Four new staff members recently joined the HELP: MLP team to support our expanding work with the Family Advocacy and Integrated Resources (FAIR) Project in Philadelphia. Through our partnership with the National Nurse-Led Care Coalition, and with generous support from the William Penn Foundation, HELP: MLP will provide integrated civil legal services to families participating in maternal and child health home visiting programs across Philadelphia.

We are delighted to have the following advocates join our team:

MacDonald Taylor Jr., Paralegal

Mac Donald P. Taylor Jr. (Mac) is a graduate of Delaware County Community College, receiving his Associate of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies. Mac was selected as one of six students internationally as an Achieving the Dream Scholar and is an honorary member of Phi Theta Kappa. Previously, he was a victim advocate and intern with Senior LawCenter where he assisted older adult victims of crimes. Most recently, Mac advocated for returning citizens with Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity where he focused on helping clients with pardons and expungements. Mac has a passion to be a voice and to use his personal journey to be a mentor and advocate for the underserved and disenfranchised.

Ellie Kimmelman, Paralegal

Ellie Kimmelman serves as a Paralegal in HELP: MLP’s Philadelphia office, handling referrals from FAIR Project partners and providing technical support to staff attorneys. Before joining HELP: MLP, Ellie worked at the Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN) as a Hotline Paralegal where she assisted renters in accessing housing resources and exercising their legal rights. Ellie is a graduate of Haverford College where she studied political science and public health.  

Makenzie Libbey, Staff Attorney

Mackenzie is a Staff Attorney in HELP: MLP’s Philadelphia office, where she works with pregnant people and young families to address civil legal issues that adversely affect their health and stability. Prior to law school, Mackenzie worked as a paralegal case handler at Legal Services NYC in the Bronx, preparing emergency rental assistance applications and advocating for clients whose public benefits had been wrongfully decreased or terminated. During law school, Mackenzie interned at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, the Bronx Defenders’ Family Defense Practice, and the Juvenile Law Center and was Co-Director of the Walk-in Legal Assistance Project. Mackenzie is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was a Toll Public Interest Scholar.

Matthew Junell, Staff Attorney

Matthew is a Staff Attorney specializing in housing and landlord-tenant law. Before joining HELP: MLP, he was an advocate at Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN) assisting hundreds of clients with discrimination complaints, eviction defense, lead law violations, illegal lockouts, utility shutoffs, and rent and fee disputes. He has years of experience working with clients on subsidy programs such as HOPWA, Continuum of Care, and Rapid Rehousing, to ensure that they received the services that they needed and the quality housing that they deserved. While attending law school, he participated in clinics at Face to Face Germantown, assisting Philadelphians with getting essential documents that they needed to apply for public benefits and jobs. He also spent a semester with the Defender’s Association of Philadelphia. He graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Dallas and received his law degree from Villanova Law School.