Staff and Board

The Communications Team works to make sure our branding and voice is people-centered, justice-forward, and free of as much legal jargon as possible.

DeShonna Johnson-Garay, Digital Coordinator

DeShonna Johnson-Garay (they/them) is the Digital Coordinator at If/When/How where they curate intentional, digital spaces of integrity, awareness, and community across If/When/How’s social media platforms. Prior to their time at If/When/How, DeShonna’s political home was Southerners on New Ground (SONG) where they found their sweet spot in the movement as a member of the “DigiCommz” working group. Believing deeply that everyone has a space in the movement (and that may not be on the frontlines!), DeShonna found a beautiful merge of their Sociology and Journalism degrees in digital organizing where they were able to take their sociological teachings of “the personal is political,” and create spaces for people and communities to tell their stories themselves and uplift the voices of those that society and the media has often said were “voiceless.” With this newfound alignment, DeShonna went on to do communications/advocacy work at the Atlanta Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative while obtaining their Master in Public Administration (with a specialization in public policy). Afterwards, they served as the digital organizer for Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SNaP Co.) curating digital space for Black Queer and Trans folks and sex workers in Atlanta.

In organizing and outside of it, DeShonna is a creative channel and holistic healing facilitator first. Dedicated to providing spaces for people to be their full, Free selves mind, body, and Spirit free of shackles – those imposed by policy and those imposed by Self, DeShonna is just as much a healing justice organizer as a digital one. They serve their community by providing one-on-one holistic herbal consultations and general herbal support as a community herbalist and healing facilitator. DeShonna has also served as a resident healer and facilitated Black, autonomous healing spaces for several Black, Queer-led social justice organizations including National Bail Out (NBO) and Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100). In other work, they have led workshops discussing Gender Affirming Herbal Therapy© and herbs beneficial for transitioning naturally or complementing gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT).

DeShonna’s work – in whatever form – is influenced by their Ancestors, their lived experiences as a Black, Queer, Fat, Non-Binary Trans femme from DA SOUF (“Jawja,” specifically), and their key motto: “never perfect. Always genuine.”

Jen Girdish, Communications Director

Jen Girdish is If/When/How’s Communications Director. She guides communications, branding, and media strategy to further If/When/How’s vision.

Prior to working with If/When/How, Jen has spent a decade in the reproductive, health, rights, and justice movement. She has held Communications Director positions at ConwayStrategic, Physicians for Reproductive Health, and Catholics for Choice. Jen also has worked in domestic violence advocacy and early learning education.

Jen earned her MFA in Creative Writing at Lesley University, and Bachelor of Arts in Writing and Film Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Sage Carson, Media Manager

Sage Carson is If/When/How’s Media Manager. She shepherds the organization’s media strategy to amplify and promote the work of If/When/How.

She is the former manager of Know Your IX(KYIX), a national campaign working to end sexual violence in education through survivor organizing and policy change. Sage has worked locally and nationally to execute strategic campaigns on abortion access and reproductive health with the National Women’s Law Center, the ACLU of Delaware, and Planned Parenthood of Delaware.

Sage holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies with a concentration in Domestic Violence Services and Prevention.

Tayler Tucker, Senior Communications Manager

Tayler Tucker is the Senior Communications Manager at If/When/How, where she strategizes on digital campaigns and manages forward-facing communications to amplify If/When/How’s vision of reproductive justice. Prior to her work with If/When/How, Tayler was the Media Relations Manager at Planned Parenthood Arizona and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, a state-based Planned Parenthood affiliate that provides reproductive health care for over 33,000 people per year, offers comprehensive sex education to empower people of all ages, and elects champions from the state legislature to Congress in order to defend reproductive rights.

Tayler graduated from Swarthmore College with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Spanish. More importantly, she graduated with radical commitment — thanks to Dr. Alison Dorsey’s reading of Marge Piercy’s poem — “to be of use” in movements fighting for liberation. She currently serves as the Board Secretary for Sonoran Prevention Works, the leading harm reduction organization in Arizona. In 2018, Tayler trained with an all-people of color cohort as a full spectrum doula with Sumi’s Touch and offers mutual aid by holding space for pregnant people wherever their reproductive journeys take them.

The Development Team is responsible for our community-centric fundraising, as well as donor relations.

