LAJC’s Board of Directors governs how the organization operates and supports our work through financial management and guidance, stewardship of our mission, fundraising, and more. The board consists of attorneys, representatives from the communities we serve, and other committed individuals all of whom bring perspectives and experiences that are invaluable to achieving our mission.
Our Board of Directors:
Cynthia Neff, IBM, Retired (President)
Cynthia is a longtime champion of LAJC and has served as the organization’s Interim Executive Director, Chair of our Strategic Planning Committee, Board Member, LAJC Charlottesville Advisory Council member, and Volunteer. Her commitment to the work is evidenced by her thousands of hours of volunteer work on behalf of the communities we serve. Prior to retiring in 2006, Cynthia was in charge of human resources for IBM.
Joy Johnson, Public Housing Association of Residents (Vice-President)
The only officer who is not new in her role, Joy has been on the Board of LAJC since 1999 and has served as Vice President for more than a decade. Joy has a long and successful history of advocacy and leadership especially in the realm of public housing. Joy is currently the chair of Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) in Charlottesville, an organization she helped to establish in 1988 and which is helping to make the promise of resident-led redevelopment a reality in Charlottesville.
Ofelia Calderon, Calderon Seguin PLC (Secretary)
Ofelia is a founding partner in Calderón Seguin PLC in Fairfax. Like Kristi, she stepped onto LAJC’s Board in 2018 from our Northern Virginia Advisory Council. Ofelia is an experienced Immigration Attorney and stalwart pro bono presence for LAJC and many other groups including the National Immigration Project and Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. She previously served as the President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Virginia.
Kristi Kelly, Kelly Guzzo, PLC (Treasurer)
Kristi is a consumer protection attorney and founding attorney of Kelly Guzzo PLC. She has served on LAJC’s Board since 2018 when she stepped up from our Northern Virginia Advisory Council. Kristi has been an exemplary volunteer and supporter for years working with our attorneys on a number of major cases while providing significant financial support both personally and by directing Cy Pres and other funding to LAJC. Kristi’s law firm Kelly Guzzo PLC was recently awarded the Frankie Muse Freeman Organizational Pro Bono Award along with Consumer Litigation Associates.
Tanishka V. Cruz, Cruz Law PLLC (Term starts Jan 2, 2021)
Tanishka is the founding attorney of Cruz Law PLLC. As the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Tanishka has dedicated her legal career to the practice of immigration law. She was formerly a staff attorney at LAJC under the Immigrant Advocacy Program where she focused primarily on the management of the Virginia Special Immigrant Juvenile Project, an award-winning collaboration between LAJC and pro bono attorneys across the state.
Salvador M. Bezos, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C
Sal Bezos is a director in the DC-based intellectual property law firm of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. Sal provides services in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Sal leads Sterne Kessler’s immigration-focused pro bono initiatives, through which he has co-counseled several immigration matters with LAJC. In addition to his immigration efforts, Sal is also focused on education, teaching as an adjunct professor at George Mason’s law school and serving on the board of an adult education-focused non-profit. A Northern Virginia native, Sal graduated from George Mason’s law school, and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
Ivy Bell, Community Advocate
Ivy is a certified Community Health Worker who lives in Richmond. Ivy has worked for the Richmond City Health Department since 2017. Prior to that, she was a housing advocate for the Institute of Public Health Innovations, where she provided residents in low-income housing with resources to become self-sufficient and educated residents on monitoring indicators related to heart disease and diabetes. Ivy has a passion for advocating for public school funding, the rights of students with disabilities, and housing justice.
Josh Bowers, University of Virginia School of Law
Josh Bowers joined the law faculty in 2008 as an associate professor of law. His primary teaching and research interests are in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, legal theory and constitutional law. Bowers has written numerous articles, essays and book chapters on police and prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, misdemeanor enforcement and adjudication, drug courts, drug policy reform, life without parole, capital punishment, grand juries, pretrial release and the right to counsel. His work has been published in several books and journals, including the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the UCLA Law Review and the Stanford Law Review. He is the lead reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s “Alternatives to Bail” Committee, and he serves as a founding member of the Civilian Review Board for the City of Charlottesville, which engages in oversight of the Charlottesville Police Department. Bowers attended New York University School of Law, where he was a notes editor of the New York University Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. After law school, he clerked for Judge Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He practiced law as an associate for Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason & Silberberg P.C., a boutique white-collar criminal defense firm, and also as a staff attorney for the Bronx Defenders, a community-based public defender organization. From 2006-08, he was a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School.
