About Us

Founded in 1992, the Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) is a comprehensive children's law office and part of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. At the CFJC, attorneys and law students work together to promote justice for children, adolescents, and their families through direct legal representation, policy advocacy, and law reform.
 

Alison R. Flaum (she/her/hers), Director, Clinical Professor of Law

Alison Flaum joined the Northwestern clinical faculty in 2005 and has taught in both the Center on Wrongful Convictions and the Children and Family Justice Center. Before coming to Northwestern, she was a trial attorney at Washington, D.C., Public Defender Service, a Prettyman Clinical Fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center Juvenile and Criminal Justice Clinics and a Skadden Fellow at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. Her areas of expertise include criminal and juvenile defense, post-conviction litigation and trial advocacy.

Stephanie Kollmann (she/her), Policy Director, Visiting Clinical Professor of Law

Stephanie Kollmann manages juvenile and criminal legal research and reform projects aimed at ending ineffective and adult-derived approaches to young people, including youth incarceration. Since joining CFJC in 2010, she has authored and contributed to policy reports issued by the legal clinic, state commissions, and community groups on a wide range of topics, including gun violence, mandatory minimum sentencing, juvenile jurisdiction and adult transfer, youth reentry and community supervision policy, release from state prisons, and sexual offending. Stephanie often advises policymakers in Illinois and elsewhere on issues of justice reform and implementation. She has a law degree from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Shobha Mahadev (she/her/hers), Assistant Dean of the Bluhm Legal Clinic, Clinical Professor of Law, Project Director for the Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children

Shobha L. Mahadev is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC), housed in the Bluhm Legal Clinic. In that capacity, Shobha represents adolescents, as well as adults, facing trial or convicted for offenses that occurred in their youth, on appeal and in post-conviction and clemency proceedings, and supervises students working on those cases. Shobha also serves as the project director for the Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children, overseeing policy and litigation strategy with respect to advocating for fair sentencing laws for youth and young adults convicted of serious crimes. The Coalition’s work and Shobha’s expertise have contributed to significant reforms of sentencing laws in Illinois and across the country. In 2021, Shobha was appointed to the state’s new Resentencing Task Force, which advised the governor and legislators on innovative ways to reduce the state’s prison population through resentencing. Appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court, Shobha serves on the Court's Committee on Juvenile Courts, which makes recommendations on matters affecting juvenile law and juvenile courts. She has co-authored numerous amicus curiae briefs submitted in the U.S. Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and other courts of review. Shobha was also the primary author of The Illinois Juvenile Defender Practice Notebook, a training manual for attorneys representing youth in court. Prior to joining the CFJC, Shobha was a litigation associate at a Chicago-based law firm and an Assistant Defender with the Office of the State Appellate Defender, First Judicial District, where she represented indigent clients convicted of criminal offenses on appeal. 

Uzoamaka Nzelibe (she/her/hers), Director, Seigle Clinic for Immigrant Youth and Families, Clinical Professor of Law

Uzoamaka Emeka Nzelibe joined the CFJC in 2004 and primarily represents children, emerging adults, and parents seeking asylum or other humanitarian forms of immigration relief. Uzoamaka also works with local nonprofits and community members to develop policy-related responses to issues affecting parents and youth in the immigration system. Before joining the CFJC, Uzoamaka worked as an immigration and employment law associate at a Washington D.C.-based law firm and a litigation association at a boutique civil litigation firm in Chicago. Her areas of expertise include asylum, unaccompanied minors in immigration court, and removal defense.

Julie L. Biehl (she/her/hers), Clinical Professor of Law Emerita

Julie L. Biehl served as Director of the Children and Family Justice Center from 2009-2025. In 2018, she was named Assistant Dean of the Bluhm Legal Clinic. Her work focuses on the representation of indigent youth charged with crimes in juvenile court and at post-dispositional hearings, and on policy reform in the areas of juvenile sentencing, the over-incarceration of youth, mental health services for children, and the response to youth who commit sexual offenses. Julie has been a member of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission since 2010 and is a member of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. In 2017, she was awarded the CARRE Visionary Award by the SAFER Foundation. For the 2017-18 academic year, Julie was the Harry B. Reese Teaching Professor, an appointed chair was established in 1993 in honor of longtime Law School faculty member Harry Browne Reese.

