Staff Joan Vermeulen
Executive Director
Ms. Vermeulen is the Founding Director of the Cyrus. R. Vance Center for International Justice Initiatives. She is responsible for the development and administration of a series of access to justice programs in Latin America and South Africa. Ms. Vermeulen has also served as a consultant to numerous organizations in Argentina, Australia and Chile in the areas of pro bono, professional responsibility and the rule of law. Prior to founding the Vance Center, she served as Executive Director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest from 1985-2000. In this capacity, Ms. Vermeulen was responsible for the overall management of the public interest law office, in which she created the Environmental Justice Project, oversaw the expansion of both budget and staff, and increased the private bar's involvement in pro bono initiatives. She sits on the Board of Directors for Conjunction Arts and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Ms. Vermeulen received her B.A. with honors and distinction from Mount Holyoke College and was a recipient of the Joseph F. Skinner Fellowship for Excellence in History. She spent two years at the London School of Economics as a research student in political philosophy and received her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.
Elise Colomer Grimaldi
Associate Director & Director of Latin America Program
As Associate Director/Program Associate at the New York City Bar Association's Vance Center for International Justice, Ms. Colomer Grimaldi coordinates region-wide initiatives in the Americas and country-based projects in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the United States, including the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas (PBDA). Her responsibilities include managing the Center's Pro Bono Clearinghouse, Amicus Network, and Global Network for Justice Initiatives. Ms. Colomer also provides direct support to the Vance Center's Executive Director in program development, fund-raising and operational management.
Prior to this, Ms. Colomer Grimaldi was Coordinator of the City Diplomacy Program at the Glocal Forum, an international think tank based in Rome that espouses peace building and development cooperation at the municipal level. Before joining the Glocal Forum, Ms. Colomer Grimaldi was Business & Partnership Officer at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), where she managed the public-private partnership program and project portfolio, providing business and partnership services to the United Nations and World Bank Group.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ms. Colomer Grimaldi is bi-lingual in English and Spanish. She received her M.S. in International Social Welfare Administration from Columbia University in 1999 and her B.A. in International Affairs and Peace & Justice Studies from Tufts University in 1997. In 2005, Ms. Colomer Grimaldi was a Senior Fellow Scholar at the National Leadership Development Institute.
Felipe Lecaros
Network Coordinator
Mr. Lecaros coordinates the Global Network for Justice Initiatives, prior to which he was a volunteer attorney at the Vance Center. Previously, he was an associate at Cruz & Cia, Abogados and legal advisor to the Chilean-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, both in Santiago, Chile. His practice has been primarily focused on corporate issues. Mr. Lecaros was a foreign Associate at O'Melveny & Myers, Washington D.C. office. He is a member of the Colegio de Abogados de Chile and the New York City Bar Association and is admitted to practice both in Chile and in New York. Mr. Lecaros obtained his J.D. from Diego Portales University School of Law, a Masters in Corporate Law from Pontificia Universidad Cat o lica de Chile and an LL.M from Duke University School of Law.
Elizabeth Millard
Coordinator, Africa Program
Ms. Millard focuses on developing partnerships between the Vance Center and law societies, law firms and NGOs in Africa. She came to the Center after retiring from Credit Suisse, where she was a Managing Director in the Legal and Compliance Department. She had previously worked at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. Ms. Millard, who holds an M.A. in South Asia Studies from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a J.D., is active in CARE, the international humanitarian organization, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the CARE Women's Initiative of New York and chair of its education/outreach efforts. While at Credit Suisse she was a trustee of the Credit Suisse Americas Foundation Trust.
Former Staff
Ira Zaka
Project Assistant 2007-2008
Alyson Zureick
Project Assistant 2006-2007
Jennifer Bréa
Project Assistant 2005-2006
Rachel Ellenport
Project Associate
2004-2005
Visiting Attorneys
Romina Grinberg
Argentina
2003; 2008
Jorgelina Rossi
Argentina
2006-08
Pedro Castro Nevares
Argentina
2004
Niels Bang Sorensen
Denmark
2004
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