Everyone Deserves Access to a Fresh Start

Nicole Ruiz is the Customer Success Advocate and Paralegal at Upsolve. Before Upsolve, she worked as a Legal Assistant at a number of New York City law firms. Nicole also served as a Program Assistant Intern for STRIVE International Re-entry program. Nicole holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Government from Hunter College and was selected as a Jewish Federal for the Education of Women Scholar from 2014 - 2016.

Rohan Pavuluri is the CEO and Co-founder of Upsolve, the largest bankruptcy nonprofit in America. He graduated from Harvard College in 2018. He is also a member of the Legal Services Corporation’s Emerging Leaders Council, a Board Director at the National Access to Justice Center housed at Fordham Law School, and a committee member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' Making Justice Accessible project. He has been recognized as Forbes 30 under 30 in the Law & Policy Category and a TED Fellow. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fast Company, and several other publications for his work in bankruptcy and Access to Justice. He has also delivered talks at the 45th Anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation, Harvard University, and Stanford University. In 2019, Pavuluri and Upsolve were awarded the Robin Hood Foundation Heroes Award for "extraordinary contributions in the fight against poverty."

Mark Hansen is the Chief Technology Officer at Upsolve. Before Upsolve, Mark co-founded government tech startup Hey Mayor and programmed for Y-Combinator backed startups. As a programmer, he worked with NYC community organizers to map discriminatory landlords and connect Bay Area service providers to unhoused residents. Prior to programming Mark consulted on special projects within AARP, CBS, Morocco’s OCP, KPMG, and Microsoft and mentored award winning Gaza start-ups as a 2D, 3D, and architectural designer. He graduated with an art degree from Rutgers University, and has since obtained a certificate of fundamentals from Harvard Business School and a certificate of competency concerning government technology procurement from New York University. Before all this, you could have found him with a blow torch and scrap metal making jewelry.

Tina Tran is the managing bankruptcy attorney for Upsolve, the largest consumer bankruptcy non-profit in the United States. She received her Juris Doctorate degree and Certificate in Advocacy from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Before joining the leadership team at Upsolve, Tina ran her own consumer bankruptcy practice, which she started at the age of 28, defending debtors trying to get back on their feet against aggressive and predatorial lenders and debt collectors. She believes in keeping the law simple and making it accessible for everyday people facing creditor lawsuits, wage garnishments, bank account freezers, foreclosures, and repossessions.

Andrea practiced exclusively as a bankruptcy attorney in consumer Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases for more than 10 years before joining Upsolve, first as a contributing writer and editor and ultimately joining the team full time in August 2019. While in private practice, Andrea handled all bankruptcy matters from inception to case closure while also acting as managing attorney for her firm, Marco | Wimmer PLLC. Andrea has been a speaker at, among other events, ABI’s Southwest Bankruptcy Conference, Norton’s Bankruptcy Institute and the Arizona State Bar Convention. In 2017, she was selected as one of ABI's 40 under 40 honorees. She is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judge’s NextGen Class of 2016, and she received the 2014 Member of the Year Award and a Special Appreciation Award from a local consumer attorney group, as well as a Distinguished Service Award from ABAIC. She has published in NACBA’s Consumer Bankruptcy Journal and the State Bar of Arizona Bankruptcy Section Journal, and currently serves as treasurer of the Arizona Consumer Bankruptcy Counsel. She has also been a volunteer attorney with the Arizona Bankruptcy Court’s Self-Help Center, which provides assistance to pro se debtors.

Since graduating from Nova Southeastern School of Law in 1999, Alexander Hernandez has focused a majority of his law practice on bankruptcy law. He was a founding partner of the South Florida Bankruptcy Center which focused exclusively on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Alexander is also admitted to the Southern and Middle District of Florida where he has handled thousands of consumer bankruptcies, mortgage modifications, debt negotiations, and foreclosure defense cases. He is a legal contributor for Upsolve since October 2019 and an adjunct professor of law for Concord Law School. You can find more information at attorneyalexhernandez.com.

Alicia Grayson is a former financial officer for a local SME company. She is well-versed especially with contributing to financial audits, overseeing the company's budget, and monitoring the company's cash flow. Her love for finance also extends into her penchant for financial literacy: she manages her family's finances, and makes sure that they are not living paycheck-to-paycheck. On a personal level, she is a proud mother of two and three fur-babies. She loves nature and enjoys spending her time outdoors. You’ll usually find her doing yoga in the weirdest of places — beside a river, in the middle of the forest, and on the roof deck of the abandoned ranger station near her house.

Amelia Niemi is an attorney licensed in Illinois. She received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. At DePaul, she was a staff writer for the DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law. Her legal practice includes multi-million-dollar international breach of contract cases, negotiating and drafting international licensing and manufacturing agreements, appellate litigation, and international intellectual property matters.

