Katherine Terenzi Email & Phone Number

Brooklyn, Ny

• Lead a campaign to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline for New York City public school students of color with mental health needs.

Boston, Ma

• Asked by the Executive Director to be a youth member of the Board after finishing civil rights internship. • Met monthly with the board to establish fundraising and strategic goals. Established a matrix to evaluate progress. • Served as a member of a sub-committee tasked with determining the priority advocacy areas for the organization and establishing measures of evaluating the impact of the campaigns.

Directed initiatives targeting racism in the juvenile justice and education systems, unfair criminal record policies, and housing rights abuses, through community organizing, policy research and legislative advocacy. Collaborated with a diverse set of groups across the state to organize around these racial justice initiatives. Planned and led day-long trainings and educational events about structural racism. Selected activities: • Led a group of interns researching and writing a report for the State of Massachusetts about the racially biased practices of its juvenile justice system: “Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice System.”• Developed work plans with four interns who researched and organized our initiative to reform the discriminatory criminal record system in Massachusetts that resulted in racially biased hiring and policing practices. • Researched and drafted foundation proposals, managed a resource center that provided educational materials to hundreds of college communities and members of the public, and maintained the office database.

New York, Ny

• Represented homeless, predominantly LGBTQ, young people in a variety of civil legal matters, including asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, name change, accessing benefits, and navigating the criminal justice system.• Handled a docket of 35-40 cases.• Independently conducted legal clinics at homeless shelters across the city to connect with youth.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

• Wrote legal memoranda requiring federal, state, and local case law and regulatory research on a range of topics including school discipline, voting rights, immigration, and the private prison industry. • Analyzed the legal framework for juvenile justice facilities in Louisiana and developed creative legal strategies to combat the school-to-prison pipeline. • Interviewed fact witnesses for federal litigation regarding access to voting in North Carolina.• Assisted with electronic discovery that identified thousands of relevant documents.

New York, Ny

• Researched federal, state and local common law, statutes, regulations, and agency practices to support policies impacting immigrant New Yorkers, including services to unaccompanied migrant children, implementation of the Municipal Identification program, and legislation restricting cooperation with federal immigration detainer requests. • Wrote legal memoranda for senior staff and crafted recommendations based on comprehensive research. • Drafted a speech for the Commissioner to deliver at a public Mayoral hearing. • Wrote comments submitted by the Commissioner regarding the Dep’t of Homeland Security’s language access plan.

New York, Ny

Lead outreach to ally organizations and community members for Health Justice and Environmental Justice initiatives at civil rights legal organization. Research and write policy reports to inform legislative and administrative advocacy. Lobby government officials at the federal, state, and city levels to advance racial justice campaigns. Selected activities: • Drafted an executive order requiring state agencies to provide services in a manner that does not discriminate against individuals with limited English proficiency. Coordinated the campaign to promote its adoption. Governor Cuomo signed the executive order, “The Statewide Language Access Policy,” in 2011. Co-wrote a Times Union op-ed, “New York Offers a Voice to All Its Residents” to announce the beginning of implementing the Order. • Provided coalitions of community organizations strategic advice and draft language of an executive order for Suffolk County and for Nassau County that mirrored the statewide order regarding language access that incorporated key provision providing a higher degree of protection for limited English proficient residents. Suffolk County Executive Bellone signed the executive order, the first suburban county order of its kind in the country, in November 2012. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano signed two related executive orders in August 2013. • Researched and co-wrote a report: “Breaking Down Barriers, Breaking the Silence: Making Health Care Accessible to Women with Disabilities.” Testified at a hearing three New York City Council Committees held regarding the issues presented in the report. Lobbied for and secured commitments from the City Council, New York City’s public hospital system, and the New York State Department of Health to implement recommendations presented in the report. Co-coordinated a successful advocacy effort that resulted in the inclusion of $5 million in the City’s capital budget to increase accessibility at each public hospital.

New York, Ny

• Researched and co-wrote a report to support a campaign to rid New York City schools of toxic chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A front page The New York Times article referenced the report: “PCB Lighting in NYC Schools: Dangerous, Inefficient and Obsolete” and The New York Times published a related Letter to the Editor. • Co- lead outreach efforts to organizations and community members across NYS to mobilize support for a bill that ensures that individuals with limited English proficiency, seniors, and individuals with disabilities have equal access to prescription medications. Governor Cuomo signed the law into effect in April 2012.

Bronx, Ny

Researched and wrote a series of papers for a social justice organization that promotes and protects the health and marriage rights of African women and girls living in the United States. Selected activities for the project:• Conducted research using primary sources of civil, religious and customary family laws in Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. Collaborated with experts from each country to ensure culturally accurate accounts of their legal systems. • Compiled papers and a reference guide for women, lawyers, and advocates on the rights of African women from these five West African countries. The documents explain laws regarding child support and custody; marriage age and consent; property rights and inheritance; and, domestic violence and kidnapping.

Advanced the agenda of the Assistant Secretary for Access and Opportunity to increase the inclusion of individuals with disabilities, people of color, and women throughout the executive branch’s procurement, personnel, and accessibility policies. Selected activities:• Drafted the office’s annual report and strategic plan, which set the office’s yearly objectives to ensure equity in the executive branch’s personnel, procurement, and program activities. • Examined policy initiatives and best practices for civil rights agendas of similar agencies across the country. • Planned and coordinated a Civil Rights’ Week event to honor Massachusetts non-profits that promote racial justice.

• Won the National Jill Silverman Memorial Scholarship from US Public Interest Research Group, given to two summer employees nationwide who demonstrate exceptional leadership and commitment to social justice. • Fundraised over $9,600 through grass roots organizing. • Lead morning training sessions for advanced canvassers, conducted interviews, hired, and recruited new staff.• Supervised crews of 10 canvassers on site everyday.

Juris Doctor

Ba, Antiracism, Psychology