Stephani Espinal-Suero

Stephani Espinal-Suero is a community organizer in the Tenant Advocacy Program for Catholic Migration Services. Her work primarily serves the community in Ridgewood, Queens. Stephani was born in the Dominican Republic and earned a Business Administration degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). In 2015, Stephani began community organizing alongside Yolanda Coca, a fierce community advocate and local leader in Bushwick and Ridgewood. Stephani joined the staff at Catholic Migration Services in 2015, and then in 2016 became a Public Ally under the Public Ally program for developing leaders. In 2018, Stephani graduated from the Center for Neighborhood Leadership (CNL) as a Community Organizer with the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD). In 2019, Stephani became a member of the Right to Counsel New York City Coalition, and today she continues to expand outreach in Ridgewood while focusing her work on tenant organizing in Elmhurst to address growing housing concerns. She completed a CLL advanced class in 2022 and the Theories of Change “Tenant Movement History in NYC” at City College in 2023.

In 2020, she was honored to receive a nomination as an NYC Champion and Changemaker by the Museum of the City of New York for her tenant advocacy work during the pandemic.