Law Alumni Association Board of Directors

Since graduating from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2011, Jenna has dedicated her legal career to state service and volunteer leadership. As an attorney at the Department of Environmental Management, Jenna expertly navigates complex environmental regulatory schemes. This position builds on the breath of her prior experience and ability to learn new practice areas gained at the Department of Business Regulation and the Office of the Rhode Island Senate President. Jenna serves at the Editor-In-Chief of the Rhode Island Bar Journal, the President of the Roger Williams University School of Law Alumni Board, and a board member of Rhode Island Legal Services. Prior volunteer board positions include Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association, National Conference of State Liquor Administrators, Young Leaders Circle (United Way of Rhode Island), LRI’s Women’s Leadership Network, and the Wood Estates Residents Association. Jenna graduated from several competitive leadership development programs: Harvard’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government, Leadership Rhode Island, and Women’s Policy Institute.

Max graduated from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2015, where he was a member of both the Law Review and Moot Court Board.  After completing a clerkship with the Rhode Island Supreme Court Law Clerk Department, Max began practicing at Robinson & Cole LLP in its Providence office, where he has been ever since.  He is the chair of the firm’s Associates Council. 

Max’s practice focuses on dispute resolution, primarily including commercial litigation and insurance coverage matters—with respect to the latter, both advising clients’ during the investigation of claims and acting as coverage counsel in the event that litigation arises. His practice has a nationwide footprint, and he has litigated matters all over the country in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate level.  

Max is an active member in several local and national bar associations, and he frequently participates in activities at the law school.  In college, he was the captain of his NCAA men’s volleyball team, and he played in two professional leagues following graduation.  In his spare time, he enjoys playing sports (basketball, golf, volleyball) and taking care of his French bulldog, Sophia.

Max was elected as Vice President in Fall 2023.

As a proud graduate of the Class of 2016, Jamie is thrilled to join the RWU Law Alumni Association Board of Directors and eager to contribute her experience, insight, and relationships to foster the bond between Alumni, the School, and the Community.

Throughout her law school career, Jamie maintained a focus in public interest law taking advantage of the many social justice programs offered.  After working with the RI Public Defenders Office, the RI Federal Defenders, and private criminal defense firms, Jamie spent three years practicing criminal defense work in the District and Superior Courts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 

She had the opportunity to teach the Legal Research Course in the prison through CCRI and hone her skills as a zealous advocate.  In 2019 Jamie transitioned into the civil side of the law, where she strengthened her community connections through representation of clients in the field of residential and commercial real estate transactions. Jamie currently holds the position of Private Attorney Involvement Coordinator with South Coastal Counties Legal Services.  Here, she manages the pro bono department, maintains and develops the volunteer projects, engages the local legal community, and helps to bridge the justice gap by increasing SCCLS’ service capacity through pro bono and reduced fee cases.   

Jamie was elected as Secretary in Fall of 2023.

Christina graduated from Roger Williams School of Law in 2018. Christina is an associate at Motley Rice LLC where she is part of the team of attorneys who litigate in state and federal courts for people who experienced life-altering complications allegedly caused by defective medical devices. Christina currently serves on the Board of Governors for RIAJ. When she isn’t advocating on behalf of her clients, Christina dedicates her free time as a volunteer for Ten Lives Cat Rescue.

Elizabeth (Pytlik) Cardenas, ‘12 has spent her entire post-Roger Williams career with the Office of Government Relations and Strategic Services for Hillsborough County, Florida government, where she currently serves as Division Director. Beth affectionately refers to her department as the “Island of Misfit Toys” as it is a true catch all department for the County. In this role, she serves as the County’s HIPAA Officer; oversees the Equal Opportunity Office; and manages a variety of special projects for County Administration and the Board of County Commissioners. In this office, she has previously served as the in-house State legislative affairs manager, Pre-Disciplinary Hearing Officer, I-9 Auditor, and has served on a variety of specialty task forces and administered several boards, including the Charter Review Board and Hospital Authority. Hillsborough County is home to the cities of Tampa, Plant City, and Temple Terrace, and is comparable in size to the State of Rhode Island.

