Social Responsibility
Calcaterra Pollack LLP team members are not only committed to those we represent and achieving positive outcomes for our clients; we are also committed to our communities, and to advocating for those in need, as reflected below.
Youth in Foster Care & Aged Out Youth
Partner Regina Calcaterra serves on the Board of Believers to You Gotta Believe, a nonprofit that, for over 20 years, has worked to find older foster youth “forever families” so they don’t “age out” of the foster care system on their own. Depending on the state in which a youth lives, they can be kicked out of their foster homes upon turning 18 or 21 years old and are left to manage on their own. Without a safety net, the majority of youth who age out of foster care end up homeless, incarcerated, or worse.
Regina has written about the impact of You Gotta Believe’s mission and the plight of aged out foster youth in her New York Times best-selling memoir and in national and local publications. She also speaks publicly about the plight of foster youth and addressing their trauma throughout the US to family law judges, educators, social workers, high schools, colleges, and countless not-for-profits that impact the lives of children in need.
Regina’s advocacy for youth in need is also reflected in her support of Case’s for Cases, an annual event focused on providing essential and comfort items and acceptable cases to carry them in, for over 600 teens in homeless shelters and foster group homes on Long Island; and as an advisory committee member to The Felix Organization, an organization that provides unique experiences to youth in foster care; and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
In addition to Calcaterra Pollack LLP’s representation of survivors of childhood sexual abuse, associate James Aliaga, through his work in the Hispanic National Bar Association (“HNBA”), increases visibility about the need of counsel and protections for childhood sexual assault survivors in the Latinx communities. His efforts contributed to the New York Region’s HNBA, the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association, and the New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association November 2020 collaboration to provide access to attorney continuing legal education programs for litigating the complexities of childhood sexual assault cases.
Mentoring Students
Associate James Aliaga speaks to and mentors high school and college students on critical issues such as Know Your Rights training through Rose2Hope, an organization that serves youths from disadvantaged backgrounds. He is also the alumni advisor to his alma mater’s undergraduate chapter of La Unidad Latina, Inc., and is a mentor in the LatinoJusticePRLDEF’s Next Generation Lideres program, where he guides college students as they prepare for careers in the legal profession.
Associate Anjori Mitra continues her affiliation with Columbia Law School by serving as a mentor as part of the Columbia Law Women’s Association mentorship program.
