Executive Director

He is longtime poverty law advocate, Phillip Kassel. Before coming to MHLAC, Phil worked for more than 30 years on behalf of the most vulnerable segments of the poor person populations of the states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington, serving in a host of capacities and specialties. He has litigated, lobbied, and negotiated key reforms for a wide variety of clients, including the mentally ill, e.g. Haverty v. Commissioner of Corrections, 437 Mass. 737 (2002), which established a right to due process under the Massachusetts constitution prior to the imposition on prisoners of indefinite solitary confinement. Phil is also an accomplished singer with 11 cabaret shows to his credit.