Staff
alejandro bracamontes, Executive Director
Alejandro Bracamontes is a first-generation Mexican American and the Executive Director of the Right to Immigration Institute. He is also an activist and a service worker. He has worked with human rights advocacy organizations for the last seven and a half years in Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United States. As a Department of Justice accredited representative, Alejandro draws from both his professional and personal experience in his advocacy work. Bracamontes is an undergraduate student at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Douglas smith, Legal programs director
Professor Douglas Smith is a Joshua A. Guberman Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Legal Studies at Brandeis University. He has experience in legal clinic work and immigration law. Professor Smith has spent nearly 30 years in the legal field. Professor Smith is in charge of TRII’s training program and oversees TRII’s legal representation services.
Judy Hogan, AmeriCorps immigration attorney
Judy Hogan has over twenty-five years experience as an attorney and manager in the financial services and non-profit fields. She also has volunteer legal experience assisting applicants complete their citizenship applications. Judy joined TRII's team in September 2019 as an Immigration Attorney through the AmeriCorps New American Integration Program. In September 2021, Judy became an Access to Justice Fellow serving at TRII.
Diane Levine Gardener, Access to Justice Fellow
Diane Levine Gardener served as an in-house attorney for Boston University for 30 years, providing legal support for academic, research, health care, and business activities. After retiring in 2016, she has volunteered as part of the legal resources group within the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network and as a Board member of One Can Help, Inc. (a non-profit organization focused on kids and families involved in the Massachusetts Juvenile Court system). She joined TRII as an Access to Justice Fellow in September 2019.
Matthew Phelan, Americorps Immigration Attorney
Matthew Phelan is an experienced attorney who has worked in private practice in Massachusetts as well as having served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Budget and Management in St. Thomas, an Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice, and as a staff attorney in various roles for the Federated States of Micronesia. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from Boston University and his J.D. from New England School of Law. Matthew joined TRII's team in September 2021 as an Immigration Attorney through the AmeriCorps New American Integration Program.
Lauren Davis, Americorps Fellow
Lauren recently graduated from Brandeis University with majors in Politics and Hispanic Studies. She has worked with TRII since her freshman year doing casework and translation and was, most recently, President of the Brandeis Student Association for TRII. Lauren has completed the TRII Intensive Training and has applied to become a DOJ Accredited Representative.