Jennifer Toth Clary (she/her) has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 20 years, and her background includes organizing, policy advocacy, and fundraising for some of the most pressing issues of our times: same-sex marriage, immigration reform and reproductive justice. Over the past several years, Jennifer has focused her work on fundraising to support progressive non-profits, through creating Major Donor campaigns, aligning progressive foundation funding priorities with community organizations, and creating pathways for grassroots supporters to focus their giving in meaningful ways. Jennifer recently received her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credentials, and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Most importantly, she is a staunch believer in the principles of Community Centered Fundraising; namely the belief that fundraising must be grounded in race, equity and social justice.

Prior to joining the Law Center in January 2022, Jennifer was the Development Manager with the Workers Defense Project in Texas, and a Campaign Manager with the Unitarian Universalist Association, where she directed the Side with Love Campaign. She especially loves connecting with people through well-crafted events and powerful mission-driven storytelling, and also owned her own event planning and consulting business for several years.

Jennifer enjoys volunteering in her spare time, including through her local PTA and Girl Scouts. A native of Miami, Florida, Jennifer currently lives in Georgetown, Texas with her husband, two daughters, and rescue dogs named after the Golden Girls.

Julia Hartenstein (she/her) has been passionate about ending homelessness for the last 14 years – both personally and professionally.  She has worked alongside unhoused people to organize an art exhibit where individuals with lived experience of homelessness could showcase their artistic talents, planned memorial services for people who tragically passed away after experiencing homelessness, and served on the Advisory Board of Baltimore’s street newspaper where people with lived experience were involved at every level of the organization – from vendor to editor-in-chief. Through this work, unhoused people became not only Julia’s leaders and teachers in the struggle for housing, economic, and racial justice, but also cherished friends. Julia has a Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in management and community organizing. Prior to joining the Law Center as the Operations Director, Julia worked in administration and human resources for the Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore, Maryland.  She truly enjoys leveraging her skills and knowledge to strengthen nonprofit organizations from the inside.  When she’s not working, you can find Julia hiking, camping, traveling, baking, and enjoying sports – especially rugby.

Siya Hegde (she/her) joined the Law Center as a Staff Attorney for the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign in May of 2023. Based in Manhattan, she is a first-generation immigrant with cultural roots in India and remains deeply committed to using the power of law and policy to combat poverty, homelessness, and structural systems of oppression. During her nearly four-year tenure at The Bronx Defenders, serving as a Civil Public Defender and the organization’s first ever Housing Policy Counsel, Siya engaged in significant client facing advocacy and litigation that centered on the civil consequences of individuals’ contact with legal systems. She developed a particular focus on eviction defense and housing justice issues, and in her movement lawyering capacity, was tasked with advancing housing reform efforts in partnership with local grassroots movements, directly impacted tenants, advocates, and defender organizations across New York City.

Siya graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was the Executive Editor of the North Carolina Journal of International Law, the Co-Coordinator of the Dean’s Fellow Program, and member of the International Law Moot Court Team. She interned at the Wake County Public Defender’s Office in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, and prior to law school, gained extensive experience as a Scholar Research Assistant at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Her work and commentary have been featured in various outlets, including the New York Daily News, Times Union, City Limits, the New York Law Journal, and the Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law and Policy. She is an alumnus of Colby College, having earned her B.A. in Environmental Policy in 2013.

Will Knight is a directly impacted Colombian-American immigrant, movement organizer, and litigator who has dedicated his career to advocating for the most vulnerable in our society.  As a victim of cartel violence who lost his father to the carceral state, Will began his legal career in criminal prosecution through the Truman Young Fellowship, but he found his calling at the other table, as a public defender.  

Will is now regarded among the best criminal defense attorneys in Arizona, and in his private practice he has been a courtroom advocate for the humanity of marginalized communities since the pre-Obergefell fight for marriage equality.  Most recently, Will's counsel and leadership across a broad spectrum of civil rights cases—from pursuing justice on behalf of the victims of state-sanctioned brutality and murder, to holding Maricopa County's top police and prosecutors accountable for politically prosecuting peaceful protestors with false charges—were instrumental in A.G. Merrick Garland's decision to launch a D.O.J. civil rights investigation into the City of Phoenix's violent police practices.    

