DIRECTOR
Deputy Director
Interim Director of Legal Services
Communications Coordinator
Budget and Personnel Coordinator
Special Projects Coordinator
Legal Coordinator
Administrative Staff Bios
Allan Wernick, Esq.
Allan Wernick is a professor at Baruch College, City University New York (CUNY), and the Director of CUNY Citizenship Now!. His weekly column, "Immigration and Citizenship" is syndicated by King Features Syndicate, and his column "Immigration Advice" appears twice weekly in the New York Daily News. Professor Wernick has taught immigration and policy at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and at California State University at Dominguez Hills.
Professor Wernick has served on the National Board of Directors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), as Chair of the Immigration Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and as President of the New York Chapter of AILA. He has appeared on numerous national and local television and radio programs, including CNN's Crossfire and The Phil Donahue Show.
James McGovern
James (Jim) McGovern is the Deputy Director of CUNY Citizenship Now!. Having advised international students with immigration and academic concerns for almost twenty five years, he is an expert on non-immigrant student and scholar status issues (F-1 and J-1 status). Prior to joining the Project he was Director of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at the City College of New York, CUNY. Jim was born in Scotland and first came to the United States as an international exchange student. He has lived in the United States for more than 30 years.
A. Sofia Carreño
Sofia Carreño is the Communications Coordinator for CUNY Citizenship Now!. She holds a master’s degree in Corporate Communications from Baruch College, and an associate’s degree in Business Management from LaGuardia Community College. She is a native of Colombia, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and Journalism from Universidad de la Sabana.
Monique Francis
Monique Francis is the Budget and Personnel Coordinator for the Project. She is a graduate of Baruch's School of Public Affairs where she obtained a master's degree in Higher Education Administration. In addition, she holds an Advanced Certificate in Immigration Law Studies from the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Her experiences as an international student are the reason for her commitment and dedication to the mission of the Project.
Kymete Kodra-Gashi
Kymete Kodra-Gashi is the Special Projects Coordinator for CUNY Citizenship Now!. She is responsible for the planning and coordination of the Project's events. She is an alumna of John Jay College, from which she graduated with honors in Government/Political Science and English Literature. An American Albanian, Kymete holds a master's degree in English from Brooklyn College. Kymete is also the Program Director for the Albanian American Academy.
Tamara R. Bloom, Esq.
Tamara R. Bloom, Esq. is a Staff Attorney at CUNY Citizenship Now!. She has been an advocate for the rights of under-represented people since 1999 and has worked in private practice, non-profits and legal services agencies providing advocacy on behalf of immigrants and people with disabilities. She is a graduate of Binghamton University and CUNY School of Law. While a student at CUNY, she represented battered immigrant women in the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Clinic. Tamara is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the New York City Bar Association.
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Staff Attorneys
William Boyle, Esq.
at City College
Elinor Drucker Rahmani, Esq.
with Citizenship Now!
Kamal Essaheb, Esq.
at CUNY Express Immigration Center
Midori Hills, Esq.
at York College
Maggie Kawinski, Esq.
at Medgar Evers College and the College of Staten Island, El Centro, and Project Hospitality Immigration Center
Euna Kim, Esq.
at Flushing Immigration Center
Alexandra Lee, Esq.
at York College and CUNY Express Immigration Center
Luz Medrano, Esq.
at Hostos Community College
Andrés Perches Lemons, Esq.
at CUNY Express Immigration Center
Susan Thorn, Esq.
at Medgar Evers College
Attorney Bios
William Boyle, Esq.
William (Liam) Boyle is the Staff Attorney at the City College Immigration Center. He is a graduate of University College Dublin, and was admitted as an attorney in New York in September 2006. Prior to joining CUNY, he worked for two years as an Immigration Counselor at Emerald Isle Immigration Center in the Woodlawn section of The Bronx. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, as well as the New York State Bar Association.
Elinor Drucker Rahmani, Esq.
Elinor Drucker Rahmani is a part time Staff Attorney for CUNY Citizenship Now. A graduate of New York Law School, she has more than twenty years of experience as an immigration attorney. Elinor has lectured on immigration issues and has participated in many pro bono immigration clinics. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and is fluent in Spanish. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey.
Kamal Essaheb, Esq.
Kamal Essaheb is a Staff Attorney at the CUNY Express Immigration Center. Kamal is a graduate of Queens College, and earned his Juris Doctor at Fordham Law School where he was a Stein Scholar in Public Interest Law and Ethics. Kamal has represented pro bono, low-income New Yorkers in foreclosure, bankruptcy, and consumer debt proceedings.
Midori Hills, Esq.
Midori Hills is the Staff Attorney at York College Immigration Center. She is a graduate of the CUNY Law School and has worked in Immigration Legal Services since then. Prior to CUNY, she was a Staff Attorney at a legal services office in New York working in employment based immigration for nonprofit organizations and teachers. Midori has provided trainings on a wide variety of immigration issues to lawyers, paralegals and other professionals.
Maggie Kawinski, Esq.
Maggie Kawinski is a Staff Attorney at the Medgar Evers College Immigration Center in Brooklyn and at the College of Staten Island, El Centro, and Project Hospitality Immigration Center in Staten Island. She is a graduate of CUNY Law School, Class of 2005. Her immigration law experience includes working as a student intern with CUNY Law School's Immigrant Initiatives Project and its Immigrant and Refugee Rights Clinic. Born in Poland, she immigrated with her parents to the United States. She was raised in Buffalo, NY, and received her Bachelors Degree from SUNY Buffalo.
Euna Kim, Esq.
Euna Kim is the Staff Attorney at the Queensborough Immigration Center at Flushing. She interned with The Bronx and Queens District Attorneys' office and Legal Aid Society and she worked for The City of New York as a Corporation Counsel and for Children's Law Society as a law guardian. She is a graduate of Hofstra School of Law and of the City College of New York.
Alexandra Lee, Esq.
Alexandra Lee is a part-time Staff Attorney at York College and CUNY Express Immigration Centers. After working in finance, determined to follow her passion for social justice, Alexandra decided to pursue a career in public interest law. During law school, she provided anti-eviction representation to clients through the Western Massachusetts Legal Services Clinic, and interned at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Prior to CUNY, Alexandra worked in a family based immigration law practice researching asylum issues. She is a graduate of Western New England School of Law and Queens College.
Luz Medrano, Esq.
Luz Medrano is the Staff Attorney at Hostos College Immigration Center in the Bronx. She is a graduate of The CUNY School of Law and Amherst College. While a student at CUNY, Luz represented battered immigrant women with their VAWA applications through the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Clinic. Also during law school, she was awarded the Thurgood Marshall Fellowship through the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where she worked in the Refugee Assistance Program interviewing potential asylum applicants. Originally from Brooklyn, Luz is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Andrés Perches Lemons, Esq.
Andrés Perches Lemons is a part-time Staff Attorney at CUNY Express Immigration Center and The College of Staten Island Immigration Center. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law. Andrés has provided training on immigration issues and has given pro bono services to the immigrant community since 2005.
Susan Thorn, Esq.
Susan Thorn is a Staff Attorney at Medgar Evers College Immigration Center. Prior to joining CUNY, she worked with refugees and asylum seekers in London, United Kingdom as Projects Manager for a refugee community organization. In New York, Susan practiced immigration law as an associate with Bretz & Coven, LLP and as a Staff Attorney with Legal Services NYC. Susan is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and Sarah Lawrence College.
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