Board, Members & Past PresidentsOur Organization

Nazarena Rosales Hauser earned her law degree at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center. She worked as an Assistant State Attorney for the Office of the State Attorney in Broward County from graduation until joining Family Matters Law Group, P.A. in the summer of 2014. In 2017, she became partner. She is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and is also regularly appointed by the Courts as a Guardian ad Litem to represent children’s best interests.

Yineth S. Aslan works as staff counsel for GEICO General Insurance Company at the Law Office of George L. Cimballa III in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Prior to joining GEICO staff counsel, Yineth worked as an assistant state attorney at the Broward State Attorney’s Office handling hundreds of misdemeanor and felony criminal cases.

Yineth received her bachelor’s degrees in Legal Studies and Philosophy from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and her law degree from NSU Shepard Broad College of Law. Presently, Yineth is a member of the Broward County Bar Association, the Broward County Young Lawyers Section, and a mock trial instructor at NSU Shepard Broad College of Law. Yineth heads the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association’s annual Bilingual High School Conference hosted in partnership with Broward County Public Schools.

Kristen Palacio is an attorney with Kim Vaughan Lerner LLP in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Kristen focuses her practice on commercial litigation matters and insurance-related matters, involving property damage and premises liability. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Kristen spent nearly eight years in the real estate world, where she had overall responsibility for sales and leasing operations for over 1,000 units in multiple communities.  Kristen received her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University.

Stewart Valencia is a sole practitioner in Fort Lauderdale FL. who specializes in State and Federal Criminal and Civil litigation. He is a trial lawyer with over 23 years of jury trial experience. Before opening up his own shop, he was a named partner in the law firm of Holman, Cohen and Valencia in Hollywood FL. He graduated undergrad from the University of Florida, and obtained his JD from St. Thomas University. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Legalese.

Michelle Rodriguez was born in Queens, NY. Both of her parents immigrated to the United States from Colombia. She attended Florida International University where she earned her Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. She went on to earn her Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration also from Florida International University. Ms. Rodriguez earned her Juris Doctorate from St. Thomas University in Miami, FL where she graduated Cum Laude. Ms. Rodriguez is currently in-house litigation counsel for an insurance carrier.

Michelle Harper is the Supervising Attorney at Florida Legal Services, Inc. She provides legal advice, assistance, and representation to victims of violence and human trafficking throughout the State of Florida. Ms. Harper has assisted victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, repeat violence and stalking in seeking injunctions against their abusers, and secured dozens of permanent and temporary injunctions for protection for her clients. She has a passion for assisting victims of violence who are minor children and elderly adults. She has spearheaded dozens of community training events in order to increase awareness of domestic violence in and around Broward County and to ensure that victims of violence receive much needed assistance and representation in court.

 Marta spent the first 16 years of her career working in public service for Coast to Coast Legal Aid South Florida, where she rose to the level of Deputy Director. While at Legal Aid, Marta specialized in helping survivors of intimate-partner violence navigate the injunction for protection and divorce processes. Her compassionate nature, coupled with an incisive legal mind, make Marta an ideal advocate to handle complex divorce and child-custody proceedings.

A native Floridian, Marta received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and her law degree from Nova Southeastern University. She is a first-generation Cuban-American, and is fluent in Spanish.

Possessed of a strong sense of community service, Marta is a member of the Broward Victim’s Rights Coalition, the Florida Statewide Fatality Review Team and is an appointed member of the Broward County Commission’s Human Rights Advisory Board.

Stefani is an associate attorney at Mary Ann Ruiz, P.A. in Coral Gables, Florida. Stefani specializes in complex condominium matters, community association law, real estate litigation, and construction law. She represents local, domestic, and international clients in the real estate sector, including property owners, developers, community associations, and construction professionals. Outside of work, Stefani loves to travel, learn new cooking recipes, and spend time with her family and friends.

Jessica Marra is an Attorney at Kelley Kronenberg in Fort Lauderdale and focuses her practice on General Liability and Third Party Insurance Defense Litigation with a background in Criminal Law, Workers’ Compensation, Contract Disputes, and Administrative Matters. Jessica is also a former Assistant State Attorney for the Office of the State Attorney, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Jessica received her J.D., cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad School of Law and is fluent in Spanish.

Marc Marra is a partner in Kelley Kronenberg’s Fort Lauderdale office, focusing his practice on assisting banks and other financial service providers with regulatory, enforcement, transactional, bankruptcy, and litigation matters. Marc earned his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law; and his Master of Laws Degree in Real Property Development, from the University of Miami School of Law.

Carla Lowry practices marital and criminal law. She has owned Lowry at Law, P.A. since 2008. Ms. Lowry is a former prosecutor and public defender. She attended Stetson University Law School.

Born in Managua, Nicaragua. In 1978, Mario came to the United States with his family and has lived in South Florida since arriving from Nicaragua. He was raised in Miami Florida and graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, Florida. His litigation experience in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation, Premises Liability, Construction Law, Medical Malpractice, Property Litigation, Nursing Home Litigation, Products Liability (which includes Chinese/American Drywall cases) and First Party Property Hurricane Damage, Water Damage and Personal Injury Protection (P.I.P.) Litigation has given him the ability to handle clients’ issues with efficiency and effectiveness to obtain successful outcomes.

Paula Munera was born in Colombia and moved with her family to the United States at the age of 5. In 2021, she graduated Cum Laude from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center. She is an associate attorney at Kim Vaughan Lerner LLP., focusing her practice on insurance coverage matters and commercial litigation

Brian M. Andino is an Associate with Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. He is dedicated to helping those who have been injured through the negligence of others or defective products, with a concentration in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, negligent security, and maritime and admiralty cases. Brian is originally from Brooklyn, New York, but moved to Florida at an early age. Brian enjoys exercising through running and weightlifting. He also relishes spending time with family and close friends by cheering on the University of Florida Gators and the New York Football Giants. Brian is bilingual and is fluent in both English and Spanish.