The Board

Elise is a 3L from the Greater Houston area. Prior to law school, she worked in education policy in DC for two years. Elise loves being part of Defenders and working with this amazing group of people to ensure that every client is receiving the best representation possible! 

Allison is a 3L from Cincinnati, Ohio. After studying History and Africana Studies at Brown University, she moved to Germany to work as an English Teaching Assistant. Later, she returned to the US where she was a Project Assistant at a DC-based think tank. At law school, Allison is involved in Black Law Students Association and is excited to serve with the Board of Student Advisors for the upcoming year. She spent her first law school summer as a Law Clerk at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia in the Trial Division. Allison hopes to become a public defender.

Kennedy Mattes (she/her) is a 2L from Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Princeton University with a major in Politics and a minor in Statistics and Machine Learning. Prior to law school, she worked at The Legal Aid Society in their Criminal Defense Practice. She spent her 1L summer at Brooklyn Defender Services in their Family Defense Practice. At Harvard, Kennedy is involved in Harvard Defenders and Prison Legal Assistance Project. She hopes to pursue a career as a public defender following graduation. 

Liyu is a 2L from Montgomery, Alabama. She studied Public Policy and African and African American studies at Duke University and spent three years working in local government and education in Oakland, California. At HLS, Liyu is involved with the Legal Aid Bureau, the Bell Collective, and supports first year students as a teaching fellow. She is extremely excited to help foster community and support our clients as the Community Director. 

Ashley (she/her) is a 2L from Leesburg, Virginia. After graduating from Duke University in 2024, Ashley lived in Detroit, MI, where she researched community-led, care-based safety models as an alternative to policing with Detroit Justice Center. At Harvard, Ashley is involved in the Legal Aid Bureau, the Bell Collective for Critical Race Theory, National Lawyers Guild, and APALSA. She spent her 1L summer at the Brooklyn Defenders Family Defense Practice and hopes to live the rest of her life as a public defender.

Naheim Banks is a 2L from Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Howard University in 2023. Before law school, Naheim worked as a legal assistant with the trial division of the Public Defender Service for D.C. At HLS, he serves as a student attorney in the Harvard Defenders and the Prison Legal Assistance Project. He is also involved with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the Harvard Black Law Students Association, the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, the Bell Collective for Critical Race Theory, and the National Lawyers Guild. He spent his first law school summer at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Naheim hopes to serve as a public defender.

Anisha Ariff

Kiran Misra is a 2L from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She received both her Bachelor’s (2017) and Master’s (2018) in Public Policy with honors from the University of Chicago and is currently a dual degree student also in the PhD program in Harvard’s Department of Government. Prior to starting her PhD, Kiran worked as an investigative journalist and as a consultant for the United Nations. At HLS, she is also involved in the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project and the National Lawyers Guild.

Lierta Nako (she/her) is a 2L from Salem, Oregon. She graduated from the University of Oregon Clark Honors College with a B.S. in political science. Prior to attending law school, Lierta worked as a legal assistant for the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland, Oregon. She has also served as a legal intern for state and federal public defense offices as well as a legislative intern in the U.S. House of Representatives. At Harvard, Lierta is involved in Harvard Defenders and the Harvard Immigration Project. She spent her 1L summer at the Second Look Project in Washington, D.C., focusing on post-conviction litigation. Lierta feels honored to work with her peers and clients at Harvard Defenders to provide meaningful, client-centered legal representation within the community. 

Zahra Saifi is a third year in the JD/MPP program. She graduated from Brown University, where she studied Behavioral Science and Middle East Studies with a focus on improving services and support for immigrants and refugees. She spent her 1L summer at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, where she was lucky to work with incredible attorneys and clients. At Harvard, Zahra is a course assistant for the Race and Racism curriculum at the Harvard Kennedy School and is on the board of the HLS chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. She feels privileged to represent Defenders clients both in their hearings and as a member of the Executive Board.

