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THE BRONX DEFENDERS
BRONX, NY · EIN 133931074 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE I80 · Crime & Legal-Related · Very Large (>$50M) · bronxdefenders.org
revenue
$69.8M
expenses
$68.5M
net assets
$7.2M
employees
488
volunteers
12
program ratio
88%
profile · synthesized from sources

The Bronx Defenders is a holistic public defense organization serving low-income residents of the Bronx, New York. It provides legal representation across criminal, family, immigration, and housing courts while addressing the interconnected consequences of system involvement. The organization combines direct legal services with systemic advocacy, policy reform, and training to challenge structural inequities in the legal system.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $0
    SYSTEMIC ADVOCACY: OUR PROXIMITY TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE EXPERIENCES OF THE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT PLACES US ON THE FRONT LINE IN THE FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, AND EQUITY. AS A RESULT, WE PARTNER WITH THE PEOPLE WE SERVE TO IDENTIFY SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS AND LEVERAGE OUR EXPERTISE TO DEVELOP LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS. THROUGH IMPACT LITIGATION, POLICY REFORM ADVOCACY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WE PUSH FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGES AT THE LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL LEVEL.
  2. #2 $0
    TRAINING AND EDUCATION: WE HELP PUBLIC DEFENDERS AND OTHER ADVOCATES INCORPORATE THE PRINCIPLES OF HOLISTIC DEFENSE INTO THEIR PRACTICES, AT THE INDIVIDUAL OR THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL. WE ALSO PROVIDE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGH MENTORSHIP. SPECIFIC ONGOING AND ANNUAL INITIATIVES INCLUDE THE CENTER FOR HOLISTIC DEFENSE, THE DEFENDERS' ACADEMY (TRIAL SKILLS TRAINING), THE ROBERT P. PATERSON, JR. MENTORING PROGRAM, AND CLINICS AT COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL AND CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW. OUR OFFICE PROVIDED TRAINING, MENTORSHIP, AND OTHER RELATED SERVICES BOTH IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY TO HUNDREDS OF LAWYERS FROM DEFENDER OFFICES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITY GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Center for Holistic Defense
National initiative to train public defenders and organizations in holistic defense practices and principles
Defenders' Academy
Trial skills training program for public defenders and advocates nationwide
Holistic Defense
Comprehensive legal representation integrating criminal, family, immigration, and housing defense with social work and advocacy to address the full range of client needs
Robert P. Paterson, Jr. Mentoring Program
Professional development and mentorship initiative for community members and legal advocates
Systemic Advocacy
Impact litigation, policy reform, and community organizing to address root causes of injustice and change laws at local, state, and national levels
activities · 9 groups

