Tracey received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and graduated from Harvard University.
Tom Smith, Finance and Administration Director
Tom Smith has served as Director of Finance and Administration for the Justice in Aging since 1996. For the previous ten years, he was the financial director for Physicians for Social Responsibility. He also worked as assistant financial director for the Gateway Foundation and the American Judicature Society. Tom graduated from Indiana University with a BS in Accounting and Finance.
Vanessa Barrington, Director of Communications & Individual Giving
Vanessa leads communications efforts for Justice in Aging from the Oakland, CA office. She’s focused on increasing the visibility of Justice in Aging as a national leader in the fight against senior poverty, and amplifying the work of Justice in Aging’s lawyers to defend and broaden access to health care and economic security programs for America’s poor seniors. She oversees all online communications, public relations, social media, fundraising communications, publications, and webinars. She has more than 10 years of communications experience in the advocacy space and has worked on a variety of issues around the environment and food. Most recently she led public relations and editorial strategy for Save The Bay. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing.
Remy Alexander, Program and Communications Associate
Remy Alexander works at the Oakland, CA office focusing on communications related to the National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER), a project of Justice in Aging. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, she served in an AmeriCorps role as a caseworker for refugees and asylees at the International Rescue Committee, where she provided holistic case management including aiding clients in navigating benefits and addressing barriers to health and wellness. Remy is from the Bay Area, and graduated from Fairhaven College, a small school incorporated in Western Washington University, in 2015 with a BA in International Development.
Georgia Burke, Directing Attorney
Georgia focuses her advocacy on issues affecting people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid benefits. She is part of Justice in Aging’s leadership team spearheading stakeholder engagement at the national and state level around the Medicare Medicaid Coordination Office’s demonstration projects in 13 states. Her administrative and legislative advocacy has also brought significant changes in Medicare Part D protections for low-income consumers as well as in access to health care programs for people with limited proficiency in English. Georgia joined Justice in Aging in 2005 after almost 20 years in private practice in Washington, D.C. and Oakland, California, devoted to administrative and legislative advocacy. Georgia is a magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and received her undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College.
Eric Carlson, Directing Attorney
Eric has broad experience in many forms of long-term services and supports (LTSS), including home and community-based services, nursing facility care, and assisted living facilities. He currently is heading up a project to support state and local advocates in increasing Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to home and community-based services, and in defending evictions from long-term care facilities. He counsels attorneys from across the country and co-counsels litigation on consumers’ behalf. He is author of the comprehensive legal treatise, Long-Term Care Advocacy (Lexis Publishing), along with the Justice in Aging guide 25 Common Nursing Home Problems – and How to Resolve Them. He received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Denny Chan, Senior Staff Attorney
Denny joined Justice in Aging’s Health Care team in February 2014 and is based in Los Angeles, CA., where he works on issues facing dual eligibles in Los Angeles and throughout California. Two major areas of focus include balance billing and health care delivery reform. He previously served as a rotating law clerk for the US District Court in Los Angeles and participated in the Fulbright English Teaching Program as a fellow in Macau, China. Denny is a member of the California bar and is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. He received his BA from the University of Michigan.
Katrina Cohens, Database Manager
Katrina Cohens is based in Justice in Aging’s Washington, DC office. Along with managing the daily operations of the DC office, she provides communications, financial, and development support. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, she served as a Program Specialist for the Federal Trade Commission. Katrina graduated from Agnes Scott College in 2011 with a B.A. in Psychology.
Sarah Galvan, Senior Staff Attorney, National Center on Law and Elder Rights
Sarah joined Justice in Aging in 2018 and is a staff attorney working on the National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER). Under a contract with the Administration on Community Living, NCLER provides training, case consultation and technical assistance to the legal and aging network. Sarah’s work for NCLER focuses primarily on legal services development, skills-based training, and technical support. She also provides training and support for the Equal Justice Works Elder Justice Fellows Program. Sarah previously worked at Center for Elder Law & Justice, a civil legal services agency that provides free legal assistance to older adults. She served as an attorney in the consumer protection and foreclosure prevention units and also worked in development and funding of new programs and models of service. Sarah is admitted to the New York bar, and is a 2009 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. She received her BA in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 2006.
