Meet the CJAU Team

Executive Director

Hayley Cousin, JD

Hayley Cousin has a passion for ensuring all Utahns can understand and access the civil legal system in a meaningful way. Her work in access to justice began at Timpanogos Legal Center, where she helped to design and then ran the Certified Advocate Partners Program, the first Utah Regulatory Sandbox program to use nonlawyers to provide free legal services to Utahns. After three years of evaluating and improving the service model, she founded Community Justice Advocates of Utah to provide a central agency to oversee and support nonlawyers who are providing low complexity, high impact legal services to Utahns, with the goals of lowering barriers to entry to legal services provision, increasing support for nonlawyer providers and their agencies, and evaluating and improving programs and service models.

Hayley received her undergraduate in English language with minors in editing and business at Brigham Young University. She graduated with honors from the BYU Law School, and is a member of the Utah State Bar.
Board President

Jenny Hoppie, JD

Jenny Hoppie brings a blend of experience and passion to CJAU. During her 25-year career as a civil litigation paralegal, Jenny dedicated herself to supporting families and individuals seeking compensation for injuries and losses resulting from the negligent—and sometimes intentional—harmful acts of others. This fulfilling work laid the foundation for her desire to make a broader impact.

In 2014, Jenny began full-time studies at Utah Valley University as a non-traditional student while also balancing full-time work and raising four teenagers (and two dogs) with her husband. She connected with fellow "back to school" moms who were also pursuing education later in life. This community of women reinforced the importance of education as a transformative force for growth. Jenny graduated from UVU in 2018 and graduated from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2022. In addition to attending two years of law school during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenny also suffered the unexpected death of her husband during her final year of law school. Her focus on helping others during this difficult time proved to be a source of strength, comfort, and healing, allowing Jenny to navigate her grief while remaining committed to her passion for service.

Jenny is deeply passionate about empowering families to improve their circumstances through education and increased access to Utah's civil legal system. She actively volunteers at a community legal clinic and supports initiatives like SheTech, a technology and STEM conference for teenage girls in Utah. Additionally, she is dedicated to local efforts that educate and mentor single mothers.
Board Vice President

Laura Pennock, LPP

Laura Pennock is one of the first four Licensed Paralegal Practitioners admitted to practice in Utah. She was in solo practice in Family Law for five years and has since become a full time minister with Community of Christ. Although Laura has changed the focus of her day to day working life, she remains active in promoting the LPP as an effective measure to address access to justice in Utah. Laura is committed to the ideals of equality before the law and open access to the courts to defend their rights. She is honored to be on the board of CJAU as a way to continue to work to make legal services available to all, especially to those who are denied access because of means and other barriers.
Board Member

Jay Leonard

Biography coming soon.