Hon. Fernando M. Camacho, 2023 Abely Awards Honoree

Sanctuary for Families

Established 26 years ago by Davis Polk, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence.

Established 26 years ago by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence and who embody Maryellen Abely’s compassion, zeal, energy, and dedication.

This year, we are thrilled to present the 2023 Abely Leading Women and Children to Safety Award to the Honorable Fernando M. Camacho.

INTRODUCING JUDGE CAMACHO

The Honorable Fernando Camacho is an Acting Justice of the Suffolk County Supreme Court in the Tenth Judicial District of New York, where he presides over Suffolk County’s CONCEPTS Court, which he spearheaded in January 2021. Providing alternatives to residential placement for youth charged as Juvenile Delinquents in Family Court, the CONCEPTS Court offers assistance and support to court-involved children from the ages of twelve to seventeen, many of whom have been victims of sex-trafficking. From 2013 until 2021, Judge Camacho was assigned to Suffolk County Supreme Court where he created and presided over the Suffolk County Felony Youth Part, which provided alternatives to incarceration for young people charged with felonies.

Judge Camacho began his legal career at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where he worked in the Trial Division, the Sex Crimes Unit, and the Homicide Unit. In 1991 he was promoted to Senior Trial Counsel and assigned to the Homicide Investigation Unit, a joint state and federal task force, where he directed long term homicide investigations and prosecutions of violent gangs.

In 1997 Judge Camacho became a New York City Criminal Court Judge in Brooklyn. Assigned to Queens County in 2002, he served as the Deputy Supervising Judge and presided over the Domestic Violence Court.

In 2003 Judge Camacho created a pioneering treatment court with a mission to stop the incarceration of persons charged with prostitution. That court was the spark that led to the creation of the present day Human Trafficking Intervention Courts operating throughout New York State and a groundbreaking National Summit on Human Trafficking and State Courts in 2015, hosted by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman.

Appointed to the New York State Court of Claims in 2008, Judge Camacho also served as an Acting Supreme Court Justice in the Integrated Domestic Violence Court in Queens County Supreme Court. In 2009 he was promoted him to the position of County Administrative Judge for Criminal Matters. While serving as administrative judge he also created and presided over the Queens County Supreme Court Youth Diversion Part, a specialized diversion court for adolescents charged with felony offenses.

Over the last two decades years Judge Camacho has inspired and shaped the New York State court system’s response to human trafficking, advocating for more resources to assist victims of sex trafficking and for a response that shields trafficked and commercially sexually exploited adults and children from criminalization while holding their exploiters accountable. He has been a speaker at numerous state and national conferences and training seminars on the topics of juvenile justice, sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of youth.

Judge Camacho obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia College and graduated from Fordham Law School.

Dara Sheinfeld, 2023 Abely Awards Honoree

Sanctuary for Families

Established 26 years ago by Davis Polk, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence.

Established 26 years ago by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence and who embody Maryellen Abely’s compassion, zeal, energy, and dedication.

This year, we are thrilled to present the 2023 Abely Pro Bono Award to Dara Sheinfeld.

INTRODUCING DARA

Dara Sheinfeld is Counsel and Head of Pro Bono Litigation at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she leads pro bono litigation initiatives focusing on trial work and matters assisting survivors of domestic violence.

As Head of Pro Bono Litigation, Dara oversees pro bono family court litigation, post-conviction relief matters in criminal courts, federal civil rights and Hague Convention actions, and civil and criminal appeals. Focusing much of her time on the representation of survivors of domestic violence, Dara has led Davis Polk teams that have achieved precedent-setting litigation victories on their behalf, securing U.S. refuge under the Hague Convention for multiple families and early release from prison as a result of numerous resentencing applications and clemency petitions.

In Hague litigation in the S.D.N.Y. and E.D.N.Y., Dara has first chaired four matters, all resulting in trial wins or negotiated resolutions that allowed domestic violence survivors and their children to remain in New York, free from the abuse they had suffered in their home countries.

Since New York passed the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) in 2019, Dara has been integral to the resentencing of over a dozen survivors – cumulatively reducing their sentences by decades.

Dara’s advocacy has also led to multiple grants of clemency, including for a survivor of severe domestic violence, who, after having been kidnapped at gunpoint by her estranged husband, and forced to participate in his crimes, had been convicted and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.

Through her supervision, Dara helps Davis Polk lawyers develop and strengthen their trial and investigative skills and serves as a resource to other law firms on pro bono best practices. She is also an invaluable resource to numerous public interest legal services organizations, strategizing with their lawyers about complex cases and bringing pro bono resources to areas of great client need.

Earlier in her career, Dara spent five years as the Director of Sanctuary for Families’ family law practice in the Bronx and Manhattan Family Justice Centers. She still volunteers monthly to conduct legal screenings at the Manhattan Family Justice Center.

Prior to working at Sanctuary, Dara was a litigation associate at Davis Polk and clerked for Judge Harold Baer, Jr., in the S.D.N.Y.  She is a graduate of New York University Law School and Brown University.

 

My Experience as a Development Intern at Sanctuary for Families

Attila Sepkin

Attila Sepkin is a Sophomore at Emory University Business School and plays on the Emory Men’s Soccer team. 

Attila Sepkin completed an internship with Sanctuary’s Development team during the summer of 2023. He is a Sophomore at Emory University Business School and plays on the Emory Men’s Soccer team. 

