Rosalía Abreu

Criminal Court Advocacy Coordinator

As the Criminal Court Advocacy Coordinator, Rosalía Abreu is responsible for meeting with girls who are mandated to GEMS through the Alternative To Incarceration (ATI) program. In addition to advocating for the girls in criminal court and helping them to navigate and understand the system, Rosalía provides individualized counseling, crisis intervention, and supportive services to empower members who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.

Prior to working at GEMS, Rosalía interned with CONNECTnyc, providing legal advocacy for survivors of domestic violence and their families. During her undergraduate years, Rosalía also served as a state-certified rape crisis counselor advocate at the YWCA New Britain’s Sexual Assault Crisis Service (SACS) in Hartford,CT.

Rosalía is an ardent social justice advocate and has volunteered and conducted research on social justice issues affecting impoverished communities in Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Tanzania, and the Dominican Republic. Her academic interests include the intersections of race, class, and sexuality as they relate to gender socialization, gender normativity, and all forms of gender-based violence.

Rosalía received her Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Race, and Sexuality Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and is currently on leave from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.