Meet our Team

Nichelle Beardsley

Office Manager

Nichelle Beardsley joined ALRP as Office Manager in May 2024 and plays an integral role in keeping ALRP’s human resources, finance, IT, and facilities functions running smoothly. Nichelle has dedicated her career to the nonprofit sector, including 13 years at a public policy institute and, most recently, six years at community-based organization Lincoln Families. She is a Bay Area native who was raised in Berkeley and now lives in Oakland.

Claire Clayton

Administrative Assistant

Claire (she/they) attended Barnard College where she graduated with a degree in Philosophy, Psychology, and Latin American Studies. Before joining ALRP, Claire worked as a paralegal with the New York Legal Assistance Group in their Immigrant Protection Unit, and as Legal Program Associate at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies here in San Francisco. At ALRP, Claire provides part-time administrative support to the Executive Director and the Development and Communications Manager. 

Jeff Dulgar

Director of Housing Litigation

Jeff joined ALRP in 2015 as a Staff Attorney after working at a San Francisco real estate firm. Jeff also brings ample experience to ALRP from his time as an ALRP law clerk and as a solo practitioner representing tenants. He earned his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a major in Political Science and Global Peace and Security. Jeff has maintained a focus on supporting under-served communities in the Bay Area through his prior work at Oakland’s Self Help and Family Law Facilitator’s Office and by riding in the AIDS/LifeCycle for the past four years.

Matt Foreman

Executive Director

Matt Foreman is a nationally recognized LGBTQ rights leader with a diverse background in political advocacy, civil rights, and philanthropy. From 2008 to 2023, he led the LGBT Equality Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, one of the largest foundation funders of the LGBTQ movement. Under his leadership, the Haas, Jr. Fund played a critical role in advancing marriage equality across the country. Matt served as co-chair of the Civil Marriage Collaborative, a partnership of key marriage equality funders that raised $163 million to help secure the freedom to marry.

Previously, Matt was executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. During his tenure, the organization’s budget and staff more than doubled (to $10 million and 60, respectively), and it reestablished itself as a leading voice for LGBT rights in the nation’s capital. Before the Task Force, Matt served as executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda (New York State’s LGBT political advocacy organization) and the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. While at the Pride Agenda, he led campaigns that resulted in the enactment of a statewide gay rights law, a hate crimes law, and laws extending equal benefits to the surviving partners of those killed on 9/11. At the Anti-Violence Project, he focused the city’s attention on anti-gay violence, resulting in important changes in police training, deployment and responsiveness. (Matt’s work is currently featured in HBO’s four-part documentary “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York.”)

Prior to his work in LGBTQ rights, Matt was involved in prison policy and administration. A graduate of the New York University School of Law, Matt is a founder of Heritage of Pride, which organizes New York City’s annual LGBTQ pride events, and a former member of the New York City Human Rights Commission.

Lisa Heck

Staff Attorney

Lisa grew up in Miami, FL and moved to San Francisco in 2000. She attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University while working full time and graduated in 2009. Following that, she worked as a file clerk at Selman Breitman LLP for a year, and then attended Golden Gate University School of Law. While in law school, Lisa interned at the Self Help Center at the Alameda Superior Court, East Bay Community Law Center, and the Homeless Advocacy Project. After graduation, she was a Bridge Fellow at ALRP while she waited for her bar results, and after passing the bar, she worked as a solo practitioner for several years. In 2019, Lisa began working at the Homeless Advocacy Project as a staff attorney on their Housing team, and in 2023, she moved back to ALRP. She’s very glad to be back after almost 10 years.

Emily Heinzen

Staff Attorney

After working in education for several years, Emily received her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2018, graduating with an emphasis in Public Interest Law. During her time in school, Emily had the opportunity to work at ALRP as a law clerk, where she learned firsthand about the issues facing people living with HIV. Prior to joining ALRP as a full-time staff member, Emily worked as an extern with the San Francisco District Attorney’s office and explored private practice as family law attorney. Emily is thrilled to be back at ALRP as the Outreach Attorney, meeting with clients and community partners throughout the Bay Area and supporting clients with their estate planning needs.

Sloka Krishnan

Development and Communications Manager

Sloka Krishnan joined ALRP as Volunteer and Communications Coordinator in 2023 before becoming Development and Communications Manager in June 2023. Prior to ALRP, he served in a number of development and administrative roles in the nonprofit sector, primarily related to public health and immigrant and LGBTQ justice. A reformed Midwesterner, Sloka holds a Master of Science in Information from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University. In his spare time, he is a hobbyist playwright / theatre artist.

Kim Kruse

Clinical Social Work Supervisor

Kim graduated from San Francisco State University in 2004 with a Master’s in Social Welfare. She worked at Kaiser Permanente Hospital San Francisco in-patient for 15 years. In January 2020, she began her role as the TRC (Tenant Right to Counsel) Social Work Supervisor with both ALRP and Legal Assistance to the Elderly. Her role has expanded to include social work supervision for Care Court legal advocates, making her a Clinical Director of Social Work Services for both ALRP and Legal Assistance to the Elderly. Kim has always loved working with the HIV community and will continue to dedicate aspects of her career to this amazing population that often is overlooked.

