Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the appointment of 49 new assistant district attorneys, the largest class to ever join the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
“I am proud to welcome this diverse group of talented professionals into the Queens District Attorney’s Office. I look forward to working with them in support of this Office’s mission to keep those who live and work in Queens County safe while helping to ensure the criminal justice system is fairer for all,” DA Katz said.
The new ADAs began their prosecutorial careers with an intensive, six-week-long training program the included lectures, courtroom observation and interactive workshops. They received practical, hands-on experience by participating in Ride-Alongs with members of the NYPD. They gleaned knowledge about alternative sentencing options from members of the Rehabilitation Programs & Restorative Services Bureau and met with members from the Queens Community Justice Center, a community-based youth outreach program.
These new assistants will be assigned to the Criminal Court Bureau, Intake Bureau, Domestic Violence Bureau and the Appeals Bureau. Thereafter, they will be eligible for assignments in the Investigations or Trials Divisions.
The new prosecutors and the law schools from which they graduated are: Skerdjan Bana, St. John’s University; Jacob L. Bentley, University of Notre Dame; Jared Brady, St. John’s University; Amanda Lynn Bruchhauser, Hofstra University; Stephanie A. Chazen, New York Law School; Christopher Ciccolini, New York Law School; Kristina Colon, Northeastern University; Diana Costin, Columbia; Rachel Cregier, Pace University; Kevin Deng, Hofstra Law School; Jackson Deterding, Georgetown University; Sotirios E. Doolen, Rutgers Law School; Jennie Evangelista, Albany Law School; Zachary Gitman, Vanderbilt University; Alyssa A. Glasshagel, Hofstra; Julien Gutierrez, St. John’s University; Aaron Kane, Albany Law; Harpreet Kaur, Brooklyn Law; Luis Lopez, CUNY; Lance Raven Malejana, Cardozo Law School; Sarah Anne Mallak, University of Wisconsin; John R. Margolies, Hofstra Law School; Jonathan Everett Maseng, Pepperdine University; Mary Michalos, St. John’s University; Siranoush Nalbandian, New York Law School; Fawad Naqvi, Pace University; Abigail Neuviller, Syracuse University; Peyton Reed Nir, University of Miami, Tess O’Leary, Syracuse University; Isaac O. Omotayo, George Washington University; Alexa Ornelas, Brooklyn Law School; Lucy Pannes, University at Buffalo; Victoria M. Pascullo, Fordham University; Kevin B. Poursaied, University of North Carolina; Arianna M. Rappy, Brooklyn Law School; Fabiola Robles, Pace University; Maryam Sheikh, Fordham Law School; Rachel Shulman, George Washington University; Sumayyah Siddiqui, Brooklyn Law; Erica Silverman, Brooklyn Law; Timothy Snyder, Brooklyn Law; Michael V. Sugamele, Touro College; Sanjay Sukhdeo, Hofstra; Jaylen D. Thomas, Southern University; Carlos E. Valencia, Hofstra; Alexander Vidal, New York Law; Dimitri Villegas, University of Pennsylvania; Christopher M. Waters, Syracuse University and William Weishaupt, University of Connecticut.
Training for the new ADAs was supervised by Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Supreme Court Trial Division Pishoy Yacoub and led by Assistant District Attorney Courtney Finnerty, Director of Litigation Training and Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Mendoza, Deputy Director.