Our Staff
Madeline Meyer
Legal Services Coordinator
Elizabeth Prudente
Supervising Legal Service Coordinator, DOJ Partially Accredited
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Eleanor Acer
Senior Director, Refugee Protection
As the director of Human Rights First’s Refugee Protection program, Eleanor Acer oversees Human Rights First’s research and advocacy on issues relating to refugee protection, asylum, and migrants’ rights. Eleanor advocates, speaks and writes regularly on issues relating to the human rights of refugees and migrants, including legal representation, detention, U.S. asylum law and policy, U.S. global refugee protection and resettlement policies, and protection from xenophobic and bias-motivated violence. She works closely with Human Rights First’s pro bono legal representation team, conducts field research, has authored numerous reports and articles, and has testified before the U.S. Congress.
Eleanor was awarded the Louis J. Lefkowitz Award for Public Service by Fordham University School of Law in 2007. She was selected by the American Bar Association to serve on its Commission on Immigration, and serves on the Advisory Board of the International Detention Coalition. She was also vice chair of the Refugee Council USA from 2006 to 2008. She has taught classes on refugee protection and migrants rights as an adjunct professor at the New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs.
Before coming to Human Rights First, Eleanor was an associate handling federal litigation at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP. She has coordinated mentoring programs and has served on the International Human Rights Committee and Immigration Committee of the Association of the Bar of New York, as well as the Board of Advisors to the Crowley Program in International Human Rights at Fordham University School of Law. Eleanor received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and her B.A. in History from Brown University.
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Christina Asencio
Director Research & Analysis, Refugee Protection
As Director of Research & Analysis for Refugee Protection, Christina Asencio advocates for the U.S. government to bring immigration laws, policies, and practices in line with international refugee and human rights law.
Most recently, Christina was an attorney with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona where she represented detained asylum-seekers in their immigration removal proceedings. Prior to that, Christina spent a decade working in refugee protection in the Americas, Middle East, and Southeast Asia with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and various NGOs.
Christina received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and received her B.A. cum laude in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in Foreign Languages from the University of Miami. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese. She is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts.
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Robyn Barnard
Senior Director, Refugee Advocacy
As Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy, Robyn oversees Human Rights First’s congressional and administrative advocacy to protect the rights of refugees and ensure the United States commits to refugee protection, including access to asylum protections and resettlement, at home and abroad.
Robyn previously served as an attorney on our Refugee Representation team, where she focused on pro bono representation of asylum seekers in immigration detention, expedited removal, and those subject to policies such as Remain in Mexico and Title 42. She supported pro bono attorneys’ representation of asylum seekers at all levels of the immigration system. Robyn also worked as a staff attorney with the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and was a C.V. Starr Fellow at Peking University School of Transnational Law.
Robyn has appeared in numerous print, television, and online media outlets and has testified in federal court as an expert on the detention of asylum seekers. She is a graduate of the University of Melbourne Law School and is admitted to the bar in New York State. Robyn serves on the board of Aldea – the People’s Justice Center.
About
Lilia Brooker
Program Associate
As a Program Associate for the Refugee Representation Team, Lilia Brooker works closely with the Program Manager on overseeing programmatic operations and spearheading projects that help support the team.
Prior to her role at Human Rights First, she founded an EdTech company that taught debate and public speaking to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as collaborated with the country’s leading environmental lawyers during her internship at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.
Lilia received her BA in Human Rights with a specialization in Public Health from Columbia University. Also during her undergraduate years, she completed a rigorous program in Copenhagen, Denmark, focusing on International Humanitarian Law and Armed Conflict. Lilia wrote her senior thesis on human rights abuses within the renewable energy supply chain and strategies to ensure human rights are respected in this growing industry. She is currently based in New York City.
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Joseph Bustamante
User Experience Designer
Joseph Bustamante serves as the User Experience Designer in Human Rights First’s Innovation Lab. He is a human-centered design specialist with expertise in user research, interface, and interaction design,
Joseph was an external UX consultant for our Innovation Lab on Glimpse, its flagship artificial intelligence project that uses computer vision and natural language processing to detect violence in videos for human rights investigations. Joseph previously served as an entrepreneurial UX and Product Design consultant, supporting new initiatives and product launches at startups, software agencies, and Twilio’s SendGrid.
Joseph earned his Bachelor of Science in Informatics with a specialization in human-computer interaction from the University of California, Irvine.
