our team

Gina Chiala, Attorney at Law

Gina Chiala is the Executive Director and Staff Attorney for the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom. Gina has years of experience with both social justice campaigns and public interest litigation.  Gina began her legal career as a public defender, where she vigorously defended the rights of her clients and gained valuable trial experience.  Gina next joined Slough Connealy Irwin & Madden, Kansas City’s oldest and best known public interest law firm.  There, Gina represented low-income clients in cases against abusive credit card companies, pay day lenders, finance companies, car dealerships, and debt buyers. Among the cases she tried at Slough Connealy, Gina won a historic victory against Portfolio Recovery Associates, one of the largest debt buyers in the country.

In addition to fighting in the courtroom, Gina has participated in movements to raise the minimum wage, cap payday loan rates, stop evictions, and unionize low-wage workers. Gina started the Heartland Center, believing that lawyers can only win real change when acting in concert with broader movements.

Gina obtained her law degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City in 2006, where she graduated cum laude. She received recognition as a National Member of the Order of Barristers.  She also received the Ralph S. Latshaw Award for outstanding studies in criminal law, the National Moot Court Team Competition Award, and awards for excellence in the areas of civil rights, torts, legal writing and constitutional law.

Gina sits on the board of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.

The UMKC Alumni Association awarded Gina with the Pro Bono Public Service Award of 2018.

The Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City awarded Gina and the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom with the 2017 Public Service award.

The National Consumer Law Center awarded Gina with the Rising Star Award for making a "major contribution to consumer law".

In 2016 Missouri Lawyer's Weekly awarded Gina as the "Plaintiff's Attorney with the largest reported verdicts judgments".

In 2022, Nonprofit Connected awarded the Heartland Center with its Excellence in Impact Award.

Amy Sweeny Davis, Employment and Consumer Attorney

Amy has been guided by the motto “If you want Peace, work for Justice” along diverse paths, including community organizing in underserved communities, volunteering for the Peace Corps in Palau, the Kauffman FUND for Greater Kansas City and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. In the legal field, she worked at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and Slough Connealy Irwin & Madden practicing consumer protection law. One of her first cases was helping a victim of predatory lending, which ignited her awareness of the legalized injustice perpetuated on low-income communities.  

 Amy has been involved in a number of efforts to tide unethical lending practices including the Mayor’s Task Force on Predatory lending; organizing a community forum on predatory lending; speaking on the issue to the Missouri Legislature; and working to change the local court rules on requirements to prove stale debt.

 A cum laude graduate of UMKC Law School, Amy's volunteer activities have included Amethyst Place, Communities Creating Opportunity, Sue Sheer Institute for Women in Public Life, the Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund Board and Visitation Parish.  She is married to Matthew Davis and has three children.

John Michael Pipes, Tenants’ Rights Attorney

John Michael’s commitment to low-wage workers and tenants precedes law school to when he worked on a golf-course grounds crew, as a service industry merchandiser, and farm-worker. During this time, he saw how one misfortune could have catastrophic effects including hunger or eviction.

John Michael graduated from UMKC for both his bachelor degree in political science and history, as well as his Juris Doctor. During law school, The UMKC Law Review published John Michael’s comment on abuses within the debt-collection industry Slaying Zombie Debt: Missouri Rule 55.03 Can Prevent Time-Barred Debt Claims Through Sanctions which was awarded The Candler S. Rogers Writing Award for outstanding work of student legal writing. He also interned for a United States District Court judge, a bankruptcy law firm, and the Heartland Center as a 1L summer intern.

A lifelong Missourian, John Michael enjoyed growing up in rural Plattsburg but now makes his home in the heart of Kansas City with his wife, Lucille, son, and two cats.

Candace Ladd, Outreach and Development Coordinator

Candace is a Kansas City native who believes in the power of movements for social change and thinks that everyone deserves to live with dignity. She began at Heartland as a social work intern, assisting with eviction defense, and joined the team as the Outreach and Development Coordinator in August 2021. Candace also organized on the strategy team for the KC Tenants Bill of Rights and contributed to the research for the People’s Housing Trust Fund. Prior to working at Heartland, she managed volunteers at a rape crisis center, was an advocate at a domestic violence shelter, and did case management. She serves as a member of InCoLab, which provides guidance to the Jackson County Health Department in developing its Community Health Improvement Plan.

Candace holds a master’s in social work from University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a bachelor’s in music therapy from Drury University. As part of her master's, Candace studied peacebuilding alternatives to the criminal justice system, focusing on transformative justice. In her free time, she enjoys reading and trying new recipes.

