The legal hurdles faced by individuals living in poverty are vast. They often face uphill battles with issues impacting the most fundamental human needs: family stability, safe housing, food security, fair employment, and freedom from fear and violence. Representation is vital in these areas, and the need is overwhelming. These areas of law often have the highest rate of pro se litigants; when pro bono or public-interest lawyers get involved, these cases also produce some of the most life-changing outcomes for the parties involved. Pro bono lawyers who take on these cases literally can be life-savers.

Learn more about the wide-ranging legal issues individuals living in poverty face and what pro bono opportunities are available in D.C. and across the country to help address these needs at our 2026 Summer Forum Panel on Poverty Law on Thursday, July 9. Register here!

Jen Masi will moderate the Poverty Law panel. Jen is Children’s Law Center’s Pro Bono Director and engages with hundreds of pro bono attorneys from area law firms, corporations, government agencies, and solo practice as they represent caregivers in adoption, guardianship, and custody cases, represent the best interests of children as guardians ad litem in contested custody proceedings, advocate for parents in special education cases, and bring affirmative housing conditions litigation when a child’s health is at risk. Jen also leads Children’s Law Center’s family law team, which includes attorneys and support staff who represent children’s best interests in contested custody cases and caregivers in family law cases. Jen has been with Children’s Law Center since 2011 and previously clerked at D.C. Superior Court and taught sixth grade.  Jen has been a member of our Board of Directors since 2020.

The panel includes:

Jennifer Mezey, Children’s Law Center
Jennifer joined Children’s Law Center in 2025 as the Deputy Director of the Healthy Together medical legal partnership, through which Children’s Law Center lawyers work with pediatricians to address the root causes of children’s health problems, including poor housing conditions, lack of access to health care and insufficient educational supports for children with disabilities.

Jennifer has spent her entire career advocating for the health and economic stability of low-income children, adults and families through individual representation and systemic reform.  Prior to joining Children’s Law Center, Jennifer worked at Legal Aid DC for two decades as a Supervising Attorney for Public Benefits and, most recently, as the Legal Director for Legal Operations and Client Services.  She also advocated for children and families at the National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Law and Social Policy, and (in law school) the Michigan Poverty Law Program.

In 2015, Jennifer was named one of sixteen Where Health Meets Justice Fellows, a fellowship funded jointly by the National Center for Medical Legal Partnerships and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association to build health care expertise and leadership in the legal services community. That year, she also received the 2015 Champion of Change award from the District of Columbia Primary Care Association in recognition of work to improve the health care delivery system for District residents.

Sébastien Monzón Rueda, AARP Foundation Litigation

Sébastien started at AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL) after four years as a Staff Attorney in the Tenant Advocacy and Support Practice at Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) where he represented older adults with low to moderate income in housing-related cases before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  He also litigated reasonable accommodation cases and discrimination claims before administrative bodies, such as the D.C. Housing Authority and the Office of Administrative Hearings.  Sébastien received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and his B.A. from the University of British Columbia.  He clerked for the Honorable Tyrona De Witt and the Honorable Diane Lepley at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  Sébastien is a Board Member of the Washington Council of Lawyers and serves as Co-Chair of its Advocacy Committee. 

Harmony Jones, Eversheds Sutherland

Harmony is US Pro Bono Counsel at Eversheds Sutherland, where she helps manage the firm’s large-scale pro bono projects, including impact litigation. 

Harmony has nearly 20 years of diverse pro bono experience, with a focus on increasing access to justice by providing legal services to low-income individuals and charitable organizations. She has represented clients in a range of civil rights and public benefits matters, particularly in the areas of housing and family law, racial justice and criminal justice reform.

Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Harmony was most recently Pro Bono Counsel at a large international law firm. Earlier in her career, she was a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society and Neighborhood Legal Services Program, based in Washington DC. Harmony also worked with an international law firm as a pro bono fellow, where she represented clients in civil rights, criminal defense, and federal habeas corpus cases at the trial and appellate level. She also served as counsel for amici clients before the US Supreme Court. In addition to her pro bono work, Harmony has represented commercial clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation cases.

Aida Vindell, Volunteer Legal Advocates

Aida is the Legal Director at Volunteer Legal Advocates, an organization dedicated to training and mentoring pro bono attorneys in their representation of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Aida has served hundreds of D.C. residents living in poverty through her work representing survivors of violence at various legal services organizations. Prior to joining the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, Aida was a Senior Attorney at the Children’s Law Center and served as a Guardian ad litem attorney for abused, abandoned, and neglected children in the District. She also served as a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault attorney at Ayuda and worked as an associate in a private law firm in Rockville, Maryland where she practiced family law, criminal defense, immigration defense and civil rights litigation. 

Aida holds a Juris Doctor from the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, a law school committed to training public interest attorneys, and a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Florida International University.

We look forward to seeing you at this panel! Register here to get your ticket to the keynote and the substantive panels. Join the conversation using #SumFo26!