Alumni Fellows

Class of 2005

Joan Baim

Joan was raised in Elmira, a small town in upstate New York, in a family dedicated to helping children. Her mother, a Head Start teacher for 25 years, and her father, a social worker, greatly influenced her career path. Joan graduated from the University at Albany with a double major in political science and public policy, with a concentration in public law. Joan interned in the New York State Division of Human Rights dealing with claims of discrimination in housing and the workplace. Her goal was to bring the dispute to mediation in order to avoid the expense and time involved in litigation. As a Child and Family Advocacy Fellow, Joan did her externships at Covenant House Advocacy and Legal Aid Services Department and at the Administration for Children's Services, Division of Legal Services. Joan was the recipient of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Award for Excellence in Family Law, and currently works at the Administration for Children's Services, Division of Legal Services.

Keisha Godfrey

Keisha was born the last of seven children and second half of a pair of twins in Jamaica, West Indies. She moved to the United States at the age of 11, where she lived with her father and stepmother. Keisha attended Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, where she earned a B.A. and majored in psychology. Upon graduation, Keisha began a career at Covenant House New York, the largest non-governmental child service agency of its kind in New York City, where she held a variety of positions. In the summer of 2001, Keisha completed the requirements for a master's in public administration at Audrey Cohen College. She then went to work for Covenant House Alaska, where she organized Covenant House Alaska's youth leadership program, which gives young persons the tools they need to advocate for themselves and their peers. As a Child and Family Advocacy Fellow, she spent her first summer working with a Queens County Family Court judge and the second at the Legal Aid Society Domestic Violence Project. As a 3L, she and two other fellows developed and led a mock trial as part of the ABA's Teen Dating Violence Prevention summit in Washington, D.C. Keisha also participated in the Region II National Trial Competition in Syracuse, New York and served as book review editor for the Family Court Review. Keisha currently works at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division.

Marion Perry

Marion is originally from Maryland. She attended Moravian College in Pennsylvania, majoring in sociology and political science. During a semester in Washington, D.C., at American University, Marion gained invaluable experience with the issues surrounding children. She interned at Covenant House Washington, where she worked with at-risk youth to encourage their personal growth and prevent teenage pregnancy. She also interned with the assistant district attorney of special offenses in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she did an extensive study of prevailing forensic interviewing techniques for children, in order to assist the department in opening a new Child Advocacy Center. Marion has also taught various methods of dance to children and youth of all ages at various dance schools. Through the Child Advocacy Fellowship, Marion had the opportunity to intern for the Juvenile Rights Division of The Legal Aid Society and for Catherine Friedman, coordinator of ADR in New York City Family Courts. She was a researcher for the Family Law Education Reform Project and the AFCC cooperation manager for the Family Court Review. Marion currently works as a Staff Attorney at The Family Center.

Kira Storz

Kira is from Clifton Park, New York, which is halfway between Saratoga and Albany. Kira graduated from Loyola College in Maryland with a B.A. in political science. Kira's interest in child and family advocacy stems from personal experience. "I am interested in child and family advocacy for one main reason: I have a nephew who is two-and-a-half who gets caught in the middle of many issues between his father, my brother, and his mother, a woman to whom my brother is not attached romantically. The situation is further complicated in that my brother is in the Navy and the woman lives in Brooklyn. I want to work with children and families to settle this type of situation in the best interests of the child." As a fellow, her first summer externship was at the Center for Family Representation in Brooklyn, New York, where she assisted an attorney in community outreach, helped to educate practicing attorneys, and provided assistance to parents with children in foster care. Her second summer externship was with the Queens, New York Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Division. At JRD, Kira worked with the juvenile delinquency team. She helped research legal issues, met with clients, sat in on court experiences, and helped with motion practice. Kira served as the research editor for the Family Court Review. Currently, Kira works at the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County.