Lydia Burris, LAPSW
Social Worker & Team Leader
Phone: (615) 862-8996 | Email: LydiaBurris@jisnashville.gov
Lydia joined the Education Rights Project in 2014 as the team’s social worker and became team leader in 2023. She provides educational advocacy for parents and guardians of students with disabilities in school meetings and links families to vital community resources. Lydia also offers social work support to ensure multidisciplinary legal representation in guardian ad litem cases. She earned her Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee and her Bachelor of Social Work from Lipscomb University. Lydia is passionate about policy advocacy, teaching social work courses on disability studies and youth justice as an adjunct instructor at Lipscomb University, and serving on the board of BeWell in School.
Jordyn M. Conley, Esq.
Education Attorney
Phone: (615) 880-3709 | Email: JordynMConley@jisnashville.gov
Cell: (615) 852-7860
Jordyn began her legal career in 2019 with the Nashville Defenders on the General Sessions team, where she provided representation to people accused of misdemeanors and felonies. She joined the Education Rights Project in 2021. Jordyn graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fisk University and then a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School. Jordyn is an education attorney and provides legal representation to families in school meetings, discipline appeals, and due process complaints. She also has a Guardian ad Litem practice where she represents youth in foster care and youth who are at risk of entering care. She also serves as an educational surrogate for children whose parents are not available to make school decisions.
Jackson L. Hasty, Esq.
Education Attorney
Phone: (615) 880-3705 | Email: JacksonLHasty@jisnashville.gov
Cell: (601) 689-4841
Jackson is originally from Nashville, graduating from Hillsboro High School. He graduated from Columbia University in 2022 with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in History. He returned home to Nashville in the Fall of 2022 to attend Belmont University College of Law. While in law school, Jackson interned with the Federal Public Defender and with the Nashville Defenders, served as associate editor of the Belmont Law Review, and traveled with the Mock Trial team. He also earned CALI awards for practical courses in Juvenile Law and Race and the Law. Following graduation, he served as the first Law Clerk for Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway for a year before joining the Education Rights Project with the Nashville Defenders. When not working, Jackson enjoys cooking, hiking, planning road trips, and watching movies at the Belcourt.
Alejandra Yañez-Martínez
Client Advocate
Phone: (615) 862-5740 ext. 71070 | Email: AlejandraYMartinez@jisnashville.gov
Ale joined the Education Rights Project in 2021. Ale provides educational advocacy for our Familias Latinas and coordinates any case referrals. She also serves as the Nashville Defenders’ Office Manager for the Juvenile Division. Ale was born and raised in Monterrey City, in the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She moved to Nashville in 2016 and worked in the private sector holding roles as a Human Resources Representative & Executive Assistant. She also worked teaching English as a second language in Mexico for over four years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Universidad Alfonso Reyes. She loves cooking and spending time outdoors with her husband and her Siberian Husky dogs.