Advisory Board Member & Chair of Community Outreach and Education Committee

Ruth Adeyinka (formerly, Deras) was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and immigrated to the United States at the age of seven. She was raised in the city of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Following college and law school, Ruth was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in June of 2010.
Ruth’s passion, commitment and devotion to social change and social justice are cornerstones of her professional career. Ruth’s legal trajectory includes time in private practice; working on family and immigration law matters and at the MA Trial Court, where she last served as, Court Service Center Community Engagement Manager.
Ruth is currently in private practice focusing on immigration and family law. Ruth is a member of many legal and civic associations: the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA), of which she served as President in 2016, the Boston Bar Association, the Immigration Advocates Network, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, Suffolk University Alumni Association, and the Women’s Bar Association. She currently serves as MAHA’s Chair of the Community and Education Committee, co-Chair of the MBA Diversity Task Force and, as a member of the Joint Bar Committee (JBC) on Judicial Appointments, a body that serves to independently review, evaluate and report on the qualifications of judicial and clerk-magistrate candidates to all courts of the commonwealth.

Board Member

Attorney Zoila Marisol Gomez immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1988 at the age of eighteen. She graduated from Northern Essex Community College (NECC) with an Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies in 1997. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 2000 while working full time. She obtained her Juris Doctorate in 2005 and license to practice law in 2006. She immediately opened her law practice, the Law Offices of Zoila M. Gomez and since then has been serving the immigrant community north of Boston and beyond with much needed legal representation and advocacy. She is now the Managing Partner of the law firm Gomez and Palumbo, LLC. Since 1999, Attorney Gomez has dedicated her time to advocate for and educate the immigrant community. Attorney Gomez, participates weekly in the radio show “Al Son de la Manana,” which airs Mondays through Fridays in WGUA Radio Catolica, 98.1 FM. She is on the board of Youth Development Organization YDO and she served as the Board Chair for 7 years. From 2011 until 2015, she served as a member of the UMass Board of Trustee to which she was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick. In 2015, she was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker, to the Judicial Nominating Commission and served in that capacity until May 1, 2018. Most recently she joined the Lawrence Partnership Board of Directors as a member.

Board Member & Co-Chair of Young Lawyers Committee

Daniela Marquez Albert is a Boston Business and Immigration Attorney and the founder of Elyon Business & Immigration Law Firm, PLLC. She is also the co-founder of the foreign filial Elyon Firma Legal Empresarial in Mexico that offers corporate and transactional services for companies in Mexico.

Attorney Albert is admitted to practice law in Mexico and in the State of Massachusetts. She earned a degree in Law with a concentration in Tax Law from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon in Mexico and a master’s in law with a focus on International Business Transactions from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

Attorney Albert is passionate about social justice, entrepreneurship, financial and legal literacy, especially in Latino immigrants.

Advisory Board Member & Co-Chair of Judicial Relations Committee

John Lozada is the Equity & Inclusion Director for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, leading the effort to build fairness and respect in all efforts to defend indigent individuals, whether as adults or youths, on matters that require the assignment of an attorney. Most recently, John served as Director of Civil Rights and Manager of Federal Programs for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). He directed efforts across all transportation modes to comply with federal and state laws protecting people based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or ancestry across all MassDOT/MBTA programs, services and activities. Mr. Lozada is an experienced attorney who has served in government and private capacities, focusing on civil rights in employment, education and transportation, as well as general civil law. He is a graduate of the Northfield Mount Hermon School, Amherst College and the University of California – Hastings College of the Law, and likes to fish, ride bicycle, read and cook.

Background with MAHA

In terms of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys, John became involved with discussions about creating MAHA shortly after returning to Massachusetts from law school in 1986. From that time until 1995, John served in various leadership roles as a member including Treasurer, and server a term as MAHA’s President from 1995-1996. As President, John focused on several areas, including membership recruitment, engaging with the community, advocacy within the community and the bar. Prior to leading MAHA, John had been active with a grassroots group, the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, which collaborated with MAHA as a partner on initiatives including judicial and non-partisan political advocacy, voting rights and registration and community engagement within and beyond the Puerto Rican community. Until 2000, when family concerns required him to end a number of volunteer roles, John supported the leadership of several subsequent leaders within MAHA as a Director, including Carmen Paniagua, Rich Salcedo and Tony Rodriguez. Today, John serves as a director with Lawyers for Civil Rights and is a Commissioner with the City of Beverly – Parking & Traffic Commission, but has remained active with MAHA on judicial candidate support efforts and broader advocacy.

