Denny Chan, Councilmember

Councilmember Vasudha Talla is a partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, where she represents clients in complex civil litigation in California and New York. She maintains a diverse civil rights practice that includes constitutional litigation and employment and housing discrimination. Prior her current role, she directed the immigrants’ rights team at the ACLU of Northern California, leading a team of attorneys and investigators to advance and protect the rights of immigrants on issues such as immigration detention and enforcement; surveillance, data sharing and privacy; driver’s licenses and the Real ID Act; and religious and racial discrimination.

Councilmember Talla has also worked at the International Refugee Assistance Project in Beirut and New York, as well as the Civilian Complaint Review Board in New York. She began her career as a law clerk for the Honorable Keith P. Ellison in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and as an Arthur P. Liman Fellow with Sanctuary for Families in New York. She is a graduate of New York University and Yale Law School.

Councilmember Talla was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 14, 2026, to serve the remainder of a four-year term expiring on December 31, 2028.