Meet Our Team
Management Staff
Maria Blacque-Belair, Founder/Executive Director
Maria has worked with several international humanitarian organizations worldwide, delivering medical care and food aid in war zones and disaster-stricken regions. In 2006, she founded RIF Asylum Support based in New York City. She speaks French, English, and Spanish. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
Mariella Cárdenas Torres, Director of Operations
Mariella oversees the day-to-day operations of RIF Asylum Support, coordinating closely with team members and partners to ensure smooth program delivery. She is a professional journalist and non-profit communications specialist. As an asylum seeker herself, Mariella brings a unique perspective to RIF programs and development. She speaks Spanish and English.
Legal Team:
Cassandra Esteban Brusi, Consulting Attorney
Cass is a consulting attorney with RIF NYC and an associate attorney at the Samokhleb & Bitterman Law Group. A graduate of the NYU School of Law, Cass has spent the entirety of her legal career defending immigrants’ rights at a variety of private law firms and not-for-profit organizations. She is proudest of the pro bono work she’s done on behalf of Central American survivors of gender-based violence, which includes the published victory in Castellanos-Ventura v. Garland, 118 F.4th 250 (2d Cir. 2024). She speaks English and Spanish.
Paulina Leyva H., Immigration & Detention Fellow Expert
Paulina is an aspiring immigration attorney dedicated to defending the rights of asylum seekers and migrants, currently specializing in criminal-immigration matters and detained removal defense. For nearly a decade, she has worked with local and international organizations supporting refugees, newcomers and underserved populations in NYC and across the United States. Drawing on her own immigrant experience, Paulina is passionate about providing compassionate, trauma-informed, and client-centered advocacy, as well as leading community education and outreach efforts. Her goal is to empower individuals to understand and assert their civil and human rights. She speaks English and Spanish.
Legal Partners:
Co-Counsel NYC
Co-Counsel provides monthly legal consultations for RIF’s asylum seekers community. Through its nonprofit legal services, Co-Counsel partners with community-based organizations, law firms, and companies to respond to the emerging, complex, and ever-changing legal needs of immigrant communities. They provide training, supervision, co-counseling, and community education.
Legal Navigators:
Fabienne Peyrat, Volunteer Legal Navigator and Weekly Legal Consultation Moderator
Fabienne has many years of experience working with RIF providing asylum orientation and reviewing asylum applications on a case-by-case basis. She speaks French and English.
Carol Skyrm, Volunteer Legal Navigator and Board Member
Carol speaks French and English. She reviews asylum applications on a case-by-case basis, provides accompaniment and individual support.
Tanzilya Oren, Volunteer Legal Navigator
Tanzilya is a NYS-licensed Master Social Worker. After a career in civil society development abroad, in Uzbekistan and South Africa, she has worked in New York in the area of immigrant services since 2010. She speaks Russian and English.
Psychosocial Support:
Madelyn Miller, RIF Mental Health Advisor
Madelyn Miller, PhD, LCSW, works with adult survivors of trauma and loss in her psychotherapy practice and community work and teaches and trains on these issues. She has led the Emotional Support Group since Covid.
Communications Specialists:
Mariella Cardenas Torres, Head of Communications Content
Mariella produces educational content in English and Spanish for all RIF platforms, including the website, newsletter, and social media. She brings her expertise as a journalist and her nonprofit communications background to develop timely, accessible immigration information for the asylum seeker community, service providers, and activists.
Romain N’Dri, African Community Communications & Content Specialist
Romain creates timely updates on immigration policies affecting asylum seekers, tailored for RIF’s Francophone African community on social media. He has a professional background in communications and logistics. A native of Côte d’Ivoire, Romain sought asylum in Morocco, where he now resides.
Maria Blacque-Belair, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Maria provides weekly individualized psychosocial support. She also has expertise in forensic psychological evaluations for asylum cases and other immigration relief cases. Her approach combines immigration orientation and emotional support to help asylum seekers better understand how to navigate their asylum case while coping with its emotional toll amid uncertainty and fear.