Staff Bios

Bill Hing, General Counsel and Board Member, founded the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in 1979 and served as volunteer Executive Director for its first two decades. A Professor at the University of California at Davis, School of Law, he is the author of Deporting Our Souls--Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy; Defining America Through Immigration Policy; Handling Immigration Cases; Making and Remaking Asian America Through Immigration Policy; To Be An American; and co-author of numerous ILRC publications. He has extensive experience in working with immigrants of varied nationalities and is a nationally recognized expert in immigration and naturalization law. Bill volunteers on several Boards, including the Asian Law Caucus, Migration Policy Institute, and the ILRC.

Donald Ungar, Of Counsel to the ILRC, has been practicing immigration law since 1962. He has litigated numerous cases before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the federal district courts, courts of appeal and the United States Supreme Court. He was the recipient of the first Jack Wasserman Award for excellence in litigation by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, as well as the Phillip Burton Immigration and Civil Rights Award.

Eric Cohen, ILRC'S Executive Director, has been with the ILRC since 1988 and has extensive experience training both legal workers and lay advocates. His immigrant leadership trainings and expertise working with grassroots and union organizers remains a great asset. He has worked on many of the ILRC's manuals and other publications, including Naturalization: A Guide for Legal Practitioners and Other Community Advocates and How to Successfully Appeal Naturalization Denials. Eric has also conducted numerous trainings on a variety of immigration related issues and has served as a liaison between community groups and CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) officials. He helped develop ILRC's community model for effectively processing naturalization applications in groups and trained both legal workers and lay advocates in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles, and works with community organizers and others on voter education for naturalized citizens. He is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Sally Kinoshita, Deputy Director, joined the ILRC as a Staff Attorney in 2001. She is the author or co-author of a number of ILRC publications, including The VAWA Manual: Immigration Relief for Abused Immigrants; How to Obtain U Interim Relief: A Brief Manual for Advocates Assisting Immigrant Victims of Crimes; Immigration Benchbook for Juvenile and Family Courts; and Living in the United States: A Guide for Immigrant Youth. As a member of the Migration and Child Welfare National Network, an Advisory Board member of the National Network to End Violence Against Women and a technical assistance provider for the Asista national technical assistance project, Sally brings to the ILRC her expertise on immigration relief for abused immigrant women and children under Special immigrant Juvenile Status and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Prior to joining the ILRC, Sally worked extensively with the Southeast Asian immigrant community as a Staff Attorney at the Asian Law Caucus and as a founder of the Southeast Asian Task Force. As a resident of San Francisco’s Mission District, she enjoys exploring her neighborhood with her family and dog. She is conversant in Spanish.

Kathy Brady, Senior Staff Attorney, has served with the ILRC since 1987 and has contributed to numerous ILRC projects. Her expertise includes the immigration consequences of criminal convictions; issues affecting immigrant children and mixed families; immigration consultant and consumer fraud; naturalization; family immigration; legal status for immigrant victims of domestic violence through the Violence Against Women Act provisions (VAWA); and trial skills. She is the primary author of Defending Immigrants in the Ninth Circuit (formerly California Criminal Law and Immigration), and for many years was co-author of the section on defending noncitizens in the CEB manual California Criminal Law – Procedure and Practice. She also is a co-author of the ILRC’s Special Immigrant Juvenile manual and the Immigration Benchbook for Juvenile and Family Courts. She has helped found coalitions and projects to address these issues, including serving as a co-founder of the Defending Immigrants Partnership and the Immigrant Justice Network. She authored briefs in key Ninth Circuit cases on immigration and crimes. In 2007, she received the Carol King award for advocacy from the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. Prior to working at the ILRC, Kathy was in private practice with the immigration firm of Park and Associates. She is conversant in Spanish.

Angie Junck joined the ILRC in 2005 as a New Voices Fellow and became a staff attorney in 2007. She works on the relationship between immigration and criminal law and is a co-author of ILRC's publication, Defending Immigrants in the Ninth Circuit: The Impact of Crimes under California and Other State Laws. Her efforts to mitigate the difficult immigration consequences for criminal convictions of immigrants is at the core of the ILRC’s Defending Immigrants Project to assist public defenders and the Immigrant Justice Network, a project to build a movement to shift public perception of immigrants in the criminal justice system. Angie is a co-chair of the Detention Watch Network's Public Awareness Committee and is on the Advisory Board of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Prior to joining the ILRC, she worked on post-conviction relief for immigrants at the Law Offices of Norton Tooby and advocated on behalf of incarcerated survivors of domestic violence as the co-coordinator of Free Battered Women and a member of the Habeas Project. She is a proficient Spanish speaker.

