Carmel Rose
Carmel Rose was born in County Donegal, Ireland and educated in Donegal and Dublin. She joined EIIC in 2005 and is an Immigration Counselor and the Bronx office Administrator. She completed her Immigration Law training at the CUNY Graduate Center. Carmel received an Outstanding Service Award from the Daily News (NY) and CUNY in 2007 for her commitment and dedication to the immigrants of NYC. She is immensely proud of her long-time work with Ireland’s political prisoners, especially as the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaches. Carmel is a member of several immigration associations throughout NYC and is active on many City task forces that serve to better the lives and lend a voice to immigrants living in the NY region. She has given seminars to Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) in the USA with respect to obtaining Irish Citizenship. She is elated to have launched our new Bronx Office building project, and looks forward to welcoming you all with the hospitality she is famous for when that project is complete.
Charlotte Geilman
Charlotte “Charlie” Geilman, Caseworker, Social Services, EIIC. Charlotte is originally from Dublin, Ireland and works as a caseworker in our social services department in our Woodside office location. She holds a B.A. in Social Care Practice from Dublin Technological University, Tallaght. Charlie has experience working in various areas including homelessness, addiction, mental health, and elder and immigrant issues. She is also certified as a New York State Health Navigator and trained in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention. Currently Charlie is pursuing her Master’s in Social Work at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Debora Olympio
Debora Olympio is currently the Charles Lawrence Keith & Clara Miller Endowed EIIC, Case Manager. She is originally from Brazil and previously worked as the Bilingual Receptionist in our Woodside office. Debora also previously worked as an attorney’s assistant in the Law Office of Alfio S. Lanuto, LLC in NYC. She worked as an administrative assistant at CAI (Choice Alternative Investments) for many years. In Brazil, she graduated in World History. Debora has also taken Immigration Law courses developed by Immigration Legal Resources in the United States. She enjoys helping immigrants fulfill their dreams of becoming U.S. citizens.
John Stahl
John A. Stahl, Esq. currently serves as the Immigration Legal Services Director at EIIC, overseeing all immigration legal services staff at the EIIC Queens and Bronx offices. He has worked at the EIIC since 1995, when he joined as a part-time citizenship counselor while studying law at St. John’s in Jamaica, New York. In 1998, he became a full-time immigration counselor and, when admitted to the New York State Bar, the first staff attorney. He has held the position of Immigration Legal Services Director since January 2007. John also works as a part-time immigration analyst for the national Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers, as Chair of the Immigration Services Subcommittee and on the Detention Subcommittee. A Queens native, Stahl graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University. Prior to EIIC, Stahl was associate counsel at Mark N. Fish & Associates and worked as an immigration counselor at the Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee. Stahl is a member of the National Immigration Law Project, the NYC Bar Association Immigration Committee, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), New York Chapter. He has attended trainings with AILA, the New York Immigration Coalition, Practicing Law Institute and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
Juan Carlos Grajeda
Juan is from Lima, Peru and works in both our Woodlawn and Woodside locations. Juan serves as Bilingual Program Manager, managing EIIC’s healthcare assistance programs, including Community Health Advocates (“CHA”), Community Service Society Navigator Network Program, Access Health NYC, and NYC Care. Juan also collaborates in various initiatives to better assist the most culturally diverse communities in New York, including professional development, and the “Ready for Business” (“R4B”) program, a business course focused on improving English and Entrepreneurship skills. Juan has over 20 years of experience in customer service, client relationship management, social media, and multicultural marketing. He holds an MBA in Marketing. Throughout his career, he has provided high-level consultative services to his clients to facilitate the development of sustainable, longterm relationships and the generation of future business (expertise in Six Sigma Principles as they are applied to improving customer satisfaction). Some of Juan’s achievements include: Top Performer of the Year Award in 2008, a Certificate of Appreciation/Special Congressional Recognition in 2012, and a Community Leadership Award in 2018.