Savannah is a 2L at HLS and holds a B.A. in International Studies from Boston College. Savannah has lived in Houston, Peru, Costa Rica, and is originally from Connecticut. Before law school, Savannah worked as an supporting unaccompanied minors seeking humanitarian relief and as a reentry navigator for individuals reentering their communities after incarceration. She spent her 1L summer with the Criminal Legal Program at Texas Civil Rights Project. Savannah is honored to be a part of Harvard Defenders and work to reimagine the criminal legal system.

Jordan Goodwin (she/her) is a 2L student.

Sumita (she/her) is a 3L from Ridgewood, NJ. She received her B.S. in French and mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2019. Prior to law school, she worked in death penalty defense and racial justice public education in Montgomery, Alabama. She spent her 1L summer at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center and her 2L summer at Mecklenburg Defenders. At HLS, she has been part of the Prison Legal Assistance Project and Capital Punishment Clinic, and this year she will join the Criminal Justice Institute. Sumita is honored and excited to help Defenders provide compassionate, client-centered representation to as many of our community members as possible.

Ryyan is a second-year student at Harvard Law School. She graduated from Harvard College in 2023 with a B.A. in Sociology. Prior to law school, she worked as an educator for Aldine Independent School District in Houston, Texas where she taught Reading/Language Arts to beginner and intermediate bilingual students. When she is not working with Harvard Defenders, she serves as 2L Committee Co-Chair for the Harvard Black Law Students Association and a Communications Director for the Harvard Association for Law and Business.

Brianna Johnson (she/her) is a 2L from Elmont, NY. She graduated from Duke University in 2025 with a B.A. in Public Policy. During her 1L summer, Brianna worked as a Post-Conviction Litigation Intern at the Innocence Project. At HLS, she is also the Internal Vice President of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, a J.D. Admissions Fellow, and a member of the Journal for Sports and Entertainment Law. 

Ellie McCarty (she/her) is a 2L from Ringwood, New Jersey. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Political Science in 2016. Prior to law school, she spent nine years as an active duty Navy intelligence officer. Ellie worked at Orleans Public Defenders in New Orleans during her 1L summer. At HLS, she is also involved in the Prison Legal Assistance Project and Lambda.

Since 1980, Attorney John Salsberg has been the clinical instructor at Harvard Defenders.  John is an experienced trial lawyer, focusing on state and federal criminal litigation and academic discipline cases. His legal career started at the Public Defender office in Boston, until he went into private practice. He was also a part time faculty member at Boston College Law School.

John was a founding member and chair of Suffolk Lawyers for Justice, a not-for-profit organization coordinating the provision of private assigned counsel to indigent criminal defendants charged with offenses in the Suffolk County Superior and District Courts. He was a Board Member, and then Chair, of the Criminal Justice Act Board, which is responsible for managing the selection and performance of private attorneys who take appointments in the First Circuit. John is experienced in handling high profile murder cases and has taught at continuing legal education seminars and authored articles in the area of criminal defense practice.

In 1998, John received the Edward J. Duggan Award for “zealous advocacy and outstanding legal services to the poor” from the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and has been recognized by the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Lawyers Guild for his work as a criminal defense attorney.

Sama joined Harvard Defenders in 2021. Prior to working at Harvard Defenders, Sama worked at Harvard Medical School as an Events and Logistics Administrator.  After two years, Sama joined the Alumni Center at Harvard Law School.

Sama earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Keele University in the United Kingdom. She earned her Master of Arts in Organizational Behavior from Murray State University and Master of Liberal Arts in Management from Harvard Extension School.

Sama is passionate about diversity and inclusion. She is the founder of the first HLS Staff Cultural Festival. She served as an advisory committee member on the HLS Dean’s Award for Excellence and Harvard Heroes. Sama is also the recipient of 2023 Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Appreciation Award which is given each year to a staff member who demonstrates commitment to the student experience and concern for students’ lives and work.

Sama is very committed to working with our General Board to help serve our clients effectively, while also supporting all members of Harvard Defenders.