Staff

Abigail Selter (she/her) started at MHLAC as an Intake Assistant in 2006. MHLAC has seen significant growth in recent years and now as Deputy Director and working closely with both the management and administrative teams, Abby oversees fiscal administration, personnel management, technology and compliance for MHLAC. She strives to help lead and support MHLAC and its staff’s efforts to diminish the stigma attached to mental health. Abby works to ensure MHLAC is accessible to those in need of assistance, with the hope we can improve the lives of individuals, their families and communities. Attending Boston College, she received a B.A. in Sociology (1998) and continued her dedication to others after college serving with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps., working as a case manager at Save the Family in Mesa, AZ. Upon returning to the east coast, Abby worked at Saint Francis House, a downtown Boston service provider for unhoused adults for close to 10 years while also obtaining her J.D. from Suffolk Law (2006) during that time. Away from work, you will find Abby, an avid runner, running or hiking locally in nature, or as a passionate foodie, traveling near and far to try anything new and delicious.

Alex Bou-Rhodes is a staff attorney at MHLAC.  He works on a range of issues, including the mental health care of those incarcerated in Massachusetts and increasing the types of resources available to those in the community.  Prior to joining MHLAC, he was a public defender in New Hampshire and clerked at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Beth Heinrich came to MHLAC after 26 years working as an Office Manager in the non-profit sector for a local church, starting as the Office Manager and quickly moving into the Executive Assistant position. After graduating magna cum laude with a BS in Psychology from Nyack College in 1993 and working for several years in an administrative role in a corporate law office handling real estate, litigation, and marketing matters, she joined the church staff to bring her professional experience into the realm of serving those in her community who suffer under the weight of injustice. At MHLAC, she eagerly continues providing support to those doing the important work of taking a stand for the marginalized populations of Massachusetts. In her personal life, she loves anything to do with animals, plants, baking, and music.

Brynn McGlinchey is the AmeriCorps Legal Advocate for the Family Law Project. Brynn supports cases involving custody and parenting time and DCF disability accommodation/modification issues. She graduated from Brown University in 2023 with a degree in public health. Before joining MHLAC, Brynn completed a community health fellowship in rural Alabama. Brynn hopes to attend law school in the future to be an advocate for individuals with mental health disabilities.

M. Claire Masinton currently works as a Staff Attorney for the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. Her duties include working on high stakes, complex, “impact lawsuits" seeking to vindicate the civil and constitutional rights of incarcerated persons; advocating at the state legislature for common-sense criminal legal system reform; and working with municipalities and community organizations to develop alternative (to law enforcement) crisis response models. Attorney Masinton’s efforts to advance meaningful legislative change are particularly focused on parole system reform and reform of the Massachusetts state carceral system. Attorney Masinton also continues her work as a reformer and activist with various grassroots organizations seeking to reimagine our broken criminal punishment system, particularly around prisons/jails, parole/probation, and post-incarceration "collateral consequences". Prior to joining MHLAC, Attorney Masinton served for more than a dozen years as a Senior Assistant Attorney General at the Massachusetts AG’s Office, where she spearheaded civil law enforcement investigations and actions against financial services entities engaged in predatory business practices. Previous work includes several years as a litigation associate at prominent law firms in NYC and Boston. Attorney Masinton received her B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. She is passionate about civil rights, racial justice, prison and police abolition, and meaningful due process for all.

Claire Slack is the Office Manager at the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. She supports staff administratively in a variety of ways, while also processing intake requests relating to education, eviction, family law, and access to mental health treatment. Prior to working at MHLAC, Claire worked at Lawyers Clearinghouse, conducting intakes during in-person legal clinics, focusing on access to housing. Her interest in addressing homelessness, incarceration, and mental health concerns inspired her to study Political Science and Anthropology at Tufts University. Outside of work, she loves poetry, thrifting, and going on long walks.

Deborah Dorfman joined MHLAC in February of 2025 as its Director of Advocacy. Deborah has over 30 years of experience representing people with disabilities through individual and class action litigation, as well other individual and systemic reform advocacy, in the areas of disability and related law with a particular focus on legal issues pertaining to adults and children with intellectual and/or mental health disabilities.  These issues include disability discrimination, access to Medicaid and other public benefits, special education, juvenile justice, prison and jail conditions, abuse and neglect, fair housing, civil commitment, and forensic mental health, among other issues. Immediately prior to coming to MHLAC, Deborah was the executive director of Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) and a visiting professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law where she taught a disability law clinic that includes an in-class component as well as having the law students work on disability rights matters at DRCT.  Before working at DRCT, Deborah represented individuals with disabilities and other underserved communities throughout the United States including at the Northwest Justice Project in Washington state, the Center for Public Representation, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Legal Center, Disability Rights Washington, the Disability Law Center in Utah, and the Mental Health Advocacy Project. Deborah has also taught mental disability law as an adjunct professor at New York Law School in the Mental Disability Law Online Program and at St. John’s School of Law and taught trial advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah.  She has given numerous presentations, nationally and internationally, and published a number of articles and a book chapter on mental health disability justice issues. Deborah received her law degree from New York Law School in 1992.  She also has a M.A. in History for New York University and an A.B. in Social Science from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Gisela Valdez joined MHLAC in January of 2014 from the investment banking sector with experience in financial advising and investment services. She supports the management of the agency’s budget, accounting, internal controls, audit, and conference planning.  Outside of the financial realm, Gisela has experience in the mental health field as a former employee at Work Inc., a Massachusetts community agency that facilitates habilitation services to adults with mental disabilities. Gisela graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts-Boston with a B.A. in Sociology and B.S. in Business Management.  She holds financial securities license Series 6 and 63, and MA insurance producer license.