What they do

  • Pro Bono Legal Representation and Support 2 activities
    • Collaborates with pro bono legal partners on litigation and research
      Partners with pro bono attorneys to file federal complaints, litigate hearings, co-counsel trials, argue appeals, and conduct legal research in support of systemic advocacy and individual client representation.
    • Provides holistic legal defense across criminal, civil, family, and immigration cases
      Provides legal representation to nearly 20,000 Bronx residents annually in criminal, civil, family, and immigration matters, including criminal defense for thousands of people—nearly 40% charged with low-level offenses—and serves as the primary institutional defender against child removals in the Bronx.
  • Public Benefits Navigation and Enrollment 1 activity
    • Assists clients with public benefits access and social support
      Helps clients complete applications for SNAP, Medicaid, and other public benefits, secures $3.23 million in benefits annually (averaging $1,350 per person), and provides social work support to 2,800 individuals, including emergency funds for food, rent, and transportation.
  • Constitutional and Government Accountability Litigation 1 activity
    • Challenges systemic injustice through impact litigation
      Files lawsuits to challenge racially discriminatory policing, illegal mass surveillance, due process violations, and unconstitutional stay-away orders; litigated a precedent-setting case for Shamika Crawford and filed a groundbreaking petition challenging the constitutionality of stay-away orders without hearings.
  • Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy 1 activity
    • Engages in systemic advocacy and policy reform
      Advances structural change through legislative advocacy, media engagement, testifying before legislative bodies, and promoting reforms such as ending cash bail, legalizing cannabis, eliminating drivers license suspensions, and ending solitary confinement; played a role in passing the Clean Slate Act and ending stop-and-frisk in New York.
  • Tenant Legal Advocacy & Support Services 1 activity
    • Prevents evictions and advocates for tenant rights
      Provides legal counsel on eviction proceedings, NYCHA termination of tenancy, and Housing Part proceedings to compel repairs or stop landlord harassment, preventing 332 evictions and helping 826 people remain in their homes.
  • Immigration Legal Services 1 activity
    • Provides comprehensive legal representation to detained immigrants
      Provides legal defense to detained immigrants facing deportation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the nation's first and largest public defender program for detained immigrants, and co-leads the nation's first universal representation program for this population.
  • Family and Juvenile Legal Defense 1 activity
    • Provides specialized legal and social support through project-based initiatives
      Operates targeted defense projects including the Adolescent Defense Project for youth prosecuted as adults, the Education Defense Project for students’ educational rights, the Prisoners’ Rights Project for pretrial detainees, the Healthy Parents, Healthy Babies program to prevent infant-family separation, and the LGBTQ Defense Project for LGBTQ+ residents.
  • Volunteer and Professional Training Programs 1 activity
    • Provides training and builds capacity in holistic defense
      Provides annual training, mentorship, and technical assistance to over 1,000 individuals from more than 100 defender offices and community groups nationwide through The Center for Holistic Defense, Defenders Academy, and legal clinics.
  • Uncategorized 4 activities
    • Conducts research to inform advocacy and expose systemic inequities
      Conducts investigations revealing racially discriminatory practices in child welfare, including the misuse of cannabis allegations to justify family separations, and published findings from an internal ACS audit acknowledging racial bias; research has demonstrated reduced incarceration and pre-trial detention through holistic defense models.
    • Recovers seized property and secures financial settlements for clients
      Recovered $1.15 million in personal property previously seized by the state and secured a financial settlement from the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in a precedent-setting case challenging racially discriminatory family separation practices.
    • Secures client outcomes including release from incarceration and family reunification
      Secured release from jail or prevented incarceration for 10,300 people in the past year, helped 2,100 families (over 4,000 children) avoid family separation, and secured asylum for vulnerable clients such as an LGBTQ+ individual fleeing persecution in Nigeria.
    • Supports cannabis social equity applicants
      Screened over 600 individuals for New York’s social equity cannabis licensing program, supported 30 with applications, secured conditional licenses for 25, and helped 12 open licensed dispensaries.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$69.80M
Contributions & grants$69.39M99%
Program service revenue$7K0%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$403K
expenses
Total expenses$68.50M
Program expenses88%
Admin / overhead12%
Fundraising1%
Salaries & benefits$55.33M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$34.57M
Cash$1.89M
Investments$0
Liabilities$27.41M
Net assets$7.16M
Liquid reserves0.3 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +6.5%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 24
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
JESUS INFANTE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 40 $294K
SAMETH CAINES DEPUTY DIRECTOR 40 $292K
ROBYN MAR DEPUTY DIRECTOR 40 $279K
LIJO CHIRAYIL VARGHESE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 40 $241K
EMMA KETTERINGHAM MANAGING DIRECTOR FDP 40 $217K
YOLANDA CRUZ DIRECTOR OF PAYROLL/CONTROLLER 40 $216K
SHANNON CUMBERBATCH MD P&C AND EIT 40 $209K
ANN MATHEWS MANAGING DIRECTOR CDP 40 $201K
ERIN SCHECHTER ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL 40 $199K
AMY L CRAWFORD MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP 40 $195K
CAROLYN Y STRUDWICK MANAGING DIRECTOR SW 40 $194K
RUNA RAJAGOPAL MANAGING DIRECTOR CAP 40 $193K
ANNETTE LEE DEPUTY DIRECTOR CDP 40 $191K
MARTERRA WALKER MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ADMIN 40 $186K
JAIRO SANTANA DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 40 $183K
KEITH BAUMANN DIRECTOR OF HOLISTIC DEFENSE 40 $181K
ANTHONY C CHIARITO MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS 40 $181K
ANTOINETTE COSTANZO DIRECTOR OF HOMICIDE PRACTICE 40 $178K
LOURDES SANTIAGO DIRECTOR OF P&C 40 $178K
ZIARA ESCALERA ASSOC. DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS 40 $173K
JENNY SEMMEL SUPERVISING ATTORNEY MENTAL HEALTH 40 $169K
KARLA OSTOLAZA-ORTIZ MANAGING DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION PRACTICE 40 $168K
ANNE PINEDA DIRECTOR OF PRO BONO 40 $167K
JUVAL O SCOTT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $109K
board members · 1
  • ABBE SMITH — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 23

