Our Executive Board
President: Ariana Rodriguez-Hernandez
Ariana Rodriguez-Hernandez (she/her) is part-time 4L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She graduated from The College of New Jersey, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
She was born in Newark and was raised in Hillside, NJ. She is passionate about international law, juvenile justice and human rights law. While pursuing her undergraduate studies, she interned at the United Nations, where she presented research on Women Used as Weapons of War. She also interned for Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and for Judge Jacqueline Medina at the Bergen County Justice Center focusing on family law matters of domestic violence and adoptions. While in law school she briefly worked at a private defense law firm, interned for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office for the Special Victim’s Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, and worked at the John Jay Legal Services’ Disability Rights Clinic. She currently works as a case manager for gang-involved and affected youth in the city of Trenton, NJ. She is passionate about juvenile justice and the need to break the school-to-prison pipeline.
She is currently serving as the 2024-2025 President of MetroLALSA.
vice president of Financial Affairs: Chantall Sanchez
Chantall Sanchez (she/her/ella) is a third-year law student at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. At Cardozo, Chantall is an E. Nathaniel Gates Ambassador and a FAME Competition Editor for the Moot Court Honor Society. Chantall is from Westchester, NY. She graduated from Stony Brook University in 2016 with a B.A. in Political Science and double minors in Women’s and Gender Studies and International Studies. After graduation, she worked as a paralegal for two years at My Sisters’ Place, a not-for-profit organization in White Plains that provided legal and social services to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. She then went on to work for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for three years as Deputy Director of Immigration and Foreign Affairs, liaising on behalf of NY constituents with federal government agencies regarding their immigration matters.
During her 1L summer, Chantall interned at Traub, Lieberman, Strauss & Shrewsberry in Hawthorne, NY, working primarily on construction litigation matters. During her 2L summer, Chantall interned at S&P Global in New York, NY, working on data privacy, intellectual property, and corporate projects. This fall, Chantall is externing at Artworks Legal Incubator, helping artists and creators secure their intellectual property.
Upon graduation, Chantall hopes to pursue a career in the areas of intellectual property, corporate, and sports.
Vice President of Public relations: Marleny argueta
Marleny Aguera (she/hers) is a full-time 2L at St. John’s University School of Law. She graduated cum laude from the University of Houston, where she majored in History and minored in Latin American Studies.
She was born and raised in Houston Texas. She is passionate about international law, and labor and employment law.
While pursuing her undergraduate studies she interned for State Senator Carol Alvarado. She was also the Vice President of Programming for the University’s National Panhellenic Conference.
While in law school, she interned her 1L summer at Kids in Need of Defense, an international non profit organization aimed at ensuring children get adequate representation in U.S. courts. She is currently externing for a U.S. District Court Judge.
She is currently serving as the 2024-2025 Vice President of Public Relations of MetroLALSA.
Vice President of membership: Melinda Calderón
Melinda Calderón (she/her) is an Ecuadorian-American from Queens, New York. Before law school, she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in International Relations and Global Studies with a focus in Latin America, additionally completing the McCombs Business Foundations Minor. Currently, she is a third-year law student at Brooklyn Law School, and she holds the position of Vice President of Membership for MetroLALSA.
During her second year at Brooklyn Law she was the Social Chair of the school's LALSA, and she served on the Women of Color Alliance Executive Board. She also participated in the school's Community Economic Development transactional clinic, where she now takes an advanced leadership role for her third year. Additionally, she serves as the Intra-Journal Commitee Representative for the Brooklyn Law Review.
This summer, she worked as a summer law clerk at White & Case LLP, and she will return to their Energy and Infrastructure team post-graduation.
Alumni Director: jordan montoya
Jordan Montoya (he/him) is Elisabeth Haub School of Law Class of 2017 J.D. graduate. He began his career working within the criminal justice system with the goal of understanding crucial issues affecting public safety and communities of color.
He is currently MetroLALSA's Alumni Director and previously held a position as MetroLALSA’s Vice President of Social Action 2017.
Mr. Montoya is now serving as Executive Director of Pretrial Services at the New York City Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.
