Michelle Beard is a Receptionist/Intake Specialist in our Northeast office. Michelle is responsible for managing a busy phone system, answering inquiries, providing brief advice and information to the public, greeting visitors, and providing administrative and organizational support.

Cami Bianchi (they/them) joined ULS as its first Communications Associate in June of 2023. Cami works across ULS’ five programs to understand, capture, and share ULS’ work with a larger audience of clients, community stakeholders, nonprofit organizations, and local government officials. To this end, Cami manages ULS’ social media accounts, crafts ULS’ monthly newsletters, collaborates with staff on creating content for ULS’ website, and more! Before becoming a fulltime employee of ULS, Cami interned for the Jail & Prison Advocacy Project (JPAP) in the summer of 2022. As an intern, Cami met with JPAP clients alongside JPAP’s Re-Entry Advocates and provided JPAP’s Director with research and writing support. Cami graduated summa cum laude from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science.

Jane M. Brown has led ULS as its Executive Director since July 1993. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a staff of nine supporting two programs to more than forty attorneys, housing counselors, social workers, advocates and other professionals supporting 14 programs. Under Jane’s leadership, ULS began to expand its housing counseling program, and also became the designated Protection and Advocacy agency for the District of Columbia, as designated by the Mayor.

Before becoming Executive Director, Jane was a Supervising Attorney at ULS overseeing the housing counseling staff and representing tenants in Landlord and Tenant Court. She went on to represent tenants seeking homeownership through the tenant purchase process which provided tenants the opportunity to own their apartment buildings and convert them to cooperatives. She provided legal counsel in all phases of purchase, renovation of properties, and project financing.

Jane is a graduate of Howard University School of Law and Wellesley College. While in college, she studied abroad at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. Jane is a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania bars, and serves on the Boards of the H Street Community Development Corporation, Advocates for Justice and Education, and the National Disability Rights Network.

Janice Coleman is a Receptionist/Intake Specialist at our Northeast location. Janice assists with a busy switchboard, brief advice, information and referrals, walk-ins, and workshop preparation. Janice prides herself on her ability to help others, provide valuable information, and serve her community.

Lan Ji is ULS’ CFO. She is in charge of all aspects of accounting and part of HR function throughout the organization.

Lan graduated from Georgia Southern University with a master’s degree in accounting in 2001. Prior to joining ULS in 2006, Lan worked in finance roles for Catholic Charities Archdiocese Washington and So Others Might Eat.

Jasmine Pondexter is the Receptionist/Intake Specialist for our Far Northeast location on Benning Rd. Jasmine greets clients with a smile and a warm voice, conducts intake for programs, and provides information and referral services.

Cheryl White is the Information Technology Manager at University Legal Services. With over 25 years of experience, Cheryl is responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of information technology support systems throughout the organization.

Sherry Armfield-Ballentine is a HUD Certified Housing Counselor at our Southeast location. With over 25 years of service to various communities, she provides counseling, logistical support, and exemplary customer service to families with pre-purchase, post-purchase, rental, default, and foreclosure counseling needs. She loves working with people, providing comfortability that quickly and effectively establishes and maintains rapport with all her clients, all levels of management, staff, and the general public.

Evelyn Cruz is a Bilingual HUD Certified Housing Counselor at our Northeast location and works with The Mayor’s Office of Latino Affairs. She is a native Washingtonian with Salvadorian heritage. With 2 years of experience, she helps the community to understand and address housing and credit barriers to help them achieve their goals by providing financial management, credit counseling, pre- and post-purchase, default, and foreclosure counseling. Evelyn is grateful to be a part of the HCP team to continue educating DC residents about the various programs available for the community and to better aid native Spanish speaking clients that have limited English capacity.

Steven Edmonds is a HUD Certified Housing Counselor at our Southeast location. Originally from the Jersey Shore (New Jersey), Steven moved to Washington DC in 1995 working with various community-based organizations in the DC area. With over 15 years of residential property management and housing experience, Steven is dedicated to working with clients in home purchasing, rentals, and foreclosure prevention.

