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MEET THE STAFF OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHILDREN'S LAW CENTER ATTORNEYS Shari Shink - Shari is our founder and Executive Director. See Executive Director for more details on her history of child advocacy and role at the Children's Law Center. Jeff Koy - Jeff earned his J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law and joined the Children’s Law Center in 1999 as a staff attorney. He was named Director of Litigation soon thereafter. In addition to representing child clients, Jeff counsels staff attorneys and handles most of the Center's briefs for crucial issues raised to the appellate courts. Jason Carrithers - Jason joined the Children's Law Center as a paralegal in 1998. After earning his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law in 2003, he became a staff attorney. Jason currently represents maltreated children in dependency & neglect and delinquency cases. Much of his work is in Jefferson County. Susan Easley - Susan graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in Spanish Education in 1997. She taught high school Spanish at Jordan High School in Durham, NC for one year and worked in substance abuse prevention with at-risk children for two years before returning to her alma mater for her law degree. Susan moved to Colorado in 2004 and began practicing business litigation and transportation law. Inspired by her volunteer work with our Domestic Violence Program, Susan joined the Children's Law Center in 2007 as an attorney with a focus on the unmet educational needs of children in foster care. Tim Eirich - Tim Eirich graduated from Santa Clara University in 1997 and attended Loyola University Law School of Chicago. While at Loyola, Tim was a Corboy Fellow, Civitas Child Law Fellow and interned at the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center as a summer associate. He graduated from Loyola Cum Laude in 2004 and returned to Colorado as a Trial Attorney at the Office of the Colorado Public Defender in Adams County. Tim returned to the Children's Law Center in 2006 as a staff attorney. Andrew Fitzgerald - Andrew joined the Law Center in 2005 as a staff attorney. Before joining our staff, Andrew was a child, family law and estate planning attorney. He attended Indiana University School of Law during which time he served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Nathifa Lewis - Nathifa is a staff attorney who represents in court maltreated children, foster parents, and families who want to adopt children. Nathifa has begun an exciting new pilot program in Denver County, where she will work with pro bono attorneys who want to represent abused and neglected children in the Juvenile Court. After she earned her J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law, Nathifa served as Public Defender for 2 1/2 years before she joined the Children's Law Center in 1999. Kelli Narans - After graduating from the University of Texas, Kelli earned her law degree from Oklahoma City University. After law school, she moved back to Texas to serve as a prosecutor in Austin. There, she married, had three children and stayed home to raise them for ten years. She began practicing again in Colorado for a small family-owned business and joined the Children's Law Center in 2006. Melissa Parent - Melissa joined the Children's Law Center in 2007 as the Volunteer Attorney Coordinator. After graduating from Hastings College, Melissa Parent was accepted to the University of Notre Dame Law School. While at Notre Dame, she worked at the legal aid clinic, was the Editor of the Law Review and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2000. Soon after moving to Colorado with her husband and two daughters, she began volunteering for the Children’s Law Center Domestic Violence Program. After two years of service, she was honored at the Law Center s 2006 luncheon for her dedication to the organization. Kerri Page Parker – Kerri began working with The Children’s Law Center as a volunteer attorney with the Denver Prevention Partnership. She joined The Children’s Law Center as a staff attorney in 2008 after several years of practicing family and child law as a solo attorney. She attended the University of Alabama School of Law and served as the Regional Outreach Director in the Office of the U.S. Representative from the 7th Congressional District of Alabama during the years 2003-2005. Michele Roche - Michele is a staff attorney and Director of the Law Center's nationally-recognized Volunteer Attorney Project. In addition to overseeing the recruitment and training of volunteer attorneys, Michele is a child and family investigator, parenting coordinator and a child legal representative in highly contested custody actions. She earned her J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law in 1992 and worked in private practice before joining the Children's Law Center in 2001. Her work allows her to speak nationally on the training of Guardians ad Litem to represent children who are victims of domestic violence. CLINICAL STAFF Victoria Tucker - Victoria joined the Law Center in 2007 as the Clinical Director. She worked in the nursing field for 12 years until returning to school to pursue her law degree. She graduated from University of Houston Law Center in 1993. She worked as a Deputy District Attorney in Adams County for four years, until she moved into private practice, eventually founding her own firm. Victoria oversees the Center’s therapeutic programs and manages the University of Denver Child Advocacy Clinic. Carol LaRocque - Carol directs The Dandelion Project, a therapeutic gardening program for maltreated children. After earning her BA from St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM, she worked with children in a Montessori program, and in several non-profit settings, before returning to school to pursue a counseling degree. She completed her MA in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University in 1999, and became a Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor in 2003. Carol has 8 years experience in individual, family, and group therapy with children and teen victims and witnesses of abuse, neglect, and violence. And she has been gardening organically for over 5 years. She joined the Children's Law Center in 2005. Alison Levy and Marley - Alison received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University in 2003 and her Masters in Social Work with a certificate in Animal Assisted Social Work at the University of Denver in 2007. She began her career at the Bridge Project, an after-school program in Denver ’s subsidized housing projects. She moved on to Warren Village where she and Marley, her certified therapy dog, created Pawsitive Bonds, an animal-assisted program that improved communication within struggling families. Allison and Marley joined the Children’s Law Center in 2007 to create an animal-assisted program for our child clients. Diane Welsh - Diane joined the Children's Law Center in 2002 as a clinical consultant. She earned her B.S.W. degree from Colorado State University in 1982 and was a social worker for 15 years, with the majority of her time spent in Adams County. Diane’s extensive experience has allowed her to address most every aspect of child protection social work - from investigating abuse-neglect allegations, to working with foster children, and trying to keep families with at-risk children intact. ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Gloria Alaniz - Gloria is the Program Coordinator for the Children's Law Center. In addition to the Volunteer Attorney Project, she handles the details of the DU Child Advocacy Clinic and Foster Parent Training. After completing her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern Colorado, Gloria earned her paralegal certificate in 2001 from the Denver Paralegal Institute. She joined the Center that same year. Tommie Evans - Tommie joined our team in 2008 as the receptionist and executive assistant. She handles the phones, assists the attorneys, and directs crisis callers to the appropriate resources. She is a former restaurant owner and has experience in marketing and publicity. Cecilia Pardue - Cecilia joined the Children's Law Center in 2006. She is the Office Manager and Domestic Violence Program assistant. She earned her Legal Secretary Certification while on the office support staff at Holland & Hart. Cecilia manages internal needs of the office, places Domestic Violence cases with volunteer attorneys and serves as a translator for many of our Spanish-speaking clients. FUNDRAISING & DEVELOPMENT Sara Payne - After earning her BA in Business and Communication from the University of Puget Sound, Sara worked as an Account Manager in several Denver advertising agencies. She was introduced to the Children’s Law Center in 2004 when she took them on as a client and began volunteering as a marketing consultant and fundraising committee member. Sara joined the organization in 2006 as Director of Communications and Development. Katherine Facchinello - Katherine recently joined The Children’s Law Center as Development and Communications Manager. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Colorado State University. She comes to The Children’s Law Center with several years of experience as support staff in a law firm, in addition to her experience in marketing and community relations. IN MEMORY Christine Ellertson - Christine was a Skadden Fellow at the Children's Law Center from 1999-2001, and served as a staff attorney from 2001 to 2003. Christine passed away in early 2004 after a long battle with Cancer. She was passionate and tireless in her work on behalf of foster children, pre-adoptive parents and works on child protection policy issues. |
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