Board Member & Co-Chair of Young Lawyers Committee

Maria Dorney is a Compliance & Due Diligence Search Specialist at Precision Corporate Services (PCS). She also works as a Pro Bono Attorney through the Women’s Bar Foundation on the Family Law and Elder Law Projects. Prior to joining PCS, she worked for three years as a contractor paralegal for the Enforcement Division at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she conducted analytical and investigatory work on cases with potential violations of federal securities laws. Previously, she worked as a paralegal in a broad range of practice areas such as immigration law, personal injury and asbestos litigation.

Maria earned her LL.M from Boston University School of Law and her LL.B from the University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. She is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Maria is a member of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA), a member of the Women’s Bar Association (WBA) and a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA).

Maria lives in Medfield, where she volunteers as a coordinator for two non-profit organizations that raise money for low-income residents. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, reading mystery books, arts & crafts and traveling.

Board Member & Co-Chair of Membership Committee

Magaly Rojas Cheng is an Immigration Partner at Clark Lau LLC. She counsels employers and employees on various immigrant and non-immigrant processes. She also assists clients in obtaining permanent residence, with a particular emphasis on PERM labor certification applications. She enjoys working closely with clients to understand their objectives and provide a clear strategy to help accomplish them. Magaly earned her Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School and was admitted to practice law in Massachusetts in 2013. Magaly has been a member of the Boston Bar Association since 2017 and is a part of the Immigration Section Committee. She has been a member of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and the Hispanic National Bar Association since 2015. She is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) and serves as a Law Student Liaison and the Congressional Liaison for its New England chapter.

Clerk & Co-Chair of Membership Committee

Larissa (she/her) was raised in Calexico, CA, a small border town in southern California. She graduated from Colgate University in 2017 with a degree in Educational Studies. She is now the Intake Specialist/ Legal Assistant at the Victim Rights Law Center in Boston, MA, where she is able to help survivors of sexual assault in civil legal matters. Larissa hopes to attend law school to continue serving her community.

President-Elect

Breanishea Amaya, Esq. is a staff attorney at the Victim Rights Law Center’s Boston office. She joined in 2017 and primarily represents victims of sexual assault in immigration, safety, and privacy matters. Prior to joining the VRLC, Breanishea has represented low-income clients and survivors of domestic violence in family law matters. Breanishea is a member, and on the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington and her J.D. from New England Law Boston.

Treasurer

Jacquelyn is a Compliance Analyst at Sun Life Financial, where she supports the International Compliance Team in Bermuda. In the legal and compliance fields, she has worked for the Office of the Attorney General in Boston and in the Corporate Compliance Department at Tufts Medical Center where a great deal of her experience involved writing policies and procedures, investigating complaints, and contributing to privacy risk assessment processes. More recently, she interned with Massachusetts General Hospital where she assisted in internal audit site inspections and ensured Compliance with privacy regulations and policies and procedures. Her prior professional experience includes operations management, compliance policies and procedures implementation, and responsibilities as an insurance representative in the medical and healthcare fields. Jacquelyn also has broad foreign language skills; she is fluent in Spanish and has working knowledge of Portuguese, Arabic, and French.

Jacquelyn earned a JD from New England Law | Boston, where she served as Vice President for the Latin American Law Student Association (LALSA) and Vice President for the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA). Through her work with these groups, she joined the planning committee for the first annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Civil Rights Conference, organized through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Boston Area Office and the Asian American Commission of Massachusetts. Jacquelyn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Florida International University. She is a Cuban-American from Miami, FL.

Jacquelyn has been a member of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA) since 2014; she is proud to be a part of this years Board of Directors.

Board of Director

Maria De Ornelas is an Assistant Vice President and Associate Counsel in the Fund Administration legal team at State Street Bank and Trust Company. Prior to joining the Fund Administration legal team, she provided contract drafting, review and negotiation support to various departments within State Street’s Legal Division. Prior to joining State Street, she worked at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP as a business immigration law contract attorney. During law school, she interned with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs where she drafted reports, guidelines and memoranda pertaining to the law and practice of registration and depositary functions of multilateral treaties. Also, she was part of her law school’s negotiation team. Maria holds a J.D. from Florida International University College of Law and is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New York State.

