LEGAL TEAM
Elizabeth David Dembrowsky
Secretary of Board
Admitted to the bar in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, and California, Elizabeth's legal work focuses primarily on helping new and emerging social entrepreneurs. As a non-profit executive with over a decade of experience, she has vast experiences in this area and has helped ensure the success and safety of numerous organizations.
She also serves as the Executive Director for Keren Or, Inc., The Jerusalem Center for Blind Children with Multiple Disabilities, a position she has held since 2012.
Elizabeth holds a Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School where she attended night school while working fulltime; a Masters in Writing from the University of Warwick, UK where she received the Student Busary Award; and a Bachelors in Psychology from Boston University where she graduated summa cum laude and studied on a full-tuition, four-year scholarship.
Elizabeth is a member of the Administrative Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, a Board member of Advancing Jewish Professionals of Greater New York, and a volunteer attorney with the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society. Her immigration works focuses on asylum and family petitions.
Elizabeth is a published poet and novelist.
Giovanna Mabile
Transactional Legal Fellow
Giovanna is a former law clerk and attorney in Brazil, her country of origin. She completed her LLM degree from Brooklyn Law School and sat for the New York Bar Exam in July of 2016. Before coming to the United States, she attended an one-year higher education program in Paris at Université Panthéon-Assas. She is fluent in Portuguese and French. Giovanna focused her studies in international business law, and hopes to work as transactional attorney in the United States. She is very excited to help start-ups and social entrepreneurs as Good Counsel’s Legal Fellow.
Gabriela Rendon
Arts and Entertainment Law Fellow
Originally from Ecuador, Gabriela graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, she is currently pursuing her LLM degree from Brooklyn Law School and plans to sit for the New York Bar Exam in July of 2018. Before coming to the United States, Gabriela attended a one-year higher education program in Paris at the Université Paris Descartes. She is fluent Spanish, French, and English. Gabriela plans to practice law in the United States, specializing in immigration law and women’s rights. She also has a great interest in the non-profit field. She is member of the Activist’s Alliance of the National Organization for Women NYC. In addition to being a lawyer, she is a passionate modern and contemporary dancer. She graduated from the Ailey School and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, currently sits on the board of the Curet Performance Project, and serves as a rehearsal director of Valleto Dance Company.
Melissa Sherman
Start-up Legal Fellow
Thinking of herself as a mix of New York grit and southern charm, Melissa Sherman graduated from the University of Central Florida and is now a third year at Brooklyn Law School, where she serves as President of the National Security Law Society.
​
Focusing on intellectual property, technology and international law, she serves as Good Counsel’s Start-Up Legal Fellow. She has interned on the Hill, at the United Nations and at Keren Or Inc., an international nonprofit for blind children.
​
You can find her drinking a latte just about anywhere, performing as a freelance make-up artist or geeking out at a Broadway show. She is excited to be apart the entrepreneurs that make up the Good Counsel family.
Bidhata Poudel
International human rights and Immigration Law Fellow
Bidhata is a Human Rights Attorney in Nepal, her country of origin. She completed her LLM degree from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York and plans to sit for the New York Bar Exam in February of 2017. Though she plans to be an attorney in the United States and wants to pursue a career specializing in immigration law, she has an equally strong passion to work in the non-profit world, and as a result she came in contact with Keren-Or Inc. She is a legal fellow for Keren-Or and also been an active volunteer for Good Counsel. She is hardworking and dedicated and highly motivated to achieve her ambitious long term goals- making her a great member of the Good Counsel family.
Alessia Asaro
Intellectual Property Legal Intern
Alessia Asaro is a final year law student at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, in Italy, and she is currently writing a master's thesis on copyright law about derivative works.
Focusing on intellectual property, she is interning at Good Counsel to gain practical exposure to US IP law and learn more about the non-profit sector.
Viola Adyo
Law Intern
Viola is a multilingual law and criminology student with a keen interest in pro bono and social justice work. She developed her communication and advocacy skills through representing her school, Griffith University, in various national Moot Court competitions and has had the privilege of mentoring first- year law and criminology students with the transition to university, encouraging students to set goals and take an active role in their career development and being an inspiring role model. With a strong commitment to pro bono work, Viola has reviewed wrongful conviction cases for the Innocence Project in Australia and made recommendations for the retesting of DNA evidence. Also strongly committed to giving back through charitable activities, Viola is involved in the Salvation Army Australia, running Aid for the Blind OP Shop and participating in local fundraising events to help the homeless, sick children and girls in developing countries. Her experience studying Immigration, Human Rights, and International Litigation and Arbitration at La Salle University, Mexico City and at Michigan State University has alerted her to the importance of having an international perspective and knowledge of the global community. These experiences have also significantly shaped her understanding of different legal practices, further informing her cultural awareness and boosting her aspiration of being a global citizen with a globally engaged legal career.
Isaac Swirsky
Law Intern
Having recently graduated high school in the UK, Isaac is excited to be interning in New York during his gap year. Isaac looks forward to commencing his legal studies at the London School of Economics later this year, but in the meantime is exited to learn about the legal issues that start up NGOs and social entrepreneurs face. Previously working with NGOs in the UK has meant that Isaac has witnessed the legal hurdles that NGOs and their clients frequently face first hand, and is very keen to support NGOs, understanding their integral role within our society. Despite being from the UK, Isaac is fascinated by the US legal system and is keen to learn as much as possible about it and how it relates to UK and EU law so that he can work on cross border transactions in the future.
Isaac loves to keep up to date with current affairs, and enjoys reading and travelling in his spare time. He enjoys living in New York City and ensures that he makes the most of all that this vibrant city has to offer.
Giulia Crepaldi
Law Intern
Giulia is in her last year of law school at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan in Italy and she also began to learn U.S. law while studying abroad for a semester at UC Berkeley. During her studies, she has specifically focused on international law and is interested in applying for a LLM within the next year in the hopes of working in this field in the near future. She also has passion for working in the non-profit sector and previously interned at Keren Or Inc., an international non-profit for blind children.
Ayda Amare
Law Intern
Ayda Amare is entering her third year of undergraduate school at Ohio State University this fall. She is a Public Affairs major, hoping to specialize in the non-profit sector, with a double minor in Economics and African-American studies. As an active member of Ohio State's Morrill Scholars Program, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Ayda is incredibly passionate about issues of social justice and methods of social impact. Ayda is excited to be a member of the Good Counsel legal team and eager to learn more about advocacy and social development from a legal perspective by interacting with up-and-coming social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders.
Law Intern
From Michigan, McKenna will be beginning her final year of undergraduate studies at Michigan State University in the Fall of 2017. As a Communication major, she is currently studying for the LSAT and hoping to attend law school after graduation. While her major is primarily focused on writing and research, she has gained leadership experience in the legal field as she serves as the Marketing Chair on the executive board of the Pre-Law Society at MSU. She is interning at Good Counsel to gain exposure to corporate law and learn more about the non-profit sector. McKenna enjoys traveling and exploring New York City, as it is her first time living outside of the Midwest.