Carmen M. Chavez, Esq. is a California licensed attorney and the Executive Director of Casa Cornelia Law Center (CCLC). CCLC is a non-profit law firm, which provides pro bono representation to San Diego County’s indigent immigrant community in the area of Immigration Law, specifically working with victims of domestic violence, abuse, persecution and torture. She has both coordinated and supervised CCLC’s Asylum, Domestic Violence, Detained Unaccompanied Children and Integrated Social Services programs. Carmen was born and raised in San Diego and local schools.
Carmen graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. degree in Political Science and graduated from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, CA. Carmen is certified to represent clients in Federal District Court for the Southern and Central District of California and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Other affiliations include the American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, La Raza Lawyers of San Diego, and San Diego County Bar Association. She is also a board member of the Chicano Federation of San Diego County.
Judy London, Esq. is the Directing Attorney of Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. From 1996 to 2000, she was the Legal Director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in Los Angeles. While at CARECEN, Judy was instrumental in securing the enactment of the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). She also focused on advocacy for undocumented children, and in 2000, she succeeded in obtaining legislation granting permanent residency to Tony Lara, a twenty-year old Salvadoran national who had been raised in Los Angeles. But for inadequate immigration advice, Mr. Lara would have been eligible for special immigrant juvenile status (“SIJS”).
At Public Counsel, Judy has expanded the agency’s SIJS work, developed a detention project serving immigrant detainees in Santa Ana, California, and continued to increase pro bono representation for asylum-seekers and crime victims seeking relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Trafficking and Violent Crime Prevention Act (VTVPA).
She is an Adjunct Professor at UCLA School of law where she teachers a clinical course on immigration law, focusing on the representation of asylum-seekers. She received her law degree from UCLA in 1990 and her undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1985.
Suzanne L. McCormick, Esq. is the Founder and Executive Director of the Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC). Suzanne has devoted her legal career to affording security and stability to vulnerable populations. In 2004, Suzanne founded ICWC in Los Angeles and has expanded services to the San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas communities. She has established ICWC as one of the leading legal service agencies that provides immigration relief options for survivors of trauma. ICWC’s overall goal is to help these immigrants permanently escape abusive relationships, live in safety, and become self-sufficient. Suzanne works with and leads a team of over 50 attorneys and support staff to further ICWC’s mission. Since its inception, ICWC has served more than 45,000 individuals.
Prior to starting ICWC, Suzanne worked as a Staff Attorney at Public Counsel advocating for children’s and immigrants’ rights. Suzanne graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1997 where she was Co-director of the Oregon Law Students Public Interest Fund (OLSPIF).
Catherine Seitz, Esq. is the Legal Director at the International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA). Before joining IIBA, Catherine worked at Legal Services for Children as their Legal Director and at Bay Area Legal Aid as their Regional Immigration Coordinator, where she focused on immigration relief for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She is also the co-author of the 2nd and 3rd editions of the ILRC’s U Visa Manual.
Catherine has a J.D. from U.C. Hastings and a B.A. in Latin American Studies from U.C. Berkeley, and has taught as an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University. Before joining Bay Area Legal Aid in July of 2009, she worked at Canal Alliance, the International Institute of the East Bay, and the private immigration law firm of Simmons & Ungar.
Catherine is a true native of the Bay Area. She was born in San Francisco, grew up in Oakland, raised her kids in West Marin, and now lives in Richmond.
Warren J. Shulman, CPA, CA(SA) has over twenty five years of accounting, audit, tax and general business consulting experience. Before joining the Board of Directors, Warren was a member of ICWC’s Audit Committee.
Alfonso Alfaro is the Senior Director of Finance and Administration at Heart of Los Angeles. Alfonso oversees Heart of LA’s business relationships, finances, and human resources to ensure they are managed in a manner that is efficient, effective, and--most importantly--aligned with Heart of LA’s mission and core values of respect, responsibility, positive communication, and support.
Prior to working at HOLA, Alfonso was the Controller at Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC), where he oversaw the administrative, human resource, and financial functions of the organization. Prior to working at ICWC, he was a field deputy for a member of Congress, during which he was responsible for community outreach and community program management relating to education and college access. Alfonso is a graduate of UCLA and holds a BA in Spanish, Community, and Culture.
Adam Shukovsky is a managing director and portfolio manager at PIMCO. He has 15 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Princeton University.