New Legal Director at Mazzoni

Yesterday, Mazzoni Center announced the appointment of David M. Rosenblum, Esq., as the agency’s new director of legal services. “We are delighted to be adding David Rosenblum to our staff, as his considerable professional experience and commitment to the cause of equal rights make him an ideal match for the agency and our mission,” says Mazzoni Center Executive Director Nurit Shein.

Rosenblum – a Villanova grad – has an extensive background in employment discrimination law at the state and federal government level, and has dedicated much of his career to advocating for the rights of LGBT individuals through the legal system. He comes to Mazzoni Center from the State of New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, where he served as the equal employment opportunity officer, in which he oversaw the handling of complaints of employment discrimination for one of the state’s largest government departments. He also served as a deputy attorney general for New Jersey, as well as a trial attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In his new post at Mazzoni, Rosenblum replaces Amara Chaudhry, who has held the position since 2008, and oversaw the successful transition of legal services to Mazzoni Center from Equality Advocates Pennsylvania in January 2010.

Rosenblum, who takes the helm this month, will oversee a staff of two attorneys and up to seven legal interns, collaborating with pro bono attorneys from Philadelphia law firms. Mazzoni Center’s legal services department is dedicated to serving the unmet legal needs of low-income LGBT Pennsylvanians through direct legal assistance, as well as taking on cases that further advance the rights and protections of these communities.

“I’m very pleased to welcome David to this position, which holds an important place within the agency and the larger community as well,” explains Lee Carpenter, a board member at the center and liaison and president of its legal advisory board. “We are confident that he will uphold the tradition of providing outstanding legal service to Pennsylvania’s LGBT communities.”

Rosenblum is a founding board member of the organization formerly known as the Center for Lesbian and Gay Law and Public Policy, which has become Equality Pennsylvania. He’s served as chair of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia (GALLOP) and helped to create the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Committee on the Legal Rights of Lesbians and Gay Men, for which he served as co-chair. He is also the co-founder of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s LGBT Committee, as well as co-founder and co-chair of Proud2WorkNJ, the State of New Jersey’s first employee resource group. He’s also chaired the 2002 Lavender Law Conference in Philadelphia, the national conference of LGBT lawyers, law students, judges, professors and allies for what was then the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association and is now the National LGBT Bar Association.

“I am thrilled to be joining the staff at Mazzoni Center,” Rosenblum says. “I have devoted my entire professional career to ensuring that equal opportunity principles are integrated into all aspects of the workforce, and in my new role I look forward to continuing that pursuit and ensuring that the LGBT community has a voice in the legal system.”