Make The Road New York

For the past three years, I’ve worked with Make the Road New York, an immigration nonprofit dedicated to providing legal and survival services to immigrant communities. Beyond direct services, Make the Road engages in community organizing and policy innovation to transform the systems of power that negatively impact migrant communities—work that resonates deeply with my personal values.

At the beginning of our relationship, I reached out to Make the Road and offered my assistance. They responded to me to see if I could help film some of their upcoming events. Over the years, I’ve helped them capture several marches, ceremonies, and other events. One of my recent projects involved producing a video for Make the Road’s brand new community center, which opened at the beginning of 2025. This space represents more than just a building—it’s a second home for their members. Through interviews with directors, I was able to contextualize the profound importance of this physical space, particularly given the current climate around immigration in the United States. We also interviewed a young member whose perspective illuminated the hope and sense of home that Make the Road spaces provide to their members.

I also produced a video for their 2024 annual gala, a crucial fundraising event for the organization. For the video, we focused on the personal story of Raiza, a migrant whom Make the Road helped attain asylum status. The video weaves together interviews with Raiza herself, her lawyer, and Make the Road director Natalia Aristizabal to tell not only her story but also the broader story of recent asylum seekers in New York City. By centering one person’s story, we were able to make the larger immigration narrative both personal and accessible to gala attendees.