Board of Directory

Adrian is an Assistant District Attorney for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in the Gang Unit. He evaluates, investigates and prosecutes cases in Suffolk Superior Court with a focus on impact players in Boston gangs. As a prosecutor, his goals are to seek the truth, uphold justice and make the community he serves a better and safer place.

Adrian received his Bachelor’s degree from Florida International University and his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for the National Law Student Association and serves as a Judge in regional competitions as well as national finals.

Board of Directory

Vanessa F. Hernandez is a Clinical Fellow and Supervising Attorney in the Juvenile Defender Clinic at Suffolk University Law School. Prior to joining Suffolk, Vanessa was a staff attorney for over five years with the Committee for Public Counsel Services-Youth Advocacy Division where she represented juveniles in both delinquency and youthful offender cases.

Vanessa graduated from Union College in 2007 with a B.A. in Modern Languages and Classics and received her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 2010. She is licensed to practice law in both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of New York. Vanessa was raised in Connecticut and is of Cuban and Puerto Rican decent.

Board of Directors

Javier is a partner at Manion Gaynor & Manning LLP with significant experience defending products liability, class action, mass tort, and food-borne illness matters. Javier has successfully litigated cases throughout the country on behalf of a broad range of defendants. In addition to his regular work schedule, Javier serves on the Boston Fair Housing Commission and as President of Region I of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA). Additionally, he was a 2017 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), and received the HNBA’s 2017 Top Lawyers Under 40 Award.   Javier lives in Boston with his wife and two daughters.

Board of Directory

Melissa A. Juárez was born in Panamá City, Panamá and immigrated to the United States at age six. Melissa grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Elmhurst, New York; and Miami Lakes, Florida. In 1993, Melissa obtained her B.A. degree in Political Science from Boston University and her J.D. degree from Boston University Law School in 1997. During her nineteen-year legal career, Melissa has worked in the public and private sectors, and has experience in criminal and civil litigation. Melissa was an Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office for five years, where she handled District and Superior court criminal cases. For two years, Melissa was Counsel to the City of Boston Employment Commission, where she drafted, negotiated and reviewed all development contracts on commercial construction projects on behalf of the Commission ensuring compliance with city residency requirements. Melissa also ran her own law practice for several years, handling real estate transactions, G.L. c. 208, § 1A and 1B divorce actions and general civil litigation.

In her current role, Melissa represents the Commonwealth in G.L. c. 123A, § 9 Sexually Dangerous Persons civil jury trials in Superior Court. These trials are extremely fact-intensive and require significant preparation with expert witnesses, medical professionals and Department of Correction (“DOC”) employees. A trial typically lasts five or more days. She represents DOC employees in civil litigation and civil rights actions in State and Federal Court. Additionally, Melissa represents the Commonwealth in appeals of trials including writing appellate briefs and oral arguments before the Appeals Court. Melissa is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and is a Region 8 delegate.

Co-Clerk

Magaly counsels employers and employees on various immigrant and non-immigrant processes. She also assists clients in obtaining permanent residence, with a particular emphasis on PERM labor certification applications.  She enjoys working closely with clients to understand their objectives and provide a clear strategy to help accomplish them. Her personal journey as an immigrant gives her the legal expertise, compassion, and dedication to address the concerns of every client and provide them with the highest quality of legal representation.

Magaly earned her Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School and was admitted to practice law in Massachusetts. She represented clients in immigration removal proceedings before the Executive Office of Immigration Review as part of the Suffolk Law School clinical program. She also represented clients in contested divorce proceedings before the Suffolk Family and Probate Court in her clinical work. Magaly has been a member of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and the Hispanic National Bar Association since 2015. She is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) and serves as a Law Student liaison for its New England chapter. In addition, she is a member of the Boston Associates Networking Group.

Board of Directors

Genevieve Aguilar is a member of Choate, Hall, & Stewart LLP’s litigation department. Ms. Aguilar focuses her practice on representing corporations in a wide range of litigation matters, with primary emphasis on complex trial and appellate litigation, labor and employment issues and government investigations. Ms. Aguilar has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star.

Ms. Aguilar volunteers with Citizen Schools, coaching a mock trial program for middle school students at underperforming Boston schools. Ms. Aguilar also serves as a mentor to first-year law students through Boston Lawyer’s Group, whose mission is to support the efforts of its member organizations to identify, recruit, advance and retain attorneys of color.

Prior to joining Choate in 2014, Ms. Aguilar worked in the Homicide Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where she assisted in the prosecution of homicide cases.

