The honor of being named this year’s La Justicia Award recipient will go to Miriam Enriquez, director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of Philadelphia.

She will be awarded at the 18th annual La Justicia Award ceremony next week.

The award is presented by the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania, and nominees are usually members of the community who look to create a more just place in Philadelphia. Elizabeth Oquendo, President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania, said among the many things she does, the most impressive part of Enriquez’s work is what she’s undertaken as the director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of Philadelphia.

“Miriam has a terrific record of public service,” Oquendo said. “She’s taken the lead on so many issues that affect the Latino community, specifically she works on things like cultural initiatives, language access, workforce development, and immigrant worker rights.”

Prior to being appointed as the new director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs in January 2016, Enriquez served as City Councilman-at-Large Dennis O’Brien’s Director of Legislation and Policy, where she played a big role in crafting and passing landmark legislation to protect immigration services consumers in the City.

Enriquez started her career in 2005 as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, where she advocated for countless victims and successfully prosecuted thousands of misdemeanor and felony cases impacting every city neighborhood.

Other La Justicia Award recipients of past years include:

• Carmen Febo-San Miguel, executive director and CEO of Taller Puertorriqueño
• Will Gonzalez, executive director of Ceiba
• Tom Duffy, plaintiff’s attorney at Duffy + Fulginiti
• Anita Santos, executive director of the Philadelphia Legal Assistance

The ceremony will take place on Thursday, Feb. 28 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the City Hall Conversation Hall Room.

Chef Ted Torres of Coa Catering will cater for the evening.

“We’re really proud to highlight one of our Latino-owned businesses,” Oquendo said. “We love partnering with him, we love supporting Latino-owned businesses.”

To register for the event, you can click here.