Community Lawyering and Organizing

Director of Litigation

Sam Chiera began his work assisting low income tenant associations in landlord tenant disputes in 2012, as an intern at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A. Having graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2014, he returned to BKA to represent groups of tenants in the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick in North Brooklyn. Sam continues this work today as a proud member of Communities Resist.

Working closely with neighborhood-based community organizations, including Los Sures and St Nick’s Alliance, he brings lawsuits on behalf of tenants associations for repairs, and against harassment and discrimination. In addition to litigation, Sam works with legislative campaigns such as Stand for Tenant Safety, the Coalition Against Tenant Harassment, and End Warehousing, to create and promote laws to the benefit of the communities CoRe serves. Sam’s duties expanded to include the supervision of CoRe staff attorneys in 2019.

As a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English Literature. In his past lives, Sam has played guitar and sang, hopped freight trains, swam in a giant fish tank with tropical fish at a bar in Chelsea, and even once lived in a laundromat. Don’t ask him about his time working for a detective in San Francisco. You don’t want to know.

Grant Associate

Carmen Manzano has dedicated her career towards service in the nonprofit sector. Carmen’s prior nonprofit service includes working as a case manager for displaced hurricane victims, and working with families with children at head start programs. Carmen is a first generation daughter of immigrants, which has fueled her passion to help low-income immigrant families receive the resources they are entitled to. Carmen received a B.S from C.W. Post, Long Island University.

HR Generalist

Michelle Perez was born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and takes pride in helping her neighbors fight back against displacement by predatory landlords. Before joining Communities Resist, Michelle worked as the Operations Manager at Invictus Preparatory Academy. Michelle wears many hats with CoRe, but the one she is most proud of is being the first voice clients hear while offering guidance in their time of need.

Director of Organizing

Milagros (Millie) Sandoval is the Director of Organizing for Communities Resist. Millie is a fierce fighter for the housing rights of low-income Brooklynites and beyond. Born and raised in Bushwick, Millie has seen firsthand what the impact of gentrification and displacement has created in her community. Millie was personally affected by abusive landlord tactics which makes her so strongly committed to combating displacement and educating tenants on their rights. Also known as the “Lady with the Hat”, Millie makes it her mission to meet the people “where they’re at” and will never be found behind a desk. Rather, you will find Millie out on the streets reaching those in need.

Millie openly shares her personal experiences, which allows her to not only identify with the “people” but also helps create trust with lived experiences on a more personal level. Utilizing hugs, love, and humor, Millie helps organize tenants and creates Tenant Associations when slum landlords refuse repairs, harass, discriminate, and threaten to displace tenants. Millie’s Puerto Rican (Boricua) heritage fuels her passion for making sure the people CoRe serves remain safe, live in dignity, and are informed of their rights. Millie earned a bachelor of arts in anthropology and master’s degree in sociology from the City College of New York (CUNY).

Paralegal

Fran Taveras is a Paralegal with Communities Resist, and has been working in the legal field for the past 18 years. Among other roles, Fran works alongside all CoRe attorneys while preparing for trial.

Fran previously worked at a personal injury law firm for 15 years, before making the switch to helping tenants fight back against displacement in 2018. Fran was born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and loves to work in, serve and give back to her very own community.

Director/President & Chairperson

Albert is the Vice President of TYS, a political strategy organization, and he serves as a policy, political, and electoral advisor for campaigns and elected officials throughout New York and several other states. Prior to his political work, he served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, in the Special Victims Bureau and the Civil Rights/Hate Crimes Unit. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University, a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, and is currently pursuing his Executive Master of Public Administration from Cornell University.

Juan is the Executive Director of Southside United HDFC, and a longtime community leader in housing rights in North Brooklyn and has worked closely with Communities Resist staff in advocacy efforts against displacement.

Parth Khare is a Technology Investor at Warburg Pincus, an $80B+ growth equity firm. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, Parth was an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company. He received a BS in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

As Director of Housing Resources at Los Sures for the past 50 years, Barbara has organized countless tenant associations, helping tenants in Willamsburg‘s Southside along with over 40 staff organizers. She has worked closely with non-profit attorneys from Brooklyn Legal Services Corp. A and more recently with Communities Resist (CoRe) to make sure tenants have adequate representation in Housing Court in order to prevent eviction and gain essential services and repairs. This partnership has helped hundreds of tenants prevent displacement.

Ezi is a Deputy Director and Tenant Rights Attorney in New York City. She is also one of the leading attorneys in representing tenants in affirmative and high impact cases. Furthermore, Ezi represents tenants in eviction cases, and other defensive housing related issues. She started her housing work here in Williamsburg, in the Group Representation Unit at Brooklyn Legal Services Corp. A in 2016.