Eleni Garcia

Post-Graduate Fellow 

Eleni Garcia is a first-generation Latina whose family's immigrant journey instilled in her a deep understanding of the difficulties in navigating systemic barriers and fueled her unwavering commitment to fighting wrongful convictions and advocating for those most harmed by the criminal legal system.
 
Eleni's passion for challenging systemic injustice began during college, when she interned with Hawaii Friends of Restorative Justice and saw firsthand both the harms of incarceration and the power of community-based reentry support. After completing her undergraduate studies, she brought this perspective to a New York City public school, implementing restorative practices that replaced punitive disciplinary models with community-led initiatives that strengthened peer and family engagement.
 
At CUNY School of Law, where she earned her J.D., Eleni participated in the Defenders Clinic, representing individuals facing wrongful convictions and extreme sentences. Her clinic work included preparing successful parole applications, clemency petitions, and resentencing motions for clients who had lost decades of their lives to systemic injustice and official misconduct.

Following law school, Eleni joined the New Hampshire Public Defender, first as a law clerk and later as a staff attorney. In this role, she handled discovery review, legal research, motion practice, and direct client representation. Throughout her career, guided by her family's resilience and her identity as a first-generation Latina, she remains committed to ensuring that those most harmed by systemic injustice receive the advocacy and dignity they deserve.