Marissa Nunez
Mari Núñez is the El Paso Immigration Collaborative (EPIC) Project Coordinator through Innovation Law Lab. Her work focuses on the mechanics of the EPIC project, facilitating cases from intake to release and the collection of data on the El Paso ICE jurisdiction. Mari received her Bachelor’s magna cum laude in Enterprise Regulation with a minor in Dramatic Arts from St. John’s University. Prior to joining Innovation Law Lab, Mari worked at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, where she strengthened their volunteer and pro bono programs, and worked on web development, communications development, fundraising, legal work, and human resources. Mari is a proud El Pasoan who loves dancing, choreographing, and listening to music.
Estrella Cedillo
Estrella Cedillo graduated from Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Originally from California, she moved to Texas to join the El Paso Immigration Collaborative (EPIC) as an Immigration Justice Campaign Fellow. Estrella has a long-standing commitment to providing pro bono legal services, receiving the Pro Bono Award of Excellence in 2018. Her passion for practicing immigration law comes from growing up in a primarily immigrant community. Prior to joining the Santa Fe Dreamers Project, Estrella practiced family law in New Mexico. During her free time, Estrella enjoys watching horror movies, trying out new restaurants and exploring hiking trails.
Max Brooks
Max Brooks works full-time on the EPIC project as a staff attorney at the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and a HIAS Border Fellow. Max directs the component of EPIC’s work focused on representing asylum seekers the government is detaining and attempting to deport after only a screening interview and a cursory review, without placing in full immigration proceedings. Max graduated from Boston University School of Law in 2013. Before joining EPIC and Las Americas, Max clerked for the Honorable Judge Nancy Torresen of the U.S. District Court of Maine and worked as a litigator at Johnson, Webbert & Young LLP, a leading New England civil rights firm. Before relocating to El Paso, Max studied Spanish at Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and volunteered at La 72, a migrant shelter in Tenosique, Mexico.
Robbie Ross
Robbie Ross oversees remote volunteer coordination for EPIC, working to harness the enthusiasm folks around the country bring to this critical work. Robbie brings to bear over a decade of experience in scaling people operations at start-up organizations in the social impact space. He currently oversees partnerships at All Hands and Cultivate, two initiates working to attract, train, and retain diverse talent across the progressive movement. Before that, he was Chief of Staff at a progressive digital agency called Purpose, where he oversaw global people & culture operations. And prior to Purpose, he spent four years on the founding faculty of The School for Ethics & Global Leadership, a high school semester program in DC. Robbie carries a degree from Harvard College in Social Studies with a focus in “Human Rights and Development in Africa” and serves on the board of The Child Is Innocent, an NGO based in northern Uganda that provides high-quality education and leadership training to local kids. If he’s not working, he’s probably hiking El Camino or shamelessly recording layers of himself on Garageband.
Nora Gonzalez
Nora Gonzalez is an El Paso native who recently graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from The University of Texas at El Paso. Her journey with EPIC began as an intern, and she is now a legal assistant with Santa Fe Dreamers Project where she focuses on removal defense for LGBTQ immigrants in detention. Nora is an active volunteer in her community through organizations like NAMI, where she promotes mental health awareness, and serves as a mentor through the Big Brother Big Sisters program.
Alan Dicker
Alan Dicker is a J.D. candidate at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Before law school, Alan was deeply involved in migrant solidarity organizing on the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border through the Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee, Fronterizx Fianza Fund, and Annunciation House. He also worked on issues ranging from eviction defense to environmental discrimination as a paralegal at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.
Allegra Love
Allegra Love works at Santa Fe Dreamers Project. She is a licensed attorney in New Mexico. She has a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She is passionate about ending the detention of asylum seekers on the US border. She likes country music, trucks, and hanging out with her nephews.
Ian Philabaum
Ian Philabaum is a Program Director at Innovation Law Lab. A Tucson native, Ian holds a Masters in Development Practice from the University of Arizona. Ian has spent his career working with collaborative humanitarian assistance and legal services projects focused on refugees and asylum seekers in Mexico and the United States. Ian lives in and splits his time between San Diego, CA and El Paso, TX.