Ms. Aguilar received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she received the Earle K. Shawe Labor Relations Award, and her B.A. magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Colorado College.

Immediate-Past President & Chair of Public Policy Committee

Jose Lopez is an associate at Avalon Law Offices, P.C., where he represents and assists victims of significant personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He also represents clients who have suffered discrimination, and clients on criminal matters ranging from larceny to distribution, and possession of a firearm. At Avalon Law Offices, P.C., he advocates for scores of clients and their families.

Attorney Lopez attended Suffolk University Law School after graduating from Boston College where he received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees. He held a position as a member of the Transnational Law Review while in law school, and served as the President of the Latin American Law Students Association.

Attorney Lopez is a member of MAHA since 2011, he is a member of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association.

Advisory Board Member & Chair of Corporate Relations and Fundraising

Salomon Chiquiar-Rabinovich, Of Counsel to Moreno Law, is an attorney licensed in Massachusetts. Salomon has over 20 years of experience specializing in providing employers and professionals with temporary and long-term immigration solutions for furthering business and employment objectives in the U.S. He advises multinational corporations in both their inbound and outbound immigration management and staffing solutions of a global workforce.

Salomon’s specialty in U.S. Immigration Law and procedures includes expertise in processing employment-based immigration visas H-1Bs, L-1s, E-2s, O-1s, outstanding researcher petitions, investor immigrant petitions, national interest waiver petitions, extraordinary ability petitions, family-based immigration, naturalization and asylum.

In addition to his immigration law professional experience, Salomon served in state and federal government positions: Monitor of grants at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ombudsman for the H-2A Visa Program of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification of the U.S. Department of Labor, Regional Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor (for New England and Puerto Rico) for the U.S. Census Bureau and Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International Exchange and Technical Cooperation of the Government of Puerto Rico.

Salomon practiced law in the Boston office of Seyfarth Shaw, from 2002-2009, and was a member of the International Labor and Employment Law Group of the firm. In addition, he served as Co-Chair of the International Immigration Law Practice Group of Ius Laboris, an alliance of law firms specializing in Labor and Employment Law in 43 countries.

In addition to his experience as a business immigration attorney, Salomon has developed customized EEO Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility Workforce Trainings. He designed and provided EEO trainings for managers of over 40 local offices during the 2010 US Census Decennial, throughout New England and Puerto Rico. Prior to this training experience Salomon translated to Spanish the core compliance courses of Seyfarth Shaw at Work (a workforce training subsidiary of the firm, Seyfarth Shaw) and led interactive diversity and harassment prevention trainings for managers and Spanish-speaking workforces in U.S., and subsidiaries of U.S., multinationals in Mexico. He developed customized training solutions for attorneys in law firms outside the U.S. teaching how foreign counsel can harmonize their best practices in serving common clients in collaboration with their U.S. law firm or inhouse counterparts.

Salomon has played a leadership role in professional organizations advocating for the advancement of diversity and inclusion. He is a board member of the Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee of the Boston Bar Association. In 2015 Salomon served as the President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (“MAHA”), Regional President of the Hispanic National Bar Association (“HNBA”) for New England (2007-2009) and was appointed the first National Co-Chair of the HNBA International Law Section in 2008. He was the President in 2007 of the New England-Latin America Business Council and was a board member of the Political Asylum and Immigration Representation Project (“PAIR Project” from 1999-2009).

Prior to relocating to Boston in 1998, Salomon practiced law in Puerto Rico as Special Counsel to the law firm McConnell Valdes and served as the Vice President of the International Division of McConnell Valdes Consulting.

Board of Directors

Elke Trilla-Perkuhn is a senior tax associate in the transaction tax group at Ernst & Young LLP’s Boston office. Before joining EY, Elke clerked for the Honorable Angela Ordonez and the Honorable Diana Maldonado. Elke has been an active member of the Latino community as a board member of the Hispanic National Bar Association, ALPFA Boston, ALPFA Law, City Year’s Young Ambassadors, and Big Sister Of Boston’s Young Professional committee. Elke is a graduate of Boston University and Suffolk University Law School.

President

Janeth Moreno Esq. LLM. is the founding and managing attorney at Moreno Law, a boutique law firm located in the heart of Boston’s legal and financial community that provides full professional advice and representation in matters related to business immigration, removal defense, family reunification, family-based immigration and naturalizations.

