Dr. Ulash Thakore-Dunlap, EdD, LMFT is a licensed marriage family therapist in California, and is an Assistant Professor at California State University, East Bay M.S. in Counseling. Ulash has a private practice in California supporting client’s mental health and wellbeing focusing on anxiety, burnout, grief and loss, stress management, and life transitions.

For nearly 20 years, Patricia Taitano-Valdovinos has been a committed advocate on behalf of indigent, marginalized San Diegans, ensuring fairness, equality, and justice for all who come before the court. The architect and former lead attorney supervising the novel Criminal Immigration Unit at the San Diego County Primary Public Defender’s Office, Mrs. Taitano-Valdovinos brings a unique specialization in post-conviction immigration relief to her already holistic representation. A dedicated leader in our legal community, Mrs. Taitano-Valdovinos is a frequent guest speaker and mentor, inspiring leaders of tomorrow. The immediate past co-chair for the Lawyers Club of San Diego Diverse Women’s Committee, Mrs. Taitano-Valdovinos currently serves as a co-chair for the Lawyers Club of San Diego Bench Bar Committee. Beyond the San Diego legal community, Mrs. Taitano-Valdovinos serves as the past and present co-chair of the National Association of Women Judges Ensuring Racial Equity in the Justice System and Fairness and Access Committees.

Judge Rohanee Zapanta was appointed in 2018 by Governor Brown as the second Filipina American to serve as Superior Court Judge for San Diego County.  She was awarded as one of the Most Influential Filipina Women in the World™ by Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) in 2023.  She teaches as an Adjunct Professor on Professional Identity Formation at the University of San Diego School of Law.  She is also faculty for California Judicial Education & Research and is slated to teach New Judges Orientation in 2026.

Kevin Yee is a Deputy City Attorney in the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, specializing in civil litigation and risk transfer. The City Attorney’s Office represents the City in legal disputes, advises city officials, and ensures legal compliance in municipal operations. In addition to his legal practice, Kevin is deeply committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion with a focus on neurodiversity. He serves as co-chair of the City Attorney Office’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, where he focuses on fostering an inclusive work environment. Outside of his professional life, Kevin enjoys running with his wife and is also an avid amateur aquarist, enthusiastic about fish and aquariums.

Judge Lilys D. McCoy was appointed to the San Diego Superior Court by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March 2023. She is currently assigned to the San Diego Court’s Juvenile Division, where she hears dependency cases.

Prior to her appointment, Judge McCoy was a Senior Lead Deputy City Attorney for the San Diego City Attorney’s Office where she represented the City in civil litigation matters. Before joining the City Attorney’s Office, Judge McCoy served as the founding Director of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law Center for Solo Practitioners, a lawyer incubator program designed to help alumni start solo practices with a focus on access-to-justice and community service. In addition to the Center for Solo Practitioners, she led TJSL’s National Trial Team and taught Federal Evidence, California Evidence, California Civil Procedure, and Solo Practice. Before her work at TJSL, Judge McCoy practiced civil litigation for 20 years with a focus on individual and class action consumer protection cases. 

Judge McCoy is a Past President of the San Diego County Bar Association, a Past President of Lawyers Club of San Diego, a Past Chair of the Conference of California Bar Associations, a Past Co-President of the Tom Homann LGBTQ+ Law Association, and a Past President of the San Diego Inn of Court. She currently serves as a Master and board member for the Enright Inn of Court, a board member of the San Diego Inn or Court, and a member of the California Judges Association’s Student Wellness Committee. 

Judge McCoy is a recipient of the San Diego County Law Library’s 2020 Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence in Legal Education; the 2019 San Diego County Bar Foundation Award; the Conference of California Bar Associations’ 2018 Charles M. Pfeiffer Award; the San Diego County Bar Association’s 2014 Service to the Profession Award; the Tom Homann LGBTQ+ Law Association’s 2008 Co-Presidents’ Award; and the Lawyers Club of San Diego’s 2007 Belva Lockwood Award. 

Judge McCoy received a J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law and a B.A., with Department Honors, from the University of California at San Diego.

Julie O. Wolff received her J.D. from California Western School of Law, along with High Honors in two concentrations (Trial Practice and Preventive Problem Solving).  Following graduation, Ms. Wolff clerked for the Honorable Judge Leon Aberasturi at the Third Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, before jumping into juvenile law, first as a parent’s attorney in Sacramento, then as a minor’s attorney in San Diego, and now as a parent’s attorney with the Law Office of Berta Zangari, a division of Dependency Legal Services of San Diego.  Ms. Wolff holds an LL.M. in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the David Caruso School of Law and Mediation Certifications from both Pepperdine University and California Western School of Law. Ms. Wolff also holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of California at Santa Barbara, where she was a student-athlete playing Division I Water Polo.

Frantz Farreau is general counsel for a property management company in San Diego. He is also a law professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, where he teaches a number of courses including property law, professional responsibility, and restorative justice. Prior to attending law school, Frantz received a degree in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. In his spare time, Frantz enjoys playing classical piano, ballroom and folk dancing, and hiking.

Judge Nomoto Schumann was a Superior Court Judge for over 30 years, and the first Asian woman to be appointed in Orange County.  She is currently still sitting on assignment. She has been past president of California Judges’ Association; past president of the American Judges Association; chair of the Ethics Committee of both CJA and National Association of Women Judges; and adjunct faculty for the University of California Irvine Law School. She has presented a paper on judicial ethics at the Vatican under Pope Francis. In her spare time, Judge Schumann is a drummer in a jazz band; teaches Japanese tea Ceremony; and relaxes with her dogs and horse.