The Virginia Poverty Law Center is pleased to welcome new staff members: Eric Dunn, Valerie L’Herrou, and Regenea Hurte, Natasha Evans, and Davis Creef

We are excited to continue our fight for civil legal justice with the help of our New Team Members.

Eric Dunn

Eric Dunn serves as a new staff attorney in our Center for Economic Justice.  Eric has been a Housing Attorney with the Northwest Justice Center in Seattle, Washington, since 2005.  He was a staff attorney at the Legal Aid and Defender Association in Detroit, Michigan, from 2001 to 2005. As a legal services attorney for sixteen years in Detroit and Seattle, Eric has practiced in virtually all areas of housing law relevant to concerns of low-income people.  A recognized expert in the field, he has led many advocacy efforts, using litigation, coalition building, community organizing and long term policy work to advance positive change. The Center for Economic Justice attorneys specialize in housing, foreclosure, consumer, access to utilities, and employment law.  Eric will focus on housing law, especially the rights of tenants.

Valerie L’Herrou

Valerie L’Herrou serves as a new staff attorney in our Center for Family Advocacy.  Valerie has been Director of Career Development for Public Sector Careers with the University of Richmond School of Law since 2013.  Before attending law school, she worked for six years at the state coalition of sexual assault crisis centers.  She was also an Assistant Public Defender with the Office of the Public Defender in Charlottesville from 2006 to 2013. “The best part of that job (public defender) was advocating for clients who may not ever have had someone in their corner.” As part of the Center for Family Advocacy, Valerie will concentrate on family and child welfare law.

Regenea Hurte

Regenea Hurte serves as a new staff attorney in our Center for Healthy Communities.  Regenea has been an Assistant Commonwealth Attorney in Newport News since 2013.  She was also an Assistant Public Defender in Portsmouth for 5 years. The Center for Healthy Communities attorneys specialize in health care access, public benefits and hunger issues.   Regenea will focus on SNAP, TANF, and access to school meals.

Natasha Evans 

Natasha Evans serves as VPLC’s first Legal Aid Education Manager. She had been working with VPLC as the Project Director the for Community Health Education Program (CHEP), where she and her team educated over 60,000 uninsured Virginians about health insurance options. She has over thirteen years of education experience. Her new position will focus on education and training for legal aid staff and empowering the clients of legal aid with information ans explanations of their rights.

Davis Creef

Davis Creef serves as a newest Staff Attorney in our Center for Family Advocacy. He was an Assistant Public Defender in North Carolina before moving to Richmond. He spent countless hours volunteering his time at VPLC on various issues such as housing law, consumer law, and domestic violence.  He will focus on elder law issues, specifically long-term care issues, Medicaid/Medicare, social security, guardianship, adult abuse neglect,and financial exploitation.