Our Staff
Kathlyn Taylor Gaubatz PhD, (She,Her) Interim Executive Director
ktaylorgaubatz[at]hprplaw.org
Kathlyn has an extensive background in developing and implementing solutions to homelessness and poverty. In San Francisco, she was Executive Director of Compass Family Services, a large nonprofit that provides a comprehensive range of services for homeless and very low-income families. In Norfolk, she was the Founder and Executive Director of Virginia Social Ventures, which operated the job training enterprise Spotlight Books. Kathlyn also served as Interim Executive Director at the Washington English Center, PFLAG National, and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
She holds a B. A. in sociology from U.C. Berkeley and a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. Currently, she serves on the board of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement in Washington, DC.
Carolyn Johnson Esq., (She,Her) Managing Attorney
cjohnson[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x23
Carolyn came to HPRP as the Managing Attorney in February 2007. She is responsible for the in-house legal work of the staff attorneys and monitors case trends for potential impact litigation and policy advocacy. Carolyn previously worked as a staff attorney at the Public Justice Center for two years, focusing on housing law and medical assistance.
Carolyn began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Homeless Persons Representation Project practicing in the areas of family law, public benefits and subsidized housing. Carolyn received her J.D. with honors from University of Baltimore School of Law in 1998, and a B.A. in Political Science from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 1994.
Julian Garcia, (He, Him) Director of Finance and Operations
jgarcia[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x24
Ingrid Lofgren Esq., (She,Her) Director of Homeless Youth Initiative
ilofgren[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x11
Ingrid joined HPRP as a Skadden Fellow in 2012 to launch the Homeless Youth Initiative, which serves youth ages 13 to 25 who are homeless or at-risk, with a particular emphasis on youth who are unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Ingrid conducts outreach and facilitates educational workshops in the community; provides legal representation in housing, public benefits, and expungement matters; and leads HPRP’s systemic advocacy efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness.
Prior to joining HPRP, Ingrid served as a law clerk to the Honorable Susan Gauvey of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the Honorable Andre Davis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Ingrid received her J.D. magna cum laude in 2010 from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where she was editor in chief of the University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class. She also holds a Masters of Social Work and a B.S. in Family Science from the University of Maryland. In 2014, the Daily Record named Ingrid a "Very Important Professional Under 40."
Michelle Salomon Madaio Esq., (She,Her) Director - Economic Justice
mmadaio[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x16
Michelle joined HPRP in 2013 to provide representation, advocacy and education to clients on public benefit matters. Michelle is co-chair of Maryland Legal Aid’s statewide Public Benefits Task Force. Prior to joining HPRP, Michelle worked as a Clinical Law Fellow with the University of Maryland Carey School of Law’s Clinical Law Program, where she taught in the Health Care Delivery and HIV/AIDS Clinic, as well as the International Human Rights Clinic in Namibia, Sub-Saharan Africa.
Michelle received her B.A. from American University and her J.D. from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. From 2005-2006, Michelle was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain where she researched the country’s experience with citizen juries over the past ten years with the co-author of Spain’s 1995 Jury Law.
Javaneh Pourkarim Esq., Director - Montgomery County/Prince George's County Office
jpourkarim[at]hprplaw.org
Javaneh started with HPRP in October 2021 as director of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. She was with Maryland Legal Aid for over six years prior to starting at HPRP, and prior to that she was with Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine.
Javaneh is a native of Tehran, Iran. Having come here as a refugee in 2000, she has devoted her practice to the service of vulnerable populations. She holds a BA in English Literature from University of Maryland Baltimore County, and graduated from Barry University School of Law in 2011. She is fluent in Farsi.
Javaneh currently serves as the co-chair of the Administrative Law Section of the Bar Association of Montgomery County, and the Vice President of the DC Chapter of the Iranian American Bar Association.
Michael Stone Esq., (He,Him) Director of Pro Bono
hprpprobono[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x14
Michael joined HPRP in 2011 as a law student volunteer in HPRP’s Pro Bono program. In September of 2014, he began a fellowship project designed to connect homeless Veterans living in rural Maryland with legal assistance for VA disability and service-connected benefit claims. In 2018, Michael led HPRP’s Montgomery/Prince George’s County office, supervising HPRP’s expungement and general civil legal aid clinics in Rockville and Silver Spring.
Michael graduated cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2013, where he served as a student officer in the University’s public interest law group. He also received numerous awards related to his public interest work, including the HPRP Outstanding Student Volunteer and University of Baltimore’s Pro Bono Challenge award. He graduated cum laude from Sonoma State University in 2009, where he majored in in Political Science.
Karen Wabeke Esq., (She,Her) Director - Housing Justice
kwabeke[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x20
Karen joined HPRP in September 2011 as a housing attorney. Karen comes to HPRP from Toledo, Ohio, where she spent two years as an AmeriCorps attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. litigating housing and foreclosure cases.
