Our Team
Cynthia Feathers, the ILS Director of Appellate and Post-Conviction Representation, supervises the Statewide Appellate Support Center. Before joining ILS in 2017, she clerked at the Appellate Division, Third Department; served as an Assistant Attorney General at the Appeals & Opinions Bureau of the New York State Department of Law; was an appellate attorney at the Center for Appellate Litigation in New York City; was the founding appeals director of the Rural Law Center of New York; and was a solo practitioner concentrating in appeals, including assigned criminal and family law cases. Cynthia obtained a B.S.J. with distinction from the Northwestern University School of Journalism and a J.D. with honors from Boston College Law School.
Mandy Jaramillo, the Senior Appellate Attorney at the Statewide Appellate Support Center, supervises a team focusing on post-conviction support services. Prior to joining ILS in 2022, Mandy worked for five years at the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York City, where she most recently served as a supervising attorney and the director of reinvestigation. She spent several years as investigations attorney at the Innocence Project and, before that, represented parents in child welfare cases at the Center for Family Representation in New York City. Mandy obtained a B.A. with honors at the University of Chicago and a J.D. cum laude from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Kelly Egan is an Appellate Attorney at the Statewide Appellate Support Center, where she focuses on litigation support for trial counsel and appellate support to counsel on direct appeal. For five years before joining ILS, she was appeals director at the Rural Law Center of New York, overseeing criminal and family law appeals in several upstate rural counties. She has clerked at the Appellate Division, Third Department, and served as an assigned counsel panel attorney in the Third Department and as an assistant district attorney in Rensselaer County. Kelly obtained a B.A. in psychology from American University, an M.A. in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a J.D. summa cum laude from Albany Law School.
Emily Lusignan is an Appellate Attorney at the Statewide Appellate Support Center, where she focuses on litigation support for trial counsel and appellate support for direct appeals. For two years, she was the Alternatives to Incarceration Program Coordinator for the Schenectady County Public Defender. For four years, Emily was Principal Law Clerk to Acting Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman, where her duties included writing draft decisions for Article 78 proceedings brought by incarcerated persons. Her experience also includes service as a case manager for two upstate nonprofit organizations. Emily obtained a B.S. in science cum laude from Cornell University and a J.D. magna cum laude from Villanova University School of Law.
Daniel Speranza is a Junior Appellate Attorney at the Statewide Appellate Support Center, where he focuses on support in post-conviction matters and emerging discovery issues. For two years, he was an assistant public defender at the Albany County Public Defender’s Office. There Daniel handled misdemeanors and felonies, appeared daily in the Domestic Violence Court, and developed initiatives to implement bail and discovery reform laws. He also served as an associate attorney at two upstate law firms. Daniel obtained a B.A. in political science and history cum laude from the College of Saint Rose and his J.D. from Albany Law School, where he was a fellow at the Government Law Center and served on Albany Law Review.
Michelle Stroe is a paralegal at the Statewide Appellate Support Center, where she provides administrative support for attorneys and non-attorney professionals. For three years, she was legal assistant to the Columbia County Public Defender, where she drafted motions, appellate briefs, and Article 78 petitions; conducted client interviews; and provided litigation support. Michelle also served as legal research assistant to an upstate solo practitioner focusing on criminal defense and as a law intern at the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. She has a B.A. with a double major in political science and Spanish from Union College and a J.D. from Albany Law School.
Our team will grow in the upcoming months with the addition of a third appellate attorney, an investigator, and a case manager.