Burt Pinnock
For nearly 30 years, Burt has been a profound voice for creative, compelling, and responsible design in Richmond’s urban landscape, using his career in architecture to tell the dichotomous story of Richmond’s past. Once the Capital of the Confederacy and an epicenter of the nation’s slave trade, Richmond was also home to thriving, independent black communities—and Burt’s body of work spans projects that seek to preserve and integrate those distinct identities into a more complete version that is contextual to both time and space. Burt has also embraced public service opportunities on a number of boards and commissions, including the Board of Zoning Appeals, Commission of Architectural Review, Urban Design Committee, Richmond Slave Trail Commission, LISC Advisory Board, Historic Richmond Foundation, Venture Richmond, and many more. He is also the creator and co-founder of Storefront for Community Design, a nonprofit that creates access to architecture and design services while also facilitating community engagement workshops for development efforts throughout the city. Peers and clients alike are drawn to his overwhelming enthusiasm, quick humor, boundless energy, and sheer talent. He is a true ambassador of his field.
Tennille Checkovich, McGuireWoods LLP
Tennille is a litigator and a member of the appeals and issues and class action practice teams at McGuireWoods. She focuses her practice on general appellate matters, multi-jurisdictional litigation, and mass and class actions involving products liability, toxic tort, and environmental claims. She handles cases on appeal and at the trial level in state and federal courts throughout the country. Most recently, Tennille has been representing an entity seeking certification of a defendant class in mortgage-related litigation in federal court in Nevada, coordinating and litigating the defense of over 500 agricultural nuisance claims pending in 26 cases in federal court in North Carolina, and arguing prisoner’s and civil rights appeals asserting constitutional violations in the Fourth Circuit. In addition, Tennille has handled securities and derivative litigation and numerous commercial torts and contract and business disputes. She also conducts litigation monitoring to address appellate and business concerns and advises corporations concerning compliance with federal and state statutes as well as investigations and enforcement actions by state and federal agencies.
Ted Howard, Wiley Rein LLP
Ted Howard is the fulltime Pro Bono Partner at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C., where he oversees administration of the 250-lawyer firm’s Pro Bono Program, while also maintaining an active caseload representing individuals and groups of clients in civil rights, family law, housing, immigration and public benefits matters. Ted currently serves as Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense, and he also serves on the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, and the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar, among numerous other public interest-oriented commitments. He has been honored for his pro bono contributions by the Legal Aid Society of D.C., with its Servant of Justice Award in 2006, and by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, with its Wiley A. Branton Award in 2015. Ted has been recognized by “Best Lawyers in America” and “D.C. Superlawyers” on numerous occasions. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A. 1978) and Harvard Law School (J.D. 1981).
Eva Anthony, Community Advocate
Eva Mae Coles Anthony was born in Goochland County, VA to the late Eva Gray Coles and Henry Harrison Coles on December 29, 1928. She also had two (2) brothers, Henry Robert and James Linwood Coles. They were all educated in Goochland Public Schools and resided in Goochland County, VA.
She was married to the late Samuel Albert Anthony where they had five (5) children, three boys and two girls.
Some of the many faces that Eva has portrayed are: teacher, where she taught home bound children for over three (3) years; self-taught seamstress, where she can make anything from a fully jeweled wedding dress to a plain tablecloth.
She still lives in Goochland County and has participated as Past President, Goochland County Branch NAACP; Secretary of Powhatan Community Action Agency; Past Vice President and Secretary of Client Council (CVLAS) of Richmond and Board Member of both, CVLAS and LAJC.
She is a member of Emmaus Baptist Church, Goochland County where she served as Clerk for over 26 years; taught Sunday school for over 29 years; Advisor of Junior Missionary; Past President of the Senior Missionary Circle and Deaconess Board. At the ripe age of 91, she is still active in many organizations and church. Drives to many functions, just as-long-as the meetings are over before dark. God is still blessing her abundantly.
Bryan Slaughter, MichieHamlett Attorneys at Law
Bryan is a partner at MichieHamlett where he has dedicated his career to representing clients who have suffered a life-altering catastrophic personal injury or the wrongful death of a loved one. In addition to his day-to-day client practice, Bryan has committed a substantial part of career to improving access to justice for those in need. He helped create the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Program by leading the strategic planning process and raising money for its administration. As president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, he also led the development of its pro bono strategic plan. Bryan currently serves on the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission and also on the board for the Virginia Poverty Law Center. He lives in Charlottesville with his wife Jennifer and four children. When he’s not working or spending time with his family, he enjoys all manner of biking, fishing and working in his garden.