Leyda Garcia-Vizcaino, Clinical Fellow

Leyda is a Clinical Fellow with the Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC). Prior to joining the Northwestern community, Leyda worked as a criminal record relief lawyer, helping formerly incarcerated folks expunge and/or seal their criminal records.  Leyda joined the CFJC in 2025 after completing her J.D. degree at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she was also a Civitas ChildLaw Fellow. This, coupled with a Master of Social Work with a Concentration in Leadership and Social Change from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, allows Leyda to bring a unique blend of legal expertise and compassionate understanding to her work.  Within the CFJC, she works on issues concerning the extreme sentencing of youth offenders. Leyda is a passionate advocate for children's rights and social justice with a robust background in law, social work, and research. 

Karyn Glass (she/her), Staff Attorney

Karyn Glass is an attorney with the Children and Family Justice Center. She represents youth who have been placed on the Illinois juvenile sex offender registry. Through litigation, she seeks to end their registry obligations. She also advises people throughout the state on their rights while living on the registry as well as the legal process for removal. Karyn has a law degree from American University Washington College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College.

Marisa LaBella (she/her), Legal Assistant

Marisa LaBella works alongside the attorneys, clients, and students of the Seigle Clinic for Immigrant Youth and Families, Social Work Advocacy Program, and Children and Family Justice Center. She assists with preparing filings before the Chicago Immigration Court, advancing statewide policy initiatives, and supporting clients in their social work needs. Marisa is passionate about accompanying youth not only throughout their legal cases, but also in the broader challenges they face in their lives. Marisa has a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern.

Marjorie B. Moss (she/her/hers), Director, Social Work Advocacy Program, Staff Attorney

Marjorie B. Moss joined the CFJC in 2005, where she spearheaded the Juvenile Defender Resource Institute, which provides litigation support for Illinois juvenile defenders and the children they represent in juvenile and criminal court. In September 2012, Marjorie became the CFJC's social work supervisor. In this role, Marjorie works closely with CFJC clients to ensure that their educational, medical, social, and emotional needs are met. Prior to her current role, Marjorie spent the earlier part of her career at the Defender Association of Philadelphia and at the National Juvenile Defender Center advocating for youth involved in the juvenile and criminal justice system. Marjorie received dual degrees from Loyola University of Chicago in social work (MSW) and law (JD) in 2001.

Heather Saunders, LCSW, Social Work Advocacy Program

Heather Saunders joined the Bluhm Legal Clinic in 2024, following nine years working in a community-based, holistic legal services organization on Chicago’s West Side. She supported youth and young adults moving through the criminal court system as they pursued paths of employment, education, and independent living. Heather is dedicated to creative problem-solving with individuals who have been negatively affected by the court system as they seek to improve the quality of their lives.

Heather received her MSW from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2010 and became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2023. Heather is committed to staying up to date on best practices when working with court-involved individuals.

 Victoria Stotland (she/her), Pritzker Clinical Fellow, Staff Attorney

As a Pritzker Clinical Fellow with the CFJC Immigration Law Project, Victoria works alongside Professor Uzoamaka Nzelibe and represents children, youth, and parents seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian relief. She also assists in teaching in the Immigration Law Clinic. Victoria joined the CFJC in 2020 as the recipient of the Thomas F. Geraghty Fellowship after completing her LLM degree at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Prior to joining the Northwestern community, Victoria worked as legal counsel for the Canadian federal government where she advised the Department of Foreign Affairs on matters related to complex federal litigation, national security, and consular affairs. Victoria graduated with both a civil law and common law degree from the University of Montreal and is licensed to practice law in both the United States and Canada.