Our Team

Interested in joining ILAP’s team? Check out our Employment page to view current openings.

Staff

Manuchca Alcime
Legal Program Assistant

Manuchca joined ILAP in September 2023 as a Legal Program Assistant. She has a background in the healthcare system and used to work for a non-profit organization that strengthens healthcare facilities in northern Haiti to help people find better care. She helped people after the earthquake and the cholera crisis. Manuchca moved to the States a few years ago. Before starting at ILAP, she worked in homecare and environmental services. She is fluent in Haitian Creole and French.

Sarah Barton (she/her)
Development & Communications Lead

Sarah joined ILAP as a part time Development Assistant in October 2019 and now serves as the Development and Communications Lead. Sarah previously served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at a small non-profit in Lewiston, where she supported the launch of a long-term residential program for women healing from trafficking, incarceration, and/or substance use. While in Lewiston, she was on a team of people working to organize a resident-led effort to create a Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan for the city. Sarah is an active member of the Community-Centric Fundraising movement in Maine and believes that all fundraising and communications work must be grounded in racial justice. Sarah holds a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from St. Olaf College.

Melissa Brennan, Esq. (she/her)
Co-Legal Director

Melissa joined ILAP as a Staff Attorney in July 2018 after many years of practicing immigration law in New York City. She previously served as Supervising Attorney for Immigrants’ Rights at the Urban Justice Center and as Deputy Director of the Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Sanctuary for Families.  She has also worked as a legal fellow to the United Nations in Thailand, where she conducted field work to investigate labor trafficking among migrant workers in Southeast Asia. Melissa has deep experience representing foreign-born survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence and has written and lectured extensively on the topics. Melissa holds a B.A. in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Kate Chesney, Esq.
Senior Staff Attorney, Intake Supervisor

Kate joined ILAP’s staff in January 2015 as a Staff Attorney. She received her Bachelor of Arts from James Madison University in 2008 where she majored in Spanish and Political Science and minored in French and Latin American Studies. Kate received her Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2013. Her passion for immigration law was discovered during her time as a student attorney at the Roger Williams University School of Law Immigration Clinic where she was able to help low income individuals file for humanitarian forms of immigration relief. Prior to coming to ILAP, Kate worked at the Law Office of Katherine James-Bowers in Newport, RI, where she was able to further her experience in immigration law. Kate is fluent in English and proficient in Spanish.

Treva deMaynadier, DOJ Fully Accredited Representative (she/her)
Senior Accredited Representative

Treva joined ILAP in June 2017 and became a DOJ Accredited Representative in 2019, earning full accreditation in 2022. She is a graduate of Oberlin College where she studied Anthropology and Political Science. She first became interested in immigration after studying in Guatemala, where she engaged in many conversations with community members about the factors that caused people to immigrate to the United States. Treva spent the summer of 2015 conducting an ethnographic survey of the Maine Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker population in Presque Isle and Milbridge, Maine. The following summer she worked for the Immigration Legal Assistance department at Ascentria Care Alliance in Worcester, Massachusetts where she provided forms assistance to clients. She is fluent in English and proficient in Spanish.

Paula Esteves (she/her)
Legal Program Assistant, AALOP

Paula joined ILAP as a Racial Justice Fellow and now serves as the Legal Program Assistant in the Asylum Assistance and Legal Orientation Project (AALOP), providing community legal orientation and pro se assistance to new arrivals applying for asylum. Paula is a third-year law student at the University of Maine School of Law, where she serves as a Student Attorney at the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic. Paula has also worked previously in both non-profit and private practices of immigration law. Paula is from Brazil but moved to the U.S. for school, receiving her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and African Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, and her master’s degree in International Relations from Durham University in the U.K. Paula is fluent in Portuguese and proficient in Spanish. 

Michelle Gentry, Esq. (she/her)
Senior Asylum Program Attorney

Michelle joined ILAP in January 2019. Previously, she worked as an attorney at the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project, where she focused on representing asylum seekers and immigrant victims of crime and abuse, a mediator for the Eighth Judicial District Court, a volunteer attorney on child abuse cases, and a legal intern both for the District Attorney’s Office and for the Honorable Lloyd D. George, Senior District Judge for the US District Court of Nevada. Prior to working in the legal field, Michelle worked in Spanish-language radio and television. Michelle has a BA in Anthropology with Minors in English, Spanish, and French and a JD with a concentration in International Law. She has lived, studied, and interned abroad in Spain, France, and Germany and speaks English, Spanish, French, and a smattering of German.