Nancy Martin

Social Worker

Nancy graduated from San Jose State University where she received her B.A. in social work. Nancy is currently in the master’s in social work program at San Francisco State University where she will graduate and receive her MSW in 2025. During her B.A., Nancy was a social work intern for Community Solutions where she provided rehabilitation services to children and youth struggling with mental health and behavioral challenges. Nancy loves to travel especially to Mexico where she loves to visit all her family and friends and continue to learn more about her Mexican Culture and traditions.

Ana Montano

Immigration Attorney

Ana received her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Human rights and community service are in Ana Montano’s blood. Having come of age within the dynamic social and political environment of San Francisco’s Mission District, Ana affirmed her life-long commitment to supporting the under-represented. Through her work as a public interest attorney, she has effected constructive change in the lives of the poor, people living with HIV/AIDS, the elderly, and the LGBT community. Ana was an extern for Judge Joseph Grodin at the California Court of Appeals 1st District and active in the La Raza Lawyers Association. In addition to her social justice work, Montano’s legal savvy is balanced by a deeply-rooted passion for the visual arts. She was the managing curator for the Laney College Art Gallery, in Oakland, as well as her own gallery, ‘ArtBeat’. She produced a photo-documentary exhibit on folk arts of El Salvador and several videos on Latino artists. “After all,” says Montano, “Healthy communities thrive not only on justice but also on imagination and creativity.”

Nika Nikanorov

Government Benefits Advocate

Nika Nikanorov joined ALRP as a Summer Law Clerk in 2023 before becoming the Government Benefits Advocate in May 2024. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz where she received her B.A. in Literature. Prior to ALRP, Nika has worked with the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County and Monarch Services, an immediate crisis response service for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Nika loves the outdoors and on weekends you’ll find her snowboarding, mountain biking, surfing, or hiking with her dog Maple!

Allison Pruitt

Senior Supervising Attorney

Allison graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2009 with a B.A. in Political Science, and earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2016, with a focus on human rights and public international law. During law school, Allison worked as a student attorney in the International Human Rights Clinic and completed two internships with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, first in Costa Rica and then in Switzerland. Prior to joining ALRP, Allison volunteered with the Center for Justice and Accountability, the Eviction Defense Collaborative, and Face to Face the Sonoma County AIDS Network. Allison has always had a desire to find a job working in a capacity where she can directly assist those most vulnerable to abuse. She’s lived in five different countries, travelled to twenty more on four different continents, and enjoys music, movies and museums.

Jaime Rush

Managing Attorney

Jaime received her B.A. in Sociology from Wesleyan University and earned her J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of Law in 2005. She was admitted to the California Bar later that year. During law school, Jaime was an extern for Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California Court, and she was also a member of the Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal. Since graduating, Jaime has worked as a Housing Law Clerk at ALRP, and also as a contract attorney with a small tenant advocacy practice in San Francisco.

Kai Shintani

Staff Attorney

Kai Shintani received a B.A. in art from University of California Los Angeles and earned her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law with a focus in public interest law. Kai was introduced to ALRP as a law student though GGU’s Honors Lawyering Program, which gave her the opportunity to work with the Eviction Defense Team. She is excited return to ALRP as a staff attorney on the Eviction Defense Team.

Patti Shnell

Supervising Housing Attorney

Patti Shnell graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Development Studies and a minor in Education. She earned her J.D. from New York University (NYU) School of Law. After law school Patti had a fellowship with Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town, South Africa where she worked to achieve legal status for stateless individuals. She also represented LGBTQI+ individuals pursuing asylum claims. Prior to coming to ALRP, Patti was a Senior Staff Attorney at the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA). At CAIR-LA she gained a large range of experience defending civil rights and combatting religious discrimination, including through federal litigation. In addition to defending the rights of others, Patti is passionate about running, reading, and yoga, and is very active.

Stephen Spano

HCAP Attorney

Stephen’s sordid past includes pool hustling, houselessness, a music degree from Berklee College of Music, and a career in the entertainment industry. While achieving his JD from Golden Gate University, Stephen externed for KQED, Judge Maria-Elena James in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, Justice Carlos Moreno in the Supreme Court of California, and of course: ALRP. Indeed, Stephen’s connections to ALRP run deep. Having been a volunteer, law clerk, donor, fundraiser, panel attorney as well as a client, Stephen’s role as the HCAP Staff Attorney provides him the opportunity to support Consumers of HIV services as well as Service Providers using alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Slater Stanley

Staff Attorney

Slater joined ALRP as a staff advocate in March 2024 before passing the California bar and becoming a staff attorney in May, with a focus on immigration and housing matters. As a law student, Slater interned with Oasis Legal Services and The LGBT Asylum Project, where he assisted in the preparation of affirmative asylum applications and supporting evidence as well as hearing representation for LGBTQ-identified asylum seekers at the San Francisco Asylum Office. Slater holds a JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a Bachelor’s degree in Mandarin Language and Chinese History from NYU. Prior to law school, he worked as a professional makeup artist for five years.

Bryanna Terry

Paralegal

Bryanna is passionate about helping people any way she can. She joined ALRP in 2023 with the intention to help people stay housed. She believes that legal representation is a right that should not be decided by your economic status. Bryanna graduates from Bryant & Stratton College in October 2023 with an AA in Paralegal Studies. Her passion is in law, but her drive is from family. In 2021 and 2022, she was a volunteer soccer coach for kids with disabilities. She enjoys playing games, creating AI artwork, and spending time with family.