As a staff attorney and director of NCLR's Youth Project, Jody oversees NCLR's policy and advocacy work challenging the overrepresentation and disparate treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth in child welfare and juvenile justice settings. Jody also coordinates the Equity Project, a collaborative project between NCLR, Legal Services for Children, and the National Juvenile Defender Center, working to ensure fairness and respect for LGBTQ youth in delinquency courts. Additionally, he co-founded the Bay Area Out of Home Youth Advocacy Council, a San Francisco-based advocacy effort in support of LGBTQ youth in foster care.

In 2006, Jody co-authored the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Best Practice Guidelines for Serving LGBT Out-of-Home Youth, the first comprehensive policy and practice guide for child welfare and juvenile justice professionals concerning LGBTQ youth.

A seasoned lecturer, Jody regularly presents at national conferences on legal and policy issues affecting LGBTQ youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. He has particular expertise on transgender youth and has served as a consultant on this topic for numerous child welfare and juvenile justice agencies. 

Since 2007, Jody has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Youth Connection, an organization that empowers current and former foster youth to participate in policy development and legislative change to improve the foster care system.

Jody joined NCLR in 2003 as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. He received his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and B.A. from Wesleyan University.