With expertise grounded in mission-driven data and equity-focused practice, the Associate Director of Data & Operations in Admission is setting national standards for how inclusion is understood and operationalized across legal education.
Earlier this year, CUNY Law staff member Maya Alperin brought data-driven expertise and values-based leadership to the 18th Annual Meeting of Law School Diversity Professionals (AMDiP) – a yearly convening of law school professionals who are deeply committed to serving historically underrepresented students entering the legal academy – where she served not only as a member of the planning committee, but also took the stage as both presenter and moderator. Her leadership reflects not only professional expertise, but a deep alignment with the law school’s mission to expand access, challenge structural exclusion, and equip students to serve justice.
As the Associate Director for Data & Operations in the Admissions Office, where she has worked since 2015, Maya is no stranger to the complexities of assessing and advancing equity in legal education. At this year’s conference, Maya co-led the session The Collective Voice: Representation via Demographic Data, offering practical strategies for law schools’ collection and reporting of various types of demographic data while ensuring accuracy and the protection of sensitive information. Maya and her co-presenter addressed the challenges of a rapidly changing and hostile political climate and the urgent need for clarity, consistency, and context in how law schools define and use demographic information.
Maya also organized and moderated AMDiP’s closing session, Amplifying Voices: Academic Freedom & Advocacy in Our Current Climate, which featured CUNY Law’s own Professor Chaumtoli Huq alongside a legal scholar on academic freedom and an activist supporting scholars at risk on a global scale. The session explored the already-felt impacts of political interference in higher education, the stakes of ABA Standard 208, and what it takes to safeguard academic freedom and student advocacy on campus.
Maya Alperin’s leadership with AMDiP—she is serving as Programming Chair for the 2026 conference—underscores the leadership that CUNY Law staff bring to the national legal education landscape and the essential role they play in moving the mission forward from every part of the institution.
Can you share how you got involved in AMDiP—and how that journey has shaped your thinking about the role staff can play in driving mission and advancing DEI work, both at CUNY Law and across legal education?
I joined AMDiP’s planning committee in December 2023, during the planning cycle for the 2024 conference. I had attended the conference previously in 2017 and 2022, and AMDiP stood out among the many other conferences as curating one of the most authentic environments with conversations that challenge the systems that have been historically utilized to exclude folks from the legal profession. I had previously served on a variety of other committees, both at CUNY Law and nationally with LSAC.
You work at the intersection of data and equity—in this moment, what makes this work urgent or meaningful to you?
This is an extraordinarily challenging time in higher education and for individuals who have spent their careers combating discrimination and advancing equity. Being in community with others who are experiencing similar headwinds and finding strength in each other is crucial to navigating this moment. At a time when anti-intellectualism and the denial of science and basic facts are embraced by those in power, which is poised to undo decades of progress, it is more important now than ever to understand and lean into facts and data.
What does it look like, in your role, to turn values like access and inclusion into daily institutional practice?
At its core, I think it comes down to just being kind and institutionalizing kindness, courtesy, and care. After 10 years in the profession, it really feels like basic kindness and respect would alleviate a huge number of problems. I deeply believe that we are at our best when we are able to bring our authentic selves into the workplace, with a willingness to learn and grow. Investing in these values ultimately produces better results for staff, faculty, and students.