Marijean Oldham, Jaggers Communications
Marijean (Jaggers) Oldham, a social media specialist and public relations professional, is president of Jaggers Communications, a strategic communications firm based in Charlottesville, Va. Marijean provides education and counsel to clients in several industries using communications strategy to further business goals. With a strong commitment to community, Marijean serves as a volunteer for Building Goodness Foundation and Legal Aid Justice Center. She has also devoted time and effort as a board member of the American Diabetes Association. She is a graduate of Lindenwood University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. In 2018, Marijean authored the book 100 Things to Do In Charlottesville Before You Die Second Edition (2018 Reedy Press). In her spare time, Marijean bakes pies competitively.
Allexis Cooper, Governance Committee
Allexis Cooper is the 2nd to oldest of 5 children. She was born and raised in Charlottesville, VA. She has three children, and they are currently public housing residents. She is also a PHAR Assistant and a 2021 PHAR intern graduate. She has hosted many candidate forums.
She feels good about herself when she extends her hand to help those in need, and she's always willing to help and encourage everyone she comes in contact with. She plans to join Legal Aid Justice Center's Board and bring lots of smiles and laughter.
Dean Lhospital, Budget and Audit Committee Co-Chair
Dean became interested in LAJC’s advocacy soon after moving to Charlottesville in 2008 and he joined LAJC’s Charlottesville Advisory Council in 2015 and the Board of Directors in March 2018. He has been involved with numerous LAJC campaigns and events including organizing Justice for Ale, co-chairing a work group for the 2020-2025 strategic plan, and serving as the Audit and Budget Committee chairperson. He spent several years in private practice representing clients in trial and appellate litigation, worked at UVA in the School of Medicine and UVA Physicians Group, and is currently the Head of Legal and Compliance for Eleanor Health, a multi-state substance use and mental health care provider. Dean has also held leadership positions in the Virginia State Bar, Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, and the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and also served as a steering committee member on the Charlottesville-Albemarle Dialogue on Race. He and his wife have two rambunctious boys who call LAJC “the pie store” because they tagged along one day and enjoyed some pie while Dean signed thank you notes to donors.
Byron Arango, Budget and Audit Committee
Originally from Colombia, Byron lives in Annandale and currently works remodeling houses and doing electrical work. In Columbia, Byron was a technician and judicial expert (“perito judicial”) on Civil Construction. Byron has been an active member of TUAVA (Trabajadores Unidos de Annandale Virginia) for 12 years. As a leader in TUAVA, Byron has fought for policies eliminating wage theft and educated community members about laws protecting workers. He has also volunteered with LAJC’s food distribution efforts and done a lot of outreach to make sure people understand their rights in the event of immigration raids.
Mobile Version
Cynthia Neff, IBM, Retired (President)
Cynthia is a longtime champion of LAJC and has served as the organization’s Interim Executive Director, Chair of our Strategic Planning Committee, Board Member, LAJC Charlottesville Advisory Council member, and Volunteer. Her commitment to the work is evidenced by her thousands of hours of volunteer work on behalf of the communities we serve. Prior to retiring in 2006, Cynthia was in charge of human resources for IBM.
Joy Johnson, Public Housing Association of Residents (Vice-President)
The only officer who is not new in her role, Joy has been on the Board of LAJC since 1999 and has served as Vice President for more than a decade. Joy has a long and successful history of advocacy and leadership especially in the realm of public housing. Joy is currently the chair of Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) in Charlottesville, an organization she helped to establish in 1988 and which is helping to make the promise of resident-led redevelopment a reality in Charlottesville.
Ofelia Calderon, Calderon Seguin PLC (Secretary)
Ofelia is a founding partner in Calderón Seguin PLC in Fairfax. Like Kristi, she stepped onto LAJC’s Board in 2018 from our Northern Virginia Advisory Council. Ofelia is an experienced Immigration Attorney and stalwart pro bono presence for LAJC and many other groups including the National Immigration Project and Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. She previously served as the President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Virginia.
