EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SUPERVISING ATTORNEY & PUBLIC ADVOCATE

Jill (they/them, elle/ellx) is an immigration attorney licensed in New York, Vermont, and the District of Vermont. Since becoming VAAP’s first paid staff member in January 2024, they have expanded the organization to include multiple fellows and staff, eleven distinguished board members, a growing cadre of talented volunteers, and an incredible supporter base. Previously, Jill taught doctrinal and clinical immigration law as the Center for Justice Reform Clinic Director at Vermont Law and Graduate School, and practiced immigration and general poverty law at Vermont Legal Aid and at Sanctuary for Families New York. Today, Jill directs legal services for Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma, lectures in human services for University of Vermont’s Department of Social Work, and serves on numerous statewide and regional committees. The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognized them as one of its Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in 2023.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Devon Ayers (she/her, ella) is a graduate of the Vermont Law Office Study Program pending admission and brings over a decade of experience in legal advocacy, organizational development, and systems-level policy work. At Vermont Legal Aid, she launched and led a first-of-its-kind ombudsman pilot for adults with intellectual disabilities and traumatic brain injuries, designing intake and data systems, developing policies, and building cross-sector partnerships. A committed workplace equity advocate, Devon played a key role in organizational culture initiatives and co-organized VLA staff’s successful union vote with AFT Vermont in 2024. Her background in cooperative living, labor organizing, and housing justice fuels her belief that strong, values-aligned operations are essential to effective legal advocacy. At VAAP, she looks forward to supporting the legal team by ensuring internal systems run smoothly, sustainably, and in service of the mission.

STAFF ATTORNEY & SENIOR FELLOW

COMMUNITY LAWYERING & DETAINED DEFENSE MANAGER

Emma (she/her, ella) is an attorney licensed to practice in Vermont. She joined VAAP as a second year IJC fellow after a first year in San Diego. Emma graduated from American University Washington College of Law with a J.D. in 2023 and American University School of International Service with an M.A. in International Affairs: Refugees, Migration, and International Law and Policy. During law school, Emma worked with immigration firms and nonprofits in the DC area and was a student attorney at the American University Washington College of Law Immigrant Justice Clinic. Her work with VAAP focuses on developing our community lawyering and detained defense initiatives and on assisting unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings as a third year senior fellow in IJC’s unaccompanied children program.

STAFF ATTORNEY & SENIOR FELLOW

PRO BONO & FELLOWSHIPS MANAGER

Bria (she/her, ella) joined VAAP following two years of practice experience as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at Maryland’s Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice. A dedicated immigration attorney barred in Massachusetts and seeking Vermont admission, she has represented clients in a wide range of affirmative and defensive matters before USCIS, immigration courts, and federal district court, including detained work and cases involving criminal-immigration issues. Before law school, Bria worked for four years as an educator in the Winooski and Colchester School Districts and the Shader Croft School, and she previously served as a legal intern with Association of Africans Living in Vermont and as a leader with Community Voices for Immigrant Rights. She is excited to return to Vermont to help strengthen VAAP’s legal practice and expand its pro bono and fellowship pathways, while providing zealous, community-rooted representation statewide.

STAFF ATTORNEY

SERVICE LEARNING MANAGER

Leah (she/her) is an attorney licensed to practice in Vermont. She is joining VAAP from May through November 2025 on a part-time, consulting basis to drive VAAP's Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) practice in Vermont Family and Probate Courts to help incubate her vision for a queer-competent family law firm for Vermont.  Following her first career as a professional actor, she pursued a law degree to have a more tangible impact on justice for queer and trans communities. She is a 2024 graduate of Vermont Law and Graduate School's J.D. and Restorative Justice programs. As a law student and clinician, her work focused on queer asylum and youth immigration relief, queer family law and policy, and advocating for housing and victims' rights. Most recently, she provided national and state-based legal support to LGBTQ+ people across the country through her work with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). With gratitude to indigenous wisdom, she supports restorative practices as an alternative to legal systems when possible.

