Abi Adams, Professor of Economics and Director, Morton Schapiro Center for Applied Economics, Northwestern University
Professor Abi Adams’ research examines the economic dimensions of gender-based violence, including how abuse affects employment, financial security and decision-making. Much of her recent work focuses on less visible forms of harm, including workplace violence against women and the dynamics of abusive relationships. Professor Adams is currently co-leading an evaluation of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s program to support high-risk domestic violence cases in Chicago.
Sonya Crabtree-Nelson, Associate Professor and Director, Community Service Studies Minor Program, DePaul University
Professor Sonya Crabtree-Nelson, PhD, LCSW, has more than 20 years of direct practice experience. She believes research is strongest when driven by community needs and maintains strong connections with local organizations. Her community-engaged research focuses on gender-based violence, trauma and resilience, as well as social justice in community work and social work education.
Professor Crabtree-Nelson has presented at national and international conferences and published articles in peer-reviewed journals. She also was a guest editor for a two-volume special issue in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma on the topic of brain injury in survivors of intimate partner violence. Crabtree-Nelson co-founded the Illinois Coalition to Address Intimate Partner Violence-Induced Brain Injury, and she is working on several research projects related to intimate partner violence-induced brain injury and partners with researchers across the country.
Lauren Ellbogen, Staff Attorney, Consumer Practice Group, Legal Aid Chicago
Lauren Ellbogen’s work focuses on protecting clients from predatory financial practices, tangled title issues, fraud and other forms of economic injustice. Ellbogen’s practice often centers on the intersection of domestic violence and consumer rights, including representation of survivors in matters involving financial abuse, property disputes, coerced debt and other consumer issues arising from abusive relationships. As a native Chicagoan, she is dedicated to advancing economic justice through client-centered advocacy and legal representation throughout the city.
Honorable Lester Finkle, Judge, Domestic Violence Division, Circuit Court of Cook County
The Honorable Lester Finkle hears civil order of protection cases. Before joining the bench, he spent 37 years with the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender, including work as a trial attorney in the juvenile and felony courts, as an appellate attorney and as chief of staff.
While an assistant public defender, Judge Finkle filed more than 600 appellate briefs and presented more than 50 oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court. Prior to joining the bench, he served as of counsel to Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer P.A., focusing on appellate law.
April Flores-Brayton, Director, Community-Based Services, WINGS Program
April Flores-Brayton has more than two decades of experience in survivor-centered service delivery, program development, professional training and volunteer management. A bilingual, bicultural Latina leader and Certified Domestic Violence Professional in Illinois, she works to ensure survivors of intimate partner violence have access to culturally responsive, linguistically appropriate and trauma-informed services.
Flores-Brayton collaborates with institutions, health care systems, researchers, policymakers and community leaders to improve the prevention of and response to intimate partner violence. She also is a national advocate for improving awareness and response to domestic violence-related brain injury and co-author of the WINGS Traumatic Brain Injury Toolkit, which is designed to strengthen screening, accommodations, referrals and survivor-centered care.
Honorable Megan Goldish, Judge, Domestic Violence Division, Circuit Court of Cook County
The Honorable Megan Goldish presides over criminal and civil domestic violence matters. She also teaches domestic violence topics through the Illinois Judicial College, serves on the Domestic Violence Bench Book Committee and the Office of the Chief Judge’s Domestic Violence Court Committee, and frequently speaks and writes on domestic violence law and practice.
Judge Goldish’s work in the field began before she took the bench, including volunteer work with domestic violence organizations, shelter work and an externship in Illinois’s first specialized domestic violence court. Before joining the bench, she served as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney, including as a supervising attorney and first chair in the Domestic Violence Division. Outside the courtroom, Judge Goldish has conducted workshops for domestic violence survivors and at-risk youth using improvisational techniques to develop communication and problem-solving skills.
Recently, Judge Goldish co-chaired the Chicago Bar Association’s first AI symposium and contributed an article on the intersection of AI and domestic violence.
Alexandra Greenberg, Partner, Davis Friedman LLP
Alexandra Greenberg focuses her practice on high-conflict divorce and child custody cases, orders of protection and guardianships. She has negotiated and litigated pre-decree divorce and post-decree modification matters, child-related issues including attempted relocation and supervised parenting time, orders of protection and complex financial issues including business valuation and income determinations.
While a DePaul Law student, Greenberg earned a family law certificate, participated in the Family Law Field Clinic and completed an externship with the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, where she assisted domestic violence victims in obtaining orders of protection. She currently serves on the Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center Advisory Board, chairs the Chicago Bar Association Domestic Violence Committee and sits on the board of directors of Ascend Justice.
Sarah Hawkins, Director, Domestic Relations Division, Cook County Office of the Public Guardian
Sarah Hawkins has represented children in contested divorces, complex guardianship matters, delinquency cases and child protection proceedings throughout her tenure at the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian. Hawkins currently manages attorneys and support staff in the Domestic Relations Division, with a focus on ensuring that children’s voices are heard as families navigate divorce and custody matters.
Hawkins previously supervised and managed courtroom staff in juvenile court and litigated complex abuse and neglect issues. She serves on DePaul’s Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center Advisory Board and is a member of the Cook County Domestic Relations Division Child Representative Steering and Mentoring Committees.
Aziza Khatoon, Senior Staff Attorney, Children & Families Practice Group, Legal Aid Chicago
Aziza Khatoon’s practice focuses on representing survivors of domestic violence in family law matters, including divorce, child custody and order of protection cases. In addition to her work as a litigator, Khatoon frequently provides trainings to Legal Aid Chicago’s community partner agencies.
Khatoon serves on DePaul’s Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center Advisory Board and is an active member of the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence. She previously served as an American Bar Association Family Law Fellow.
