Honorary Consul of Guatemala
in West Palm Beach, Florida

cont.

In 1994, Aileen opens her own law practice and has been recognized with many awards for her work with abandoned, abused and/or neglected Guatemalan and Haitian children in Florida.   Aileen has helped over 40 children by filing dependency petitions in juvenile court and thereafter, via Special Immigrant Law provisions set out in our immigration laws, obtain their Legal Permanent Resident status.  It is because of this work, that Aileen is awarded in 2005 the Pro Bono award for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit by the Florida Bar.

Aileen has protected the civil and human rights of many children that arrive to the United States under great vulnerability.  Aileen, received national attention for the work in defending the rights of a Guatemalan girl, victim of gender persecution, whose civil and human rights were trampled on by local authorities that had no interest in knowing her story-before they severely judged her www.victimgenderpersecution.com   This case resulted in a complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, which resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lake Worth police Department, in which this Department has to adequately attend language needs.

From 2001 to 2009 Aileen Josephs was a member of the Palm Beach County Board of the American Jewish Committee, www.ajc.org and organization that is dedicated, among other things, inter-group understanding.  From May 2005-2007 Aileen served on the National Board of the Latino and Latin American Institute of the AJC. Attorney Josephs sits on the Board of the Maya Ministry Diocese of Palm Beach County, www.mayaministry.org and on the Board of the El Sol Jupiter Resource Center, www.friendsofelsol.com.

In September 2006 and February 2007, Aileen helped Mima Foundation (a medical group that does medical missions to Bolivia) make their first medical mission to Chimaltenango, Guatemala. www.mimafoundation.com

In July 2007, Aileen, as a lay leader for the American Jewish Committee organized with the Center for International Migration and Integration www.cimi.org.il , the Palm Beach County Jewish Federation, Florida Atlantic University and the Guatemalan Consulate in Miami, a workshop geared to Guatemalan leaders titled: “Guatemalans in Partnership for Development”.

That same July 2007, Aileen is named Honorary Consul of Guatemala in West Palm Beach by the Guatemalan Government. The ceremony took place in the Guatemalan Consulate in Miami, Florida and bestowed this honor by the General Consul, Beatriz Illescas Putzeys.