She is the President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA), leader of the Asylum and Removal Defense Committee’s at the Boston Bar Association, and an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the New York Bar Association, and the United Nations Association New York Chapter (UNA) since 2014.

She is experienced in international law, human rights, and immigration law, with a strong interest in refugee protection, migration, global affairs, and gender equality. She participated as a delegate during the Commission on the status of Women 58th session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March 2014. She also participated in the United Nations Global Affairs and refugees’ protection program held by the New York University at the Palais Des Nations in Geneva Switzerland in June 2015.

Attorney Moreno has also published many articles, including Ninez Migrante, ABC Legal Defense by Nexus Magazine, Frontera Caotica by El Pais, El Muro Alterno en EU, by El Economista and Immigration Litigation in the US by Reforma.

She was appointed under the program Legal Assistance for Mexican Nationals, as the Immigration Attorney of the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston since 2015 and appointed as the Of Counsel for the Consulate of Colombia in Boston since January 2019.

Attorney Moreno has worked with two major Spanish language television networks in the U.S. and prestigious newspapers in Mexico, Centro America and Spain. She is often invited by different organizations and academic institutions in the United States and Internationally to present topics related to Immigration law, Asylum in the U.S. Human Rights and International Law.

For more information on Moreno Law please visit, morenoimmigration.com

Advisory Board Member

José P. Sierra is a Boston attorney who focuses his practice in the areas of white collar criminal defense, healthcare fraud and abuse, pharmaceutical and healthcare compliance, and business litigation. Mr. Sierra is well-versed in the areas of healthcare fraud and life science compliance and has advised healthcare and pharmaceutical industry executives, audit committees and corporate board directors on legal, employment, compliance and business strategies.

Mr. Sierra also represents clients under government investigation, litigates shareholder and business disputes, and counsels life science and healthcare companies, including providing due diligence advice in connection with corporate acquisitions.

Prior to returning to private practice, Mr. Sierra served as senior vice president and chief compliance officer for two pharmaceutical companies and established the companies’ compliance programs and departments. He also spent a dozen years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, investigating and trying numerous high-profile cases. His work there included the first successful prosecution in professional boxing in more than 40 years and which was featured in an A&E documentary, as well as two related racketeering and public corruptions trials for which he received the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance.

Following law school, Mr. Sierra served as a judicial law clerk to the late Honorable Reynaldo G. Garza of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In addition, he taught White Collar Crime at Rutgers Law School, where he served as an adjunct law professor.

Mr. Sierra is a frequent speaker on corporate compliance, False Claims Act, whistleblowing and corporate investigations. He is the former blogger on Pharmarisc.com, which offered cutting-edge analysis on legal and compliance issues in the life science industries.

Mr. Sierra is fluent in Spanish, a skill he uses to assist clients from Spanish-speaking countries conducting business in the United States.

President

Janeth Moreno Esq. LLM. is the founding and managing attorney at Moreno Law, a boutique law firm located in the heart of Boston’s legal and financial community that provides full professional advice and representation in matters related to business immigration, removal defense, family reunification, family-based immigration and naturalizations.

She is the President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA), leader of the Asylum and Removal Defense Committee’s at the Boston Bar Association, and an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the New York Bar Association, and the United Nations Association New York Chapter (UNA) since 2014.

She is experienced in international law, human rights, and immigration law, with a strong interest in refugee protection, migration, global affairs, and gender equality. She participated as a delegate during the Commission on the status of Women 58th session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March 2014. She also participated in the United Nations Global Affairs and refugees’ protection program held by the New York University at the Palais Des Nations in Geneva Switzerland in June 2015.

Attorney Moreno has also published many articles, including Ninez Migrante, ABC Legal Defense by Nexus Magazine, Frontera Caotica by El Pais, El Muro Alterno en EU, by El Economista and Immigration Litigation in the US by Reforma.

She was appointed under the program Legal Assistance for Mexican Nationals, as the Immigration Attorney of the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston since 2015 and appointed as the Of Counsel for the Consulate of Colombia in Boston since January 2019.

Attorney Moreno has worked with two major Spanish language television networks in the U.S. and prestigious newspapers in Mexico, Centro America and Spain. She is often invited by different organizations and academic institutions in the United States and Internationally to present topics related to Immigration law, Asylum in the U.S. Human Rights and International Law.

