In About Us:
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Staff & Volunteers  | Warren J. Sinsheimer, President, founded the Partnership for Children's Rights (PFCR) in 1999. A corporate lawyer for more than 35 years, Warren retired in 1995 as a partner of the law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. He then volunteered for four years as an attorney for Hudson Valley Legal Services, concentrating on special education cases, before leaving to found PFCR. Warren has received many awards honoring his work on behalf of disadvantaged children. In 1997, he received the President's Pro Bono Service Award for the Ninth Judicial District from the New York State Bar Association. In 1999, the American Bar Association presented him with the Senior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award. In 2002, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree by Drew University. In 2004, The American Bar Association honored him with its Pro Bono Publico Award. And in 2006, Civic Ventures made him a Purpose Prize Fellow. In addition to heading PFCR, Warren is the organization's most senior special education attorney. | | Back to top | |  | Todd Silverblatt, Executive Director, has been with PFCR since its founding in 1999. He is in charge of the legal practice, office management, recruitment, training and supervision of staff, program development, and new projects. Todd represents children with special education needs as he continues his lifelong career as an advocate for children. He is also responsible for the training and development of volunteer attorneys in the Volunteers for Children division. A graduate of Brooklyn Law School, Todd worked for more than 20 years with the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York where he was Attorney-in-Charge of the Kings County office. He has represented hundreds of children in child protective, custody/visitation and juvenile delinquency proceedings in Family and Supreme Court. He is also certified as a Law Guardian in Domestic Relations Matters in the Appellate Division, First Department. | | Back to top | |  | Michael D. Hampden, Senior Attorney, has been with PFCR since February 2000. A graduate of Haverford College and Harvard Law School, he has more than 40 years of experience representing low-income families in a broad range of civil legal issues. He has previously served as Executive Director of Westchester/Putnam Legal Services, Project Director of Bronx Legal Services, Attorney-in-Charge of the New York Legal Aid Society, Bronx trial office, and Assistant Attorney-in-Charge of the Legal Aid Society, Civil Appeals Bureau. He is the 1999 recipient of the Denison Ray Award from the New York State Bar Association and the Annual Legal Services Award from the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. In addition, he has trained dozens of public interest lawyers in diverse practice areas, and was a lecturer and author at the Practising Law Institute's Third Annual School Law Institute. | | Back to top | |  | Erin McCormack-Herbert, Staff Attorney, graduated magna cum laude from the NYU School of Law. As a law student, she was an Associative Executive Editor of the Law Review, a teaching assistant in the Lawyering Program, and a member of the steering committee for Law Students for Human Rights. She interned at the Kings County District Attorney's Office, before joining PFCR as a Skadden Fellow in 2005. Erin has also worked for programs helping children who are deaf and have serious developmental disabilities. | | Back to top | |  | Dalit Paradis, Sinsheimer Fellow, graduated in 2008 from the NYU School of Law, where she was honored with editorship of the Annual Survey of American Law and was a member of the Order of the Coit. She also served as a teaching assistant, volunteered as a student advocate, and worked at the Unemployment Action Center during law school. Ms. Paradis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Psychology. | Back to top | |  | Sandra Weinglass, Staff Attorney, effective June 2, 2008. Born and raised in California, she received her BA in English from California Polytechnic University in Pomona and obtained her law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Following positions as staff attorney in Puget Sound Legal Assistance Foundation, Northwest Justice Project, and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Ms. Weinglass relocated to New York where she spent almost five years as Staff Attorney at New York Legal Assistance Group. Sandra has also worked as an Administrative Law Judge and a Review Judge for the Department of Social and Health Services from 1995-2002. | | Back to top | |  | Janny Huisman, LMSW, Director of Social Services, holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan and joined PFCR in 2002. She has worked with families and children for more than 20 years through programs at Legal Services of Southeastern Michigan, the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society, and the Eastern District Civil Litigation Fund. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the NYU School of Social Work. In addition, she has supervised interns at the Brooklyn Family Court and is a mediator trained at the Ackerman Institute for the Family. | | Back to top | |  | Ana E. Lazo, Administrator, joined PFCR in 2008. A lawyer in her native country of Colombia, where she graduated with a J.D. from Universidad del Norte in June 1998, Ana also received a Certificate in English and Computer Management from Long Island University and recently attended New York College of Technology’s Adult Learning Center. When in Colombia, Ana served as a law clerk in the Superior Tribunal of Barranquilla and was in-house counsel at Banco Superior. Since coming to the United States, she has served as a legal intern at Lansner & Kubitscheck and worked as a paralegal at Thaker Berowitz LLP. | | Back to top | |  | Joan Amron, M.Ed., a graduate of Teacher's College, Columbia University, spent 35 years in private practice, testing and working with learning disabled children in the New York area. She also served as a consultant to several Manhattan private schools. A former head of the Yorkville Civic Council, Joan is a long-time board member of Goddard Riverside Community Center, one of New York's historic settlement houses serving children and adults on the Upper West Side and West Harlem. She joined PFCR in the spring of 2007 to advise on educational issues and services. | | Back to top | |  | Charles Bergoffen, a Yale Law School graduate and Law Journal editor, formerly worked in private practice at Trubin, Sillcocks, Edelman & Knapp and served as Vice-President and Associate General Counsel at marsh & McLennan. Long committed to children's issues, Charles spent 16 years on the board of directors of Childreach, an international child sponsorship organization. After retiring in 1999, he served as a Family Court Liaison for a children's residential treatment center. | | Back to top | |  | Larry Bodkin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a master's degree in tax law from NYU. He practiced law for many years at Wilke Farr & Gallagher, LLP, specializing in tax law and employee benefit plans. He joined PFCR in 2001 to handle special education cases, while still maintaining a private practice. He also serves as a mediator and is on the mediation