Leah Glowacki, Esq. (she/her)
Senior Staff Attorney

Leah Glowacki joined ILAP in January 2022. Prior to that, Leah was a Staff Attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, where she represented immigrants seeking humanitarian relief, including asylum, T Visas, U Visas, and VAWA. Leah was also an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at the Central American Refugee Center in Hempstead, New York. During her fellowship, Leah provided removal defense to Central American children and families pursuing asylum and special immigrant juvenile status. Leah holds a B.A. from Occidental College and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. She is fluent in English and Spanish. 

Beatriz Harley (she/her)
Development Associate

Beatriz (Bea) joined ILAP's Development Team in December 2022. After serving six years at A Better Chance's (ABC) Winchester, MA Chapter in three roles, including Program Manager, Bea realized she thrived in a purpose-driven environment, which is why when she moved to Maine, Bea applied for and accepted the position at ILAP. In addition to her non-profit background, Bea has worked in press and community outreach, as well as marketing and social media in the music industry. She has a BA from Framingham State University, and, as the daughter of a Cuban refugee and a Venezuelan immigrant, Bea brings her real life immigrant experience to ILAP. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Alice Kopij, Esq. (she/her)
Co-Legal Director

Alice joined ILAP as a Staff Attorney in the Lewiston office in April 2018. Prior to that, she was an associate at the immigration law firm of Landis, Arn, & Jaynes, P.A. Alice has also served as a law clerk for the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, at the Boston Immigration Court, and as a law clerk to the Hon. Margot Botsford of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Before she became an attorney, Alice was a social worker and manager of social service programs for several years, primarily working in the area of refugee resettlement. She holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University, and a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law.

Catherine N. Lindgren, Esq. (she/her)
Senior Project Attorney

Catherine joined ILAP in September 2021 to oversee ILAP’s legal response to the crisis in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover. She now manages the Asylum Assistance and Legal Orientation Project (AALOP), providing community legal orientation and pro se assistance to new arrivals applying for asylum. For the previous eleven years, Catherine maintained a private practice representing asylum seekers. She was a member of ILAP’s Pro Bono Panel and volunteered doing hundreds of asylum assessment interviews. Prior to that, she was Director of Marketing at Verrill Dana LLP after being an associate attorney at McLane Middleton in New Hampshire. Catherine is a 1996 graduate of Maine Law and received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1991.

Maggie Loeffelholz, Esq. (she/her)
Immigrant Children’s Project Attorney

Maggie joined ILAP in October 2020 as the Immigrant Children’s Project Attorney. She holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Maggie worked for the Make It Happen! program at Deering High School and as a Program Director at Southern Maine Community College. She was motivated to become an immigration attorney after volunteering with ILAP and working extensively with students from Portland’s immigrant communities. While in law school, Maggie was a legal intern at ILAP and the PAIR Project in Boston, as well as a student attorney for the Boston University Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, where she specialized in representing children in immigration proceedings.

Emily Nault Massell, Esq. (she/her)
Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow

Emily joined ILAP in September 2023 as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow, working primarily with ILAP’s Immigrant Children’s Project. She holds a B.A. from Carleton College and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar. Before attending law school, Emily completed a Fulbright fellowship in Jordan and worked with international development organizations facilitating children’s access to psychosocial services and education in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. In law school, she worked as a student attorney in Northeastern’s Immigrant Justice Clinic Practicum, and she completed internships with Rian Immigrant Center and Greater Boston Legal Services. Emily is proficient in French and Arabic.

Emma Morgenstern, Esq. (she/her)
Staff Attorney

Emma Morgenstern joined ILAP in May 2022. Prior to that, Emma served as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow working with the Immigration Project at Volunteers of Legal Service in New York City to provide free legal services to individuals in contact with the immigration system. Emma also gained experience in immigration advocacy through the Transnational Legal Clinic at Penn Law, with ILAP, and with Costa & Riccio, LLP in Boston, MA. Emma received a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and French from Tufts University, a master’s degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, and a J.D. from the Toll Public Interest Scholarship program at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Emma is fluent in English and French.