Nathan Cho, Tenants’ Rights Attorney

As the son of a Korean immigrant and a teacher, social justice and public service has always been central for Nathan. He has a lengthy history of public service, having completed a year of service with AmeriCorps and multiple internships with governments and nonprofits. Nathan was previously a Summer Justice Fellow with Kansas Appleseed, an advocacy group dedicated to bringing justice for all Kansans. Nathan was also previously a City Attorney for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. As City Attorney, Nathan reformed how KCK would prosecute traffic tickets to prevent excessive fees and license suspensions. 

Originally from Wisconsin, Nathan came to Kansas City for school, getting both a B.A. in political science and his J.D. from UMKC. While a student, Nathan published a research paper entitled "Geographic Voter Turnout Disparities in Kansas City."

In his free time, Nathan volunteers for Debate Kansas City and roots for both Wisconsin and Kansas City sports franchises.

Natalie Branch, Supervising Tenants’ Rights Attorney

Natalie obtained her law degree from George Mason University and her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame.  Her undergraduate studies and AmeriCorps service in New Orleans cultivated in her a strong commitment to learning from and working alongside underserved communities.  Natalie has sought out such opportunities in every phase of her career.  

At Notre Dame, Natalie volunteered as a tutor with the Latino Task Force for Education in South Bend and interned with the St. Joseph County juvenile public defender (in addition to reaching the stadium championships with her dorm flag football and basketball teams—Go Whirlwinds!).  In New Orleans, she served as a teacher assistant at a public elementary school and volunteered as a basketball coach at a high school across town.  

In law school, Natalie was an editor for the Mason Civil Rights Law Journal and gained experience through public interest internships and work throughout the D.C. area, with top civil rights law firm Victor M. Glasberg & Associates, the U.S. District Court of Maryland Pro Se Prisoner Staff Attorneys, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, and a special education law firm.  Following graduation, she clerked for Judge William R. Greer at the Circuit Court for Charles County, MD, and then worked for three years at Maryland Legal Aid, as a housing and consumer law staff attorney and an interim supervising attorney.  

Natalie loved her time on the East Coast and carries with her great motivation and lessons learned from her colleagues and clients at MLA and beyond.  She is encouraged by more and more jurisdictions recognizing a right to counsel in eviction cases—she was excited to get to shape and carry out early phases of implementation in Maryland, and she is thrilled to be continuing with similar work in her hometown of Kansas City.

Natalie enjoys being outdoors, playing and following sports, and spending time with her family and wife, Jill.

Chris Carpenter, Volunteer Attorney

Chris is a lawyer who has been volunteering with HCJF for more than a year. Chris recently retired from a more than 30-year legal career, including 10 years in private practice -- first as a litigator with a large Chicago firm, then as a plaintiff’s lawyer in downstate Illinois. For the next 20 years, Chris was a senior vice president and in-house counsel with a large, global insurance and reinsurance company. Prior to his legal career, Chris served three years active duty in the U.S. Army, and worked in Democratic politics in Illinois. Of HCJF, Chris said, “I am so impressed by the passionate staff and the group’s mission; it is just a thrill and honor to be volunteering my time for this wonderful organization.”

Chris has one child, Campbell, who is a senior in high school.

Braydn Monhollon, Tenants’ Rights Attorney

Braydn's commitment to public service and working-class tenants stems from being raised in a family that values service-oriented work like education and social work. Growing up, he saw the devastating impact that underfunding education has on students, teachers, and families; but he also saw—and was motivated by—the resilience of teachers and communities in times of struggle.

Braydn graduated from Kansas State University where he received two bachelor's degrees in political science and communication studies. He received his Juris Doctor and Advocacy Skills Certificate from the University of Kansas School of Law. During law school, Braydn was an intern for the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence, where he provided free legal representation to prisoners who might not otherwise receive help. Braydn was the president of the local chapter of the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA) and competed in the NNALSA Moot Court Competition. He also competed nationally as a member of KU Law's Mock Trial Council.

When he's not working, Braydn enjoys reading and playing recreational sports like tennis, soccer, and basketball.

Jordan Hoffman Kahle, Skadden Fellow & Workers’ Rights Attorney

Kansas City has always been home for Jordan, and she’s grateful for the opportunity to return to her hometown and fight alongside low-wage workers for fair wages and safe workplaces. Jordan’s commitment to public service stems from her faith and her deep-rooted belief that all people deserve justice and dignity.

Jordan studied psychology and statistics at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout college, she volunteered at Hope Lodge, a housing program of the American Cancer Society. Jordan went on to earn her law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where she graduated with the Alumni Association Award. During law school, she interned with ArchCity Defenders, where she engaged in holistic advocacy on cases ranging from municipal citations to felony charges and where she investigated procedural due-process concerns in remote eviction court. She then interned at Heartland, where she represented a dozen tenants in eviction proceedings under Rule 13 certification. 

After clerking for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Jordan is thrilled to return to Heartland as a Skadden Fellow. When she’s not at work, Jordan loves writing songs, hiking with her husband Kurtus, and connecting with her faith community.