Pi Lambda Chi will be hosting a Know Your Rights Workshop on Sunday, March 30th. This will be 1pm AZ time, 2pm CO/MDT time, 3pm IL/CST time, and 4pm NY/EST time. This workshop will be facilitated by Alex Santistevan and Gerald Polanco. See bios below. This will be hosted virtually using zoom. Please register by using this zoom link. This event is open to Pi Lambda Chi members & the greater community.
Alex Santistevan (she/her) is a lawyer, the Director of Community Engagement at the Cook County Public Defender's Office, and a proud sister of Pi Lambda Chi Latina Sorority, Inc and Epsilon Chapter. Her work in harm reduction seeks to provide community legal education to all and remove barriers in the legal system that make it inaccessible and inequitable to marganized communities. For the last three years she has been working in collaboration with local community members to open two Freedom Defense Centers in Chicago's South and West Sides. Alex graduated from the John Marshall Law School in 2017 and prior to arriving at the Cook County Public Defender's Office, Alex was the Director of Programs at First Defense Legal Aid and a Staff Attorney at the Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project.
Gerald Polanco (He/Him/Él) is a queer Latino advocate for and alongside low-income communities of color. He was the former Co-Executive Director of the Chicago Community Bond Fund (CCBF). CCBF supported individuals impacted by structural violence whose communities could not afford to pay their bonds, and successfully advocated for the elimination of cash bail in the state of Illinois. Since graduating in 2016 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law with a Juris Doctor, he worked in various legal nonprofits representing, educating, and supporting marginalized communities. He is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Office of New Americans, where he works in concert with the city and other community stakeholders to advocate for immigrant communities.
Pi Lambda Chi does not tolerate behavior that is disrespectful, discriminatory, or otherwise harmful. You may be asked to leave or be removed should any behavior be deemed harmful. Let this be a time to learn and ask questions.