Jessie Gibson is the HUD Certified Supervising Housing Counselor at our Southeast location. Jessie, a native Washingtonian, joined the HCP staff in 2019. She’s demonstrated experience and leadership skills for over 10 years. Jessie is passionate about making a difference in our community and the lives of the residents in the District of Columbia. She has successfully helped many families achieve their goals of Homeownership, Foreclosure Prevention, Credit Counseling, Single Family Rehabilitation Program, Fair Housing, and Money Management.

Charlene Gilchrist is a Senior HUD Certified Housing Counselor with more than 30 years’ experience. Charlene started out as a receptionist for the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization in Ward 7. She quickly took an interest in housing counseling after many discussions with the housing counselors there regarding the programs and services they provided to the community. As she grew up and continued to live in Ward 7 she saw housing counseling as a way of assisting her community to better their quality of life. After working for Marshall Heights Community Development for 25 years, Charlene continued her career as a housing counselor when she began working for HCP in March of 2010. Her dedication to providing quality services to the surrounding communities continued while working with HCP through services and counseling programs such as the Home Purchase Assistance Program, Single Family Rehabilitation Program, Mortgage Default & Delinquency, Fair Housing, Credit Counseling, Budget & Money Management, Landlord & Tenant Rights, etc.

Charlene is certified through the National Association of Housing Counselors and Agencies, Inc., and holds certifications through NeighborWorks America in Pre-Purchase & Post-Purchase Homeownership Education, Foreclosure Intervention and Default Counseling and Homeownership Counseling.

Aurora is a Bilingual HUD Certified Housing Counselor at our Northeast location. She received her associate degree in arts with a concentration in humanities, arts, communication, and language from Montgomery College. Aurora provides counseling to clients on topics ranging from credit and financial budgeting to DC home purchasing programs and post occupancy assistance. Aurora is also a part of the DC Mayor's office on Latino Affairs team at HCP that conducts community outreach to better support the credit and housing goals of native Spanish speaking clients with limited English capacity.

Tracey Nicole Turner is the HUD Certified Supervising Housing Counselor at ULS’ Northeast location. Before joining HCP she was employed at United Planning Organization (UPO) for many years, initially as a part of DCREACH Program, which aimed at assisting residents with paying their utilities. She was then asked to become one of the first Housing Counselors to spearhead the Newly Developed Housing Program Initiative at UPO. She’s been a Housing Counselor for over ten years. In 2007, she became a Certified Comprehensive Housing Counselor through the National Association of Housing Counseling Agencies. Two years later she obtained her certification through Neighbor Works as a Certified Comprehensive Housing Specialist. Additionally, she's served on the Board of the DC Metropolitan Association of Housing Counselors as the Secretary for the past six years and sits on the Board of the Assistive Technology Loan Financing Program for Washingtonians as the Vice President located at ULS.

In 2006, she was elected the President of the Tenant Association located at Paradise at Parkside Communities Apartment Complex where she lived for over 20 years. Her overall goal was to enhance the lives of the residents by offering them the opportunity and platform to change their living conditions as well as their personal and professional growth and development. Being a resident of the District since 1992, she is passionate about making a difference in our communities and the lives of residents in the District of Columbia.

Sean Wallace is the HUD Certified Supervising Housing Counselor at our Far Northeast location. Sean, a native Washingtonian, joined the Housing Counseling staff of HCP in 1996. With nearly 20 years of demonstrated experience and leadership, Sean has successfully helped hundreds of families achieve their goal of homeownership.  Soon after joining HCP, Sean realized that one of the quickest ways for the families in this community to obtain and sustain wealth was through homeownership. Famous educator Horace Mann once said that “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men...” With that thought in mind, Sean has spent countless hours training clients in home buyer education, credit, budgeting and money management and foreclosure prevention. It is his belief that with the proper knowledge and access to the facts, everyone in our communities has an equal opportunity to improve their current condition and realize their dreams.