Mark Silverman is the Director of Immigration Policy at the ILRC, where he has worked as an attorney since 1983. Mark has done over 400 presentations and trainings for immigrant communities throughout California. He has also made numerous presentations on various aspects of the law to attorneys and other legal workers. He is the author and co-author of more than ten ILRC publications on different aspects of immigration law, including Winning Asylum Cases; Winning NACARA Suspension Cases; and publications on family visa, Temporary Protected Status, pro bono asylum programs, and the hardship requirement for waivers and cancellation. Mark’s hobbies include increasing his repertoire of (what some people consider) jokes through disciplined study of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and other contributions to the highest traditions of American culture. He is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Jonathan Huang has been the Information and Technology Manager for the ILRC since 2000, after working for Domino Computers. He is responsible for managing all technology and computer networking systems for the organization. In addition, he also brings his expertise in designing and updating the ILRC website. Jonathan holds a M.S. in Computer Science from San Francisco State University.

Deirdre O’Shea recently joined the ILRC as our Foundation Relations Manager. She returns to the Bay Area after over six years working on organizational and funding development with social services and human rights organizations in Cambodia. She enjoys writing and administering grants, as well as gardening, riding her bike and cooking. She is conversant in Khmer.

René Pérez is ILRC's Interim Assistant Director. Associated with ILRC in various capacities since 1997, he has supported the organization in developing information systems, outreach efforts, civic engagement, and web strategies. As a non-profit video consultant in the past, René has produced documentary community building and civic engagement tools for foundations and nonprofit agencies. Working on a range of issues (First 5 Children & Family Commissions, immigrant rights, health and social justice), he has co-produced bilingual materials to help strengthen communities across California. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, with a Bachelors degree in Cinema and a Masters degree in Public Administration.

Nora Privitera, Director of Provider Fraud Project and Lead Attorney of the Day, was in private practice for over 12 years, including 8 years as a sole practitioner, before joining the ILRC as a part-time attorney in 2000. As a private attorney, Nora gained extensive practical experience in many areas of immigration law, and has 2 published winning opinions concerning asylum and due process issues in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. These experiences serve her well in her capacity as the ILRC’s main Attorney of the Day (AOD). Nora also directs ILRC’s Provider Fraud Project and has testified as an expert witness in cases involving immigration fraud. In addition, Nora has conducted ILRC trainings and has assisted in the revision of many ILRC publications. She is conversant in Spanish and Italian.

Sai Suzuki joined the ILRC as the Marketing Coordinator in May 2007. She brings with her a background in sales and marketing from the corporate field. Prior to her position at the ILRC, she worked at Hertz Corporation, where she managed and grew a for-profit business. She also served as a Marketing Coordinator at State Farm Insurance, working on various marketing projects while building and maintaining a strong network of clients. At the ILRC, Sai develops and oversees marketing for ILRC’s publications, seminars, and the Attorney of the Day (AOD) program, in addition to serving as a liaison for various other programs. She holds a B.S. from the University of California at Davis, with a minor in Asian American Studies. She enjoys photography, music, and exploring the different neighborhoods of San Francisco.

Michelle Seivers joined the ILRC as the Program Assistant in June 2006. A Kentucky transplant, Michelle worked with immigrants and refugees as a bilingual bank teller and member of the bank’s Hispanic Task Force. Michelle also worked on the Women of Juarez campaign as an intern at the National Organization for Women in Washington, DC. As Program Assistant, Michelle provides administrative support to the entire staff, as well as updates the ILRC website and acts as press liaison. She has also designed and translated various materials for ILRC’s work with immigrant communities. She holds a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Kentucky. She enjoys photography, salsa dancing, cooking, and hiking throughout Northern California’s countless trails.

Byron Spicer has been with the ILRC as the Finance Assistant since May 2006. He has 12 years of experience in bookkeeping, office administration, and program management. At the ILRC, he manages the day-to-day finances and also plays a key role in re-designing the ILRC website. Byron is a native of San Francisco, graduating from Mission High School and University of California at Berkeley. In addition to working at the ILRC, he also dedicates his time to his professional art career.

Shellie Stortz has been the ILRC’s Finance Manager since October 2004. After majoring in Business Accounting in Houston, Texas, she worked as a Public Accountant for 12 years and also managed her own resale store in San Francisco for 6 years, prior to joining the ILRC. Shellie decided to re-enter the accounting field in the non-profit sector where she discovered a natural fit to her personality and interests. During her free time, she enjoys gardening, quilting, and cooking.

Tim Sheehan is a familiar face to the ILRC, as he was a Program Assistant for five years until 2006, and returned in August 2007 after living one year in Fukuoka, Japan. He serves as a liaison for numerous different projects and programs within the ILRC, such as the fraud comic book, Know Your Rights campaign, and publication updates. He also supports the Finance Department and assists in completing various other administrative tasks. Tim is originally from Tennessee, however, he has made the Bay Area his home for the past 10 years, currently residing in Oakland.

Last Modified: May 09 2008 11:47:11