Staff

This is a list of the full-time staff of the EJC.  We also have many capable interns and volunteers who play a vital role in delivering justice to low-wage workers in our community.

 

Barbra Kavanaugh, Esq.

Executive Director

Barbra Kavanaugh joined the EJC staff on September 6, 2011. Barbra comes to us with decades of experience as a litigator and an advocate for equality for all people. Barbra’s previous experience includes serving as an elected member of the City Council of Buffalo (NY) where she championed living wage legislation. In addition, she served for more than a decade with Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo and for several years as New York State Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Buffalo office.
bkavanaugh@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x113

Laura Brown, Esq.

Legal Services Director

Laura Brown joined the D.C. Employment Justice Center as the Legal Services Managing Attorney in September 2008. She has overall responsibility for managing the EJC’s Workers’ Rights Clinic. Prior to coming to the EJC, Laura was a staff attorney at Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities in Washington D.C. Laura has also worked as an associate at the law firm of Woodley & McGillivary, a Washington D.C.-based law firm specializing in federal wage and hour cases and union representation, and as a staff attorney/business agent with UNITE HERE Local 25, the hotel and restaurant employees’ union in D.C. As a student at Santa Clara University School of Law, Laura both volunteered and clerked at the Workers’ Rights Clinics of the Employment Law Center in San Francisco, the program on which EJC’s legal services program was modeled. Laura is a member of the District of Columbia and California bars.
lbrown@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x112

Ari Weisbard, Esq.

Advocacy Manager

Ari Weisbard joined the EJC in August of 2011. Ari came to the EJC from the Service Employees International Union, where he worked to promote responsible federal contracting practices and to make it easier for workers to gain a voice at work by joining unions. A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, he co-chaired the Jews United for Justice “Invest in D.C.” campaign last Spring, working with several local organizations to pass a D.C. budget that protected vital safety net programs from $25 million of devastating cuts.
aweisbard@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x123

Kyle Phillips

Office Manager

 

Kyle Phillips comes to EJC with over 20 years of office management experience in the nonprofit arena and is a graduate of Holy Names University in Oakland, California. Prior to joining EJC in 2013, Kyle worked at Greenpeace for 3 years as the Facilities/Operational Manager, lived in Zimbabwe for six months, and lived in Los Angeles for ten years, working for nonprofits and A&M Records in Los Angeles. Kyle discovered his biggest passion is helping people feel empowered. “People often underestimate the power they possess, when experiencing challenges in life.” Kyle’s biggest joy in life is raising his 6 year old son Fredrick Xavier Phillips aka “papo.” Kyle currently resides in District Heights, Maryland. His hobbies include spending quality time with his son and family, writing and hiking.
kphillips@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x115

Keira McNett, Esq.

Senior Staff Attorney

Keira McNett joined the staff of the EJC in June of 2012. Keira manages the EJC’s pro bono referral program, supervises in-house litigation, and represents clients, individually and as co-counsel with law firms. Keira has been involved with the EJC in various capacities for more than 10 years, first as a intake volunteer while in law school, later as an advising attorney, and then as a contract attorney. Keira was previously an associate at Murphy Anderson PLLC, where she represented unions and plaintiffs in employment law and employee benefits cases. Keira graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as an articles editor for the Georgetown Law Review.
kmcnett@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x117

Justin Zelikovitz, Esq.

Litigation Counsel

Justin Zelikovitz joined the EJC as Litigation Counsel in 2012. Justin came to the EJC from the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, where he represented indigent English- and Spanish-speaking clients in employment, housing, consumer, and bankruptcy cases. Before graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, Justin graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University. He is admitted to practice in Maryland, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. His D.C. Bar application is pending.
jz@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x116

John Daroff

Wage Theft Enforcement Attorney

John Daroff joined EJC as Wage Theft Enforcement Counsel in April 2013.  He is responsible for enforcing judgments and settlements that return unpaid wages to EJC clients.  Prior to joining EJC, John practiced in Delaware County, Pennsylvania handling a variety of matters including criminal defense, family law and collections.    John is a graduate of American University and Widener University School of Law and is a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Bars.

Hannah Kane

Employment Justice Organizer

Hannah Kane joined the EJC as a Wage Theft Campaign Organizer in August, 2012. Prior to joining the EJC, Hannah received her Masters in Social Work from George Mason University. During graduate school, Hannah worked as an organizer and social worker with Tenants and Workers United, using a combination of social services, community organizing, and popular education to fight back against wage theft in Falls Church, Virginia. Hannah also worked as a social worker with the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, providing Know Your Rights presentations to immigrants in detention and case management to former detainees being released back into the community. Hannah is a member of the National and Virginia chapters of the National Association of Social Workers.
hkane@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x114

Naomi Iser

Advocacy Associate

Naomi Iser joined the EJC in September 2011 as an AVODAH: Jewish Service Corps Member and in August 2012 became EJC’s Advocacy Associate. Naomi helps lead several EJC advocacy campaigns, including our campaigns to ensure Paid Sick Days for all DC workers, to combat wage theft, to increase access to employment for Returning Citizens, and to reform DC’s broken public sector workers’ compensation system. Naomi graduated from Brandeis University in 2011 with a degree in International Studies and Comparative Literature.
niser@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675

Anaia Peddie

Clinic Coordinator, Lutheran Volunteer Corps 2012-2013 Fellow

apeddie@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x118

Jamie Gorosh

Community Outreach Fellow, AVODAH Service Corps 2012-2013 Fellow

Jamie Gorosh joined the EJC in September 2012 through AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps. Jamie works as a Community Outreach Fellow on advocacy campaigns at the EJC, focusing on the campaign to combat wage theft. Jamie graduated from the University of Michigan in 2012 with a BA from the Ford School of Public Policy.
jgorosh@dcejc.org; 202-828-9675 x111