Legal Voice - Staff

Staff

Sara L. Ainsworth: Counsel Emerita
Janet Chung: Legal & Legislative Counsel
Lillian M. Hewko: Equal Justice Works Fellow
B. Michelle Johnson: Director of Development
Jennifer S. Knutson: Development Officer
Kelli Maguire: Director of Administration & Events
Chloë Phalan: Program Assistant
Lisa M. Stone: Executive Director
David Ward: Legal & Legislative Counsel

Sara Ainsworth

Sara Ainsworth is Counsel Emerita with Legal Voice. Sara spent ten years as a staff attorney with Legal Voice, and currently teaches and writes about women’s legal rights at the University of Washington School of Law. Her entire career has focused on social justice, from founding the Public Interest Law Association at UW Law School to practicing poverty law for Northwest Justice Project and Snohomish County Legal Services. At Legal Voice, Sara worked to advance women's rights to be safe wherever they are, and to have healthcare and reproductive freedom. Sara continues her affiliation with Legal Voice as a cooperating attorney and as a teacher and mentor to the next generation of women’s rights lawyers.

Janet Chung

Janet has always loved writing and language, as well as learning about current events. As a first-generation Korean-American, she got her first taste for American politics—and girl power—at Girls State in Texas. Her initial introduction to feminist theory came through literature courses at Yale, and by the time she left college, she had found her true passion: women's rights.

After a stint teaching in a civic education program in Washington, D.C. and volunteering at various women's advocacy organizations, Janet decided a legal career would allow her to marry her love of words and analysis to her interest in politics and social change. Her legal career has included a federal clerkship; practicing employment law and business and appellate litigation at law firms in D.C. and Seattle; and teaching at Seattle University School of Law. When she saw the job posting at Legal Voice— which asked, "Have you always wanted to realize your dream of using the law to improve the world?"— she yelled, "Yes!" and hasn't looked back.

Janet's passionate belief in the value of women's contributions to society is inspired by her grandmother, who at age 14, without her father's consent, took a boat by herself to another country to seek more schooling. Her grandmother's education later paved the way for her to be able to send her daughter (Janet's mom) through medical school.

Lillian M. Hewko

Lillian is a former Legal Voice intern and graduate of the University of Washington School of Law where she is a Gates Public Service Scholar. Growing up half Mexican in a working class family led her to an interest in reproductive justice and a desire to use the law as a tool to create social change. Lillian began her career in social justice as a Peace Corps Urban Youth Development Volunteer in Concepción, Paraguay. During law school, Lillian focused on human rights issues that affect women and girls, including prosecution of child rape, sex trafficking, abortion access in Latin America, health care access in WA, and lawful status for immigrant survivors of domestic violence in the United States.

Lillian began focusing on work with incarcerated women early in her law school career, co-founding the Incarcerated Mother’s Advocacy Project (IMAP). She currently serves on the board of directors for Law Students for Reproductive Justice and reproductive justice collaborative Surge NW. As an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Legal Voice she will work to implement a project she developed to provide legal education to incarcerated mothers and implement litigation and legislative strategies to reduce the chances of family separation in Washington State.

B. Michelle Johnson

Michelle was born to be a fundraiser. She started her development career at an early age, selling cheese and sausage door-to-door for her school. As she grew older, she honed her fundraising skills by asking all of her neighbors to sponsor her for various "walks for hunger" or "rides for cancer." Suffice it to say, fundraising is in her DNA.

Michelle's varied life experiences—including serving in the Peace Corps, externships in South Africa, and volunteering for HIV/AIDS organizations—have shaped her enthusiasm for women's rights. Michelle couples her 10+ years of fundraising experience with her passion, and won't give up until "we have an equal place at the table." In 2004, she and her coalition partners organized 5,000 participants for the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, after spending six years with a nationally-recognized women's organization, Michelle jumped at the opportunity to join Legal Voice, where she's charged with making positive change for women's rights both regionally and nationally.