Beth teaches “Administrative Law & Regulation” at the University of South Florida’s Master of Public Administration program. She serves as the Board Secretary for the Hillsborough County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD); on the City of Safety Harbor Code Enforcement Board; and as a Polling Precinct Clerk for the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. Beth recently served on the Board of the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin, and currently serves on the State Public Affairs and Research committees. She is a former president and active alumni of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Finally, she has served as president of the local alumni chapter for the University of Tampa Alumni Association and as an Alumni Ambassador for the University of South Florida Master of Public Administration program.

Beth earned her Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law (2012); her Master of Public Administration from the University of South Florida (2017); and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa (2007). She received a Master Certificate in Leadership from the High-Performance Leadership Academy/National Association of Counties. Beth also earned an Ethical and Inclusive Leadership Certificate; a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate; and a Post-Crisis Leadership Certificate, all from the University of South Florida.

Beth lives in Safety Harbor, Florida with her husband and fellow RWU Law Alumni Aaron Cardenas, ’13 and their rescue pitbull, Casper.

Brandon is a native Rhode Islander currently living in the Washington, DC area. Since graduating from RWU Law in 2021, he has been an Attorney-Advisor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, working as a trademark examining attorney and peer trainer for newly hired attorneys for the same role. Brandon loves to travel and has lived and worked in Belgium, where he attended graduate school, and South Korea, where he taught English for four years. In his free time, he enjoys seeing friends, reading, trying out new restaurants, and taking his labradoodle for walks around town.

Zach is an immigration attorney who represents foreign nationals through all stages of the immigration process. Zach's goal is to provide personalized, high-quality legal services to each client. He handles employment and investor visas, as well as family-based immigration, citizenship, asylum, and deportation cases. He applies his federal litigation skills to his immigration practice and has successfully litigated several cases involving naturalization and green card delays, as well as naturalization denials.

Zach frequently speaks on immigration topics on Spanish language radio and presents to community organizations regarding the latest immigration news and information. In law school, he participated in the Immigration Clinic and was awarded the Clinical Legal Education Award for Outstanding Clinic Student. Prior to attending law school, Zach taught English in Chile. He also earned an undergraduate degree at Roger Williams University.

Outside of the law, Zach enjoys spending time with his wife and dogs, running, cycling, and watching his beloved Liverpool F.C.

Kelsey is an associate at Adler, Cohen, Harvey, Wakeman & Guekguezian, LLP. Her practice includes assisting clients in a variety of civil matters including medical malpractice defense, insurance defense, toxic torts, and product liability actions.

Kelsey received her J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law. She also serves as Secretary for the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association and is the co-chair of the Young Lawyer Division for the Defense Counsel of Rhode Island.

Crystal D. Peralta is an attorney with Robinson+Cole, LLP, where her work has two primary focuses. First, as a member of the firm’s Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group, Crystal advises and represents domestic and foreign insurers in complex insurance coverage litigation in a wide variety of insurance lines, including commercial property, liability, health and professional liability. Second, as part of the firm’s Litigation Section, Crystal advises individuals and businesses navigating complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts, including breach of contract, shareholder disputes, business torts, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and claims stemming from employee misconduct.  Crystal also focuses a significant portion of her practice to class action defense, primarily in the data breach and privacy and insurance and financial services sectors.  

Maintaining strong communities ties is at the core of Crystal’s practice. In that same vein, she has devoted numerous hours of pro bono legal aid to low-income clients, non-profit organizations, and individuals involved in immigration proceedings. She is also involved in the Rhode Island Bar Association’s House of Delegates and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Resource Center, and is a participant in the 2023-2024 Cohort of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative.

As a first-generation, Dominican-American attorney, Crystal is passionate about making the legal profession more inclusive for and supportive of attorneys from underrepresented backgrounds. She enjoys mentoring law school and college students and newer attorneys to the bar.  Crystal is a 2020 graduate of RWU Law, and the proud President of the RWU Law Alumni Association.  While in law school, she was involved in Law Review, Moot Court and the Student Bar Association, participated in the Immigration Clinic, and served as a judicial intern in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.