Donta Washington is the Intake Specialist for ULS’ Southeast location, where he has worked for six years. Donta warmly greets clients contacting ULS and connects them to the services that they need. Donta also provides the Southeast office with needed administrative support. Prior to working for HCP, Donta worked in retail and construction for several years.

Jazzmine is a Housing Counselor at ULS’ Southeast location. Starting new at HCP as a Housing Counselor, Jazzmine is excited about embarking on a new journey to help those in her community. Prior to joining HCP, Jazzmine used her time getting her Business Administration Degree from Towson University with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. While in school, Jazzmine participated in outside activities such as photography and cooking to develop her creativity while also gaining knowledge. During her senior year of college, Jazzmine juggled two separate internships getting real hands-on experience from entrepreneurs around her in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Jazzmine is working on getting her HUD certification as a housing counselor, after which she hopes to be able to give back and help clients purchase and save their homes.

Since joining DRDC in 1997, Sandy has provided direct representation to hundreds of people with disabilities to ensure that they are provided with quality services and supports, are fully integrated into their community, and their civil rights are protected. In addition to supervising all of the legal and advocacy work at DRDC, much of her recent practice focuses on ensuring District residents with intellectual disabilities get the community-based services they are entitled to from the Department on Disability Services and Department of Health Care Finance.

Sandy has served on numerous committees and participated in policy initiatives to improve the quality of supports provided to people with disabilities and to advocate for equal access to services and housing. She has served as plaintiffs’ counsel in individual and class action litigation and currently represents the plaintiff class in Evans v. Bowser, litigation involving the rights of people with developmental disabilities who formerly resided at Forest Haven.

Sandy is the recipient of the 2007 Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities’ Advocacy Award and the 2008 D.C. Bar’s Jerrold Scoutt Award. Sandy holds a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts and a received her J. D. degree from American University’s Washington College of Law.

David Clark is an Intake Specialist at the our Northeast location. David assists with information and referral, administrative and organizational support, and as a representative payee monitor. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. David hopes to continue to serve his community in this position.

Mary Nell McGarity Clark joined DRDC in 2003 as a Managing Attorney after working at the U.S. Department of Justice for almost ten years handling large class action lawsuits. While at DRDC, she has been lead counsel for several large cases, including litigation against St. Elizabeths Hospital and a large behavioral health provider. In addition to overseeing investigations and writing numerous investigation reports, as a former teacher and the parent of children with special needs, Mary Nell has a particular interest in special education law and inclusion. She earned her JD at the University of Texas School of Law where she was a member of the Texas Law Review and Order of the Coif.

Anya Kreider joined DRDC as a Mental Health/Developmental Disability Attorney in January 2024. In this position, she advocates for DC residents’ access to community-based services and inclusive special education services. She conducts monitoring and investigation work for Disability Rights DC, with a focus on youth facilities. As part of this advocacy, Anya also supports ongoing litigation and provides testimony to the DC Council on issues facing District residents with disabilities.  

Before joining DRDC, Anya served as the 2022-2023 Open Horizon Criminal Justice Fellow at the Council for Court Excellence, working with criminal legal system stakeholders to develop policy to improve the function of DC’s criminal legal system. Anya graduated from the American University Washington College of Law in 2022, where she was a student attorney in the Re-Entry Clinic and worked for the Project on Addressing Prison Rape. Anya was also an active member of the public interest community, serving, for example, as vice president of the Equal Justice Foundation. As a law school student, Anya interned for the Public Defender Services for DC and the Special Litigation Section of the DOJ Civil Rights Division. Anya holds a B.A. in Social Work from Goshen College.

