Vernetta Alston, a summer 2008 law clerk at NCYL, is a Racial Justice Act Fellow at the ACLU Capital Punishment Project in Durham, NC. She is spending the summer working solely on litigation related to the Racial Justice Act. Vernetta is a 2009 graduate from the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Former NCYL law clerk Laurie Furstenfeld Silan and husband, Jeremy, are the proud parents of Pablo Lucas Furstenfeld Silan, born June 22 at 5 lbs 12 oz and just over 18 inches long.
Former NCYL law clerk Stephanie Gendell is the associate executive director for policy and public affairs at Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC) in New York City. She recently authored a report released by the CCC entitled "The Wisest Investment: New York City's Preventive Service System.” Stephanie said that the CCC’s advocacy led to the preservation of preventive services funding that benefits 3,000 families. Stephanie was interviewed for an article in the New York Times at the time the city was considering the cuts: "City Services for Families in Trouble Could be Cut.”
Former NCYL Board member Arturo Gonzalez is currently the President of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Arturo continues to be a highly respected partner and trial lawyer at Morrison Foerster LLP in San Francisco.
Annette Knox, a NCYL law clerk in 1993 and a member of NCYL’s Development Committee, works for Donahue Gallagher Woods LLP, with offices in Oakland, Walnut Creek and Mill Valley. Annette practices Estate Planning, Trust Administration, and Probate Law. She has two sons, Joey, a sophomore at Northwestern University, and Tony, a junior at Campolindo High School who is working on his Eagle Scout.
Former NCYL Director of Development Rita McLennon returned to her hometown of Chicago to be the Chief Operating Officer of the Better Government Association, a government watchdog group. Her daughter, Jill, recently graduated from NYU and recently moved from temporary to permanent status as a sales assistant in the Impressionist and Modern Art Department at Sotheby’s in New York.
Former NCYL law clerk Janice Pieroni now has her own book publishing business, Story Arts Management, in Boston, Mass. She recently visited NCYL while in town to attend her daughter’s graduation from the University of San Francisco. Janice recently published a book entitled Results of Mental Sociology for Family Law Professionals: Theory, Application, and the Best Interests of the Child, written by Benjamin D. Garber.
Davida Silverman, a summer 2009 law clerk at NCYL, was awarded a fellowship sponsored by Law Students for Reproductive Justice and the Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program at Georgetown Law. Davida will spend one year at the National Health Law Program in Washington, DC, working to expand access to reproductive healthcare.
Former law clerk Trina Thompson is now the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court in Alameda County. She has an 11-year-old daughter, and among her priorities is enhancing educational opportunities for children in foster care.
After spending two years at NCYL as a volunteer attorney, Jora Trang has accepted a staff position at Equal Rights Advocates in San Francisco. In addition to volunteering at NCYL, where she worked on child welfare/foster care issues, Jora represented abused and neglected children in the San Francisco dependency system. We are happy to have worked with Jora and wish her well in her new job. Congratulations, Jora!
Former NCYL intern Ben Winig and wife, Mala Subramanian, are the proud parents of Rohan Lev Winig, born April 30 at 5 lbs 8 oz and just over 20 inches long. Rohan is the Sanskrit word for "ascending," and Lev is the Hebrew word for "heart."
