Our Team
Silvia McLain
Executive Director & Staff Attorney
407-834-1660 ext. 114
Silvia McLain joined SCBALAS in 1985. She is an attorney and our executive director. She earned a juris doctor from Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Business Administration at Florida International University. She is a member of the Florida Bar. Ms. McLain is the recipient of the Thomas Whigham award, the highest honor bestowed by the Seminole County Bar Association and received the Businessperson of the Month award from the City of Longwood. She is fluent in Spanish. Ms. McLain is also an Adjunct Professor at Seminole State College. She is exceptionally proud of working with our highly dedicated and talented staff, amazing pro bono attorneys and volunteer interns, prominent board members and exemplary donors to our nonprofit organization. She strives to ensure vulnerable residents of Seminole County gain access to the justice system to resolve their urgent legal needs. Silvia enjoys spending time with her family and her 2 rescue dogs.
Sue Selsky
Staff Attorney
407-834-1660 ext. 101
Attorney Sue Selsky is a “Northerner” by birth, but considers herself a Floridian, having lived in Central Florida for over 25 years. She attended Barry University School of Law in Orlando, and graduated with honors from that Law School in 2002. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2003, and began her legal career at SCBALAS in 2004. She has been working at Legal Aid ever since. She is also licensed to practice law in the State of Connecticut. Her practice areas are concentrated mainly in family law and eviction defense and other housing matters. She is a member of the Florida Bar Family Law Section Domestic Violence committee and also the Children’s issues committee, and the Seminole County Bar Association. In addition, she is a member of the Seminole County Human Trafficking Task Force, and a member of the Mission United group of United Way which assists Veterans. On a personal note, Attorney Selsky has three adult children and one grandchild.
Yvonne Alonso
Staff Attorney
407-834-1660 ext. 113
Yvonne Alonso joined our legal aid team in June of 2007. She currently handles family law and landlord tenant housing matters and applications for public benefits through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. During her tenure at legal aid, Yvonne has served as the Affiliate Outreach Chair for the Seminole County Young Lawyer’s Division, Vice and Co-Chair of the Florida Bar, Family Law Section Domestic Violence Committee and is a past and current member of the Children’s Issue Committee. Yvonne also serves on the Seminole County Domestic Violence Task Force. When not working, Yvonne enjoys spending time with her husband, Brad, and their children.
Matthew Gripp
Staff Attorney
407-834-1660 ext. 111
Matt is a staff attorney who represents vulnerable Seminole County residents in family law, landlord/tenant, and persons with disabilities cases. A first-generation Floridan, Matt grew up in the Ft. Lauderdale area, spent some time studying in Orlando, Miami, and Washington D.C. and now lives in the Oviedo area with his wife and daughter. Matt’s professional experience as a dedicated public servant has ranged from consulting for the federal government at a national non-profit to serving as an assistant general counsel within the Florida state government. While at the St. Thomas University College of Law, Matt interned at the United Nations, was a member of the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review, and volunteered at the school-affiliated Human Rights Institute. Matt is proud to have worked in the public sector at the international, federal, state, and now local level for most of his career and is honored to serve the vulnerable residents of Seminole County.
Denice Garza
Florida Registered Paralegal
407-834-1660 ext. 101
Denice Garza was born and raised in Colorado and moved to Florida with her husband when he separated from the Army 1996. She graduated with an Associate degree from the paralegal program at Seminole State College, and she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies at Keiser University. Denice has been with SCBALAS for 15 years, and she works closely with Attorney Sue Selsky on the Veterans Project. Denice believes her greatest accomplishment is her family. She and her husband have been married since 1993, and they have two children and three grandchildren. It is because of the amazing people in her life that she is passionate about helping others and determined to do her part to help make the world a better place. Denice is the paralegal for Sue Selsky.
