I am a staff attorney with the Standing with Our Neighbors Program. I have over 20 years experience in public interest law, where I have advocated for low-income communities in civil legal matters. I have practiced law in Florida, Washington State and California.
Susan Leonard
Susan Leonard is the Manager of Volunteer Engagement for the Safe and Stable Homes Project. In this role, she connects volunteers and law firms with the impactful programs of the Housing team to support the needs of the community while utilizing the experience and passion of attorneys, law students, paralegals, and other community members. Susan has more than 10 years of experience coordinating volunteers to achieve the missions of various nonprofits in Atlanta. She gained the Certification in Volunteer Administration designation in 2017 and remains current with the designation and active in the volunteer engagement professionals community.
Shameka Love
Shameka joined AVLF as a Community Advocate and became the SWON Intake Coordinator in 2023. In this role, she serves as the first point of contact for clients, gathering their demographic information and documenting the details of their case. She then shares this information with the community advocates and attorneys working in our SWON zones to ensure clients receive the support they need.
Kelsie Matthews
Kelsie provides emotional and practical support to families experiencing displacement and housing insecurity. She assist families in navigating barriers and connecting them to resources to help them find stability in stressful situations.
Kelsie attended Georgia State University for Political Science. She is a certified 500 Hour Trauma Informed Yoga Instructor and uses this education to assist her clients find pockets of calmness in the midst of chaos.
Quentin Page
As the SWON Community Advocate, Quentin collaborates with staff attorneys and community providers to focus on addressing housing instability in the Carver cluster neighborhoods.
He engages in relationship building with partner organizations and assists tenants with landlord tenant issues, including evictions, and repairs and conditions. Quentin earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Buffalo State College and earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Hilbert College in New York. He grew up in Queens, in New York City.
Stefanie Ramirez Sparks
Stefanie joined AVLF as the Standing With Our Neighbors (SWON) Program Director in September 2024. She also leads AVLF’s Medical Legal Partnership, MLP+.
Stefanie came to AVLF after working as the Managing Attorney of the Health Law Unit at Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc. There, she assisted medically fragile clients with a variety of civil matters, including landlord/tenant issues, unpaid wages, debt defense and collection, public benefits (Medicaid/Medicare, Social Security Disability, SNAP, TANF, etc), estate planning, and family law. She also supervised Atlanta Legal Aid’s Medical Legal Partnership with Grady Health Systems.
Prior to coming to Georgia, Stefanie was a litigation associate at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC, a plaintiffs’ class action firm in Washington, D.C. She also spent several years working as a litigation associate at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP and Proskauer Rose LLP, both in New York, New York.
Stefanie has a law degree from Columbia University School of Law in New York and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Alabama.
Christan Rozzell
Christan is AVLF’s newest Safe & Stable Homes paralegal. In this role, she is tackling issues that incubate systemic poverty in Atlanta.
Christan has lived in Atlanta for 13 years and currently calls Vine City home. She brings almost 10 years of paralegal experience to this role, along with a wealth of community service work with organizations such as Care, Hands on Atlanta, and the Empowerment Council. On the weekends, you’ll find Christan at a food drive, community clean-up, or at a workshop to help organize Atlanta’s communities. She also enjoys writing poetry, taking Afrikan Martial Arts classes, traveling, and relaxing with friends.
LeRoya Scott
LeRoya Scott joined AVLF as the Safe & Stable Homes (SSH) Project Administrative Assistant in June 2022. In her role, she helps develop a triage system to manage high-volume case screenings, performs data entry for confidential client information for multiple programs under the (SSH) umbrella, and helps coordinate the Saturday Lawyer Program’s workshops. Additionally, LeRoya is responsible for providing resources as a “warm hand-off” to individuals who contact AVLF for issues that are unrelated to the organization’s mission or geographic limitations. LeRoya came to AVLF after working as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager for Warrick Dunn Charities, Inc., whose mission is to improve lives through innovative programming inspired by its founder’s life journey.
LeRoya relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to work for GTECH Corporation, a prominent provider of technology solutions for the Georgia Lottery and gaming industry. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Rhode Island College and earned an Associate of Arts (A.A.) from the Community College of Rhode Island. Additionally, she received a Certificate of Completion in Trademark Practice from the Patent Institute of Training in Atlanta. She has also completed courses in Business Administration at Georgia State University and Davenport University, and attended numerous workshops. LeRoya expresses her love and devotion to her parents, brother, sisters, and a host of nieces and nephews, as well as the family’s pet dogs. In her free time, she enjoys playing pickleball, bowling, and practicing her golf swing at the driving range.
Angela Skeete
Angela provides assistance to the managing attorney for the Housing Court Assistance Center with drafting documents, maintaining and organizing files, tenant intake and fact-gathering. She supervises law students and paralegal volunteers.
Angela graduated of Georgia Piedmont College with an associates in Paralegal Studies and graduate of Clayton State University, with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Gino Turner
Gino Turner is a dedicated Community Advocate at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF), where he serves as a vital bridge between AVLF’s legal services and the communities they aim to uplift. With a deep-rooted passion for social justice and neighborhood empowerment, Gino is often the first point of contact for residents facing housing instability, displacement, or legal challenges—and he meets each individual with empathy, respect, and unwavering support.
Gino plays a central role in AVLF’s Standing with Our Neighbors initiative, building trusted relationships in historically underserved neighborhoods and ensuring that residents not only know their rights, but also have access to the resources and advocacy needed to protect them. His work goes beyond connection—it’s about presence, visibility, and action. From organizing community events and tenant meetings to walking door-to-door in apartment complexes, Gino ensures that AVLF shows up where people are, not just where it’s convenient.
Known for his consistency, compassion, and deep understanding of Atlanta’s housing landscape, Gino is a tireless advocate who brings heart and strategy to every aspect of his outreach. His commitment to listening first and acting in partnership with community members has made him an indispensable part of AVLF’s mission to build stronger, more just neighborhoods.
Amber Shannon
Amber provides education, advocacy and assistance with developing plans and connects clients to services needed. This includes but not limited to removing barriers to housing stability and equitable access to public benefits, employment resources, coordinating with children’s new schools to assist students in overcoming achievement obstacles precipitated by the displacement.
She graduated from Benedict College. Amber’s major is Psychology with a Degree in Arts. While attending Benedict College, Amber was an advocate for domestic violence. She is from Atlanta, Ga.
Courtney Shelley
Courtney provides trauma informed crisis intervention and advocacy services to clients seeking assistance with filing a temporary protective order along with co-leading and supervising the SWAP MSW internship program. She serves as the VLAN navigator for the Georgia Victims Legal Assistance Network assisting with sending and receiving referrals from network partners.
Courtney graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Psychology, graduated with honors with a Masters of Social Work, and has received her LMSW. She is currently pursuing her LCSW.