Lyndsay Niles rejoined DRDC as a Managing Attorney in July 2020.  Lyndsay helps direct and supervise the work at DRDC and engages in advocacy, litigation, and policy work on behalf of DC residents with disabilities to ensure their community integration and inclusion.  In this role, she serves as class co-counsel in Brown v. District of Columbia, litigation on behalf of DC nursing facility residents seeking transition assistance to access Medicaid-funded community-based services and supports.  Lyndsay also represents DC residents to facilitate their access to community-based Medicaid long-term care and mental health services, polling places, public accommodations, and assistive technology.  

Previously, as a Staff Attorney at DRDC, Lyndsay provided direct representation to hundreds of DC residents with psychiatric disabilities to promote their access to appropriate, individualized Medicaid community-based services.  She also investigated alleged abuse and neglect of youth and adults in institutions and advocated for people with disabilities to be free from discrimination and barriers to work.  

Before becoming a Managing Attorney, Lyndsay was Counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in the area of prisoners’ rights.  Her practice focused on impact litigation and non-litigation advocacy on behalf of incarcerated DC residents on issues involving: solitary confinement and other forms of isolation, access to mental health care, disability discrimination in parole, treatment of deaf incarcerated people, and freedom from violent conditions of confinement. Prior to her time as a Staff Attorney at DRDC, Lyndsay worked on Olmstead enforcement as a Contract Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section. Lyndsay graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. degree in Psychology and received her J.D. degree from The George Washington University Law School.  Lyndsay is a native Washingtonian.

Chloe Peeples joined DRDC as a Staff Attorney in June 2023. Under the CAP program, she provides direct representation to DC residents with disabilities to address concerns about vocational supports provided by the DC Rehabilitative Services Administration. Under the PABSS program, she advocates on behalf of Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries to remove barriers to securing, maintaining, or regaining employment.

Prior to joining DRDC, Chloe was an associate at DC Affordable Law Firm, where she litigated on behalf of DC residents who did not qualify for traditional forms of free legal aid but could not afford costly legal representation. She provided representation in various family law matters and offered humanitarian and non-humanitarian immigration services. Chloe received her J.D., cum laude, and her Master of Laws in Advocacy from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Public Interest Fellow and Executive Articles Editor on the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. While in law school, she completed legal internships at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Center for Youth Law, and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

Andrea Procaccino joined DRDC in 2011 as a Staff Attorney. She is a registered nurse and an attorney. Her focus at DRDC is representing individuals with mental health disabilities whose rights have been violated and conducting abuse and neglect investigations. She also works with pro bono attorneys in the District who represent ULS clients in rights violation cases. She earned her nursing degree at the University of Maryland and her JD at University of Baltimore.

Eva joined DRDC as a Staff Attorney in August 2020. Under the PAIMI and PADD programs, Eva represents DC residents with psychiatric and developmental disabilities to ensure that they receive the community-based support and services to which they are entitled. In addition, under the PABSS program, she advocates on behalf of Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries to remove barriers they face to securing, maintaining, or regaining employment. Prior to joining ULS, Eva clerked for the Honorable Robert N. McDonald of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Eva received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where she served as a Book Review editor for the Michigan Law Review. While in law school, Eva was a student attorney in the Pediatric Advocacy Clinic and interned with the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

Jared Stone joined DRDC as an Advocate in October 2023. Under the PADD program, he advocates for the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities and helps connect people to community-based services. Jared also conducts outreach and education to inform individuals with disabilities of the services available to them, DRDC’s work, and the rights and protections individuals with disabilities have. In particular, he educates students with disabilities on transition services available to assist with preparing for life after school. Jared graduated from American University. During his time there, he participated in internships and extracurricular activities oriented around giving back to the community and taught communication skills to high school students. Jared was the 2021 national champion of the American Parliamentary Debate Association.

Jaclyn joined DRDC in 2018. In her role at DRDC, she engages in direct representation of individuals with behavioral health and traumatic brain injury diagnoses to protect against abuse, neglect, and disability-based discrimination in institutional and community settings, engages in systemic advocacy to promote access to Medicaid community-based behavioral health and long-term care services, and manages the SSA representative payee monitoring program for DC.  

