Randolph Boyle is a Staff Attorney in NHeLP's Los Angeles office. He works on Medicaid, Medicare Part D, medical debt, managed care, HIV/AIDS, and consumer health law education. He is the primary author of Sick and in Debt: Improper Practices that Cause Medical Debt for Low-income Californians for the Health Consumer Alliance.He co-authored The Guide to Medi-Cal Programs, Second Edition for the California HealthCare Foundation. Previously, Randy worked at the AIDS Project Los Angeles and California Rural Legal Assistance in Stockton, California. He earned his J.D. from UCLA in 1987 and his B.A. in German and Political Economy of Industrial Societies from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980. He current serves on the boards of directors of The Benchmark Institute and the Center for the Pacific Asian Family.


Steve Hitov is the Managing Attorney of NHeLP's Washington, D.C. office. In addition to his Medicaid work, Steve focuses on the interplay between health care and human and civil rights, which includes work on race, ethnicity and primary language disparities and discrimination. During more than 30 years of practice, Steve has supervised clinical education programs at Harvard and Western New England Schools of Law, and has served as a staff attorney, managing attorney or litigation director in legal services programs in New York, Massachusetts and Florida. Steve earned his J.D. from New York University in 1975 and his B.A., cum laude, in English and Black Studies from the University of Massachusetts in 1970.

Lorraine Jones has worked as a Staff Attorney with NHeLP since September 1999. Lorraine is the author of Denti-Cal Denied: Consumers' Experiences Accessing Dental Services in California's Medi-Cal Program and contributing author of Sick and in Debt: Improper Practices that Cause Medical Debt for Low-Income Californians. Before coming to NHeLP, Lorraine worked at the Pennsylvania Health Law Project. Lorraine earned her J.D., cum laude, from Boston University School of Law and her M.P.H. from Boston University School of Public Health in 1996. She earned her B.A. in Anthropology and Women's Studies from Bates College in 1989.

Manjusha Kulkarni is a Staff Attorney in NHeLP's Los Angeles office. Since 1999, she has provided legal assistance and training to health attorneys and advocates on issues involving children's health care, oral health care, medical debt, and medical transportation. Manju has authored numerous articles, reports and training materials on these topics. Prior to joining NHeLP, Manju worked at a Los Angeles civil rights firm specializing in enforcement of consent decrees in race discrimination cases. Manju has also worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Montgomery, Alabama Attorney General's Office. She received the Public Interest Service Award from the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California in 2005 for devoting her time and energy to helping the community, and to serving as a role model for law students and young attorneys pursuing careers in public interest law. Manju received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1995. She earned her B.A. in Political Science and a Certificate in Women's Studies from Duke University in 1991.

Laurence Lavin, is Of Counsel to NHeLP, based in the Los Angeles office. Larry, NHeLP's directorfrom 1988-2008, started his career as a street lawyer in his hometown of Philadelphia after returning from Peace Corps service in Kenya. Larry has represented thousands of clients in a wide range of problems including health and mental health, housing, community economic development, and family law. He directed Community Legal Services, Philadelphia PA (1971 to 1979), Palmetto Legal Services, Columbia, SC (1980 to 1985), and the Law Coordination Center, Harrisburg, PA (1985 to 1988). He has held numerous leadership positions in the legal services community including the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and was a founding board member of Pennsylvania Legal Services Center. He is the author of AIDS, Medicaid, and Women. Larry received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law in 1965 and B.S. in English from St. Joseph's University in 1962. He is president of the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), a homeless theater company on Los Angeles skid row.

[photo coming soon] Sarah Lichtman Spector joined NHeLP in March 2008 as a Staff Attorney in the D.C. office. Prior to joining NHeLP, Sarah worked at the Legal Aid Society of D.C. for seven years focusing on access to health care issues particularly with respect to Medicaid, Medicare, and language access services. In 2005, Sarah was recognized for her "Outstanding Health Advocacy in D.C" by the Health Assistance Partnership project of Families USA. Sarah began her legal career by working on the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for Senator Ted Kennedy in 1989 and the Epilepsy Foundation of America in 1990. Sarah worked to enforce the ADA at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section in 1993 and 1994. Sarah graduated with a B.A. from Brandeis University in 1994 and a J.D from Georgetown University Law Center in 2001.

