OUR TEAM

PROF. MARCI HAMILTON
Founder & CEO

MARCI A. HAMILTON is the Founder and CEO of CHILD USA, www.childusa.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic think tank dedicated to interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to improve laws and public policy to end child abuse and neglect.   She is also the Fels Institute of Government Professor of Practice and a Resident Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion at the University of Pennsylvania.  Before moving to Penn, Professor Hamilton held the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.

Prof. Hamilton is the leading expert on clergy sex abuse and child sex abuse statutes of limitation (“SOL”).    She has been invited to testify and advise legislators in every state where significant SOL reform has occurred.  She is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge University Press), which advocates for the elimination of child sex abuse statutes of limitations.  She has filed countless pro bono amicus briefs for the protection of children at the United States Supreme Court and the state supreme courts.  She is the co-author of Children and the Law (Carolina Academic Press 2017).

Hamilton is a leading and influential critic of extreme religious liberty and the author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  Hamilton successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) at the Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores (1997), and defeated the RFRA claim brought by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against hundreds of child sex abuse survivors in Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki (7^th Cir. 2015).  She has represented numerous cities, neighborhoods, and individuals dealing with church-state issues as well as claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”).

Hamilton has been honored with the 2019 Distinguished Daughters Award by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf; the 2018 Louis H. Pollak Award for Public Service by the University of Pennsylvania Law School; the 2015 Annual Religious Liberty Award, American Humanist Association; the 2014 Freethought Heroine Award; the 2016 Voice Today, Voice of Gratitude Award; the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award, 2012; the E. Nathaniel Gates Award for outstanding public advocacy and scholarship, 2008; and selected as a Pennsylvania Woman of the Year Award, 2012, among other awards and honors.   She is also frequently quoted in the national media on child sex abuse, statute of limitations issues and constitutional, RFRA, RLUIPA, and First Amendment issues.

Hamilton clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  Professor Hamilton is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, B.A., summa cum laude; Pennsylvania State University, M.A. (English, fiction writing, High Honors); M.A. (Philosophy); and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.   She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif.

JAMES F. PLAPPERT
Chief Financial Officer

JILLIAN RUCK
Chief Operating Officer

KELSEY BRYNER
Development Director

AJ ORTIZ, MSSP
Social Science Director

AJ Ortiz joins CHILD USA after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Science in Social Policy program. He graduated from Millersville University in 2014 with a degree in social work and went on to work in educational settings and complete a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA.

Before coming to Penn, AJ worked as a therapeutic foster parent recruiter and conducted trainings on complex trauma, human trafficking prevention, and specialized foster care. During graduate school, he co-authored a paper analyzing evidence for programs serving youth aging out of foster care and studied implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act. AJ’s primary focus is preventing institutional child abuse, particularly in residential facilities. He is ultimately interested in using mixed-methods social science research to inform child protection policies nationwide.

JESSICA SCHIDLOW, ESQ., MA, NCC
 Legal Director

 

Jessica Schidlow joins CHILD USA with an extensive background in child welfare. Jessica holds a Master’s degree in Professional Clinical and Counseling Psychology and worked as an out-patient child and family-based therapist before pursuing her legal education. After law school, Jessica joined the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office in their Child Advocacy Unit where she represented hundreds of at-risk and dependent youth in their Juvenile and Orphan’s Court proceedings. Jessica is committed to advancing the rights of children and improving the outcomes for court-involved youth by ensuring practices that are trauma-informed and congruent with legal, medical, and social-science research.