Adrienne Anderson, MFA, Senior Grants Manager

Adrienne Anderson is the Senior Grants Manager at If/When/How. Prior to joining If/When/How, Adrienne was the Development Director for the Oxford American, a literary arts nonprofit. She cut her fundraising teeth in the reproductive health and advocacy field at Ipas, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, and Personal PAC. Using her enthusiasm for justice-oriented efforts and excellent storytelling, she works to shine lights on movements and to motivate others to action.

Adrienne holds a BA in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in Creative Writing.

Julia Warren, Individual Giving Manager

Julia Warren (she/her) is the Individual Giving Manager at If/When/How. She loves being able to engage supporters and involve them in the mission of the organization.  Julia has focused her career and activism around empowerment and destigmatizing sexual health. She has held a number of roles, both paid and volunteer, for organizations working on intimate partner and sexual violence, education, and reproductive health, rights, and justice.

Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Illinois Wesleyan University and attended the Applied Anthropology Master’s program at University of Memphis.

When she wants to disconnect and recharge, Julia loves to get out and hike with her partner. She’s always looking forward to the next adventure!

Kelley Fox, MAPT, MASJ, Senior Development Coordinator

Kelley Fox is the Senior Development Coordinator at If/When/How. Kelley started their career working in fundraising management for Equality Ohio, an LGBTQ advocacy organization in Ohio. There, Kelley found a passion for organization and data management which they bring to their work at If/When/How.

Kelley graduated from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio with a Masters in Practical Theology & Social Justice in 2021. In their studies, they developed a passion for education, community care, and healing from personal and collective trauma. They cut their teeth in the reproductive justice movement with the Faith Choice Ohio where they are a Faith Organizer.

When not working for reproductive justice, Kelley can usually be found watching anime with their cats Florence and Moses and their husband Jordan.

Kim Nguyen, Grants Manager

Kim Nguyen (any pronouns) is If/When/How’s Grants Manager. Previously, they worked over seven years in the philanthropy sector, with a special interest in countering systems of criminalization and expanding how to talk about and resource community safety and well-being. Kim also spent nearly a decade in various roles in local and national nonprofit organizations. This included working at the clinic where she had an abortion and then working to support Abortion Funds. Kim is moved by community organizing rooted in relationships, political education, prison industrial complex abolition, the Black Radical Tradition, and immigrant justice. Importantly, Kim is a lifelong learner, queer, Việt, Asian American, Midwesterner, student of public schools, and public library enthusiast. Life enjoyments include befriending huggable doggos and sharing meals and walks with loved ones.

Lauren Robertson, M.A., Individual Giving Coordinator

Lisa Lim, Esq., Senior Development Director

Lisa Lim, Esq., is the Senior Development Director at If/When/How, where she directs fundraising efforts to fuel the organization’s growth and to expand its ability to fight for reproductive and racial justice. She brings over 25 years of fundraising and nonprofit management experience with an emphasis in foundation fundraising. 

Lisa was first introduced to fundraising as a college intern at the Asian Law Caucus. Since then, she has led institutional fundraising for nonprofits and public education including Special Olympics Northern California, San Francisco State University, and Radio Bilingüe, Inc., a Spanish-language public radio network. Lisa was also the Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a civil rights advocacy organization located in San Francisco’s Chinatown. She has served on a number of nonprofit boards, including La Raza Central Legal and the city-wide board for the San Francisco Organizing Project.

Lisa is licensed by the State Bar of California, and has served as legal counsel to nonprofit housing developers to help build affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley, where she double-majored in Political Science and Asian American Studies, and a J.D. from UCLA School of Law. When she isn’t fundraising for social change, she is busy baking and experimenting with watercolors and acrylic paints.

Denise Tomasini-Joshi, J.D., Co-Executive Director

Denise Tomasini-Joshi is an advocate whose work has touched upon issues of mental health, health policy, criminal legal reform, women’s rights, climate justice, economic development, and marginalized populations. She is a former Chief of Staff at the Innocence Project, and previously held a series of progressively senior roles at the Open Society Foundations (OSF) where her work focused on combating abusive treatment in healthcare and reducing health inequities in criminalized populations. She also served as co-acting director of OSF’s Women’s Rights Program helping craft a strategy to reduce feminist over-reliance on criminal legal systems.

Denise has also held posts as Assistant Dean for Public Service at NYU Law School, as Senior Policy Analyst at the Council for State Governments, and as an attorney at MFY Legal Services. She was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and speaks Spanish.