For more information on Moreno Law please visit, morenoimmigration.com

Board of Directors

Andres is International Counsel at Andres Morales Jr. PC. He is a highly experienced lawyer who has practiced for more than twenty-five years, including service as international counsel for Dow Corning, Abbott Laboratories, Genzyme Corporation, and Biogen Idec. The focus of Andres practice and his life-long professional passion has been international corporate and transactional law, concentrating on issues that are common to most industries operating in foreign jurisdictions. For more than 25 years, his primary focus has been on Latin American issues, where his Spanish fluency and cultural perspective have afforded him credibility with local contacts and businesses and enabled him to be a practical, trusted advisor for U.S. headquartered organizations operating in Latin America. Not only has Andres practiced in Latin American jurisdictions and travelled there regularly, but he also has lived in Argentina, Panama, and Ecuador. Andres has also had the privilege of living and working as an international lawyer in Brussels for five years, responsibility for Asia Pacific issues for a four year stint on behalf of Genzyme (where he won the Alpine Award as the only lawyer to receive that award in company history), and responsibility for supporting Canadian operations for most of his +25 year career. He has a good working knowledge of Portuguese and French, which has facilitated his work on Brazilian and French issues.

Andres is specially equipped to provide timely, practical and seasoned judgment to U.S. organizations establishing operations in foreign jurisdictions or who are working through issues relating to general corporate matters, commercial agreements (e.g., distribution, supply, services, inter-company, non-disclosure, and consultancy agreements), regulatory and compliance issues (including FCPA), and labor and employment matters (e.g., employment contracts, employment terminations and guidance regarding union issues). Andres is able to work seamlessly with local counsel in foreign jurisdictions and has built up an extensive network of local counsel contacts whom he can call upon as necessary to ensure clients are receiving advice from local counsel best suited for the matter at issue in a particular jurisdiction. Andres is a graduate of Tufts University, Suffolk University School of Law, and Columbia University School of Law (LLM in International Law). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys, a member of the Latin American Regional Counsel Group (Miami, FL), and a member of the New England Association of Corporate Counsel International Committee. Andres serves as special counsel to TCF Law Group, PLLC on an as-needed, subcontracted basis, and also has his own solo practice.

Advisory Board Member & Co-Chair of Corporate Relations and Fundraising

Roland D. Hughes is a solo practitioner who focuses on personal injury, bankruptcy, and divorce cases, and is legal counsel for the League of United Latina American Citizens in Boston. Roland previously served as President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and the Everett Kiwanis Club. He is also active in the First Eastern Middlesex Bar Association, serving previously as President and on the Board of Directors. Roland is a graduate of Northeastern University and Massachusetts School of Law.

Advisory Board Member

Danilo Avalon was born in Colon, Panama and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He came to Boston over 20 years ago to attend Tufts University and Boston College Law School. Danilo is the founder of Avalon Law Offices, P.C. and his practice is centered in the areas of personal injury and employment matters. He serves a founding member of the Boston Children’s Hospital Trust – Milagros Para Niños Committee. This committee has raised in excess of 1 million dollars for a variety of Latino causes and supports the Boston Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center and the Martha Elliot Health Center in Jamaica Plain. Mr. Avalon is an elected Town Meeting Member, in the Town of Brookline. Danilo served for a decade on the Internal Review Board of the Latino Health Institute. He is passionate about education and finding ways to bridge the achievement gap amongst black and Latino children. Mr. Avalon has serves as a soccer and basketball coach for a variety of teams in his community.

Advisory Board Member

Robert W. (“Bob”) Harnais is a partner in the Law Offices of Mahoney & Harnais and has been practicing law for over 24 years. As an attorney in general practice, he handles a variety of criminal, civil litigation, and community development matters, and has been General Counsel of the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office for the past 17 years. Bob is the current President of the Massachusetts Bar Association – the first Hispanic ever elected to this prestigious position in the over 100 year history of the organization. Prior to taking the reins as President, Bob served in a variety of roles at the Mass Bar including Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Delegate, and Chair of the Mass Bar’s Diversity Task Force.

Bob has been a long-time supporter of the Hispanic community in Massachusetts and nationally. He was a two-term President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (“MAHA”), and continues to serve on its Board of Directors. Bob is currently a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association’s (“HNBA”) Nominations Committee, and previously served on the HNBA’s Judiciary Committee and as HNBA Region I President. He sits on the Criminal Law Advisory Board at Roxbury Community College and Quincy College, has volunteered as a mentor for a number of inner city students over the years, and is the current Chairman of the Town of Braintree Planning Board.