Dorothy Kozlowski, Chair and Vincent de Paul Professor, Department of Neuroscience, DePaul University
Dr. Dorothy Kozlowski’s teaching and research focus on neuroscience, traumatic brain injury and neuroplasticity. Her lab studies how the brain tries to repair itself following traumatic brain injury and why repeat concussions can result in long-term neurological deficits. Professor Kozlowski’s research has been published in journals and book chapters and supported by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Professor Kozlowski’s recent work focuses on the role brain injury plays in survivors of intimate partner violence. She also co-founded and directs the Illinois Coalition to Address Intimate Partner Violence-Induced Brain Injury, which works to increase awareness, improve responses and strengthen support for survivors affected by brain injury.
Mallory Morgan, Supervisory Attorney, Children & Families Practice Group, Legal Aid Chicago
Mallory Morgan represents survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in civil protective order hearings and domestic relations matters, including divorce and child custody. She works primarily with immigrant clients and has expanded her practice to assist survivors of domestic violence in addressing immigration-related needs.
Morgan leads Legal Aid Chicago’s Comprehensive Legal Assistance for Survivors Project, which focuses on providing legal services to survivors of sexual assault. She serves on DePaul’s Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center Advisory Board and the board of the Center for Disability & Elder Law.
Chloe Mullens, Director, Family Law, Ascend Justice
Chloe Mullens supervises attorneys who provide direct legal services to survivors of domestic violence and represents clients in divorce, parentage and orders of protection matters. Mullens has more than 15 years of experience working with survivors of domestic violence and has devoted her legal career to public-interest advocacy.
Before joining Ascend Justice, Mullens was a staff attorney at Prairie State Legal Services and a fellow with the Poverty Law Project at the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services.
Lindsay Nathan, Legal Access Solutions Manager, Illinois Legal Aid Online
Lindsay Nathan manages the Illinois Legal Aid Online Get Legal Help system, partnering with legal aid agencies to connect users with legal resources and expand access to justice across Illinois. She previously served in family law roles at Ascend Justice, where her work included divorce, parentage, domestic violence and order of protection matters. Nathan serves on DePaul’s Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center Advisory Board.
Jason Pica, Associate, Dussias Wittenberg Koenigsberger LLP
Jason Pica practices divorce and family law. His background also includes clinical work with children and families and counseling teenagers, experience that informs his interest in divorce and family law cases involving mental health challenges.
Pica has served as a judicial extern in the Circuit Court of Cook County Domestic Relations Division and as a court-appointed special advocate in the Child Protection Division. He is a graduate of the American Bar Association Section of Family Law Fellowship program and serves on the editorial board of the section’s Family Law Quarterly. Pica also serves as president of the Illinois Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and co-chair of the Cook County Bar Association Family Law Committee.
Honorable Geri Pinzur Rosenberg, Judge, Domestic Relations Division, Circuit Court of Cook County
The Honorable Geri Pinzur Rosenberg presides over matters involving dissolution of marriage, allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, legal separation, orders of protection, child support, third-party visitation and parentage matters. Before joining the bench, Judge Rosenberg served at the Chicago Transit Authority, where she rose to chief attorney of the Tort Litigation Division. She has received the Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter’s Trial Lawyer Excellence Award, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois Top Women Lawyers in Leadership Award and the Decalogue Society Intra-Society Award.
Honorable Judith C. Rice, Presiding Judge, Domestic Violence Division, Circuit Court of Cook County
The Honorable Judith C. Rice presides over matters involving divorce, child custody and support. She also serves as presiding judge of the Domestic Violence Division, where she has led initiatives to expand access to protection orders, improve court services, increase staffing and better support victims of domestic violence, seniors and individuals with disabilities. Before joining the bench, Judge Rice held leadership roles in government and banking, including service as Chicago’s city treasurer and as a senior vice president at BMO Harris Bank.
Bruce Richman, Senior Managing Director, Corporate Valuation Advisors
Bruce Richman, CPA/ABV, CVA, CFE, CFF, CPEP and PFS, is actively involved in business valuations, mergers and acquisitions, litigation support and other financial consulting matters. Richman’s valuation and forensic accounting experience covers a full spectrum of industries. With more than 25 years of experience, he is responsible for corporate valuation projects and forensic and litigation assignments for clients nationally and internationally.
Honorable Regina A. Scannicchio, Presiding Judge, Domestic Relations Division, Circuit Court of Cook County
The Honorable Regina A. Scannicchio oversees judicial education and court administration in complex, multidisciplinary domestic relations matters. She has implemented educational programming for judges and court coordinators, created a resource repository for judges, hearing officers and law clerks, reorganized and revitalized the Guardian Ad Litem/Child Representative program and expanded the division’s externship program.
Judge Scannicchio also has worked with the Honorable Judith C. Rice to increase access to justice for litigants filing emergency orders of protection by allowing them to appear remotely before their regularly assigned domestic relations judge. Before joining the bench, she was principal and manager of Scannicchio & Associates P.C., where her practice concentrated in complex divorce litigation, and she served as a guardian ad litem and child representative for minor children.
Dominique Ward, Domestic Violence Survivor
Dominique Ward is a Chicago native, mother of identical twin girls and advocate for survivors of domestic violence. Ward’s advocacy is grounded in her experience surviving cyber abuse and psychological manipulation, forms of harm that are often difficult to identify, report and prosecute.
Ward works to bridge the gap between survivors and the systems meant to protect them, collaborating with advocates, law enforcement, legal teams and lawmakers to improve how domestic abuse cases are reported, handled and prosecuted. She is committed to ensuring that survivors feel heard, supported and less alone.