With Mockingbird Society, Hickory helped advance the organization’s vision, lead strategic planning efforts, and develop a more inclusive culture focused on becoming a more anti-racist organization. Previously, Hickory managed the Lawyers Fostering Independence Program for the Center for Children and Youth Justice. In that role, he oversaw program staff, 100+ volunteer attorneys, and developed community relationships to provide young people with access to civil legal aid.

Before dedicating his career to social justice issues full time, he was a constitutional and appellate attorney at Pacifica Law Group, and clerked for Associate Chief Justice Charles W. Johnson and U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle. Hickory graduated from Seattle University with a joint J.D. / M.B.A.

Kris’s experience includes all aspects of fiscal operations including oversight of fiscal policies, cash management, financial reporting to program boards and leadership teams, management of financial teams, development of agency and grant budgets, and fiscal compliance for city, state, federal and private grants.  Before moving into the non-profit field, Kris had 16 years of accounting and financial management experience with for profit companies. Kris received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Seattle University.

In that role he trained advocates in pretrial and trial advocacy, second-chaired trials and appeals, and mentored new lawyers as they learned to litigate their own cases from start to finish. He has helped to lead NJP’s work supporting Washington’s first-in-the-nation statewide right to counsel in evictions; a seven-year effort against automatic administrative disqualification from employment that ended in legislation creating a record-clearing process; and a suit that established a first-in-the-nation statewide right to therapy for children with autism under Medicaid. Earlier at NJP, Scott was the first attorney in the Seattle Medical-Legal Partnership and opened the Pasco office. 

Over 20 years, Scott has litigated civil cases on behalf of low-income Washington residents, taking 15 trials to verdict and more than 40 administrative hearings to decision. He has mentored attorneys in state and federal appeals, coordinated amicus curiae submissions, and testified before the legislature and state agencies. Scott teaches pretrial advocacy at Seattle University, helps run the National Housing Law Project’s “Raise the Roof” training for new lawyers, and has taught trial advocacy for NITA.

Prior to joining NJP Meredith worked as a mediator and trainer in mediation skills for eight years, and as the in-house managing attorney to the Yakama Nation and the Nisqually Tribe for a total of 10 years.  Meredith grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated cum laude from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1994, and has undergraduate degrees from Kenyon College in music and biology.

Mary has over two decades of experience in legal aid, building a career rooted in advancing justice for low-income communities across the state. She began her work at NJP in 1999 as a farmworker attorney, advocating for agricultural workers facing employment-related challenges.

Over time, her practice expanded to representation for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in protection orders and family law. Her advocacy also included consumer protection, housing, and low-wage worker rights, reflecting her deep commitment to addressing the evolving needs of vulnerable populations. Mary earned her J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law.

Alma received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. She is an active member of the Washington State Bar Association, Yakima County Bar Association, and American Bar Association. Alma currently serves as a member of the Judicial Institute Board. She is a fellow of the Washington Leadership Institute and Leadership Academy.

In the past, Alma has served as co-chair of the Access to Justice Conference Planning Committee, a Trustee of the Washington Young Lawyers Division, on the ABA Language Access Project National Advisory Group, the Washington State Interpreter Commission, and as chair of the Yakima Pre-Law Conference, an annual event targeting minority and at-risk high school students in the Yakima Valley.

Prior to joining NJP, she managed a volunteer lawyer program now known as Skagit Legal Aid where she developed innovative legal clinics and community-based initiatives to address unmet civil legal needs. A graduate of Seattle University School of Law, where she earned her J.D. summa cum laude, Eva is a recognized leader in Washington’s legal aid community and is passionate about building equitable, client-centered systems that expand access to justice.

Before joining the senior management team, Jen served as a staff attorney and later Managing Attorney of the Native American Unit (NAU). Her practice focused on representing low-income American Indian and Alaska Native clients in tribal and state courts, with particular emphasis on Indian Child Welfare Act cases, protection of tribal income and trust assets, reentry services, protections for survivors of violence and other crime, estate planning and probate for Indian trust property owners, and other areas of tribal and federal Indian law.

Earlier in her career, Jen was a staff attorney with NJP’s Coordinated Legal Education, Advice and Referral line (CLEAR), providing legal advice and brief services to low-income clients throughout Washington State. She graduated from the University of Washington School of Law.

Before joining NJP, Luanne taught legal writing and analysis at a law school in Arizona. Prior to that, she worked on death penalty appeals and civil rights cases at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. She began her career in New York as a public defender and in civil legal services. Luanne graduated from NYU School of Law in 2005.

Nicole received her undergraduate degree from Western Washington University and later graduated from Boston University School of Law. Following law school, Nicole served as a judicial law clerk, and then worked as a public defender in New Mexico, Arizona, and Washington, before joining Northwest Justice Project in 2021. 

Before joining NJP, David held technology leadership positions with National CASA/GAL Association and Facing History and Ourselves. In his work with NPower Northwest and 501 Commons, David served dozens of nonprofits across the region—leading and mentoring technology teams for innovation, with an eye toward maintaining stable and secure ongoing operations. Prior to making the shift to the social sector in 2005, David spent 10 years in Internet professional services consulting in Boston. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with degrees in Philosophy and Journalism.  

She is a generalist with experience in recruiting, employee relations, labor relations, staff training and development as well as benefits, compensation, and payroll administration. Prior to joining NJP, her career was centered in the healthcare industry in addition to time in both the manufacturing and hospitality industries. Although she has worked in for-profit organizations, more than 15 of those years were in the not-for-profit sector.

She previously served in various legal assistant roles across the organization, having joined NJP in 2006 as a legal Assistant in the King County office. During that time she supported teams in fast-paced, high-demand, and complex environments. She began her career in civil legal aid in 2000 with Central California Legal Services (CCLS).

She served over seven years as a mentor to global fellows with the Aspen New Voices project. Bee’s areas of expertise include translating complex legal and scientific concepts into friendly prose, and she relishes opportunities to lift up community voices to inform positive change. She holds an MA in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in English Literature from San Francisco State University.