In early January, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation added two new staff members to our Safe & Stable Families Project. Please meet Joel Correa and Cynthia Padilla.

Cynthia Padilla & Joel Correa

Joel is the Safe Families Office Staff Attorney for AVLF’s Domestic Violence Program. He focuses on offering legal assistance and representation to survivors of domestic violence and manages the Safe Families Office (SFO) in the Fulton County Courthouse with Partnership Against Domestic Violence. Prior to joining AVLF, Joel was the Supervising Staff Attorney at the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless, where he managed its legal programs and provided legal representation to individuals and families throughout Metro Atlanta who were at imminent risk of becoming homeless, or who were already experiencing homelessness, in the areas of landlord-tenant law, family law, disability law, and wage and labor disputes. He received his J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law and his B.A. in International Studies and French from Berry College. Joel is a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, and is fluent in Spanish and French.

Cynthia is the Safe Families Office Legal Navigator for AVLF’s Domestic Violence Program and works directly with Joel and in partnership with staff from PADV to provide legal assistance to domestic violence survivors. As the first point of contact at the SFO, Cynthia greets and directs survivors to the appropriate person or area for assistance. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University in 2008 and a Master of Science in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University in 2011. Cynthia has a strong background assisting victims as they navigate the courthouse and has worked in just about every courtroom in Fulton County as a prior Victim/Witness Advocate in the District Attorney’s Office and serving as a Judicial Case Manager for a Senior Judge. In her spare time, you can find her at a local spin class or reading the latest publications on balanced and restorative justice.

Says Jamie Perez, Director of AVLF’s Safe & Stable Familes Project, “Joel and Cynthia are going to be such amazing assets to the Safe Families Office. Joel’s wealth of experience representing low-income clients in a variety of civil legal matters and Cynthia’s lengthy history of working with victims of crime as a victim/witness advocate in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office will round out our team and enhance the support and services we can provide our clients.”

Everyone at AVLF agrees that we’re a stronger organization because these two have joined us.