LIFT STAFF
Melissa M. Beck, Esq., Chief Executive Officer, joined LIFT in October 2003. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Beck was a Senior Planner at CASES (the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services). Before that she was the Associate Program Director of the National Associates Program at the Vera Institute of Justice. Prior to entering the non-profit field, Ms. Beck practiced law for nearly a decade as a criminal defense attorney at the Center for Appellate Litigation and the law firm of Brafman & Ross. She also worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Appeals and Sex Crimes Bureaus of the Kings County District Attorney's Office. Ms. Beck is the author of numerous articles. She received her B.A. from Hampshire College, and her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Angel L. Agesta, Program Associate, joined LIFT in February 2009 as a volunteer and became a part-time employee in August 2009. Prior to joining LIFT, Mr. Agesta was a Formatter for an IT staffing agency, where he reviewed client contracts. Before that he was a Recreation Assistant in the dementia ward of an Assisted Living Facility. Mr. Agesta received his B.A., cum laude, in Philosophy from the City College of New York. He is currently pursuing his J.D. from New York Law School.
Daniel Buckley, Program Associate, joined LIFT in August 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Mr. Buckley worked at Citibank as a Project Analyst in the Customer Experience Department. While in law school, Mr. Buckley worked as a law guardian for neglected children through the St. John’s University School of Law Child Advocacy Clinic. Mr. Buckley received his B.A. in Philosophy from SUNY Albany and his J.D. from St. John’s University.
Sandra Cabrera, Program Associate, joined LIFT in August 2009. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Cabrera was a Case Manager at Inwood House Teen Family Services in the Bronx, where she provided a comprehensive array of services to pregnant and parenting teens. Ms. Cabrera received her B.A. in Deviant Behavior and Social Control and M.A. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Juliane Corman, Development Assistant, joined LIFT in January 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Corman worked as a Policy and Communications Associate at the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation. Before that, she was a Children’s Rights Intern at Human Rights Watch. Ms. Corman received her B.A. in Political Science and Human Rights, cum laude, from Barnard College – Columbia University.
Graig Craver, Senior Site Coordinator – Brooklyn Family Court, joined LIFT in June 2008 as a volunteer and became a full-time employee in August 2009. Prior to joining LIFT, Mr. Craver was a Court Assistant in Orange County (NY) Family Court, where he assisted litigants filing paperwork in person and over the phone, as well as reviewed and gave court dates to petitions, motions and Order’s to Show Cause. Mr. Craver received his B.A., cum laude, from SUNY New Paltz and his J.D. from New York Law School.
Michelle E. Cummings, Social Services Coordinator, joined LIFT in August 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Cummings was a Social Worker at The Family Center, where she provided individual and family counseling, case management, and permanency planning services to families where there was a parent or caregiver living with a life-threatening illness. Ms. Cummings received her B.S in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and her M.S.W. from Hunter College School of Social Work.
Ferdous Dualeh, Program Associate, joined LIFT in September 2008. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Dualeh was a counselor and employment coordinator for the Mental Health Association of New York City where she provided counseling, advocacy, and job placements to a diverse population with various psychiatric disabilities. Ms. Dualeh received a B.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Marisol J. Duran, Program Associate, joined LIFT in June 2008. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Duran worked as an interpreter at Hofstra University Law Clinics and served as a volunteer for the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals. Ms. Duran obtained a dual B.A. in History and Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Hofstra University.
Joy Fasanya, Esq., Program Associate, joined LIFT in August 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Fasanya was an Associate at a small civil litigation firm and served as a Volunteer Attorney with the Urban Justice Center’s Domestic Violence Project. She interned with the New York State Division of Human Rights and was a member of New York Law School’s Urban Law Clinic. Ms. Fasanya also worked as a Paralegal with New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services. She received her B.A. from Lehigh University and her J.D. from New York Law School.
Betsy Guttmacher, Director of Policy and Planning, joined LIFT in October 2009. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Guttmacher was a Program Officer at The Heckscher Foundation for Children. Before working in grant making she worked in the policy arena and directly with youth. Her direct service work has included running Citizen’s Committee for Children’s YouthAction NYC program and, in partnership with CASES and New York University, she co-created and ran the Looking Ahead Mentoring program. Her policy related work has included serving as Senior Policy Analyst and Acting Director for the Office of Interagency Affairs for the City’s Administration of Children’s Services. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a M.A. in Public Administration from New York University’s Wagner School.
Melanie F. Hart, Esq., Chief Program Officer, joined LIFT in February 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Hart served as the Chief Operating Officer at Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Inc. Before that she was the Director of New Initiatives at KIPP NYC. Ms. Hart has also served as a Program Officer at the Victoria Foundation, a Policy Analyst/Project Manager at the New York State Urban Development Corporation, and an adjunct professor at Rutgers University. Ms. Hart also practiced law as a transactional attorney at Streich Lang, PA, and Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, and served as in-house counsel at Avnet, Inc. She received her B.S. from Cornell University, her M.S. from the Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, New School for Social Research, and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Radia Husain, Site Coordinator – Queens Family Court, joined LIFT in January 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Husain was a legal intern at The Legal Aid Society in Queens, the Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation, and the Legal Aid Bureau in Baltimore, MD. Ms. Husain has dual B.A. degrees in Political Science and Law, Criminology, and Society from University of California, Irvine, and is currently pursuing her law degree.
Liv Johanson, Communications & Development Coordinator, joined LIFT in April 2008. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Johanson worked as a paralegal in the law firm of Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky. Before that, she worked as an English teacher for university students in Shandong, China. Ms. Johanson received her B.A. in Government from Skidmore College.
Marilyn Nieves, Social Services Coordinator, joined LIFT in June 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Nieves worked as a Preventive Case Planner at Lower East Side Family Union. Before that, she was a Senior Case Manager at CASES (the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services). Ms. Nieves received her B.P.S. degree in Human Services from Audrey Cohen College, where she is currently pursuing her MSW.
Michelle Rodriguez, Intake Coordinator, joined LIFT in September 2009. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Rodriguez interned at Dewitt Head Start as a Class Aid. Prior to that, she interned at Fort Washington Houses and University Settlement. Ms. Rodriquez received her Associate’s degree in Human Services and her B.P.S in Human Services in Education from Metropolitan College of New York.
Ruth L. Vega, Chief Administrative Officer, joined LIFT in September 2004. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Vega served as the Outreach Coordinator at the Children's Center. Before that, she was the Blood Donor Program Coordinator at Maimondes Medical Center. She also served as an Outreach Coordinator and Senior Research Assistant at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Ms. Vega received her B.A. from Brooklyn College and an M.P.A. from Long Island University.
Mirenda Watkins, Esq., Senior Site Coordinator – Queens Family Court, joined LIFT in June 2010. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Watkins was a staff attorney at the Bronx Defenders within the organization’s Family Defense Practice. She has also held internships with the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General, the Supreme Court of Justice in Costa Rica, and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas-Family Court Division. Ms. Watkins received her B.A. in History from University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
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