Prior to onboarding Jalil as a Court Advocate, he facilitated weekly fitness classes at AFJ’s Harlem and Lower East Side centers as a community partner. With more than 15 years of experience in the fitness industry, Jalil helped our Participants achieve and exceed their personal goals for muscle building, toning and conditioning. Jalil is certified as a Boxing Instructor and holds certifications from the American Sports &Fitness Association for Personal Training and Advanced Senior Fitness Instruction. After being incarcerated for over 20 years, Jalil’s background and story resonates with our Participants because he understands the circumstances, peer pressure and obstacles that many of our young people experience in their communities. With the benefit of hindsight, Jalil has lived experience he can share with our Participants on how to avoid making some of the same mistakes that he made as a teenager.

Lissette joins the AFJ team with over 14 years of experience in the mental health field as a senior intake coordinator. Lissette worked at Mosaic Mental Health where she was responsible for administering a full suite of admission services and managing the intake and referral process. She started her professional career as an office manager at a Montefiore school-based clinic providing information about school-based health programs to students and their families. Lissette brings compassion for working with young people as she strives to increase administrative and programmatic support for our AFJ team. Lissette has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Mercy College.

As a dedicated professional with a passion for supporting young people impacted by the criminal justice system, Jessica spent over 10 years of her career working in the non-profit sector. While at Harlem Community Justice Center, CASES and the Center for Employment Opportunities, she made a positive impact on the lives of high-risk young adults by providing them with the resources and support they needed to succeed. In the last five years, Jessica took a step back from her work in the non-profit sector to care for her grandmother while also pursuing a career in human resources. In her role as a business partner, she worked with a global company to help them with their staffing needs. This experience allowed her to further develop her skills in recruitment, employee relations, and strategic workforce planning. Jessica is excited to bring her unique blend of experience and expertise to Avenues for Justice. Her passion for supporting vulnerable populations, combined with her strong business acumen, makes Jessica an asset to the organization. Jessica has a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Shantel Brooks joined AFJ in 2021 with over 5 years of experience spanning supportive housing, case management at a family shelter. Shantel was a Mental Health Intake Coordinator at Fortune Society and Housing Advocacy Case Manager at University Settlement Society of New York. In addition to working with those impacted by issues of mental health and homelessness, Shantel has worked with returning citizens, helping them reintegrate into their communities. In Spring 2023, Shantel was instrumental in AFJ’s paid internship initiative, partnering with two Black owned businesses, Buy Better Food & Stuart Cinema. After the completion of the first cohort and seeing the invaluable work experience that Participants gained, Shantel helped AFJ partner with 22 small owned business in NYC for the second cohort in Fall 2023. Shantel looks forward to her continued work with our Participants to assist them in securing internships, employment and training opportunities in 2024 and beyond. Shantel holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Prior to joining AFJ team as our social worker, Karen was a school social worker in the Bronx for over 20 years. During that time, she provided counseling, as well as advocating for both her students and their families within the school system and in their communities. Karen realized early on in her career that therapy alone was not going to address many of their challenges.  She became trained in a diversity of wholistic health techniques, including community elders. Her philosophy being, “you cannot perceive greatness within yourself if you do not know the greatness from which you have come.”  Karen’s first introduction to AFJ was while working as the social worker for the Youth Defense Center, who are a group of lawyers committed to representing our young people in the judicial system. During that time, Karen collaborated closely with the AFJ team to help provide a positive and successful outcome for our Participants. She now applies her years of experience in assisting staff with providing support for our Participants.  She also assists with training staff in a diversity of techniques to engage and empower our youth with the tools they will require to be successful, including providing a network of resources and guidance. Karen received her B.A. at Johns Hopkins University and her M.S.W. at Hunter College School of Social Work.   

Before joining Avenues for Justice, Messiah Ferguson worked as a Parent Support Specialist and Youth Advocate at the Youth Justice Network. In this role, Messiah facilitated vital conversations with the parents of incarcerated youth, helping them advocate for their children and secure additional resources to support their cases. Messiah also managed a caseload of young people, ages 16 to 24, guiding them toward higher education, career training, and public assistance while fostering safe spaces for healing and personal growth. Drawing from his own lived experience as a justice-involved youth, who served a significant prison sentence at the age of 16, Messiah has a unique ability to connect with the young people he serves. His personal journey allows him to empathize deeply with their struggles and offer mentorship that is both meaningful and transformative. As a Court Advocate at AFJ, Messiah brings to the team his commitment to creating lasting change in the lives of justice-involved youth, equipping them with the tools, guidance, and opportunities they need to overcome systemic obstacles and thrive in their communities.

While a Participant at AFJ, Elsie received legal support, supportive services, mentorship, and guidance. Through her own hard work and with the support of her Court Advocate, Elsie was able to navigate the court system without having to serve time. Additionally, Elsie was able to intern at AFJ after successfully graduating from the program and earn a Bachelor’s Degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2020. Elsie joined the AFJ staff as a Lower East Side Court Advocate in June 2010. Before joining AFJ, Elsie worked in the medical field for several years as a Pharmacist Technician and at a school-based health clinic on the Lower East Side. We are especially proud of her as a 1999 graduate of our program, a recipient of the Andrew Glover Program's Outstanding Youth & Second Chance Award in 2008, and a Robin Hood Heroes award recipient in 2022. In 2023, Elsie was accepted in the graduate school program at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work. Elsie exemplifies the importance of second chances.