Jaclyn completed a dual-degree program in which she received a JD, graduating magna cum laude, from Widener University Delaware Law School and a PsyD from Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology. She was awarded the Reed Hamilton Memorial Award for Excellence in Health Law. During her graduate and legal training, Jaclyn worked in a variety of healthcare and legal settings, including as a federal judicial extern, member of the psychology team at a residential substance abuse treatment facility, and as a psycho-legal intern at a medical-legal partnership focused on providing services to low-income parents. Jaclyn is passionate about improving access to healthcare for low-income communities.

Robert was charged and incarcerated in 1994 at the age of 18. After serving 21 years at the D.C. Jail, Lorton Correctional Facility, and Federal Bureau of Prison Facilities across the US, he was released in 2015 to the District of Columbia, where he spent his childhood. He was accepted into the FreeMinds Book Club and enrolled in a Job Readiness and Personal Skill Building Apprenticeship Program, where he excelled and regularly spoke with community members about his personal journey of growth and change. Since 2018 Robert has helped Georgetown Law’s Internship Director run regular Reentry Support Sessions at F.C.I. Petersburg, while working full-time at Catholic Charities as a Program Assistant. In March of 2021 Robert was hired by JPAP to be a Reentry Advocate for Victims Services. He regularly offers to connect FreeMinds alumni and old Georgetown clients with job opportunities and is always on hand to talk with newly returning citizens to offer words of advice and encouragement.

Although Donald was not born in DC, this is the only home he’s known. His parents were sharecroppers from the South who moved to DC to give their children a better chance at life. When he was just 17, he was sent to prison to serve a 5 to 20-year sentence. As he saw how the men incarcerated with him were being treated, Donald wanted to become an advocate, spending a great deal of time learning ways to elevate his voice against discrimination. After his release from prison, Donald received reentry assistance from JPAP. After graduating from Georgetown University’s Pivot Program, he worked as a peer specialist for Total Family Care Coalition before joining JPAP as a Peer Navigator. Since his release from prison, Donald has dedicated himself to giving back to those who find themselves in similar circumstances. When asked what led him to do this work, Donald responded “I am the people I help, we have the same struggles, and I would want somebody to step up for me.”

Tammy Seltzer is the Director of JPAP at ULS’ Disability Rights DC (DRDC). DRDC founded JPAP in 2007 to assist DC residents with serious and persistent mental illness returning to the community from jail and prison, removing obstacles to reentry and linking individuals to services and supports. Tammy has worked for over 20 years vindicating the civil rights of people with mental illness in various arenas including the justice system. Tammy spent two years as the Director of State Policy at the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the national association for community mental health and substance abuse treatment providers. As part of her work with the National Council, Tammy provided technical assistance on a variety of policy issues involving mental health and substance use disorders, such as funding for home- and community-based services and healthcare reform. Tammy also spent 10 years as an attorney with the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, where she focused on children and criminal justice issues, including an SSI benefits project to assist children of Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange. In 2016, Tammy received the Center for Court Excellence’s 2016 Justice Potter Stewart Award for her work with people with disabilities. Tammy graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Public Policy and received her law degree from the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia.

As JPAP’s Supervising Attorney, Natasha advocates for and represents DC residents with psychiatric and/or intellectual disabilities connected to the jail and prison system. She monitors conditions in correctional settings, investigates complaints of abuse, neglect, and discrimination, and represents clients in a variety of hearings. Natasha also partners with defense attorneys to provide mitigation testimony and documentation for the pretrial, sentencing, and parole release of clients.

Natasha was the Law Fellow for the Jail and Prison Advocacy Project (JPAP) from 2019-2020 before returning to JPAP in 2021. Natasha earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where she was a Public Interest Fellow and her B.A. from the University of Chicago in 2009. During law school, Natasha interned at The Arc, the largest national advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia. Natasha is a proud self-advocate.

Alicia C. Johns is the Program Manager for DCATP. DCATP is a city-wide program that helps District residents with disabilities regardless of age or disability get appropriate assistive technology (AT) devices and services to live independently. Alicia manages the administration and implementation of the AT program services, including the AT Resource Center, AT Device Loan Program, Disability Equipment Recycling Program (DC Shares) and the AT Financing Loan Program. Through DCATP, District residents with disabilities have a chance to participate in demonstrations of AT devices; opportunities to try out AT devices with our short-term device loan program; acquire new or used durable medical equipment like wheelchairs and walkers; and access low-interest loans to purchase assistive technology devices and services. These services are available to all Washingtonians with disabilities and their families with the ultimate goal of allowing persons with disabilities to live and function independently at home, schoolwork, or in their community. Alicia holds a M.S. in Management and Marketing from the University of Maryland and has been in the field of disability rights and assistive technology for over 26 years. Alicia often states that, “Technology makes things easier for persons without disabilities, but technology makes things possible for persons with disabilities.”

Deborah Kale is the Outreach Specialist for DCATP. She has been an AT Advisory Council member since 2018. Before working for DCATP in 2022, Deborah was a personal office assistant at the DC Center for Independent Living for 13 years. She has also been in the disability field for 23 years, working as a Participant Direct Care Worker/Home Health aide. Disability has always been her passion; she advocates for people with a sufficient disability. Deborah believes that all people with a disability should be treated fairly and equally, just like any other person, and that they have a voice, and somebody should hear it. Their lives matter, too. Deborah will never stop advocating for people or persons with disabilities unit their voices are heard.

Leonard McPherson, OT/AT Specialist has provided wellness and medical therapeutic services for over 30 years in the Washington Metropolitan area. Leonard is a seasoned occupational therapist and assistive technology specialist providing evaluation, device/system recommendations, direct/consultative services, and trainings. Over the years working with DCATP, Leonard has provided numerous device demonstrations, in -service trainings, and Webinars for the community at large. In addition, currently assisting with device or software feature loans, information assistance, and presentations. He has been responsible for providing assistive technology services for infants and toddlers, school age students, and adults. Additionally, he has been successful in developing collaborations with private, local, district and federal funding organizations to promote awareness and education for Special Needs Populations. Furthermore, Leonard has provided consultation to numerous organizations on developing innovative community and home-based systems of care for children to adults with disabilities.

Davette Rucker is an Assistive Technology Specialist at DCATP. She is an occupational therapist and has been in the field of disability and rehabilitation since 1998. Davette manages DCATP's lending library and demonstration center. She conducts assistive technology product demonstrations, AT consultations, AT assessments, and assists with outreach activities.

Reginald Taylor is the Equipment Coordinator for the DC Shares Program. Reginald, also known to the DC Shares community as Reggie has joined the team with a desire to serve and support low-income families in need. The program is a component of the District of Columbia’s Assistive Technology Program, designed to provide medical equipment for individuals who are disabled, ill, or injured. Reggie is not only committed to providing durable medical equipment but also to building lasting relationships within the community.

Andrew Martin is the Program Manager for the ULS Tenant Purchase Assistance Program. He is responsible for designing and delivering real estate development consulting and asset management services to low- and moderate-income tenants associations that seek to buy and renovate their buildings and create limited equity cooperatives or other forms of multi-family housing. The focus of the Tenant Purchase Program is to create and preserve affordable homeownership in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining the ULS Tenant Purchase Assistance Program in 2011, Andrew was a Disposition Specialist in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) asset management department at Enterprise Community Investment, where he managed the Year 15 exit of investors from affordable LIHTC rental housing. And prior to working at Enterprise, Andrew developed affordable housing in Washington, DC and Sacramento, California, including working as a City/County Redevelopment Planner and as a Construction Coordinator at Sacramento Habitat for Humanity.

Andrew is on the board of directors of the Coalition for Non Profit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) and holds a master’s degree in regional planning with a concentration in real estate development and transportation planning from the University of North Carolina, and a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University.