LEGAL ADVOCATE

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CORPS FELLOW

Cam (she/her, ella) is a 2024 graduate of Vermont Law and Graduate School and is honored to join Vermont’s inaugural class of IJC Fellows. During law school, Cam worked as a law clerk for Legal Services Vermont, and provided direct immigration services and community advocacy to as a student clinician at the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. She played a part in reinstating her school’s National Lawyers Guild chapter and has been active in other movement advocacy projects on campus and beyond. Cameron has always prioritized community-driven work, which leads her to IJC. She is honored to join VAAP as their Unaccompanied Children Program Justice Fellow and is eager to work and grow alongside the amazing team!

LEGAL ADVOCATE

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CORPS FELLOW

Catalina (she/her, ella) is a graduating lawyer from Vermont Law and Graduate School, class of 2025, and an incoming Katzmann Justice Fellow at the Immigrant Justice Corps, class of 2025-27. Originally from New Jersey, Catalina now calls Vermont home. Her passion for immigration rights stems from her undergraduate studies in World Religion and Arabic as well as her own Colombian community and roots. In law school, Catalina worked as a Peggy Browning Fund Fellow at Migrant Justice/Justicia Migrante and as a student clinician and intake specialist at the Center for Justice Reform Clinic. Catalina hopes her experience as a VAAP legal fellow will allow her to expand her work protecting the rights of immigrant workers facing injustice while extending her advocacy to safeguard the vulnerable undocumented community in Vermont.

STAFF ATTORNEY

PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT FELLOW

Andy (he/him, el) is a Andy is a part-time staff attorney and part-time solo practitioner who completed his J.D. and LL.M. in Environmental Policy at Vermont Law and Graduate School, and his LL.M. in International Air and Space Law at the Netherlands’ Leiden University. Drawing on substantial personal migration experience across China, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union, Andy brings cultural humility, strong cross-cultural communication skills, and a practical, solutions-oriented approach to navigating complex systems. After litigating several Habeas Corpus matters to victory as a VAAP volunteer attorney, Andy joined the staff at VAAP’s inaugural Practice Development Fellow, through which Andy supports VAAP’s litigation efforts while receiving technical assistance to develop his own fee-for-service immigration practice.

STAFF ATTORNEY

COMMUNITY LAWYER—NORTH

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STAFF ATTORNEY

PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT FELLOW(S)

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PARALEGAL

CONTRACT INTAKE STRATEGIST

Liv Berelson (she/her, ella) joined VAAP in September as contract Intake Strategist, coordinating a new centralized immigration legal intake and referral system for Vermont. A UVM graduate with experience at RAICES, New Sanctuary Coalition, American Friends Service Committee, and Community Asylum Seekers Project in Brattleboro (VAAP's former fiscal sponsor), Liv is thrilled to help close the legal services gap for immigrants in Vermont as part of VAAP’s team. See her work featured in Braiding a New Life here!

PARALEGAL

CONTRACT LEGAL ASSISTANT

Maja Klostermann (she/her, ella) joined VAAP in September of 2024 as a volunteer interpreter, and this September joined the staff as Legal Assistant. Maja studied geography and politics and has worked in a variety of progressive organizations in Europe, including various organizations advocating for Latin American immigrant workers in the UK. Maja is thrilled to be deepening her knowledge of the legal system and continuing to advocate for VT's migrant communities. Catch up on Congresswoman Balint's recent ICE oversight visit, for which Maja interpreted, here.

PARALEGAL

CONTRACT LEGAL ASSISTANT

Maggie Otto (any pronouns), a 2025 graduate from the University of Vermont, works remotely as a paralegal for VAAP and supports the group from her home near Washington, D.C.. With an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Anthropology, Maggie provides legal and technical support to our advocates and attorneys. She is proud to begin her career in the legal world with the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project and hopes that it is the start of a lifetime of community-driven work and advocacy.