Denise holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University’s SIPA, and a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University.

She’s Co-Chair of the Board of the Women’s Foundation for Puerto Rico where she works on feminist approaches to climate resilience, preventing gender-based violence, and reproductive justice among other issues.

Elizabeth Rivera, MBA, Chief People and Operations Director

Elizabeth Rivera, MBA, is If/When/How’s Chief People and Operations Director and helps support If/When/How’s operational and human resources strategy by building the infrastructure to “keep the wheels greased” in the areas of Human Resources and Administration. Elizabeth has more than 20 years of operational experience and after spending much of her career managing the intricacies of global supply chain management, she has spent the last 8 years applying her passion for Human Resources management and administrative know-how within the reproductive health and justice field. Elizabeth worked for non-profit organizations such as Provide, Inc., which offers professional development for health professionals counseling women with unintended pregnancies, and The Society of Family Planning and The Society of Family Planning Research Fund, a source for abortion contraception science and support for abortion and contraception research.

As a seasoned human resources and operations professional, Elizabeth is excited to use her experience to develop a deep understanding of the incredible value of providing inclusive, diverse, and equitable practices and policies that directly lead to an organization’s culture building. She believes that employees are the most important asset that help move the initiatives, mission, and vision of an organization forward and their inputs are invaluable. In this ever-changing landscape of racial injustice, economic displacement, an ongoing global pandemic, and attacks on reproductive freedoms and justice, thinking radically and developing innovative human resource and administrative practices that align with and incorporate DEIA+B strategies is of the utmost importance for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of New Rochelle and a Master of Business Administration in global supply chain and logistics from Northeastern University and is currently pursuing her Juris Master degree at Florida State University College of Law with a concentration in Employment Law and HR Risk Compliance.  Elizabeth is interested in how If/When/How can support legal advocates find ways to engage traditionally marginalized voices — including BIPOC communities, Immigrants, Refugees, and the economically disadvantaged, the LGBTQ community, and those who live in rural communities — in the abortion and contraception conversation.

In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, reading several books at once, cooking, binge-watching shows regularly, and finding time for spiritual growth and meditation.

Mariko Miki, J.D., Interim Executive Director

Mariko Miki, J.D. is the Interim Executive Director at If/When/How, overseeing the organization’s programs, personnel, finances, and operations. Since joining If/When/How in 2010, Mariko has held many roles, including designing, launching, and directing the Reproductive Justice Fellowship Program and establishing the Repro Legal Defense Fund.

The Legal Services team runs the Repro Legal Helpline and other legal support services. They are part of the larger Legal & Policy department.

Ben Sambrook, Network & Legal Services Advocate

Ben Sambrook is the Network & Legal Services Advocate at If/When/How, where he assists the Legal Support Team in the maintenance of the Repro Legal Helpline, providing public education, and developing risk assessment tools and resources. He comes from a background in political education and youth work, and organizes locally on unceded Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, and Nonotuck land.

Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies with a concentration in Queer and Sexuality Studies. Ben sees the struggle for youth justice, anti-racism, reproductive and medical autonomy, trans liberation, and prison abolition as one and the same – a single commitment to the liberation of all people from medicalized and state violence. He is sustained by the sharing of poetry, film, and vegan food, and joy towards that world.

Catherine Guichardo, Esq., Helpline Counsel

Catherine Guichardo (she/her) is If/When/How’s Helpline Counsel. In her role Catherine supports the Repro Legal Helpline by helping people understand the laws around various reproductive experiences, including self-managed abortion, youth access and birth justice.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Catherine was a staff attorney in the Housing Unit at Bronx Legal Services, where she provided legal assistance to tenants facing eviction in housing court. Catherine began her career as a family defense attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services where she represented parents facing allegations of abuse or neglect and helped reunite them with their families, free of state intervention.

Catherine received her J.D. from Penn State Law and is licensed to practice in New York.

Cheyanna Duran, Student Organizing Coordinator

Cheyanna Duran is the Student Organizing Coordinator at If/When/How. She supports the Movement Building department, including the Law Student Network, with programmatic and administrative needs, and provides operational assistance to the Executive Director. Cheyanna (she/her/hers and they/them) is a Chicana activist and artist from Colorado. She has a BA in Sociology and BM in oboe performance from Boston University. Cheyanna has a background in racial justice work in the classical music field, sexual violence prevention training and advocacy, and legislative advocacy for protections to survivors of sexual violence on college campuses. In her spare time, Cheyanna enjoys making music of many kinds, knitting, and studying astrology.

