ShiAnn Steele of Smyrna, Del. has recently joined the Salisbury office of the non-profit Mid-Shore Pro Bono as the Lower Shore Intake and Outreach Coordinator.

In the position, Steele is responsible for initiating services with clients in Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset counties, along with outreach activities that cultivate public awareness, charitable donations, and volunteer recruitment for the nonprofit organization. Johannah Cooper previously served in the position and is now off to pursue a graduate degree in social work at Boston University this fall.

Steele is the fourth internship alumni hired onto Mid-Shore Pro Bono’s staff and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Salisbury University, where she is named to the Dean’s List. She is a Smyrna High School graduate, with her academic merits earning her membership to the National Honor Society.

“ShiAnn was one of our summer interns in 2021, and she never stopped her internship—she just kept on volunteering because she enjoyed the work so much,” said Mid-Shore Pro Bono Executive Director Meredith Lathbury Girard, Esq.

“Our theory of workforce development is working,” said Girard. “Which is ultimately a double-win for the people who need our services the most, because they have a larger, compassionate team working for them, while we bring more students into rewarding careers in civic engagement and civil justice.”

“I am very passionate about giving back to the community, especially in legal services because I firmly believe everyone has a right to justice,” says Steele. “As a philosophy and law and justice advocacy student a large portion of my studies involves deepening my understanding of what is morally just for people.”

MSPB’s Sandy Brown Public Interest Internship was established in 2021 to honor MSPB’s previous executive director Sandy Brown—and is supported by the Rural Maryland Council and the Maryland Bar Foundation. The donor-funded program provides undergraduate and law school students with a stipend while learning in the areas of public interest law, non-profit management, community service, and basic work experience.

Mid-Shore Pro Bono delivers a mission of helping Maryland’s Eastern Shore residents obtain access to legal assistance through a network of volunteers, with offices in Easton, Chestertown, and Salisbury. Donations to the Sandy Brown Public Interest Internship Fund can be made online using the donate button at www.midshoreprobono.org.

Mid-Shore Pro Bono has named Brandon Ewing of Worton, Md., Joshua Goslee of Salisbury, Md., Naiset Perez of Easton, Md., and Megan Rayfield of Crisfield, Md. as the nonprofit’s 2022 Sandy Brown Public Interest summer interns.

The paid internship program was established to honor MSPB’s previous executive director Sandy Brown—who stepped down in Dec. 2021—and is supported by the Rural Maryland Council and the Maryland Bar Foundation. The donor-funded program provides undergraduate and law school students with a stipend while learning in the areas of public interest law, non-profit management, community service, and basic work experience.

Brandon Ewing is a legal intern and a 2023 J.D. candidate at the University of Baltimore School of Law, ranking in the top 25% of his class. He is a staff editor for the University of Baltimore Law Forum and a member of the Royal Graham Shannonhouse III Honor Society. Ewing also served as an undergraduate intern with MSPB in 2019 and recently as a judicial intern in the family division of Baltimore City’s Circuit Court, where he assisted the Magistrate and Clerk in conducting hearings and filling in for the Clerk as necessary.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to once again be a part of Mid-Shore Pro Bono after a great experience as an undergraduate intern in Salisbury,” says Ewing. “I have seen the problems that face many in our communities and the demand for accessible legal services on the Eastern Shore. MSPB has allowed me to take an active role in various projects and make meaningful connections that help meet this demand and resolve issues that can have devastating effects.

“I have enjoyed attending family and elder law clinics that allow us to understand an individual’s issues and tailor a solution to those circumstances,” continued Ewing. “I have also enjoyed the positive environment created by the MSPB staff and attorneys that allowed me to learn and grow over the summer. I hope to remain a resource for Mid-Shore Pro Bono beyond the internship and use my experience to further aid those in need in the future.”

Joshua Goslee is an Eastern Shore native and recent graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where he earned Summa Cum Laude honors. He was named the most outstanding student in the Criminal Justice department in 2021. At UMES, he was involved in campus athletics and volunteered at local elementary schools and soup kitchens.

Goslee will be attending the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University beginning this August. He follows several generations of public servants in his family, with a passion for giving back to the community and helping those that feel helpless.

