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2024 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS


OFFICERS:

President - Rosemarin Belliard

Rosemarin Belliard is the proud daughter of immigrants and attorney committed to advancing and protecting the rights of immigrants in the US.

She is an Associate at Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP, where she advises multinational corporate clients on U.S. Immigration and Nationality law. She assists clients in obtaining employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, concentrating primarily on the PERM labor certification process. She provides individualized consultations on complex global immigration matters and interfaces with HR business partners to develop innovative strategies to mitigate risks, enable informed planning and decision making. Rosemarin has represented corporate clients of all sizes across a variety of industries including banking, media and arts, fashion, information technology and higher education nonprofit institutions. She has appeared at numerous Permanent Resident interviews at USCIS offices throughout the country.

Rosemarin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Juris Doctor from New York Law School. During her time in law school, Rosemarin was awarded the Government Fellowship and Chief Justice Rose R. Bird Award for Motivation in Pursuing Public Interest Law. As a law student, she volunteered with the Safe Passage Project and served as an intern for Chief Judge Dora L. Irizarry of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Prior to law school, Rosemarin was selected as the New York City Urban Fellow for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, where she assisted the office in its mission to facilitate the successful integration of immigrant New Yorkers into the civic, cultural and economic fabric of the city.

Rosemarin is dedicated to the advancement of pro bono work and diversity, equity & inclusion in the legal profession. Currently, she serves at her firm as Chair of the Pro Bono Committee and has provided New Yorkers with immigration assistance through the New York City Advocacy Initiative, CUNY Citizenship Now and Dominicanos USA. She is a board member of 100 Hispanic Women National, Inc., a non-profit, non-partisan women’s organization with members from a wide range of industries and interests that promotes the professional advancement of Latina women in the government and corporate sectors. 

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In 2019, Rosemarin established the Trailblazer Scholarship at CUNY John Jay College in loving memory of her mentor, the former director of the Pre-Law Institute of John Jay College, Vielka Holness, Esq. Each year the scholarship is awarded to a first-generation undergraduate student, from a traditionally underrepresented background in the legal profession, who plans to attend law school upon graduation.

In her free time, Rosemarin enjoys traveling, running, competing in fitness competitions, and spending time with her family.


Vice President - Dannaliz Mieses 

Dannaliz Mieses is a first-generation Dominican-American from the Bronx. She earned her J.D. from Albany Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from Fordham University.

Currently, she is a Senior Staff Attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services Corp. A’s Community and Economic Development unit. In this role Dannaliz represents small businesses in New York City on commercial lease matters in a transactional capacity.

Dannaliz is fluent in Spanish and intermediate level in French and Portuguese. Dannaliz is adventurous and inquisitive about the world. Her interests include travel, cultural immersion, strength training, and reading.

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Vice President of Foreign Affairs - Alexis Colon

Alexis is an attorney with more than a decade of experience in international trade, international business and economic law. He is admitted to practice law in the Dominican Republic, New York and Massachusetts. He is the Managing Partner in COLON & PARTNERS, focusing his practice in Corporate Law, Foreign Investment, International Trade, Commercial Litigation and ADR, Intellectual Property and Real Estate Development in the Dominican Republic. 

He holds a JD equivalent degree Magna Cum Laude from Universidad del Caribe and a Bachelor in Business Administration Summa Cum Laude from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in the Dominican Republic. In addition, he earned an LLM in International Business and Economic Law, with a concentration in International Arbitration, from Georgetown University Law Center.

Prior to starting his own firm, Alexis worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, where he became responsible for coordinating bilateral trade and investment negotiations. In the private sphere, he worked as an associate in Locus Economica LLC, a consulting firm specialized in free trade and economic development zones.

In addition to serving as a DBA Director, he is a member of the Inter-American Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Inter-American Bar Association and the Hispanic National Bar Association.


