Michelle Rae Pinzon

Michelle Rae Pinzon obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.  She then attended St. John's University School of Law where she graduated cum laude and served as editor on the St. John's Law Review. Upon graduation, Michelle worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP before starting a federal clerkship for the Honorable Joanna Seybert in the Eastern District of New York. Michelle is currently a director of compliance and privacy officer at Northwell Health. She previously worked as in-house counsel at a healthcare technology start-up where she advised on legal matters and implemented the company’s first compliance program. Prior to that, Michelle served as in house counsel for a specialty pharmacy and private equity fund. In her spare time, she volunteers as an executive director for a nonprofit arts organization that promotes Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art that merges dance, martial arts, music, and acrobatics into a graceful yet effective martial art. Enslaved Africans in Brazil used Capoeira as a means of self-defense against oppression. She is spearheading the Capoeira Center’s newest project where Capoeira will be used as a tool for empowering victims of abuse. She has taught Capoeira at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and teaches the Lawyering Seminar at CUNY School of Law.