Our Staff

Rachel Epps Spears was hired as the Executive Director of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta in 2005 when the organization was founded. Prior to joining the Partnership, Rachel was an associate in the public finance department at King & Spalding in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rachel is a former Chair of the State Bar of Georgia Nonprofit Law Section and is a member of the Public Interest Executive Roundtable of the Atlanta Bar Association. She has been recognized as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite and the Daily Report’s On the Rise attorneys. She has received the EPIC Inspiration Award: Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need awarded by Emory University School of Law and the Rita A. Sheffey Public Interest Award presented by the Atlanta Bar Association.

An Atlanta native, Rachel graduated from Davidson College in 1993 with a degree in Political Science and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997.

She lives in Morningside with her husband, two daughters, and two rescue dogs – Cash and June Carter.

Lori joined Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta in July 2014. As a part-time staff attorney for Pro Bono Partnership, Lori provides direct legal services to nonprofit organizations in addition to serving as a resource to Pro Bono Partnership’s volunteer attorneys and nonprofit clients, and educating lawyers and clients on employment-related legal issues.

Prior to joining Pro Bono Partnership, Lori practiced labor, employment and benefits law for more than 20 years, both as a law firm partner and as in-house corporate counsel. As an associate and then a partner at Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP, she represented national and international corporate clients in all aspects of employment law and litigation. Starting in 2000, she moved her career in-house, first as General Counsel for Employment Learning Innovations, Inc. (“ELI”), a training company that provided labor and employment law training courses, and then as labor, employment and benefits counsel with Graphic Packaging International, Inc., an international paperboard packaging company. Throughout her career, Lori has had the opportunity to assist clients with a wide variety of corporate legal matters, including matters involving labor and employment law and litigation, employee benefits, intellectual property, licensing (including software licensing), non-compete and confidentiality agreements, OSHA issues, and general contracting.

In addition to her experience teaching her corporate clients about the law in her in-house positions, Lori served as an adjunct professor, teaching labor law classes, in the Employment Law LLM program at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School for two years. She currently serves on the board of The Breman Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum, and has previously served on nonprofit boards throughout her career.

Lori received her J.D. degree from New York University School of Law. She graduated from Brandeis University cum laude with a B.A. in Politics and European Cultural Studies. She lives in Marietta with her husband, Cary Goldenthal, who is a Vice President with Aetna, her two children, and her dog, a schnoodle named Star.

Justine joined Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta in 2020. As a part-time staff attorney, she assists nonprofits in navigating the multitude of laws that govern nonprofit organizations.

Justine has over two decades of experience as an attorney and nonprofit leader, including serving for 13 years as the Executive Director of Atlanta-based GreenLaw. Most recently, Justine lived in central Florida, where she ran a consulting firm that provided legal and strategic advice to nonprofit organizations on topics including industry best practices, corporate governance, charitable registrations and other regulatory compliance issues.

Justine has served as a guest lecturer at Emory University, University of Georgia, Georgia State University and Mercer University law schools and has conducted comprehensive educational programs for organizations such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Edyth Bush Institute of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, among others.

She received her law degree with honors from Duke University School of Law, where she was a member of the Editorial Board of the Duke Law Journal. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert L. Echols, United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee. She received her B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Justine has received numerous awards for her public service.

She lives in Midtown with her husband, Patrick, an artist for EA Sports, who can frequently be found playing jazz at local Atlanta clubs.

Eadaoin grew up in Ireland and attended law school (for the first time) at Queen’s University, Belfast, later retraining in the U.S. at the University of Georgia School of Law. She enjoyed a long and happy first career in private practice at Andersen, Tate & Carr, P.C. in Atlanta, as a partner in the corporate department.  One of her first clients was a WWII veteran seeking 501(c)(3) status to build a memorial to his parachute regiment, which had landed in Normandy on D-Day; from this special experience, she went on to serve as corporate counsel to a number of Gwinnett County nonprofits over the years.  