Elizabeth Ling, Esq., M.S.W., Senior Helpline Counsel

Elizabeth Ling, J.D., M.S.W. is the Senior Helpline Counsel at If/When/How, where she manages the Repro Legal Helpline, assisting people in understanding the laws around a variety of reproductive experiences, including self-managed abortion, youth access to abortion, and birth justice.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Elizabeth was Senior Program Manager of Criminal Defense Initiatives at the Center for Court Innovation, where she provided research-driven technical assistance aimed at improving access to and quality of indigent defense representation across the country. Elizabeth began her career as a family defense attorney with Brooklyn Defender Services, representing parents facing allegations of abuse or neglect and helping them to reunite or keep their families together.

Elizabeth received her J.D. and M.S.W from Fordham University and her B.A. in Anthropology and East Asian Studies from Wesleyan University.

Imani Davis, Esq., Helpline Counsel

Kebé, Senior Network & Legal Services Advocate

Kebé is the Senior Network & Legal Services Advocate at If/When/How. She is a movement builder with deep ties to reproductive justice who is committed to direct support and building power towards reproductive freedom. As Senior Legal Support Advocate, she manages the Repro Legal Helpline, helping callers understand the law around self-managed abortion, youth access to abortion, and other reproductive experiences. She provides legal information, referrals to direct representation, and referrals to local resources. She also organizes direct support and trains about the impact of laws and policies on people accessing care especially within If/When/How’s focus areas.

Kebé has a B.A. from Columbia University in Anthropology, focused in gender, sexuality, and Africana studies. She hails from Charleston, South Carolina, and spends her time creating home around the country. Most of all, she enjoys building mutual support with other Black women, femmes, queer and trans folks doing liberation work. When she is not working with If/When/How, she is probably somewhere trying to convince Google that she is not a robot.

Kylee Sunderlin, Esq., Legal Services Director

Kylee Sunderlin is the Legal Services Director at If/When/How, where she oversees the provision of legal services through the Repro Legal Helpline, as well as the enhancement of technical assistance and public education to allied organizations and health care providers. 

Prior to joining If/When/How, Kylee was a family defense attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services where she represented parents facing allegations of abuse or neglect and experiencing inhumane family separation. She was also a Soros Justice Fellow at National Advocates for Pregnant Women with a project that combined litigation, public education, and advocacy to challenge interventions by the family regulation system in response to medication-assisted treatment.

Kylee is a proud Michigander and double wolverine, receiving both her BA and JD from the University of Michigan.

Laylaa Abdul-Khabir, Esq., Network & Legal Services Counsel

Laylaa Abdul-Khabir is the Network & Legal Services Counsel at If/When/How, where she is building a network of attorneys and advocates who can support individuals in accessing their reproductive rights.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Laylaa was a Staff Attorney for the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, where she processed appeals from low-income homeowners in need of mortgage assistance. Laylaa began her legal career as a legal aid attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, where she represented clients receiving public assistance.

Laylaa is from southern California, and received her J.D. from UCLA Law. She is licensed to practice in New York.

Limayli Huguet, Esq., Helpline Counsel

Limayli Huguet, Esq., is Helpline Counsel for If/When/How, where she supports the Repro Legal Helpline by working to help people navigate and understand the laws around abortion and a variety of reproductive experiences.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Limayli was an If/When/How Reproductive Justice Federal Fellow placed at All* Above All focused on ending the Hyde Amendment and working toward securing abortion access for all regardless of income. After her fellowship, Limayli remained on at All* Above All to help build out their medication abortion and immigrant justice campaigns.

Originally from San Diego, California, Limayli earned her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia. She is the proud daughter of working-class immigrants, with a mother from Mexico and father from Peru. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her cat, Mateo and watching history videos on youtube.

