Clarissa Rodriguez, 2000

Clarissa M. Rodriguez Esq., was appointed Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Board by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2017. Before joining the Board in July of 2016, Mrs. Rodriguez worked as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York in the Foreclosure Prevention and Predatory Lending Unit in Queens County, and in the Housing Unit in Harlem. Mrs. Rodriguez also worked in the Civil and Matrimonial Parts of the Nassau County Supreme Court. She served with the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General, the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Office of General Counsel, the Municipal Employees Legal Services at District Council 37, and the Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project of the Urban Justice Center, among others, prior to joining the Bar.

Earlier in her career, Mrs. Rodriguez was the project editor/legislative liaison of the National Parents and Teachers Association in Washington D.C. In addition, she was a community organizer with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, and a social services counselor at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger in New York City. She sat on the Board of Directors of the Cypress Hills Local Development Project from 2012 to 2017 and is a member of the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, Dominican Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association.

Mrs. Rodriguez was honored by the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County and received a legislative proclamation during the SOMOS El Futuro New York’s Legislative Conference in Albany.  She is also the recipient of the Legal Aid Society’s Hispanic Heritage Appreciation Award, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) Fellowship of the American Bar Association, and El Diario/La Prensa’s 9th Annual NYC Outstanding Latina Award. She is a graduate of the City University of New York School of Law and holds a BA in political science from the State University of New York at Purchase College.