Barton Clinic Staff Profiles
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Beth Reimels
Acting Director, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicBeth is a 2001 graduate of Emory Law and a member of the first class of students to work in the Barton Clinic. After graduating, she created the TeamChild Atlanta project at Atlanta Legal Aid through an Equal Justice Works Fellowship. She remained Director of the TeamChild Atlanta Project, which provides direct civil legal representation to children involved in the juvenile court, until she was recruited to join the Barton Clinic as Managing Attorney for Child Welfare. Since joining the Clinic in 2004, Beth has amassed an impressive track record of success in the legislative and policy development arena, publishing several white papers, supervising students, leading legislative advocacy initiatives, and serving a leadership role in several collaborative reform efforts. In addition to her Clinic work she volunteers with One Child One Lawyer, served as chair of the 2006 and 2007 Celebration of Excellence events, and serves on several nonprofit boards. Her excellence has been recognized with both a Child Advocate Award and an Award of Achievement from the State Bar Younger Lawyers Division.
Ms. Reimels received her B.A. from Boston University and her J.D. from the Emory University School of Law.
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Karen Worthington
Co-Director, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicKaren Worthington came to Emory in March 2000 as director of the newly created Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic. She directs the activities of the Clinic, supervises students in the Clinic, and co-teaches a course in child advocacy. She also directs the Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program. In August 2001, the Southern Juvenile Defender Center (SJDC) moved from its former home in New Orleans to Emory Law School and Ms. Worthington became the director of SJDC in addition to her responsibilities as director of the Barton Clinic.
Throughout her career Ms. Worthington has focused on the needs of children who are involved with juvenile court systems. Prior to coming to Emory she was Director of Program Development for Fulton County Juvenile Court. Past positions include staff attorney with the Juvenile Advocacy Division of Georgia Indigent Defense Council and director of the Supreme Court of Georgia Child Placement Project.
Ms. Worthington received her BA from Eckerd College and her JD from Emory University School of Law.
[Emory Law School Faculty Page] -
Andrew Barclay
Founder & Advisory Board Chair, Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic
Technical ConsultantAndy and his wife Michelle Barclay, in partnership with Emory's School of Law, founded and endowed the Barton Clinic to advocate for research-based policy and to encourage students from all disciplines into public-interest career paths.
Andy works as a full-time volunteer technical consultant, providing technological and statistical support to Georgia non-profit and governmental agencies. He has worked in computing for over twenty-five years, in both the for-profit and the public sectors. He has expertise in hardware and software engineering, high performance computing, digital signal processing, database design, data analysis, statistics, and public health. Andy retired from for-profit work in information technology in the late 1990s, and now spends nearly all of his time as a volunteer. He also serves on advisory groups and steering committees for non-profits and government agencies. Andy served for four years as the Chief Justice's appointee to the board of the Georgia Technology Authority. He currently serves on the board of Georgia's Children and Youth Coordinating Council at the appointment of Governor Sonny Perdue.
Mr. Barclay holds masters degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering from Stanford University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also completing a PhD in Biostatistics at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.
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Mary Margaret Oliver
Visiting Professor, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicMary Margaret Oliver advises the Barton Clinic on legislative and policy matters, co-teaches a course in child advocacy, and supervises students in the Clinic.
After a short sabbatical from political life, Representative Oliver was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002, serving DeKalb County. In 2004 she served as Chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee.
Mary Margaret previously served in the state House from 1987 to 1992, and then in the state Senate from 1992 to 1998. She chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for all six years of her Senate terms, and authored and passed systemic reform legislation for Georgia's child protection agencies. Prior to her election she served as a state administrative hearing officer and a magistrate court judge, and has practiced law privately for twenty years. She has also taught full time as an assistant professor at the Boston College School of Law and served on the Emory Board of Visitors and the Emory Law Alumni Council.
Ms. Oliver received her BA from Vanderbilt University and her JD from Emory University School of Law.
