Our Staff
Meet the team
Alissa Bjerkhoel
Interim Director
Alissa Bjerkhoel is the Interim Director of the California Innocence Project and professor of the Wrongful Convictions course. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her J.D. from California Western School of Law.
Before her current position, Professor Bjerkhoel was a staff attorney for the California Innocence Project for 14 years. Her responsibilities over the years have included coordinating all active case litigation, serving as CIP’s in-house DNA expert, directing and supervising clinical student casework, and consulting on legislative changes.
Professor Bjerkhoel is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, she is a member of the National Innocence Network’s Complex DNA Working Group, she is the co-chair of the Ethics & Best Practices committee for the National Innocence Network, and has been a board member of the Innocence Network Executive Board for several years.
Professor Bjerkhoel has been instrumental in a number of exonerations and has been featured on local and national television shows, and podcasts, and was portrayed in the feature film “Brian Banks.” She has been recognized by the San Diego Daily Transcript as “Young Attorney of the Year,” by the Board of Directors of the Criminal Defense Bar Association of San Diego as “Post-Conviction Lawyer of the Year,” and by the California Lawyer Magazine as “Attorney of the Year.” The San Diego Union-Tribune also recognized her as one of the “Phenomenal San Diego Women in Law and Public Safety.”
Raquel Barilla
Staff Attorney and Volunteer Coordinator
Raquel has been with the Project since 2011. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and received her Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law.
Before joining the Project, Raquel worked with private criminal defense and civil plaintiffs firms in Southern California. Raquel also found time to continue coaching gymnastics which was her first passion before helping the wrongfully convicted.
In her dual roles at the Project, Raquel is responsible for supervising pro bono law firms, lawyers, experts, and investigators who assist the Project in successfully investigating and litigating cases. Raquel has played an integral role in the exoneration of many wrongfully convicted clients and has assisted in helping those clients receive compensation after their exoneration. Raquel is the Project’s post-conviction arson expert and has lectured to lawyers, students, and investigators on the developments and issues within the fire investigation community. Raquel’s work relating to arson cases is documented in Pulitzer Prize-winner Ed Humes’s recent book Burned.
Audrey McGinn
Staff Attorney
Audrey has been an attorney with the Project since 2011. She graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle and received her Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law. Before joining the Project she worked on her father’s farm.
Audrey first served in the Project as a volunteer and clinic student while in law school. Upon passing the California Bar, she started work as an investigator for the Project, eventually becoming a staff attorney. Audrey directs and supervises the CIP clinic students in their case review.
Over the course of her career, she has played an integral role in preparing and arguing motions essential to the Project’s cause. Additionally, Audrey works as a trainer with ACCESO Capacitación and has trained hundreds of Spanish-speaking lawyers throughout Latin America on trial advocacy skills. She is also an LL.M. Professor at California Western School of Law and was named “Professor of the Year” in 2018.
Claudia Salinas
Staff Attorney
Claudia has been with the Project since 2019. She graduated from California State University, Fresno and earned her Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law. While in law school, Claudia was awarded the “Janeen Kerper Scholarship for Criminal Defense Advocacy” and was inducted into the Pro Bono Honors Society at the Gold Level for over 200 hours of service at the San Diego Public Defender’s Office and in our Project.
Before joining the Project, she worked as a 911 Communications Dispatcher and then went onto become a District Representative for California State Senator before starting law school.
In her role as Staff Attorney, Claudia supports and assists in supervising our current clinical students and volunteer legal interns. She is responsible for overseeing the Project’s initial review of innocence claims arising from convictions occurring within Southern California. In addition to overseeing the intake process, Claudia engages in legal writing, case preparation, and litigation alongside the Project’s Staff Attorneys as needed.