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. She provides educational advocacy to parents and guardians of students with disabilities in meetings and links families to resources. Lydia became the team leader of Education Rights Project in 2023. Lydia graduated from the University of Tennessee with her Master of Science in Social Work and Lipscomb University with her Bachelor of Social Work. Lydia enjoys policy advocacy, adjunct teaching Social Work courses on disability studies and youth justice at Lipscomb University, and being a BeWell in School board member.
Jordyn M. Conley, Esq.
Education Attorney
Phone: (615)880-3709 | Email: JordynMConley@jisnashville.gov
Cell: (615)852-7860
Jordyn joined the Education Rights Project in 2021 after working as a criminal defense attorney on the office’s General Sessions team since 2019. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fisk University, where she earned a bachelor of arts in Political Science. She graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2019. Jordyn is an education attorney and provides legal representation to families in school meetings and discipline appeals. She also has a Guardian ad Litem practice and serves as an educational surrogate for children whose parents are not available to make school decisions. Jordyn enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her dog.
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.
Emily Adams
Education Advocate
Phone: (615)862-5745 | Email: EmilySAdams@jisnashville.gov
Emily joined the Education Rights Project in 2023 after earning her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She graduated from Rhodes College in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and Sociology and joined Teach For America’s Oklahoma City Corps where she taught first grade. Emily provides educational advocacy to parents and guardians of students with disabilities in school meetings. Emily enjoys yoga, baking, and watching movies with her cat.