Jonathan Feldman – General Counsel

Jonathan Feldman

General Counsel

(518) 438-8046 ext. xxxx

jfeldman@plsny.org

Jonathan Feldman is General Counsel for PLS.  He worked for the Empire Justice Center for 24 years – as a Senior Attorney from 1997-2018, and as Legal Director from 2019-2022.  His primary focus has been civil rights, especially education law.  He has litigated impact cases in the areas of special education, bilingual education, school desegregation, and equitable school funding.  He has taught education law at Seton Hall Law School and the University of Rochester, and has co-authored two editions of the textbook, Education Law (Routledge: 2014 and 2021).

He has also taught legal ethics, legal writing, and clinical courses at Cornell Law School and Syracuse University College of Law.  During the 1990s, he worked for the Education Law Center in Newark, NJ, and the Community Service Society in New York City.  A graduate of Oberlin College and NYU Law School, he clerked for the Hon. James T. Giles, a federal district judge, and the first African American to be named partner at a major Philadelphia law firm (1975).

On the side, he plays in blues and jazz groups (piano and vocals).  Jonathan Feldman Trio on Spotify; Jonathan Feldman channel on YouTube.

Elementor #8883

Gina Andrade

Paralegal/Legal Secretary
(518) 694-8699 ext. 2112
gandrade@plsny.org

Gina was born in Brooklyn, New York. Gina graduated from the University at Albany, SUNY with a bachelor’s degree in Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latino studies. She is currently in the master’s program there and is set to graduate with her Master’s in May 2022. Starting in the fall she will be pursuing her Ph.D. Her research interests are in Mexico specifically transnational families, and femicide. She intends to stay in academia being a college professor and at some point, having the opportunity to teach in Mexico. She has gotten the opportunity to travel to Japan, Ecuador and Puerto Rico, and hopes to continue traveling to many other places. In her free time, Gina likes to read, try different boba places and dog-sit.

PLS Response to the Buffalo TOPS Shooting

PLS Response to the Buffalo TOPS Shooting

Our hearts are with the families, friends, and community of the victims of the horrific racially motivated massacre at the Jefferson Avenue TOPS in Buffalo. To help the community in Buffalo heal, consider a donation to one of the following organizations***:

 

PLS condemns white supremacy in every form. In the wake of this tragedy, we are reminded of the words of civil rights activist John Lewis:  “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.”

 

*** PLS is not affiliated with any of the above organizations

CALL FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS

CALL FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS

CONVICTIONS BEYOND A CONVICTION

HELP PRISONERS’ LEGAL SERVICES CELEBRATE NATIONAL PRO BONO WEEK

National Pro Bono Week (October 23rd – 29th) is a time to celebrate and recognize the dedicated work of pro bono volunteers, as well as to educate the community about the many legal and other issues faced by our clients. PLS is happy to announce that this year we will again be celebrating National Pro Bono Week with an event highlighting our commitment to serving the incarcerated community.


This will be our 11th year celebrating pro bono work and to start off this second decade, we will also be compiling a book of poetry written exclusively by incarcerated individuals.

Inspired by Brian Stevenson’s quote “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done,” we are seeking poetry submissions from incarcerated people that focuses on who you are apart from your conviction and incarceration. We want to help you tell people on the outside who you really are.


  • What do you believe in?
  • What are your ambitions, hopes, and dreams?
  • What do your children, parents, family, and friends mean to you?
  • How have your past experiences shaped you as a person?
  • What do you want others to know about you, beyond your conviction?


Unlike past years where our Pro Bono Event has focused on specific topics such as solitary confinement, immigration, medical care and education, this year’s theme, Convictions Beyond a Conviction, is purposely broad. Our goal is to give every incarcerated New Yorker a chance to contribute, express themselves, and have their voices heard. If you speak/write in a language other than English, please feel free to send us a submission in your primary language, that is, the language in which you are most comfortable expressing yourself. We will compile selected submissions into a book of poetry, and some of those poems will be presented by professional actors during a live performance at our National Pro Bono Week celebration.


Poems should be no more than one (1) page in length and mailed to: Pro Bono Director, Prisoners’ Legal Services of NY, 41 State Street, Suite M112, Albany, New York 12207, no later than June 30, 2022.

 

By sharing the poems of incarcerated people, we hope to educate the public, and recruit attorneys to take cases pro bono, thus increasing access to justice for indigent incarcerated persons across the State. While we cannot guarantee that each piece will be read or included in our publication, we encourage all submissions and will do our best to integrate as many as possible in the book and our event. The book will not be sold for profit and PLS reserves the right to make editorial changes to submissions.


Please note that contributing your story for the Pro Bono Event described above is not the same as seeking legal assistance/representation from PLS. If you are seeking legal assistance, you must write separately to the appropriate PLS office.


