Colleen Boraca

Title: Clinical Associate Professor
Office Location: Swen Parson 270
Office Phone: 815-753-1420
630-229-0752
Email: cboraca@niu.edu
Education: H.B.A., Marquette University
J.D., Loyola University of Chicago School of Law

Colleen Boraca is a Clinical Associate Professor and Pro Bono Coordinator at the NIU College of Law. She joined the NIU College of Law's clinical faculty in 2014 and directs NIU’s Health Advocacy Clinic in Aurora, IL. The clinic is an interdisciplinary partnership between NIU College of Law, Hesed House and Aunt Martha’s Health Center. She has also regularly co-teaches Poverty Law and co-founded the NIU College of Law COVID-19 Legal Response Clinic from 2020-2021.

Prior to joining the NIU College of Law, Professor Boraca was a supervising attorney at the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago. In addition to a regular caseload of discrimination and government benefits issues, she headed the Council’s Family Support Project which works with attorneys and social workers to help families affected by HIV/AIDS access quality health care, achieve financial stability, and make thoughtful future plans for their children. Professor Boraca served as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for seven years in both the Child Support Enforcement Division and the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities Unit. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Mental Health Law Section. Professor Boraca chaired the Chicago Bar Association Mental Health and Disability Law Committee and co-chaired the Kane County Bar Association Elder Care, Disability and Mental Health Committee as well as MLP Illinois, a task force consisting of representatives from medical-legal partnerships throughout Illinois.

Professor Boraca’s dedication to clinical education started as a student attorney and teaching fellow at the Loyola University Chicago Elder Law Clinic. She served as an adjunct clinical professor in Loyola’s Health Justice Project during the 2012-2013 year, teaching courses on Health Justice and Interdisciplinary Health Advocacy.

Professor Boraca received the Chicago Bar Foundation’s Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence in 2021. She was honored as Marquette University’s Klinger College of Arts and Sciences 2017 Young Alumna of the Year. In 2014, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin named her as one of “40 Under 40” Illinois attorneys to watch. In 2011, Professor Boraca was a recipient of the Chicago Bar Foundation Sun-Times Public Interest Law Fellowship, an award that recognizes commitment to public interest work, academic achievement and integrity. Additionally, the NIU COVID-19 Legal Response Clinic received the Illinois State Bar Association Excellence in Legal Education Award in 2021.

Professor Boraca is a passionate advocate for health equity and breast cancer issues, serving as an Advocacy Ambassador for Susan G. Komen. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Hesed House.

Professor Boraca received her J.D., cum laude, with a certificate in health law from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She graduated with an H.B.A., cum laude, from Marquette University in Political Science and Communication Studies.

Areas of Expertise

  • Poverty law
  • HIV/AIDS law
  • Mental health law

News

Past Activities

2023

  • Co-Presenter, Lawyering in Crisis: The Emerging Homeless Clinic, Association of American Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education, San Francisco, CA (May 2023).
  • Moderator, Diversity and Civility: Their Impact on Attorney Mental Health, Northern Illinois University College of Law, Zoom (Mar. 2023).

2022

  • Guest, High Risk for Breast Cancer? Create a Plan, Susan G. Komen’s podcast, Real Pink (Dec. 2022).
  • Moderator, Housing and Racial Disparities, Northern Illinois University College of Law Race and the Law, Zoom (Aug. 2022).
  • Moderator, Mental Health’s Impact on Violent Crime, Kane County Bar Association Elder Care, Disability, and Mental Health Committee Seminar, Zoom (May 2022).
  • Moderator, Lawyers’ Mental Health and Tools for Reducing Stress, Northern Illinois University College of Law, Zoom (Mar. 2022).
  • Panel Presentation, Women’s History Month – Using Women’s Superpowers to Break through Glass Ceilings, Waubonsee Community College, Zoom (Mar. 2022).

2021

  • Moderator, Mental Health of Attorneys: Prioritizing Self-Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond, Kane County Bar Association Elder Care, Disability, and Mental Health Committee Seminar, Zoom (May 2021).
  • Presenter, Some Days are Better Than Others: Self-Care Tips for Lawyers During a Pandemic, DuPage County Bar Association Criminal Law and Practice Section (April 2021).

2020

  • Presenter, Fair Housing During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Aurora Public Library (November 12, 2020).