Noran Elzarka, Esq., Helpline Counsel

Noran Elzarka, Esq. is Helpline Counsel at If/When/How where she is working to assist individuals seeking support and information around reproductive justice.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Noran began her legal career as a public defender in 2018 at Brooklyn Defender Services in the Family Defense practice representing parents and families who were impacted by the family regulation system. Noran attended and graduated from CUNY School of Law where she worked with CLEAR to counter post-9/11 policies and practices that have particularly affected Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and other communities in NYC and facilitated numerous Know Your Rights workshops. Noran was also active with the National Lawyers Guild’s Parole Preparation Project, collaborating with and advocating for people eligible for parole who are serving indeterminate sentences in NY State prisons.

Noran is committed to working towards the abolition of violent systems that continue to intervene and oppress black and brown communities and dreams of a world where people can make decisions for themselves and their families without state intervention.

The Operations & Human Resources Team ensures the humans behind the work have what they need for a sustainable and balanced workplace.

Ishtar Saiyady, J.D., Operations Manager

Ishtar is the Operations Manager for If/When/How, with a background in public service and a passion for justice and equity. She first became interested in reproductive justice and the related cross-sections (racial equity and justice, birth justice, refugee justice) as a law student in San Francisco. Ishtar is a passionate believer that women’s rights are human rights, and as a refugee herself, she has a deep passion for exploring the intersectionality of refugee justice and reproductive justice and access. In her roles as operations manager, she strives to create a powerful, solid foundation on which the IWH can thrive.

When she is not working, Ishtar is either spending time with her family, playing with her pet rabbit, baking, or reading.

Jon Wong, Senior Program Coordinator

Jon Wong, If/When/How’s Senior Program Coordinator, supports If/When/How’s work to organize law students and legal professionals on reproductive justice.

After graduating the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Jon has done community, political, and electoral organizing work with a number of organizations across the country, including the Fund for the Public Interest and the campaigns to elect then Congressmember (now Governor) Michelle Lujan Grisham and Congressmember Scott Peters. In 2013, he became the Program Coordinator for Forward Together in New Mexico, organizing communities of color across the state to advance reproductive justice at the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Prior to working at If/When/How, Jon was the Executive Assistant for Forward Together, where he coordinated schedules and convenings of reproductive justice leaders across the country.

Kristy Witherspoon, Human Resources Manager

Kristy Witherspoon (she/her) is the Human Resources Manager at If/When/How and is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR Operations.

Kristy has held a variety of human resources roles over her career. Prior to joining If/When/How, she worked with a nonprofit organization leading effort to address systemic issues facing marginalized communities within the workplace through awareness, engagement, and narrative strategies.

Kristy has dedicated her professional and personal life to service for others. Kristy is an advisory board member of her local NAACP chapter and volunteers her time with women and LGBTQ+ youth organizations. She is committed to using her voice and lived experiences to making her community stronger, as part of a collaborative whole.

Kristy holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership. Kristy is double certified in Human Resources Management and passionate about continued growth and development.

In her spare time, Kristy loves to travel, watch ratchet TV, explore new restaurants and spending time with family and friends.

Yvonne Guerrero, Human Resource Generalist

Yvonne Guerrero (she/her) is the Human Resource Generalist at If/When/How with an HR background supporting nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She has always searched for a role that is part of an organization dedicated to human rights,  furthermore women’s rights and has found this connection in her role at If/When/How.

Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Masters of Business Administration from Western Governors University. She more recently completed her PHR certification and is looking forward to utilizing all of her experience and knowledge at If/When/How.

When Yvonne is not working she is spending time with her family, three dogs, or finding a new plant to bring home.

The Repro Legal Defense Fund is an abortion and pregnancy defense fund that provides bail and strong defenses for people facing legal action for abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and other pregnancy outcomes.

Dipona Bandy, Esq., Repro Legal Defense Fund Counsel

Dipona Bandy (she/her) is Repro Legal Defense Fund Counsel at If/When/How’s Repro Legal Defense Fund. Prior to joining If/When/How, Dipona began her legal career as a public defender at Brooklyn Defender Services’ Family Defense Practice. There, she represented parents charged with abuse and neglect who face family separation and the removal of their children to the foster system. In law school, she was a Hays Civil Liberties Fellow, student advocate in the Family Defense Clinic and Reproductive Justice Clinic, and editor of the Review of Law and Social Change. Dipona is a former Fulbright-Nehru English Teaching Assistant with the U.S. Fulbright Program in Kolkata, India.

A proud native Texan, Dipona graduated from New York University School of Law and Harvard College. She is admitted to practice in New York.