Eric Munyentwari
Legal Program Assistant, AALOP

Eric joined ILAP in June 2023 as a Legal Program Assistant for the Asylum Assistance and Legal Orientation Project (AALOP). He was born in Burundi, as a Rwandan refugee. At the age of sixteen, he saw Rwanda, the country of his ancestors, for the very first time in his life. This was a traumatic experience for him as the country was still overshadowed by the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. What he witnessed and experienced shaped his future career choices. Throughout his career, Eric has gained extensive experience in education and law. He started as a schoolteacher and worked his way up to becoming an assistant lecturer in 2015. Eric has also completed various IT programs, including computer maintenance in 2006, and he was trained to be a GIS Secondary Schools Trainer with CGIS-Germany in 2008. He studied at the College du Christ-Roi in Rwanda and graduated with a degree in Latin and Modern Languages. He then went on to study law at the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali and graduated with first-class honors in 2015. From there, he became a professional advocate and member of the Rwanda Bar Association, with two years of service as a professional mediator at the Supreme Court of Rwanda. He moved to the United States in 2022 and worked as a volunteer with Peer Workforce Navigator Project in Portland. He attended clinics for unemployed workers and served as a multilingual interpreter to help the community. Outside of his work at ILAP, he also is a Reverend Pastor. Within this role, he serves the community as a trusted messenger among peers, providing counsel, support, and a listening and understanding ear whenever he can. Eric is fluent in English, French, Kiswahili, Kirundi, and Kinyarwanda.

Francine Ngabu, DOJ Accredited Representative
Senior Intake Paralegal

Francine joined ILAP in October 2019 as a Legal Program Assistant. She previously worked as a prosecutor and judge in the Democratic Republic of Congo and co-founded the League for Peace and Human Rights in Kinshasa, where she worked as the Deputy National Coordinator. Since moving to the U.S. in 2011, Francine has worked as a CNA at Springbrook Center and a laboratory assistant with Nordx. She also co-founded Peer to Peer (P2P) Exchange, a networking organization focused on building connections between immigrants with legal backgrounds and people currently involved in the legal profession in Maine. As a well-respected leader in the Congolese community, she serves as the General Secretary of the Congolese Community of Maine. Francine holds a law degree from the Democratic Republic of Congo and speaks French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Ciluba, and English.

Lisa Parisio, Esq. (she/her) 
Policy Director

Lisa joined ILAP in April 2022 as the Policy and Outreach Attorney. Prior to ILAP, Lisa was the Director of Advocacy at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) where she oversaw CLINIC’s state and local advocacy project and federal policy portfolios. Lisa has particular expertise in law and policy around Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and was a co-founder of the TPS – DED Administrative Advocacy Coalition. Before CLINIC, Lisa worked at the International Refugee Assistance Project, where she continues to be a volunteer pro bono attorney on refugee cases. Lisa is a graduate of the City University of New York School of Law where she focused on economic justice, health law, and immigration/refugee law. 

Nolwenn Robison, DOJ Accredited Representative (she/they)
Legal Program Associate

Nolwenn joined ILAP’s Lewiston office in August 2020 and became accredited in 2022. Nolwenn graduated from Bates College, majoring in Mandarin Chinese with a French & Francophone Studies minor. They volunteered as a French translator for senior thesis projects and the Bates Human Resources Department. Prior to working at ILAP, she worked for the Bates Student Employment Office as a Student Employment Coordinator, often supporting international students working with the Student Employment Office and Center for Global Education on obtaining their work authorization and finding employment on campus. Nolwenn is fluent in French and English and proficient in Mandarin.

Susan Roche, Esq. (she/her)
Executive Director

Sue has been with ILAP since August 2000, when she was hired as the organization’s first Staff Attorney. She became Supervising Attorney in 2003, Legal Director in 2011, and was named the organization’s Executive Director in 2013. Sue is an expert on issues related to family-based immigration, remedies for immigrant survivors of domestic violence and crime, and removal defense, and has presented at regional and national conferences of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Under her tenure, ILAP’s programs, staffing, and budget have grown more than three-fold. In 2017, Sue was named one of Maine’s 50 leaders that are transforming their communities and the state by Maine Magazine and, in 2019, was honored with the Maine Women’s Fund Leadership Award in recognition of her accomplishments. She has a BA from the University of New Hampshire, a JD from Northeastern University, and is fluent in English and proficient in Spanish.

Chelsea Russell, DOJ Accredited Representative (she/her)
Forms Program Paralegal

Chelsea joined ILAP as a volunteer in June 2019 and became a part-time Legal Program Assistant in September 2019. She earned her accreditation in 2022 and now serves as ILAP’s Forms Program Paralegal. Prior to ILAP, Chelsea spent a year teaching English in Spain, and then volunteered with Portland Adult Education once back in Maine. At PAE, she assisted in ESL-classrooms and was a citizenship exam tutor. Chelsea holds a B.A. from Bates College, with a major in Economics and a minor in Sociology. She is fluent in English and proficient in Spanish.

Elizabeth Schwartz
Legal Program Assistant, Jesuit Volunteer Corps

Elizabeth joined ILAP in August 2023 as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She works primarily with ILAP’s Forms Program as well as the Immigrant Children’s Project. Elizabeth received a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Political Science from Saint Louis University. 