Liz Baber
Liz is from Peru and works at our Woodside location as Education & Outreach Manager. Liz has a degree in Science, specializing in Molecular Biology. She has worked at EIIC since 2009 and has been involved in many initiatives supporting the immigrant community. Some of the initiatives include organizing workshops and seminars to educate and inform the community about citizenship, access to healthcare, domestic violence prevention, finance literacy, adult continuing education and immigrant rights. As Community Health Advocate and Navigator, Liz also enrolls people in health insurance plans and advocates for healthcare rights. Liz has worked to establish significant liaisons and partnerships with organizations such as NYC Care and the NYC Department for the Aging, developing volunteer programs that support the community with varied services. Most recently she has taken on co-administration of EIIC’s Creatives Rebuild NY artists team.
Linda Fajardo
Linda Fajardo, Bilingual Immigration Counselor, was born and raised in Colombia. She is a talented attorney with 17 years’ experience in various areas of law here in the U.S. and in Colombia. Linda graduated with a major in Law, has studies in Philosophy B.A. and holds a Master’s degree in Contracts. In 2012, Linda immigrated to the U.S. Based on her own personal experience, she has great insight into the immigration process. Linda is proud to have worked with clients from all over the world and especially with the Latino community considering the experiences her own mother had to go through while here in the United States. She understands the fears of an immigrant when arriving in a new land in search of a better future. Linda values high integrity, ethics and transparency. She is an active member of the community promoting equality and social justice for all.
Maire Kerins
Maire is originally from Sligo, Ireland and now lives in East Elmhurst, New York. Maire is an Immigration Counselor in our Woodside location. She has been working with EIIC since 2004. She was educated at Mercy College, Sligo, and she holds an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts.
Blanca Vega
Blanca Vega serves EIIC as our ESL Assistant in Woodside and previously years was a Health Advocate and Navigator. Blanca arrived from Ecuador to NY in the early 2000s and has since worked to empower the immigrant community in Queens. Prior to EIIC Blanca was ESL/ Civics Program Coordinator at the Ecuadorian International Center. She graduated with Honors from LaGuardia Community College where she majored in Business Administration! “The most enjoyable aspect of my work is being able to see the positive impact our services and programs have on people’s lives.”
Megan Macdonald
Megan Macdonald, LMSW is Director of Social Work and Community Services at EIIC. Megan graduated summa cum laude with a BSW from Fordham University School of Professional and Continuing Studies. While employed in social services at EIIC’s Woodlawn office, Megan was offered the One Year Residency Scholarship with NYC DOHMH at Silberman School of Social work and graduated in 2020 with an MSW in Clinical Mental Health. Megan has been a NY State Licensed Social Worker since 2021. She has previous work experience in NORC Case Management, as a Benefits and Entitlements Specialist at Adult Protective Services, and as a social worker/therapist in an outpatient behavioral health setting. Megan also has a License in Complementary Therapies from City & Islington College.
Siobhan Dennehy
Siobhan Dennehy is Executive Director of Emerald Isle Immigration Center. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Siobhan was educated at Trinity College Dublin where she studied Irish and German. Before joining the EIIC, Siobhan spent nine years managing events, international marketing, and human resources with the NBA, and co-founded the sports marketing company LeadDog Marketing, a firm with satellite offices across the U.S. which has now gone international. Under her leadership since 2002, the EIIC has increased its budget, staffing, and programs, including a great expansion to social service programs, services to non-Irish clients (with 75+ nationalities now being served), and the capital campaign underway for the EIIC’s Bronx building renovation. Siobhan is the recipient of numerous awards for her unflagging dedication to serving the Irish and nonIrish immigrant communities of New York.
Eileen Condon
Eileen Condon is Manager of Cultural Programs and Development for EIIC and works out of the Queens office, coordinating a team of six artists, the EIIC Creatives, whose visual and musical arts promote the services of the EIIC to new immigrant communities in NYC. Before introducing the Creatives Rebuild NY initiative (2022-2024) Eileen served as a navigator for applicants to the Excluded Workers Fund, New York’s historic provision of equivalent pandemic and unemployment relief to immigrant essential workers who could not qualify for federal or stimulus aid due to immigration status. Eileen is a graduate-trained public sector folklorist (MA/PhD from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada) who has worked as a program developer and grant writer supporting immigrant performing artists in New York since 2004. Her BA is from the University of MIchigan.