Director

Leonard E. Noisette, a New York University Law School graduate, is a founder of NDS.  He has been its director since 1993. Before coming to NDS, Lenny was a supervising attorney with New York City Legal Aid Society's Criminal Appeals Bureau, and a staff attorney with both Legal Aid's Criminal Defense Division and its Criminal Appeals Bureau. He is a frequent lecturer for the criminal defense clinics at NYU, CUNY and Fordham law schools, and is a regular instructor of the annual Basic Trial Skills Program of the New York State Defenders Association. He was invited by Attorney General Janet Reno to be a keynote speaker at the Justice Department’s National Symposium on Indigent Defense in Washington DC in February 1999, and is a frequent participant in the Department’s planning committees to improve indigent defense and defense/prosecution relations.  Lenny is an active member of a number of bar associations and serves on the boards of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the New York State Defenders Association.  In his community, Lenny coaches youth basketball and serves as a mentor in B.A.K.E. (Brothers Against Killing Each Other), an adolescent crime prevention program.

Deputy Director

Rick Jones is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Rutgers School of Law. Rick worked for three years as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society - Criminal Defense Division in Manhattan. He is a founder of NDS, where he has been a staff attorney, team leader and currently serves as deputy director. Rick is a Coro Fellow and a member of the Leadership New York class of 2000. In addition, Rick is a member of a number of bar associations and sits on the New York County Criminal Justice Circle Committee; The Council on Criminal Justice for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; A2J (Access to Justice) an international consulting organization bringing legal services to remote areas of the world; and is a mentor to a high school youth through the Legal Outreach Program.

Senior Staff Attorneys

Weldon Brewer graduated from Harvard Law School in 1972.  He worked for the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society from 1972-1983, during which time he tried approximately 20 jury trials in serious felony matters.  Further, while at Legal Aid he wrote appellate briefs and argued appeals.  From 1983-87, Weldon worked with the Law Office of Ramsey Clark, specializing in civil rights, criminal appeals and international human rights.  In 1990, he joined Mid-Hudson Legal Services as the Managing Attorney.  Weldon became the Acting Director of Litigation in June of 1995, where he tried civil cases and supervised attorneys in the areas of housing, public benefits, disabilities law and family law.  Weldon joined NDS in October of 1996.  Weldon became a Senior Trial Attorney at NDS in September 1999.

Kenneth Gilbert graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1994.  During law school, Ken was an Editor on the Journal of Environmental Law and worked as a law clerk at the Baltimore City Public Defender Office.  Further, he represented indigent clients charged with crimes through the Criminal Practice Clinic, and was Chair of the Community Involvement Committee for the Black Law Students Association.  Ken worked at NDS as a law intern and investigator before becoming a staff attorney in September of 1995.  Kenn became the Intake Supervising Attorney in September 1999.

Reginald Haley graduated from Rutgers School of Law in 1990. While at Rutgers, Reggie provided tutoring in the Minority Student Program and also won a number of awards for Appellate Advocacy, including 1990 Best Orator in the Northeast Regional Black Law Student Association Frederick Douglas Moot Court Competition.  Before coming to NDS in 1997, Reggie had been a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of New York for six years.  Reggie became a Senior Trial Attorney at NDS in September 1999.

Deborah Schneer is a graduate of Tufts University and New York University School of Law.  At NYU Deborah was a Root-Tilden Scholar, a distinction conferred for commitment to public interest law and academic excellence.  While there she was President of Law Women, a founding member of the Women in Prison Project and participated in Upper Round Moot Court.  Deborah joined NDS in February 1999.  She brings 15 years of experience as a civil rights and prisoners’ rights litigator, gained during her tenure as a staff and managing attorney with Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York.  She has also served as Assistant Attorney General on the Charities Bureau of the New York State Department of Law. 

Staff Lawyers  

Lisa Aidlin graduated from New York University School of Law in 1996.  While at NYU, Lisa participated in a criminal appeals clinic and studied law at the University of Amsterdam.  After graduating law school, Lisa worked at the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago, Illinois as a litigation associate.  During her three years practicing civil litigation, Lisa gained valuable criminal defense experience through her extensive pro bono work.  She successfully argued and won a criminal appeal and began representing two clients currently facing the death penalty in Alabama.  Lisa continues to work pro bono on these capital state habeas cases while at NDS.

Deborah Colson graduated from Harvard Law School in 1995.  Before coming to NDS in 1999, Deborah served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Nina Gershon in the Eastern District of New York.  She also worked as a staff attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts for two years.

Miriam Gohara graduated from Harvard Law School in 1997.  While in law school, Miriam worked in the Criminal Justice Institute providing representation for children in delinquency proceedings.  Also during law school Miriam provided civil representation for poor people at the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center in Jamaica Plain, Ma.  From 1997-98, Miriam clerked for Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr. on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  In 1998, Miriam joined the NDS civil team as a National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL) Equal Justice Fellow.

Kim Jackson graduated from The State University of New York at Buffalo Law School in 1989.  While in law school Kim was a member of the student divisions of the New York State Bar Association and the National Bar Association.  Upon graduation, Kim became an associate in a general practice firm where she handled a range of civil, criminal and family court proceedings.  Kim has also served as an Assistant General Counsel for the New York City Department of Health and as an Administrative Law Judge for the New York City Department of Finance.  Kim joined the NDS staff in December 1997. 

