We are excited to welcome five new board members to our Board of Directors.

Wendy Atrokhov is the Public Service Counsel, Director of Global Pro Bono for Latham & Watkins. In this role, Wendy oversees one of the largest pro bono programs in the world. She also created Latham & Watkins’ More Than Words Racial Justice Training Series, which focuses on the history of systemic racism and inequality in the United States, tying it to present-day events and opportunities to take action. Wendy serves on the Lawyers’ Committee of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the TrustLaw Pro Bono Council, and the PILnet Pro Bono Leadership Council. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of LathamCares, which offers grants and assistance to those in the Latham community who have been affected by personal hardship or crisis. Prior to serving in her current role, Wendy practiced corporate finance law in Latham’s Moscow office from 2002 – 2010, where she represented foreign private issuers in debt and equity offerings and regulatory compliance matters, and established the office’s pro bono program. She began her career as an associate in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office in 1999.

Fun Fact:  Wendy has been to Kazakhstan more than a dozen times, including in winter when the temperatures routinely drop into negative double digits. 

Sasha Drobnick serves as Legal Director fo DV LEAP, where she leads its national appellate advocacy on behalf of family violence survivors. Prior to joining DVLEAP, Sasha practiced family law and was recognized by the state bar association as well as local domestic violence organizations for her extensive pro bono representation of survivors and low-income clients. The experience as a trial litigator both informed and energized Sasha’s commitment to using the appellate process to give survivors a path to justice.  Sasha spent her early career advocating for gender equity in education nationally and internationally. She worked extensively in South Africa to promote Black women’s equal access to higher education for the American Council on Education, then directed two American Association of University Women Educational Foundation fellowship programs providing women access to post-graduate education opportunities. Sasha received her B.A. from Georgetown University and her J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Fun Fact: Sasha is a fierce animal-lover and was torn between becoming a lawyer and veterinarian (but the latter required too much science).

Ashley Erickson is the Director of Network Advancement at the American Constitution Society. She manages ACS pro bono and volunteer projects. Before joining ACS, Ashley was a magistrate in the Virginia State Judiciary’s 31st District. Prior to her work as a magistrate, she worked in the Office of General Counsel at George Mason University and the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Education. Ashley received her J.D. from the Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School and her B.A. in political science from Brigham Young University. While in law school, she served for two years as the president of BYU’s ACS student chapter. She won awards in both trial advocacy and legal writing, and she also received a fellowship from the Federal Language Area Studies scholarship program for European legal research and language training.

Fun Fact: Ashely is a former competitive speed skater. She loves baking and refinishing furniture.

Yaida Ford is the principal at Ford Law Pros,  P.C.  Yaida is a trial lawyer who specializes in a wide array of civil rights litigation. She has represented employees in complex federal sector litigation and she has tried cases in federal courts against municipalities and state actors for violating the constitutional rights of private citizens. Yaida’s work has been recognized by judges and peers, alike. She has been nominated a Washington D.C. “Super Lawyer” from 2016-2021.

Fun Fact: Yaida lives in Ward 8 and has run for public office. She is also a songwriter and rapper.

Tara Ramchandi is a partner with Relman Colfax PLLC. Her practice focuses on civil rights litigation. Tara maintains a varied practice, representing individuals and organizations in housing, lending, and public accommodations discrimination cases. Tara also provides strategic and legal advice on civil rights issues to non-profits and other organizations. Prior to joining the firm, Tara was a law clerk for the Honorable Algenon L. Marbley on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and then an attorney at Goodwin & Procter LLP, where she worked on a variety of litigation matters. During law school, she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Tara was honored as a Wasserstein Public Interest Visiting Fellowship, Harvard University School of Law (2016), and selected as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers Rising Star in civil rights from 2014 to 2020. She is a member of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services of the District of Columbia Circuit Judicial Conference for the 2021-2024 term.

Fun Fact: In December 2019, Tara set a goal to run at least a mile every other day for a month.  She has kept it up since then, so now the goal is to make it to 2 years!

We are looking forward to working with such an interesting and diverse group of new board members. They already are leaders in our community and will bring exciting new ideas about how to advance our mission of promoting pro bono service and public-interest law.