Sarah Scola, SHRM-CP (she/her)
Human Resources and Operations Director

Sarah joined ILAP in April 2023. Prior to ILAP, she was the Director of Human Resources and Operations at Cheverus, a Jesuit high school in Portland, Maine. She earned her B.A. in Communication and Minor in Education from University of Southern Maine and J.D. from University of Maine School of Law. During her undergraduate and graduate education, Sarah volunteered as a client intake interviewer at Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project. While at Maine Law, Sarah earned a Katahdin Law Student Recognition for providing pro bono service and was awarded the Roger A. Putnam Fellowship. During the fellowship, she gained experience at the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, where she practiced as a student attorney in the General Practice Clinic, Prisoner Assistance Clinic, and Protection From Abuse Program. Prior to law school, Sarah worked as a litigation paralegal at Perkins Thompson.

Laura Simocko (she/her)
Development Director

Laura joined ILAP as a part-time Grant Writer in February 2018 and became Development Director in November 2018. She began her fundraising career as ILAP’s Office & Development Associate in 2011 and, prior to re-joining the organization, was Development Director for a Latin@-led and -serving youth organization in Boston. Laura is an aspiring practitioner of community-centric fundraising and has co-presented on the topic at conferences convened by the Maine Philanthropy Center and Association of Fundraising Professionals - Northern New England. She holds a B.A. in Peace & Conflict Studies from Colgate University and an M.Phil. in Race, Ethnicity, Conflict from Trinity College Dublin.

Lourdes Trujillo (she/her)
Rural Community Liaison

Lourdes joined ILAP as a Rural Community Liaison in April 2023, after having worked as a volunteer Community Development Worker for several years in Venezuela, acting as a link between the community and different authorities to promote positive changes in her community. This non-profit activity polished her communications skills and gave her the experience to analyze information, research problems, determine and implement solutions, and work with data and data analytics. In addition, Lourdes is a pharmacist, graduated from the Central University of Venezuela (Caracas - Venezuela). She chose this career because she has always liked helping people and has always been aware of the welfare of the people around her. When she arrived in the U.S., she worked on a dairy farm in Maine, which led her to be very involved with the rural community in this state. As an immigrant, she is focused on helping to promote the rights of immigrants and collaborating with the education of the community so that they have the opportunity to have a better quality of life. Lourdes is fluent in Spanish and English.

Kate Turrell (she/her)
Paralegal

Kate joined ILAP in September 2022. Kate previously worked as an Immigration Case Manager with the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. In this role, Kate became a Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative and participated in the Anti Human Trafficking Task Force of the Southern Tier. She also helped organize workshops on the intersecting issues of immigration law and labor trafficking. Kate received her B.A. in Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Binghamton University.

Nadine Twagirayezu, DOJ Accredited Representative
Senior Paralegal

Nadine joined ILAP’s staff in March 2016 and worked as an asylum paralegal where she coordinated the asylum program intake and did case assessments as well as case vetting for placement with pro bono attorneys. She was involved in the preparation and presentation of asylum workshops and outreaches. She became a DOJ-accredited Representative in 2021 and provides consultations and legal representations on humanitarian cases before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Nadine is committed to social justice and has spent much of her spare time in different volunteer positions with different organizations in Maine. Nadine has a bachelor’s degree in law from Burundi and is fluent in English, French, Kirundi, and Kinyarwanda. She is proficient in Swahili.

Kate Weaver, Esq.
Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow

Kate joined ILAP in September 2023 as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow, working primarily with ILAP’s full representation team. She holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from Duke Law. Kate worked abroad in Switzerland and France, where she researched immigration topics. During law school, she crafted a know your rights resource for asylum seekers, worked on multiple T visa and asylum applications, completed DACA renewals, coordinated student pro bono projects, and represented detained immigrants in Georgia in bond hearings. Kate is proficient in French.

Don Wilkinson, Esq.
Rural Maine Project Attorney

Don joined ILAP in March 2024 as the Rural Maine Project Attorney. Don was previously a teacher in Spain, France, South Korea, and Tennessee. After working as a teacher, Don worked in Portland, ME as a housing case manager for veterans experiencing homelessness. Don has a B.A. from Northern Arizona University and J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law, where he spent his last semester working in the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic. Don speaks English, Spanish and French.

Board of directors

ILAP is proud to have a volunteer board of community members and legal professionals. Many of ILAP’s former and current board members bring connections to the communities we serve. ILAP’s Board is actively involved in the organization’s management philosophy, fundraising, and policy work.

ABOUT ILAP

Mission & Values
Our History
Annual Report
Strategic Plan
Financials
Staff & Board