Cheryl Keshner has been an advocate for Long Island’s underserved communities for many years. She joined Empire Justice Center’s Long Island office in 2008, where she assists low-income individuals and families in accessing and maintaining government benefits, defending their rights to decent housing, dealing with immigration-related issues, and addressing the many inequities they face daily. She engages in grassroots outreach to the Latino community, providing know your rights trainings across Long Island.
Cheryl is passionate about advancing the rights of people with limited English proficiency and works to ensure that they are treated with respect, regardless of their immigration status. She is the founder and coordinator of the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition, which works to attain equal access to healthcare, law enforcement, social services, education, and justice through the courts for people who may not read write, speak or understand English proficiently. In 2012 and 2013, respectively, LILAC was successful in obtaining passage of executive orders in Nassau and Suffolk County mandating county agencies to provide comprehensive language access, and has continued to work for their successful implementation. As a member of LILAC and several Long Island police reform coalitions, Cheryl has monitored the Suffolk County Police Department’s compliance with a 2014 Department of Justice Settlement agreement, which directed it to address a long-standing pattern of biased policing against the Latino community.
She has worked in tandem with many amazing advocates to challenge racially discriminatory policing practices and policies and has long advocated for improved policies and procedures in the areas of language access and domestic violence. Prior to joining Empire Justice Center, Cheryl worked as a social worker with Nassau/Suffolk Law Services where she assisted numerous homeless individuals and families, provided representation at DSS hearings, and challenged punitive welfare reform rules. She has also worked as a community organizer with the NYC Commission on Human Rights. Cheryl has an MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work and believes strongly in moving from case to cause.
