Board, Members & Past PresidentsOur Organization

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.

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.

Karina Rodrigues is an Associate at Kelley|Uustal, where she represents catastrophically injured clients. She focuses her practice on matters involving negligence, products liability, medical malpractice, construction defects and wrongful death. She graduated cum laude from University of Florida Levin College of Law. Karina was born in Brazil and moved to the United States while in elementary school. She speaks semi-fluent Spanish and fluent Portuguese.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Freddy graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of his class at Nova Southeastern University and is a founding partner of Perera Aleman—a law firm focused on employment and business law.  Prior to opening his own firm, Freddy worked as an employment lawyer at Stearns Waver Miller and General Counsel of the Florida Atlantic Research and Development Authority. Freddy is a frequent contributor on Telemundo and NBC 6 regarding employment issues. Freddy a was born in Costa Rica where his parents immigrated seeking a better life after fleeing Cuba.