To contact our North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center staff, please email staff@ncprobono.org.
Sylvia Novinsky
Director
sylvia@ncprobono.org
Sylvia K. Novinsky is the Pro Bono Resource Center’s inaugural director. Sylvia is tasked with supervising all of the Pro Bono Resource Center’s activities including serving as a clearinghouse for pro bono projects across the state, managing pro bono reporting and recognition, facilitating impactful pro bono projects which directly serve North Carolinians who would not otherwise have representation, uplifting the work of legal aid and other legal non-profits, coordinating trainings and CLEs for attorney volunteers, and recruiting and connecting volunteers directly to projects.
Sylvia comes to this role after nearly twenty years of service to the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she most recently held the role of Assistant Dean for Public Service Programs. During her tenure at Carolina Law, Sylvia founded and advised the UNC Law Pro Bono Program, a national model for inspiring students and alumni to participate in pro bono service. She has also served as the institution’s Associate Director for Public Interest Law, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Sylvia also spends time inside the classroom as an adjunct professor, teaching “Spanish for American Lawyers” and “Leadership for Lawyers.”
Prior to her work in higher education, Sylvia worked as a legal aid attorney. After law school, Sylvia litigated federal employment-related issues and administrative unemployment, wage and hour claims, and consumer cases, for Peninsula Legal Aid in Virginia. She then served as Legal Director for the Center for Immigrants’ Rights in New York, New York, where she supervised a statewide hotline for immigrants and advocates and represented domestic workers on employment matters.
Sylvia grew up in Queens, NY, and is from Argentina. She is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations and The American University’s Washington College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Maryland, the District of Columbia and New Jersey. She is a member of the N.C. Bar Association serving on the Pro Bono Activities Committee, the Minorities in the Profession Committee and the Government and Public Service Section. She volunteers with the Fairfield Summer Swim Team and is a member of Judea Reform Congregation in Durham. She lives in Durham, with her husband, who teaches at Durham Public Schools, and her daughter.
To learn more about Sylvia and her work with the Pro Bono Resource Center, watch this video.
Meghan Martie
meghan@ncprobono.org
Meghan Martie serves as a staff attorney with the Pro Bono Resource Center focusing on driver’s license restoration. Meghan oversees pro bono volunteer work and communicates with clients.
Prior to joining the Resource Center, Meghan spent two years volunteering part-time as an attorney with the Wake County Office of the Public Defender, representing clients in District Court. She also clerked for Justice Robin Hudson on the Supreme Court of North Carolina for four years.
Meghan grew up in Raleigh, spent her undergraduate and law school years in D.C., attending Georgetown University and the Georgetown University Law Center, and then found her way back to Raleigh after law school graduation. She and her husband have two young boys and in her (infrequent) spare time, Meghan enjoys reading, running, and dancing.
To learn more about Meghan and her work with the Pro Bono Resource Center, watch this video
Rachel Royal
Paralegal Consultant
royal@ncaccesstojustice.org
Rachel is a Certified Paralegal through both the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the North Carolina State Bar. She serves as a Finance Manager for the Commission, as well as a Project Manager for several projects, including the Pro Bono Resource Center’s Driver’s License Restoration Project and the Commission’s Wake County Legal Support Center. She contracted with the Commission for two years as project coordinator for the Driver’s License Restoration and Housing Stability Projects before coming on as a full-time employee in January 2023. Most of Rachel’s work with the Commission involves pro bono project and volunteer coordination, technology implementation and maintenance, as well as process improvement. Prior to her work with the Commission, Rachel worked in family law, insurance defense, and municipal law and has been the owner of Royal Touch Project Solutions as a freelance paralegal and project management consultant since 2020.
Rachel graduated with honors from Carteret Community College in 2017, as the Paralegal Graduate of the Year. She has been in leadership with the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division since 2018, including co-chairing the Division’s Pro Bono Committee. In her spare time, Rachel has volunteered for multiple projects through Legal Aid of North Carolina, the NC Pro Bono Resource Center (PBRC), NCAJ High School Mock Trial NC Bar Foundation, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, and many other pro bono projects. She is currently completing her Bachelor’s in Paralegal Studies through Charter Oak State College. Rachel lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and Toy Australian Shepherd and enjoys outdoor activities, cooking, and reading.
Ayana Robinson
Driver’s License Restoration Attorney
ayana@ncprobono.org
Ayana Robinson serves as an attorney with the Pro Bono Resource Center focusing on driver’s license restoration.
Prior to joining the Resource Center, Ayana spent the last 10 years practicing law with Legal Aid of North Carolina in various capacities.
Ayana was first a general practice staff attorney, and then the interim Managing Attorney of the Fayetteville local office before supervising expunction casework at Legal Aid’s Centralized Intake Unit. In her last role, Ayana served as the Second Chance Practice Group Manager overseeing Legal Aid’s statewide Second Chance Project. In that role Ayana, and her team, assisted low income populations statewide ameliorate the effects of poverty by direct client work to expunge criminal records, restore driving privileges and by establishing partnerships with state, local and community agencies to create more systemic change.
Ayana grew up in Long Island, NY and is a graduate of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ where she received a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Africana Studies. Thereafter, Ayana received her JD degree from New York Law School.
Ayana lives in North Raleigh with her husband, two teenage daughters and Great Dane. She enjoys reading, traveling and entertaining.
Milton Barba
Contract Spanish Language Attorney
milton@ncprobono.org
Milton was born and raised in Ecuador and speaks Spanish fluently. Milton worked as a pipe welder and utility foreman for 14 years until he lost his job due to the Great Recession. At the time, the construction industry was struggling and he knew he needed to change careers. Looking for guidance, Milton remembered all the help he had received when his livelihood was threatened. He sought a career where he could give back to the community and became a paralegal. In 2020, Milton graduated from NCCU School of Law.
Milton opened The Barba Law Firm in early 2021, where he handles traffic tickets, misdemeanors, workers’ compensation, and personal injury cases. Milton’s understanding of the construction world’s intricacies and his intercultural communication abilities are assets for his clients. His goal is to build his practice to the point where he can represent clients regardless of their ability to pay.
Milton comes to the PBRC with an awareness that many North Carolina drivers have lost their licenses for financial reasons, and he looks forward to using his legal knowledge and language skills to help the Driver’s License Restoration Project serve more individuals who need help.