Dependency Advocacy Center (DAC) is charged with providing statutorily required legal representation to indigent parents and children in Santa Clara County’s Juvenile Dependency Court. Pursuant to its contract with the State of California, DAC is responsible for providing multiple levels of conflict-free representation. To achieve this, DAC’s structure is that of an umbrella organization with five segmented, independent law offices, with the Chief Executive Officer having administrative authority over the entire organization. In addition to the six law offices, the Mentor Parent Program provides further critical peer support to parents involved in Santa Clara County’s Dependency Wellness Court.
Dependency Advocacy Center Staff & Contact Information:
Main Office
Main: 408-995-0714; Fax: 408-516-3812
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300
San Jose, CA 95113
AnnaLisa Chung, Founder in Residence
achung@sccdac.org
Preeti Mishra, Interim Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer
pmishra@sccdac.org
Hilary Kushins, Chief Program Officer
hkushins@sccdac.org
Nicole Radden, Operations Manager
nradden@sccdac.org
Franchesca Tran, Conflicts Administrative Assistant
ftran@sccdac.org
Karmen Perales, Administrative Assistant
kperales@sccdac.org
Office of Dependency Counsel
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300B
San Jose, CA 95113
Cynthia Chen, Supervising Attorney
cchen@sccdac.org
Crystal Mendoza-Velarde, Staff Attorney
cmendozavelarde@sccdac.org
Jasmine Wang, Staff Attorney
jwang@sccdac.org
Lilit Arakelyan, Staff Attorney
larakelyan@sccdac.org
Family Legal Advocates
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300A
San Jose, CA 95113
Margaret Burks, Staff Attorney
mburks@sccdac.org
Katarina Pena, Staff Attorney
kpena@sccdac.org
Dependency Legal Associates
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300C
San Jose, CA 95113
Maggie Law, Staff Attorney
mlaw@sccdac.org
Adam Rust, Staff Attorney
arust@sccdac.org
Family Defense Counsel
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300F
San Jose, CA 95113
Sarah Brauer, Staff Attorney
sbrauer@sccdac.org
Arthur Tan, Staff Attorney
atan@sccdac.org
Corridor Program
31 N. Second Street, Suite 220A
San Jose, CA 95113 | Main: 408-564-5142 | Fax: 408-512-1697
Sarah Cook, Managing Attorney
scook@sccdac.org
Kimberly Valencia, Paralegal
kvalencia@sccdac.org
Alondra Alcaraz Martinez, Social Worker
aalcaraz@sccdac.org
Parish Green, Mentor Parent (Corridor Program)
pgreen@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-836-2760
Victoria Ruiz, Mentor Parent (Corridor Program)
vruiz@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-516-7684
First Call For Families Program
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300
San Jose, CA 95113 | Main: 408-856-2992 | Fax: 408-856-2996
Katie Joh, Managing Attorney
kjoh@sccdac.org
Ajeya Woods, Staff Attorney
awoods@sccdac.org
Kimberly Valencia, Paralegal
kvalencia@sccdac.org
Claudia Marquez, Social Worker
cmarquez@sccdac.org
Cecilia Galvan, Social Worker
cgalvan@sccdac.org
Ana Nevarez, Mentor Parent (First Call For Families)
anevarez@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-406-9322
Carisa Castillo, Mentor Parent (First Call For Families)
ccastillo@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-836-2662
Gildardo Amador, Mentor Parent (First Call For Families)
gamador@sccdac.org
Cell: 669-342-9676
Mentor Parent Program (DWC)
31 N. Second Street, Suite 220B
San Jose, CA 95113
Dave Shuster, Mentor Parent Program Manager
dshuster@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-516-7470
Alyssa Lopez, Mentor Parent
alopez@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-516-7442
Brenda Manzo, Mentor Parent
bmanzo@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-674-7189
Mario Arenas, Mentor Parent
marenas@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-569-0868
Melissa Elias, Mentor Parent
melias@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-829-8585
Rehmi Ruiz, Mentor Parent
rruiz@sccdac.org
Cell: 408-829-9024
Social Worker Program
31 N. Second Street, Suite 300
San Jose, CA 95113
Margaret Ross, Social Worker Program Manager
mross@sccdac.org
Kira Johnson, Social Worker
kjohnson@sccdac.org
Carolyn El-Shammaa, Social Worker
celshammaa@sccdac.org
For more information about Dependency Advocacy Center please email your inquiry to info@sccdac.org or contact DAC’s Operations Manager, Nicole Radden at (408) 995-0714.