Zoraida Fernandez Email & Phone Number

I am deeply committed to social justice work, which is informed by my personal experiences growing up in a working-class immigrant community. I have been dedicated to public interest work for my entire professional life.Currently, I am engaged in independent research focused on race/racism, political economy, and inequality. With the Brookline Community Foundation, I have been part of a committee that reviews grant proposals with the goal of disbursing funds to community organizations doing vital and important work to advance racial justice in Brookline. I have recently joined the BCF Board and will continue and expand upon this important work. I am also involved in organizations fighting for redistributive policies and those organizing for racial and social justice and have worked with political campaigns for candidates who espouse these values.As an associate attorney at Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP, I defended clients facing criminal charges in state and federal courts and fought for workers in their employment disputes. Prior to joining Zalkind, I worked with the Minnesota Innocence Project, analyzing hundreds of criminal case files to determine whether there was a viable DNA-based theory of exoneration. And as a law student I worked hard to vindicate the rights of people with disabilities in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and represented legal aid clients in their family law disputes.The unifying theme in my varied experience is working toward equity and justice, especially for underserved communities. I am a native Spanish speaker and am licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and California.

Listed skills include Legal Writing, Legal Research, Employment Law, Personal Injury, and 13 others.