Bob has been recognized on numerous occasions for his leadership and achievements including MAHA’s 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Quincy Bar Association’s 2014 Alfred E. Mullaney (“Man of the Year”) Award, and the Norfolk County Bar Association’s 2011 Pro-Bono Award. Bob graduated from the New England School of Law evening program in 1989. He and his family reside in Braintree.

Advisory Board Member

Jessica A. Massey is Associate General Counsel at Walmart Stores, Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded employer. As part of the Global Security, Aviation/Travel, and Ethics team, she conducts legally privileged, internal FCPA and financial integrity investigations, primarily in Latin America; additionally, she provides daily client support to Walmart’s Global Ethics & Compliance Department. Prior to joining Walmart, Jessica was a criminal prosecutor for over eleven years. At the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, she investigated, indicted, and tried a variety of fraud, corruption, and narcotics trafficking cases as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Bureau. Before joining the AG’s Office, Jessica prosecuted a wide range of matters as an Assistant District Attorney at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston. She has held numerous leadership positions in legal and civic organizations, and has been honored several times for her leadership and volunteerism. Jessica received her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and her B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross.

Board of Directors

Bio coming soon..

Board of Directors

Bio coming soon..

Advisory Board Member

Alexander is a former President of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA) and previously served as MAHA’s Treasurer, chair of the Young Lawyer Division, and as a volunteer coordinator for the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 2015 Annual Convention in Boston.

Alexander is the managing partner of International Blockchain Legal LLP, where he provides legal services for startups, traditional entities engaging with enterprise DLT solutions, investment funds, corporate, and non-profit clients, in the blockchain and fintech space. He previously worked at a well-known civil litigation firm in Boston. Prior to practicing law, he operated a number of start-ups in the legal-tech, HR, and entertainment industries.

Alexander recently earned a Master’s degree in finance from Harvard University, where he served as a Vice President for the Harvard Graduate Council, Senior Editor for the Harvard Journal on Hispanic Policy, and Programming Director for the Harvard Latino Student Alliance. He earned a J.D. & M.B.A. from St. Thomas University, where he was a Director for the Dade County Bar Association, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida International University, where he served as the College of Business Representative for the Student Government Association. He was born and raised in a Cuban-American household in Miami, FL and is licensed to practice law in both Massachusetts & Florida.

Advisory Board Member

Migdalia was raised in the Roxbury and Dorchester area of Boston and is the first in her family to pursue higher education. She graduated from Boston College with a degree in Political Science & Communications, and earned a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. Migdalia is currently a Trial Attorney for the Youth Advocacy Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. She defends young people charged with delinquent/criminal charges and is assigned to the Roxbury office and handles the Boston area jurisdiction. Previously, she worked for 2 years as an Attorney for the South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc. under the U.S. Department of Justice LAV (Legal Assistance for Victims) grant, representing low-income victims of domestic violence with family law cases and child custody/abuse cases.

Migdalia was also an Assistant District Attorney for Suffolk County for 7 years, and was assigned to the Boston Juvenile Court, handling cases involving youthful offenders in Superior Court, and delinquency cases in the Juvenile Court. Prior to BJC, she worked in the Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court. Migdalia was the 2011 recipient of the Brian J. Honan Award for Community Service and Courtroom Excellence at the Suffolk County D.A.’s Office, honored as Distinguished Alumni of English High School in 2011, received the Agent of Change Award for her commitment to youth by Mass Housing in 2011, and was a recipient of the District Attorney’s Role Model Award in 2012.

Immediate Past President

Ruth Deras was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and immigrated to the United States at the age of seven. She was raised in the city of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Ruth was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in June of 2010. Since being admitted to the Bar, Ruth has been working with the Law Office of Ralph Carabetta. She practices domestic relations law, family based immigration, and civil litigation. Ruth’s representative domestic relations cases include among other, contested and uncontested divorces, child custody, visitation, modifications, annulment, and prenuptial agreements. Ruth’s representative immigration cases include family based petitions, U-Visa, and relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), as well as removal and deportation defense before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

In addition to being a legal practitioner, Ruth is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Boston Bar Association, Immigration Advocates Network, Co-Chair of the Latino-Jewish Roundtable, Massachusetts Bar Association, Co-Chair of the MBA Diversity Task Force, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, Suffolk University Alumni Association, and the Women’s Bar Association.