Matthew Alevy is currently Vice President, Real Estate Portfolio for Thomson Reuters. In this role, Matt works across business units to optimize the company’s real estate portfolio and develop real estate strategy that is aligned with workforce planning and business strategy. The real estate team has reduced the number of offices by over 300 since Matt joined the team in 2015, driving down Real Estate costs by over $150 million. Previously, Matt was VP, Finance and VP, Treasury with responsibility for capital strategy and foreign exchange and interest rate risk management for Thomson Reuters.  Matt has a variety of finance experience over his 15+ years at Thomson Reuters including investor relations, treasury, FP&A, mergers and acquisitions and acquisition integration. Before joining the Thomson Corporation in 2005, he was an analyst for a boutique technology M&A investment bank and a financial analyst for a cable TV operator. Matt is an avid weather watcher, sits on the board of CARECEN NY and resides in Port Washington, NY with his wife, two children and adopted dog Harry.

Ruth Silverman is a professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Nassau Community. She attended Harpur College (State University of New York) where she received her BA with honors in Sociology. She received her MA at the University of Wisconsin and completed her doctoral work in Sociology at New York University. She follows in the footsteps of her father, Dr. Benjamin Malzberg, who did ground breaking sociological work on immigrants and mental health. From his position as director of the Bureau of Statistics at the New York State Department of Mental Health, he used the data to refute nativist arguments that immigrants are inferior and bring many social problems with them. When she moved to Long Island, she became aware that those same false charges were being thrown at a new group of immigrants to our community from Central America. She decided to carry on his work by joining CARECEN and contributing to its work by joining the Board. 

Jonathan Cantarero is an attorney and writer based on Long Island. He received his J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law, where he served as the Executive Articles Editor of the CUNY Law Review and as a Graduate Fellow providing research assistance to faculty members. He received his B.A. from State University of New York College at Old Westbury, where he was awarded the Honors Convocation Achievement Award in Philosophy and Religion. During law school, Jonathan served as the Schulte, Roth, and Zabel Legal Fellow for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Following graduation, he has worked in public and private practice and has published several scholarly articles. 

George A. Terezakis is the founder and principal attorney at the Terezakis Law Firm, PLLC,  located in Mineola, New York. His practice is concentrated in the areas of criminal and removal defense, including the interplay between criminal and immigration law; family-based immigration; asylum; and appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals. He is a graduate of the class of 1985, University of Buffalo School of Law (SUNY), where he was the recipient of the annual Law Faculty Award, and graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 1982, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude in Political Science.  He is the recipient of the Nassau County Criminal Courts Bar Association’s Practitioner of the Year award for 2013; the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Community Advocate of the Year award; and has previously been recognized by CARECEN for his pro bono work on behalf of Long Island’s immigrant community. During the 1980’s, Mr. Terezakis was active in the Central American human rights movement, and volunteered with the Non-Governmental Human Rights Commission of El Salvador (CDH-NG). He is fluent in Spanish, and a long-time supporter of CARECEN.

Treasurer, Robert Fuentes, MD, joined the Board in 2012 after supporting CARECEN-NY for 28 years. A second generation Puerto Rican who also has German and Irish ancestry, he had always been aware of the constant flow of people from one place on the planet to another. He heard school teachers talk about “countries” and “immigrants” but realized that those concepts are used for political expediency rather than to describe reality. His work as an internal medicine doctor reinforced this view. He considers himself fortunate to have grown up on Long Island and the metro New York area and to have an opportunity to serve the community in which he grew up.

Blanca A. Villanueva is a Long Island native, growing up in Brentwood, NY. She is a graduate of New York University, where she became a part of student led organizations, such as C-Roots and LUCHA, which strive to educate and unify the NYU community on social and cultural issues. Blanca graduated with a degree in Psychology and American Sign Language and then pursued her Master’s in Public Health at Brooklyn College. She credits her masters studies in truly enlightening her on the important roles policy, environment, and education play in creating disparities and inequities in a community. 

She began her community organizing by working with the Alliance for Quality Education on statewide education policy change. Recognizing that education justice is racial justice, Blanca combines advocacy, policy, and grassroots organizing to address the decades of systemic racism in the education system. She now works with the Advocacy Institute supporting the legislative advocacy of social justice and movement-building organizations in New York State, while also serving as the Board President for CARENCEN-NY. 

