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FEP's team has deep ties to the Massachusetts legal community and the needs of low-income workers. We know that most people do not understand workplace law or the legal process, and there are very few affordable options for workers with legal issues. We built FEP to address these needs. FEP is the result of years of experience, research, and input from community leaders, agencies, legal-aid lawyers, unions, the private bar, worker centers, and academics. Since its founding in 2007, FEP has served nearly 12,000 Massachusetts workers of limited means.
PROJECT DIRECTOR AND COUNSEL
Lisa J. Bernt is Project Director and Counsel at Fair Employment Project. She sits on the Attorney General’s Labor Advisory Council and recently served on the Massachusetts Commission on the Future of Work. She is a Visiting Scholar at Northeastern University School of Law and an Advisory Board member and mentor at Justice Bridge, a legal incubator in Massachusetts. She has also been a Visiting Fellow at the European Union Institute and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Ms. Bernt graduated from Rutgers University and the University of Michigan Law School and practiced law in Michigan and New Jersey before settling in Massachusetts. She has clerked on the New Jersey Supreme Court and served as Commission Counsel at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Ms. Bernt is the author of numerous articles on workplace law and other topics in academic and practical journals. Contact Lisa Bernt at 617-902-0196 or LBernt@fairemploymentproject.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Natacha Thomas (Board Chair) is an attorney experienced in a wide range of employment matters and practice settings. She has also served as Employment Advisor at Lawyers For Affordable Justice, a legal incubator in Boston. Ms. Thomas is a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk University Law School. Her extensive community service includes a seat on the Board of Directors of Greater Boston Legal Services and former memberships on the Advisory Board of the Boston Taxi Driver’s Association and the Advisory Committee of the Haitian Multi-Service Center.
Gavriela M. Bogin-Farber practices at Segal Roitman, LLP, leading the firm’s individual employment practice group. She represents employees in all aspects of employment negotiations and litigation, including discrimination, wage and hour disputes, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Ms. Bogin-Farber has litigated cases before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and in state and federal court. She also advises individuals regarding separation agreements, employment agreements, reasonable accommodations, and ongoing workplace issues. Ms. Bogin-Farber received the Top Women of Law Award from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in November 2023, was named a “Rising Star” by Massachusetts “Super Lawyers” every year from 2016 to 2022, and has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Employment, Massachusetts.” Ms. Bogin-Farber serves on the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section Council. She also served two terms as President (and previously, two terms as vice president) of the Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association.
Stephen Churchill is a co-founder of Fair Employment Project. He is a principal of Fair Work, P.C., a Boston law firm, as well as a lecturer-on-law at Harvard Law School. Mr. Churchill is a former clinical instructor at WilmerHale Legal Services Center's Employment Civil Rights Clinic, and a former board member of the non-profit Somerville Community Corporation. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.
Lynn Girton is a co-founder of Fair Employment Project. Currently retired, she is the former Pro Bono Director at Veterans Legal Services in Boston. Ms. Girton has served as Chief Counsel at the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Boston Bar Association, and as Managing Attorney, Employment/Welfare Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services. She is a graduate of University of Michigan, University of Massachusetts-Amherst (M.Ed.), and Northeastern University School of Law. Ms. Girton has many years of experience teaching and practicing in the areas of employment law, family law, and veterans rights, and is recipient of numerous awards recognizing her years of service in the legal services community.
Lili Ibara helps manage affordable housing projects for the City of Boston. Her career focus has been social work and law, with a special interest in the combination of law and community organizing. She was previously a staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services’ Employment Unit, where her practice focused on litigation, legislative advocacy, and community lawyering on behalf of low-wage immigrant workers. She also practiced in housing, where she represented post-foreclosure homeowners in eviction actions in partnership with tenant advocacy group City Life/Vida Urbana. She is a graduate of McGill University, Boston University School of Law, and the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
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