Em Lawler, Esq., Repro Legal Defense Fund Training Manager & Counsel

Prior to joining If/When/How and the Repro Legal Defense Fund, Em worked at Beyond Legal Aid and Metropolitan Family Services to support survivors of interpersonal violence.

Em’s background is working as a public defender in New York for at The Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services where they proudly represented parents in abuse and neglect proceedings and parolees accused of violating parole.

Born and raised in Chicago, Em is a graduate of CUNY School of Law in 2014, where they were a Hayward Burns Graduate Fellow in Human Rights and Civil Rights. Em loves her kids, cooking, and working towards a world where everyone gets to make and live in whatever family they want without state intervention.

Mirna Haidar, Esq., Repro Legal Defense Fund Counsel

Mirna Haidar, Esq. (they/she) is a Queer Muslim Refugee from Lebanon. Most recently, Mirna worked as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society’s Parole Revocation Defense Unit (representing people accused of parole violations at Rikers Island). They also serve as the steering committee Member of MASGD: Muslim Alliance for Sexual & Gender Diversity (amongst a ton of other organizing in queer Muslim spaces). Mirna attended CUNY Law where she was part of the Defender Clinic and CLEAR (a CUNY clinic offering free legal representation and support to primarily Muslim communities that are targeted by the government under the guise of national security & counterterrorism). They are a proud mama to twins Rumi and Noah.

Rafa Kidvai, Esq., Repro Legal Defense Fund Director

Rafa Kidvai, Esq. is the Repro Legal Defense Fund Director at If/When/How. Prior to joining If/When/How, Rafa was a public defender at the Legal Aid Society’s Brooklyn Criminal Defense Practice, Legal Fellow at Court Watch NYC, and Director of Immigrant Justice/ Paul Rappaport Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Rafa’s work and activism has focused on queer and trans liberation, supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, economic justice, family defense, immigrant justice, and prison abolition. Rafa attended CUNY School of Law and Hampshire College.

The Strategic Advocacy team runs our litigation, policy, and research work, and is part of the broader Legal & Policy department.

Farah Diaz-Tello, J.D., Senior Counsel & Legal Director

Farah Diaz-Tello, J.D., is Senior Counsel & Legal Director for If/When/How, where she helps develop and execute litigation strategy, contributes legal analysis and drafting expertise to assist state and grassroots partners in reaching their policy goals, and provides legal information and training to reproductive rights, health, and justice activists. She is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer in activist and academic forums, and is sought by media for her insights. Farah continues and expands the work she began in 2016 at the SIA Legal Team, which joined forces with If/When/How in 2019. Prior to the SIA Legal Team, Farah worked at National Advocates for Pregnant Women, where she established and helmed programs in human rights and birth justice. Her publications for scholarly and popular press address criminalization of pregnancy outcomes, economic coercion in childbirth, obstetric violence, and reproductive issues in pop culture.

Farah is a graduate of the CUNY Law School, where she was a Haywood Burns Fellow in Civil and Human Rights, and in 2017 was selected by the Rockwood Leadership Institute for the Reproductive Rights, Health, and Justice fellowship.

Jessica Goldberg, J.D., Senior Youth Access Counsel

Jessica Goldberg, J.D., is the Senior Youth Access Counsel at If/When/How, managing If/When/How’s Youth Access Strategic Initiative to eliminate barriers of parental involvement to abortion and judicial bypass. Jessica oversees the development of resources and dissemination of legal information related to parental involvement laws and the judicial bypass process across the country, including If/When/How’s Judicial Bypass Wiki. Jessica also works with state advocates and partner organizations to build capacity and advance the support of young people accessing abortion care in states with parental involvement laws, and engages in policy and advocacy related to youth abortion access.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Jessica was the Hague Domestic Violence Project Attorney at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, where she developed resources for battered parents, attorneys, and judges on the intersection of domestic violence and international child abduction. Before moving to California, Jessica was a Staff Attorney and the first Partner in Hope Fellow at Partners for Women and Justice in Montclair, New Jersey. In that role, she represented low-income women in final restraining order hearings, as well as custody, parenting time, and child support matters; trained and mentored both volunteer attorneys and law student interns; and worked closely with colleagues within the domestic violence community to improve the court system and service delivery provided to victims of domestic violence.

