PARTNER, RUBIN POMERLEAU

Todd began his career clerking for the Honorable Robert Clifford of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, then served as a Boston public defender before building a private practice at the intersection of criminal defense and immigration law, founding Pomerleau Wood LLP. Now a Partner at Rubin Pomerleau PC, and President and Co-Founder of Mass Deportation Defense, he focuses on impact litigation. Todd has won several hundred postconviction motions that saved clients from removal and habeas corpus petitions that secured their release, and argued around 75 appeals, with cases drawing national coverage from CNN, MS NOW, and The New York Times. He co-counseled the U.S. Supreme Court case Pereira v. Sessions, an 8-1 victory, co-argued Matter of Fernandes before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and received AILA's Jack Wasserman Memorial Award in 2019. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from New England School of Law. As President, Todd brings Supreme Court-tested experience and media presence to MDD's direction.

LAW OFFICE OF DANIELLE WOOD

Danielle’s legal career started at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, where she focused on health care and insurance investigations and mediation. She went on to co-found Pomerleau Wood LLP with Todd Pomerleau, focusing on criminal and civil matters. She now owns the Law Office of Danielle M. Wood in Boston, where she concentrates on criminal appeals, post-conviction relief, and immigration, is a member of the Massachusetts bar, the bar of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. She is a graduate of New England Law School, where she served as a Comment and Notes Editor of the New England Law Review. As Executive Director and a founder of Mass Deportation Defense she is focused on building the nonprofit to maximize its impact and broaden its scope on a national level.

LEGAL DIRECTOR, MASS DEPORTATION DEFENSE

Sara spent over 25 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Massachusetts, where she led civil and criminal pharmaceutical marketing fraud cases against companies including Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline that resulted in approximately $6 billion in recoveries. She later served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney and then Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island. She left the Department of Justice in 2026 to become Legal Director of Mass Deportation Defense, where she is building a team of lawyers filing emergency habeas petitions and pursuing other immigration relief on behalf of noncitizens being detained or threatened with deportation. She earned her J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard University. As Legal Director, she now channels decades of high-stakes federal litigation into MDD's emergency response work.

PARTNER, RIVERA-BUJOSA LAW

Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mernaysa began her legal career at the Law Offices of Frank N. Dardeno in Somerville, gaining extensive experience in real estate conveyancing and litigation. She is now President of Rivera-Bujosa Law, PC, where her practice focuses on real estate law, estate planning, and civil litigation across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She serves as a Board Member and Clerk of both the Somerville Chamber of Commerce and Somerville Community Access Television. She earned her J.D. from New England School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science and French from Tufts University. Fluent in English, Spanish, and French and well connected across Somerville's business and civic life, Mernaysa helps link MDD to the communities it serves.

PARTNER, SHAHEEN & GORDON

Ron began his career with the New Hampshire Public Defender before becoming one of the area’s preeminent immigration lawyers. Now Chair of Shaheen & Gordon’s Immigration Law Group, he has handled immigration, criminal defense, civil litigation, and international matters for over three decades, winning cutting-edge post-conviction relief motions. Ron routinely sues the federal government over unconstitutional immigration detention and processing delays, and represents clients in investigations by USCIS, ICE, DOL, and other agencies. He has also taught law in the U.S. and abroad. Ron earned his J.D. from George Washington University and was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar at Diego Portales School of Law in his native Santiago, Chile. As a naturalized U.S. citizen, Ron pairs deep practice experience with a personal connection to the immigrant journey.

OWNER, BLESS LITIGATION, LLC

Jesse has practiced U.S. immigration law since 2004, spending 13 years at the Department of Justice, including the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., and the Office of Immigration Litigation. He later managed a Boston litigation practice group and served as the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s first Director of Federal Litigation. In 2022, he founded Bless Litigation, LLC, where he represents companies and individuals challenging immigration-related decisions and delays in federal court, having argued before every federal circuit court of appeals. In 2025, AILA honored him with the Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for excellence in immigration litigation. He earned his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law. Having worked from both inside the government and the advocate’s chair, Jesse offers the board a rare, two-sided view of immigration law.

