Board of Directors
President
Michelle Pendleton, CP
Allen Matkins
Michelle Pendleton is a NALA Certified Paralegal and currently practices at Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, a California-based Am Law 200 firm, where she is a Litigation and eDiscovery Paralegal. She also trains paralegals on legal issues, professional development, eDiscovery, and emerging technology.
Michelle has more than 20 years of experience working in law firms of varying sizes and specialties. Presently, she works with attorneys in the litigation, receivership, land use, real estate, environmental, natural resources, and Litigation Support groups. She has significant experience in case management throughout the entire litigation life cycle, discovery, case analysis, legal research, and large-scale document review. Michelle is also well-versed in professional malpractice, eDiscovery, commercial and construction litigation, and arbitration. She is committed to strengthening training, education, and growth opportunities to expand paralegal roles in the practice of law.
Michelle received her paralegal certificate with honors in Generalist Curriculum from the University of San Diego Paralegal Program – the very first paralegal program in the U.S. to receive American Bar Association approval. She is a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Women in eDiscovery, Lawyers Club of San Diego, and the Allen Matkins’ Community Outreach Committee, as well as a project team member with EDRM. In 2025, she was recognized as a premier legal professional by the San Diego County Bar Association.
When not working, Michelle enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with her children, fostering animals, and barre. She works to strengthen, promote, and empower the paralegal profession.
Vice President, Membership
Christina Hough
Christina Hough is a seasoned legal paraprofessional having worked as a senior paralegal on the in-house litigation team of a Fortune 10 company and a legal secretary on the Business Trials team at an AmLaw 50 firm among prior roles. She has more than 23 years of experience working as a member of pre-litigation and litigation teams at small businesses, large enterprises and law firms of varying sizes and specialties. She has extensive experience in general civil litigation matters, including personal injury, products liability, premises liability, construction defect, pharmacy and administrative law, small claims, and other specialized areas of law. She has also argued in court trials before small claims courts in various jurisdictions throughout the western United States and, as a result, has obtained numerous defense verdicts on behalf of a Fortune 10 company.
Christina earned her B.A. in Public Administration from Southern New Hampshire University, graduating summa cum laude and as a Distinguished Scholar with a 4.0 GPA. She received her paralegal certificate with honors in Generalist Curriculum from the University of San Diego Paralegal Program - the very first paralegal program in the U.S. to receive American Bar Association approval. She has supplemented her education by completing certificate programs in e-Discovery, GenAI, and Music Industry Essentials; and is currently pursuing graduate degrees in business and law.
Christina is a member of the San Diego Paralegal Association, University of San Diego Paralegal Alumni Association, National Notary Association, and other professional and academic associations. She has also published articles discussing continuing legal education opportunities, legal technology, workplace productivity, and human interest stories on LinkedIn and for SDPA's newsletter, Precedents. She received recognition as the 2023 Notary of the Year awarded by the National Notary Association and the National Association of Legal Assistants Affiliates Award for her work on SDPA's 2022 inaugural Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Educational Conference. She was also recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as a Woman of Influence in Law in 2023 and 2025, and was recognized as a premier Legal Support Professional by the San Diego County Bar Association at its 2025 inaugural Legal Support Professionals Celebration.
Christina is frequently engaged to appear on podcasts, at virtual and in-person conferences, and other speaking opportunities on topics concerning the legal profession, entrepreneurship, best practices, and inclusion, with a specific focus on neurodiversity in the legal and notary professions. She enjoys mentoring business, law, and paralegal students, and legal professionals of all experience levels, frequently assisting with mock interviews, resumes, and cover letters.
Vice President, Programs & Education
Samantha Corrales
Tyson & Mendes
Samantha brings 16 years of legal experience across family law, construction law, and all aspects of civil litigation, including trial. She later transitioned into legal operations and client intelligence, where she has led teams, streamlined processes, and implemented systems to track data and key performance metrics. Additionally, she has developed internal and departmental standard operating procedures to enhance operational efficiency.
Throughout her career, Samantha has been passionate about advancing the legal industry. She has volunteered with various legal organizations focused on civil rights and expungement services. Now in her second year on the board, she continues leveraging her law and operations expertise to support impactful initiatives.