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Clinical Professor Lauris Wren, a Williams College and Columbia University Law School graduate, founded the Asylum Clinic at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in 2003. Through the Asylum Clinic, law students represent applicants for asylum. The Clinic has represented hundreds of clients from around the world and has a 100% success rate, despite severe obstacles faced by clients in the asylum application process. Professor Wren also co-founded the Immigration Clinic at Hofstra University and has received awards from numerous Long Island organizations in recognition of her work on behalf of the immigrant community.

In 2014, Professor Wren founded LGBT Immigrants of Long Island, the first organization on Long Island specifically serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender immigrants. Prior to coming to Hofstra, Professor Wren was the director of the Refugee Assistance Program at the New York City Bar Association. Prof. Wren has also worked at the New York City Legal Aid Society and at the Central American Refugee Center on Long Island. Prof. Wren has worked with many human rights organizations in Mexico and Central America and has participated in human rights missions in various areas of the world.

Karla was born in El Salvador and is a first generation immigrant. She is an International Baccalaureate alumni and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in international studies from SUNY Oneonta, where she graduated with department honors and dedicated much of her research to human rights affairs. In the past she has volunteered at the Consulate General of El Salvador where she worked first-hand with the Salvadoran diaspora, in addition she has also interned at the United Nations and has worked as a Dialogue Leader at the office of equity and inclusion at SUNY Oneonta. 

In her position at CARECEN, Karla assists the Long Island immigrant community in naviating resources, services and programs available to them throughout the region, with a focus on low-income immigrants who are particularly vulnerable to socioeconomic disadvantages.

Gabriela is the ONA Legal Counsel for Suffolk County. In this role, she provides a variety of legal services via direct representation, clinics, and consultations. Gabriela also addresses the need for quality legal information by leading a number of legal information sessions and workshops throughout the year.

Gabriela is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law, and she also completed her M.A. in Sociology at St. John’s University. She chose law school so that she could take a more hands-on approach to helping others in her community. Gabriela also found that having a sociological background affords her a wider perspective on issues of immigration as she practices law in that field.

Before law school, Megan worked with noncitizen survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Raleigh, North Carolina on humanitarian immigration petitions. This work led her to law school, where, through internships with the Bronx Defenders and Public Defender Service of D.C., she became interested in removal defense and post-final order relief, particularly where criminal convictions are/were the grounds for removal. She believes that no noncitizen, regardless of criminal history, deserves to be deported. As an IJC fellow, she will be working in removal defense and post final order relief at IJC’s Long Island Project.

Rebecca obtained her Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Culture, Politics, and Russian Studies) at the University of Texas - Arlington, worked in non-profit ministry, volunteered in grass roots political campaigns, and began her English Language Teaching (ELT) career in Daejeon, South Korea, before coming to CARECEN. Becca holds an M.A. in TESOL from The New School for Public Engagement as well as a Graduate Certificate in Sociology from Appalachian State University.  She is currently pursuing a Master's in Public Administration and Policy from American University.  Becca joined CARECEN to help launch a new program, Pathway to English - Long Island, as ESOL Services Coordinator.  Since then, she has transitioned into other roles, including development, program coordination for the CARECEN-Hofstra EL/Civics and Citizenship Project, and most recently, Chief Operations Officer.  In 2019, Becca graduated from the Advocacy Institute Educator Pipeline, participated in the She Should Run Political Pipeline, has been an outspoken advocate for state and federal adult education/ESOL policy change, and was elected Vice President of Outreach for the New York State TESOL (NYS TESOL) Executive Board. 

Beatríz came to the U.S. from El Salvador in 1983. She began her career with CARECEN as a volunteer in 1996 because she wanted to give back to her community. Beatríz has continued to serve the immigrant community ever since. She completes naturalization applications, Legal Permanent Resident Card renewals, TPS renewals, and DACA renewals in our Brentwood office. In her free time, Beatríz likes to go shopping and spend time with her children, grandchildren, and puppy, Milo. 

Born in Nicaragua, from a very early age Jenny was engaged in her community and exploring her heritage through folkloric dance. As a young adult Jenny worked as a host and tour guide for international relief workers and students of service learning projects for over seven years, which enabled her to attend college at the Universidad Nacional de Nicaragua at León.  Jenny immigrated to the United States in 2010, and was incredibly fortunate to have been warmly supported and encouraged by many in her community.  She strives to return this warmth to new immigrants each day.  Jenny has been an active member of the LGBT immigrant community, including serving as a Coordinator of the LGBT Immigrant Group, a collaborative project between CARECEN and Hofstra University.  In her free time, Jenny enjoys knitting, painting, gardening, attending concerts, visiting museums, and she still loves to dance.