Will joined the Law Center in March 2023 as its new Decriminalization Director, where he wields deep personal and professional experience combating systems of oppression to help end our governments' inhumane treatment of the unsheltered and precariously housed in a growing national housing crisis.   

"We can't reform unjust systems that are operating precisely how they were designed.  That's why I consider myself an organizer and directly impacted community leader first, and an impact lawyer second.  Because to end human suffering, we need to listen most closely to those who are suffering.  We must put the people closest to the harm closest to the power.  Vulnerability is strength," Will said.  

Will is completely publicly educated, receiving his B.S. cum laude from Georgia State University and his J.D. from Arizona State University, where he graduated second overall in his law school class.  He also sits on the Commissions on Access to Justice and Diversity, Equality, and Justice in Arizona's Administrative Office of the Courts, teaches evidence as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, and chairs the Mentor Program Committee at the State Bar of Arizona.  

Katie joined the Law Center in 2021 as the Senior Youth Attorney, where she advocates for laws and policies that will help end youth homelessness. Before joining the Law Center, Katie was a staff attorney at Solid Ground in Seattle, WA providing legal representation to low-income people in administrative hearings and appeals for state public benefits. A 2006 graduate of University of Washington School of Law, Katie has also worked as the Director of Pro Bono Programs at Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore, MD and served as a volunteer, board member, staff attorney and Executive Director of Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington, an organization that provided accessible civil legal representation to homeless and at-risk youth and young adults. In her spare time, she is an avid gardener and enjoys exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Amanda Norwood (she/her) serves as the HR & Operations Manager at the Law Center. As an HR professional, she is dedicated to building supportive and inclusive workplaces that allow employees to bring their best selves to work. She has long had a passion for social justice issues and looks forward to helping create a world where all people have safe, affordable housing. 

Amanda holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the University of Alberta. In her free time, she enjoys playing board and video games and discovering new music. 

Jeremy Penn (they/she) works on the Law Center’s Youth Homelessness Team. They focus on policy and legal change to eliminate youth homelessness in the United States. Her work has included revamping the State Index on Youth Homelessness, federal coalition-building with national partners, collaborating with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, and enforcing the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento.) Prior to joining the Law Center, Jeremy assisted families fleeing Afghanistan after the US withdrawal.

Jeremy graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in May 2021. They served as Executive Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives, 3L Delegate in the Student Bar Association House of Delegates, President for OutLaw (Georgetown Law’s LGBTQ+ affinity group), and Treasurer for Georgetown Law’s National Lawyers Guild student chapter. While in law school, Jeremy interned with Law for Black Lives, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, the Congressional Office of Representative Donna Shalala, and the Civil Rights Section of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. She also served as a Research Assistant for Professor Naomi Mezey.

Jeremy is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia. They proudly hail from New Jersey.

Brittany joined the Law Center in November 2023 as the Decriminalization Program Administrator. In her role she will be “the glue” of the Decriminalization department assisting in operations, logistics, and development. Brittany currently resides in Tulsa, OK where she has deep ties to movements addressing the hyper-incarceration of women/people of color, the disruption of families by the child welfare system, and the daily acts of state violence committed against native communities. She understands from first-hand experience the many problems caused by being deprived of a home. Because of this, she is eager to join NHLC in the fight to end homelessness.

Brittany loves spending her free time with her dog Chauncy and friends, floating in the river, going to live concerts and musicals, and watching anime. She graduated with her B.A. in Women & Gender Studies, as well as African & African American Studies from the University of Oklahoma.