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Recording Secretary - Janelle Romero

After graduating from the 2-year Honors Program at New York Law School in 2019, Janelle Romero began her career defending employees who were illegally underpaid by their employers. While she thoroughly enjoyed her work and the clients she served (mostly undocumented immigrants), she sought to expand her knowledge within employment law and began working for a firm that specialized in workplace discrimination and sexual harassment claims. Hundreds of represented employees later, Janelle joined a hiring and payroll startup as the Leader of Labor Affairs and oversaw legal matters relating to labor and employment law, business contracts, and Human Resources oversight for over six hundred contractors and employees. In 2022, Janelle founded Gen Esq Law to provide quality affordable legal options to small businesses and employees. Through her TikTok educational videos, Janelle continues to dedicate her time and talents to helping make the workplace a more fair, appropriate, and prosperous environment for all.


Corresponding Secretary – Jennifer Henriquez

Jennifer Henriquez is Counsel at Shenkman Capital Management, Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser, where she focuses her practice on investment management and general U.S. and international corporate, governance and regulatory matters. She also has experience in formation and structuring of private investment funds. Jennifer received a B.A. from University at Albany, State of New York and a J.D. from New York Law School. During law school, Jennifer interned with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement and served as President of the Latin American Law Students Association. She is admitted to practice in the state of New York, and the United States District Court, Southern District of New York.

As a first-generation college graduate and the first attorney in her family, Jennifer is passionate about mentoring law students and making a meaningful impact in her community. In addition to serving on the Board, she currently serves as Chair of the Dominican Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Committee. Jennifer also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of the National Latina/o Law Student Association, a non-profit organization focused on advancing the personal, professional, and academic success of Latina/o law students. During her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with family, cooking, watching documentaries, and volunteer work.

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Treasurer - Genesis Tejeda

Genesis Tejeda is Legal Counsel at Couchbase, Inc. Her work at Couchbase focuses on commercial agreements, revenue-generating transactions, privacy, and product matters. Prior to Couchbase, Genesis was an associate at Sidley Austin LLP. Before law school, Genesis worked for three years as a forensic consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Genesis earned her B.S. degree from University at Albany, SUNY in accounting and business administration and her J.D. degree from Berkeley Law School. While in law school, Genesis was heavily involved in Berkeley Law’s Latinx affinity group, including serving as 1L representative, co-president, and alumni relations chair.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Genesis is of Ecuadorian and Dominican descent and is fluent in Spanish.



DIRECTORS:

Javon henryJ

Atenedoro gonzalez

Born and raised in the South Bronx, Atenedoro Gonzalez fought for his community as a housing attorney with the Tenants Rights Coalition at Bronx Legal Services. Well versed in all aspects of landlord/tenant litigation in New York, Atenedoro has defended cases on behalf of low-income Bronx residents in Housing Court and affirmatively litigated on their behalf in New York Supreme Court. Atenedoro has also participated in administrative hearings against city and state agencies, including the Human Resources Administration, Department of Buildings, New York City Housing Authority, and the Division of Housing and Community Renewals. Atenedoro has extensive experience as a community organizer, helping build entire tenant associations in preparation for affirmative litigation against bad-actor landlords in the Bronx, with cases including rent overcharges, tenant harassment, and seeking building-wide and individual apartment repairs.

Most recently Atenedoro served as the General Counsel and Policy Director for the New York City Council 15th District, where he continued to serve the Bronx community by supervising a housing rights clinic and working with community leaders to promote policy most beneficial for the disenfranchised of the Bronx. Among several bills passed, Atenedoro was lead on bills promoting fire safety for tenants, increasing standards for self-closing doors, as well as increasing fines and penalties for bad-actor landlords who willfully file false certifications of corrected repairs with the city. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Atenedoro helped his team secure over $500,000 in rental relief through Emergency Rental Assistance Program applications on behalf of District 15's constituents.

Atenedoro now serves as General Counsel to the Children's Arts & Science Workshops Inc. a youth and education based nonprofit that provides services to youth in predominantly underprivileged communities of color. As an organization, CASW provides services through its after-school, summer, and community center programs in Washington Heights and the Bronx. His practice includes general non-profit administration, labor and employment disputes, contracts based advocacy, and political lobbying.

Atenedoro has given several Know Your Rights presentations surrounding housing law at various organizations throughout the Bronx and Washington Heights, volunteering his time at Centro Civico, with the New York State Bar Association, and with Latino Justice PRLDEF. He has also volunteered his time to host housing rights clinics for local elected officials.