Vince Matthews graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1993.  While at Pepperdine, Vince served as President of the Black Law Students Association and participated in the Frederick Douglas Moot Court Competition. Prior to joining NDS, he worked as a staff attorney with the Seattle-King County Public Defender Association for six years.

Connie Morales is a graduate of Syracuse University and the Albany Law School of Union University.  While in law school Connie interned at the New York State Defender's Association and was Vice-President of the Latino Law Student Association.  She joined NDS in March 2000.

Alfred O. Rivera graduated from Boston College Law School in 1978.  Following graduation he was employed at the Federal Trade Commission from 1978 though 1982, then employed with the NYC Corporation Counsel from 1982 to 1984.  Prior to joining NDS in 1999, Al was in a private general practice with emphasis in criminal and family law.  From 1984 to 1993, Al was the president of a family owned business.         

Catherine Tosswill graduated from Rutgers School of Law in 1996. She was a Charles H. Revson Law Student Public Interest Fellow in 1995.  Before coming to NDS she worked at the Legal Aid Society, first as a paralegal in the Prisoners’ Rights Project and later as a staff attorney in the Juvenile Rights Division.  Kate holds a B.A. in Art History from Yale University.  She joined NDS in May 1998.      

Social Services    

Zakiya Jones, CSW, the Director of Client and Community Services, is currently enrolled in a PhD. program at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University.  As a social worker, she has practiced exclusively in the Harlem community in which she lives.  She is Vice President of the Board of Directors of Families Together in New York State, the state chapter of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. Zakiya is a member of three professional social work associations:  the National Association of Black Social Workers, the National Association of Social Workers and the New York City Coalition of Social Workers in Legal Settings.

Ronald L. Quartimon, the Program Coordinator for STATE, is a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  Prior to joining NDS in 1999 Ronald managed the Safe Harbor Program of the Victims Services Agency where he was the coordinator of a program that taught violence prevention curricula in middle schools.  Ronald has also worked as a schoolteacher at I.S. 116 and as a program developer for a number of violence prevention programs.

Casper Terrell is a graduate of Hunter College.  His experience includes teaching third grade at a Harlem elementary school, and being a Recreational Aid and the Northside Center for Child Development Therapeutic After School/summer program.  He joined NDS in September 1999.

Team Administrators

Roderick Kelly holds a degree from Hunter College.  He joined NDS in February 1999 after having been a Dental Technician at Columbia University.  Roderick is a Minister of the Jehovah’s Witness Church, and volunteers doing AIDS research at Columbia University.

Rosa Martinez came to NDS as a receptionist in 1991 and was promoted to Team Administrator in 1993. 

Juan Rivera came to NDS in October 1999 after having been an Administrative Assistant at CUNY for six years.  He volunteers as a docent at the Museum of Natural History.

Investigators

Robert Cuthbert joined NDS in October 1999 after having been an investigator for the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic at Georgetown Law Center.  He attended The University of Chicago.

Amanda Corretjer joined NDS as an investigator in February 1999.  Amanda holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Mercy College.    

Matthew Mazur is a graduate of Yale University.  Matt joined NDS in 1998, after completing a 4,000 mile bicycle ride from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco to benefit Habitat for Humanity.  Matt was an investigator for the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic at Georgetown Law Center in the summer of 1997.

Administrative Staff

Sonia Cerpa joined NDS as Finance Officer.  Prior to joining the organization, Sonia spent seventeen years as a senior accounting analyst for the Vera Institute of Justice, where she oversaw, among other things, NDS’s finances.

Helen Chacon joined NDS as receptionist and Office Assistant in December 1999.  She is earning a BA degree in education at Hunter College.

Beverly Davis joined NDS as the Executive Assistant to the Director and Deputy Director in February 1999.  Beverly has a broad range of administrative experience, working most recently as the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Center for Population and Family Health at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Reginald Mabry, the NDS Computer Services Manager, is a Certified Netware Engineer (CNE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). He hold a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the City College of New York, School of Engineering. Before coming to NDS in 1994, he worked for five years at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library in the Development Unit as part of the Schomburg Center's historic 6 million dollar Capital Campaign to build the Langston Hughes Auditorium and renovate the landmark building. He has also worked as technical sales consultant for TCY Technologies, a Novell, Microsoft and Cisco systems training facility and worked for the Vera Institute of Justice for three of its projects.  

Barbara Paxton joined NDS as Director of Development in August 1999 after having been VP of Finance and Administration at Meet The Composer.  Prior to that she was banker, most recently in the International Division at The Bank of New York.  Barbara holds degrees from Wellesley College and Columbia University.

Richard Robayo came to NDS in November 1998 as a messenger and office aide.  His previous experience was on a maintenance crew at Neighborhood Work Project.

Annoguie (“Annie”) Viruet, the NDS Office Administrator, has overall responsibility for Administrative Services, Human Resources, and Facilities.  Annie has many years of experience in the Human Resources and Administrative services areas, most recently as the Personnel Manager of the Council for Human Services, Home Care Services, an agency that provides home care services to 400 clients through a staff of 670.  She coaches a team her local girl’s softball league.  Annie joined NDS in September of 1997.