Jesse is the Campaign and Communications Director at the National Homelessness Law Center. He led the communications and power-building work on the historic Johnson vs. Grants Pass Supreme Court Case. Jesse also leads the Housing, Not Handcuffs Campaign, which brings together local, state, and federal partners to fight against laws that make it a crime to live outside and push for housing and other proven solutions to homelessness. Jesse’s work is frequently featured in various media outlets, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

Previously, he was the Senior Manager for Policy and Advocacy at Miriam’s Kitchen, a DC-based nonprofit working to end long-term homelessness. At Miriam’s Kitchen, Jesse managed a collation that won funding to end chronic homelessness for over 6,000 people.

Jesse received his master’s in social work at Howard University and lives in DC with his spouse and kiddo.

Justin Rodriguez joined the Law Center as a Senior Development Associate in May 2025, bringing over four years of experience in grant writing, compliance management, and donor relations. Before joining the team, Justin served as a Grants & Scientific Affairs Specialist at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), where he led communication efforts, managed peer review panels, and oversaw grant cycles from application to award disbursement.

He also previously supported grant programs at the Latino Economic Development Center, providing direct assistance to small business owners and coordinating application processes that helped boost funding success. With a strong background in stakeholder engagement, project management, and strategic communications, Justin plays a key role in strengthening the Law Center’s fundraising efforts and ensuring alignment with the mission through thoughtful donor stewardship and data-driven development practices.

Justin is guided in this work by a deep belief in equity and a commitment to leveraging resources to create sustainable impact in underserved communities. Outside of the Law Center, Justin enjoys exploring D.C.’s food scene, learning new skills, and staying active through dance and fitness.

John comes to the National Homelessness Law Center from the Pacific Northwest, after working for Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC) in Seattle for the past three years.   He has spent the last ten years working with at risk and unhoused youth in Portland and Seattle.  After taking the bar exam and beginning to volunteer at youth homeless drop-in centers, the youth homelessness community radicalized John, which led him to create the Homeless Youth Legal Clinic (HYLC), the first of its kind in Oregon.  

He was both the co-founder and Legal Director for HYLC, a transformative experience where he practiced movement lawyering for unhoused youth in Portland, creating the clinic with youth and advocates from the community, those in the foster care to youth homelessness pipeline, immigrant youth and many others with lived experiences.  HYLC concentrated on the civil legal rights of homeless youth and the consequences of the criminalization of homelessness.  HYLC was shuttered during the pandemic, and John continued his work in Seattle at LCYC.  

John graduated from CUNY Law School in 2004 and worked in poverty law since graduation, including stints with Legal Services of New Jersey and the NJ public defender as an appellate attorney for parents. John is also a National Lawyers Guild Member and is active in the task force on the Americas. He has gone on human rights delegations in El Salvador, Venezuela and other colonized democracies in the global south. He also has a Bachelor of Political Science from Salem State College, and a MSW from the University of Connecticut.   

He was born in Methuen, Massachusetts where he maintains a passionate connection to the Celtics and Red Sox.  

Eric Tars serves as the National Homelessness Law Center’s Senior Policy Director, leading the development, oversight, and implementation of the Law Center’s policy advocacy agenda to cultivate a society where every person can live with dignity and enjoy their basic human rights, including the right to affordable, quality, and safe housing. Eric helped spearhead the launch of the Law Center’s national Housing Not Handcuffs campaign, has served as counsel of record in multiple precedent-setting cases, including Martin v. Boise in the 9th Circuit, and is frequently quoted in national and local media, including NPR, AP, New York Times, and Washington Post.

“My father grew up homeless, as a refugee following WWII. I believe every person deserves to be treated with the same dignity and respect for basic human rights as I would have wanted to see him and his family receive.”

Before coming to the Law Center, Eric was a Fellow with Global Rights’ U.S. Racial Discrimination Program and consulted with Columbia University Law School’s Human Rights Institute and the US Human Rights Network.

Eric received his J.D. magna cum laude as a Global Law Scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received his B.A. magna cum laude in political science from Haverford College and studied international human rights in Vienna at the Institute for European Studies and at the University of Vienna.