Ivy Moody is a staff attorney at the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC), the legal services program in Massachusetts that works to secure and protect the legal rights of persons involved in mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities programs. Before joining the staff at MHLAC, she was a Deputy Public Defender with the Colorado State Public Defender's office in Colorado Springs. Attorney Moody received her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and received a Master of Arts from American University School of International Service, with a concentration in International Affairs / International Peace and Conflict Resolution. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr College, where she studied Political Science and International Relations, with a focus on Peace, Justice and Human Rights.

Jennifer Honig returned to the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC) in 2025 as the Director of Law and Policy. For the three previous years, she was Co-Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH) where she worked to ensure the full inclusion of people with mental health issues in all aspects of community life. She is interested in the rights of people in carceral and institutional settings, promoting housing development, and eliminating coercion in mental health services. Many years ago, she worked at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, representing individuals with substance use conditions.  She attended Georgetown University Law Center and Harvard College.

Julia Villarruel joined MHLAC as a Paralegal in September 2019. She works on projects relating to language access, parole, school discipline, employment discrimination and special education. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley, where she also happened to develop a militant advocacy that centers around the interests of the most vulnerable and often forgotten populations in society. Prior to working at MHLAC, Julia worked in consumer law and debt relief at the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) and as a research assistant at the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) in Washington D.C. She is bilingual and always longing for good Latin American food and music.

Julian Washington joined MHLAC in September of 2023 as a Staff Attorney working to resist school policing efforts in Massachusetts and to ensure students with disabilities receive proper educational and emotional support from their educators. Julian received his J.D. from Boston College Law School with Pro Bono Honors from the MA Supreme Judicial Court and is a Public Interest Designation Program Fellow, in large part because of his work with Boston College Law’s Civil Rights Clinic. Before law school, he received his Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He has a wide array of professional experience centering those who have been historically and intentionally marginalized, including representing indigent clients facing housing insecurity in San Antonio, representing criminal defendants in the Bronx, advocating for humane conditions for prisoners in solitary confinement, and facilitating restorative justice circles for high schoolers in Boston public schools. As a proud Texas native, Julian is always in search of unadulterated sunlight, easy listening, and a hearty breakfast taco.

Kate Nemens graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations and earned her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. She is Senior Attorney and Legislative Advocacy Director at the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC), where she leads the office’s legislative efforts and supervises the Family Law Project, co-funded by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Massachusetts Bar Foundation.  For the past twenty years, Attorney Nemens has represented and now supervises staff assisting parents with psychiatric and mental health disabilities in maintaining relationships with their children. She also leads systemic projects focused on protecting the rights of parents with mental health disabilities when the Department of Children and Families intervenes. Previously, she worked as a staff attorney in the family law unit of the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (now Community Legal Aid), representing survivors of domestic violence.  Attorney Nemens was a 2005–2006 Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leader and the 2008 recipient of the Women’s Bar Foundation’s Family Law Project for Battered Women Volunteer Attorney Award. She has served on an advisory committee at Boston Medical Center and as a consultant on a research project at Brandeis University's Heller School, and currently helps lead the Massachusetts Child Welfare Coalition, is a member of the Family Law sub-committee to the Access to Justice Commission, and serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. A frequent presenter and trainer, she has participated in nearly 50 local, national, and international panels on topics including the rights of parents with disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and representing parents with psychiatric disabilities in custody cases.

Laís Teixeira  joined MHLAC in September 2019 as Office Manager and played an integral role in supporting our organization through multiple transitions during COVID. Now, as the Intake Coordinator, Laís manages the provision of information and advice to prospective clients. In recent years, she has helped develop and modernize how MHLAC provides assistance by speaking with, listening to, and guiding individuals who are currently in a hospital emergency department, inpatient unit, or group home. MHLAC now also offers online forms for specific legal issues, and Laís works closely with staff teams to develop how to best communicate and coordinate assisting individuals and families experiencing issues that fall within MHLAC’s focus areas.  Laís, a techie, also serves as the point person for MHLAC's client record management system. Before her employment with MHLAC, Laís provided similar administrative support at the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) as their Bilingual Admin. Her interest in mental health and law comes from personal and lived experience. She is currently studying to get a B.A. in Sociology and hopes to attend law school in the future. In her personal life, Laís enjoys music, art, and yoga. She is also a proud dog parent.