Kristi Kelly, Kelly Guzzo, PLC (Treasurer)
Kristi is a consumer protection attorney and founding attorney of Kelly Guzzo PLC. She has served on LAJC’s Board since 2018 when she stepped up from our Northern Virginia Advisory Council. Kristi has been an exemplary volunteer and supporter for years working with our attorneys on a number of major cases while providing significant financial support both personally and by directing Cy Pres and other funding to LAJC. Kristi’s law firm Kelly Guzzo PLC was recently awarded the Frankie Muse Freeman Organizational Pro Bono Award along with Consumer Litigation Associates.
Salvador M. Bezos, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C
Sal Bezos is a director in the DC-based intellectual property law firm of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. Sal provides services in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Sal leads Sterne Kessler’s immigration-focused pro bono initiatives, through which he has co-counseled several immigration matters with LAJC. In addition to his immigration efforts, Sal is also focused on education, teaching as an adjunct professor at George Mason’s law school and serving on the board of an adult education-focused non-profit. A Northern Virginia native, Sal graduated from George Mason’s law school, and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
Ivy Bell, Community Advocate
Bio coming soon.
Josh Bowers, University of Virginia School of Law
Josh Bowers joined the law faculty in 2008 as an associate professor of law. His primary teaching and research interests are in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, legal theory and constitutional law. Bowers has written numerous articles, essays and book chapters on police and prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, misdemeanor enforcement and adjudication, drug courts, drug policy reform, life without parole, capital punishment, grand juries, pretrial release and the right to counsel. His work has been published in several books and journals, including the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the UCLA Law Review and the Stanford Law Review. He is the lead reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s “Alternatives to Bail” Committee, and he serves as a founding member of the Civilian Review Board for the City of Charlottesville, which engages in oversight of the Charlottesville Police Department. Bowers attended New York University School of Law, where he was a notes editor of the New York University Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. After law school, he clerked for Judge Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He practiced law as an associate for Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason & Silberberg P.C., a boutique white-collar criminal defense firm, and also as a staff attorney for the Bronx Defenders, a community-based public defender organization. From 2006-08, he was a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School.
Burt Pinnock
For nearly 30 years, Burt has been a profound voice for creative, compelling, and responsible design in Richmond’s urban landscape, using his career in architecture to tell the dichotomous story of Richmond’s past. Once the Capital of the Confederacy and an epicenter of the nation’s slave trade, Richmond was also home to thriving, independent black communities—and Burt’s body of work spans projects that seek to preserve and integrate those distinct identities into a more complete version that is contextual to both time and space. Burt has also embraced public service opportunities on a number of boards and commissions, including the Board of Zoning Appeals, Commission of Architectural Review, Urban Design Committee, Richmond Slave Trail Commission, LISC Advisory Board, Historic Richmond Foundation, Venture Richmond, and many more. He is also the creator and co-founder of Storefront for Community Design, a nonprofit that creates access to architecture and design services while also facilitating community engagement workshops for development efforts throughout the city. Peers and clients alike are drawn to his overwhelming enthusiasm, quick humor, boundless energy, and sheer talent. He is a true ambassador of his field.
Tennille Checkovich, McGuireWoods LLP
Tennille is a litigator and a member of the appeals and issues and class action practice teams at McGuireWoods. She focuses her practice on general appellate matters, multi-jurisdictional litigation, and mass and class actions involving products liability, toxic tort, and environmental claims. She handles cases on appeal and at the trial level in state and federal courts throughout the country. Most recently, Tennille has been representing an entity seeking certification of a defendant class in mortgage-related litigation in federal court in Nevada, coordinating and litigating the defense of over 500 agricultural nuisance claims pending in 26 cases in federal court in North Carolina, and arguing prisoner’s and civil rights appeals asserting constitutional violations in the Fourth Circuit. In addition, Tennille has handled securities and derivative litigation and numerous commercial torts and contract and business disputes. She also conducts litigation monitoring to address appellate and business concerns and advises corporations concerning compliance with federal and state statutes as well as investigations and enforcement actions by state and federal agencies.
Tanishka V. Cruz, Cruz Law PLLC
Tanishka is the founding attorney of Cruz Law PLLC. As the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Tanishka has dedicated her legal career to the practice of immigration law. She was formerly a staff attorney at LAJC under the Immigrant Advocacy Program where she focused primarily on the management of the Virginia Special Immigrant Juvenile Project, an award-winning collaboration between LAJC and pro bono attorneys across the state.
