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Know Your Rights
Category: General

New year, new hires!

  • Jose Lopez Co-Executive Director
  • Arlenis Morel Co-Executive Director
  • Theo Oshiro Co-Executive Director

We are thrilled to share that our team is growing! Over the past few weeks we hired two new leaders that come to us with incredible expertise and deep commitment to our mission.

Kenny Minaya will serve as our first Director of Government Affairs, to spearhead our work advocating for our communities within the city, state and federal government. Kenny was formerly the Chief of Staff at the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), a position he held since August 2016. As Chief of Staff, Kenny oversaw the agency’s intergovernmental affairs division and advised the Commissioner on policy and operational matters. Prior to DCWP, Kenny worked as the Program Coordinator for Catholic Migrations Services’ Immigrant Tenant Advocacy Program, where he supervised the program’s tenant organizing activities, and litigated matters on behalf of tenant associations and individuals against their landlords. Kenny graduated from the CUNY School of Law in 2012. Kenny is a lifelong New Yorker and is dedicated to his family, friends, and community.

Natalia Aristizabal Betancur will be returning to Make the Road New York as Deputy Director. Natalia joined Make the Road as a youth member after immigrating to New York from Colombia at the age of 12. She joined our staff as an organizer and later Co-Director of Organizing. In her years at Make the Road NY she organized alongside young people and TGNIC community members. She played an instrumental role in many of our large-scale organizing victories, including our fight for higher education for undocumented youth. Most recently Natalia was the Director for Immigrant Justice at our sister organization, the Center for Popular Democracy and an early career professor at the Leadership Center of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. We can’t wait to have her back starting February 7th to join our Executive Team and help lead our organizing.

You can help us welcome them by donating in their honor today!​​​​​

With Kenny and Natalia on board, and with your support, we will to continue to build power with our communities and win tangible victories for immigrant and working-class New Yorkers

In solidarity,