Professor Pina is an accomplished civil litigation attorney and brings her strong communication, customer service, and project management skills to Santa Clara Law as an associate clinical professor and externship director. These skills drive her innovative approach to professional development using instructional design centered on adult learning theory and principles of positive psychology.

Thiadora directs and teaches the required first-year Critical Lawyering Skills seminar and the Externship Workshop classes. She is the lead author of Essential Lawyering Skills: A Companion Guide to Neil W. Hamilton’s ROADMAP (forthcoming 2021), an interactive workbook designed to develop student’s professional identity and lawyering skills. She also uses online video modules and active scenario development to develop student’s reflective practice and self-development.

Thiadora brings this same innovative approach to cultural intelligence, where she has extensive experience as both a lawyer and professor. She is the faculty advisor for Santa Clara Law’s Black Law Student Association and the founding advisor of Santa Clara Law’s First-Generation Law Student Association. She designed and now delivers a cultural competence workshop centered on critical lawyering competencies.

Thiadora practiced civil litigation for over eleven years. She concentrated her practice in insurance, healthcare, and personal bankruptcy. She regularly appeared in state and federal courts throughout the Boston, Massachusetts area.

Thiadora is a native of Boston, Massachusetts and enjoys cooking, travel, sports, and astronomy.