Staff Biographies
Meris L. Bergquist, Executive Director
Ms. Bergquist has been practicing law since 1981. She is a graduate of Hunter College and Temple University School of Law. From 1985 to 1991 she worked as a staff attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1991 to 2008 she worked as a staff attorney at Vermont Legal Aid. Since 2000 she has specialized in housing discrimination litigation. She has been a presenter at numerous trainings for lawyers and law students and published several articles on fair housing topics. In 2005 she represented the plaintiff in Bouley v. Young-Sabourin. This was the first federal case to recognize that female victims of domestic violence can state a claim of housing discrimination under the Federal Fair Housing Act on the basis of sex. Ms. Bergquist joined the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center in 2008.
Ms. Bergquist can be reached at (413) 539-9796 ext.,108 or merismfhc@gmail.com.
Ashley Grant, Staff Attorney
Ms. Grant is a graduate of the City University of New York School of Law and Wesleyan University. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk for Federal Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann in the Eastern District of New York. Following her clerkship, Ms. Grant worked as an attorney at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House in New York City, representing low-income tenants in housing court and assisting individuals whose public benefits had been terminated. Prior to law school, Ms. Grant worked as an organizer and research analyst in the labor movement and as a human rights observer in Guatemala and Colombia. She speaks both English and Spanish. Ms. Grant will represent clients in housing discrimination and fair lending cases.
Ms. Grant can be reached at (413) 539-9796, ext. 102 or agrant@massfairhousing.org.
Isaac Alvarado, Civil Rights Specialist - Intake
Mr. Alvarado began his career in the housing industry in 2004, working as a loan originator and realtor with IMD Homeloans. He attended Mt. San Jacinto College. In 2007, he moved to Connecticut and continued working in the real estate business. He began working at the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center as a Fair Housing Specialist in 2009. In October, 2010, he completed a six day training with the National Fair Housing Alliance on civil rights investigation and testing. Mr. Alvarado does complaint intake, client interviews, testing, education and outreach. He is a leading presenter of first time homebuyer workshops. He is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Mr. Alvarado can be reached at (413) 539-9796 ext., 101 or ialvarado@massfairhousing.org.
Whitney Holovach, Civil Rights Specialist - Education and Outreach
Ms. Holovach is a 2011 graduate of Western New England College School of Law and a 2008 graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and Sociology. She interned at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in 2007 and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center in 2009. During law school she also interned with Attorney Harold Resnic in Springfield, Massachusetts and with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. She will asssist with our fair housing and fair lending advocacy, and engage in community education and outreach.
Ms. Holovach can be reached at (413) 539-9796 ext., 107 or wholovach@massfairhousing.org
Tanya Jones-Murray, Civil Rights Specialist - Testing
Ms. Jones-Murray is a 2006 graduate of Western New England College, with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. She has extensive experience in the housing field. She previously worked as a testing coordinator for the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center in 2008-2009. Most recently she worked with Springfield Partners for Community Action to help first time homebuyers and small business owners. She has extensive experience in the mortgage lending field, including providing foreclosure prevention counseling. She will supervise the fair housing testing program.
Ms. Jones-Murray can be reached at (413) 539-9796 ext., 112 or tjones@massfairhousing.org
