Team
Amalia Macias-Laventure
Community Advocate, Housing Rights
Amalia Macias-Laventure
Community Advocate, Housing Rights
Amalia Macias-Laventure (they/elle) is a Community Advocate in the Housing Rights program. They are born and raised in the Bay Area, and have been a part of housing justice movements for the past 8 years. They earned their B.A. and M.A. in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State, which shaped their understanding of anti-displacement, settler-colonialism, and land reform, both locally and internationally.
In their spare time, they enjoy organizing with their neighbors, community bonding through mutual aid, and spending time with their dog, Loba.
Faustina Ngo
Community Advocate, Housing Rights
Faustina Ngo
Community Advocate, Housing Rights
Faustina (they/she) is a Community Advocate in the Housing Rights Program.
They are born and raised in Oakland, and have deeply rooted love for the Bay Area, its people, and its cultures. Faustina is committed to supporting working class communities and communities of color in their fights against gentrification and displacement. Previously, Faustina worked at La Cocina, a nonprofit supporting women of color and immigrant chefs with their food businesses. They graduated from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies and a B.S. in Public Health and actually learned of Asian Americans Advancing Justice through one of their Ethnic Studies courses.
In their free time, you can find them preserving Vietnamese and Cantonese recipes from their family, taking care of their plants and cat, and re-watching comfort Asian dramas from their childhood for the hundredth time.
Julie Lemmer
Senior Staff Attorney, Housing Rights
Julie Lemmer
Senior Staff Attorney, Housing Rights
Julie Lemmer is a senior staff attorney in the Housing Rights Program. Before joining ALC, Julie was a staff attorney at Legal Assistance to the Elderly where she defended senior and/or disabled tenants against eviction. Before LAE, Julie was a staff attorney at Home Base, a nonprofit dedicated to building community capacity to prevent and end homelessness. And before that, Julie spent many years as a litigation attorney in private practice. Julie earned her J.D. from Florida State University College of Law and a B.A. from Kenyon College. Before law school, Julie spent two years living, studying, and teaching in China, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria.
Shelby Nacino
Program Director, Housing Rights
Shelby Nacino
Program Director, Housing Rights
Shelby Nacino is Program Director for the Housing Rights Program. Prior to joining ALC, Shelby was a supervising attorney at Legal Assistance to the Elderly where she represented San Francisco seniors facing eviction. While in law school, she interned at the East Bay Community Law Center and the Legal Aid Society's Harlem Community Law Offices. Shelby is committed to fighting against the displacement of low-income communities and communities of color.
Shelby received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Our Focus
Home is the place where we lay our heads down at night, find comfort, and care for our loved ones. We provide culturally and linguistically competent assistance to low-income tenants and defend the rights of San Francisco tenants, many of whom are from immigrant communities, seniors, or living with disabilities.
We advocate for local and state policies that preserve housing, create affordable housing options, and decrease inequities in housing and land use. We also engage in community education and outreach.
San Francisco Chinatown residents, Community Tenants Association, Asian Law Caucus, Legal Assistance to the Elderly, and Ropes & Gray come together to celebrate their 2022 settlement with Valstock Management that protects Chinatown SRO tenants from displacement and harassment.