Amy Carst is a writer, human rights activist, and speaker. She has written for US News & World Reports, Vice, and various Vermont news publications. She writes for multiple law firms and human rights organizations and studied law until she realized she’d rather write for attorneys than be one. Prior to her career in legal writing, Amy spent several years in insurance and finance. She lives in Vermont with three children and a pit bull called Chompsky.

Cody J. Harding is a Brooklyn-based attorney who supports startups and local businesses. His law firm serves growing companies, specializing in commercial transactions, intellectual property, and business consulting. Before starting his private practice, Cody served as a Deputy Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he represented Pennsylvania's state agencies. Additionally, Cody has worked as an associate with an international law firm's New York City office. Cody graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was a staff editor of the Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law & Policy.

Curtis Lee is a writer and co-owner at Marvel Hill Freelance. Curtis earned his Bachelor of Science in Business from Wake Forest University and his Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law. After graduating law school, Curtis had the honor of clerking for a state court Judge in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Following the clerkship, Curtis spent several years in private practice engaged in civil litigation handling first party property insurance matters. Most of Curtis’ writing covers a wide range of legal topics, including bankruptcy, criminal law, family law, immigration law, insurance, employment, defamation, and personal injury. He also has experience writing about other subjects, including education, finance, disaster preparedness, and the U.S. armed forces.

Eric D. Hansen is an experienced Minnesota attorney within a number of varying and nuanced practice areas. He has operated his own solo practice as well as worked at small suburban boutique firms and large diversified downtown law firms. Eric has a wealth of experience in business formation, transactional law, employment law, estate planning, criminal defense law, family law, and litigation, amongst others. He also worked in Northern Minnesota at a nonprofit that provided civil legal services to a diverse population of low-income and indigent clients. In 2021, Eric joined the faculty of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law as an adjunct professor. Eric is a 2014 William Mitchell College of Law graduate. He graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota with honors as a McGuire Scholar where he majored in political science. Eric lives in Saint Paul with his wife Elisabeth and their daughter Ada. He enjoys playing music, motorcycles, and disc golf.

Eva G. Bacevice graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2001. She practiced law for close to a decade in the area of consumer bankruptcy. She now works in higher education as an Academic Advisor for undergraduate students at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and has recently joined Upsolve as a content writer.

Jacquelyne Mosley-Pastrana is an Associate Attorney with Shegerian & Associates’ San Diego office. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Before working as an attorney, Jacquelyne was a law clerk at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, where she defended State of Illinois employees, agencies, and officials.

Jamie L. Ruiz, J.D., M.B.A. is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and the State of New Jersey. Ms. Ruiz is also admitted to the federal bar in both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. Ms. Ruiz currently operates a solo law practice concentrating on traffic matters, real estate, bankruptcy and debt settlement. She is a licensed real estate broker and a notary public. Additionally, Ms. Ruiz has worked as an Excelsior Service Fellow for New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Office of Lieutenant Governor Kathy C. Hochul and the Authorities Budget Office in Albany.

Jenni Klock Morel is a writer, nonprofit leader, and Social Justice Law Scholar. For years she practiced consumer bankruptcy law exclusively as a debtor's attorney, helping individuals and families file for Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy protection. Jenni left the practice of law to wield the power of the pen and pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. She has a background in grant writing, development, and years of experience in legal writing for law firms around the nation. Jenni is a research consultant for global NGOs, a contributing writer for Upsolve, and a cat mom.

John Coble has practiced as both a CPA and an Attorney. John's legal specialties were tax law and bankruptcy law. Before starting his own firm, John worked for law offices, accounting firms, and one of America's largest banks. John handled almost 1,500 bankruptcy cases in the eight years that he ran his own law office. John has spent the last few years developing software and working on select data science projects. John holds a second law degree (LLM in Taxation) from the University of Alabama School of Law and a Data Science Certificate from Microsoft. John has worked on other graduate-level education in the fields of business and economics.

Ms. Kingston began her career as a bankruptcy attorney. She has appeared in front of many federal court judges and has helped numerous debtors obtain a fresh start. Ms. Kingston understands the complex federal rules for discharging debt. While working as a bankruptcy attorney, Ms. Kingston’s dedication has resulted in settlements of large debts for clients at 20-30 percent of what they owed. She has also dedicated a great deal of her time helping clients facing foreclosure keep their homes through the process known as Loss Mitigation. Ms. Kingston has won loan modifications for her clients inside and outside of the bankruptcy courts. She has answered bankruptcy and debt relief questions for local and national publications including Fox Business, the Star-Ledger, NJ.com, and NJMoneyHelp.com.

Kassandra is a writer and attorney with a passion for consumer financial education. Outside of consumer law, she is focused on pro bono work in the fields of International Human Rights Law, Constitutional and Human Rights Law, Gender and the Law. Kassandra graduated from University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She has researched criminal jury decision rules in various democratic countries.