Lauren Roy has been employed at the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee since 2003.  She began as supervisor of the intake department and was promoted into a staff attorney position in 2012. Her emphasis is on school issues (exclusion and language services to students with mental health concerns), treatment rights in facilities (including access to the outdoors), and outpatient services.  Lauren works closely with Human Rights Officers and DMH to monitor compliance with mental health regulations. She also supervises MHLAC’s intern program, where we welcome approximately 25 interns each year.  Lauren graduated from Curry College in 1998, received a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling and Criminal Justice Policy from Suffolk University in 2000, and a J.D. from New England School of Law in 2003.

Liyanni Vazquez joins us for a second year as an AmeriCorps Legal Advocate. In her role, Liyanni provides support to several projects across the office, assisting with legal research and writing, facilitating client outreach and correspondence, and conducting data analysis. She also organizes MHLAC’s Western Massachusetts Coalition. Liyanni holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights from Harvard University. At Harvard, she had the privilege of working with several community-based organizations and advocacy networks in Boston and learning from their efforts to create change. Liyanni now deepens her passion for advocacy and public service at MHLAC while also developing her skills in the legal profession.

Maddy Clemente (she/her) joined MHLAC in 2022 as MHLAC's Technology and Advocacy Support Coordinator (TASC). Her responsibilities, as a member of the admin and operations team, include managing the set-up and maintenance of technology equipment and software platforms while providing ongoing training and support to all staff and MHLAC volunteers throughout our hybrid work model. She also assists in coordinating logistics and communications for workshops, trainings, and other MHLAC hosted events. Maddy is a member of the communications team that develops both internal and external MHLAC communications content and maintains the MHLAC website and MHLAC's social media presence. Maddy has worked in a variety of fields, but her interests revolve around public health, science communication, and English language and literacy. She graduated from Boston University in 2021.

Masha Zilberman joined the Family Law Project as a Staff Attorney in December 2021. In this role, Masha provides advice, assistance, and representation to parents in their custody and parenting time cases. Prior to joining the Project, Masha worked as a Senior Staff Attorney in the Integrated Defense Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services, representing parents in both criminal and family court proceedings. Masha graduated from the University of Michigan in 2012 with a B.A. in Public Policy, and from Boston University School of Law in 2017. She interned with MHLAC during law school.

Matthew Cregor serves as a Senior Attorney for Education Advocacy and works on a variety of mental health-related education matters including special education, school discipline, and school policing. A former public-school teacher, Matt practiced education law with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in Boston before joining MHLAC in 2018. He has also taught education law and policy at Northeastern University School of Law. Matt was the 2018 recipient of the Boston Bar Association’s John G. Brooks Legal Services Award and was Citizens for Juvenile Justice’s 2021 Thomas E. Coury Youth Justice Honoree. Matt has served on education- and civil rights-related advisory boards and task forces for the Dignity in Schools Campaign, Council of State Governments, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, and Boston Public Schools. He is proudest of the work he has done in coalition with base-building community organizations, including working with the Dignity in Schools Campaign and the broader civil rights community to secure the issuance of federal guidance on school discipline in 2013. Matt is a 2006 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and a 1999 graduate of Indiana University.

Omar H. Kazmi joined MHLAC in 2021 after returning home to Massachusetts. He received his B.S. in History, with a minor in International Affairs, from Northeastern University and his J.D. from New York Law School. Omar’s practice focuses on impact litigation and advocacy to protect the rights of marginalized and vulnerable populations who have, or are perceived to have, mental health challenges. His work includes class action litigation challenging inadequate mental health care and the use of solitary confinement in prisons, enforcing special education rights for incarcerated youth, and safeguarding the privacy of individuals with disabilities and traumatic histories. Prior to MHLAC, Omar represented individuals who became sick and families who lost loved ones in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, helping them navigate the federal Victim Compensation Fund. His work involved guiding clients through complex claims processes and providing compassionate legal advocacy during an extraordinarily difficult time, thereby securing tens of millions of dollars in compensation for individuals and surviving family members. He also represented plaintiffs in personal injury and medical malpractice claims in all New York City courts.

Phillip Kassel is a longtime poverty law advocate. Before coming to MHLAC in January, 2012, Phil worked for more than 30 years on behalf of the most vulnerable segments of the poor person populations of the states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington, serving in a host of capacities and specialties. He has litigated, lobbied, and negotiated key reforms for a wide variety of clients, including persons with mental health concerns, e.g. Haverty v. Commissioner of Corrections, 437 Mass. 737 (2002), which established a right to due process under the Massachusetts constitution prior to the imposition on prisoners of indefinite solitary confinement. Phil is also an accomplished singer with numerous cabaret shows and recordings to his credit.