Farewell to Venus Alfaro, CIANA's Program Manager

After nearly four years at CIANA, Venus Alfaro will be stepping down from her role as Program Manager and moving on to a new organization. We want to reflect on some of the many ways Venus has impacted CIANA in her time with us.

Venus began working at CIANA in June of 2021, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of tremendous growth and transition at CIANA. Originally hired as Case Management Supervisor, Venus was brought on to manage the rapidly growing number of clients that our Outreach team was bringing in as part of the NYC Test and Trace Corps.

Since she started, Venus has demonstrated thorough knowledge of New York City’s complex network of public benefits and social services. Having worked in the shelter system for many years prior to joining CIANA, she is particularly well-versed in the functions of the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and affordable housing.

Venus has handled some of CIANA’s most sensitive cases, having worked with people experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, and individuals with severe mental illness. When asylum seekers began coming in large numbers to CIANA in 2023, Venus took time to sit with them and help them process their trauma in order to access necessary services.

Venus enhanced CIANA’s participation in several citywide initiatives, including NYC Care, which allows undocumented immigrants in New York City to access health coverage, and No Kid Hungry, which connected community members with SNAP, WIC, and other nutritional benefits.

She was instrumental in organizing our clothes closet so that clients, particularly new arrivals, could take seasonally appropriate clothes for themselves and their families.

Venus also represented CIANA externally as well; she participated in rallies, spoke at workshops, and attended events with our community partners and coalition leaders.

Nearly all of CIANA’s staff, interns, and volunteers were trained or supervised by Venus at some point. All of them have learned and benefited from Venus’s professional expertise, as well as her guidance, care, and leadership.

We will miss Venus greatly, but her impact at CIANA will be felt for a long time by current and future staff. We wish her luck in her new position and all her future endeavors.

Thank you Venus for your innumerable contributions to CIANA and the impact you’ve had on our community!