GAAP currently operates with one full time paid staff person and one part time attorney, as well as the support of more than 50 volunteers from the community and nine Bay Area colleges and law schools, including two Bonner Leader/AmeriCorps placements from St. Mary’s College of California.

Leah Spero

President

Leah Spero is a staff attorney at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Previously, she was a litigation and employment law associate at Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe, where she was also a volunteer for the Homeless Legal Services project. She received her B.A. from Duke University and her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law.

Cody Barkley

Treasurer

Cody Barkley originally joined the GAAP board in 2005 and served as treasurer in 2006. After living abroad for 3 years, he rejoined the board in 2011 when he returned to San Francisco. A native of Texas, he currently works as an analyst for Blurb, a company that enables people to make books. Previously, he worked for Hewlett-Packard as a financial analyst in several businesses in several countries. Cody is interested in helping other non-profits, as well, with their financial and analytical needs.

Victoria Chinn

Secretary

Victoria Chinn is an experienced civil litigator in San Francisco. She has extensive experience handling a variety of litigation matters, including products liability, personal injury, government tort, transportation, and business, in both state and federal courts. In addition, Ms. Chinn has also handled civil rights class action and criminal appellate cases. She is active in both community and professional organizations in the Bay Area.

Richard Boswell

Professor Boswell has been teaching law at UC Hastings College of the Law since 1990. He received his B.A. in Urban Economics from Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles and his J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center. He was in private practice and later joined the faculty of the George Washington University National Law Center where he directed the Trial Practice Program and Immigration Law Clinic and taught immigration law. Working his way west, he joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1986. Professor Boswell is a frequent lecturer on immigration law and has taught regularly in programs for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy since 1986. He was most recently the co-editor-in-chief of the Clinical Law Review which is a joint publication of the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA), the New York University Law School and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). In addition to his work in clinical legal education, Professor Boswell has been involved in rule of law/justice projects in Central Asia, Columbia, Guatemala, Palestine and Venezuela. He currently teaches immigration law, and directs the Immigrants' Rights Clinic.

Bob Capistrano

Bob Capistrano is a dedicated and long standing GAAP board member who has served on its board for more than 20 years. He is currently the litigation director at Bay Area Legal Aid.

James Conger

James Conger graduated from Duke University in 1998 with a B.A. in History, and earned his Juris Doctorate from UC Hastings College of the Law in 2004. Mr. Conger volunteered at GAAP during the three years he was at law school. Since then, Mr. Conger has worked for the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, representing indigent clients in criminal defense matters. Mr. Conger owns all four Lethal Weapon movies and once ate a fried grasshopper.

Ruth Isaacson

Ruth Isaacson graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 2009. She is now a family law attorney at Leland Parachini Steinberg Matzger & Melnick LLP. Ruth served as GAAP's Executive Director from November 2010 - August 2011, and she is excited to stay involved with GAAP's good work as the Chair of the Fundraising Committee. Prior to law school, Ruth worked at St. Anthony Foundation, a neighboring homeless service provider, where she worked in development and directly with guests in St. Anthony's Dining Room.

Aaron Rappaport

Aaron Rappaport currently teaches criminal law and related courses at UC Hastings College of the Law. He attended Yale University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in engineering, and Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Law & Policy Review. After graduating from law school, Professor Rappaport held several positions within the federal government, ultimately working in each of its branches. He first clerked for the Honorable Stephen Breyer, then Chief Judge of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Entering the political fray, he served for three years as Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, and then, during the budget battle of 1996, joined the Clinton Administration to serve as an Assistant Director of the National Economic Council. From 1996 to 1998, Professor Rappaport was a member of the General Counsel's staff of the Federal Communications Commission, where he represented the FCC in litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals. In addition to his government work, Professor Rappaport has been co-editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, a criminal sentencing journal, since 1996.

Whitney Stark

Whitney Stark is an associate attorney with Rukin, Hyland, Doria & Tindall. She represents clients in employment and consumer protection matters. She specializes in representing plaintiffs in disputes involving unfair and unlawful business practices, fraud and discrimination. Formerly, she was an associate at the Sturdevant Law Firm and the Fair Housing Law Project. Ms. Stark received her B.A. from Vassar College in 1998 and her J.D. degree from UC Hastings College of the Law in 2004. She was a volunteer at GAAP throughout law school.

Christina Terplan

Christina Terplan is a 2003 graduate of UC Hastings College of the Law and an associate attorney with Clyde & Company. She first became involved with GAAP when she began volunteering during her first year at law school, and subsequently served as a student co-president during her second and third years at Hastings.

Craig Tiballi

Craig Tiballi graduated from Brown University in 1998 with a B.S. in Geology-Biology and earned his M.S. degree in Geology from the University of London in 2001. Mr. Tiballi has been practicing environmental geology in the Bay Area for the past 9 years and currently works as a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Technical Assistance and Response Team (START) for Region 9.

Joseph Urbanski

Joseph Urbanski is a graduate of UC Hastings College of the Law and Stanford University. He volunteered with GAAP for two years in law school, worked as a member of Hastings Public Interest Law Foundation, and was part of the Hastings Civil Justice Clinic. Mr. Urbanski now works as an associate at DLK Law Group.

Joanne Yee

Joanne Yee volunteers full time at GAAP as a community volunteer, greeting clients and managing the front desk. Ms. Yee is also on the board of directors at the Northeast Community Federal Credit Union.

Join us at GAAP’s annual raffle at the Temple Bar & Bistro in April 2010. There will be hundreds of great prizes, including tickets to sporting events, gift certificates to local restaurants and other surprise items.

Raffle tickets are only $1 each and help support GAAP’s mission. Because the average cost of helping each one of our clients is $4, purchasing just four tickets means one additional GAAP client receives supportive services and advocacy. Contact Ruth Isaacson to purchase tickets or donate prizes.