OUR TEAM
STAFF
Amanda Martin
Executive Director
Amanda Martin
Amanda Martin (she/her) started her legal career as NWCLC's first intern when we opened our doors to the public. Now, Amanda is NWCLC's Executive Director. Helping families protect their homes from foreclosure is the most rewarding part of her job. Her practice includes collection abuse litigation, mortgage servicing litigation, and foreclosure prevention. She is published in the Seattle University Law Review and volunteers at Northwest Justice Project's Debt Collection Defense Clinic. In 2022, she was awarded the The Champion of Consumer Rights Award from the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys for her legislative advocacy.
Amanda graduated cum laude from Seattle University School of Law. She earned her B.A. from the University of Nevada, Reno. She grew up in Las Vegas and now lives in West Seattle with her husband, son, and the world's friendliest Golden Retriever.
Arthur Ortiz
Staff Attorney
Arthur Ortiz
Arthur graduated from SU Law in 1996 and he opened his solo practice in 1997. He represented people before federal and state courts and agencies on issues impacting their everyday lives, like unemployment benefits, workers compensation, and consumer protection. By 2011 the focus became exclusively on consumer protection. From 2011 through 2015 Arthur served Washington State as a foreclosure mediator in over 300 foreclosure mediation sessions. Since then, he has represented Washington homeowners in cases involving unnecessary foreclosure, fraudulent debt collection, and bogus debt default mitigation. Now at NWCLC he applies consumer protection law to a wider range of matters including auto dealership fraud, and auto mechanic negligence, as well as landlord tenant disputes and debt collection. Arthur is dedicated to representing those whose financial stability is threatened by deception, unfairness, or negligence.
Leigh Schott
Legal Assistant
Madeline Schott
Leigh (they/them) graduated from Portland State University in 2021 with a B.S. in Political Science.
Their passion for nonprofit work began at Hope House Women’s Shelter in Spokane. After moving to Seattle, they spent two sessions at the Washington State Legislature, working first for a contract lobbyist focusing on community health organizations and then in the Appropriation’s Chair’s office before coming to NWCLC.
In the next few years, they plan on attending either law school or graduate school for public policy. They currently live on Capitol Hill with their partner, Pit Bull Mix Talia and cat Theo.
BOARD
Beth Terrell
Board Chair
Beth Terrell
Beth E. Terrell is a founding member of Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, a Plaintiff side law firm in Seattle, Washington. With over twenty years of experience, Beth concentrates her practice in complex litigation, including the prosecution of consumer, defective product, and wage and hour class actions. Beth has served as co-lead counsel on multi-state and nationwide class actions, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for consumers and workers.
A member of the State Bar of California and the Washington State Bar Association, Beth Co-Chairs PLI's Consumer Financial Services Institute, and frequently presents on a wide variety of topics, including class actions, consumer protection, legal ethics, gender equity, and electronic discovery. Beth serves as President of the Public Justice Foundation Board of Directors and Chair of both the Northwest Consumer Law Center and the Washington Employment Lawyers Association.
Sam Leonard
Chair Elect
Sam Leonard
Sam Leonard is a solo attorney practicing consumer protection law and bankruptcy at Leonard Law in Seattle. In addition to being on the board of the Northwest Consumer Law Center, he is Co-Chair of the Washington Association of Justice Consumer Protection Section and he volunteers his time at the KCBA Legal Clinics and Northwest Justice Projects debt clinic.
Marcus Courtney
Public Affairs Consultant
Marcus Courtney
Marcus is a public affairs consultant that brings over 15 years of experience in advocacy and politics. He assists clients on engagement strategies, the legislative process, elections and issue-positioning in the public arena. A recognized expert on tech and labor, he co-founded the nation’s first union dedicated to representing high-technology workers and spent five years overseas directing negotiations and political efforts on behalf of national unions on four continents. He has testified before the U.S. Congress. Marcus has been widely quoted in the media by the New York Times, NPR, The Seattle Times, network TV and in foreign publications. His opinion pieces on the future of work have been published in The Seattle Times, Crosscut and the Korean Labor Institute. He recently served on the Innovation and Jobs Policy Committee for the Biden presidential campaign.
