Our Staff

Karen A. Riley, Esq.
Executive Director/Chief Attorney

Ms. Riley joined the Children’s Rights Society (CRS) in March, 2007. She was previously a County Court Judge and a Supervising Assistant District Attorney for Sex Crimes and Child Abuse in Rockland County. She has been an instructor at the Rockland County Police Academy, and is a certified trainer for the New York State Child Advocacy Resource Center. She is an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Dominican College in Orangeburg, New York. Ms. Riley is a member of the Ninth Judicial District Committee on Gender Fairness in the Courts, and a member of the Foundation Board of the Rockland ARC. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Pace Law School.

Kim Pavlovic, Esq.
Staff Attorney

Ms. Pavlovic has been a Staff Attorney with CRS since its inception in 1996. She was previously a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County for 6 years, where she specialized in criminal defense and family law. She is a graduate of  the University of Bridgeport Law School, and has been admitted to practice law in New York since 1990.

Cheryl E. Maxim, Esq.
Staff Attorney

Ms. Maxim joined CRS as a Staff Attorney in 1998. Prior to that, she spent 10 years engaged in private practice specializing in Family Law.
She is a graduate of Pace Law School, and has been admitted to practice law in New York since 1987.

Michelle Stevenson, Esq.
Staff Attorney

Ms. Stevenson has been with CRS since 2001. She was previously an attorney with the NYC Administration for Children’s Services prosecuting abuse and neglect cases in Bronx Family Court. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and Brooklyn Law School.

Kimberly Williams, Esq.
Staff Attorney

Ms. Williams joined the legal staff of CRS in 2002. She is a graduate of SUNY college at Buffalo and Pace Law School, where she interned at the Pace Women’s Justice Center.

Kristy Horaz, Esq.
Staff Attorney

Ms. Horaz has been a staff attorney with CRS since January, 2005. Previously, she interned at Lafili, Cromburgh and Partners in Belgium Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. She is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton and the University of Buffalo Law School. She is admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars.

Marvin J. Williams, Esq.
Staff Attorney

Mr. Williams joined CRS in June, 2006. He was previously an attorney for The Children’s Law Center in the Bronx. Mr. Williams spent 4 years as a criminal prosecutor on the island of Saipan, and 7 years as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University and North Carolina Central University School of Law.