PARTNER, GREEN & SPIEGEL

Kerry began her career representing immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Boston, Miami, and Hong Kong, then spent twenty years as Managing Partner of the Boston immigration firm Graves & Doyle. President Biden appointed her Principal Legal Advisor (General Counsel) for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and she later served as Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security. After serving as an Immigration Judge in Chelmsford, she returned to private practice as a Partner at Green and Spiegel, focusing on federal immigration litigation and removal defense. She has taught immigration law at the University of Miami and Suffolk University and earned her J.D. cum laude from American University Washington College of Law. With experience as an advocate, government counsel, and judge, Kerry helps the board see immigration decisions from every seat at the table.

PRINCIPAL, THE FABER GROUP

Todd is a legal advocate, entrepreneur, and community leader committed to due process and human dignity. A former child abuse prosecutor and Guardian ad Litem for children in foster care, he has applied that advocacy directly to immigration defense, working on behalf of families affected by sudden ICE detentions to help facilitate their return. He hosts the podcast Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers as a personal way of giving back. He is Principal of The Faber Group, LLC, and has served on the boards of Sudbury for Wounded Warriors, SBANE, and the Boston Foundation for Sight. He earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. Todd combines his legal foundation, direct experience with ICE interventions, and personal ethos of neighborly service to protect due process and keep families together.

RETIRED FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

Judge Gertner built her early career as a civil rights and criminal defense trial lawyer in Boston, founding Silverglate & Gertner in 1973. In 1994, President Clinton appointed her to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, where she served until her retirement in 2011, and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has named her one of "The Most Influential Lawyers of the Past 25 Years." After leaving the bench, she became a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School and was named to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States in 2021. She earned her B.A. from Barnard College and her J.D. and M.A. from Yale University. Judge Gertner's decades at the defense table and on the bench lend MDD unmatched credibility and judgment.

RETIRED IMMIGRATION LAW PROFESSOR, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL

Harvey worked as an immigration lawyer at Kaplan, O’Sullivan & Friedman, LLP for over 30 years, litigating numerous cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He began his career in legal services and later served as President of AILA’s Massachusetts/Rhode Island Chapter. He taught Immigration Law at Northeastern University School of Law for 25 years and mentored generations of co-op students at his firm, earning AILA’s First Mentor Award. After retiring from private practice in 2014, he continued volunteering in the immigration law unit of Greater Boston Legal Services. In 2018, the Open Avenues Foundation honored him with its Humanitarian Award for 40 years of advocacy on behalf of immigrants’ rights. He earned his B.A. from Clark University and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Harvey brings institutional memory and a long view of the field.

RETIRED SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE

Judge Kern began her career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division in Boston, where she primarily defended the federal government. In 1989, she and four colleagues founded Kern, Sosman, Hagerty, Roach and Carpenter, PC, then the largest all-women law firm in Massachusetts, where she represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases in federal and state courts, including the federal government as a plaintiff. In 1999, Governor Paul Cellucci appointed her to the Massachusetts Superior Court, where she presided over civil and criminal cases until her retirement in 2012. She has since served on the Board of Directors of REACH Beyond Domestic Violence. She earned her B.A. from Barnard College, her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Having represented clients on every side of civil litigation before presiding as a judge, she contributes a courtroom-tested sense of how cases are won and how they look from the bench.

CO-FOUNDER VENMO, FOUNDER JELLYJELLY

Iqram co-founded Venmo in 2009 with his college roommate Andrew Kortina, growing it from a text-message prototype into a payments platform used by tens of millions before its acquisition by Braintree and later PayPal. He went on to found several other ventures and is now the founder of JellyJelly, a video-first social platform focused on genuine, unfiltered connection. He earned his degree in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship & Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Iqram's experience taking a product from idea to millions of users, and his fresh view of how technology and storytelling reach new audiences, expand the board's thinking

PARTNER, AKIN

Sara spent more than 25 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, including over a decade as a trial attorney in the Civil Fraud Section before becoming Assistant Director of the Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch, where she led the DOJ's False Claims Act enforcement efforts. She has litigated and supervised FCA matters spanning health care, cybersecurity, government contracts, trade, and financial fraud. She is now a Partner at Akin, where she provides compliance counseling and representation to clients facing False Claims Act investigations and litigation and has an active pro bono practice. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School. Sara's understanding of how the government builds and defends its cases is a valuable lens as MDD litigates in federal court and challenges government action.