2019

  • Co-Presenter, Why Can’t We Be Friends? Collaborating with Non-Clinical Faculty, Midwest Clinical Conference, Ann Arbor, MI (Oct. 2019).
  • Co-Presenter, The First and Last Days of Clinic, Midwest Clinical Conference, Ann Arbor, MI (Oct. 2019).
  • Moderator, “With All Due Respect”: Courtroom Strategies for Making Your Case Despite Your Oppositional ALJ, National Organization for Social Security Claimants’ Representatives National Conference, New Orleans, LA (Sept. 2019).
  • Moderator, Bad Words—How to Deal with Issues No One Likes, National Organization for Social Security Claimants’ Representatives National Conference, New Orleans, LA (Sept. 2019).
  • Co-Presenter, Access to Justice (and) Opportunities in Rural Areas and Small Towns: Educating Young Law Students to be Local Lawyer Leaders, 2019 Association of American Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education, San Francisco, CA (May 2019).

2018

  • Co-Presenter, Diversity within the Model: Interprofessional Clinics and the Future of Legal Services Practice, Midwest Clinical Conference, Notre Dame, IN (Oct. 2018).
  • Presenter, Preventing Future Mental Health Crisis Through Advanced Directives, Kane County Bar Association Seminar, An Inside Look: Mental Health Crisis to Wellness, Geneva, IL (May 2018).
  • Co-Presenter, With a Little Help from my Friends: Managing Stress in a Hostile Political Environment with Assistance from Non-Lawyers, Association of American Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Chicago, IL (May 2018).
  • Co-Presenter, NIU College of Law’s Clinical Program: Working with Community Partners to Make a Difference, NIU Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship Conference, DeKalb, IL (Mar. 2018).

2017

  • Co-Presenter, Looking Outside the Clinic to Teach Social Justice and Inspire Future Lawyers, Midwest Clinical Conference, Lawrence, KS (Oct. 2017).
  • Presenter, Preventing and Treating Breast Cancer through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), NIU College of Law Think Pink Week, DeKalb, IL (Oct. 2017).
  • Presenter, HIV Confidentiality: Know the Law, Hesed House, Aurora, IL (Sept. 2017).
  • Presenter, Advanced Care Planning in Illinois, Association House, Chicago, IL (July 2017).
  • Moderator, Mental Illness and its Path through the Criminal Justice System: Challenges and Solutions, Kane County Bar Association Elder Care, Disability, and Mental Health Committee Seminar, Geneva, IL (June 2017).
  • Co-Presenter, Challenges of Working with Vulnerable Populations, NIU College of Law Continuing Legal Education, DeKalb, IL (Feb. 2017).

2016

  • Presenter, Illinois Mental Health Law: Holding Someone Against His/Her Will, Hesed House Staff, Aurora, IL (Nov. 2016).
  • Presenter, Medical-Legal Partnerships: Helping the Mentally Ill, The Association for Individual Development, Aurora, IL (Nov. 2016).
  • Presenter, Preventing and Treating Breast Cancer through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), NIU College of Law Think Pink Week, DeKalb, IL (Oct. 2016).
  • Moderator, Personal Wellness in the Legal Profession, Kane County Bar Association Elder Care, Disability, and Mental Health Committee Seminar, Geneva, IL (May 2016).
  • Co-Presenter, Medical-Legal Partnerships in Illinois: An Update from the Field, Illinois Statewide Public Benefits Task Force, Chicago, IL (Mar. 2016).
  • Co-Presenter, Mental Health Involuntary Admission and the Duty to Warn: Perspectives from Law and Psychiatry, Kane County Bar Association Elder Care, Disability, and Mental Health Committee Meeting, St. Charles, IL (Jan. 2016).

2015

  • Co-Presenter, The Beginning and the End, Midwest Clinical Conference, Cleveland, OH (Oct. 2015).
  • Presenter, A Mental Health Provider’s Duty to Warn: National and Illinois Case Law Subsequent to Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, Northwestern Medical School, Chicago, IL (Sept. 2015).
  • Co-Presenter, Advancing Public Health through Interprofessional Education: An Overview of Law School-Based MLPs, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership Webinar (Aug. 2015).
  • Presenter, When Working Becomes Impossible: Obtaining Social Security Based on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Kane County Bar Association Seminar on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Geneva, IL (May 2015).
  • Co-Presenter, Just What the Doctor Ordered: Multi-Disciplinary Clinics at the Forefront of Change, 2015 Association of American Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Rancho Mirage, CA (May 2015).
  • Poster Co-Presenter, Advancing Population Health: An Overview of Law School-Based Medical-Legal Partnerships, Medical-Legal Partnership Summit, McLean, VA (Apr. 2015).

2014

  • Panel Presentation, Helping Clients Address Their Legal Issues, Housing Action Illinois Annual Conference, Bloomington, IL (Oct. 2014).
  • Co-Presenter, Community Lawyering: Looking Beyond Your Backyard to Make a Difference, Midwest Clinical Conference, East Lansing, MI (Sept. 2014).
  • Presenter, Medical-Legal Partnerships: Working Together to Improve the Lives of the Disabled, Kane County Bar Association Eldercare, Disability and Mental Health Committee, St. Charles, IL (Mar. 2014).

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