Director of the Public Advocacy Center and Public Interest

In her role as Director of Public Interest, Lisa assists students in securing fellowships, internships, and jobs in the public interest legal field, as well as helping to create and connect students to pro bono initiatives across New York State.

Lisa is also the Director of Touro Law Center’s William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center (PAC). The PAC brings together non-profit agencies to serve the community while providing opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work and gain hands-on legal training. Housed in a new 20,000 square-foot building on the law school campus, that also includes classrooms and faculty and administrative offices, the PAC is home to seven non-profit agencies and is connected to a network of more than fifty affiliated agencies. The PAC focuses on a holistic community-centered approach to access to justice emphasizing inclusivity, community engagement, education, and collaboration.

Before joining Touro, Lisa was the Managing Attorney of the Consumer Finance and Homeownership Practice Group at Empire Justice Center, where she focused on addressing economic challenges facing low-income New Yorkers and other vulnerable communities. She served as a Regional Manager for the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), where she engaged in policy and legislative advocacy regarding foreclosure and homeownership issues and provided technical assistance and training to legal service providers statewide.

Prior to her role at Empire Justice Center, Lisa worked in private practice concentrating on consumer bankruptcy. She served as a member of United States Trustee Liaison Committee for United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District. She also served as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York-Poughkeepsie Division. She is a member of the Consumer Lawyer Advisory Committee for the Eastern District of New York. Lisa received her J.D. from Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 1994.