Brendan McTaggart is NHeLP's Communications Director, based out of the Washington, DC office. He has worked at NHeLP since 1995. Brendan administers NHeLP's healthlaw.org website,as well as its databases and email lists. He edits the Health Advocate newsletter and is responsible for editing, layout, and marketing of all other NHeLP publications. He is also in charge of direct mail fundraising and public outreach. Brendan earned his M.A. in Latin American Studies from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in 1995, and his B.A. in History from Swarthmore College in 1991.

Jessica Meyers has provided database technical support for the Health Consumer Alliance since August of 2004. Before joining NHeLP, Jessica designed and managed databases for the California HealthCare Foundation in Oakland and The Healthcare Forum in San Francisco. She is also a freelance database designer. Jessica holds a B.A. in Music from Brown University.

Shira Most has served as NHeLP's Director of Development since 2000 in NHeLP's Los Angeles office. Prior to coming to NHeLP she served as the Regional Director of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.Previously she served as a consultant for primary health care centers specifically in the areas of resource development and Board training, and as development director of several nonprofit organizations. Shira holds an M.S.S.A. degree in health administration and planning from Case Western Reserve University.

Daryl Newswanger has been Database Administrator for the Health Consumer Alliance since May of 2001. Before joining HCA, Daryl studied communications at Goshen College and composition at the Berklee College of Music, then spent a number of years in the corporate world performing technical duties including systems administration and webmastering in addition to database work. He resides in Oaxaca, Mexico and keeps a blog about life as an ex-pat. He also is active in composing and recording music.

Alpa Patel became the Office Administrator of NHeLP's Los Angeles office in June 2006. Alpa is a graduate of the University of Pune (India) where she received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Commerce, Business Administration and Cost Accounting. Before coming to NHeLP, Alpa worked as an Administrative Coordinator at Interface Rehab and three sister organizations.

Jane Perkins is the Legal Director for NHeLP, working out of the Chapel Hill, NC office. Jane focuses on Medicaid, particularly the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program and discrimination in the delivery of health care, particularly on ensuring language access in health care settings. She engages in litigation and policy advocacy on these topics, manages NHeLP's litigation docket, and has written manuals, fact sheets and numerous articles on Medicaid, civil rights, and federal court access. She also provides legal assistance and training to consumer advocates and health care consumers. Jane is the co-author of Ensuring Linguistic Access in Health Care Settings: Legal Rights and Responsibilities, a language access resource manual. Jane was a 1997 recipient of the Reginald Heber Smith Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association for dedicated service and outstanding achievement as an indigent defense attorney. She was also named by LawDragon Magazine as one of the top 500 lawyers in the US in 2005 and one of the top 3000 plaintiffs layers in 2006. She earned her M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982; her J.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1981; and her B.A. from Davidson College in 1978.

Mabel Ponce is the Project Director of the Health Consumer Alliance (HCA) working out of the Los Angeles office. She has seven years experience in healthcare advocacy at two of HCA's partner organizations. Most recently, Mabel worked with Health Advocates, LLC in Los Angeles representing low-income uninsured individuals. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the Universidad ITESO in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1995.

Deborah Reid joined the Washington, D.C. office of NHeLP as a Staff Attorney in 2005. Debbie works on health-related congressional and legislative developments, particularly as they relate to Medicaid, racial and ethnic health disparities, women's health and reproductive rights, health information technology, and language access issues. Prior to coming to NHeLP, Debbie was an attorney advisor in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Washington, D.C. She also worked as a senior health care program planner analyst at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), as well as a coordinating manager and an administrative resident at a HHC facility. Debbie earned her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law - Newark in 1992, her master's of professional studies in health services administration from the New School for Social Research (Milano - The New School for Management and Policy) in 1984; and her B.A. in Sociology from Rutgers College of Rutgers University in 1980.