Kea Stewart, Legal Assistant

Kea Stewart is the Legal Assistant at If/When/How. She provides legal and administrative support to the Litigation/Policy/Development Teams. For over 25 years, Kea has been passionately committed to social and racial justice working for the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Her last role was Administrative Assistant for the Capital Habeas Unit where she supported attorneys, investigators, and paralegals who represent clients on death row across the nation. Kea previously worked as a Legal Assistant advocating for clients ordered to be released yet held in custody due to missing paperwork. Kea was also involved with a committee to end the shackling of incarcerated women during childbirth. Kea enjoys cooking, drawing, crochet, and various other expressions of creativity.

Laura Huss, MPhil, Senior Researcher

Lauren Paulk, J.D., Senior Research Counsel

Lauren Paulk, J.D., is Senior Research Counsel at If/When/How, where she focuses on in-depth legal research in support of If/When/How’s litigation and policy team and state and grassroots advocates. Prior to joining If/When/How, Lauren led state policy work related to reproductive health, rights and justice as Policy Counsel at the National Partnership for Women & Families; tracked and analyzed state bills on reproductive rights and health as a Senior State Legislative Fellow with the Center for Reproductive Rights; worked at the intersection of reproductive justice and LGBTQ liberation as an If/When/How Reproductive Justice Fellow at the National Center for Lesbian Rights; and supported young people in forming healthy relationships as a AmeriCorps Teen Advocate with Home Free.

Lauren has authored and co-authored legal scholarship on constitutional standards for reproductive rights, international human rights law as it relates to assisted reproductive technology, and state harms at the intersection of immigration and abortion for young people in Texas.

Megan Hill, Esq., Litigation Counsel

Megan is litigation counsel at If/When/How where she works with the litigation team representing people facing criminal investigation, arrest, prosecution, and any other related matters. Megan also works with the litigation team to develop training and implement current training programs for criminal defense attorneys.

Prior to working at If/When/How, Megan was a public defender in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana from 2017-2022. Megan attended American University Washington College of Law where she was in the immigration clinic and was a Third Year Practice Attorney at the Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office in Virginia. She was an editor for the Business Law Review, and her comment on death penalty advocacy was published in the University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy. Megan was also a member of the Moot Court Honor Society.

Nina Rani Dutta, J.D., Research Counsel

Nina Dutta, J.D., is Research Counsel at If/When/How, where she supports If/When/How’s litigation and policy efforts through research, technical assistance, and public education.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Nina was a litigator at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and a medical researcher in gynecology at Michigan Medicine. Nina holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School as well as a B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. She is licensed to practice in California and Michigan.

Myra Gissel Durán, Senior Policy Advocate

Myra Gissel Durán is the Senior Policy Advocate at If/When/How, where she supports our policy advocacy efforts, builds partnerships with state-based advocates, and facilitates opportunities of engagement for If/When/How and our constituencies. Myra is the former Senior Policy Manager for California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ), a statewide organization committed to honoring the experiences of Latinas to uphold their dignity, their bodies, sexuality, and families. In that position, she helped pass ten bills in the California legislature and strengthened CLRJ’s policy leadership program geared toward young Latinas/es to have them unapologetically take up space.

Myra has served on the Board of ACCESS Reproductive Justice, the Young Women’s Leadership Council for the Pro-Choice Public Education Project, and a 2022 fellow with Rockwood Leadership Institute’s Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice fellowship. She graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Women’s Studies and a minor in Labor Studies. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting vinyl, being a tía, and adorning herself with vibrant makeup and jewelry.

Rebecca Wang, Esq., Senior Research Counsel

Rebecca Wang is a Senior Research Counsel with If/When/How. She does research and writing as part of the Research Team and provides technical assistance to advocates around abortion access and legal risk. Rebecca was a 2017-2018 If/When/How Reproductive Justice Fellow. She graduated from the University of Iowa’s College of Law in 2017 and is licensed to practice in California.

Shantal McNeil, Esq., Litigation Counsel

Shantal McNeil, Esq. is litigation counsel at If/When/How, where she works closely with the litigation team to provide criminal defense to people facing investigation, arrest and/or prosecution. She also works with the senior litigation counsel to develop new and implement existing training programs for criminal defense attorneys.

