Dannnye K. Holley, Dean and Professor of Law

 

 
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Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Justice Staff

Sarah R. Guidry, Executive Director, is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. Ms. Guidry has worked in the public interest arena most of her career. She has served as an adjunct professor in Trial Simulation and Appellate Litigation. She was previously the East Texas Regional Managing Attorney for Disability Rights Texas where she represented disabled persons in various discrimination matters. In her position there she also provided representation to persons denied health care in the Harris County Jail, TYC facilities, and other facilities housing persons with mental disabilities. Ms. Guidry previously held positions with the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). At DFPS, Ms. Guidry was the supervising attorney of the statewide Special Litigation Unit which handled the most complex cases in the agency, both in jury trials and on appeal. She was also a Special Projects Attorney and in that role created statewide standardized training and best practice materials for social workers, prosecutors and judges, as well as providing legislative analysis to bills that would potentially impact agency litigation. Ms. Guidry began her work in the public interest arena as a legal aid staff attorney and subsequently Supervising Attorney at Coastal Bend Legal Services. She has authored numerous CLE articles as well as authored several chapters for SBOT Family Law Expert Witness Manual.  
Phone:  713.313.1321
Email: srguidry@tmslaw.tsu.edu

Lucinda R. Daniels, Associate Director, Student Development, Special Projects and Publications, is a graduate of Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Ms. Daniels has served as District Director and Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives, Ninth Congressional District of Texas where she was responsible for the direction and oversight of the Congressional Member’s district based congressional offices.  Her duties included: planning and implementing community projects and events of local and national significance to constituents residing in the ninth congressional district, oversight of constituent casework and identification of local issues to be addressed through legislative action. Ms. Daniels previously served TMSL in the capacity of Director of Career Services. Ms. Daniels joined the Earl Carl Institute in 2009, where her current duties include directing the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Street Law Program, managing the ECI Interdisciplinary Journal for Legal & Social Policy, providing oversight on student assignments and student assessments, and coordinating the Institute’s special projects and publications.
Phone:  713.313.1156
Email: lrdaniels@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Anthony S. Haughton, Associate Director, Center for Criminal Justice, has been with the Thurgood Marshall School of Law since 2009, starting as an adjunct professor. He joined the ECI in his present position in 2011, where he is also responsible for the supervision, running, and teaching of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Innocence Project. During his 25 years as an attorney, Mr. Haughton has worked consistently in the representation of the indigent accused. His experience includes: working as a consulting attorney at the Texas Resource Center (handling post-conviction capital appeals); 6 years at the Public Defenders Service (PDS) in Washington, DC, where Mr. Haughton served in many roles, handling both appeals and serious criminal trials, ultimately serving as the Chief of the Trial Division; and in private practice, where most recently he has won new trials for two clients on death row.
Phone:  713.313.4870
Email: ashaughton@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Jeanetta Taylor Washington, Sr. Administrative Assistant, is the newest member of the Earl Carl Institute family. In this capacity she is the Institute’s first point of contact for internal and external constituencies and plays a key role in its daily operations. Prior to joining ECI, Ms. Washington served as Senior Administrator for the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Office of Career Services where she assisted in maintaining resource materials, performed duties related to the On-Campus Interview and Reciprocity programs, and oversaw the details of numerous off-campus career events. A native Houstonian, Ms. Washington developed her professional skills, in part through completion of courses at Massey Business College and Houston Community College.
Phone:  713.313.1139
Email: jwashington@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Zahra Buck Whitfield currently serves as the Associate Director for the Earl Carl Institute’s Center for Government Law.  In this role, Whitfield oversees the Institute’s policy and legislative outreach efforts targeted to improve outcomes for people of color.  In particular, Mrs. Whitfield serves as ECI’s liaison with elected officials, agencies, and like-minded organizations.  Mrs. Whitfield possesses over 13 years of experience in the federal government affairs and public policy arenas as a former congressional staffer, lawyer, campaign staffer, and lobbyist.  She also served on Capitol Hill as a professional staffer on the United States House Homeland Security Committee and as a legislative staffer for United States Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS).  In recent years, Mrs. Whitfield was the founder and CEO of Buck Group Government Strategies, a government relations firm in Washington, DC.  Mrs. Whitfield holds a Psychology degree from Jackson State University and a Juris Doctorate from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.  She has written numerous articles related to legislative and governmental policies.
Phone: 713.313.1177
Email: zbwhitfield@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Kelley L. Austin joined the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy’s Opal Mitchell Lee Property Preservation Project to provide bankruptcy and foreclosure defense representation.  Prior to joining the Earl Carl Institute, she worked in private practice where she practiced mainly bankruptcy and civil litigation.  She has worked extensively in matters involving toxic torts, product liability, property disputes, bankruptcy and debt reorganization, and various other areas of civil litigation.  She has served as court appointed counsel for the Harris County Tax and Probate courts, Fort Bend County Criminal Courts and Texas Board of Pardons and Parole.  She earned her J.D., Cum Laude, in 2003 from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University where she was a member of the James Douglas Board of Advocates and Phi Alpha Delta National Law Fraternity.  She earned her B.A., in 1992 from Southwest Texas State University. She was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in December 2003 and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in May 2004.  She currently serves on the City of Sugar Land’s Land Use Advisory Council.  She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Sugar Land Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Phone: 713.313.1185
Email: klaustin@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Chavon D. Carr, a graduate of Spelman College, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a concentration in Business Management. She went on to earn her Juris Doctorate with a certificate in Health Law, from the Saint Louis University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri. Carr began her legal career in Houston, Texas in 2007. She joined the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) as a US right of way attorney. Her efforts lead to Metro acquiring more than 100 commercial and residential properties for the expansion of the light rail.  In 2011, Carr joined Sadler Law, LLP as an associate attorney, marking her transition to the law firm sector. Carr analyzed complex probate and real estate title ownership issues for oil and gas exploration and production companies and prepared title opinions for various purposes.  Carr moved on to the transactional energy group of Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC, one of the country’s top energy law firms.  In 2015, Carr entered the entrepreneurial realm and launched Carr + Associates, where she currently serves as managing attorney. The firm focuses on estate, probate and real estate law, by assisting families in the planning and preparation of estate as well as the administration decedents’ estate.  Furthermore, her clients include real estate developers, investors and community development corporations and nonprofit organizations seeking to advance their missions and goals. She continues this work through her role as a part-time staff attorney at the Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc. where she provides pro-bono legal services to low-income individuals in Houston and surrounding counties in the area of probate and real estate.
Phone: 713.313.4869
Email: cdcarr@tmslaw.tsu.edu 