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In his free time Atenedoro maintains close ties to his community as well as his public outreach. He is a board member to the Dominican Bar Association, a non-profit organization of attorneys of mostly Dominican descent whose mission is to promote diversity in the legal field as well as promote the interests of Latinx attorneys throughout the tri-state area. He also serves as an alumni director for MetroLALSA inc., a non-profit organization composed of Latinx law students from the 13 NY and NJ law schools. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for HelpUSA, a non-profit organization whose mission is tackling the homelessness crisis across America.

Atenedoro attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice, earning a bachelor's degree in Humanities and Justice Studies, and earned his Juris Doctor at St. John's University School of Law. While in law school Atenedoro served as a student board member for MetroLALSA, served as Vice-President of the Latin American Law Students Association, and served as the Editor-In-Chief of the New York Real Property Law Journal.


estefani rodriguez

Estefani Rodriguez is the Director of Attorney Well-being for the Dominican Bar Association. Estefani is also an Assistant Chief Counsel (“ACC”) for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Prior to becoming an ACC, Estefani was an attorney advisor in the New York Immigration Court. After law school, she was hired by the Department of Justice, through the Attorney General’s honors program, and worked as an attorney advisor in the Miami Immigration Court from 2016 to 2018. In 2016, she graduated cum laude from New York Law School. In 2012, she graduated magna cum laude from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she majored in criminal justice and minored in sociology.

Estefani is a native New Yorker and the daughter of immigrants from Santiago, Dominican Republic. Estefani previously served as vice president for the Dominican Bar Association in 2019 and as director in 2020. While in law school, she volunteered at events hosted by the Dominican Bar Association, and along with other student members, prepared a Know Your Rights presentation on landlord-tenant law. She also served in the executive board of her law school’s Moot Court Association and LALSA. Estefani is passionate about diversity in the legal profession, immigration, attorney well-being, and mentorship.



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Angeramis tejeda

Angeramis Tejeda is a dedicated legal professional with a comprehensive background in corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and legal administration. She currently serves as a Manager on the Trade Floor Supervision Team at Scotiabank’s New York office, where she focuses on regulatory risk management. Before her current role at Scotiabank, Angeramis served as a Senior Associate in the Corporate Governance Division at Macquarie Group, where she honed her skills in corporate entity management, corporate transactions, and other general corporate law maters across multiple jurisdictions including Mexico, Brazil, and the Cayman Islands.

Angeramis earned a Juris Doctor from New York Law School and two B.A. degrees in Legal Studies and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

In her spare time Angeramis enjoys giving back via youth mentorship programs, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

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Stefano perez

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Leslie polanco-Linares

Leslie is an immigration attorney and the founder of Linares Legal, where they specialize in Immigration. Leslie was born in the Dominican Republic, and migrated with her mother to the United States at the age of 3, where she was raised in Washington Heights, New York.

Leslie earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from John Jay College and went on to Rutgers Law School-Newark. There, she was the recipient of the Marsha Wenk Fellowship, which granted her the opportunity to intern at the ACLU-NJ and serve as a leader in the Rutgers Law public interest community. Leslie was also a Michael Maggio Immigration Fellow, where she joined the immigration team at Prisoners' Legal Services of New York in Albany, NY as a Summer Intern.

During her 2L summer, she also interned for the Honorable Esther Salas in the Federal District Court of New Jersey. After law school, Leslie was a law clerk for the Honorable Marysol Rosero, J.S.C. at the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of Essex County in NJ and moved on to become an Immigration Attorney. Leslie loves the Bronx, her church community, and loves to travel on her spare time.


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Mayvel Garcia



Mr. Mayvel Garcia is the founder and managing attorney of the Law Office of Mayvel Garcia where he specializes in immigration cases. He was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated with his family to the Bronx when he was six years old.

He received his Juris Doctor from New York Law School where he was part of the evening division program. While in law school Mayvel worked full time for the New York City Law Department as a Student Legal Specialist.

After law school Mayvel was a Staff Attorney at New York Legal Assistance Group. As a staff attorney he helped protect clients who faced legal challenges that threaten their housing and immigration status.

Mayvel has served as the Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee for the Dominican Bar Association, where he has supported newly admitted members of the law profession in their career development.