“I was very excited to join Mid-Shore Pro Bono as an intern because I wanted to align myself with an organization that becomes a voice for the voiceless,” says Goslee. “So far, I have had so much fun learning and gaining meaningful hands-on experience that you can’t receive in the classroom.”

Naiset Perez is interning during her summer break from Dartmouth College, where she is studying Geography with a focus on Latino Studies and a minor in Government. Perez is a first-generation college student who earned a full scholarship to attend Dartmouth. As the daughter of Central American immigrants, Perez is passionate about serving immigrant communities. She is involved in the FUERZA Farmworkers Fund, where she leads peers in addressing the needs of New Hampshire’s migrants.

“Being the recipient of the Sandy Brown Internship has allowed me to work directly with the community I have grown up in,” says Perez. “Coming from a low-income household, I understand the pressures of being held back because of money issues.

“While working with Mid-Shore Pro Bono, I am able to help families like my own,” Perez continued. “It is an honor to work with an organization like MSPB that works toward the betterment of the community.”

Megan Rayfield is a Crisfield native and a senior philosophy and political science student at Salisbury University. Rayfield is a member of the Ethics Bowl team at Salisbury University and contributed to a top 12 national competition finish for her team. She plans to attend law school and aspires to be a District Attorney, working with underrepresented women and children. She is passionate about helping in her community, and in her spare time, can also be found in the music rooms at SU practicing piano and singing, or reading at home.

Rayfield hopes to gain more involvement in her community and gain a deeper understanding of how the legal system works through her internship. She recognizes how much passion MSPB has for helping others and is now considering a career shift to help more with nonprofit organizations.

“I am getting to actively engage with our clients and hear their stories,” says Rayfield. “Sometimes, as a student, you worry that you might be put on the backburner when it comes to internships, but MSPB has made sure I am involved every step of the way.”

“We’re honored to have Brandon, Joshua, Naiset, and Megan continuing their educations with us,” said Mid-Shore Pro Bono Executive Director Meredith Lathbury Girard. “We’re also grateful to the donors to our Sandy Brown Public Interest Internship fund so that we can provide a stipend to our interns.”

Girard says the nonprofit is uniquely positioned to expose students who are interested in the practice of law, social work, and public interest work through hands-on experiences working with rural, underserved, populations lacking the same resources as urban areas.

“This program engages students in a wide range of legal-related experiences in a high quality and well-supervised professional setting,” she says. “And undergraduate students interested in law, justice, and criminal justice as well as other civic-minded careers will be exposed to hands-on experience in these areas as well.”

Mid-Shore Pro Bono delivers a mission of helping Maryland’s Eastern Shore residents obtain access to legal assistance through a network of volunteers, with offices in Easton, Chestertown, and Salisbury. Donations to the Sandy Brown Public Interest Internship Fund can be made online using the donate button at www.midshoreprobono.org.

Geoffrey L. Cooke, Esq. of Easton, Md. has recently joined the Easton and Salisbury offices of the non-profit Mid-Shore Pro Bono as a staff attorney.

Cooke is a previous Mid-Shore Pro Bono volunteer attorney and has spent the last nine years helping clients in family law and court-appointed criminal defense cases as a sole practitioner in Easton, Md. He served as Assistant State’s Attorney with the Talbot County State’s Attorney’s office from 2011 to 2013, among other professional experiences.

“Geoffrey is a great addition to our team,” said Mid-Shore Pro Bono Executive Director Meredith Lathbury Girard, Esq. “His law experience and understanding of the impact pro bono work has for individuals will help us provide representation for more people in the civil legal process.”

As a staff attorney, Cooke is responsible for providing legal counseling for MSPB clients, primarily in housing and family law. Cooke also will be representing MSPB tenant clients in court, reviewing and vetting cases for placement with volunteer attorneys, and providing training and support for MSPB volunteer attorneys.

Mid-Shore Pro Bono delivers a mission of helping Maryland’s Eastern Shore residents obtain access to legal assistance, with offices in Easton, Chestertown, and Salisbury, with more at www.midshoreprobono.org.