About
Peter Chan
Director of Information Technology
As director of information technology, Peter Chan oversees the technological environment for Human Rights First. He is responsible for designing and implementing technological strategies to provide solutions that align with the organization’s mission.
Peter earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from St. Johns University and is accredited as a Cisco Certified Network Professional.
About
Farida Chehata
Managing Attorney (Los Angeles)
Farida Chehata is the managing attorney of the Los Angeles office of Human Rights First where she oversees the pro bono legal representation of indigent asylum seekers. She provides support and guidance to volunteer attorneys in law firms located in Los Angeles, California, who represent asylum seekers at all levels of the immigration system.
Before joining Human Rights First, Farida was the Director of the Immigration Practice Group at Inland Counties Legal Services (ICLS), where she oversaw direct legal representation of survivors of domestic violence and other serious crimes. Prior to that, Farida founded the Immigrants’ Rights Center at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA) office. As Managing Attorney, she positioned CAIR-LA as a legal resource on immigration matters through varied publications, speaking events, and media interviews on issues impacting AMEMSA immigrants.
Farida has a dual degree in political science and economics from the University of California, Irvine. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and is admitted to practice law in California. She is fluent in Arabic.
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Warren Craig
Supervising Senior Staff Attorney
Warren is a supervising senior staff attorney at Human Rights First’s Los Angeles office. His responsibilities include helping to administer Human Rights First’s pro bono refugee representation program, mentoring pro bono attorneys, supervising Human Rights First staff and associate attorneys, and directly representing asylum seekers before the Immigration Court and USCIS Asylum Office.
Before joining Human Rights First, Warren worked for over seven years as an immigration attorney in private practice in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. He has successfully represented many asylum seekers and their families in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court, affirmative applications before the USCIS Asylum Office, and appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals. He has also helped clients obtain immigration relief such as special immigration juvenile status, temporary protected status, U and T visas, benefits under the Violence Against Women Act, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, naturalization, immigrant visas, and DACA. Additionally, Warren has worked on federal litigation cases involving immigration and human rights issues, including several cases that led to favorable precedent decisions.
Warren is licensed in California and Texas and is a graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Prior to law school, Warren was a high school English teacher where he taught students who recently immigrated to the United States.
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Vlad Davydovych
Finance Supervisor
As the Finance Supervisor at Human Rights First, Vlad oversees the organization’s accounting and ensures the accuracy and integrity of its financial data. He performs the monthly closing entries, assists with audits, and conducts finance orientations for new employees.
Vlad graduated from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Baruch College.
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Brian Dooley
Senior Advisor
As Senior Advisor, Brian supports Human Rights First’s work with human rights activists in hostile environments.
Prior to serving as Senior Advisor, Brian directed Human Rights First’s engagement with the U.S. government and other partners to end threats and obstacles to human rights defenders.
From 2020 to 2023, he served as Senior Advisor to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
Prior to joining Human Rights First, Brian spent twenty years working for U.S., Irish, and international NGOs. He led Amnesty International’s work on partnering with national NGOs in the global South. Brian has also worked as Head of Media for Amnesty International in London and in Dublin and as Director of Communications for Public Citizen in Washington, D.C.
He is the author of several books about civil rights and U.S. politics. He had early experience on Capitol Hill, serving as a legislative researcher for Senator Edward Kennedy in the mid-1980s when he contributed to what ultimately became the 1986 Anti-Apartheid Act.
In 1981 and 1982, Brian lived and worked as an English teacher and community organizer in a black township in South Africa, which was prohibited under apartheid’s racial segregation laws.
Brian earned a PhD in the transnational history of rights from the University of East Anglia, an MPhil in Government and Politics from The Open University in London, and a B.A. with honors in Political Science from the University of East Anglia.
About
Ethan Duncan
Data Scientist
Ethan Duncan serves as the Data Scientist in our Innovation Lab. He has expertise in cross-functional team collaboration focused on the design and implementation of data science solutions.
As a researcher at NASA, Ethan led and implemented advanced computer vision techniques for recognizing and classifying ice blocks on the Jovian moon Europa, resulting in published conference papers and presentations at multiple scientific conferences.
Ethan earned his Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) from the University of California, Berkeley, where his work culminated in a waterpoint functionality predictor to that used machine learning to assist those in water scarce areas of the world find reliable sources of water. Ethan earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Astrophysics and Physics at Arizona State University.
About
Diyerly “DJ” Duque
Human Resources Manager
As HR Manager, Diyerly Duque oversees all human resources processes and programs. She manages the overall recruitment and hiring process — benefits management, onboarding, payroll administration, and our internship and fellowship programs.
