COHHIO is pleased to announce the hiring of a new staff member to coordinate the Ohio Votes program for the 2018 election and welcomes two new summer interns for the affordable and fair housing department.
Ohio Votes Coordinator Maria Bruno, Esq. has a diverse background in community organizing, voting rights, and criminal law. She has served as the Director of the Voter Protection Program for America Votes Ohio in the 2016 election, advocated for criminal justice reform at the ACLU of Ohio, and interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and also the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office. Maria earned a JD from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from University of Pittsburgh. Born and raised in Medina, Maria is passionate about helping low-income Ohioans participate in democracy through the electoral system. She loves Buckeye football and Cleveland sports, even the Browns.
COHHIO also welcomes two current students at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Michelle Brunson and Hayley Kick.
Michelle just finished her second year of law school. She currently serves as the executive director for the Pro Bono Research Group, where she aides pro bono lawyers and participates in conversations to expose and understand the inequities in the law. Michelle is excited for the chance to work in the field of housing law and landlord tenant law at COHHIO because they are “uniquely human sectors of the law… that touch everyone.”
Hayley just finished her first year of law school. She grew up in a rural Appalachian community where she saw firsthand the need for fair and affordable housing, as many of her peers struggled to obtain it. She brings to her position at COHHIO a passion for making legal services accessible in underserved communities.