In 2017, Eadaoin went in-house as COO and General Counsel with Inspiring Hospice Group. While much of her time was spent on regulatory and employment compliance for the hospices across three states, Eadaoin worked closely with the rest of the leadership team on the expansion of IHG’s operations into new territories. By 2021, the size of the business had doubled, leading IHG to a successful sale of its business to a national operator.

Eadaoin feels privileged to return to nonprofit work at PBPA; assisting such deserving clients in a pro bono capacity, and with the support of such talented volunteers, is the icing on the cake.  Eadaoin lives in Athens with her family: George, a professor at UGA, and their four amazing children.

Thomas joined Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta as a Staff Attorney in August, 2024 after almost 18 years of in-house employment in the entertainment industry in Atlanta where his practice involved contracts, consumer protection, advertising and marketing, social media, e-commerce, technology, privacy, content creation and production, and intellectual property issues. Before that, through a combination of law firm and in-house experiences, Thomas worked on tax, business formation and M&A transactions.

Throughout his Atlanta-based in-house career, Thomas was a volunteer attorney for Pro Bono Partnership, so he has now come full circle and is honored to be helping local nonprofits fulfill their missions. In addition to a J.D. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he was a member of the UALR Law Journal, Thomas holds an LL.M. in tax law from the University of Florida. He is licensed in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Thomas lives in East Point. He likes to run, swim and sail, and enjoys music, literature, languages and the arts.

Sireesha undertook her first volunteer attorney project with Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta when she was a first-year law firm associate. 12 years later, she came full-circle to join PBPA as a staff attorney. Sireesha had a mix of in-house and law firm experience prior to joining PBPA. Her background includes working at McKenna, Long & Aldridge, The Trust for Public Land, and Genuine Parts Company.

Sireesha graduated with a BA from Wake Forest University, and has a JD and MBA from the University of Georgia. She lives in Decatur with her 3 children and husband. 

Carey Stadler joined Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta in September 2024 as the Program Manager. Prior to joining PBPA, she worked and volunteered for various nonprofits, including The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a fundraiser and event planner and Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation as the marketing director. She is thrilled to once again support the generous legal community in metro Atlanta.
 
A native of south Texas, Carey received her B.A. and M.A. in English from Texas State University and has called Atlanta home since 2009. She lives in the Chastain Park area with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs. She enjoys baking, reading, traveling with her family, and British murder mysteries because they’re so civilized.

Randi Zelcer joined PBPA in August 2018. Prior to joining PBPA, she worked at Georgia State University’s School of Social Work and Georgia Center for Nonprofits. Randi serves on the Parent Community Board at Woodward Academy and volunteers and raises funds for Emory’s Winship Cancer Research Institute. Randi continues to be passionate about capacity building in nonprofits in Atlanta. She received her MSW from Yeshiva University and a BA from University of Miami. She lives in Decatur, GA.

Marie joined Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta in the fall of 2022.

A dual citizen of Kenya and the USA, Marie graduated with a B.A in Political Science from the University of Nairobi, and an M.A. in Gender Analysis Studies from the University of East Anglia, UK. She has extensive international work experience in refugee resettlement; advocating for individuals with disabilities to live in the community; and provided direct services to individuals experiencing homelessness.

 
A social worker at heart, Marie is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Society where she consistently supports their social services work in the community. A fitness and health junkie, when she is not running outdoors, or travelling the world, or delving into immigration assistance matters, Marie finds time to cook for her family of five.

Ellen joined Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta in 2023 as the Development and Communications Coordinator. She received her M.A. in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of Georgia, where she previously completed her B.A. degrees in Theatre and English.  Prior to joining, she worked as a Volunteer Coordinator first for the Athens Community Council on Aging, and then for St. Mary’s Hospice.

She has been involved in the nonprofit world for most of her life, whether through volunteering, serving on committees, or organizing events and she is excited to continue working to empower local communities. In her free time, she follows her passion for the arts as a digital artist, sewist, and writer. Having recently moved to the Atlanta area, she looks forward to exploring the city with her dog, Dottie.