WLAM Board of Directors

Tanya A. Grillo is a Criminal Defense Attorney serving the Metro Detroit area.

Tanya always had a passion for helping indigent clients and served as appointed counsel in both Macomb and Oakland County.  Her desire to help those most in need of legal assistance and her vast experience in courts throughout Metro-Detroit has made her a catalyst of change in a broken system.From 2017-2019 she was the Regional Manager for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC). In that capacity, she worked with all the courts in Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair Counties in the State of Michigan’s goal to reform the indigent defense system.

Tanya strongly believes in giving back to her community and her profession.  She is the past President of the Women’s Lawyer’s Association of Michigan-Macomb Region, former secretary of Sobriety Today Our Purpose (S.T.O.P), past Co-Chair of the Criminal Law Committee in Macomb County and a member of the Macomb County Bar Associations and the Criminal Defense Association of Michigan.  She also gives of her time to charitable organizations as you will find her giving her time to homeless shelters, food banks, and other charitable causes throughout the year.

Prior to going entering a career in the law, Tanya worked at Quicken Loans.  She is received her Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a Bachelor’s Degree from Central Florida University.

Kirsten J. Silwanowicz is the Chief General Counsel for the Detroit Housing Commission, where she serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on complex legal, regulatory, and operational matters. An experienced in-house counsel, Kirsten’s practice focuses on federal and state grants, public procurement and contracting, governance, litigation management, compliance, and enterprise risk management within highly regulated environments. She is known for translating legal risk into practical, mission-aligned solutions that support organizational effectiveness and public accountability.

Prior to joining the Detroit Housing Commission, Kirsten held senior legal roles at the Great Lakes Water Authority and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), where she negotiated and managed high-value contracts, oversaw litigation and claims, advised on regulatory and funding compliance, and partnered closely with cross-functional teams on infrastructure, operations, and public finance initiatives.

Kirsten is deeply committed to leadership development and advancing women in the legal profession. She is President-Elect of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) and a past president of the WLAM Wayne Region, and she is actively involved with the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), including its General Counsel Institute. In addition to her practice, Kirsten is an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she teaches an in-house counsel law firm program focused on practical skills, strategic judgment, and business partnership.

She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Michigan State University. Kirsten began her legal career in Dallas, Texas, before returning to Michigan to continue her public service-focused legal career.

Kristina Bilowus is an experienced family law attorney who specializes in all types of family law cases at Kizy Law. She is known for being a passionate and hardworking advocate. Upon joining Kizy Law, Kristina has had the opportunity to expand her practice with criminal defense, which has been a career goal to pursue. She is committed to achieving great results for her clients and for ongoing communication throughout the case.

In addition to her work as practitioner, Kristina is an adjunct professor at WMU Cooley Law School where she teaches practical skill classes to second and third year law students. By teaching the practical application of the law, she empowers her students to be more confident advocates upon entering the legal field.

She is the President-Elect of the WBA, Secretary of the SBM YLS, Treasurer of the HBA, Director-at-Large for WLAM, Chair of Gender and Equity for WLAM, and Vice Director of the OCBA Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Abril Valdes Siewert has dedicated her career to social justice. Ms. Siewert specializes in immigration law at Valdes Law, PLLC. She is also an instructor for Oakland University’s paralegal program teaching immigration law. She has worked with small and large firms, as well as non-profit organizations such as Lakeshore Legal Aid; and as the Immigrant Rights Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan. During her time at the ACLU, she co-authored the Michigan Crimmigration resource guide which was distributed throughout the state. Ms. Siewert is licensed in the states of Michigan and California. She received her J.D., from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She is the secretary and co-chair of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee for the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and corresponding secretary for the State Bar of Michigan’s Immigration Law Section.

As founding partner at the Medley Law Firm Angela Medley’s background provides her with unique insight and understanding of the complex emotional and financial issues that families face when spouses go their separate ways. She considers her greatest legal attributes to be her business background and her practical life experience, both of which enable her to provide quality service to her clients in a manner that achieves results. 

She possesses a keen ability to anticipate the needs of her client, and she strives to obtain the best possible outcome for each client. Angela lives and works in Macomb County where she has lived for nearly 30 years. Her office is a block away from the Macomb County Circuit Court. She has a business degree from Baker College of Clinton Township, and she earned her law degree from Detroit Mercy Law School. 

She is a trained mediator and an experienced family law attorney. She can guide you through the complex divorce process and help put you in the best position to start your new beginning.

Nicole is the principal attorney for Standards 6 and 7 with the Oakland County Indigent Defense Services Office.

Before joining the IDSO, Nicole was as the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission’s regional manager for the Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair Region. She previously practiced at a Southfield law firm working in its bankruptcy, creditor’s rights, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate departments. She had her own firm representing individuals in criminal, juvenile, domestic relations, and probate matters. She consulted for the JUSTICIA Foundation for Development and Human Rights in Lebanon on projects for the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. And, she served as a staff attorney/magistrate at the Butler County Common Pleas Court and a judicial law clerk at the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two.

Nicole graduated from Wayne State University Law School and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Detroit Mercy. She has published articles and interviews in the Michigan Bar Journal, Bar Briefs (Macomb County Bar Association), Raising the Bar: America Celebrates 150 Years of Women Lawyers—1869 to 2019 (National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations), the Women Lawyers Journal, and the WLAM Journal.