|
|
|
 |
x
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I
am delighted to serve as the
President of the Dominican Bar
Association (“DBA”),
an organization with which I
have had great affinity and
a long history as well.
While
I am not clear who initially
brought me and how I came across
the group, I do remember that
I was studying for the NY State
Bar at the time, that the group
was called ASDA (American Society
of Dominican Attorneys) and
that the person who insisted
that I and everyone else joined
and stayed was Victor Espinal.
Back
then in the early 1990’s,
we met every Saturday. It is
hard to imagine DBA meeting
every week now, but then, not
only were the meetings weekly,
but they were pasa dias—all
day long. We would start around
midday with the Legal Workshops
and Clinics at Intermediate
School 143-La Placita, and would
follow by chatting over a late
Dominican lunch at the 184th
street Caridad. Typically, the
feast included the obligatory
tostones, carne frita, concón
con habichuela with morir soñando
in the summer and sancocho in
the winter. As long as the Dominican
attorneys continued arriving,
we kept ordering food and on
occasions, we found ourselves
ordering dinner as well. Like
in the television show Cheers,
everyone knew our names at Caridad,
and we were known by our first
names. Community members were
so acquainted with our schedule
that if they could not make
it to the school, they would
show up at the restaurant to
ask their legal questions. I
have such fond memories of that
time, those places, that great
food, but mostly of the people.
Among them: Nilsa, Victor, sisters
Tat?ca and Caridad, Jose, Many,
Luis, Jose, Ada, the other Jose,
Serapio, Pachy, whose real name
we would later know to be Ebenezer
Smith. I am glad I was part
of this group that came to be
the foundation of DBA.
Equally
memorable were the Dominican-American
attorneys with whom I fortunately
shared what in retrospect was
the structural phase of DBA
in the late 1990’s. There
were Julia Rodriguez, Carmen
Fernandez-Goldman, Millie Matos,
Carmen Suardy, Ada Guillod,
Manuel “Many” Mendez,
among others. Unlike the initial
group, the builders were aware
of the transcendent nature of
this phase of DBA and while
we grew close, fun and extra
curricular activities took a
back seat to methodic work.
DBA made tremendous inroads
during these years. By the time
this group left the leadership
of DBA, the organization had
been transformed in great part
into what we currently know
as DBA, with legal incorporation,
by-laws, etc in place. It was
this group which put DBA on
the Bar associations’
map, bringing it closer to par
with other minority Bars.
I
have not always been part of
the DBA leadership; however,
through my participation at
meetings and events, I have
kept a close watch on the progress
of the Association and have
become aware of the many attorneys
who have helped to sustain it,
to nurture it, to develop it.
People like José Pérez,
Andy Lugo, Luís Díaz,
Julissa Gómez, Néstor
Díaz, Many Tavares, Oscar
Herasme, Faviola Soto, Elsa
Marte-Hampton, Fiordaliza ,
Eliezard , Llenet Beltre, Manuel
Mendez, again.
And
here I am again as part of the
leadership of DBA, this time
as its President. And once again,
I am among a decisive group
of individuals, all leaders
in their own right, who, like
their predecessors, will live
up to the challenges facing
DBA. Challenges such as increasing
visibility, increasing membership,
assisting domestic and foreign
attorneys, supporting law students,
providing more pro-bono assistance
to community members, and helping
shape laws and policies. This
year is an election year, when
important legal and policy issues
potentially impacting the Latino
community hang in the balance:
national defense, immigration
reform, the economy, trade agreements,
our civil liberties. As attorneys,
we need to weigh in on these
issues. We need to affirmatively
support candidates at all levels
of government who espouse laws
and policies reflecting our
values and interest, while conversely
clearly reject those candidates
who threaten to work against
our values and interest.
As
I now lead our beloved DBA,
I obviously stand on the strong
shoulders of all the folks who
have arduously worked to make
it what it is today. Fortunately
for me and for DBA, I stand
confidently ready to assume
my role because I stand next
to qualified, caring individuals,
who like me, have DBA’s
best interest and that our community
at heart. Leaders, who like
me, are committed to serve DBA
with the spirit of camaraderie
that has reigned through all
the phases of DBA.
I
urge you to take this opportunity
to join or renew your membership
with DBA and join us in our
commitment to continue our tradition
of strength, growth and service.
Raysa
Castillo
President
Email
x
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
Martha
Tessler
Board Member
Bio |
|
 |
Bianka
Perez Vega
Corresponding
Secretary
Bio |
|
|
Manny Tavarez
Board Member
Bio
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Lauvienska
Polanco
Recording Secretary
Bio |
|
|
Raphael
Gil
Board Member
Bio
|
|
 |
Patria
Frias Colon
Board Member
Bio
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Albania
Almanzar
Board Member
Bio |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