Crismelly morales

Crismelly is an immigration attorney and the founder of the Law Office of Crismelly Morales, Esq., P.C. Her passion for immigration law is rooted in her own immigration story. Crismelly was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and migrated to the United States in 2009. She later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Ms. Morales’ areas of expertise are non-detained removal proceedings, humanitarian relief, family-based immigration, and naturalization.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Crismelly worked as a paralegal for nine years for a well-respected immigration attorney in Rockland County, NY, while attending college and law school. She also worked as a paralegal for several years at a renowned matrimonial law firm in Rockland County.

Crismelly received her Juris Doctor from New York Law School and her B.A. in Legal Studies from The State University of New York at Purchase. She is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits.

Crismelly is deeply committed to public service and is passionate about helping the Latino community in the United States. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Dominican Bar Association and the Legal Aid Society of Rockland County. She co-chairs the Immigration Committee of the Rockland County Bar Association. Ms. Morales volunteers her time in different non-profit organizations that provide free legal services to migrants.




General counsel - Nathaniel R Torres



Nathaniel R. Torres (“Nate”) is a VP, Legal Counsel to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ("MUFG"), one of the world's largest financial institutions.  At MUFG, Nate serves as counsel to the Board of Directors and assists with corporate governance and operations of the company.  Prior to working at MUFG, Nate also served as an Assistant General Counsel at Carver Bancorp, Inc., bank holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank ("Carver"); the largest African- and Caribbean-American managed bank in the United States.  At Carver, Nate worked closely with the Bank's Board of Directors on corporate governance, finance, compliance, and all other general corporate legal matters.  Nate also previously worked for the Department of Justice and was part of a team appointed by the Obama administration to litigate financial fraud cases against major U.S. Financial Institutions that caused the financial crash of 2008. 

Nate earned his Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law in 2014 and Bachelors in finance from Old Dominion University in 2011. 

In his spare time, Nate dedicates himself to the community, serving as a board member and volunteer to several community based organizations.  Nate enjoys music, traveling, and sight-seeing.

PRESIDENT-ELECTS:

Dorian Rojas

Dorian Eileen Rojas is the Director of Programs at Immigrant-ARC. Prior to joining the organization, she was the Director of the Immigration Project at Volunteers of Legal Service. An organization whose purpose is to harness the power of New York City’s legal community and community-based organizations to provide free, civil legal services to underserved communities. Previously, she was a Supervising at Safe Horizon, Immigration Law Project. The nation’s leading and largest crime victim assistance organization. Dorian specialized in immigration cases involving victims of domestic violence and violent crimes, such as, U/T Visas, VAWA petitions, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and Asylum. Prior to starting at Safe Horizon, Dorian was the Supervising Attorney for the Child and Family Team at the Immigrant Legal Center in Omaha, Nebraska. There she handled cases involving minors facing deportation, represented detained immigrants, and managed the Attorney of the Day program. The Attorney of the Day program ensured that no child appeared unrepresented in front of a judge. There, Dorian supervised and trained volunteer attorneys to represent minors in Immigration Court.

Dorian started her legal career as a Law Clerk for the Superior Court of the Connecticut Judicial Branch. There she wrote decisions in various areas of the law, such as, contract, tort, and constitutional law. Dorian then worked as In-House Counsel for American Transit Insurance Company handling No-Fault Insurance and Fraud Claims in New York Civil Court and before the American Arbitration Association.

Dorian has legal experience in both the private and public sector, but her career is marked by her commitment to public service. Early in her career, Dorian worked at the Legal Aid Society, Foreclosure Prevention Unit. There she assisted homeowners facing foreclosure by identifying predatory lending practices and conducting non-litigation advocacy. She also assisted homeowners with loan modification procedures, to secure charitable funding for reinstatement of their mortgages, and prepared them for settlement conferences in Supreme Court.

Dorian is the recipient of the Posse Foundation Leadership Scholarship and the Inavale Award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Service award. She is committed to driving significant change for New York She is a member of the CORO Immigrant Civic Leadership Program, 2024 President-Elect of the Dominican Bar Association, and the Chair of the New York City Bar Immigration & Nationality Committee.

Dorian is a St. John’s University School of Law graduate and is licensed to practice law in New York, Washington D.C., and Nebraska.




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