Attorneys

Nash received his B.S. from Howard University in 1996, majoring in Biology with Chemistry and Psychology minors. He obtained a M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University in 2000 and a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law in 2003. Nash began in private practice as an immigration attorney and went on to serve as a city prosecutor and as both an office manager and managing attorney. Nash came to DRP in 2021 to assist with assuring the rights of individuals with disabilities.

Nash works closely with the Team Leads for both the Facility Advocacy Program operating within the state centers as well as the Representative Payee Reviewer Program.  Additionally, Nash oversees the monitoring of state hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities to detect and eliminate instances of abuse and neglect. Nash also oversees investigations concerning deaths or serious injuries to persons with disabilities occurring while under the care of others.

Rhonda Brownstein is Litigation Counsel at Disability Rights Pennsylvania, where she litigates high-impact cases on behalf of people with disabilities.  She previously served as the Legal Director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, which provides legal services to Alabamians with disabilities, and as the Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the largest civil rights organizations in the nation.  Rhonda has litigated dozens of civil rights cases across the country, including lawsuits challenging white supremacists and right-wing extremists, abusive prison conditions, and discrimination against people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, poor people, and children.  Rhonda has also served as Executive Director of the Education Law Center in Pennsylvania, as a clinical law professor at Denver University Law School, and as a legal aid attorney in Alabama and Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Penn State University and Temple University Law School.   

Laura is an experienced litigator who has represented a variety of individuals and companies in a wide range of cases. She received her B.A. from McGill University and her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she also served as an editor of the Pittsburgh Journal of Environment and Public Health Law.

Christina is an experienced litigator with a focus on public interest law. Most recently, she spent fifteen years at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP) litigating a range of cases including family law, housing, bankruptcy and expungements. At LASP, Christina became Managing Attorney of the Regional Housing Unit which worked to ensure stable housing through eviction and foreclosure defense work. Christina’s work also focused on ensuring court access for all regardless of income or ability.

At Disability Rights Pennsylvania, Christina assists in managing legal staff and in carrying out the legal work of the organization. Christina graduated from New York University and Rutgers Law School.

Andrew has worked on a variety of cases including special education, public accommodations, and access to services. Prior to working with DRP, Andrew was a special education teacher.

Jeni received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2008 and has since practiced exclusively in the area of special education litigation, representing parents of students with disabilities in due process hearings and federal court appeals. Many of Jeni’s cases have focused on the right of students with disabilities to be included in their neighborhood schools, to receive meaningful transition-to-adulthood services, to receive needed medical services, and to remedy disability discrimination and retaliation. Jeni has trained hundreds of parents, teachers, school administrators, and attorneys on the educational rights of students with disabilities.

Alexandra earned her B.A. from Haverford College and her M.S.ed from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to law school, she worked as an elementary and preschool teacher. She then earned her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law. While in law school, she interned at Disability Rights Pennsylvania and in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, first as a summer clerk for the Honorable Lynne A. Sitarski, and then through Temple’s Federal Judicial Clerkship Clinical Honors Program, where she clerked for the Honorable C. Darnell Jones II. She is excited to be back at Disability Rights Pennsylvania and to support its policy work.

Rocco focuses primarily on enforcement of the rights of individuals with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Amendments Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Rocco engages in  litigation and advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities facing discrimination in employment, housing, government services, transportation, and public accommodations. Rocco graduated from Ursinus College in 1997 and The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University in 2000.

Robert earned his LL.M in Trial Advocacy from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and his J.D. from Widener University School of Law in Delaware. Prior to working with DRP, Robert worked as an Assistant Public Defender in Delaware County, PA where he became Chief of Diversionary and Re-Entry Programs, which included Mental Health Treatment Court and other specialty courts. His focus during his career has been to represent people with mental health and other disabilities in the legal system.  

Brynne earned her B.A. from the George Washington University.  She then worked at the National Fair Housing Alliance for a year before returning to the George Washington University to earn her J.D.  After graduating from law school, Brynne worked as a litigation associate at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.  She left Drinker Biddle to become a Staff Attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education where she litigated First Amendment cases on behalf of students and professors at colleges and universities.  Brynne works on a variety of cases at DRP.

Shari received her B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993 and her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1996. She has helped parents of children with disabilities to access special education and related services in Pennsylvania public schools, and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities on a wide range of disability-related issues including accessing appropriate community-based public services, maintaining personal autonomy in decision-making, and protection from abuse and neglect.

Jenee’ received her B.A. from Point Park University in Legal Studies and her J.D. from Duquesne University Law School. While at Law School, Jenee’ clerked for the Honorable Maureen Lally-Green in The Superior Court of Pennsylvania and interned with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Jenee’ is an experienced litigator having litigated a range of cases including Criminal Defense, Civil Rights and Family Law. At Disability Rights Pennsylvania, Jenee’ works primarily on PABSS related cases.

Robin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1986. She has been a staff attorney with DRP and its predecessors since 1993. She has worked on a variety of cases to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities in community life, including cases to secure community alternatives for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness who are unnecessarily institutionalized; to address wrongful denials of Medical Assistance benefits for people with disabilities; and to remedy disability discrimination in housing, government services, and public accommodations.

Tracy received her B.A. from Temple University and her J.D. from the University of Maryland. Prior to joining DRP, Tracy clerked for the Honorable Lynne A. Sitarski in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and worked in private practice as a health sciences associate.

Ella received her B.A. from Duquesne University and her J.D. from William & Mary Law School. While in law school, she interned for two Protection and Advocacy organizations, Disability Rights Maryland and the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, where she worked on a variety of disability rights cases with a special focus on mental health and special education law. She participated in William & Mary’s Veterans Benefits Clinic, where she assisted veterans with disabilities appeal their VA disability benefits claims, and in William and Mary’s Parents Engaged for Learning Equality (PELE) Clinic, where she advocated on behalf of students with disabilities in the public education system. Ella works primarily on Assistive Technology cases at DRP.

Morris received his B.A. from University of Pennsylvania in the History & Sociology of Science, and his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law concentrating in Health Care Law. While at law school, Morris interned with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis. Morris is an experienced litigator having practiced in the areas of real estate law, landlord tenant law, bankruptcy law and default litigation.

Sherrie joined Disability Rights Pennsylvania in 2021. Her areas of focus include access to Assistive Technology in various settings, advocacy on behalf of people with Traumatic Brain Injury, and monitoring and investigation of abuse and neglect in facilities throughout Pennsylvania.  Sherrie has held a variety of roles prior to joining DRP, including as a pharmaceuticals attorney, long-term care ombudsman, and community pharmacist – all of which she believes has led her to protection and advocacy for people with disabilities.  Sherrie received her B.S. in Pharmacy from Purdue University, and J.D. from Loyola University Chicago.

Haviv earned her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in 2000, majoring in History. She then earned her M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (Now Stockton University) in January 2002, completing all coursework in the summer of 2001. She received her J.D. from Villanova law School in 2004. Prior to joining DRP, Haviv worked as Attorney for the Client Assistance Program in Philadelphia, on a volunteer basis. Fighting for the equal rights of Individuals with Disabilities has been a lifetime goal of Haviv’s, both professionally and personally. Her dream is that every person can recognize and be recognized as an equal part of the human race. She is thrilled to be at DRP. In addition to being an attorney, Haviv is a mother, sister, daughter and published author of poetry.