Fay Gordon, Project Manager, National Center on Law and Elder Rights
Fay joined Justice in Aging’s Health Team in May 2012 and is based in Oakland, CA. Fay is the Project Manager of the National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER). Under a contract with the Administration on Community Living, NCLER provides training, case consultation and technical assistance to the aging and disability network. Fay previously worked in Justice in Aging’s Washington, DC office, advocating for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, Fay was formerly senior public policy associate at Limited to Lindberg, LLC where she worked on aging issues on behalf of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a law clerk with Frank, Frank & Scherr, LLC in Lutherville, MD. Fay is a member of the Maryland bar and is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law. She received her BA from the University of California Los Angeles.
Natalie Kean, Senior Staff Attorney
Natalie joined Justice in Aging as a Staff Attorney in April 2017 and is based in the D.C. office. As part of the Heath Care team, she advocates to defend and improve health safety net programs for older adults. Natalie’s background is in ensuring people living with HIV and other vulnerable populations have access to care through Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces, and other federal programs. Prior to moving to D.C., Natalie lived in the Philippines for two years as a volunteer with Life Project 4 Youth. She previously served as a law clerk to a US Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Georgia and holds a JD with a Certificate in Health Law from Saint Louis University and a bachelor in Economics from the University of Wyoming.
Vivian Kwok, Peter Harbage Fellow
Vivian’s focus at Justice in Aging centers on the intersection of health policy and advocacy, such as supporting the development of recommendations for California’s Master Plan on Aging. Vivian recently graduated from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health with her MPH in Health Policy and Management. While at UCLA she assisted with the WHO’s Case Study on Data, Evidence, and Information for Healthy Aging. She also interned at the Institute for Human Caring at Providence St. Joseph Health, where her work analyzed and advocated for the use of advance directives. Vivian received her undergraduate degree from Baylor University.
Kate Lang, Senior Staff Attorney
Kate joined Justice in Aging’s Income Team in December 2012 as a staff attorney in the Washington, DC office and works on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income-related issues. She was formerly staff attorney at the Legal Aid Bureau in Riverdale, MD where she was an advocate for low-income older adults and persons with disabilities. In her previous positions, Kate worked as an attorney at the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and Bread for the City Legal Clinic in Washington, DC as well as at Doherty, Cella, Keane and Associates, LLP. She has also served as a staff attorney for Legal Services of Northern California. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College and her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. She also has a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
Vivianne Mbaku, Senior Staff Attorney
Vivianne joined Justice in Aging in April of 2018 as a staff attorney in the Los Angeles office working on Elder Abuse issues. Before joining Justice in Aging, Vivianne was a Staff Attorney for the Utah State Courts Self Help Center and practiced consumer and public benefits law with Utah Legal Services. Vivianne was also a member of the Utah State Bar Modest Means Committee which aimed to make affordable legal representation more widely available. Vivianne also completed an appellate clerkship with the Honorable Senior Justice Petra Jimenez-Maes of the New Mexico Supreme Court. After her clerkship, Vivianne moved to Los Angeles to practice public benefits law at Inner City Law Center in Los Angeles. Vivianne is a 2012 graduate of the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law and earned a B.A. in Politics and Latin American Studies from Scripps College.
Gerald McIntyre, Special Counsel
Gerald has more than 30 years of experience in legal services advocacy. He has worked as a staff attorney at Bronx Legal Services; as Executive Director of Southern Tier Legal Services in Bath, NY; and as a lecturer and staff attorney at Cornell Law School. He joined the staff of Justice in Aging in 1993, and has since provided support and co-counseling to countless legal services and other elder law attorneys on Social Security and SSI issues. Prior to his law career, Jerry was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Jerry graduated from Harpur College, State University of New York at Binghamton, and received his law degree from Yale Law School.
Emma Messore, Communications and Grants Manager
Emma works out of the Washington, DC office as part of Justice in Aging’s Communication team. She utilizes her design skills to ensure that the written materials we produce are beautiful, easy-to-read, and accessible. She also helps manage our grant applications and reporting, while supporting all of our communications functions. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, she served as a Legal Assistant for several Bay Area lawyers. Emma is originally from New Haven, CT, and graduated from Brandeis University with a BA in Sociology in 2014.
Shelby Minister, Development Manager
Shelby Minister works out of Justice in Aging’s Oakland office. In addition to keeping things in the office running smoothly, she works in a variety of capacities to support development efforts. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, she was the Coordinator for the San Jose Peace & Justice Center (SJPJC) where she organized programming and meetings on social justice issues along with advocating for minority and immigrant rights, the rights of political activists, and against racial injustice and police abuse. Previously, she worked for American Muslim Alliance (AMA) where she mobilized and educated the Muslim American community on civic engagement and social justice issues involving Muslims. In addition, she did camera work and was the Talent Coordinator for Global Forum TV. Shelby graduated from San Francisco State in 2008 with a B.A. in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts.
