Pro Bono Partnership

 

 

 

 

 

Staff

   

Richard S. Hobish is Executive Director of the Pro Bono Partnership.  A graduate of of Oberlin College and N.Y.U. Law School, Rick has several years experience in private practice and approximately twenty years experience in public interest practice, including extensive experience representing children who were the subjects of neglect and abuse hearings, and serving as Deputy Director of Lawyers Alliance for New York.  In addition to having served as a faculty member at the New York University Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, Rick lectures on corporate, tax and employment legal issues for nonprofit executives and runs training sessions for practicing attorneys.  Rick has also served as participating author and co-editor on four publications: "Advising Nonprofits," "Getting Organized," "Employment and Personnel: a Legal Handbook" and "Good Works in Hard Times: Reorganization, Dissolution and Bankruptcy."

In addition, Rick serves or has served on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, including Westchester Residential Opportunities, Community Capital Resources, Child Care Council of Westchester, The Bridge Fund of New York, and Camp Starfish, a camp he co-founded for children with severe emotional, learning and behavioral problems.  He is also a member of Westchester Children's Association's Advisory Board.

 

 Maurice K. Segall, Director, New York & Fairfield County Programs,    and frequently lectures on legal issues for nonprofits. He is an honors graduate of both the University of Delaware and Albany Law School of Union University. Maurice served for many years as the chairperson of the Pro Bono Committee of the Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association.  He has served on the boards of several Connecticut Nonprofit agencies including Family and Children’s Agency (FCA), the Connecticut Consortium for Law and Citizenship Education, Connecticut Legal Services and Curtain Call, and currently serves on the Risk Management Committee of FCA and the Wilton Library.  He is the founder and coordinator of the Stamford/Norwalk High School Mock Trial Competition. In 1996 Maurice was awarded the Liberty Bell Award from the Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar for outstanding community service, the first practicing attorney ever to receive this honor.
 

Nancy Eberhardt, Director, New Jersey Program, is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and Rutgers School of Law - Newark. Prior to joining the Partnership in 2003, Eberhardt worked in private practice with a focus on real estate transactions and environmental issues.  She is a member of the Pro Bono Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, a trustee of the Morris County United Way, and a trustee of Children on the Green, which provides child care to families, including low-income and homeless families, in Morris County.

 

Priya S. Morganstern, Director, Hartford Program.  Prior to joining the Partnership, Priya spent several years as Director of the Nonprofit Pro Bono Initiative, a community pro bono service program providing direct legal services to  nonprofits.  Prior to directing NPBI, Priya was Counsel at Day, Berry & Howard LLP (now Day Pitney) in its Hartford office, where she was a member of the Firm's Health Law and Tax-Exempt Organizations practice groups and an active member of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee.  Priya received her Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York and her law degree from Boston University School of Law, where she was a G. Joseph Tauro Scholar and a Paul J. Liacos Scholar.  Priya is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee, and serves on the Board of the Connecticut Appleseed Center and the national Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery.  She is also a member of the Social Action Committee of her synagogue.

 

Sarah D. Persily, Senior Staff Attorney, is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the University of Michigan, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  Prior to joining the Partnership in 2006, Sarah worked at Proskauer Rose LLP and then at IBM.  At Proskauer and IBM, Sarah’s practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and other corporate transactions.  She also has experience with corporate governance and a wide range of commercial agreements.  Sarah has worked in the non-profit sector as well, including in development at The New York Public Library and as an intern at the Child Care Resource Center in Cambridge, MA and at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  Sarah has been involved as a volunteer with various social service organizations in Westchester.

  

Christine Michelle Duffy, Senior Staff Attorney, received her Bachelor of Science, MBA, and law degrees from Seton Hall University.  Prior to joining the Partnership in 2007, Christine initially was in a private law practice for 12 years, where she focused on labor and employment law.  Then, for 12 years, she was the chief compliance officer and chief labor and employment counsel for an international environmental services company.  Christine has written and lectured extensively on a variety of matters, including labor and employment law, administrative and civil practice, ethics and compliance, and professional responsibility.  Christine serves or has served on the board and committees of several organizations, including the Board of Visitors of Fenway Community Health, the Board of Directors of the New Jersey chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (NJCCA), the Advisory Board of Seton Hall Preparatory School, the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Law Journal, and the Supreme Court of New Jersey Committee on Civil Practice.

   

Lisa Rosenbloom, Director of Development, is a graduate of Smith College and Stanford University.  She has twenty years' experience as a not-for-profit fundraiser, including as Co-Director of the Alumnae Fund for Mount Holyoke College, Associate Vice President and Director of Development for Marymount College/Tarrytown, and Director of Development for the Lienhard School of Nursing and School of Education at Pace University.  She is on the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee of the Ossining Children's Center, which has provided nurturing, cognitively stimulating day care for children of low and moderate income working families since 1895.  She has served on the Smith College Alumnae Fund Committee and as a Class Fund Agent.  Ms. Rosenbloom is a member of the Westchester Associate of Development Officers and the Alliance for Nonprofit Governance.
  Jessica Markowitz is Director of Finance and Administration. She has been with the Partnership since its inception. She is a graduate of Baruch College and Purchase College, where she was active in student government, worked at the campus women's health clinic and was an intern at the college's peer counseling hotline.
 

      

Valerie Sanders is the Administrative Assistant for the White Plains office. She is a graduate of Pace University with a degree in Office Information Systems Technology. Valerie has a diverse professional background that include positions at corporate, educational and government entities.

     

Marlene Taylor is the Administrative Assistant for the New Jersey office. She worked previously in the publishing industry for daily, weekly and trade publications. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York for Fashion Design. 

 

Ronnyka Ricks is the Administrative Assistant for the Hartford, CT office.  She worked for a major Telecommunications company over 9 years.  She then attended the University of Connecticut where she earned her Paralegal Certification in Civil Litigation.  She also earned her Family Law Certification through the Connecticut Bar Association.  She is no stranger to the pro bono world.  She was named on the 2007 Pro Bono Honor Roll for her weekly volunteer work at the Family Law Clinics and the annual Utility Day through Connecticut Legal Services.  She brings with her two years of Paralegal work experience after working in the claims department of a major insurance carrier.  She is currently a member of the Central Connecticut Paralegal Association and an active volunteer of the Connecticut Bar Association. 

Office Volunteers

    

Len Andrew has worked as a volunteer with the Partnership since its inception.  Len has more than 30 years of experience at IBM, retiring in 1999 as Associate General Counsel. Len has worked with many of the Partnership's clients. He is also the editor of the "Employment Law Manual for Non-Profit Organizations" published on the Partnership's website, and is currently editing another publication for the Partnership on laws affecting child care centers.

Len serves on the boards of various nonprofit organizations, and he is a member of the Commercial and E-Commerce panels of the American Arbitration Association. In 2001, Len was named "Pro Bono Counsel of the Year" by the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association.

    

Cynthia Steinmetz has over 10 years of experience in Employment Law. Formerly with the law firm of Dewey Ballantine in New York City and Toys “R” Us in Wayne, New Jersey, Cyndi is currently working as an in-house employment law volunteer for the Partnership. Cyndi was awarded the Cornerstone Award from Lawyer’s Alliance of New York in 2001 and a Legal Aid Society award in 1998, both for outstanding service to the NYC nonprofit community. She is a graduate of the City University of New York law school.