Brenda L. Marrero Chief Operating Officer Brenda (she/her/ella) is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS). As CLS’s first COO, Brenda works closely with the Executive Director, Deputy Director and CFO in furthering important strategic initiatives and operations systems. Brenda also directly manages the IT and human resources (HR) departments…
Katherine J. Gomez Deputy Director of Legal Practice Professional Experience Katherine J. Gomez is the Deputy Director of Legal Practice for Community Legal Services Inc. (CLS). The Deputy Director of Legal Practice works as a member of a team of legal managers, ensuring CLS’ legal work is of the highest quality. In that role, she…
Debby Freedman Executive Director Debby Freedman is the Executive Director of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS), the largest public interest law firm in Pennsylvania. Ms. Freedman received a B.A. with High Honors from the University of Michigan and she is a graduate of Yale Law School. As Executive Director, Ms. Freedman oversees CLS’s advocacy,…
Supervising Attorney Maripat Pileggi joined Community Legal Services Inc. in 2007 as a staff attorney in the Health and Independence Unit. She works with clients to resolve legal problems that arise in many different government benefit programs run by the Social Security Administration, Department of Public Welfare, and the Department of Insurance. Ms. Pileggi worked…
Supervising Attorney Louise Hayes (she/her) has been an attorney at CLS’s North Philadelphia Law Center since 1997, when she joined CLS as an Independence Foundation Fellow. While helping CLS clients get and keep a range of public benefits, her expertise is in SNAP and cash assistance programs, including programs to help clients move toward self-sufficiency. …
Supervising Attorney Chi-Ser Tran (she/her) is a Supervising Attorney in the SSI Unit and Language Access Project at Community Legal Services. Her practice focuses on representing adults and children with disabilities who face issues attaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. She also leads CLS’s language access advocacy and focuses on improving access to legal services,…
Managing Attorney – Health & Independence Unit Lydia Gottesfeld is the Managing Attorney of the CLS Health and Independence Unit. In that role, she oversees CLS’s work keeping low-income people connected to critical safety net public benefits–including health insurance, nutrition support, and cash assistance–as well as CLS’s work advocating for older adults and disabled people…
Divisional Supervising Attorney / Duffy Fellow Jennifer Burdick is a Duffy Fellow and a Divisional Supervising Attorney in the SSI Unit at Community Legal Services. Her practice focuses on representing adults and children facing issues both attaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income benefits in administrative hearings and in Federal Court. She also advocates nationally for…
Kristen DamaManaging Attorney – SSI Unit and Medical Legal Partnership Kristen Dama is the Managing Attorney of SSI and Medical-Legal Partnership at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS). In that role, she oversees CLS’s work connecting disabled people and their families to federal income supports and fighting for federal policies that promote disability economic justice.…
Co – Managing Attorney – Housing Unit Rachel Garland (she/her) is the co-managing attorney of the Housing Unit at Community Legal Services, where she where she co-leads a team of 40 lawyers, paralegals, social workers, and other staff members in litigation and advocacy to prevent evictions and homelessness. Under Ms. Garland’s leadership, CLS’s Housing Unit…
