![]() House of Representatives as a Policy Fellow for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Before attending law school, Gladis worked at the U.S. from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). from the California State University in Long Beach (CSULB) and her J.D. Gladis is a native of El Salvador and grew up in Long Beach, CA. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She has represented children in Immigration Court and Juvenile Court, as well as before the U.S. She has worked in Harlingen, TX for the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) in Los Angeles, CA for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and in Phoenix, AZ for The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. Gladis came to the Young Center with a decade of experience in working with unaccompanied immigrant children. Before that, she served as the Child Advocate Program Director at the organization for four years. Gladis Molina Alt is the Executive Director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. Gladis Molina Alt, Executive Director (Phoenix) Read More Maria retired on June 28, 2021, after 18 years of serving children at the Young Center. For her service to children and the advocacy community, Maria was the recipient of the 1996 Public Interest Law Initiative Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2013 American Constitution Society Ruth Goldman Award, the 2017 UNICEF Chicago Humanitarian Award, the 2019 American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois Global Citizenship Hero, and the Young Center’s inaugural Waymaker Award. Throughout her career, Maria focused on children’s rights, at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the ChildLaw Center at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, and at the University of Chicago Law School. While at the Young Center, Maria’s focus was on reforming the immigration system to incorporate a best interests standard and developing a dedicated immigration justice system for children. As part of this work, the Young Center serves as Child Advocate (best interests guardian ad litem) for trafficking victims and unaccompanied immigrant children pursuant to the Wilberforce Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. The Young Center’s primary work is to advocate for the best interests-safety and well-being-of unaccompanied and separated immigrant children. Maria Woltjen is the Founder of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. ![]() ![]() Maria Woltjen, Founder (Chicago) Read More
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