Board of Directors

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

Meet our 2024 Board of Directors:

OFFICERS

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.

Nate Jenkins (Co-Chair)

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.

Jorge Gaitan (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. Jorge is a prior Secretary for SacLegal. 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 received his J.D. from Boston College Law School, and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Jorge spends his free time with his husband and two daughters exploring Northern California.

John Tan (Asst. 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.

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.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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.

Lexi Purich Howard

Lexi Howard is an attorney in the Legal Affairs Office of the California Secretary of State, working internally and with the public on matters related to complex business filings, legislation and public policy, notarization, regulatory matters, elections, and more. Before becoming a public servant, Lexi practiced as a real estate and business attorney, working with individuals, businesses, nonprofits and others on a wide variety of matters, including real estate purchase/sale transactions, access easements, conservation and mitigation easements, and business matters including grants, compliance, fundraising, and project management.

Prior to that (before, during, and after law school) Lexi was a public policy advocate and contract lobbyist, representing real estate interests in matters related to title insurance, escrow, mortgage lending and foreclosure, affordable housing, restrictive covenants, PACE financing, tax-deferred exchanges, real property assessment and taxation, transfer disclosures, and notarization; and representing the primary statewide association for judicial officers, and other trade association and business issues.

From 1985 through 2010, Lexi worked for a national title insurance and financial services firm, handling commercial and industrial financing and sale transactions, multi-parcel land trust and conservation easement transactions, and residential and personal property transfers throughout California, as well as branch operations management and underwriting.

Lexi is a graduate of the 2022 cohort of Leadership California’s Current Issues and Trends program, and I serve on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento LGBT Community Center; SacLegal, Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, on the Diversity Board (and as Chair of the Bar Taker Support Committee) and the Capital Advisory Board for the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Lexi is also a mentor to high school students and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Law and Public Policy Program at C.K. McClatchy Senior High School. Lexi also serves as a mentor to law school students, new lawyers, as well as to post-grads and other lawyers.

Lexi earned a J.D. from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, and a B.S. in Business Management from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

Annette Rose

Annette Rose is a Partner at 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.

Brandon Bjerke

Brandon is the Legislative Director for Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. He serves as staff to the Assembly Select Committee on Cybersecurity, and was previously a law clerk for the Assembly Committee on Privacy & Consumer Protection. He serves as a Staff Co-Chair for the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Technology and Communications Committee. Brandon helped found and served as Treasurer for the Capitol LGBTQ Staff Association, an organization dedicated to the recruitment and professional development of LGBTQ public policy professionals. He is a graduate of University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and Saint Mary’s College of California.

Michael Shepherd

Michael (he/him) is a research attorney at the Sacramento Superior Court. He is a graduate of McGeorge School of Law and the University of California, Santa Barbara. After law school, he lived and worked in the Bay Area before returning to Sacramento to work for the court. Michael spent one year as a law clerk at the San Francisco Superior Court. Post-clerkship, Michael practiced as a civil defense attorney primarily in the areas of professional liability and employment law.

ADVISERS

Hon. Andi Mudryk

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.