Outside of work, Samantha is a proud mother to a 16-year-old and an almost five-year-old fur baby. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, eating, dancing, reading, and singing karaoke with friends.
Treasurer
Angela Michaels, CEDS
Angela Michaels is a seasoned litigation paralegal and Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS), with more than 25 years of experience supporting high-stakes litigation across multiple jurisdictions. She currently serves as a litigation paralegal with the Business Trial Practice Group at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, where she focuses on insurance bad faith litigation and electronic discovery.
Throughout her distinguished career, Angela has worked alongside some of the most distinguished and respected attorneys in the country. Her mentorship under these legal professionals, combined with her hands-on experience, has cultivated a comprehensive knowledge base that spans a wide range of legal disciplines. Her areas of expertise include insurance defense, healthcare law, complex corporate litigation, SEC investigations, FINRA examinations, aviation matters, personal injury, construction defect, professional malpractice, workers’ compensation, employment law, and intellectual property litigation, including patent and trademark disputes.
Angela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego, and earned her ABA-Approved Paralegal Certificate with Honors from Southwestern College. Demonstrating her continued commitment to professional growth, she earned a Certificate in Financial Accounting from Harvard Business School Online in April 2025.
In April 2025, Angela was honored with a Certificate of Recognition from the San Diego County Bar Association, acknowledging her exceptional contributions to the legal community and her unwavering commitment to advancing the profession.
Angela is an active member of several professional organizations, including the San Diego Paralegal Association, the San Diego Chapter of Women in eDiscovery, and the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS). She is part of an elite group of e-discovery professionals worldwide who have earned the prestigious CEDS designation, recognizing her advanced expertise in this critical area of legal practice.
Over the course of her career, Angela has assisted in more than 100 trials in both state and federal courts across California, Colorado, Delaware, Texas, and Nevada. In addition to her legal work, she is a dedicated mentor and educator, frequently speaking at paralegal programs to prepare the next generation of legal professionals. Her presentations emphasize practical skills such as critical thinking, legal analysis, and professional ethics.
Secretary
Charliana Michaels
Cerberus Family Solutions & Three Keys Legal
Charliana serves as a consulting paralegal and educator for family law firms, providing specialized support in high-conflict and complex divorce matters. She is also the founder of Cerberus Family Solutions, where she applies her legal and coaching expertise to guide clients through some of the most challenging transitions in family life. Her practice is further informed by a prior career in financial services, during which she was a licensed stockbroker, Registered Investment Advisor, and life and health insurance agent — a background that brings uncommon financial fluency to family law, trust administration, and estate planning matters.
Passionate about elevating the paralegal profession and expanding access to legal services, Charliana is a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), the North County Bar Association, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), the National Notary Association, and the California Association of Legal Document Assistants. She is honored to serve as Secretary on the SDPA Board of Directors and is committed to contributing to the association's mission of education, advocacy, and community.
When she is not working, Charliana can be found adventuring with her kids, hiking, practicing yoga, or taking a cold plunge.
Director, NALA Liaison
Kristine Custodio Suero, ACP
Kristine Custodio Suero is an award-winning legal professional and a highly sought after speaker in her profession inspiring legal professionals to achieve authentic, purpose-driven careers and lives. A true servant leader, she has lead the San Diego Paralegal Association and California Alliance of Paralegal Associations as President and is proud to champion diversity as the first Filipina at the helm of the statewide professional trade association.
Her passion for service spans into education like her elders including her own mother, Zena (yes, pronounced like the warrior princess). A zealot for higher education and NextGen pipeline development, Kristine teaches legal courses for a local San Diego paralegal program and lends her time as an advisory board member for one of the most prestigious universities in San Diego.
She is most passionate about the innovation economy and dedicates her time to inclusive economic development projects, including employee ownership, and endeavoring to advance women in business, especially in non-traditional roles and industries such as STEAM and construction. Kristine was recently re-appointed as a commissioner and serves as the Chair of the City of San Diego Citizens’ Equal Opportunity Commission advocating for supplier diversity in contracting with the City of San Diego and bridging the rich cultural landscape of her beloved city with opportunities of economic impact to build a vibrant place to live, work and play.