Gabriella Rodriguez is the Office Manager at NHeLP's Washington D.C. office and also helps coordinate NHeLP's annual health law conference. She earned her B.S. in Business and Art History from the California Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1998. Gabriella moved to D.C. in 1998 to work at the National Gallery of Art in the Education Department prior to joining NHeLP in 2003.

Anja Rudiger is the Human Right to Health Program Director for a joint program run by NHeLP and the National Economic and Social Rights Institute (NESRI). She is based in New York. To promote a health care system that respects and protects human rights, she works with state-based coalitions to develop human rights approaches and tools for health care reform efforts. Anja is an expert in human rights and equality, specializing in policy analysis of disparities in the exercise of civic, economic, and social rights. Previously, Anja carried out consultancies for governmental and non-governmental organizations, led the research department at the British Refugee Council in London, and managed the UK Secretariat of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Kiel in Germany.

Sarah Somers has been a Staff Attorney in NHeLP's Chapel Hill office since 2001. She specializes in litigation and litigation support and has a particular expertise in Medicaid and disability issues. Before coming to NHeLP, she worked for DNA - People's Legal Services and the Native American Protection and Advocacy Project on the Navajo Nation, where she represented children in special education and Medicaid cases. She received her J.D. from Michigan Law School in 1992 and her B.A. from Wellesley College in 1988.

Emily Spitzer is NHeLP's new Executive Director. She replaced longtime NHeLP Director Laurence M. Lavin on January 7, 2008, and is based in NHeLP's Washington, DC office. Ms. Spitzer comes to the National Health Law Program with a wealth of experience in law, health care, and fundraising. She served as the director of the District of Columbia Bar Foundation from 2002-2005, where she brought together the D.C. Bar, the legal services community, private law firms, and the Courts to create the D.C Access to Justice Commission. Ms. Spitzer has held numerous staff and board positions with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, from 1989 to the present. Spitzer has also been staff attorney and acting legal director for the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund. Most recently, she was a DC-based fundraiser and strategist for the successful Spitzer for Governor of New York campaign. Emily Spitzer holds degrees from Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center.

Shantell Starr joined NHeLP in February 2008 as the Administrative Assistant for the Los Angeles office. She has been in the secretarial profession for over fifteen years and she comes to us from the medical facility, Kaiser Permanente. Shantell is continuing her education part time attending Pasadena City College to obtain her A.A. degree.

Romon Thomas-Brown is the Legal Secretary for NHeLP's Los Angeles office. Since 1988, Romon has assisted with litigation and provided the Office Administrator with administration support. She previously worked as a Loss Prevention Executive Assistant for I. Magnin and Robinsons Department Stores, and Junior Accountant at Metromedia Channel 11 Studios.

Doreena Wong has been a Staff Attorney in NHeLP's Los Angeles office since July 1999. Doreena focuses on culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services for immigrants and limited-English proficient populations. She is currently a member of the Advisory Group of the National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations and a member of the Advisory Committee of the California Health Care/Safety Net Institute's Model Language Access Policies and Procedures Project. Before coming to NHeLP, Doreena worked at the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, CA, the ACLU of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., and a Los Angeles civil rights firm specializing in enforcement of consent decrees in race discrimination cases. She graduated from New York University School of Law 1987 and the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1974. Law is Doreena's second career after working for nine years as a Radiologic Technologist.

Mara Youdelman has worked as a Staff Attorney in NHeLP's Washington D.C. office since August 2000 on issues including Medicaid, racial and ethnic disparities, reproductive health and immigrants' issues. Mara works on a range of administrative and legislative policy issues and conducts trainings nationwide on language access and collection of racial, ethnic and primary language data. Mara is currently Director of the National Language Access Advocacy Project working to increase awareness of language access issues at the federal level. Mara is co-author of NHeLP's Ensuring Linguistic Access in Health Care Settings: Legal Rights and Responsibilities and Promising Practices for Providing Language Services in Health Care Settings: Examples from the Field. Prior to joining NHeLP, Mara completed a teaching fellowship at Georgetown University Law Center's Federal Legislation Clinic and two years litigating for the Administration for Children's Services in New York City. Mara earned her LL.M. in Advocacy from Georgetown University Law Center in 2000, her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1996, and her B.A. from Tufts University in 1991.