Kimberly Berson is an attorney with over twenty-five years of legal experience and a specialty in bankruptcy law and bankruptcy litigation. Additionally, Kim is an instructor in the paralegal certificate program at Hofstra Law School where she teaches Bankruptcy Law, Contracts Law and Legal Research and Writing. She has also served as an adjunct professor of legal studies at Frank G. Zarb Business School at Hofstra University. While in law school, Kim began her career in the bankruptcy field interning for a bankruptcy judge. After she graduated law school, Kim’s first position was working for a panel Chapter 7 trustee. Kim c3ontinued to focus her practice in bankruptcy law and has represented interests in all aspects of bankruptcy and insolvency-related cases and litigation. She has represented small business Chapter 11 debtors, consumer Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debtors, Chapter 7 panel trustees as well as secured and unsecured creditors. Kim also has significant litigation experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in bankruptcy-related matters. Kim earned a Juris Doctor at Touro Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Binghamton University.

Natalie Jean-Baptiste is a New York bankruptcy attorney focused primarily on providing debt relief to student loan borrowers. To date, she has helped her clients wipe out nearly $1 million of student loan debt through the bankruptcy process and other administrative tools. Prior to launching her own practice, Natalie worked for many years in the music industry where she handled various contracts for superstar acts like Alicia Keys & Janet Jackson. She is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the American Bankruptcy Institute.  Natalie earned her undergraduate degree from Fordham University, where she majored in Communication and Media Studies and minored in Business Administration, and her J.D. from New York Law School.   When she’s not assisting student loan borrowers, Natalie enjoys planning parties, going to the beach, Thai food, 80s music and spending time with friends and family.

Natasha started her career as a lawyer representing labor unions and other investors in multi-state class action lawsuits. Passionate about the civil rights elements of her cases, she moved into practicing employment law to represent employees against discrimination of various kinds in the workplace. She has successfully litigated cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other state anti-discrimination laws in the state of Wisconsin. Her experience as a litigator inspired her to begin writing about anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Through her writing, she hopes to provide helpful information to both employees and human resource professionals who would like to make their workplace more inclusive. While practicing, Natasha also saw firsthand how losing a job impacted her clients' financial stability. As a contributor at Upsolve, Natasha writes articles to help her readers overcome financial problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Paige Hooper is a seasoned consumer bankruptcy attorney with 15 years of experience successfully representing debtors in Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 cases. Paige began practicing bankruptcy law in 2006 and started her own solo, multi-state bankruptcy practice in 2012. Given her expertise in bankruptcy, Paige was selected in 2011 to create a comprehensive library of practice forms, procedural guides, intake packets, and detailed manuals used to train attorneys and paralegals in bankruptcy law. Paige is committed to using her education and experience to help others and to make a positive difference in the world. She has a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi. She is actively licensed to practice law in Mississippi and Tennessee. When she’s not practicing law, Paige enjoys writing, cooking, painting, and spending time with her son, Mickey.

Sarah Roberts is a lawyer and writer who covers legal topics and political news. She is a former litigator who represented defendants in criminal and civil matters. Sarah also worked as an estate-planning attorney, where she drafted wills and trusts. She enjoys using her legal education to volunteer and worked on several projects with the Pro Bono Network and the Chicago Legal Clinic. Some of her pro bono work includes coordinating with several environmental justice non-profits to clean up pollution in Chicago neighborhoods and protect open spaces in the city. As a law student, Sarah earned five CALI awards and received a Baum Fellowship for work at the Chicago Environmental Law Clinic. Before graduating with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Sarah earned a master’s degree in archaeology and taught English to students in South Korea.

Serena Siew is an attorney with a specialty in immigration defense and legal writing for the general public. She is a member of the State Bar of California and admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Central District Court of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She obtained her J.D. from Southwestern University having clerked for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and a federal appellate judge in Buenos Aires. She has practiced immigration defense before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her fights for inadmissibility waivers and humanitarian parole have been publicized as have her articles on immigration and water law. Born and raised in California, Serena graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California. She received a CALI Excellence Award for legal writing on White Collar Crime and has written for The Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Daily Appellate Report. Additionally, Serena comes with years of experience writing content for over 100 national law firms. When not working, Serena enjoys trying to stay on horses using her ever-diminishing riding skills.

Thomas “TJ” Pearson is a Staff Attorney at the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC). He represents tenants in eviction cases and related landlord-tenant disputes. TJ is from Belleville, Illinois and currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his law degree from Washington University School of Law and his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Grinnell College in Iowa. TJ started his time at EHOC as an intern through the law school’s Civil Rights, Community Justice and Mediation Clinic, then continued at EHOC as an Eviction Prevention Legal Fellow for five months before becoming a Staff Attorney in January 2021. In law school, he was a Staff Editor for the Journal of Law and Policy. He also interned for a Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the Illinois Attorney General, and a local law firm.