Jennifer S. Knutson

Jennifer felt the first spark of the personal empowerment of philanthropy at a young age after collecting coins and donating them to a local battered women and children’s shelter. She is thankful that she grew up helping her father put siding on the house and topping trees with chainsaws as though it were the most normal thing in the world for a young woman to do.

Over the years, Jennifer has worked for organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Snohomish County 4-H, Bellevue Arts Museum, and Parent Trust for Washington Children. She also volunteers for Girls on the Run of Puget Sound.

Jennifer believes that all women deserve the freedom to enjoy their lives – including having equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal protections. Jennifer joined Legal Voice to work with community members, donors, volunteers, and staff to identify and promote what we all, through Legal Voice, can achieve.

Kelli Maguire

From junior high school on, Kelli spent years volunteering: coaching a swim team for Special Olympics; teaching English as a second language to refugees new to the US; counseling teens who, for the sake of safety, had to flee the war in Bosnia; and managing an emergency shelter for women fleeing abusive relationship and those in need of emergency housing.

While spending years working in Business Administration in the private sector helped Kelli hone a keen eye for accounting books and budgets, Legal Voice has provided her the opportunity to bring passion to her position as Director of Administration. Though books and budgets may not be the most glorious part of the fight for women's rights, Kelli is happy to support work that is so close to her heart.

ChloË Phalan

Chloë grew up on an island were people were very concerned about global warming. Her childhood was filled with recycling, beach clean-ups, seal pup rescues, nature documentaries, tree planting, the Golden Rule, and organized protests. The word "Valdez" still gives her the heebie-jeebies. Of course, there were other interests—she loved painting, sports, and Thai food. So she packed her bags and moved to Seattle.

Soon she had a piece of paper from a university, and an agreeably muddy job with an organic gardening company. It was then, while contemplating a career in environmental law, that a friend told her about a legendary "Center" that used the law to fight the patriarchy. Why, fighting the patriarchy and saving the planet go together like chocolate and peanut butter! Her excitement compounded after attending Kelli Maguire's volunteer orientation. For three straight days she said nothing but "Where has the Law Center been all my life?" On a cold November day in 2004, Chloë arrived at Legal Voice for her first volunteer shift. She's still here.

Lisa M. Stone

Lisa has worked as a retail manager, a lawyer for the government and in private practice, and as an environmental manager for an oil-spill cleanup company. But it wasn't until she became the Executive Director of Legal Voice that Lisa found the place she belongs. Her casual inquiry about volunteering for the organization in 1988 led to a three-year case representing clinics, patients, and doctors against anti-choice extremists blocking medical facilities. She was hooked on the cause and the people of Legal Voice. Lisa volunteered for several more years until she finagled a paying job as Executive Director in 1995.

Although being ED keeps her too busy to spend much time in a courtroom, Lisa exercises her legal acumen overseeing the work of the terrific staff and volunteers of Legal Voice. Working at Legal Voice permits Lisa to speak her mind about women's rights and stand up for those who need it most— lifelong traits that are finally appreciated...most of the time. Lisa's work at Legal Voice can be summed up by the sign she carried at the 2004 March for Women's Lives, which featured a photo of her late mother at the 1992 March: its caption read, "No going back...I promised my mother."

David Ward

David has spent his career working for equal justice, both in the courts and in the legislature. He began his career as an aide to U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, focusing on reproductive rights, health care, and economic security issues. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1998, he joined the Seattle office of Heller Ehrman, where he devoted hundreds of hours each year to providing pro bono representation to survivors of domestic violence in protection order and family law cases. This work fueled David's commitment to women's rights and to providing a voice for the most vulnerable. He later served as a staff attorney at the Access to Justice Institute at Seattle University School of Law, managing a program for survivors of domestic violence and stalking. He has also served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman and as the legislative liaison for the Washington State Bar Association.

David joined Legal Voice in 2008, where his work focuses on gender violence, family law, and LGBT rights. He has also been appointed to serve on the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission and the Board of Directors of the GLBT Bar Association of Washington Foundation.

Women's rights. Nothing less.