Center Faculty and Attorneys
Deborah Moss-West
Executive Director
Gamaliel Galindo
Senior Supervising Clinical Attorney
Maryam Nemazie
Pro Bono Project Attorney/Manager
Scott Maurer
Associate Clinical Professor of Law (Consumer Law)
Lynette Parker
Associate Clinical Professor of Law (Immigration Law)
Ruth Silver-Taube
Adjunct Professor (Employment Law)
Center Staff
Dianne Blakely, Administrative Director
Dianne began at the Law Center in the spring 2001 as the Administrative Director. Her current responsibilities include office management, finance, grant reporting and monitoring. Dianne has an extensive background in Human Resources having worked at a law office, retail establishment and high tech businesses.
Reuben Castillo, Paralegal
Reuben grew up in east San José, and is familiar with the problems many of our clients encounter in their daily lives. He worked as a delivery person until an industrial injury sent him for retraining as a paralegal. While studying at Santa Clara University’s Paralegal Institute, Reuben volunteered at the Community Law Center. Upon graduating in 1995, Reuben began work as a full time paralegal at the Community Law Center. He interviews clients, works as an interpreter (he speaks fluent Spanish), supervises the consumer and debtor clinics, does community outreach, supervises entry of statistics into the Center’s database, generates data required for reports to grantor and handles administrative tasks as needed.
Angelica Frias, Receptionist
Angelica joined The Community Law Center in the beginning of 2019 as the Receptionist/Administrative. She has worked and volunteered in her East San Jose community for a number of years. Angelica is always willing to help the law center clients over the phone and in person. Angelica is proud to use her Spanish speaking skills to help the clients at the law center. She also enjoys interacting with the law students and her co-workers. Angelica loves spending time with her family and enjoys traveling.
Margarita P. Sandoval, Legal Assistant
Margarita is the legal assistant and clinic coordinator for the immigration practice area. Margarita joined the law center in summer of 2002. Since then she has been passionate about helping immigrants navigate and understand the criminal justice system in this country. Margarita is particularly interested in helping women and children victims of domestic violence and other traumatic events. She has extensive experience working with victims of crimes, human trafficking and asylum seekers. Margarita is not only a proud mom, but continues to pursue a degree in criminal justice. She also enjoys reading, traveling and spending as much time as possible at her favorite place, Yosemite.
Cintia Vargas, Immigration Program Assistant
Raised in Cupertino, California, Cintia grew up acutely aware of being one of the few Latinx students in her high school. This early experience of underrepresentation sparked a lifelong commitment to embracing her cultural identity and advocating for inclusion. As a first-generation student and the eldest sibling in her family, she often found herself charting unfamiliar territory—navigating school systems, translating for her parents, and balancing responsibilities well beyond her years. These challenges shaped her into a resilient, self-motivated individual with a deep sense of purpose.
Her lived experiences instilled in her a passion for community-driven work and a strong dedication to social justice. Whether it was volunteering with local organizations, mentoring younger students, or speaking out on issues that mattered, she sought ways to uplift others facing similar barriers. This commitment to equity and empowerment ultimately led her to KGACLC, where she continues to support marginalized communities and work toward lasting systemic change.
During her free time, she enjoys calligraphy, curling up with a good book, and spending time with her pet dog and bearded dragon.
Volunteers
In addition to its staff, the Community Law Center is fortunate to have the support of hundreds of volunteers every year. Their contributions are as diverse as they are significant. The KGACLC volunteers serve as:
- attorneys volunteering their time at advice clinics
- attorneys providing consultations and lectures to students handling cases
- Santa Clara Law students counseling at advice clinics
- Santa Clara Law students handling cases
- SCU undergraduates interpreting
- SCU undergraduates helping to develop brochures, newsletters, fliers
- community volunteers helping to interpret
- others sharing their expertise in photography, graphic design, tax issues, statistics, computer programming, writing, and whatever skills the Community Law Center happens to need