Maryann Tharappel joined IJC in July 2023 as our inaugural Chief Program Officer providing executive management to our Legal, Fellowship, Recruitment, and Training & Technical Assistance program areas. She has a strong history of successful nonprofit management experience providing strategic, program, operations, and fiscal leadership in uniquely challenging situations. Maryann promotes community lawyering practices, and she focuses on diversity recruitment and retention tactics in hiring strategies.
Before joining Immigrant Justice Corps, Maryann served as the inaugural Attorney-in-Charge for Immigrant & Refugee Services, Catholic Charities Community Services (CCCS), Archdiocese of New York, where she oversaw the legal services delivery of over 140 attorneys, paralegals, and legal support staff; and provided programmatic, contractual, and fiscal management for numerous key programs, including: CCCS’ state-wide Pro Bono Project, the federally funded New York Immigration Court Helpdesk and Family Group Legal Orientation Program, ActionNYC in Schools, and CCCS’ Unaccompanied Minors Program.
Maryann is a graduate of Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Law School, and Columbia Business School’s Executive Education Senior Leader’s Program for Nonprofit Professionals. An immigrant and a woman of color, she brings over a decade of direct services experience and a lifetime of advocacy for vulnerable communities seeking equity and justice.