Vivian was born in Colombia, and raised in Spain where she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Social Work, and a Master's Degree in Project Management. Vivian was awarded by the University of Zaragoza, in Spain, to go to Cuba to complete an internship, and to go to Italy to participate in an intensive program to learn about social services in Europe in a multicultural society. Vivian's passion to learn more about different cultures guided her to specialize in International Cooperation, and worked in Peru for 10 months helping people at risk of social exclusion.

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Vivian emigrated to the United States in 2012, and obtained her Master's Degree in Social Work at Adelphi University, and is registered to practice in New York State as a License Master Social Worker.

As a first-generation immigrant from Colombia, Andres has been personally affected by immigration issues, which is why he chose to pursue a law degree specifically to advocate for immigrant rights. While obtaining his Bachelor's degree at St. John's University, he interned at the The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York's pro se office and in the Honorable Judge Koeltl's chambers, researching federal criminal and civil cases and attending district court hearings. These experiences lead him to Boston College Law School, where participated in a Pro Bono Spring Break Trip to the National Immigrant Justice Center to assist asylum seekers fill out applications. Andres enrolled in the Immigration Clinic for two semesters to represent clients in removal proceedings and habeas corpus hearings, and to work as a research assistant for the clinic's Director. As an IJC Fellow Andres will represent Central American families who are seeking asylum in removal proceedings in the New York City Immigration Court.

Emerson was born in El Salvador and emigrated to the United States with his family in the early 1990s, and settled on Long Island. Emerson’s experience working in immigration started in his first year at Fordham University School of Law when he volunteered with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project. He continued advocating for immigrants through four service trips to the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, and internships with Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) and Human Rights First. Emerson worked with Immigrant Justice Corps’ Adults with Children project where he represented underserved vulnerable women and children facing removal to Central American countries where they fear gang and domestic violence. He will continue to serve the Long Island immigrant community as a supervising attorney for CARECEN.

Elise's journey to CARECEN began through her work with marginalized communities in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, India, and Mexico. These experiences led her to the Hofstra University School of Law where she graduated as the Dwight L. Greene Scholar, a full tuition scholarship for minority rights advocacy. Her representation of Central American asylum seekers as the Post-Graduate Fellow at the Hofstra Asylum Clinic inspired her to continue serving this community at CARECEN. She joined CARECEN as a staff attorney in 2012, where she subsequently served as Legal Director before becoming Executive Director in 2020.

In addition to her work at CARECEN, Elise also served as a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the results of her interviews with more than 200 unaccompanied migrant children from Central America were published in the UNHCR's report Children on the Run. Elise is a recipient of the national Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing and was named a Top 40 Latino Under 40 by the New York Hispanic Coalition.  

Born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and raised on Long Island, Elisa is passionate about advocating for the needs of immigrants in isolated spaces. In her hometown of Uniondale, Elisa led workshops and provides mentorship to first-generation High School seniors transitioning to college. Her lived experiences propelled her to research Central American adaptation to white-suburban space in Long Island which she presented at the Annual Eastern Sociological Conference. Elisa’s experience as a NYC volunteer court interpreter allowed her to understand the extent to which the legal process affects immigrants and its limitations. As an accredited legal representative Elisa will be working under IJC’s Central American Protection Project, a partnership with Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) where she will serve Central American children and families seeking humanitarian relief. 

Born and raised in Queens, NY, Steven is passionate about the rights and advocating for underrepresented communities. He is a first-generation Mexican American college graduate from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology, a Certificate in Dispute Resolution, and an Honors minor in Latin American/Latino Studies. While at John Jay, Steven was a Pinkerton Community Fellow placed at the Center for Employment Opportunities, where he authored and facilitated workshops for young adults leaving the Criminal Justice System. Prior to joining IJC, Steven worked as a Paralegal at the Safe Passage Project. During this time, Steven was able to see first-hand the hardships that unaccompanied immigrant youth face in the immigration system in the United States. At Safe Passage, he gained insight into legal proceedings such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and Asylum proceedings. His work ranged from translating civil documents, researching country conditions, interpreting asylum interviews, and ensuring proper service was completed for SIJS proceedings. Steven works with the Long Island Project and assists Central American families seeking relief.