Behind the Scenes

Sanctuary for Families holistically creates a “sanctuary” for survivors of gender-based violence by providing a range of services and shelters. At Sanctuary, I worked as an intern in the Volunteer Program. In addition to volunteering, I completed projects at Sanctuary’s headquarters and gained insight into the complexities and inner workings of an immense non-profit—quite a contrast to the “mom and pop shop” I had initially imagined!

Does organizing and managing hundreds of volunteers and guests seem easy? Try doing so in one night – sprinkle in unprecedented air quality issues and concerned attendees—and you have Sanctuary’s 2023 Zero Tolerance Benefit, a tremendous success and the organization’s highest fundraising event thus far! The daily challenges of supervising countless other volunteers/interns and logistics make running such a complicated event appear simple!

Getting to share my passion

I truly learned all about life with a soccer ball at my feet. Growing up, it was: eat, sleep, soccer, repeat. And sleep was an afterthought. Soccer has fostered my closest relationships and fondest memories. It’s posed my largest challenges and sweetest victories, and it built an environment where my external concerns temporarily halted. Soccer has always been a constant in my life. My ball is my reliable companion, my sanctuary.

As part of my internship this summer, I had the privilege of volunteering at Sarah Burke House (SBH), the first and largest transitional shelter for survivors of gender violence in New York City and one of Sanctuary’s five shelters designed to meet clients’ short term needs and prepare them for long term success. As a soccer coach at their summer camp for the children living in shelter, I was granted the opportunity to introduce the game I am ever grateful for – and for that, I am especially grateful!

While soccer may not be for everyone, I believe and hope it can act as a stepping stone for the children to discover a passion of their own. In that way, whatever they pursue can serve as a similar medium for their growth, as soccer has for me. And if nothing else, I believe they enjoyed the workshops – hopefully as much as I did! Seeing the kids laughing while kicking a ball was as sweet as the candy they shared with me at snack time!

Observations at Sarah Burke House

All services at SBH help to form a tightly knit community; interdependent and resilient. The hope is that such powerful support propels the families forward in a positive way.

I witnessed the children specifically build on their excitement and display endless enthusiasm. Rather than me consciously integrating myself within their group, upon arrival I was deemed a friend and role model. They invited me to sit amongst them. They listened intently to what I said. Hearing my name with a “Mr.” attached to it was new to me, but it has been some time since I was five years old. After all, one of the children remembers living in his mother’s “tummy” very well and I have no such recollection.

While I was at Sarah Burke House, “thank you” seemed a way of life: staff welcomed all volunteers with adoration, and parents grinned from ear to ear as they recognized a new face. And to the children, an untied shoe was an insurmountable crisis for which I was their hero. As a volunteer, I aim to benefit others, but at Sarah Burke House, amongst the countless tasks to be completed and difficult subjects to be addressed, it is I who benefited greatly and the experience was a complete pleasure.

To intern within such a large yet cohesive organization focused on social change has been precisely the enriching experience I hoped for. Those that I have met at Sanctuary – those that I have worked with and for – have been among the most kindhearted people I have met. That was exactly why I wanted to intern here, and why I am wholeheartedly glad I did.

How to Take Action This Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Sanctuary for Families

Join us in taking a stand this Domestic Violence Awareness Month and be part of the solution. Together, we can raise awareness and create a safer world where freedom from gender violence is a human right.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Join advocates and survivors in New York and across the country in educating ourselves and our communities about the dynamics of abuse, and raising awareness about resources available to victims. Here are a few ways you can get involved:.

Raise Your Voice on Social Media

Help us raise awareness about the prevalence and lethality of domestic violence, as well as of resources available to survivors, by posting on social media. We have created a social media toolkit with sample captions and downloadable infographics to help get you started, but feel free to customize your messaging in whatever way is most meaningful to you.

Access our full social media toolkit here: https://bit.ly/3yvqqR8

Check out more videos on our YouTube Channel.

Attend an Event

Join Sanctuary, fellow service providers, advocates, and supporters during the month of October.

  • October 6 |  KAFSC’s Annual Silent March against Domestic Violence, 5:00 PM @ NYPD – 109th Precinct, 37-05 Union Street, Queens, New York – The Korean American Family Service Center will be hosting a march down the heart of Flushing in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence. No registration required.
  • October 11-29 | Scrambled Eggs @ Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond St, New York, NY – Watch this provocative and heartbreaking play on Domestic Violence that highlights the causes and affects that
    it can have on one family. Buy Tickets
  • October 15 | Bronx DA Walk/Run/Roll to End Domestic Violence 5K, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM In front of the Supreme Court steps at 161st Street and the Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY – An Annual 5K Walk/Run/Roll hosted by the Bronx District Attorney’s office to raise awareness about domestic violence and honor the resilience of survivors. Register here
  • More events to be announced soon!

Request a Training

Our staff and survivor leaders are available to lead virtual trainings for community members and groups – including schools, hospitals, law enforcement, courts and judges, faith communities, and cultural groups – who are interested in learning how to identify and support survivors. Learn more.

Donate to Sanctuary

Your support ensures our ability to deliver counseling services, legal representation, career-readiness training, and shelter to thousands of immigrant and low-income survivors and families every year.

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Take action to keep the conversation about domestic violence going through Domestic Violence Awareness Month and beyond.