Mario Roque is Empire Justice Center's first Cornell Law Frank H.T. Rhodes Public Interest Fellow. His project will focus on school segregation. Before graduating with a B.A. in Political Science from San Francisco State University, Mario worked in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. His work at the center instilled in him a drive for turning ideals into action. Prior to, and while attending Cornell Law School, he served as a case manager at an immigration law firm. While a student at Cornell Law, Mario participated in the Farmworker's Legal Assistance Clinic, the International Human Rights Clinic, and organized and coordinated the Public Interest Academy, a student-led initiative that brings together Cornell alumni and students in order to support and promote public interest legal careers. Mario began some of the educational research for his project during the summer of 2016 as Empire Justice Center's Diversity Fellow.

Sujata is the 2017-19 Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellow. A graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and Syracuse University, she has extensive community service, community organizing and clinical experience at agencies that serve low-income people including the Public Defender’s office, homeless shelters, nonprofits focused on child advocacy, and after school programs. Before attending law school, Sujata worked as an AmeriCorps paralegal in the Ithaca office of Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY) and as an advocate for the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County in California. Sujata’s Fellowship project will focus on investigating the root causes of the dismal graduation rate of students in the Rochester City School District (RCSD) and directly advocating for youth re-entering RCSD after long-term education interruptions.

Jane Gabriele is an attorney with the Civil Rights, Employment and Education Unit in Empire Justice Center's Rochester Office. She works with parents on education issues. Her focus is primarily on assisting parents with gaining access to special education and compelling school districts to provide each child a free, appropriate education. She offers trainings to parents and local agencies designed to increase their understanding of the process and providing them the tools necessary to advocate for children with special needs. Ms. Gabriele established legal precedent in Appeal of Crawford, Ed. Dept., decision No. 15,801 changing NYS law to reflect a child's actual residence rather than their theoretical one. In 2004, she taught courses in Law and Ethics to students at Bryant & Stratton and currently serves on the Executive Board of the Special Education Task Force. She is the 2009 recipient of the NYS Bar Association President's Award for Pro Bono Service, 2006 recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service and 1989 recipient of the JC Penney Golden Rule Award. She received her law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.

Jonathan is a senior staff attorney with the Civil Rights, Employment and Education Unit in Empire Justice Center’s Rochester Office. At Empire Justice, he concentrates largely on special education and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cases. Notable cases include class action lawsuits against the Rochester City School District and the Greece Central School District, brought on behalf of all students with disabilities in those districts. He has also twice served as a Visiting Clinical Professor of Law. Most recently, in 2013, he directed the Legal Aid Clinic at Cornell University Law School, and in 2007, he served as acting director of the Disability Rights Clinic at Syracuse University College of Law. Jonathan is a graduate of Oberlin College and New York University School of Law. After graduating from law school in 1988, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. James T. Giles, United States District Judge, in Philadelphia, and he then worked for the Education Law Center in Newark and the Community Service Society in New York City. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Rochester's Warner School (Graduate School of Education), where he is teaching a course in education law and policy.