AFJ Welcomes Two New Board Of Directors

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‍At Avenues for Justice (AFJ), welcoming new Brand Ambassadors in this moment is not just exciting, it’s essential to sustaining the depth and reach of our work citywide.

We are proud to share that Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York (Retired), and Temitope Yusuf, Senior Vice President, Fair Employment & Head of Legal Inclusion at NBCUniversal, have joined the Avenues for Justice (AFJ) Board of Directors.

Both bring a powerful combination of legal expertise, equity-centered leadership, and deep commitment to community. Their perspectives will help strengthen AFJ’s mission as we continue advancing community-based alternatives to incarceration for young people, ages 13 to 24, across New York City.

“We are grateful to have leaders in our communities who understand that meaningful impact---whether in the courtroom, the boardroom, or in the neighborhood---is built through patience, dedication, and heart.” ~ AFJ Executive Director Liz Frederick

Please join us in welcoming Judge Pollak and Tope to the AFJ Movement!

Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak

Magistrate Judge Pollak graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1975 and received her J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1978, where she was Articles and Book Review Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. Following graduation from law school, Judge Pollak served as a law clerk to the Honorable William H. Timbers on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Following her clerkship, she was an associate at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York from 1979 to 1986.

In August 1986, Judge Pollak became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where she served as Chief of the Narcotics/OCDETF Unit from 1991 to 1994, and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division from 1994 to 1995. She also served as International Affairs and National Security Coordinator for the United States Attorney's Office. She remained at the United States Attorney's Office until her appointment as a Magistrate Judge in November 1995.

Judge Pollak served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York from November 1, 1995, until her retirement on January 2, 2026. During that time, she served as Chief United States Magistrate Judge from February 3, 2020 to February 3, 2023.

As a Magistrate Judge, Judge Pollak served for more than 15 years as a Program Judge for the Special Options Services program, the first federal alternative to incarceration program for youthful defendants in the country. She also served 17 years on the Criminal Justice Act Panel Committee of the Eastern District and served as Chair of the Committee from 2012 to 2023. She was also a member of the Eastern District Advisory Committee on Civil Practice and Rules; a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where she has served as a member of the Federal Courts Committee, the Committee on Women in the Legal Profession, and the Criminal Law Committee. Judge Pollak has also served as a Master in the Inns of Court for the Federal Bar Council, and sponsored an annual fellowship program – Princeton Internships in Civic Service - for undergraduate students at Princeton University, interested in working in the court system. She has participated in Moot Court, mock trial and trial advocacy programs at Columbia, NYU, Cardozo, St. John’s, Brooklyn, and New York Law Schools.

“Twenty years ago, my young son and I began as volunteer fosters to first one and then a second Labrador Retriever, both of whom we socialized and trained to be seeing eye dogs as part of the Guiding Eyes for the Blind organization. Eventually, they were returned to us for adoption. When the older one passed away during COVID, we adopted a male Lab-mix rescue and later a purebred female Lab, both of whom I continue to train (or try to). In addition to my own dogs, I am volunteering with the Animal Care Center, the largest shelter in NYC.” ~ Judge Pollak

Temitope Yusuf

Temitope (Tope) K. Yusuf is SVP, Fair Employment and Head of Legal Inclusion at NBCUniversal. Tope serves as a strategic advisor to business leaders and HR teams helping them navigate the complexities of the legal and regulatory landscape while achieving business objectives. She leads a global team focused on managing the company’s worker-related legal risk. Her team is responsible for investigations, trainings and managing an enterprise-wide case management tool for human resources, compliance, and employment law teams.

She started at NBCU as VP Employment Law. In that role, she partnered with human resources and business leaders for several NBCU business units including NBC Sports, Ad Sales, Universal Studio Group and Entertainment. Tope provided day-to-day advice and counsel as well as insights on strategic goals of the business. She was also responsible for supervising investigations into workplace misconduct and allegations of discriminatory treatment. Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Tope was a partner at Arent Fox LLP in the Labor and Employment and Government Enforcement and White-Collar groups. While at Arent Fox, she served as Deputy Independent Consultant for a government-imposed monitorship reviewing compliance program for a large international financial institution. She received the Albert E. Arent Award for outstanding pro bono achievement for her work preparing a successful clemency petition as part of the clemency initiative aimed at addressing the large number of federal inmates serving unjust and disproportionately long sentences.

Tope graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park where she majored in Government and Politics with a minor in African American Studies. She received her JD at Columbia Law School where she is currently a member of the Adjunct Faculty.

"I lead my daughter's Girl Scout troop and love spending time helping support the scouts on their leadership journey." ~ Tope Yusuf

If you are interested in learning more about Avenues for Justice’s Board Placement or are interested in becoming an AFJ Brand Ambassador, please email AFJ’s Executive Director, Liz Frederick, at efrederick@avenuesforjustice.org

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