CONTRACT SPECIALIST

Marcel is a U.S. citizen and Canton, Massachusetts resident who knows firsthand what families face inside the immigration system. In August 2025, his wife, Jemmy Jimenez Rosa, a lawful permanent resident and mother of their three daughters, was detained for ten days by federal immigration agents at Boston Logan Airport while returning from a family trip, despite decades of lawful residency in the U.S. Rubin Pomerleau, PC represented Jemmy in the case. Marcel became a public voice for his family, speaking to outlets including PBS NewsHour, Boston 25 News, and Newsweek about the treatment of detained immigrants and their families. As the board's member with lived experience, he offers deep, personal insight into the system from the perspective of the clients MDD serves.

PARTNER, WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER LLP

Erica clerked for Justice Elena Kagan on the U.S. Supreme Court and began her career at a global law firm focusing on appellate and complex litigation. She then spent nearly eight years at the U.S. Department of Justice, first as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, where she personally argued 16 cases before the Supreme Court, and then as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, advising the White House and Executive Branch. She is now a Partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Chair of its Appeals & Strategic Motions Practice Group. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School, and undergraduate degree from Yale University. Her Supreme Court advocacy and inside view of federal legal decision-making give the board rare strategic depth.

PARTNER, RUBIN POMERLEAU

Jeffrey came up through Greater Boston Legal Services, the Suffolk and Middlesex County District Attorneys' Offices, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit before opening a solo practice in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1999. He is now a Partner at Rubin Pomerleau, PC, which he co-founded, focusing on immigration and criminal defense matters and finding creative solutions for clients facing difficult immigration challenges. In 2018, he served as co-counsel in the U.S. Supreme Court case Pereira v. Sessions, winning an 8-1 decision. Fluent in Spanish, he worked as a journalist prior to his legal career and earned his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. With more than 25 years of frontline immigration and criminal defense practice, Jeffrey keeps the board grounded in the realities of the courtroom.

FOUNDER, BOARD MEMBER AND FORMER CEO OF ZEAL IT CONSULTANTS

David began his career as an IT consultant at Accenture, Ernst & Young, and Daugherty Business Solutions before founding Zeal IT Consultants in 2012, and has spent 20 years serving Fortune 1000 companies nationwide. Based in Dallas, Zeal is a software consulting firm that has grown to roughly 180 employees and been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for multiple years. He has served on the Board of Trustees for the North Dallas chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization. He graduated summa cum laude as a Sturgis Fellow from the University of Arkansas with a B.A. in Economics. David's experience building and scaling a technology company adds critical operational and business know-how to the board.

PARTNER, WHISTLEBLOWER LAW COLLABORATIVE

Bob Thomas is a 1985 graduate of Harvard Law School, a litigator with four decades of experience practicing in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Boston, and a long-time advocate for civil rights and civil liberties.  He is in his eleventh year of serving on the board of the ACLU of Massachusetts, having been its President the last two years.  For the last sixteen years while still practicing at the firm he co-founded, Bob has served as an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law, where he currently teaches courses on Constitutional Law and Whistleblower Law. Bob brings invaluable experience to the board of MADD, as a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, a whistleblower attorney, an experienced member of other boards, and as a fund-raiser and philanthropist.

PARTNER, ZIMMER, CITRON & CLARKE

David clerked for Justice Elena Kagan on the U.S. Supreme Court and spent the next eleven years at Goodwin Procter in Boston, where he helped build the firm's Supreme Court and Appellate practice as a partner. In 2025, he co-founded Zimmer, Citron & Clarke, an appellate litigation boutique. David has argued or second-chaired seven merits cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He successfully argued two of the most significant immigration cases the Court has decided in the past decade, Pereira v. Sessions and Niz-Chavez v. Garland, and is a two-time winner of AILA's Jack Wasserman Memorial Award. He teaches the Federal Courts Clinic and Seminar at Harvard Law School and serves on the Board of Directors for the ACLU of Massachusetts and Lawyers for Civil Rights. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Harvard College. David’s Supreme Court record, including two landmark immigration wins, puts top-tier appellate advocacy at the board's table.