panels of the SDNY and EDNY Federal Courts. | | Back to top | |  | Christina Clayton joined PFCR in 2005 after retiring as Vice President and General Counsel of Xerox Corporation. A graduate of Columbia University School of Law, Chris previously served as a litigation associate at two New York law firms. She has served on the boards of Literacy Volunteers of America, Stamford-Greenwich Chapter, and Fresh Art, an organization that promotes the work of low-income artists with special needs in New York City. She has also volunteered at Pro Bono Partnership. | | Back to top | |  | Howard Davis, a New York University School of Law graduate, joined PFCR in 2000 after retiring from a successful 30-year career as a litigator specializing in medical malpractice. Wanting to put his extensive knowledge and training in medical issues to use on behalf of disabled children, Howard has secured vital Social Security Disability and Medicaid benefits for scores of children with profound medical impairments. In 2003, he was honored with the Legal Services for Children's Samuel Johnson Award for Public Service, and in 2005, he received the ABA Senior Lawyers Division's Pro Bono Award. | | Back to top | |  | Hannah Flegenheimer, Ed.D., a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, spent five years as Executive Director of the Learning Disabilities Association of New York City and served, until recently, as a member of its Board. She worked for 15 years at the New York State Education Department where she supervised the staff responsible for monitoring school districts' compliance with special education laws and regulations. She has taught special education courses at a number of colleges and universities and has supervised student teachers at public and private schools in New York City. At PFCR, she reviews clients' school records and works with lawyers in preparing cases. | Back to top | |  | Henriette Hoffman, a graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, joined PFCR in 2000 after more than two decades of distinguished service with the Legal Aid Society of NY. While there, she was Attorney-in-Charge of the Federal Defender Division, Federal Appeals Bureau. Henriette's education experience ranges from teaching at the elementary level to law school, where she taught Appellate Advocacy at the Fordham School of Law. She was also a 2003 recipient of the Legal Services for Children's Samuel Johnson Award for Public Service. | | Back to top | |  | David Irwin, a graduate of Harvard Law School, served three years as a Navy JAG and spent over 30 years as a partner at Dewey Ballantine LLP. After retiring in 2005, David joined PFCR where he works in the special education unit. David has long been an active participant in local civic affairs, and is an active volunteer with the United Way as well as a trustee of the Village of Scarsdale. | | Back to top | |  | Phyllis A. Klein joined PFCR in 2002 and concentrates on special education law. Phyllis earned her law degree at the Fordham School of Law after obtaining a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Harvard University, as well as a master's degree in American History from New York University. She was previously employed as Associate General Counsel at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and as an associate in the health care group of Proskauer Rose LLP. She received the Legal Services for Children's Samuel Johnson Award for Public Service in 2005. | | Back to top | |  | Lesley Koegel, Psy.D., worked in the Department of Education for 25 years, first as a teacher and then as a school psychologist. She joined PFCR in 2004, where she assesses clients to determine the specific special education services and placements they require. She also works at The Learning Resources Network, a consulting agency of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS). Lesley also maintains a private practice at 161 Avenue of the Americas, where she provides psychotherapy, counseling, and consultation for parents to help them cope with the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive development of their children. She can be reached at http://www.drlesleykoegel.com/. | | Back to top | |  | Helena Lee graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and holds an undergraduate degree in Physical Therapy from the same institution. She worked as an associate at the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell and as an assistant corporation counsel in the Affirmative Litigation and Appeals Divisions of the New York City Law Department. She has also worked as a volunteer lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, Juvenile Rights, Appeals Division. | | Back to top | |  | Marilyn C. Mazur a graduate of NYU School of Law, has volunteered at PFCR since 2000. In her 25 years of practice, she was counsel to several major publishing houses, a Moreland Commission staff attorney investigating the nursing home industry, and a Special Assistant Attorney General in Medicaid Fraud. Marilyn also contributed pro bono legal services to the ACLU Children's Right Project and the New York Civil Liberties Union. She was a 2003 recipient of the Legal Services for Children's Samuel Johnson Award for Public Service. | | Back to top | |  | Emily Sherwood, Ph.D., is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Ph.D. in social policy from Brandeis University's Heller School. She spent 20 years as an active volunteer in civic and educational affairs, most recently serving on the Scarsdale Board of Education, as well as Westchester County and New York State school board committees. She is a contributing writer for Education Update, a New York City education newspaper and is currently a trustee of the Scarsdale Foundation where she chairs their scholarship committee and coordinates their public information. | Back to top | | 
| Patricia Soussloff, a graduate of the University of California Hastings College of Law, formerly worked as a corporate attorney at Sullivan and Cromwell and Sherman and Sterling. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Partnership with Children, a nonprofit organization that provides emotional and social support to at-risk children in public schools, where she chairs their Development Committee. Ms. Soussloff is also working on a documentary film about a French pastry competition. | | Back to top | |  | Sandra Young, LCSW is a graduate of The Fordham School of Social Work and spent 25 years in private clinical practice with children and families. She has conducted educational screenings as well as parent training and workshops in the tri-state area. She joined PFCR's Volunteers for Children in early 2005 and works with the legal staff to assess and identify clients' disabilities and family issues to secure appropriate educational and social services. | | Back to top | |  | Carolyn Ziegler, who graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School, was a partner at the private law firm Flemming, Zulack, & Williamson, specializing in matrimonial, age discrimination, and litigation law. She has also served as Associate Criminal Justice Coordinator for the City of New York, acting as liaison between the Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice and the Departments of Probation and Corrections. | Back to top | |
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