Adriene (she/her) serves as Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice of The Legal Aid Society and has devoted her entire professional career to challenging poverty and racial injustice for the advancement of equity. Adriene is responsible for managing the provision of comprehensive civil legal services through a network of neighborhood offices and specialized city-wide units serving all five boroughs of New York City with over 500 staff working on more than 50,000 cases each year. Prior to her appointment to Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice, Adriene served as Attorney-in-Charge of the Harlem Office; practiced law as a staff attorney in the Law Reform Unit of the Civil Practice; and began her career as a staff attorney in the Harlem Office Housing Law Unit.

In addition to her formal duties, Adriene also serves as a member of the New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, serves on the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates, is a member of the New York State Bar Association President’s Committee on Access to Justice, is an executive board member for Housing Court Answers, and previously served as a Tenant Representative on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. Adriene has also served as an adjunct professor at The New School and as a volunteer instructor at Columbia Law School.

Often called upon to work on Legal Aid’s legislative agenda, Adriene frequently testifies before legislative bodies on the city and state levels. She also is consulted on various legal and policy matters impacting low-income communities by the media, law schools, and policy or governmental agencies.

Adriene received her B.S. in Political Science from Spelman College, and received her J.D. from Columbia Law School.