Prior to If/When/How Shantal began her legal career as a public defender in Alaska. After 3 years she transitioned to New York and continued her journey as a public defender representing the residents of Manhattan. Shantal attended UCLA School of Law where she specialized in Critical Race Studies, was an editor of the National Black Law Journal, co-chair of the Black Law Students Association and a UCLA Law Fellows mentor.

Sara Ainsworth, J.D., Chief Legal & Policy Director

Sara Ainsworth, J.D. is Chief Legal & Policy Director at If/When/How, where she supports and oversees litigation and policy advocacy. Prior to joining If/When/How, Sara was Advocacy Director at Legal Voice, a women’s and LGBTQ rights organization in the Pacific Northwest. She began her career in poverty law, representing low-income survivors of domestic violence, and went on to work at both Legal Voice and National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Sara has also taught law school courses, including Reproductive Rights & Social Justice, at both the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University Law School.

She is a former board member of If/When/How, and was a co-founding board member of Surge Reproductive Justice, a non-profit that works for reproductive and racial justice in Washington State.

Yveka Pierre, Esq., Senior Litigation Counsel

Yveka Pierre, Esq. is the Senior Litigation Counsel at If/When/How, where she investigates, files and litigates cases in state and federal courts. She litigates criminal defense cases, both as counsel and through technical support of partners. Yveka also creates and supports partnerships with lawyers and legal organizations.

Yveka has been in justice driven work for over a decade, starting with her time as a Guardian ad Litem. She is a graduate of the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law where she participated in DC Law Students in Court, Criminal Defense Clinic, and UDC Law’s HIV/AIDS General Litigation Clinic. Before If/When/How, Yveka was a fully felony certified public defender in Manhattan.

The Technology Team makes sure our people have the best, digitally secure tools to do the work.

Cat Xia, IT Manager

Cat Xia is the IT Manager at If/When/How, supporting the technical initiatives and operations of the organization.

Prior to joining If/When/How, Cat learned from the best at Cross the Divide to provide IT Help Desk support to several nonprofit organizations across the globe. Cat enjoys creating art and comics in their spare time.

Melanie Anguay, MBA, Senior Technology & Digital Services Director

Melanie Anguay, MBA, is the Senior Technology & Digital Services Director at If/When/How, where she furthers the organization’s mission through the effective use of information technology by overseeing the infrastructure of technical operations. Prior to joining If/When/How, Melanie served in various executive roles at social justice nonprofits, most recently as Executive Director at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County. She was also a lay missioner in Bolivia and Dominican Republic. She enjoys white water rafting.

Sarah Anne New, Data Management Coordinator

Sarah Anne (she/her/hers) is the Data Management Coordinator at If/When/How, where she supports data health and processes for the Movement Building department. Prior to her role at If/When/How, Sarah Anne worked as a Consultant for SGNL Solutions and a Senior Program Assistant at The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for the Board on Global Health. She has also worked as an English Teaching Assistant on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and volunteered as a birth doula for people of South Georgia and Northern Florida. Her career has been focused on global health, reproductive rights, and public health emergency and preparedness science.

Sarah Anne graduated from American University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health. She currently lives in a camper van with her dog, Millie, and travels the states searching for prime fishing spots, fiery sunsets, and perfect powder days for snowboarding.

Shireen Smalley, MA & MPP, Senior Data Administrator

Shireen Smalley, MA & MPP is If/When/How’s Senior Data Administrator. She builds network infrastructure for legal professionals and supporters to engage with If/When/How’s programs, and develops organization-wide systems for member recruitment, retention, and mobilization.

Prior to working with If/When/How, Shireen served as the Organizational Development Manager for the National Network for Arab American Communities in Dearborn, Michigan, and as the Program Coordinator for the Palestine Foreign Mission in Washington, D.C. Her prior work involved forging networks for Middle Eastern diaspora communities in the United States and building communities’ capacity to advocate for immigrant rights and progressive foreign policies. In those roles, Shireen conducted site visits and facilitated regional and national conferences with constituents, created digital platforms for greater member engagement, and developed new, grant-funded programs to support emerging leaders. Shireen holds a Master of Public Policy and a Master of Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Middle Eastern Studies with a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Colby College.

Shireen is passionate about building a society in which all people are free from oppression, and she is committed to weaving networks for social change from immigrant rights to reproductive justice. At If/When/How, Shireen aims to build vibrant and rich platforms for legal professionals and advocates to advance reproductive justice on the local, regional, and national levels.