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Where are you from? How have your experiences throughout your upbringing influenced your passions and aspirations today?

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, a small territory of the United States of America located in the Caribbean. My upbringing was characterized by a healthy balance of constant learning and creativity, in which my parents instilled and developed in my siblings and me the values of responsibility, commitment to reaching our goals, and living with integrity and respect for others. Within my upbringing, there was no limit to the variety and diversity of subjects we could talk and read about, from conversations regarding politics, art, films, psychology, history, literature, and languages. As a result, I believe that consciously, I wanted to work in a profession where service was the main goal and where I could be an agent of change as a communicator, attorney and as US Probation Officer. Community service was also encouraged, and as a result, I worked with non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico that serve disadvantaged populations and engaged in causes and initiatives that promoted and discussed migrants’  rights, labor, and environmental issues, among others. As a US Probation Officer, my curiosity and commitment to expanding my professional and academic acumen have led me to educate myself in areas concerning mental health, criminal law, reentry, rehabilitation, and controlled substances among other subject matters.

My aspirations have always been defined by my passion for reading, writing and researching diverse issues, but also teaching others. Without the sharing of knowledge and experience, collaboration cannot be executed.  At this precise stage of my professional career, self-educating myself continues to be a goal. However, mentoring and coaching others have become my main objective in the aspiration of promoting change from within and outside my organization. As such, I have engaged in mentoring and training initiatives, which have allowed me to execute this aspiration.

What drives you?

Constant learning while sharing and empowering others to reach their potential are my continuous motivations and drivers as a person and generally, in every endeavor I pursue. In my line of work, what motivates me is helping people who are part of the criminal justice system to reach pro-social goals, ensure a home, secure their rights, and become productive members of society, despite the obstacles they face. As I have grown older, listening and learning from every relationship I make, have made me realize how diverse human experiences are. Teaching and training others have also driven my career, as I have become a mentor to co-workers and persons within the system. One of the reasons, I chose to study and practice law was to help others in fighting for their rights. It seemed idealistic at the time, but my experience within the criminal justice system has made me realize how vocation to serve and social reform are needed more than ever in our current social, economic, and political environment.

What does social justice mean to you?

Despite the ample meaning of said concept, social justice for me means equity in accessing and securing basic constitutional rights, like for example, health care, steady income, and education, by all persons, irrespective of their race, religious, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds. Social justice requires that agencies and organizations responsible for providing access to these rights develop administrative and legal processes that follow due process standards and that address diversity in the provision of these services. Social Justice is a standard of living that we must aspire to in a society that requires open dialogue and communication in everyday social institutions. Social Justice requires an open, respectful conversation about our differences in opinions and positions, in which diversity is encouraged, and solutions are discovered through conversation with respect and integrity.

What do you feel is the greatest challenge to social justice today?

For me, one of the greatest challenges is the lack of access to an education system that empowers. I believe that disinformation and lack of access to information that creates wisdom are tied up to the current social justice crisis we are living in today. As a US Probation Officer and an attorney, I have seen and experienced how a person’s life impacted by trauma, mental health issues, and little or no access to a successful education, have led many to a life of crime out of need or in some cases, as a result of controlled substance abuse, trauma or mental health issues. Access to basic medical and mental health services, education, effective legal representation, and a system that instead of penalizing truly rehabilitates may bring about profound change to the implementation of social justice in the criminal justice system. Education is key and the skill set to manage the constant bombardment of information resulting in disinformation and the lack of effective procedures that ensure access by disadvantaged groups is for me one of the main challenges to social justice today.

What is a piece of advice to give law students and young lawyers that want to make a meaningful impact on civil rights and social justice in today’s world?

