(From Top) Commission staff at 2019 NYC Pride Parade (Photo credit: Nancy Siesel Photography); Commission staff speaking at African Diaspora townhall, September 2019 (Photo credit: Afrikanspot); Commission staff at Hispanic Heritage Month event, October 2019 (Photo credit: Afrikanspot); Commission staff distributing literature during a day of action, June 2017 (Photo credit: Adrienne Nicole Productions).
The NYC Commission on Human Rights is staffed by legal, community relations, policy, communications, human resources, finance, operations, administrative and information technology staff members from across the City's rich and diverse communities and beyond, representing many languages, cultures, and backgrounds. The Commission welcomes people of all races, faiths, colors, ethnicities, national origins, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and gender identities or expressions; veterans; people with disabilities; and people with personal experience with the criminal legal system.
The Commission's staff speaks over 30 languages across its different departments including Spanish, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Bengali, Russian, French and Chinese. This reflects on the Commission's vision and mission to be a local government resource that is representative of, and accessible to, the different communities the agency serves, and grow with the goal of meeting the needs of New Yorkers from every corner of our great City.
The diversity within the Commission's staff is unified by a common passion for human rights. That core value is informed by the staff members' personal and prior work experience working with and alongside other advocates for human rights, including community based groups; legal services, faith-based, and social justice organizations; and federal, state or local elected officials and government agencies.
Annabel Palma
Chair and Commissioner
Mariela Salazar
Deputy Commissioner for Administrative Services
Shanny Spraus-Reindhardt
Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affairs
Damion Stodola
General Counsel
David Rozen
Deputy General Counsel
Elizabeth J. Shampnoi
Director of Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Kajori Chaudhuri
Deputy Commissioner
Vanessa Ramos
Managing Director for Education and Compliance
Doreen Bermudez
Managing Director for Programming and Special Projects
Alexander Korkhov
Staten Island Community Service Center Director
Derek Slaughter
Brooklyn Community Service Center Director
Daryl Cochrane
Manhattan Community Service Center Director
Rasel Rahman
Queens Community Service Center Director
Orlando Torres
Bronx Community Service Center Director
Sapna V. Raj
Deputy Commissioner
Katherine Carroll
Assistant Commissioner, Public-Initiated Housing and Public Accommodations Cases
Katherine Greenberg
Special Counsel
Alberto Rodriguez
Supervising Attorney, Employment
Demoya Gordon
Supervising Attorney, Public Accommodations and Policing
Dustin Frankel
Supervising Attorney, Housing and Public Accommodations
Christina Piaia
Supervising Attorney, Gender-Based Harassment Unit
Elizabeth Fusco
Supervising Attorney, Early Intervention Unit
Paul Keefe
Supervising Attorney, Employment (Fair Chance Act and Criminal History Discrimination)
Effat Hussain
Supervising Attorney, Employment
Martha Perez-Pedemonti
Supervising Attorney, Housing and Public Accommodations
Sudarsana Srinivasan
Supervising Attorney, Housing and Public Accommodations (Discriminatory Harassment)
Elizabeth Osley
Administrative Counsel
Anna Martinez
Disability Service Facilitator
Jose Rios Lua
Executive Director
Nimer Basha
Video Production and Website Manager
Rosa Lee
Graphic Designer
Taiwo Onabanjo
Executive Director of Human Resources
Deshard Stevens
Chief Information Officer
Sheshe Segar
Executive Director of Operations & Chief Diversity Officer