Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) announced that Emily Rios has been appointed to a key position, Managing Director of Community Services, overseeing an array of counseling, advocacy and neighborhood outreach programs across New York City.
Rios was most recently Division Director of Early Childhood and Family Services at Brooklyn Community Services, where she managed a network of daycare, early childhood education and family development centers. At AAFE, she will be responsible for multilingual community programs in Chinatown and the Lower East Side (Manhattan) and Flushing and Jackson Heights (Queens) that serve 20,000 New Yorkers annually.
“We are delighted to welcome Emily Rios to AAFE, where she will be pivotal in shaping our community services and programs in the aftermath of the pandemic and beyond,” said Jennifer Sun and Thomas Yu, AAFE’s co-executive directors. “Bringing years of experience in the non-profit sector and a passion for New York’s diverse immigrant communities, Emily is uniquely qualified to serve in this important role. Together we will work to bolster AAFE’s programs to meet the changing needs of our communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.”
AAFE’s Community Services Department offers multilingual tenant counseling and organizing, assistance with entitlement and healthcare benefits, immigration counseling, workforce development, senior care services and after school youth development and leadership programs. Free one-on-one assistance is offered, in addition to group educational workshops. Since its founding 46 years ago, AAFE has been a trusted neighborhood service provider, offering linguistically and culturally relevant support to immigrant and other marginalized communities. Services are available in English, Chinese and Spanish.
“AAFE provided a wonderful opportunity to expand my own learning and give back to the community,” said Rios. “There is a need for representation and support for our Asian community and for the larger immigrant community. I am looking forward to working with the entire AAFE team to build a community services department aligned with AAFE’s larger mission of advancing racial, social and economic justice for all New Yorkers.”
Rios is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who worked in the laundry and garment industries. She grew up in Queens, and attended NYC public schools. Rios holds degrees from Columbia University School of Social Work and Bank Street College of Education. She is on the job at AAFE effective this week.