Charity Steinbach
Florida Registered Paralegal
407-834-1660 ext. 108
Charity joined the team in November 2011 as a receptionist not knowing a lot about the legal field. After working at SCBALAS for two years, she decided to attend college to enhance her knowledge and further her career. She is the first in her family to attend and graduate college. While working full time and attending college part time, Charity gained hands on experience working as a paralegal at SCBALAS. She graduated Seminole State College in May 2016 with an AA degree in legal studies. Charity has 3 children, one of which serves in the US Navy. She is passionate about helping families obtain guardianship of their disabled children. Charity is the paralegal for Silvia McLain.
Camryn Williams
Pro Bono Coordinator and Paralegal
407-834-1660 ext. 114
Camryn is a recent graduate of Florida State University with a passion for law and advocacy. During her time in college, she received a dual degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Political Science and Chinese Language and Culture with a minor in Art History. She joined our team in August 2021 and is excited to serve the residents of Seminole county. In her first role at SCBALAS, she worked as the intake paralegal who conducted interviews with all our clients. Now, as Pro-Bono coordinator, she works to connect clients with our network of Pro-Bono attorneys. Through her time here, Camryn has developed a deep connection to Pro-Bono and non-profit work, hoping to attend law school in the future to continue this work. Outside of work, Camryn is continuing her study of Chinese language and enjoys spending time with family. Camryn is the Pro Bono coordinator and paralegal for Silvia McLain.
Tunala Connell
Pro Bono and Administration Coordinator
407-834-1660 ext. 105
Born and raised in Inner Mongolia, Tunala had a passion for movement & expression and graduated from Inner Mongolia Dance School. In 1994, Connell came to United States and over the past 22 years, she has dedicated her time to non-profit associations, where she has witnessed the power of collective action and community involvement. With a background in Accounting, Nala honed her skills and expertise over the course of 17 years. Being trilingual, Tunala considers numbers her 4th language but has found her true calling is providing service and support for those in need.
Christopher Giard
Florida Registered Paralegal
407-834-1660 ext. 111
Christopher began working at Seminole County Legal Aid in the fall of 2020 and is currently paralegal to Attorney Matthew Gripp. Christopher and Attorney Matthew Gripp are devoted to bettering the community they live in by providing assistance to those in need of family law and landlord/tenant assistance. Christopher began his career in the legal field as a legal assistant and through hard work was recently recognized as a Florida Registered Paralegal in 2022. Having assisted families with estate planning during very rough points in their lives, Christopher developed a desire and passion for helping those in need with their legal problems. Having grown up as a Seminole County resident, Christopher is proud to be assisting his community members in any way he can with their family law needs.
Lauren Dula
Paralegal
407-834-1660 ext. 113
Lauren Dula is a paralegal at Seminole County Legal Aid Society. She is currently a student at the University of Central Florida graduating in December of 2022. Lauren is majoring in Political Science with a minor in Women and Gender studies. In addition, she will graduate with a certificate in victim’s advocacy. Lauren plans to attend Law school in 2023 and is very passionate about advocating for both women and children. In her free time, she enjoys being on the Executive Team for UCF’s Knight-Thon to raise money for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Lauren is the paralegal for Yvonne Alonso.
Sophia Ulloa
Paralegal
407-834-1660 ext. 115
Sophia is a first-generation immigrant from Ecuador working as a paralegal at Seminole County Legal Aid. Currently she is pursuing a degree at the University of Central Florida in legal studies in preparation for law school. She is dedicated to helping those in need through her work as a paralegal and as a member of the community. Growing up Sophia developed a passion for helping those in need, especially the homeless and survivors of domestic violence. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering at the Coalition for the Homeless located in Downtown Orlando. In the future, Sophia plans on becoming an attorney and continuing to help vulnerable members of her community. Sophia is the Landlord-Tenant Specialist.
Abigail Stewart
Intake Specialist
407-834-1660 ext. 100
Abigail was born and raised in Central Florida. A graduate of Dr. Phillips High School, she received an AA from Seminole State College before returning to complete an AS in Legal Studies. As the Intake Specialist for Seminole County Legal Aid Society, she is excited to give back to the community that has always done so much for her.