Staff Directory

Bailey Andersen, LawWorks Paralegal, joined the VIP staff at the end of August 2010 as a Jesuit Volunteer. Bailey organizes, publicizes, and recruits for Corporate Pro Bono Day, which trains in-house counsel and then connects them with small-business owners in need of free legal assistance, and Pro Bono Opportunities Day, where attorneys can attend sessions on guardianship, custody, and domestic violence lead by family law experts. Bailey also handles non-profit and small business cases within the LawWorks project and attends Mortgage/Foreclosure court. She graduated cum laude from Loyola University Chicago, earning a B.A. in English Literature, International Studies, and minoring in Spanish.
Samar Aryani-Sabet, Development & Communications Associate, joined the VIP staff in August 2010 as a Philly Fellow. Samar works on public relations materials, the VIP website, as well as the quarterly e-newsletter. In addition, she assists with development initiatives and planning VIP's 30th Anniversary. She is a recent magna cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr College, earning her B.A. in Political Science, minoring in Sociology.
Maisha Elonai, Independence Fellow, joined the VIP staff in September 2010 to work on our mortgage foreclosure litigation project. She will train and support VIP volunteer attorneys and participate in homeowner advocacy. Maisha graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a B.A. in English and a minor in Latin. She received her J.D. from Penn Law in 2010, where she was project coordinator for the International Human Rights Advocates as well as a member of the Equal Justice Foundation.
Kelly J. Gastley, Supervising Attorney, joined the VIP staff in September 2005 as an Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellow, working on our homeownership (tangled title) project. Now a supervising attorney, Kelly works with VIP's homeownership, mortgage foreclosure, nonprofit, and small business clients, and supervises the LawWorks paralegal and interns. She also trains and mentors VIP’s volunteer attorneys and participates in community outreaches. Kelly received her B.A. in Sociology and Government from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2002, and her J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe William and Mary School of Law in 2005, where she was Executive Editor of the William and Mary Law Review and a member of the Public Service Fund.
Marco Gorini, LawWorks Paralegal, joined the VIP staff in August 2010. Marco administers the Tangled Titles Fund as well as referring, tracking and supporting homeownership cases for the LawWorks team. Prior to VIP, he worked at the Community Design Resource Center of Boston. He is a recent graduate of Vassar College, where he earned his B.A. in Art History with a correlate in Urban Studies.
Andrea V. Imredy Saah, Staff Attorney, joined the VIP staff in November 2008 after practicing estates and trusts law for six years. She works with VIP's homeownership, probate, nonprofit, and small business clients. Prior to receiving her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1997, Andrea obtained a Master’s degree from the School for International Training. Her professional experience includes working with the Institute for Community Economics on low-income community land trust finance and development, the Campaign for Peace and Democracy on international human rights advocacy, and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health on international AIDS research.
Theresa L. Jett, Systems Manager, joined the VIP staff in 1992 as a part-time receptionist. In her current position as Systems Manager, she works directly with the Executive Director to assist with fundraising, board activity, and office administration. She is also responsible for many of the firm, volunteer, and case statistics as well as CLE credit and training preparation. In addition to all her other duties, she also serves as staff liaison for the Resource Development and Communications committees of the VIP Board.
Janine LaBletta, bilingual Paralegal, joined the staff in March 2007. Janine prepares cases for referrals, walks clients through the referral process, and communicates regularly with volunteers about opportunities to help VIP clients. Janine works mostly with solo practitioners and small firm volunteers. She also provides support to volunteers as they work on their cases. Janine graduated from Georgetown University with a BS in Spanish.
Christina J. Ortiz, Administrative Assistant, joined the VIP staff in January 2007 as a secretary. In her current position as Administrative Assistant she serves as the initial contact with VIP clients and volunteers. She is bilingual and assists with translation for our clients. Christina is the initial contact for clients so she directs and refers them to the appropriate resources. Christina's responsibilities also include answering phones, data entry, preparing engagement letters to volunteer attorneys and clients, collecting all necessary funds and documents for Name Change cases and various other administrative duties. In addition to her administrative responsibilities she has also been the liaison for our Annual Award Ceremony in 2010 and assist with various event planning functions at VIP.
Ourania (Rainy) Papademetriou, Managing Attorney at Philadelphia VIP, the public interest organization providing volunteer attorneys to clients in civil matters in the Philadelphia courts. She serves as the Chair of the Public Interest Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is an active member of the Delivery of Legal Services Committee, where she served as Co-Chair for several years, and of various committees of the Family Law Section. She is also a member of the Nicholas A. Cipriani Family Law Inn of Court and has served on its executive committee since its establishment in 2007. She received her B.A. degree from Salve Regina College in Newport, Rhode Island and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law. Her prior experience includes serving as an Assistant District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia and as Legal Center Director for Women Against Abuse, Inc.
Tanya L. Rambert, Director of Administration, joined the VIP staff in 1993 as a secretary. As the Director of Administration, she is responsible for the day-to-day operation of VIP. She manages VIP’s human resources policies and procedures, as well as account payable responsibilities. Tanya also coordinates our IT infrastructure, working closely with Npower. Tanya received her certificate in Human Resource Management from The Nonprofit Center in 2008, and is working towards her Bachelor’s degree at Peirce College. She has been a Pennsylvania notary public since 1996 and has over 23 years of experience in nonprofit legal services.
Stefanie Fleischer Seldin, Managing Attorney, joined the VIP staff in 2003. From 2000 to 2003, she developed and managed the legislative agenda for the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance in Boston. Prior to that, Stefanie was a staff attorney with the Support Center for Child Advocates, an agency dedicated to lawyers' pro bono service for abused and neglected children. Before that Stefanie served as an Assistant City Solicitor in the City of Philadelphia's Law Department and as a law clerk for Judge Joseph E. Irenas of U.S. District Court of New Jersey. She manages the LawWorks project. In 2009, Stefanie received the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Stefanie is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center.
Laurice Smith, Paralegal, joined the VIP staff in August 2010. Laurice works with clients to prepare case files for referral, provides assistance to volunteer attorneys as they work on referred cases, and assists with volunteer recruitment. She also facilitates relationships and communication between VIP and large firm contacts. Laurice received her B.A. in African American Studies from the University of Maryland and is a 2010 graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law School.
Sara L. Woods, Esq. is privileged to serve as the Executive Director of Philadelphia VIP. Before joining VIP in 2007, she served as the Director of Public Service Careers & Pro Bono Programs at Villanova University School of Law for five years. Prior to her tenure at Villanova, Sara worked as a staff attorney at Women Against Abuse Legal Center and the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County. She received a B.A. with honors from the Pennsylvania State University, a J.D. cum laude from Villanova University School of Law, and a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University. After graduating from Penn State, Sara worked as a counselor and advocate at Delaware County Women Against Rape. Sara is a proud member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, where she co-chairs the DLSC’s Pro Bono and Resource Committees. She is an adjunct Professor at Villanova University School of Law, where she teaches a Public Interest Lawyering course. She is an active volunteer with Women's Way, where she previously served on the Board of Directors as the Board Secretary. She is also the Past President of the Lion's Paw Alumni Association Board of Directors. Additionally, she is a member of the Advisory Board of the Crime Victims Law Project.
Suzen Wysor, is a part-time Mortgage Foreclosure Administrator. Her role includes recruiting, retaining, and scheduling volunteer attorneys for Mortgage Foreclosure Court as well as entering new cases into the VIP database. She also manages other parts of the program, such as reviewing default judgments and running quarterly statistics. Suzen has a Master's degree in Social Work from Temple University and a Master's degree in Nonprofit/NGO Leadership form the University of Pennsylvania.