August 28, 2026
This summer, we shared our gratitude and wished several staff farewell as they departed for new endeavors. We thank housing attorney Elizabeth Ashford, Legal Research and Legislative Specialist A. Vern Insalaco, housing paralegal Elaineh Paulino, and Development Associate Dan Gugliuzza for their dedication to the PJC’s mission. Here are a few highlights from their work.
Elizabeth Ashford has been a dedicated advocate for advancing the human right to housing through her work at the PJC for the last four years. As she moves on, we wanted to share our gratitude for her work. Elizabeth represented many tenants in Baltimore City’s housing court, keeping tenants in their homes and holding landlords accountable for unsafe living conditions. As an example of just one of her accomplishments, she successfully represented a tenant in a case against an unlicensed landlord who refused to fix a broken furnace and water heater and then retaliated against the tenant by filing a notice to vacate, essentially attempting to force the tenant out in the middle of winter. She won the case, preventing the eviction and securing $15,000 in damages for the tenant, plus attorney’s fees. Elizabeth also contributed to local and statewide advocacy to protect and strengthen tenants’ rights, including strengthening the right to an attorney in eviction cases and defeating harmful legislation in Annapolis. Managing attorney Matt Hill said, “Elizabeth brought a fierce compassion and strategic focus to her client’s cases and systemic advocacy campaigns. We miss her already.” We’re grateful for Elizabeth’s advocacy for housing justice and wish her well in her next steps.
For the last four years, A. Vern Insalaco has been an advocate for the right to counsel movement. As the Legal Research and Legislative Specialist at the PJC, they tracked right to counsel legislation across the country and served as a critical resource for state and local partners in the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel. Reflecting on their work, Vern said, “When I first started at the PJC in February of 2022, I had no idea how much I’d learn and carry with me from this place, whether discovering how to quality test and update a website chock full of legal research, participating on a cross-organizational team to support jurisdictions implementing the tenant right to counsel, or studying the work of adrienne maree brown and others to better support the PJC’s transformative justice work. I’m so grateful for my time here and proud to have played a role in the history of this organization and to have worked and learned alongside its dedicated staff.” Managing attorney Maria Roumiantseva added, “We are incredibly grateful to Vern, who enriched this team with their compassion, curiosity, and humor. Vern’s made important and lasting contributions to our team culture, our research and legislative work, and our advocacy. We’ll miss you a great deal and wish you all the best, Vern!”
As a Jesuit Volunteer Corps paralegal this year, Elaineh Paulino worked with lawyers and tenants to prevent evictions, hold landlords accountable for health and safety, and advocate in Annapolis. Elaineh said, “My time at the PJC taught me the importance of showing up, whether for a Failure to Pay Rent case or a client who needed a listening ear. Each client I met reinforced that meaningful change occurs in everyday moments. Advocacy isn’t only about achieving favorable outcomes. It’s about helping people feel seen, heard, and treated with the respect they deserve.” Managing attorney Matt Hill added, “We’re grateful for Elaineh’s commitment to our clients. She pushed us to do everything we could for each client while working for justice in our systemic advocacy.”
We say thank you and farewell to development associate Dan Gugliuzza, who is moving on to attend graduate school after three years of service on the development team. Dan helped raise critical funds for the PJC’s mission and maintained the infrastructure essential to donor stewardship and grants compliance. Director of Development Kathleen Gregory said, “Dan’s impact will far outlast his tenure. Among his most significant accomplishments are that he got the development team up and running in a new fundraising, communications, and advocacy database, and he implemented the new case data collection and reporting requirements under Maryland’s Access to Counsel in Evictions law.” We wish Dan all the best in his next steps.