PLEASE INITIAL ON THE APPROPRIATE LINE(S) AND SIGN BELOW, AND ENCLOSE WITH YOUR SUBMISSION:   PLS Poetry Submission Form for National Pro Bono Week 2022

DOCCS REVERSES CLIENT’S REMOVAL FROM WORK RELEASE PROGRAM FOLLOWING A LAWSUIT FILED BY PLS IN FEDERAL COURT

DOCCS REVERSES CLIENT’S REMOVAL FROM WORK RELEASE PROGRAM FOLLOWING A LAWSUIT FILED BY PLS IN FEDERAL COURT

PLS prevails in challenge to a DOCCS’ decision to remove our client from the work release program following his filing of a worker’s compensation program claim for a prior occupational injury as one that violates Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

Beckhorn v. NYSDOCCS, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-01452, W.D.N.Y.

 

Mr. Beckhorn was approved to participate in DOCCS’ work release program. However, after DOCCS staff learned that he filed a worker’s compensation claim for a prior occupational injury, they removed him from the work release program. This program removal also resulted in revocation of his previously earned sentence reduction credit. As a result of DOCCS’ unlawful conduct, our client spent an additional nine months in prison.

 

PLS brought claims for unlawful disability-based discrimination in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York and moved for a preliminary injunction. The Court found that Mr. Beckhorn was likely to succeed on his claim that his removal from the work release program violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, and ordered DOCCS to restore his sentence reduction credit. PLS subsequently obtained a monetary settlement for Mr. Beckhorn to compensate him for exclusion from the work release program and prolonged incarceration.

Madison Levin – Staff Attorney

Madison Levin

Staff Attorney

(518) 438-8046 ext. 1101

mlevin@plsny.org

Madison joined PLS as a staff attorney in 2022. Before joining PLS, she was a fellow with Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project where she worked primarily on behalf of the plaintiff class in Nunez v. City of New York, a federal class action filed to address unconstitutional excessive force on Rikers Island. She graduated from Columbia Law School, where her passion for prisoners’ rights was cemented in a clinical program where she, four fellow student advocates, and her supervising attorney shepherded a successful §1983 failure to protect case through a federal jury trial. Madison began to focus on issues of justice and human rights when she became a counselor for the Youth Leadership Initiative through the YW in Boston. Additionally, she was an advocate for foster children in Washington, where she saw first-hand the devastation the legal system can cause to families. 

 

Prior to law school, Madison had a diverse list of careers. She earned a BA from Boston University and began her professional life as a dental assistant in pediatric offices. She has worked for a variety of theatre companies, including Impulse Company France and Actors’ Shakespeare Project, mostly in the technical realm but occasionally on stage. Madison also has experience in animal welfare having routinely volunteered at a non-profit horse rescue facility in Colorado.  

Chloe Bowerman – Immigration Staff Attorney

Chloe Bowerman

Immigration Staff Attorney

(716) 844-8266 ext. 1322

cbowerman@plsny.org

Chloe is a proud Buffalo, NY native. She received a Dual Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Social Sciences from the University at Buffalo in 2018. During her undergraduate studies, Chloe participated in her University’s Model European Union program and had the opportunity to debate various geopolitical issues on the European Union floor in Brussels, Belgium. Chloe graduated with her J.D. from New England Law | Boston in May 2021, where she obtained the CALI Excellence Award in Immigration Law, and spent her final year of law school working in the public defender’s office as a 3:03 Student Attorney. In this capacity, she represented non-citizens in various criminal proceedings, and explored the intersection of the criminal justice and immigration systems. She hopes to one day advocate for noncitizens and those within the criminal justice system on a national policy level. Chloe studied and passed the Uniform Bar Exam during her last semester of law school, and was admitted to the Vermont Bar in September 2021. In her free time, Chloe enjoys watching movies, cooking, and traveling. Go Bills!

Mari Flamm – PREP Social Worker

Mari Flamm, LMSW

Re-entry Social Worker

(716) 292-0282

mflamm@plsny.org

Mari joined Prisoners’ Legal Services in November 2021. She is based out of the PREP office in Brooklyn. Mari received her Master’s in Social Service (MSW equivalent) from Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 2020 and was licensed that same year. Mari is passionate about working to end mass incarceration and thinking about the impact incarceration has on the people touched by the criminal legal system. In addition to her experience working with jail-based and youth diversion programs, she has volunteered with a number of prison-related initiatives including the Petey Greene Program, Prison Journalism Project and Prison Health News. In her free time, Mari likes to read memoirs, listen to podcasts and explore New York. 

Jill Marie Nolan – PREP Program Coordinator

Jill Marie Nolan, LCSW

PREP Program Coordinator

(845) 391-3110 ext 1504

jnolan@plsny.org

Jill Marie Nolan, LCSW, joined PLS in November, 2021, as the PREP Program Coordinator. Jill is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA and her Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University, New York, NY.  Prior to joining PLS, she worked as a hospital social worker in a large academic hospital in New York City. She worked for five years with individuals with HIV/AIDS, then spent seventeen years as the Critical Care Neurology Social Worker of the hospital’s Neurological Intensive Care Unit. Jill has always been interested in the impact of the criminal legal system on individuals and communities and is passionate about helping prepare incarcerated individuals for successful community re-entry. She has volunteered as an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and is passionate about animal rights. In her spare time, Jill enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with family, friends, and her many animals.