Coniqua Johnson-Reed is a transformative force in the non-profit sector, with over a decade of diverse experience in communications strategy and development. From her early advocacy work with organizations like Planned Parenthood and the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she championed causes ranging from comprehensive sex education to LGBTQ+ rights in schools, Coniqua has embodied audaciousness in pursuit of social justice. As the Founder and Chief Consultant of Fearless Spaces Consulting, she has led organizations through culture assessments and develops inclusive workplace frameworks. Her extensive experience leading development and communication efforts includes roles such as Development Officer Consultant at the Institute of Black Imagination, where she collaborated with organizational leadership to design sustainable development pipelines and secure government grants; and Communications Manager at the Harry T. Burleigh Society, where she crafted high-impact messages for marketing media, grew the organization's social media following, developed strategic plans for organizational growth and awareness, and designed outreach strategies to highlight Black classical singers. As Development Manager, Coniqua brings her passion for social change to AFJ’s development team to drive impactful fundraising initiatives and further the mission of transforming the lives of young people involved in the justice system. With a Master of Science in Non-profit Management from The New School, a Women's Entrepreneurship Certificate from The Bank of America Institute at Cornell, and a Bachelor of Science from Sage College of Albany in Public Policy and Public Affairs, Coniqua has honed her skills as a leader and visionary.

Weston joined the AFJ staff in September 2018 and holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Spanish and Education from Colby College. Weston has overseen the development and growth of AFJ’s social media platforms and was an integral part in the overhauling of AFJ’s website. In partnership with the Program and Development teams, Weston manages our new client data collection database and will continue to be the liaison with the developer. Through data collection, social media content, writing weekly newsletters and more, Weston is essential in helping AFJ tell its story to our supporters. 

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Prior to joining the team as a Court Advocate, Julia was an active member of AFJ’s Junior Board, where she assisted with fundraising, event planning and outreach endeavors. She co-founded a dining club based in Brooklyn which aims to build community through responsible, sustainable local foods and strives to promote friendships across borough, ethnic, language and racial lines. Julia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from Ohio State and believes that Neuroscience can play a major role in the effectiveness, equity and fairness of the criminal justice system.  Julia has helped strengthen the organization's reputation in the Bronx Court system, and as a result, she now serves as the primary liaison between AFJ and the borough. Additionally, she spearheaded AFJ's Internship Program with Court Advocate, Shantel Brooks. Together, they have grown the initiative to serve over 30 Participants through partnerships with 15+ local businesses and collaborations with similar organizations.

Prior to joining AFJ as a Court Advocate, Stephanie worked in the homecare field as a Lead Case Coordinator at Heart to Heart Homecare for seven years. As a case manager, Stephanie managed 100 patients, providing homecare for the elderly as well as providing care for kids in need. She developed personal health care plans, tracked patient referral services, and consulted with family members about long- and short-term plans for her patients. Stephanie is passionate about ensuring that young people get individualized plans and the resources needed to ensure their success. Her work experience translates perfectly into the case management skills needed to be an effective Court Advocate at Avenues for Justice.

Brian has brought years of experience working with NYC students to his work at AFJ. Over the last 10 years, Brian has served as a writing tutor, a basketball coach, and an after-school art teacher with a focus on hip-hop. He has also run a center for teens that engaged Brooklyn youth in anti-violence work, college and job readiness, and sexual health classes. Brian's unique capability to connect with and understand our participants has made him an asset to the AFJ team.

Brian is the lead facilitator of AFJ’s Legal Rights & Responsibilities workshop---a weekly series aimed at educating our Participants on their legal rights and responsibilities, criminal law, the criminal and juvenile court process, and collateral consequences.

Edison Taborda brings five years of experience with security, facilities management, and customer service to the AFJ team. Having joined the AFJ team in 2020, Edison was instrumental in ensuring that our centers adhered to COVID protocol and keeping our staff and Participants safe during the pandemic. Edison continues to make both our community centers warm, welcoming safe havens where our Participants look forward to coming in daily for HIRE Up programming.

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Nelson has been working at AFJ for over 30 years. Having grown up in the Lower East Side, Nelson understands the daily pressures our young people face and he serves as a role model for making a positive life out of early hardships. As Senior Court Advocate, Nelson provides mentoring and counseling to our Participants and their families, always emphasizing that a young person must take moral responsibility for their life. Living in the same neighborhood as a majority of his Participants makes him incredibly accessible to our young people in LES and vital to AFJ. El Diario La Prensa profiled Nelson in the March 2015 issue of their “Buena Gente” (Good People) weekly section because of his drive to improve the quality of life for his fellow Lower East Side residents.

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