 

Jasline Y. Hardiman, a native Houstonian, joined the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Inc. as a Staff Attorney for the Opal Mitchell Lee Property Preservation Project (OMLPPP) in February 2017. Prior to joining ECI, Jasline worked for a solo practitioner developing her skills in estate planning, probate, and the formation of small businesses. Her main focus as a Staff Attorney for OMLPPP is to provide counsel and advice to clients with probate and property issues.  Jasline earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Sam Houston State University in 2011 and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law in 2016. During her time at South Texas College of Law, Jasline was on the board of several organizations, received various scholarships, and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas Pro Bono College for her dedication to volunteer work. Jasline is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Phone: 713.313.1158
Email: jyhardiman@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Ashley Vignaud Marshall Hawkins, OMLPPP Staff Attorney, is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from University of Houston and a Juris Doctor from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Ashley is a member of the Texas State Bar. She is the intake specialist / attorney for the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Inc. under the Center for Civil Advocacy (CCA) division, Opal Mitchell Lee Property Preservation Project. From September 2010 through April 2012, Ashley served clients and intakes of the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy as a student attorney for the Opal Mitchell Lee Property Preservation Project and as a research student for “Our Story,” “The State of Black Houston Now” publication/town hall meeting, and Congressional Black Caucus 2011: U.S. Congressman Al Green.
Phone:  713.313.1159
Email: ecattorney@tmslaw.tsu.edu

 

Mani Nezami, an Equal Justice Works Fellow Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig LLP and Texas Access to Justice Foundation, is a staff attorney with the Juvenile Justice Project at the Earl Carl Institute (ECI). Mani provides counsel and advice as well as direct representation to students who have received school tickets in Harris and the surrounding counties. Additionally, Mani provides trainings to parents, advocates, and attorneys in the community. Prior to joining the Juvenile Justice Project, Mani volunteered full time with ECI’s Innocence Project for 6 months. Mani received a Bachelor of Arts from University of Texas at Austin (2005), and a Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas (2010).
Phone:  713.313.1130

Email: manezami@tsu.edu


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