Worker Justice Center of New York is pleased to announce that Alaina Varvaloucas has been named Executive Director of our organization! Ms. Varvaloucas takes this job after serving as the Managing Attorney for the Farmworker Law Project at Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York. Her direct experience with the services Worker Justice Center of NY provides – legal services on labor rights abuses, immigration issues, anti-human trafficking investigations, and outreach and education to affected communities – makes her an obvious choice to lead our organization.
“We are thrilled that Alaina has agreed to lead the Worker Justice Center at this time,” said Peter Rosenblum, Board Co-Chair. “She knows the organizations, people and issues essential to addressing the needs of the workers in our State – and she comes with the enthusiastic support of our staff, who are the backbone of the organization.”
Ms. Varvaloucas is a graduate of Yale law school, where she was the student director of Legal Services for Immigrant Communities. She was a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa and was awarded an Equal Justice Works Fellowship to litigate domestic violence cases. She has also worked on evaluating and developing legal aid in Africa and Latin America.
“Through my current role and prior endeavors, I have tried to live, litigate, research, or engage in access to justice work on every continent and in both urban and rural settings in the U.S. It is my ardent belief that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to providing advocacy, education, and legal services. I have an immense respect for all that WJCNY has accomplished over the years, and I believe it has the potential to expand further and become an even greater presence within New York,” says Ms. Varvaloucas.
Worker Justice Center of New York, which has offices in Hawthorne, Kingston, and Rochester, NY, was incorporated in 1981 as Farmworker Legal Services to address the unconscionable labor violations being experienced by immigrant and migrant agricultural workers. In 2011, Farmworker Legal Services merged with the Workers’ Rights Law Center to form the Worker Justice Center of New York. The organization has thrived for over 40 years thanks to a dedicated staff that has provided quality representation and advocacy for those workers most in need.
The organization was most recently led by Lewis Papenfuse, Executive Director from 2007 to 2018, who returned to provide experience, leadership and guidance during the board’s search for a new director. WJCNY extends its deepest gratitude to Lew.