SacLegal holds its board meetings on the first Wednesday of every month.  Email [email protected] for more details. 

Meet our 2023 Board of Directors:

Jeremy Avila (Co-Chair)

Jeremy (he/him) is Chief Counsel for the California Department of Aging, a statewide department under the Health & Human Services Agency. As Chief Counsel, Jeremy leads an in-house legal team that advises on a wide range of legal, legislative, and policy matters. Prior to this role, he served as a Deputy County Counsel for Santa Clara County and as a Deputy District Attorney for Santa Clara and Monterey counties. Jeremy is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and the University of Southern California. He enjoys cooking, hiking, wine tasting, and exploring the Sacramento region.

AJ Wipfler (Co-Chair)

Anna James (AJ) is an Appellate Court Attorney for California's Fifth District Court of Appeal.  AJ previously clerked for several magistrate judges at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.  AJ has also clerked for the Honorable Todd M. Hughes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and previously served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  AJ graduated from the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law where he authored a law review article advocating removing sex from the legal portion of U.S. birth certificates as a way to promote self-defined gender identity.  AJ is delighted to be back in his home state of California where he and his partner and their two dogs can enjoy gardening, hiking, and soaking in the sun year round.

John Tan (Treasurer)

John has been a staff attorney at Legal Services of Northern California since June 2011, working in the Health rights unit in the Sacramento office. He is currently the Program Manager/Managing Attorney for HICAP Services of Northern California, which provides counseling to Medicare beneficiaries. Additionally, he is an instructor for UC Davis School of Law's Lawyering Practice curriculum.

Jorge Gaitan (Assistant Treasurer)

Jorge is a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Trustee Program, focusing on civil litigation and prevention of fraud and abuse in bankruptcy. This will be Jorge's first year serving on SacLegal's Board of Directors. Jorge moved to Sacramento in 2020 after several years serving as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Judge Mark Houle in the Central District of California. Jorge has worked as an assistant general counsel for the State of California's ALRB and was counsel for chapter 7 trustees while working as an associate at BG Law in Los Angeles.  Jorge spends his free time with his husband and two daughters exploring Northern California.

Courtney Kirchner (Secretary)

Courtney (she/her) is a staff attorney for Parent Advocates of Sacramento, a firm that represents parents and guardians who are involved in the Child Protective Services system. As a staff attorney, Courtney handles a myriad of cases with families involved in CPS and ensures that appropriate services are given to each family. Courtney graduated from McGeorge School of Law where she was an active member of McGeorge Lambda group. She received her undergraduate degree from Western Illinois University in Moline, IL. Courtney moved to California in 2012 where she lives with her wife, two young children, and their animals. She enjoys doing things to help animals, being outdoors when it’s not extremely hot and exploring with her children, and loves the coastal region.

Christian Acevedo

Christian is an Assistant Public Defender at the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office. Christian joined the office after a three year stint as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Prior to that, Christian was a military prosecutor and international law practitioner in the US Air Force, where he served on active duty for six years. Christian still performs military service part time in the National Guard. Christian graduated from UC Davis School of Law and is thrilled to be back in Sacramento near his alma mater. In his spare time, Christian enjoys racking up “splat points” at Orangetheory Fitness and romping around with his chow-chow, Leo.

Carmen-Nicole Cox

Kibbe Day

Ashley Harvey

Ashley is a Deputy District Attorney for Yolo County, focusing on consumer fraud and environmental protection. Ashley has served on SacLegal's Board of Directors since 2018 and as Co-Chair from 2019-2020.  Before moving to Sacramento, Ashley worked for an environmental nonprofit in Washington, D.C., where she moved after completing law school in her home state of Florida.  Ashley has intensive experience in event coordination and management. Environmentally friendly practices and products is a passion of Ashley's and she continually strives for an eco-conscious lifestyle.

Thanh Huynh (Committee Member)

Lexi Purich Howard (Committee Member)

Lexi Howard (she/her) is an attorney in the Legal Affairs Office of the California Secretary of State. Lexi previously was a real estate and business attorney in private practice with a downtown Sacramento firm, and prior to that, Lexi was a public policy advocate before the California legislature and other agencies, representing real estate interests, the trade association for judges in the California state courts, and other businesses and trade associations, as well as a trade association manager and executive director.
Before attending law school, Lexi worked for twenty-six years for a national title insurance and financial services firm. Lexi is a member in good standing of the State Bar of California, and received her J.D., and Capital Certificate in Public Law & Policy, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law evening program in 2015, and received her B.S. in Business Management from California Lutheran University.

Learn more about Lexi Howard and connect here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexihoward/

Nate Jenkins

Nate is an associate attorney at Littler Mendelson, P.C., where he advises and represents employers in a broad range of labor and employment law matters arising under federal and state laws, but he focuses mainly on complex wage and hour class actions and representative actions arising under the California Labor Code and the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). At Littler, Nate serves on the firm's Diversity and Inclusion Council, has previously served on the Associates Council, and is an active member of Littler’s Pride Affinity Group. Prior to joining Littler, Nate worked as Staff Counsel for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s Employment Training Panel (ETP). Nate received his J.D. from California Western School of Law, and his B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Nate enjoys spending time with his husband, his dachshund, and his family and friends, while exploring everything great Sacramento has to offer.

Hon. Andi Mudryk (Informal Adviser)

Judge Andi Mudryk sits on the Sacramento County Superior Court, where in 2022 she became the first transgender person appointed to the state bench.  Previously, Judge Mudryk was the Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), which provides services and advocacy resulting in employment, independent living, and equality for individuals with disabilities.  She joined DOR in 2018 as the Chief Counsel.  She graduated with honors in 1989 from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. and has extensive experience serving leadership roles in non-profit organizations and in litigating a variety of discrimination and disability-related claims.  She is admitted to practice law in California, Arizona, and Michigan. Before joining DOR, Andi served as the Deputy Director of Disability Rights California, the largest disability rights law firm in the country and the largest legal services provider in California.  On a personal note, Andi is a proud transgender woman with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), also known as Brittle Bone Disorder.

Annette Rose

Annette Rose is Senior Counsel with Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP in the employment practices group. Annette handles all aspects of employment-related litigation, including, but not limited to defense of administrative charges, claims made pursuant to the Fair Employment & Housing Act and related statutes, and complex wage and hour actions. Annette also provides advice and counsel to California employers to develop and improve Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion practices and policies and anti-discrimination training in the workplace. Annette enjoys spending time with her wife, adorable fur baby, cooking, and traveling.

Matt Munoz (McGeorge Law Student Rep.)

Fay Pao (Lincoln Law Student Rep.)

Theo Brito (UC Davis Law Student Rep.)