Development Assistant
Lexi worked as a legal assistant for almost five years handling immigration law and other general counsel services. She is also experienced in communications, public relations, and social media. Lexi finished her degree in A.B. Development Studies with a Minor in Development Management from the Aten...
Liman Law Fellow
Charlie Jiang (he/him) is a Liman Law Fellow focused on addressing systemic barriers to safety and thriving for Asian American communities. Charlie graduated from Yale Law School, where he focused on community lawyering and fair housing issues with the Community and Economic Development Clinic. He w...
Communications Assistant
Julia joined the AALDEF staff in 2023 as Communications Assistant. She is passionate about social justice, racial justice, reproductive rights, global health equity, and much more. Prior to AALDEF, she worked editorially on children’s books at HarperCollins Publishers, where her goal was to uplift a...
Development Director
Yasmin Khan brings over 30 years of development, nonprofit management, and communications experience in her role as Development Director. A child of immigrants from Pakistan and Ukraine, Yasmin puts a lifelong passion of purpose in her work on issues related to social justice, human and civil rights...
South Asian Legal Impact Fellow
Erum Kidwai (she/her) is the South Asian Legal Impact Fellow focusing on issues affecting South Asian American communities. Prior to coming to AALDEF, she worked at the Legal Aid Society. Erum graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a legal intern at Community Justice Project,...
Senior Counsel
Elizabeth Koo (she/her) is senior counsel for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). Elizabeth returned to AALDEF, after having previously served as a former intern, program associate and community organizer at AALDEF, before becoming a lawyer. Through a combination of her org...
Executive Director
Bethany Li is the executive director of AALDEF. She brings more than twenty years of experience working with Asian American communities and other communities of color to promote justice and equity for all. Grounding her work in a deep commitment to community lawyering and community-engaged advocacy,...
Skadden Fellow
Annie Lo (she/her) is a Skadden Fellow focused on improving housing conditions and preventing displacement of urban Asian American communities. A graduate of New York University School of Law, Annie was a legal intern with the Housing Unit at Brooklyn Legal Services and an Ella Baker Intern at the C...
NYU Law Post-Graduate Fellow
Ben Goldstein is an NYU Law Post-Graduate Fellow focused on protecting voting rights for Asian Americans and ensuring equitable redistricting. A graduate of New York University School of Law, Ben worked on voting rights and election law issues as a legal intern in the Department of Justice's Civil R...
Senior Staff Attorney
Stanley Mark coordinates free legal rights clinics at workers’ centers and immigrant-led organizations. He represents and assists Asian families seeking immigration benefits and US citizenship, recovering minimum wage and overtime pay, and securing health care for post-9/11 survivors in Chinatown an...
Community Organizer
Shirley joined the AALDEF staff in 2019. She is the Community Organizer supporting the Stop Asian Hate Project. Outside of her work at AALDEF, she is a contributor to AsAmNews.com. Previously, Shirley worked in community outreach for underserved women, so they could qualify for free mammograms at a ...
Director, Stop Asian Hate Project
Jane supports Asian American communities on issues of state and interpersonal violence and works to address their root causes. Previously, as an attorney at the Immigrant Defense Project, Jane worked on state and federal advocacy campaigns to fight the criminalization of immigrants, challenge polici...
Communications Director
Stuart Sia is a seasoned storyteller and communications director with high-profile media and advocacy experience for NGOs. He is passionate about health, human rights, and social justice. As a producer with ABC News, he earned two national Emmy Awards. He has worked with a variety of humanitarian or...
Staff Attorney, Democracy Program
Patrick Stegemoeller joined the AALDEF staff in 2021, after serving as a staff attorney at The Guardian Project of the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City. He also has worked with the League of Conservation Voters in Washington DC, where he represented the legal department in racial and envir...
Voting Rights Organizer
Marlena is a recent transplant from Anaheim, California. Before moving to New York, she worked as a District Representative for California State Senator Tom Umberg. Since 2020, she has served as the President of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Orange County, which endorses and elects progre...
Development Operations Assistant
Abby joins the AALDEF staff as a Development Operations Assistant. She has a background in human resources and graduated with a BA in ethnic studies and a focus on Asian American studies and U.S. imperialism. In her spare time, she loves cooking, reading, and hanging out with her two cats.
Senior Staff Attorney
Annie has been a Staff Attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), where she focuses on immigrant rights and manages and coordinates its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) pro bono representation project since 2014. She monitors and analyzes immigration polic...
Assistant Director
Jennifer Weng has 19 years of development and management experience. She joined AALDEF in 2002 and has served as 9/11 Relief Project Administrator, IT/Database Associate, and Operations Manager. As the Assistant Director, she is responsible for coordinating AALDEF’s annual Justice in Action Awards G...
Staff Attorney
Razeen has worked to advance immigrant rights for over a decade, having worked as an organizer before becoming a lawyer. She believes in a movement lawyering model centering the voices of those directly affected to advance social justice and is committed to building the power of marginalized immigra...
Director Emerita
Margaret Fung is a co-founder and director emerita of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). She testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in 1992, calling for the expansion of language assistance under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Her advocacy led to the first ful...