[Emory Law School Faculty Page] -
Michele Papotto
Project Coordinator, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicMichele Papotto came to Emory University in 1998, where she was an administrative assistant at Emory College. She began working at the Emory University School of Law in 1999, as the executive assistant to the dean before joining the Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic in May, 2002. She is a member of the Staff Concerns Subcommittee for the President's Commission on the Status of Women. She also serves as the Administrator for the Lamar Inn of Court, the Emory chapter of the American Inns of Court.
Michele spent ten years as a public school music educator teaching kindergarten through sixth grade. She taught in New York for eight years before relocating to Georgia where she taught for two years in LaGrange, Georgia.
Ms. Papotto received her Bachelor of Music from Furman University and her Master of Arts in Music from Teachers College, Columbia University.
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Jyotsna Vanapalli
Program Adminstrative Assistant, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicJyotsna Vanapalli joined the staff of Emory University's School of Law in August 2005 as an administrative assistant to the Barton Clinic, and the Turner Environmental Law Clinic. Jyotsna's projects include recruitment for the Clinics and for the Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program. She also provides operational support for the staff and students throughout the year. On campus, Jyotsna is a trained facilitator with the Transforming Community Project. She serves on the TCP Steering Committee and on the President's Commission on the Status of Women.
Before joining Emory, Jyotsna was the office manager for the Georgia Justice Project, a local not-for-profit firm dedicated to providing indigent criminal defense representation, social services, and employment opportunities within a holistic framework for individuals committed to self-renewal.
Ms. Vanapalli received her B.A. in History from Georgia State University
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Randee J. Waldman
Managing Attorney, Barton Juvenile Defender ClinicRandee Waldman came to Emory in 2006 as the Managing Attorney for the Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic. She supervises law and social work students in their representation of young people charged with delinquent and status offenses, engages in policy work related to juvenile justice issues, and teaches a course in juvenile justice.
Ms. Waldman began her legal career as a litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York. She then spent over five years as a Senior Attorney at Advocates for Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring quality and equal public education services for New York City's most vulnerable students. While at AFC, Ms. Waldman represented parents and students at all levels of administrative proceedings to obtain appropriate special education services for students with disabilities, represented students in student discipline cases, served as co-counsel in several impact litigation cases in federal court, and directed the pro bono and law student intern programs.
Ms. Waldman received her BA from Haverford College and her JD from the University of Chicago Law School.
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Anne Armitage Rogers
Visiting Policy Analyst and Clinical Instructor, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicAnne is a JD cum laude graduate of Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska, and spent a year and a half serving as a Deputy County Attorney in Omaha with a caseload that included abuse, neglect, delinquency, and status cases. Prior to attending law school, Anne spent two and a half years working for two different U.S. Senators representing Nebraska in a variety of roles including handling constituent relations and campaign fundraising.
Anne received her bachelor's from University of Nebraska.
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Kirsten Widner
Post-Graduate Fellow in Law, Barton Child Law & Policy ClinicKirsten Widner participates in the policy work of the Clinic, advising students and publishing articles on issues of child welfare and the law. She also guest lectures in the class "Child Advocacy: The Law, the Policy and the Players."
After a successful career in business, Kirsten went to law school to pursue a career in child advocacy. During law school Kirsten worked to serve the legal needs of abused and neglected children through internships with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program's Education Law Unit, the San Diego Public Defender's Juvenile Dependency Division, and the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles. She also clerked for San Diego County Counsel, representing the Department of Children and Family Services in abuse and neglect cases. She gained policy insight and advocacy experience through her work in the University of San Diego's Center for Public Interest Law and Child Advocacy Institute. She was an editor of the San Diego Law Review, and her student Comment on a child welfare-related issue was published by the journal. Kirsten was also a member of her law school's national moot court team, winning a number of national honors, including Best Oralist in Capital University's 2007 Adoption and Child Advocacy Competition. She graduated law school with honors, was awarded the Dean's Distinguished Service Award and the D'Angelo Outstanding Child Advocate Award, and was elected to the Order of the Barristers.
Ms. Widner received her BS from the University of San Francisco, and her JD from the University of San Diego.
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