NCIP Staff

Kathleen M. Ridolfi, Director, Professor of Law

Cookie Ridolfi is a tenured member of the SCU law faculty and a founder of NCIP. She served as her own lawyer in a four-month jury trial in federal court in the highly publicized case of the "Camden 28," a group prosecuted for acts of civil disobedience in protest of the Vietnam War. She was a pioneer in the application of social science in jury selection and founded the northeast office of the National Jury Project. She is an experienced trial lawyer and was a member of the elite Special Defense Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia before she began teaching. Professor Ridolfi is an expert in the defense of battered women and served as director of the Battered Women’s Self Defense Project, a part of the Center for Constitutional Rights. She was among the first to develop expert testimony for use in battered women’s self-defense cases. She has been a law professor since 1989 and currently teaches Criminal Law and a seminar on wrongful conviction at Santa Clara University. Professor Ridolfi serves on the board of the Innocence Network, an international consortium of innocence projects, and serves on the California Senate Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice.

Linda Starr, Legal Director

Linda Starr received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center and clerked for the California Court of Appeal upon graduation. She was an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, New York, where she wrote and argued post-conviction matters before state and federal courts and was a supervisor in the Sex Crimes and Special Victims Unit. Ms. Starr worked as a staff attorney at the Sixth District Appellate Program in California and then privately represented indigent criminal defendants on appeal. In 2001, she co-founded NCIP.

Jill Kent, Supervising Attorney

Jill Kent joined NCIP in early 2002. She is a ’92 graduate of Santa Clara Law and received the Wiley Manuel Pro Bono Services Award for assisting victims of the Los Angeles riots after passing the California Bar Exam. She worked as a legal aid attorney in Southern California, focusing on family, landlord/tenant, real property, contract, consumer, estate planning, battered women, redevelopment, and elder issues. She was also an active member of the Southern California Housing Task Force and the Domestic Violence Task Force. In addition to her work with NCIP, Ms. Kent is a panel attorney with the Sixth District Appellate Program.

Katie Ross, Supervising Attorney

Katie Ross worked as a deputy public defender in Santa Clara County where she tried many serious felony cases, supervised misdemeanor attorneys and ran a felony negotiation calendar. She received her B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and law degree from Santa Clara University where she co-founded the school’s "Street Law" program. While in law school she spent a semester abroad in South Africa interning for the African National Congress’ Constitution Committee helping to draft a constitution for a democratic government. Before joining NCIP she worked as a Lecturer in Law at Santa Clara University, teaching Criminal Procedure and Advanced Criminal Litigation.

Rhonda Donato, Supervising Attorney

Rhonda Donato supervises students through the Innocence Project clinic at Santa Clara University and litigates post-conviction cases in Central and Northern California. Ms. Donato was previously a staff attorney for Justice Paul Haerle on the First District Court of Appeal. She also worked as a litigation associate at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen in San Francisco. Ms. Donato served as an extern for the Honorable Melvin Brunetti on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in Reno, Nevada. She graduated, cum laude, from Santa Clara University Law School in 1989 where she was a recipient of the Emery Law Scholarship and a member of the Law Review.

Meghan Piano, Teaching Fellow

Meghan Piano is a recent graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law where she participated in the Pro Bono Program and received the Public Interest and Social Justice Law Certificate. Prior to working at the Innocence Project, Ms. Piano externed at the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office and at the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Paige Kaneb, Teaching Fellow

Paige Kaneb is a recent cum laude graduate of the University Of San Francisco School of Law and graduated from Hamilton College in 2000. Prior to working at the Innocence Project, Ms. Kaneb interned at the Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office as a law clerk and worked for the Institute for Global Justice researching ways to sue and prosecute oil companies and banks for corrupt practices linked to extreme poverty and human rights abuses in Equatorial Guinea.

Mary Likins, Forensic Nurse/Case Manager

Mary Likins was instrumental in the creation of NCIP and has been with the program since its inception. She manages NCIP cases and supervises the inmate screening process. She reviews and consults with staff and students on all cases involving forensic issues. Ms. Likins is also a student at Santa Clara Law and expects to receive her J.D. in 2009.

Rhonda Dyer, Database Administrator

Rhonda Dyer only works at NCIP a few hours a week, but her contribution to the organization is felt full-time by the staff. Her experience in computer software has been an incredible help to the project. Although "retired" after a career at Hewlett Packard, she rose to the challenge of assisting an office with few high-tech skills. Ms. Dyer customizes, manages and troubleshoots all the database programs NCIP uses. Her expertise with Microsoft programs such as Excel and Access and her ability to customize other programs to suit NCIP’s needs have been invaluable. Much of her time is spent managing NCIP’s largest program, Amicus Attorney, which houses information on the 7000+ people and 3000+ files related to the project. In her spare time, Ms. Dyer and search and rescue dog Deja seek lost people in remote locations for local law enforcement organizations.

Benitisha Winters, Executive Associate

Benitisha Winters graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Prior to accepting an Executive Associate position with the NCIP, she was a data analyst for the Santa Clara University Undergraduate Financial Aid Office. Ms. Winters’ career with SCU is preceded by her employment as a child support officer with the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office in the Department of Child Support Services. It was during her four years of employment at DCSS that Ms. Winters’ enthusiasm for the law ignited. She is eager to cultivate that energy working along side NCIP director Cookie Ridolfi to develop a successful career with the NCIP.

Amy Kennedy, Administrative Coordinator

Upon completing her Bachelor of Science from Santa Clara University in 2006, Amy Kennedy became a Jesuit Volunteer with the Innocence Project-New Orleans for a year-long placement. After completing her year in New Orleans, she returned to Santa Clara as an Administrative Assistant for NCIP. She is excited to be starting law school at Santa Clara Law in the Fall of 2008.

Sandy Lichau, Office Manager

Sandy Lichau has worked at the law clinic since 1971. Prior to joining Santa Clara University she studied at San Jose State University and worked at the law firm of Tunney, Carlyle & Bennett. Ms. Lichau provides direct administrative support to the director, legal director, development director, attorneys, and case manager, and guidance and support to the law students.