ADVISORY COUNCIL | pbnwebiste

President, Tali Albukerk

Secretary, Shama Ahmed

Tali Albukerk has worked in the legal world for over eight years, focusing on Federal Civil Rights Litigation, specifically addressing police misconduct claims. She was a certified mediator for the Circuit Court of Cook County and worked as a Public Interest Law Initiative Intern while still in law school. In addition to serving on the board, she is PBN's senior project coordinator and was featured in CDEL's newsletter. READ. She has two young children and is a volunteer at their schools. Ms. Albukerk has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Stojanka Zjalic

Ms. Zjalic's interest in pro bono work stems from her time with the American Bar Association’s pro bono Rule of Law Initiative, where she developed and managed judicial and legal reform programs. Ms Zjalic trained a variety of Canadian nonprofits to successfully navigate operational, organizational and legal challenges, and successfully advocated for the reform of Canada’s nonprofit legislative framework. She co-wrote and co-edited the “Nonprofit Management Manual”, a one-stop resource kit for nonprofits operating in Ontario. Ms. Zjalic served on the board of The Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor. She is well versed in best practices in nonprofit governance, board development and management. Since joining PBN, she has served as its jail clinic project manager and was honored for this work as CLAIM's volunteer of 2012. She has been married for fifteen years, and is a mother of three. Ms. Zjalic holds a Law Degree from University of Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations from University of Windsor, Canada.

Amy Garland

Amy Garland is an equity partner at Kominiarek Bresler Harvick & Gudmundson practicing medical malpractice with experience in defending physicians, multi-specialty practice groups, and hospitals. She lectures before healthcare providers on topics of medical malpractice, trial advocacy and risk prevention. She graduated from Michigan State University in 1997 and DePaul University College of Law in 2001. She was admitted to the Illinois Bar and United States District Court Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois in 2001. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, The Society of Trial Lawyers and Women's Bar Association. She has three young children and lives in Oak Park.

Robin Spencer

Robin M. Spencer is an experienced litigator who recently retired from her 20-year commercial practice to pursue pro bono work in under-served communities. Previously, she was a partner in an AmLaw 200 law firm, concentrating in complex commercial litigation, including franchise and distribution matters. For many years Ms. Spencer was an associate editor of and author for the American Bar Association Franchise Law Journal, and also served on the Steering Committee of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Division of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising and on the Franchising Forum’s Publications and Technology Committees. She is a frequent speaker and writer on franchise, distribution and litigation issues, and has served for several years as a faculty member for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer, a “Leading Lawyer” in Franchise and Dealership Law, and for Who’s Who in Franchise Law. She earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994.

Charles M. Sloan, CFA, is an Executive Vice President of Mid-Continent Capital and portfolio manager. Charlie has held positions at Arthur Andersen & Co, Harris Trust and Savings Bank and at Holland Capital Management. Most recently, Charlie served as a co-portfolio manager of a mutual fund as well as a senior equity analyst at Holland Capital Management. In addition Charlie is an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Chicago’s Graham School. Charlie received his MBA with honors from the University of Chicago and is a CFA charter holder. He is a resident of Oak Park and father of two children.

Treasurer, Charlie Sloan

Ruth Masters has her own solo practice focusing on appellate work. A graduate from University of Chicago Law School, where she served as associate editor of the University of Chicago Legal Forum, she clerked for the Honorable Charles Levin on the Michigan Supreme Court before working for several years at Latham & Watkins before joining the City of Chicago Corporation Counsel’s appeals division as well as working for their Torts Division. Her interest in pro bono started years before the Pro Bono Network, volunteering for the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. Masters became involved with PBN shortly after we began, participating in a number of our projects and joining the board in 2014.

As a former Assistant Public Guardian, Shama represented abused and neglected children in juvenile court; she advocated for her child clients through all phases of their case, as well as outside of the courtroom through mediations and interdisciplinary staffings. Previously, she served as staff attorney/court coordinator for the Honorable Maxwell Griffin Jr. in Juvenile Court before working at Lehrer and Redleaf where she represented parents indicated of abuse or neglect in their administrative hearings with the Department of Children and Family Services. She authored a chapter entitled "Children in a Family Court Mediation Program" in the book A Guide for Courts, Mediating Conflicts Involving Children and Families. In addition to legal endeavors, she served on the board of the Downtown Islamic Center. Ms. Ahmed graduated from the University of Toledo with a B.A. in Psychology and Ohio State University Moritz College of Law with the recognition of "Public Service Fellow" and a certificate in dispute resolution. She has 4 young children.

Ruth Masters

Christy Chapman

Suzanne Ritzler

Suzanne Ritzler is Of Counsel at Thompsom Coburn LLC and practices corporate law, advising clients on a range of contractual issues. During her career, she has worked for several Chicago law firms, as well as serving as General Counsel for a North American mining firm. Suzanne has a B.S. in Accountancy with Highest Honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a J.D. from teh University of Chicago Law School, and an M.L.I.S. from Dominican University. Suzanne is also a Certified Public Accountant. She lives in Oak Park with her husaband and son.