新的一年，新的领导!

尊敬的中环BG大游界人士:

Throughout the last couple of years we have been witnesses to an era filled with unexpected, 困难, 以及复杂的挑战. 每天都有新的危机出现, it is necessary that we have our best and greatest minds steering the helm of our ship, guiding us effortlessly through the turbulent waters that often arise from our unfair and problematic legal system. 

This past summer our 租户的权利 practice continued to work tirelessly to advocate for Alameda County’s eviction moratorium (the strongest in the country) and expanded Centro Legal’s anti-displacement work into Contra Costa County. 当阿拉米达县在COVID-19大流行期间需要帮助时, 我们的诊所响应了他们的号召，分发了超过81美元,000,000美元的紧急租赁援助. 在去年的同一时间, 我们也继续服务超过1,000 clients and were able to provide 39 “Know Your Rights Presentations” to 734 community members. At the helm of this ship, our amazing duo of Co-Interim Directing Attorneys, 亨利萨·巴西和萨曼莎·贝克特. 

I am excited to announce that they will now be stepping into the permanent role of Co-Directing Attorneys! 

“We are excited to co-lead the 租户的权利 team during a critical moment for tenants’ rights. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vast inequities in our communities and how close so many of our neighbors — particularly those who identify as low-income, BIPOC, ”+, 和/或有残疾 如果没有更多的支持和保护，他们将面临危机. The past few years forced our 租户的权利 team to be agile and creative to meet community needs and contribute to efforts to build community power. We are proud to have secured funding to sustain the expansion of our advocacy into Contra Costa County while we continue to work alongside Alameda County tenants to prevent evictions, 提高社区能力，倡导租户的权利, 争取安全、经济的住房. 

“With the end of the Alameda County moratorium expected in coming months, we anticipate that the need for our services will reach unprecedented levels. We look forward to continuing to respond to the eviction crisis with agility and creativity, while remaining grounded in our values of client-centered and community-led advocacy, 种族和社会公正, 整体驱逐防御, and both staff and community wellness to combat displacement and fight for safe, 稳定的, 为所有人提供负担得起的住房.” 

-Henrissa和Sam

At Centro Legal we are proud of our strong leaders who push our organization to find solutions to intricate issues, understand our limitations and collaborate frequently with community partners, 最重要的是谁, always strive to raise the voices of our communities’ most marginalized members. 

I could not be more happy to have these two great attorneys spearheading and guiding our 租户的权利 program into this next year. I have full confidence that under their leadership we will continue to reach new heights and find success advocating and learning alongside our community.

团结一致, 

Monique Berlanga

执行董事

Henrissa巴赛 received her Juris Doctor from the American University 华盛顿 College of Law. 在进入法学院之前, Henrissa attained a Master of Public Health from the Univerisity of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and worked as a research analyst at WestEd. Henrissa has represented historically marginalized and racialized clients in civil court, 行政听证, 住房和城市发展部争端, 和上诉. Henrissa has also litigated unlawful detainer actions for tenants facing eviction, 非法增加租金, 报复, 歧视, 骚扰, 违反了适居性.

在加入Centro之前, Henrissa worked as a staff attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid and a policy research associate at PolicyLink. She has had the opportunity to work alongside systems-involved young people from underserved communities in California, 华盛顿, DC, 塞拉利昂, 和尼日利亚推进种族歧视, 社会, 性别平等.

Henrissa is a member of the Alameda County Bar Association’s Racial Justice Task Force. Henrissa is passionate about using multi-faceted approaches to enforce the housing rights of all communities who have systematically been denied just and fair participation in our society and/or are often treated as if their lives and livelihoods do not matter. She looks forward to co-leading the 租户的权利 Practice with 萨曼莎·贝克特 to disrupt the status quo, remove barriers to tenants living the lives they have envisioned for themselves, and enforce the rights of historically marginalized communities to live in safe, 经济适用房, 不受歧视和骚扰.

萨曼莎·贝克特 has represented low-income tenants in eviction defense and housing matters for over eight years. At Centro, she has litigated numerous unlawful detainer, rent board, and subsidized housing cases. 山姆帮助面临驱逐的低收入房客, 非法增加租金, 不适宜居住的条件, and 骚扰 in both the state court and before the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program. 在加入Centro之前, Sam was a supervising attorney on the housing team at Bread for the City, 这是华盛顿的一个非营利组织, D.C.

Sam Beckett received her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California. Sam is also a proud member of the Alameda County Bar Association’s Judicial Appointments Evaluation Committee.

Sam is fueled by her belief that housing is a fundamental human right, and is excited to co-lead the 租户的权利 Practice with Henrissa巴赛 in responding creatively and holistically to the needs of our marginalized and underserved community members to ensure safe, 稳定的, 经济适用房, 这样我们所有的邻居都能繁荣发展.