DJ joined Human Rights First in 2018 as a Bilingual Administrative Assistant Volunteer at the Washington, DC office, and then served as HR Assistant, HR Coordinator, and HR Generalist. In addition to currently serving as our HR Manager, DJ is the organization’s DEI Council Co-Chair.
Prior to joining Human Rights First, DJ served as a Human Development Intern at the Venezuelan National Assembly, where she was responsible for training employees in professional tools, improving work culture, and developing a citizen participation project to promote democracy and government accountability in communities.
DJ is passionate about freedom and committed to defending human rights and social justice. In 2017, she was a speaker at the HDCA Annual Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa where she presented her thesis work, based on Amarya Sen’s perspective of freedom, on emigration and its relationship to Human Development.
DJ is SHRM certificated and has earned a Management Certificate from Harvard Business School Online. Diyerly graduated cum laude from Lisandro Alvarado University of Venezuela, where she received a bachelor’s degree in human development.
About
Maya El Cheikh
Legal Services Coordinator/DOJ Fully-Accredited Representative
As a legal services coordinator in New York, Maya El Cheikh conducts screenings of potential clients; writes case assessments; supports pro bono and in-house attorneys; helps manage the New York office’s client database; assists in supporting advocacy efforts; and helps select, train, and supervise interns.
As a Department of Justice (DOJ) fully-accredited representative, Maya directly represents immigrants in removal proceedings before the Department of Homeland Security and the Executive Office for Immigration Review under the supervision of our New York office’s managing attorney. She helps clients secure various immigration-related benefits, including asylum, employment authorization, family reunification, and adjustment of status.
Prior to joining Human Rights First, Maya worked with the Victim Services Unit at the District Attorney’s office in Brooklyn. There, she assisted victims of various crimes, including domestic violence, with VAWA and U-visa petitions.
In addition to her legal background, Maya holds a master’s degree in Special Education and Inclusion from the University of Roehampton, a master’s degree in Social Work from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University in Canada. Maya is a native Arabic speaker and is conversationally fluent in Spanish.
About
Andrew Feinberg
Equal Justice Works Legal Fellow
Andrew Feinberg, the Equal Justice Works Legal Fellow sponsored by Latham & Watkins LLP, provides pro bono representation to asylum seekers and works to dismantle systemic barriers that prevent indigenous peoples from Central America from receiving asylum in the United States.
During law school, Andrew was a student attorney with UCLA’s Immigrant Family Legal Clinic, where he successfully represented asylum seekers and petitioners for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Andrew was a summer legal fellow with the UCLA Law Center for Immigration Law and Policy and worked as a legal intern with Al Otro Lado on immigrants’ rights litigation before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Andrew served as Executive Director of UCLA Law Students for Immigrant Justice and Managing Editor of the UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs.
Andrew holds a J.D. with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy from the UCLA School of Law, and a B.A. from Hampshire College.
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Shala Gafary
Managing Attorney, Project: Afghan Legal Assistance (PALA)
Shala leads Project: Afghan Legal Assistance, Human Right’s First’s nationwide coordination of legal stakeholders responding to the resettlement of at-risk Afghans by the U.S. government. She also oversees the pro bono program that provides legal screenings and representation to Afghans eligible for asylum, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), and other forms of humanitarian protection.
Prior to joining Human Rights First, Shala served as Director of Mercy Center’s Immigrant Services Department and as Supervising Attorney with Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of NY. Previous to that, she was a Blossom Hill Legal Fellow with Refugee Rights Turkey in Istanbul, and worked in Greece for Greek Council for Refugees and HIAS, serving Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers. Shala worked on a report documenting reconciliation following the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina and served in anti-poverty projects in Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Shala obtained her B.A. in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from New York University, and her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in New York and is fluent in Dari, Farsi, and Spanish.
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Rebecca Gendelman
Senior Research and Policy Counsel, Refugee Protection
As Senior Research and Policy Counsel with Refugee Protection, Rebecca supports Human Rights First’s efforts to promote the protection of refugees and reform the U.S. asylum system.
Rebecca received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 2019. In law school, Rebecca was a student director of the Immigration Legal Services Clinic, where she represented asylum seekers and green card applicants. She was also a research coordinator for the Immigration Policy Tracking Project, which catalogues every immigration policy from January 2017 to January 2021. During law school, Rebecca interned at the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Appeals Bureau.
Rebecca graduated Cum Laude from Williams College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with honors.