This year six fine lawyers are joining our Board of Directors:

Emily Batt is an associate in the Employment Law Department at Paul Hastings and also serves as the Pro Bono Coordinator for the firm’s DC office. Before moving to the District, Emily attended University of Virginia School of Law, worked with the Legal Aid Justice Center and Migrant Farmworker Project, and coordinated UVA’s Immigration Law Program. Emily and her fiancé Noah enjoy hiking and camping with their dog, Liam (recently featured on The Dogs of Public Interest Law).

Melinda Cooperman is a Staff Attorney in the Guardian ad Litem Project at the Children’s Law Center. She previously ran the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project at Washington College of Law, and served as a Clinical Teaching Fellow in the Street Law Clinic at Georgetown Law. Melinda was also as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador and, unrelatedly, paddle boards competitively.

Katie Dilks is the Associate Director of Public Interest Programs and New Initiatives at Georgetown Law in the Office of Public Interest and Community Service. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the DC Affordable Law Firm, Steering Committee for the DC Reduced Fee Lawyer Referral Services (DC Refers), and the Alexandria Landlord-Tenant Relations Board (though she is neither a landlord nor a tenant). In her spare time, Katie enjoys cooking, yoga, personal-finance education, and making homemade liqueurs.

Rebecca Goldfrank is the Director of the Families First Program at Children’s Law Center, where she has worked since 2004, and the former co-chair of the DC Bar Family Law Community (née Family Law Section). Rebecca received her law degree from American University Washington College of Law and holds a BA in Spanish from NYU. While in law school, Rebecca was a Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Fellow for two years, teaching the First and Fourth Amendments to students at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School and School Without Walls.

Sarah Marcus is a Senior Attorney at the Department of Labor, where she handles appellate and regulatory matters on behalf of the Wage and Hour Division. Sarah holds a BA from Yale and a JD from Harvard Law School; before law school, she worked at the National Juvenile Defender Center. Sarah lived in Anchorage for a year and, for as long as you’re willing to listen, will explain how amazing Alaska is—in summer and winter(!).

Erich Veitenheimer is a biotech lawyer at Cooley and the head of pro bono in Cooley’s DC office. In addition to his degree from Georgetown Law, which he attended at night, Erich has a BS in agronomy, a Masters in genetics, and a PhD in genetics and statistics. He has served as an Ocean Systems Technician in the Navy, a plant breeder and biostatistician with DeKalb-Pfizer Genetics, and a senior corn breeder with DeKalb Genetics International.

Our new board members are already leaping into their responsibilities and we’re delighted to welcome them to our board!