Ted Howard, Wiley Rein LLP
Ted Howard is the fulltime Pro Bono Partner at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C., where he oversees administration of the 250-lawyer firm’s Pro Bono Program, while also maintaining an active caseload representing individuals and groups of clients in civil rights, family law, housing, immigration and public benefits matters. Ted currently serves as Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense, and he also serves on the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, and the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar, among numerous other public interest-oriented commitments. He has been honored for his pro bono contributions by the Legal Aid Society of D.C., with its Servant of Justice Award in 2006, and by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, with its Wiley A. Branton Award in 2015. Ted has been recognized by “Best Lawyers in America” and “D.C. Superlawyers” on numerous occasions. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A. 1978) and Harvard Law School (J.D. 1981).
Bryan Slaughter, MichieHamlett Attorneys at Law
Bryan is a partner at MichieHamlett where he has dedicated his career to representing clients who have suffered a life-altering catastrophic personal injury or the wrongful death of a loved one. In addition to his day-to-day client practice, Bryan has committed a substantial part of career to improving access to justice for those in need. He helped create the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Program by leading the strategic planning process and raising money for its administration. As president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, he also led the development of its pro bono strategic plan. Bryan currently serves on the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission and also on the board for the Virginia Poverty Law Center. He lives in Charlottesville with his wife Jennifer and four children. When he’s not working or spending time with his family, he enjoys all manner of biking, fishing and working in his garden.
Marijean Oldham, Jaggers Communications
Marijean (Jaggers) Oldham, a social media specialist and public relations professional, is president of Jaggers Communications, a strategic communications firm based in Charlottesville, Va. Marijean provides education and counsel to clients in several industries using communications strategy to further business goals. With a strong commitment to community, Marijean serves as a volunteer for Building Goodness Foundation and Legal Aid Justice Center. She has also devoted time and effort as a board member of the American Diabetes Association. She is a graduate of Lindenwood University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. In 2018, Marijean authored the book 100 Things to Do In Charlottesville Before You Die Second Edition (2018 Reedy Press). In her spare time, Marijean bakes pies competitively.
Dean Lhospital, University of Virginia
Dean became interested in LAJC’s advocacy soon after moving to Charlottesville in 2008 and joined LAJC’s Charlottesville Advisory Council in 2015 and the Board of Directors in March 2018. He has been involved with numerous LAJC campaigns and events including organizing Justice for Ale, co-chairing a work group for the 2020-2025 strategic plan, and serving as the Audit and Budget Committee chairperson. He spent several years in private practice representing clients in trial and appellate litigation and then joined UVA in 2016. He is currently the Associate General Counsel at the University of Virginia Physicians Group. Dean has also held leadership positions in the Virginia State Bar, Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, and the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and also served as a committee member on the Charlottesville Dialogue on Race. He and his wife have two rambunctious boys who call LAJC “the pie store” because they tagged along one day and enjoyed some pie while Dean signed thank you notes to donors.
Byron Arango, Community Advocate
Bio coming soon.
Eva Anthony, Community Advocate
Eva Mae Coles Anthony was born in Goochland County, VA to the late Eva Gray Coles and Henry Harrison Coles on December 29, 1928. She also had two (2) brothers, Henry Robert and James Linwood Coles. They were all educated in Goochland Public Schools and resided in Goochland County, VA.
She was married to the late Samuel Albert Anthony where they had five (5) children, three boys and two girls.
Some of the many faces that Eva has portrayed are: teacher, where she taught home bound children for over three (3) years; self-taught seamstress, where she can make anything from a fully jeweled wedding dress to a plain tablecloth.
She still lives in Goochland County and has participated as Past President, Goochland County Branch NAACP; Secretary of Powhatan Community Action Agency; Past Vice President and Secretary of Client Council (CVLAS) of Richmond and Board Member of both, CVLAS and LAJC.
She is a member of Emmaus Baptist Church, Goochland County where she served as Clerk for over 26 years; taught Sunday school for over 29 years; Advisor of Junior Missionary; Past President of the Senior Missionary Circle and Deaconess Board. At the ripe age of 91, she is still active in many organizations and church. Drives to many functions, just as-long-as the meetings are over before dark. God is still blessing her abundantly.
Allexis Cooper
Allexis Cooper is the 2nd to oldest of 5 children. She was born and raised in Charlottesville, VA. She has three children, and they are currently public housing residents. She is also a PHAR Assistant and a 2021 PHAR intern graduate. She has hosted many candidate forums.
She feels good about herself when she extends her hand to help those in need, and she's always willing to help and encourage everyone she comes in contact with. She plans to join Legal Aid Justice Center's Board and bring lots of smiles and laughter.