Our Team
The Austin Community Law Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Our mission is to make legal representation radically more affordable, invest in a stronger community, and fight for justice.
Brian McGiverin (he/him).
Executive Director
Brian McGiverin is a long-time civil rights attorney with both nonprofit and private sector firms. He has extensive experience with complex litigation, and also with helping families handle their more routine legal needs in civil, criminal, and probate matters.
His past experience includes years being a partner with the Dietz, Lawrence & McGiverin Law Center; a staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project; and as a policy aide for former Austin City Council Member Delia Garza.
Nida Din (she/her).
Staff Attorney.
Nida has a BBA in Consulting and Change Management from the University of Texas and a JD from the University of Houston Law Center. Nida is the first Deaf, Pakistani-American, female attorney in the country. Nida is also one of the few attorneys in Texas that is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). She is very excited to join ACLC and practice family law, wills, and probate. She looks forward to providing legal services to the Deaf community through direct ASL.
Oriane Leake (she/her).
Staff Attorney.
Oriane was born in France and grew up in Katy, TX. She has a BA from McGill University and a JD from The University of Texas School of Law. Prior to law school, Oriane worked in Appalachia organizing free healthcare services. Throughout law school, Oriane worked in immigration, criminal defense, and mental health law. She is delighted to join ACLC to put her varied experience into practice to serve clients here in Austin.
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Shanti Khanna (she/her).
Staff Attorney.
Shanti was born and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. While in law school, Shanti was a student attorney in the Children's Rights Clinic and the Juvenile Justice Clinic. She also worked on several pro bono projects and held internships involving foster youth rights, special education, child custody, divorce, and domestic violence law.
At ACLC, Shanti provides legal representation to individuals whose parental rights have been terminated in child protective services proceedings. Her work is generously supported by the 4Girls Foundation Postgraduate Fellowship in Law.
Madelyn "Maddy" Finucane (she/her).
Staff Attorney.
Maddy came to ACLC after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law and a staff attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. She is devoted to providing excellent legal service to ACLC clients and to developing institutional relationships that build power and support community organizing.
Maddy got her bachelors and law degrees from Harvard University and is a proud alumna of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. Before training as a lawyer, she worked as a Chinese-English translator and a civil rights paralegal.
Daniel O'Leary (he/him).
Staff Attorney.
Amelia Lefevre (they/them she/her).
Director of Operations.
Amelia has a Bachelor of Arts in Writing and Rhetoric. She lives and works in Syracuse, NY. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Syracuse Peace Council and supports many local social justice campaigns.
Amelia is excited to support ACLC’s mission while balancing life as a parent, independent writer, and activist.
Claudia Diaz (she/her).
Paralegal.
Claudia Diaz is a certified paralegal, having obtained her associates degree as a paralegal in Austin. She also holds a law degree from Mexico.
Claudia is fluent in Spanish and has worked as a translator and Spanish instructor at the Berlitz language center. She later worked at an Austin based immigration firm, then spent many years at an Austin-based legal aid organization in the estate planning division. Her current position at the Austin Community Law Center focuses on family law services.
Christi Stevens (she/her). Paralegal.
Karina Valenzuela (she/her). Paralegal.
Karina came to ACLC after six years with Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. She is a certified paralegal and member of the State Bar of Texas' Paralegal Division, and has volunteered as a Dallas CASA advocate since 2017.
Karina is fluent in English and Spanish and served as an interpreter in Dallas County Family Court for a short time. Having been raised in an immigrant family, her first passion in the legal field was immigration law, until discovered her current passion for working with clients on family law matters
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Kyle Walker (she/her). Paralegal.
Kyle has over two decades of experience in civil litigation and real estate development, and she possesses a rare combination of grasping the big picture while executing the steps needed to realize the vision in play. Kyle’s extensive volunteer and advocacy work reflects the issues rooted in her own experiences and those of her loved ones - including decarceration, expanded access to low-barrier legal assistance and behavioral health care, and integrating antiracist practices and principles. She brings her unique combination of personal and professional experience to this work while modeling for her family and community how to be the change she wishes to see in the world. Kyle is the Legal Systems Manager at Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), a member of Texas Advocates for Justice and is also a Seedling Mentor. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Sunrise Neighborhood Youth Program and Austin Recovery. Kyle adores her four precious children, her partner, and (mostly) her dog Abraham.
Alexis Biedrzycki. Law Clerk.
Nina Hernandez. Communications.
Nina Hernandez was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Journalism, and spent six years working for The Austin Chronicle, where she wrote about music, film, and local politics. In 2019, she left journalism to pursue a career in politics. When she's not working, she is mangling songs at karaoke, sharing horror stories at Greetings from Queer Mountain, and wrangling her two rambunctious pups.
Miranda O'Brien (she/they).
Social Service Coordinator.
Miranda grew up in the Bay Area in California, and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a major in Environmental Studies. She has 3 years of experience working with non profits focusing on housing, basic needs, and workforce development for youth. She is currently in her first year of the MSSW program at the UT Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She hopes to continue to work in the legal aid field to expand the interaction between social work and law. Miranda cares deeply about social, racial, economic, and environmental justice, and greatly enjoys connecting people to the resources they need to thrive.
Kyle Stephens. Legal Assistant.
Kyle has an AA from Austin Community College and will graduate with a BA in Languages and Cultures: American Sign Language/English Interpretation Concentration from Texas Tech University in December 2021. Kyle is Deaf and a native user of American Sign Language. Kyle started the journey at Austin Community Law Center (ACLC) as an intern to work with the Deaf/DeafBlind clients. Kyle fell in love with working for ACLC and upon completion of Kyle's internship, Kyle accepted a job as a Legal Assistant to continue working with the community. As a current resident of Austin, Texas, Kyle loves biking at different trails. Kyle loves having the cat sitting on Kyle’s laps during work hours to keep Kyle entertained.
Aaron Johnson, Board President, is the founder of Fair Labor Law, a law firm dedicated to enforcing workers’ rights. Previously he was senior staff attorney with the Equal Justice Center. He specializes in employment law, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Tracey Whitley, Board Vice President, has been a staff attorney with Texas Riogrande Legal Aid (TRLA) since 1999. She has held numerous leadership roles, including CBAR Managing Attorney, coordinator of TRLA’s Economic & Social Justice Groups; Team Manager for TRLA’s Consumer Law Team and Elder Law Team; and Deputy Branch Manager of TRLA’s Austin office.
Rebecca Bernhardt is Executive Director at Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility and member of the City of Austin's Public Safety Commission. She has extensive experience in policy and legislative advocacy for criminal justice reform, having served in important roles with organizations including the ACLU of Texas, Texas Defender Service, Innocence Project of Texas, and Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, as well as having been past executive director of the Texas Fair Defense Project.
Juliana Gonzalez is the Senior Director of Sexual Assault Services at SAFE. Prior to SAFE, Juliana was the Executive Director of the Austin Tenants’ Council, following two decades of non-profit management experience, including launching clinical and community advocacy programs at El Buen Samaritano’s Title X Clinic and Whole Woman’s Health of Austin, McAllen, Beaumont, San Marcos, and Baltimore.
Glenaan O'Neil is a Program Manager for Rural Services at RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services). Prior to that, she was Executive Director of the Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project, and before that, Regional Director for Immigrant Victims Services at the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Breanna Williams is a longtime Austinite and advocate for police accountability.