Trinh Phan, Senior Staff Attorney
Trinh joined Justice in Aging’s Economic Security team in 2016 and is based in the Oakland office. She previously worked at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County where she advocated for adults with disabilities and seniors on Supplemental Security Income, Social Security disability, and health insurance coverage issues. She also collaborated with community agencies on state and local advocacy, with a focus on issues arising out of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Trinh graduated from Columbia University and UC Hastings College of the Law.
Patti Prunhuber, Senior Staff Attorney, Housing
Patti is Justice in Aging’s Senior Staff Attorney focusing on housing, and is based in the Oakland, CA office. She focuses on issues of housing retention and homelessness prevention for California’s low-income seniors. Before Justice in Aging, Patti worked at the Child Care Law Center, ensuring that all California’s children benefit from good, safe, affordable child care. While at the Public Interest Law Project, she engaged in public benefit impact litigation including Parent Voices Oakland v. Calif. Dept. of Education, halting the termination of CalWORKs Stage 3 subsidized child care for 56,000 low-income children; and Hartley v. Calif. Dept. of Social Services, ending the practice of collecting from children the welfare debts incurred by their parents. Patti’s legal services experience spans 27 years, most recently as Director of Litigation, at Community Legal Aid in Massachusetts. She has extensive experience litigating individual and class actions in state and federal court in the areas of public benefits, health care, fair housing and workers’ rights. Patti has taught courses on Welfare Law and Social Policy, Family Law, and Labor and Employment Law. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and Northeastern University School of Law.
Gelila Selassie, Staff Attorney
Gelila is a staff attorney based out of the Washington, D.C. office. Gelila works to help state advocates improve access to Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS). Gelila previously worked in Charlotte, North Carolina representing clients in Medicaid and Marketplace appeals and improving health care access to low-income individuals. She also served as an Equal Justice Works Fellow there, where she helped preserve seniors’ dignity and autonomy through increased access to public benefits and preventing elder abuse. Gelila is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Wake Forest University School of Law.
Claire Ramsey, Senior Staff Attorney
Claire Ramsey joined Justice in Aging’s Health Care team in June 2016 and is based in Oakland, California. Claire formerly worked as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County where she represented seniors on issues involving health care, public benefits, and elder abuse. Prior to Legal Aid, Claire worked at Child Care Law Center, first as an Equal Justice Works fellow and then as a staff attorney. She received her law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law in 2006 with a concentration on Public Interest Law. Claire received her B.A. in English from UC Berkeley and her M.A. in Drama from San Francisco State University.
Carol Wong, Senior Staff Attorney
Carol Wong is based in Justice in Aging’s Washington, D.C. office. Most recently, Carol was a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section. During her years with the Department of Justice, she litigated employment discrimination cases arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. While at the Department, Carol completed a detail to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders where she focused on improving opportunities and access to federal resources for underserved Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Before her time at the Department of Justice, Carol was a district court law clerk for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis. She has also served on the boards of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund. Carol received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law. She also received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Emma Holcomb, Colin Alexander Health Law Fellow
Emma is a rising 3L at the University of Michigan Law School. Emma’s work at Justice in Aging focuses on Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and on how the Affordable Care Act can be utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last summer, Emma worked at the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative, where they worked on adult guardianship reform. At Michigan Law, Emma has worked in the Pediatric Advocacy Clinic, assisting clients with family law and education cases, and will work in the Workers’ Rights Clinic in the fall of 2020. Emma is also an articles editor for the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law. Emma received their undergraduate degree in Health Policy and Management from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Valencia Sherman-Greenup, Racial Justice Fellow
Valencia is a rising 3L at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is a Blume Public Interest Law Scholar and Executive Editor for Georgetown Law Journal’s Annual Review of Criminal Procedure. Valencia has also served as the Chair of Recruitment and Retention for the Black Law Students Association, and her section’s representative for the Student Bar Association.
Valencia’s work at Justice in Aging focuses on the anti-discrimination clause of the Affordable Care Act, the implications of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act on civil rights claims, and equity issues highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Valencia has interned at the Health Law Group at New York Legal Aid Society and the Abortion Rights and Women’s Health Group at the National Women’s Law Center. She also brings a background managing affordable housing in Harlem, NY, and serving as a clinical research coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center. Valencia is a graduate of Florida A & M University where she received Bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Spanish, as well as, a Master’s in Business Administration.
