I have been practicing elder law, special needs planning, estate planning, and Veterans Benefits for over 17 years and have owned my own firm for over 15 years. Before opening my own practice, I was an attorney at a boutique elder law firm in Newton Center.
I began my career in environmental law. I attended the master’s program in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island and then went to Vermont Law School, the premier environmental law school in the country.
My focus was on coastal zone management and public access to the shore and I held positions with nonprofits (including the New England Aquarium), the City of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I then volunteered with the Elder Law Project of the Women’s Bar Foundation and decided this was a much better choice for me.
It’s been a wonderful change of direction. I have met fabulous families and individuals, each with an engaging story to tell. It is a joy to work with elders, special needs individuals, and with families of all ages to solve pressing problems, organize legal affairs, and put minds at ease.
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
Bar Memberships
- Massachusetts Bar, United States District Court (Massachusetts)
Continuing Legal Education
- Veterans Benefits (VisPro), Medicaid Planning (PESI), Trusts (PESI), Estate Planning (MCLE), Practical Skills Program (MCLE), Elder and Disability Law Conferences (MCLE), Preserving and Transferring Your Client’s Principal Residence (MCLE), GAL Category D Matters (MCLE), Guardianship and Conservatorship (MCLE), Special Needs Trusts (MBA), Elder Law Institute (Suffolk University), Special Needs UnProgram (NAELA), NAELA National Conferences
Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT
- Juris Doctor, awarded May 2000
- Vermont Law Review, Associate Articles Editor
- Dean’s Fellow (taught legal reasoning and writing to first-year students)
- Barrister’s Bookshop Board of Directors, Secretary
- Indian Country Environmental Justice Clinic Start-up Task Force
- Trained mediator
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
- Master of Arts in Marine Affairs, course work completed May 1996
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
- Bachelor of Arts in Politics, awarded May 1994
Sea Education Association, Woods Hole, MA
- Summer 1992
VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
- Testify at the State House in support of bills that would make public benefits more easily accessible to families who are eligible to receive them
- Director and Clerk, Massachusetts Chapter of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA), Winner of President’s Award, 2018 & 2020; member of Public Policy Committee; Winner of Deborah Thomson Award for Public Advocacy, 2021
- Serve monthly as volunteer “Attorney for the Day” at the Norwell Council on Aging
- Norwell Council on Aging, Board Member
- Host workshops for the public on fundamentals of elder law, special needs planning, estate planning, and Veterans Benefits
- Mentor lawyers who are new to the area of elder law through the Elder Law Project of the Women’s Bar Foundation
- Serve as MassNAELA liaison to Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care