Brendan Donckers
Board Member
Brendan Donckers
Brendan is a partner at Breskin Johnson & Townsend, where he litigates civil cases in state and federal courts with a focus on individual and class action consumer protection cases, employment litigation, and civil rights. He also represents individuals, nonprofits, community groups, and small businesses on a variety of issues. Brendan regularly argues appeals in state and federal court and was second-chair to Judge David Mann in a landmark FOIA case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Milner v. Dep't of the Navy.
Brendan has served on the boards of several nonprofits and commissions, including the Northwest Justice Project, where he served as board president in 2019 and 2020, and the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, which he chaired in 2018 and 2019. Before private practice, Brendan worked on policy for the Washington House Democratic Caucus, in public affairs for the U.N. Foundation, and as a campaign aid to former U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott.
Joan Fairbanks
Board Member
Joan Fairbanks
Joan's legal career has been focused around the delivery of civil legal aid for low income and vulnerable people. Most recently (1995-2014), she served as the first Staff Director of the Washington State Access to Justice Board. She has worked for three legal aid programs: Communications Director for Oregon Legal Services Corporation in Portland; Staff Attorney for Neighborhood Legal Services Program in Washington, D.C.; and Managing Attorney of the Voluntary Legal Services Program of Northern California in Sacramento. She also served for four years as staff attorney for the American Bar Association's Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly in Washington, D.C.
Joan discovered her passion for equal justice during her service as a VISTA in 1972 in Dallas, Texas where she was a community organizer. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Oregon and a J.D. from Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C.
Julie Griffin
Board Member
Julie Griffin
Julie (She/Her) has dedicated her career to leadership in both the nonprofit and business sectors, with a particular focus on education, healthcare, finance, and accessible legal services. Her extensive background includes roles as the CEO of a local bar association, where she championed accessible legal resources. Julie's commitment to community service is evident in her efforts to enhance legal accessibility and her guidance in nonprofit and business management.
A graduate of Eastern Washington University, Julie furthered her education with a master's program at Seattle Pacific University. Currently based in Spokane, she actively engages with the community. Seattle is her second home and you will find her urban hiking with her adult children. In her leisure time, Julie channels her creativity into remodeling homes and producing contemporary art, reflecting her dynamic approach to both her professional and personal life.
Christina Henry
Board Member
Christina Henry
Christina Henry is a staunch advocate for clients against predatory lenders and unfair debt collection practices, and takes legal action when violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act have occurred. Christina has taken a leading role in consumer litigation in Seattle and the surrounding region, focusing on private student loans, mortgage modification, "zombie loans," automatic stay violations, and discharge injunction violations. She also represents consumer and small business debtors in Chapter 7, 13 and 11 bankruptcy cases, and negotiates debt with creditors when the process better serves her clients.
Christina is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Boston College Law School, and served as law clerk to the Hon. Whitney Rimel, Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of California. Christina is conversationally fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and sustains her interest in international issues.
Scott M Kinkley
Board Member
Scott M Kinkley
Scott M. Kinkley is a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project’s Spokane, Washington Office. Mr. Kinkley is the author of the Washington State Collection Agency Act and FDCPA chapters to the Washington State Association for Justice Consumer Protection Deskbook and a frequent presenter on consumer protection topics. His practice primarily focuses on consumer protection issues faced by low income Washington residents with an emphasis on debt collection defense, FDCPA lawsuits, unfair sales and appellate advocacy likely to impact low income consumers. Scott is a proud graduate of the Washington State University and Gonzaga School of Law.
Kathryn Kearney
Board Member
Kathryn Kearney
Kathryn Kearney (she/her) is a Sr. Director of Customer Enablement at Databricks. She has been in the tech industry for almost a decade specifically in training, certification and enablement for customers, partners and employees. Prior to that, she was in the Finance and Travel industries. She is a champion for diversity and inclusion and is active in many DEI activities to increase representation and awareness.
Sarah Starr
Board Member
Sarah Starr
As a Senior Project Manager at Pyramid Communications, Sarah (she/her) is part of a team of creative strategists working to change our world for the better. She supports nonprofits and foundations working on a range of issues to develop communications strategies and materials that reach their audiences and move change. She specializes in developing branding and messaging that conveys the story of who an organization is, what they do, and why it matters, and in developing websites that translate that story to the digital space. Her clients have included Amara, Communities Rise, Burke Museum, Pride Foundation, and Washington Innocence Project.
Prior to joining Pyramid, Sarah managed communications for the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and worked as part of the marketing team at Proskauer Rose LLP. She earned her B.A. in English from Washington University in St. Louis.