Staff Bios
Lindy Aldrich, Esq.
Deputy Director
Lindy Aldrich, Esq. is the Deputy Director of the Victim Rights Law Center, in Boston, MA where she manages the daily activities of the VRLC. Ms. Aldrich continues to represents victims of sexual assault across the Commonwealth in a wide range of legal areas, including her specialty of federal and state government benefits. She coordinates the VRLC’s pro bono panel, the Rape Survivors Law Project, providing trainings and case facilitation for attorneys and paraprofessionals throughout Massachusetts. She is also a trainer on the VRLC’s national Technical Assistance grant, which provides consultation and referrals to legal providers with sexual assault civil cases throughout the country. She is currently a member of the Boston Bar Association 2009 Public Interest Leadership Program (PILP) and the Rappaport Center on Law and Public Service Advisory Board. Ms. Aldrich attended Florida State University and Suffolk University Law School. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Aldrich had a 10 year career in advertising and marketing.
Colby Bruno, Esq.
Managing Attorney
Ms. Bruno has been a part of VRLC since 2004. She supervises and oversees the statewide direct client representation at the VRLC, including the Rape Survivors Law Project, the pro bono attorney panel of the VRLC. She was recently selected by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of twenty "Up & Coming Lawyers”. Ms. Bruno has represented victims of non-intimate partner sexual violence since 2003 in the areas of privacy, safety, housing, education, employment, housing and financial compensation. Ms. Bruno has specific expertise in the representation of college students utilizing Title IX, FERPA, CLERY, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and IDEA and trains nationally regarding the education rights of sexual assault victims. Colby assisted in the creation of a Massachusetts-wide training curriculum for veteran and new recruit police officers with the
Beth A. Celona
Development Director
Beth Celona directs the VRLC's strategic fundraising initiatives and community outreach. Prior to joining VRLC, Beth has been part of a senior development staff for a human service agency where she worked on individual, corporate, event planning and volunteer relations. Beth serves on the Women in Development of Greater Boston's Institute for Nonprofits. Beth has an Bachelor of Arts degree from Lesley University.
Rachel DiBella
Senior Project Administrative Coordinator
Rachel DiBella is a member of the VRLC’s Training and Technical Assistance team. In addition to coordinating the organization’s annual National Sexual Assault Law Conferences and online resource library, Rachel serves in an administrative capacity. She graduated with a concentration in writing and gender studies from Framingham State University, and is currently pursuing her graduate degree in women’s health. Rachel is passionate about traveling, writing and volunteering with local coalitions that address GLBT rights issues.
Annette Florczak
Chief Financial Officer
Annette Florczak is a native southern Californian who loves New England seasons. Annette obtained a B.S. in Biology with an option in Physiology and an MBA at Boston’s public business school, UMass Boston. Over the last decade, her career experience includes working with a number of nonprofit agencies focusing on women's rights issues and the environment. In addition to her work with the VRLC, she is a full-time lecturer in the Accounting & Finance Department at UMass Boston. In her spare time, Annette volunteers financial management services to small, start-up non-profits, and is an avid reader.
Kate Lawson, Esq.
Staff Attorney
As a staff attorney at the Victim Rights Law Center, Kate Lawson, Esq. represents victims of sexual assault across the Commonwealth in a wide range of legal areas, including safety, housing, employment, privacy, education, and financial compensation. In addition, she coordinates the VRLC’s statewide outreach and training efforts, providing trainings on the VRLC’s services for and regularly collaborating with community partners, including legal aid agencies, domestic violence advocacy centers, rape crisis centers, law enforcement, and medical providers. She graduated from Suffolk University Law School in May 2006. Prior to attending Suffolk, she worked in reproductive rights, and sexual and domestic violence prevention in a variety of capacities.
Laura Mahr, Esq.
Staff Attorney
Stacy Malone, Esq.
Executive Director
Stacy Malone, Esq. is the Executive Director of the Victim Rights Law Center. She joined the VRLC in 2004 as a pro bono attorney for the VRLC’s Rape Survivors Law Project, where she provided free legal services to sexual assault survivors on employment, safety, privacy and other issues. She then served in various capacities on the VRLC Board of Directors until 2010, when Ms. Malone was appointed VRLC's Executive Director. Ms. Malone has also worked in the private sector and at both federal and state agencies. Her legal career has focused on working with young women, victims of violence and those who have faced discrimination. Ms. Malone is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Massachusetts, Boston’s Women in Politics and Public Policy Program and Boston University School of Law. Ms. Malone’s writing has appeared in the New York Times "Room for Debate." In 2011, she was honored to receive Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s "Top Women of Law 2011" Award.
Jessica Mindlin, Esq.
National Director of Training and Technical Assistance
Jessica Mindlin, Esq. is the VRLC’s National Director of Training and Technical Assistance. Jessica has been active in the movement to end violence against women for more than thirty years. Before joining the VRLC, Jessica served as the Senior Staff Attorney and clinical instructor for NCVLI and Lewis and Clark Law School, as a statewide support attorney for the Oregon Law Center and Legal Aid Services of Oregon, coordinator for the Oregon Supreme Court-Oregon State Bar Task Force on Gender Fairness, and Legal Access Project Director for the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (OCADSV). Prior to law school, Jessica worked as a rape victim advocate, a counselor, a legal advocate for battered women, a counselor for runaway youth, and a waitress. Jessica is the 2008 recipient of OCADSV’s Midori Hamilton Award. She serves on the Advisory Council of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the editorial board of the Sexual Assault Report, the Advisory Board of Oregon’s Center for Women, Politics and Policy, and the Board of Directors of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force. She was a founding member of CounterQuo, a national campaign to change the status quo on how we examine and respond to sexual assault.
Maria Muti, Esq.
Staff Attorney
Maria Muti, Esq. joined the Victim Rights Law Center after graduating from Northeastern University School of Law in 2006. She specializes in representing the VRLC’s immigrant clients with U visa applications and self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act. Maria graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. While at Carnegie Mellon, Maria volunteered for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape as well as Carnegie Mellon's sexual assault peer support network. After graduation, Maria spent two years in Jordan as a Peace Corps volunteer, learning Arabic and teaching English at a local girls’ school. She worked as a legal intern for several organizations, including the Tahirih Justice Center in Falls Church, VA and the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project in Boston.
Shalini Vivek, Esq.
Staff Attorney
Shalini Vivek, Esq. is a bilingual (spanish and english) staff attorney who represents victims of sexual assault across Massachusetts. While she practices in a wide range of civil areas, including education, safety, benefits, and house, Shalini's primary interests are in immigration and employment law. Shalini likewise provides trainings to organizations state-wide on the civil legal remedies available to sexual assault victims and has also presented nationally on immigration. After graduating from Northeastern University Law School, Shalini spent two years in Central America as a Peace Corps volunteer where she worked with local health professionals to develop and conduct trainings on HIV/AIDS prevention, domestic violence issues, and women’s health during pregnancy. Shalini is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Women's Bar Association, and the Boston Bar Association.
Amanda Walsh, Esq.
AmeriCorps Staff Attorney
Founder: Susan Vickers, Esq. began her legal work with sexual assault victims in 1995 as a volunteer advocate with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Since then, Ms. Vickers has won several awards for her legal work on behalf of rape victims, including two Kaufman Public Interest Awards from Harvard Law School. She has presented both domestically and internationally on the legal rights of sexual assault victims. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts. Ms. Vickers is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School.