Previously, Karen was in private practice in Toledo representing charter school clients on a variety of matters. Karen received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2007 and a B.A. in History from Wellesley College in 2004.
Laura Wellford, (She,Her) Director of Development and Communications
lwellford[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x26
Laura joined the HPRP team in October 2021. Laura comes to HPRP with a decade of multifaceted non-profit experience at Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services, Inc. (LARS), which serves homeless and low-income families and individuals in Laurel, Maryland. Laura received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Mount Saint Mary's University in 2012.
Alexandra Curd Esq., (She,Her) Staff Attorney
acurd[at]hprplaw.org, 410-387-3126
Alexandra joined the HPRP team in October 2019 to help expand its Homeless Youth Initiative into Prince George's County. In law school, Alexandra was a student attorney in the Howard University School of Law Criminal Justice Clinic, where she represented low-income clients with criminal misdemeanor charges in D.C. Superior Court. Alexandra was also in Howard Law's Human and Civil Rights Clinic where she worked on projects pertaining to policing and criminal justice reform, as well as international human rights law and policy work in the aftermath of the shooting death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Alexandra gained significant experience working in indigent defense and expungement matters as a law clerk with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. She was also a legal intern with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights where she researched the collateral consequences of mass incarceration and the effects of a criminal record on life outcomes for marginalized groups. Alexandra has devoted her professional, legal and personal life to the service of young people, returning citizens, and low-income clients.
Alexandra received her J.D. from Howard University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Criminology from the University of Kentucky in 2015.
Carisa Hatfield Esq., (She,Her) Staff Attorney
chatfield[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x32
Carisa joined HPRP in July 2019. Previously, Carisa worked at the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA) in Rockville, Maryland. There, she provided representation to survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault in both civil protection orders and crime victims’ rights work. She was also a Venable Fellow with the House of Ruth Maryland from 2016-2017.
Prior to attending law school, Carisa worked in case management at two emergency shelters for survivors of intimate partner violence in the Houston, Texas area. Carisa graduated magna cum laude with her J.D. from University of Baltimore School of Law in 2016 and her B.A. in Communications from Sam Houston State University in 2009.
Audrey Lynn Martin Esq., (She, Her) Staff Attorney
amartin[at]hprplaw.org, 410-387-3126
Audrey joined HPRP in August 2019 as a J.D. Distinguished Fellow. While in law school, Audrey specialized in representing marginalized populations with the Immigrant Justice Clinic. She has substantial experience working to alleviate the effects of rural poverty in her home state of Kentucky where she worked in the areas of public benefits, drug court diversion, and expungement. Audrey also worked as a judicial intern for the Kentucky Purchase Region Chief Circuit Judge Rene Williams as well as Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham.
Audrey received her J.D. cum laude in 2019 from the Washington College of Law, American University and her B.A. summa cum laude in International Business from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky in 2016.
Albert C. Turner Esq., (He,Him) Staff Attorney
aturner[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x21
Albert joined HPRP in November of 2018 as a Pro Bono Staff Attorney. Albert began his legal career in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office where he worked as a law clerk in the Aim to B’more program; a diversion program for first time drug offenders who, instead of prosecution, were provided job training and placement. Subsequently, Albert worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, and, in 2017, transitioned into private criminal defense.
Albert received his J.D. from Howard University School of Law and received his Bachelor’s degree from Oakwood College.
Sam Williamson Esq., (They, Them) Skadden Fellow
swilliamson[at]hprplaw.org
Sam joined HPRP in September 2020 as a Skadden Fellow dedicated to serving LGBTQ youth experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
Prior to joining HPRP, Sam clerked for the Honorable Diana Gribbon Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for the Honorable Paula Xinis of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Sam previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for FreeState Justice, Inc., and has interned with the Public Justice Center, the ACLU of Maryland, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender’s Mental Health Division, and the University of Maryland Gender Violence Clinic.
Sam graduated from law school as valedictorian of the 2018 class of the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Sam received Bachelor’s degrees in History and in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland College Park in 2013.
Angel Dawson, (She,They) Pro-bono Paralegal
adawson[at]hprplaw.org, 410-685-6589 x25
Angel joined HPRP in December 2019 as the Pro Bono Program Paralegal. Angel’s background stems from a combination of prison civil rights and legal aid paralegal experience, prisoner support-related community organizing, and trauma-informed yoga instruction. Angel received their Bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College in 2014.
Katherine Guzman, (She,Her) Program Assistant, Montgomery/Prince George's County Office
kguzman[at]hprplaw.org, 410-387-3126
Katherine came to HPRP in May 2018. Beginning in 2012, she worked as a Civil Attorney in Peru. Katherine has brought her professional knowledge to United States where she enjoys working with a diverse population and being sensitive to different backgrounds. She is also a full-time student at Montgomery College.