Katie Oliver, ACP, CAS
Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP
Katie Oliver is a NALA Certified Paralegal and Advanced Certified Paralegal in eDiscovery, Trial Practice, and Discovery. She also received her California Advanced Specialist - Discovery in October 2025. She began her legal career in 2005 as a Paralegal at Patenaude & Felix, APC. In 2006, while working as a paralegal for Yellow Book USA, she assisted with the creation of a satellite legal department in San Diego, CA, and worked with outside counsel on collection lawsuits. Through the years, she has held various paralegal roles working on immigration, employment, general civil, intellectual property cases, trademark litigation, and trust and probate litigation with various firms and corporations. In 2018, she relocated out-of-state to South Carolina, where she kept her legal support skills sharp by working as a freelance paralegal to several solo-practitioners in California and working at a criminal defense firm in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 2020, Katie moved to Northern California and joined Scranton Law Firm as a Litigation Paralegal, a plaintiff-side personal injury firm. In July 2021, she relocated back to San Diego, where she continued working freelance for several attorneys, as well as working in a contract position as a Compliance Specialist at EDF Renewables in the San Diego corporate office. Katie attended Maric College-San Diego, where she was conferred her Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies in 2005 and obtained an eDiscovery Program Management certificate in 2014 from the Organization of Legal Professionals, which was beneficial in implementing Relativity’s Litigation Hold platform at LG Electronics USA. She currently studies cybersecurity and project management. She has served in various capacities with the San Francisco Paralegal and San Diego Paralegal Association and is currently the Treasurer with the San Diego Chapter of ACEDS. Katie is also a member of the San Diego chapter of Women in eDiscovery. She served in the US Navy from 1995 to 2003 and in the California Army National Guard from 2004 to 2007. Katie currently works with the Litigation Support Team at Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law in their San Diego office.
Director, Pro Bono
Jo-El Hill
Jo-El Hill is a paralegal and creative who has spent years working with individuals in recovery. She is passionate about growth, healing, and second chances. Her primary focus is veterans’ benefits and discharge upgrades. She earned her Associate of Science in Paralegal Studies in 2024 from Southwestern College and has continued to build her experience through freelance work. She is committed to strengthening her skills in legal research and documentation to better support the individuals she serves.
Her passion lies in walking alongside veterans and individuals in need as they navigate complex systems. She values compassion, diligence, and attention to detail in her work, and strives to provide thoughtful, organized support that helps others move forward with clarity, dignity, and confidence.
Director, Employment
Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding has over 25 years of experience working in law firms across Michigan, Florida, and California. Originally from Michigan, she began her legal career as a high school senior with aspirations of becoming a lawyer. Over the years, she has gained extensive experience, primarily in family law, while also exploring a variety of other legal fields. Since moving to San Diego 13 years ago, Sarah has continued to expand her professional credentials. In 2016, she earned her paralegal certificate from the University of San Diego Paralegal Program, and in 2022, she became a certified paralegal through NALA. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in applied humanities with an emphasis on business administration.
Beyond her legal career, Sarah has a diverse background, including a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu and a real estate license in Michigan. Her passion for helping others is evident through her work with local organizations such as Kids’ Turn San Diego and Casa Cornelia. In her free time, Sarah enjoys staying active. She spends summer days playing beach volleyball and participates in other activities throughout the rest of the year, such as pickleball, yoga, bike rides, walks, and, most recently, belly dancing.
Director, Audit
Ana Nayeli Castaneda
Ana Nayeli is a freelance immigration and civil litigation paralegal who also works as an Accounts Receivable Specialist for a ca technology, products, systems, and software company serving the defense, national security, and commercial markets. She is adept at leveraging her accounting and legal skills.
In 2007, Ana graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor's in political science with a minor in Chicana/o Studies. She is a proud graduate of the University of San Diego Paralegal Program, and is excited to contribute and advocate on behalf of the San Diego paralegal community as Director on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Paralegal Association.
In her spare time, Ana enjoys spending time with her daughter, traveling, hiking and meditating.