Jessica earned her B.A. in Psychology from Temple University, Honors Program. She earned her M.A. in Professional Clinical and Counseling Psychology from LaSalle University, graduating with distinction. Jessica earned her J.D. from of Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law, 2-year accelerated program, where she served as a research assistant and president of the Health Law Society. Jessica is a National Board-Certified Counselor and member of the National Association of Counsel for Children. She also serves on the Children and the Law Committee for the Montgomery County Bar Association and the Children’s Rights Legislative Subcommittee for the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

DEVYNE BYRD, ESQ.
Staff Attorney for Global Projects

Devyne Byrd joins CHILD USA as the Staff Attorney for Global Projects with prior experience working with international legal organizations. Previously, Devyne was a Legal Fellow at the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, where she practiced family, landlord-tenant, and employment law.
Devyne graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law where she participated in the International Human Rights Clinic working on improving air quality in Bogota, Colombia. She also has experience in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where she partnered with the Women’s Legal Aid Clinic to assist women entering marriages with retaining ownership of their premarital property.
Prior to law school, she received her B.A. in History from Houston Christian University. While enrolled, she served as President of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and volunteered with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

STEPHANIE GONZALEZ
Digital Media Manager

Stephanie Gonzalez joins CHILD USA as Digital Media Manager, who brings creativity and ingenuity to everything she does. As a digital storyteller with a decade of experience in social media, brand development, and marketing strategy, she is also a forward-thinking self-starter who continually challenges herself to learn something new. Stephanie considers herself a creative problem solver who enjoys utilizing her communication, hands-on work, and problem-solving skills. She is also a lover of design, branding, and graphic/visual arts, which all come together to form her work. Having attended The University of the Arts and graduated with a Multimedia degree, her background in the arts further fuels her creativity and passion for making intuitive decisions quickly, with the ability to create something from nothing.

ALICE NASAR HANAN, ESQ.
Staff Attorney

Alice Nasar Hanan joined CHILD USA in February 2019. She is a staff attorney and contributes to the legal research, analysis and development of our Statute of Limitations Reform Initiative. She is a former student of Marci Hamilton from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. At Cardozo, she was the recipient of the Dean’s Merit Scholarship, worked as an editor of the Cardozo Law Review, was a legal writing teacher’s assistant and graduated with honors. She received her B.A. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif. Alice began her legal career in New York City at Kasowtiz, Benson, Torres, and Friedman LLP, as a litigation attorney with a focus on complex commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. Next, she moved to New Jersey with her family and joined a local litigation firm. Alice brings to CHILD USA both her legal expertise and passion for respecting the dignity and legal rights of all children.

MARYCLARE MALADY

Event Planner & Executive Assistant to CEO

CARINA NIXON, ESQ.
Staff Attorney

Carina Nixon joins CHILD USA as a Staff Attorney. Prior to CHILD USA, Carina worked as an Attorney-Advisor for the Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance where she aided small business owners in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Previously, she worked as an Attorney-Advisor in the General Counsel’s Office of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. 

Carina graduated from Pepperdine School of Law, where she served as a Note and Comment Editor for the Pepperdine Law Review. As a staffer for the Law Review, Carina wrote an article exploring and arguing against the constitutionality of juvenile solitary confinement in the U.S. prison system. Her article was chosen for publication in Pepperdine’s Law Review and earned Pepperdine Law’s Sorenson Award for best student article. Carina additionally acted as President of Pepperdine’s International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team and was a member of the Moot Court team. Prior to law school, Carina graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in Spanish Language. As a mother herself, she is passionate about ensuring every child is afforded the legal protections and human rights they deserve.

JENNIFER WILCZYNSKI, ESQ., MA, MS
Staff Attorney

Jennifer Wilczynski joins CHILD USA with an academic background in child rights and juvenile justice reform. Jennifer earned her B.A. in Political Science and Economics and M.S. in International Relations from Suffolk University in Boston, MA. She earned her J.D. with a Child Rights concentration and M.A. in Peace and Justice from the University of San Diego School of Law and Joan B. Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice. 

Jennifer’s involvement with child rights expands into her personal life as well. In her free time, she coaches competitive synchronized swimming and is certified by SafeSport, where she cultivates a positive environment for young athletes to learn and grow in both character and sport. As a former athlete herself, she understands the challenges of women in sports and ensures her athletes have a safe environment to express themselves. Jennifer applies restorative practices in problem solving amongst the youth she works with when conflicts arise and encourages her athletes to advocate for themselves.