Vice president: Amada Guapisaca
Amada Guapisaca (she/her/ella) is a third-year JD/Master’s in International Affairs candidate at CUNY School of Law and City College of New York, focused on advancing justice for marginalized communities. As a 2023 Sorensen Center Fellow, her master’s research explores human trafficking, reproductive justice in Latin America, and gender equality in international courts.
As a past intern for Make the Road New York and a volunteer for Catholic Charities of New York, Amada has been able to provide direct legal assistance and community education to immigrants and asylum seekers. In the summer of 2024, Amada interned for the Clínica Jurídica Alaíde Foppa for Refugee Persons at la Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. She was able to directly work with migrants seeking refugee status in either Mexico or the United States. Amada also played a key role in developing a new legal orientation program for the Casa Tochan migrant shelter for new arrivals.
As the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants, she brings a personal understanding to her advocacy, which has been further honed through her prior leadership roles in CUNY LALSA (2022-2024) and as the current Vice President of MetroLALSA. As a first-generation student, she aims to empower Latinx law students and foster a more inclusive legal community.
Aspiring to become an international human rights attorney, she is committed to leveraging her diverse skill set and personal background to contribute meaningfully to global justice initiatives and create lasting positive change for marginalized communities worldwide.
vice president of Strategic Partnerships: Nathaniel Pinero
Nathaniel Pinero is the Vice President of Strategic Partnership for MetroLALSA and a 3L part-time student at Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law. Born and raised in Washington Heights, he comes from a Dominican and Puerto Rican background. Nathaniel works as a compliance liaison for New York City, ensuring regulatory adherence across multiple agencies.
He graduated from New York University with a degree in Sports Management, which sparked his interest in compliance within the sports industry and professional player unions. At Pace, he also serves as the MetroLALSA representative, connecting students with resources that support the Latinx law community.
Nathaniel is passionate about the intersection of sports, labor, and law, with a particular interest in compliance issues and professional athletes' rights. He also enjoys exploring alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a legal interest, appreciating its role in resolving conflicts efficiently. In his leadership role, Nathaniel builds partnerships to benefit law students across the region. He remains committed to promoting diversity in the legal field and developing professionally, with a focus on compliance, ADR, and sports law.
Vice President of Social Impact: Samantha Sanchez
Samantha Sanchez (she/her) is a third-year law student at Cardozo Law and an aspiring civil rights lawyer, passionate about advancing the rights of incarcerated and detained individuals and advocating for the end of mass incarceration. Her work is centered on prison law, focusing on the intersection of mental health care, racial justice, and the criminal justice system.
Her internships and clinic experience in law school have included the Securities Arbitration Clinic, the Office of Pro Se Litigation at the Southern District of New York, the ACLU National Prison Project, and the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Before law school, Samantha worked for several years in business immigration at a tech company, gaining valuable experience in navigating complex legal systems.
Samantha earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from NYU and Rutgers University. Growing up in New York City and spending summers in Colombia shaped her perspective on advocacy, human rights, and the importance of community-focused services. Samantha is also conducting independent research on administrative remedy procedures in prisons and barriers to justice within these systems.
She speaks five languages, including Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and English. She is an avid thrifter, a passionate animal rescue volunteer, and a dedicated plant hobbyist. She also plays the saxophone and loves painting with different mediums. She has two grey rescue cats named Lila and Arthur.
Alumni Director: Cesar z. Ruiz
Cesar Z. Ruiz (he/him/el) is an Associate Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF and works in the area of voting rights and redistricting. He was born and raised in New York, to parents who migrated from Puerto Rico. Cesar got his B.A from John Jay College in 2017. He is a first-generation Juris Doctor who graduated from CUNY School of Law in 2021 and was admitted to practice law in the state of New York in 2022. Cesar supports LatinoJustice’s current voting rights litigation, advocacy and community education and engagement efforts in New York and Florida.
Cesar is LatinoJustice’s Lead Counsel in Fossella v. Adam, New York Communities for Change v. Nassau County and Hispanic Federation v. Byrd.