Co-Founder and Executive Director - Angel Rodriguez: A long-time Lower East Side resident, Angel co-founded Avenues for Justice’s court advocacy program to keep young people out of jail. Incorporated in 1979, Angel expanded the program, opening headquarters inside New York City’s Manhattan Criminal Court building and a flagship community center on the Lower East Side in the 1980s. In 1999,Angel established a second community center in Harlem and in 2018, began to serve hundreds of young people citywide providing free court advocacy with HIREUP services for job readiness, educational assistance and mental healthcare.

During the 1980's, Angel also collaborated with (ret.) Hon. Judge Michael Corriero to launch the Youth Part model in Manhattan---a court part which prosecutes youth separately from adults and promotes alternative to incarceration services. Today, this model is used nationwide.

Angel’s “meet the moment” approach is far-reaching as he continues to personally advocate for young adults in the courtroom, handle an active caseload of Participants, while providing continuous Hispanic leadership. “Our young people need opportunity and support to accomplish their goals. I co-founded Avenue for Justice (AFJ) 45 years ago to provide this support in a manner that’s rooted in community, respect, and a belief in their abilities. AFJ supports our Participants in court, in our programs, and with employment and education. When anyone visits Avenues for Justice, they almost always say the same thing – this feels like family. Most importantly, we hear the same from our Participants. They know we are all committed to providing them with a path forward to success.”

Over the years, Angel has been recognized for his service and dedication to diverting thousands of young New Yorkers from prison, along with his outstanding work in fostering alternative to incarceration efforts that exemplify problem solving on a community level. For his personal dedication to AFJ, Angel received an honorary law degree from the CUNY Law School at Queens College and was selected as one of three outstanding community activists in New York City to receive the Robin Hood Foundation's Hero Award in 1996. DA Bragg selected Angel to serve on the Juvenile Justice Sub-committee of his transition advisory team up until his inauguration in January 2022. The transition team was charged with producing a document that outlines recommendations for short, mid and long-term implementation.

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.

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.

Samantha joined AFJ in 2021 with 10 years of experience working with high-risk youth, homeless youth and alternative children's education programming. She has worked in program implementation, management and evaluation at multiple NY non-profits including Young Survival Coalition, New York Cares, and iMentor. Samantha provides exceptional programming geared towards the professional and personal growth of AFJ’s Participants. With a focus towards certifications, Samantha has helped increase AFJ’s programming menu to include more OSHA, CPR, and Food Handler workshops. Always looking to shape our Participants wholly, she is on the lookout for more opportunities to help lead our clients to safer and brighter futures. Samantha received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Affairs with a minor in Nonprofit Leadership and Biology from Seattle University and serves on the GOLD Council for her alma mater.

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 in2020. Elsie joined the AFJ staff as a Lower East Side Court Advocate in June2010. 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.

In 2020, Liz was selected by AFJ’s Board to become Chief Operating Officer (COO) at AFJ. As COO, Liz oversees development and fundraising, the agency's financial wellbeing, administrative operations, HR, board development, Participant data collection and impact evaluation. In addition to her leadership, Liz works closely with the Board and AFJ’s Executive Director on strategic programmatic expansion. She holds a Master of Arts from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is also a proud Ithaca College alumna. In 2021, she was selected for Columbia Business School’s Programs in Social Enterprise – Developing Leaders Program For Nonprofit Professionals. In 2022, she was selected to join a team of executive professionals for the Cause Effective Fellows Program: Advancing Leaders of Color in Fundraising. In 2024, Liz was selected for Cause Effective’s Blueprint for Executive Leaders of Color to Achieve Mission Impact program. She is a member of Impact 100 NYC which compromises of a dynamic village of empowered women empowering others through transformational grantmaking to help organizations doing critical work move forward to provide services which impact so many New Yorkers.

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.

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 keeping our centers and Participants safe during the pandemic.

Nelson has been working at AFJ for over 30 years. Having grown up in the Lower East Side, Nelson understands the daily pressures our youths face and he serves as a role model for making a positive life out of early hardships. Nelson provides counseling to the youth and their families, always emphasizing that the youth must take moral responsibility for his/her life. Living in the same neighborhood as some of his clients makes him incredibly accessible to our LES participants 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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Gamal's remarkable career is a testament to his commitment to justice and community service. Currently overseeing a demanding caseload, Gamal supervises the Court Advocates, the Activities and Facilities Coordinators and all of AFJ’s HIRE Up facilitators. Gamal manages programs and activities, ensuring the highest quality of service, successful outcomes for AFJ Participants, and strict adherence to court advocacy requirements. His strategic programmatic leader ship played a pivotal role, between 2020 and 2023, in deepening services offered to the largest number of Participants in AFJ’s history. Notably, Gamal instituted and expanded AFJ’s Summer Youth Employment Program in 2021 and 2022. A graduate of the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts, Gamal honed his skills at the Criminal Justice Training Institute at CASES, where he served before joining AFJ in 2018. Gamal's achievements extend beyond his professional role, as he has been the recipient of numerous awards in the criminal justice field. His expertise lies in Project Management, and he has actively participated in the Robin Hood / Berkeley Executive Coaching Program.