Summer Staff Newsletter Volume Eighteen - Justice Begins Here (Because of You!)

Volume 18 | August 21, 2020

LAASD In The Media

Mr. Knoll in San Diego Lawyer Magazine!

Our CEO Greg Knoll’s article discusses the Black Lives Matter movement, health inequities seen through the COVID-19 lens, and how our work at LASSD aims to level the playing filed for our clients who navigate discriminatory systems. View the full and current edition of San Diego Lawyer Magazine (his article is on p. 47), by clicking here.

KPBS Podcast on Evictions in California

Check out this KPBS Podcast on the topic of evictions in the state of California. Click here to listen to Mr. Knoll's interview, or read the transcript.

LASSD in the Community

Introducing Legal Aid Society of San Diego’s new Education Rights Clinic! The Education Rights Clinic’s first Information Session will be held next Thursday August 27^th at 2pm. This session will be hosted virtually through Zoom. These information sessions will continue on a monthly basis to provide information for parents of students with disabilities on their legal rights, as well as cover a variety of self-advocacy tools in the context of special education. Please contact educlinic@lassd.org to sign up. Tell your friends and family about this free webinar! #justicebeginshere

Meet Your Coworkers!

Learn more about your coworkers through facts about their hobbies, education, and past work.

Meet the amazing human beings who make up our LASSD family!

Amalea Romero (Fair Housing)

Start date: 12/13/2017

Amalea, who sometimes goes by Mya, is from Woodland, California. She grew up playing nearly every team sport possible (go Giants!). As far back as she can recollect, she’s been passionate about civil rights history, which is why working for our Fair Housing team at LASSD is her career dream. She graduated from UCSD with a political science major and a Spanish Literature minor. She played for the UCSD softball team for four years and won the NCAA DII National Championship in 2011. Amalea attended USD for law school, graduated in 2017 and began at LASSD as a post-bar volunteer for the Housing team. Upon passing the bar, she happily joined the official LASSD family as staff attorney for the Housing team and is currently a staff attorney for Fair Housing (but she also enjoys her claim of being an honorary member of our Consumer team.)

Fun Fact:

Amalea will stop and pet every dog or cat she passes, if allowed. She attended an all-girls Catholic high school on which the movie Lady Bird is based. Since Covid shutdowns, she's been on the hunt for cheap and delicious Thai yellow curry delivery – please reach out to ask for or provide recommendations!

Elizabeth Canales-Nunez (SSI)

Start date: 2/14/2018

Elizabeth grew up in the small town of Ceres in Northern California. At 18, her family moved to Texas and Elizabeth joined the military, moving to Japan for her first duty station. While living in Japan, she traveled to Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. She continues to visit her family in Texas once a year. Since completing her military service in 2015, Elizabeth has served as a reservist. Elizabeth received her associate’s degree in Administration of Justice from Southwestern College. Her experience at Legal Aid has made her realize that she enjoys working in a law firm atmosphere, which made her want to apply to UCSD. Elizabeth is happy to report that she was just accepted to UCSD for their Paralegal Part-time Program! Congrats, Elizabeth!

Fun fact:

All of her family lives in Texas and our family hobby is riding horses.

James Zhang (SSI)

Start date: 5/29/2018

James Zhang grew up in Singapore, and went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he majored in Legal Studies. While attending law school at USD, James externed at the US District Court. He’s been a staff attorney on the SSI team for over two years now, he states “I’m so glad to work with people who are dedicated to the cause of fighting for those unable to fight for themselves.”

Fun fact:

My karaoke go-to song is Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way."

Danielle Tailleart (Fair Housing)

Start date: 3/14/2016

Danielle was born in New Hampshire and lived briefly in Pennsylvania before moving to California. She moved to San Diego to attend Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she participated in Moot Court and Law Review. In law school, Danielle volunteered for LASSD’s clinics where Christine (Pro Bono) and Lorena (Development) were her supervisors! After taking the bar exam, Danielle volunteered for the fair housing team and was hired on as a staff attorney.

Fun fact:

In her free time, Danielle enjoys baking and can’t wait to be able to bring in treats to the office again. (Euclid misses your baked goods, Danielle!)

Cesar Yuriar (Shriver)

Start Date: 2/20/2018

Cesar Yuriar was born in Santa Ana, CA, but has spent the majority of his life here in San Diego while alternating back to Orange County for school and work, until settling here for law school in 2013. He’s spent almost 20 years cumulatively living in San Diego! Cesar is a member of the Shriver Housing unit of LASSD and has worked in the position of Data Entry/Office Support Staff and Courier since February of 2018. Cesar is a proud graduate of UC Irvine, having received dual bachelor’s degrees in English and Political Science, as well as his J.D. from USD's School of Law. As a prospective attorney with a background in employment law, he has worked for the U.S. Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission along with various private firms around Southern California.

Fun fact:

Cesar has actively performed spoken word poetry for 10 years and his work has been featured in various publications and media such as TEDx. (#undercovercelebrity)

Activities Around San Diego!

Looking for something to do over the weekend in San Diego? Consider a visit to a local farmers market around San Diego county. Locations and Times are linked below for Saturday and Sunday: