Grace Farms Foundation announced today that it has appointed Alina Marquez Reynolds, an accomplished attorney with 24 years of leadership and public service at the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Connecticut, as the Foundation’s General Counsel and Justice Initiative Senior Advisor. In this role, she will be supporting the Justice Initiative in combating gender-based violence and managing the day-to-day legal operations of Grace Farms Foundation.
Alina Marquez Reynolds, General Counsel and Justice Initiative Senior Advisor, Grace Farms Foundation
Reynolds will work alongside Rod Khattabi, who was recently appointed the Foundation’s Justice Initiative Director and Risk Officer. Khattabi is responsible for all programming aligned with the Initiative’s mission to end modern day slavery, gender-based violence and illegal wildlife trade through effective training, policy, and advocacy. In his more than 20-year career in federal law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs Service, Khattabi has developed an expertise in investigating international criminal organizations involved in trafficking.
“Rod and Alina’s celebrated leadership across the state of Connecticut in their former federal law enforcement and federal prosecutor capacities advances our pursuit of actionable outcomes and multi-sector partnerships,” said Sharon Prince, Grace Farms Foundation’s President and Founder. “Their breadth of experience and strength in collaboration enhances our distinct vision for Grace Farms as a nexus for convening the public and private sectors, NGOs, and government agencies to combat all forms of contemporary slavery, illegal wildlife trade, and gender-based violence at a local and global level.”
Reynolds is a nationally recognized expert in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), having served as the U.S. Attorney’s Office VAWA Coordinator and Point of Contact for Connecticut for more than two decades. In this role, she tried the first federal interstate stalking case in Connecticut, and has partnered with local, state and federal law enforcement officers across the state on numerous VAWA investigations and cases. She is also a member of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) Fatality Review Task Force. Reynolds also served as a Department of Justice Diversity Ambasssador. Previously, she was an Assistant District Attorney at the King’s County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, NY where she investigated and tried felony domestic violence cases as part of one of the first specialized domestic violence bureaus in the country.
“I am happy and excited to have joined such a dynamic and unique place that aligns with my experience and expertise in law enforcement and helping survivors of intimate partner violence,” said Reynolds. “I look forward to working beside my colleagues to continue to enhance the Foundation’s mission of doing good and being a catalyst for change.”
Reynolds has received a number of awards and honors for her work, including the Department of Homeland Security Investigations Outstanding Service Awards. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School and a B.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.