Who they work with

  • Administration for Children’s Services Partner — Collaborates during family policing investigations to advocate for families and prevent child removals.
  • Administration for Children’s Services Partner — Engages with ACS caseworkers on behalf of clients to obtain information and prevent family separation.
  • Andrew Jimenez Partner — Parent Advocate in the Family Defense Practice.
  • Arnold & Porter Partner — Pro bono legal partner in litigation against the New York City Administration for Children’s Services on behalf of Chanetto Rivers.
  • Bronx Leadership & Organizing Center Partner — Collaborates with the Bronx Leadership & Organizing Center (BLOC) on community organizing and advocacy initiatives.
  • CUNY School of Law Partner — Collaborates through the Defenders Clinic, where former Bronx Defenders staff serve as faculty and clinical directors.
  • Cardozo School of Law Partner — Collaborates on legal clinics as part of training and education initiatives.
  • Columbia Law School Partner — Collaborates on legal clinics as part of training and education initiatives.
  • Covington & Burling LLP Partner — Collaborated with The Bronx Defenders on a groundbreaking legal petition challenging stay-away orders without hearings.
  • East Side House Settlement Partner — Anchoring partner in The Bronx Leadership & Organizing Center (BLOC) coalition.
  • Georgetown University Law Center Partner — Collaborates through shared expertise in criminal defense and clinical legal education, with faculty members having direct experience with the organization.
  • Lowis Ortega Partner — Parent Advocate in the Family Defense Practice focusing on fathers.
  • NYPD Partner — Engages during police investigations through early defense advocacy to prevent legal system entanglement.
  • New Settlement Partner — Anchoring partner in The Bronx Leadership & Organizing Center (BLOC) coalition.
  • New York City Department of Correction Partner — Subject of a class-action lawsuit filed by The Bronx Defenders to stop illegal mass surveillance practices.
  • New York Immigrant Family Unity Project Partner — Collaborates to provide free legal representation to detained immigrants facing deportation in New York City.
  • New York University School of Law Partner — Engages through teaching and training, with current and former leaders involved in legal ethics and public defense education.
  • Orayne Williams Partner — Social Worker and Director in the Adolescent Defense Project within the Criminal Defense Practice.
  • Tony Flores Partner — Social Worker in the Family Defense Practice.
  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Partner — Advocates for individuals during ICE investigations through early defense interventions.
  • Union representing staff Partner — Engaged in collective bargaining with the union over salary and benefit proposals for staff roles.
  • bar committees Coalition — Serves on bar committees and task forces as part of policy advocacy work.
  • info@bronxdefenders.org Partner — Point of contact for pro bono partnership opportunities
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Basic Needs as Legal Advocacy
    methodology: basic_needs_for_stability
    By providing emergency financial support and addressing unmet basic needs, we promote client stability and dignity because material security is a prerequisite for meaningful participation in legal defense and long-term justice outcomes.
  • Culturally Responsive Advocacy
    methodology: culturally_responsive_advocacy
    By training advocates to adapt communication styles and leverage trusted identities, we improve engagement and outcomes for marginalized clients because culturally attuned interactions reduce stigma and build trust in systems that historically harm communities of color.
  • Holistic Defense Model
    methodology: holistic_defense
    By integrating legal representation with social work and addressing clients' social, economic, and health needs, we improve legal outcomes and long-term stability because legal problems are rooted in systemic inequities that require multidimensional solutions.
  • Strategic Impact Litigation
    methodology: impact_litigation
    By litigating high-leverage individual cases with broad systemic implications, we establish legal precedents that expand constitutional protections because targeted legal challenges can dismantle unjust policies affecting entire communities.
  • Systemic Change Through Integrated Advocacy
    methodology: integrated_systemic_advocacy
    By combining direct legal representation, policy advocacy, community organizing, and narrative change, we drive structural reform because sustained systemic change requires simultaneous intervention across legal, political, and cultural systems.