ALDEA -- The People's Justice Center
Protect immigrant children, families, and other refugees by providing access to high-quality, pro bono legal representation.
Board Members
Patricia Velasco
Patricia Velasco is the daughter of immigrant parents from Oaxaca, Mexico. As a child, she and her family moved three to four times a year, following the various vegetable seasons across the United States. Working in the crop fields alongside the migrant mothers and fathers is where Patricia developed an appreciation and understanding of the many sacrifices which immigrants make in order to provide a better, safer, future for their children. She has witnessed, and experienced, first-hand the many obstacles and challenges in areas ranging from housing, education, legal, and social services which the immigrant community faces. For this reason, Patricia has committed her skills, knowledge, and expertise in the areas of strategic management, interpersonal relations, and immigration services, to serve the community which raised her.
Shana Kline
Shana was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. At age 19, after two years of college at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Shana joined a program named Mission Year and was placed in the west Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. This is the place where she fell in love with the city and the people in it. Shana graduated with her Bachelors and Masters degrees in social work from Temple University in Philadelphia. She worked with children in the child welfare system for several years before assisting in the startup of the first Housing First program for families that were experiencing homelessness, as well as being involved with the child welfare department, whether by having children in foster care or having a history of abuse. These families were also experiencing mental health diagnosis'. From there, Shana moved on to working with people experiencing homelessness and in need of medical care. She assisted with a Federally Qualified Health Center becoming a self-standing and self-sufficient healthcare for the homeless program. In 2010, she began raising the next generation of world changers - three little ones, Mari, Caleb, and Joshua, that call her mom.
Gladys Dubon Chicas
Gladys Dubon Chicas is a vocal advocate for refugee’s rights and the end of family detention. Gladys is intimately familiar with the United States’ policy on detaining families seeking asylum in the United States and the re-traumatization this causes to refugees. Gladys and her young daughter fled their home in Central America due to violence and harm they faced there. Gladys and her daughter spent approximately a year detained at the Berks County Family Residential (detention) Center (BCRC) in Leesport, Pennsylvania. Eventually, Gladys and her daughter won their case and were granted refugee status in the United States. Throughout her time fighting her asylum case in detention and since winning her case, Gladys has been an outspoken advocate for those who face a similar situation. Gladys continues to support and advocate for women and children seeking protection in the United States.
Wadah Alsbiei
Coming Soon