Staff Directory

Dan joined the Office of the Student Legal Services in the fall of 2014. Before joining, Dan served as an Assistant District Attorney in Centre County for over three years. Handling cases from beginning to end, Dan gained extensive experience in the area of criminal law. Dan also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Margherita Patti Worthington in Monroe County after graduating from law school.

Dan is active in the legal community, serving on the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Conference of County Bar Leaders, former delegate on the PBA House of Delegates, PBA Young Lawyers Division Zone 11 Chair, Centre County Bar Association Board of Governors, and is a former President of the Centre County Bar Association.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania; J.D., Widener University Commonwealth Law School, 2010, cum laude; B.A., Crime, Law, and Justice, The Pennsylvania State University, 2006, high distinction; B.A., Political Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 2006, high distinction.

Tracy joined the Office of Student Legal Services in 2022 from the Penn State Law, Family Law Clinic, where she was supervising attorney for four years. Prior to this, Tracy practiced in Kansas and in California, as a registered legal services attorney. She has extensive experience in civil litigation and has represented individuals in a variety of legal issues. Tracy is an active member of the Family Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and she serves as a Mentor in the Minority Mentor Program at Penn State Law. She also teaches Children & the Law as an adjunct professor at Penn State Law.
 

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and Kansas; J.D., Ohio Northern University, Claude W. Pettit College of Law, 2012; B.A. in Political Science with Minors in English and International Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 2009. 

Melissa joined Student Legal Services (SLS) in 2023. Prior to joining SLS, Melissa was in private practice for over twenty years. She practiced in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, family law, guardianships, and real estate. She has successfully litigated cases at both the Pennsylvania trial court level and before the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She also is trained in the collaborative law process and as a mediator. Melissa is active in the Erie County Bar Association (ECBA), in Erie County, PA where she lives. She was the President of the ECBA in 2016. She has also been a member of the ECBA Board of Directors, chaired the Attorney and Kids Together Program and chaired the ECBA’s Wills for Heroes Program. Melissa is also active with her alma mater, Penn State Behrend, serving on various advisory boards and committees over the years and as a lecturer in their political science program. She is also the Pre-Law Advisor for Behrend. While a student at Behrend, Melissa was selected as a Truman Scholar, the first student from Behrend and the second university-wide to receive the award. She was also the recipient of Penn State's Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award (1997) and the Alumni Achievement Award (2011).

Admitted to practice before all courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania since 2002. J.D., The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (2002) - graduated with honors. M.P.A., Gannon University (1999). B.A., The Pennsylvania State University (1997) - graduated with honors and distinction and as a Schreyer Scholar. Trained Mediator and Collaborative Lawyer.

Sarah joined Student Legal Services in 2014.  She graduated magna cum laude from Mount Aloysius College in 2005 and earned her Juris Doctor in 2009 from Penn State, The Dickinson School of Law.  Sarah served as a law clerk to the Honorable Pamela A. Ruest at the Centre County Court of Common Pleas before becoming an instructor at South Hills School of Business in State College in 2011.  She continues to teach law and English courses at South Hills while practicing law as a part-time Student Legal Services attorney.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania; J.D., Penn State, The Dickinson School of Law, 2009; B.S. Professional Legal Studies, Mount Aloysius College, 2005, magna cum laude; A.S. Accounting, Mount Aloysius College, 2005, magna cum laude.