I would say to law students and young lawyers to be open to learning and let your curiosity lead the way in your personal and professional development. Gain wisdom by active listening and learning from others and your present and future clients. Join legal organizations and associations, in which social justice and civil rights are areas of practice and part of their mission. Law school may teach you to argue and research case law, but in my experience, it did not teach me how to really practice the law and how to create rapport with your clients. The law is not only researching a legal issue and writing a legal memorandum.  It entails creating respectful relationships. Law school does not teach you the intricacies of the system, its complexities and components, and the different professionals from varied backgrounds, that make it work within our legal scheme.   I always tell younger colleagues to tap into their personal and professional backgrounds, skill sets and knowledge as they will need it to execute their responsibilities. I would encourage them to take courses in leadership, active listening, psychology, mindfulness, neuroscience and any other related subject matter that will make them not a better attorney, but a better Counselor. Civil rights and social justice require humble Counselors and listeners. We need to listen to people who disagree with us and learn to discuss with respect and integrity. Diversity is essential to ensuring civil rights and social justice as it is through the exchange of ideas, information, and opinions, through the relationships between human beings from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences that we grow and achieve true collaboration.

What CRSJ project(s) are you working on? Or, what have you undertaken in CRSJ that you found most rewarding to have worked on? Are there any upcoming events or projects you want us all to know about?

When I first started in the CRSJ’s Criminal Justice Committee, I worked with fellow members in a research project for a resolution regarding hate crime statistics in the US, per state. It was interesting to discover how far behind law enforcement agencies were in the collection of data and how this issue varies from state to state. It was a rewarding experience since it allowed me to glimpse into the complexities of data collection and analysis and how an effective data collection system allows for the development of efficient policies. This is an area in which attorneys need to be trained more.

Further, within the committee, I was a speaker in the webinar  “The State of the Criminal Justice System: What Role Do You Play?” held in August 2021,  and I represented the federal probation office role within the criminal justice system in a panel comprised of attorneys from the Government, the defense and the juvenile criminal system. In the panel, we discussed the role we played within the criminal justice system. As a panelist, I showcased the role played by the Puerto Rico Federal Probation and Federal Probation System in general, discussed the diverse and multiple services offered to the population, what was working or not, and how our responsibilities within the agency impacted the community and the Federal Criminal Justice System.  

Currently, as part of this committee, I would like to further research the matter of limited language services for non-English speakers in the criminal justice system, specifically in prison and in the community,and how it impacts the due process of persons accused or convicted of crimes, limits their legal constitutional rights and access to essential services. After said research, my goal is to develop a program within the Criminal Justice Committee along with other sections that have already worked on the issue. 

What do you do to relax in your spare time?

In my spare time, I love spending time with my family at home or going out to eat brunch, and dinner.  I also love reading historical fiction or any topic related to literature or any other subject matter that makes me curious. I do yoga at home, dance salsa, practice Hapkido (Korean martial arts) with a group, write,  and at this moment in my life, I love to make handmade notebooks and bookbinding with recycled materials. 

What is one thing most people do not know about you that you feel they should?

I was an avid chess player in the Puerto Rico Chess Federation. Afterward, I became a chess professor and taught chess to middle school children at my old school.  I was also a salsa teacher to adults in my community. As previously mentioned, and thanks to the Covid pandemic, I have become a bookbinder in development and create notebooks, using mixed media art and materials.

Biography

Ariana M. Guzmán García, Esq, Legal Project Practitioner (LPP)

Born and raised in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Ariana M. Guzmán García has a Bachelor´s degree in Communication with a major in Journalism, a Master´s degree in Theory and Investigation in Communication and a Juris Doctor, all from her alma mater, the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Since 2011, she is licensed to practice law in Puerto Rico, and in the Federal District Court of Puerto Rico, and is also a public notary. She is an experienced researcher and writer on topics like Chinese migration to Puerto Rico and intercultural relationships with Puerto Ricans, elderly law, labor rights, therapeutic jurisprudence, and community journalism, among other subject matters. As an attorney, her practice included labor and employment discrimination, family, civil, and criminal law cases. As a US Probation Officer and for the past ten years, she has experience as a presentence investigator and writer and in pretrial supervision. She is knowledgeable in sentencing guidelines issues and case law, federal criminal procedure and federal criminal law, evidence-based practices applied to supervision, criminal justice, reentry, and federal risk assessment instruments (PCRA trainer). Her passions are reading, writing short stories, bookbinding, dancing salsa, and when in the mood, she plays chess with her brother.