Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the appointment of 52 new assistant district attorneys to join the Queens District Attorney’s Office. The members of this new class represent 20 different law schools from New York state and across the country.

District Attorney Katz said: “I am proud to welcome this group of talented professionals into the Queens District Attorney’s office.  I look forward to working with each of them in support of this office’s mission to keep Queens safe while helping to ensure equity in the criminal justice system.”

The new assistant district attorneys, sworn in earlier this month, began an immersive, six-week Incoming Orientation Program that will familiarize them with every aspect of the office’s mission through contact with executive staff and senior ADAs. They will participate in exercises such as mock arraignments and shadow more experienced ADAs.

The training will also include visits to the NYPD laboratory, the NYPD range, NYPD Emergency Services Unit and a police precinct. They will also have a chance to ride along with NYPD officers on a tour of duty.

Following the completion of their training, the new ADAs will be variously assigned to the District Attorney’s Intake, Domestic Violence and Appeals Bureaus as part of their first assignments.

The new prosecutors and the law schools from which they graduated are: Krista Apostle, St. John’s University Law School; Sarah Appel, Touro Law Center; Stephanie Areford, Pace University School of Law; Elisheva Blitstein, New York Law School; Julia “JC” Carter, University of Kansas School of Law; Leslie Contreras, Hofstra Law School; Sarah Coon, Albany Law School; Elizabeth D’Angelo, St. John’s University School of Law; Chloe Devanny, Pace University School of Law; John DiLeo, St. John’s University School of Law; Kayla Dobrinski, New York Law School; Jonathan Doolittle, Brooklyn Law School; Cole Eiber, St. John’s University School of Law; Jacob Eisenberg, Brooklyn Law School; Ariselly Fernandez, Villanova University School of Law; Benjamin Fishkind, Hofstra Law School; Boruch Frankel, Brooklyn Law School; Antony Galvano, Pace University School of Law; Elizabeth Gomiela, St. John’s University School of Law; Tyler Goldberg, University of Illinois College of Law; Emma Guggenheimer, Cardozo School of Law; Shaneeza Hack, CUNY School of Law; Devon Howell, Brooklyn Law School; Damian Jhagroo, Touro Law Center; Ryan Joyce, Brooklyn Law School; Holly Jordan, University of Georgia School of Law; Allegra Kahn, University of California Law San Francisco; Fara Kaner, University of Wisconsin Law School; Jaclyn Kulacz, CUNY School of Law; Talia Lorenzatti, Albany Law School; Yuliya Louis, CUNY School of Law; Nicole Marinaro, Brooklyn Law School; Kenneth Markert, University of Texas School of Law; Zoë Marks, New York Law School; Molli Michalik, Hofstra Law School; Katharine Morris, Albany Law School; Rachel November, Hofstra Law School; Gregory Orlando, George Washington University Law School; Katherine Pedlow, Albany Law School; Sarit Perl, Cardozo School of Law; Jeanette Potter, Pennsylvania State University School of Law; Aliyah Quintyne, Hofstra Law School; Brendan Ransom, George Washington University Law School; Melissa Rosol, Seton Hall University School of Law; Lindsey Ruzza, Pace University School of Law; JR Schlachman, Fordham University School of Law; Allison Schmidt, Hofstra Law School; Kristiana Stiles, Pennsylvania State University School of Law; Rahul Sukesh, Fordham University School of Law; Angelika Thomas, CUNY School of Law; Daniel Velez-Cuzco, Fordham University School of Law; Tova Wolkenstein, Cardozo School of Law.

New ADA training is 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 Legal Hiring, and Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Mendoza, Deputy Director of Litigation Training and Assistant Deputy Bureau Chief of the Hate Crimes Bureau.

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