Telesca Center Marks 20 Years with New Executive Director

‍Telesca Center for Justice Announces New Executive Director and Launch of 20th Anniversary Year

‍Former Monroe County Bar Association Executive Director and longtime court leader returns to help reengage Rochester’s community support for the Telesca Center for Justice

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Telesca Center for Justice, a unique collaborative model that brings four civil legal services law firms together under one roof in downtown Rochester, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Loewenguth as its new Executive Director.

The announcement comes as the Telesca Center prepares to launch its 20th anniversary year, beginning with a Donor Appreciation event on June 18, 2026, and culminating in a community block party celebration in June 2027 outside the Telesca Center in the heart of downtown Rochester.

‍Established nearly 20 years ago through a successful $3 million capital campaign known as the Partnership for Equal Justice, the Telesca Center for Justice was created to strengthen access to justice by bringing together leading civil legal services providers in one shared space. Today, the Telesca Center is home to Empire Justice Center, JustCause, Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY), and the Legal Aid Society of Rochester, which together provide free civil legal services to low-income individuals and families throughout the Greater Rochester region and beyond.

These civil legal services providers recently incorporated the Telesca Center as its own nonprofit, creating new opportunities to raise funds, build visibility, and deepen community support for the shared mission of the partner agencies. As Executive Director, Loewenguth will focus on fundraising, donor engagement, public awareness, and reenergizing support for the Telesca Fund for Justice, the shared fundraising arm of the four partner organizations.

‍“Mary is uniquely positioned to lead the Telesca Center into its next chapter,” said Carla Palumbo, President & CEO of the Legal Aid Society. “She understands the history, purpose, and promise of this partnership because she helped build it nearly 20 years ago. Her return is both meaningful and timely as we prepare to celebrate two decades of collaborative access-to-justice work in Rochester.”

‍Loewenguth was serving as Executive Director of the Monroe County Bar Association when the Telesca Center was established and played a pivotal role in the original fundraising effort that made the Telesca Center possible. She returns to the legal community after 10 years as Clerk of Court to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, bringing deep relationships across the bench, bar, nonprofit, and civic sectors.

“For me, this truly feels like coming home,” said Loewenguth. “The Telesca Center was built on a powerful idea: that when the legal community comes together, we can expand access to justice for people who need it most. I am honored to return to this partnership and help reconnect lawyers, law firms, donors, and community leaders to the work happening here every day.”

While each partner agency will continue to manage its own operations, programs, and grants independently, the Telesca Center provides shared space, shared visibility, and a shared point of connection for the broader legal and philanthropic community. The Telesca Center also includes shared community spaces and a central reception area, reinforcing the collaborative model that has defined it since its founding.

The June 18 Donor Appreciation event will serve as both Loewenguth’s first official public event and the formal kickoff to the Telesca Center’s 20th anniversary year. Over the next year, the Telesca Center will highlight the history of the Partnership for Equal Justice, the collective impact of the four partner agencies, and the continued need for legal services funding in the Rochester region.

“The 20th anniversary is not just a celebration of a building,” said Loewenguth. “It is a celebration of a vision—one that was conceived more than 35 years ago by the late Hanna Cohn, the former executive director of JustCause who died of cancer at the age of 50 in 2002 and made a reality by the late Justin Vigdor, Chair of the capital campaign. Their shared vision was that justice is stronger when we work together; the celebration of our 20th anniversary is an invitation to the community to recommit to that vision for the next 20 years.”

‍The anniversary year will conclude in June 2027 with an outdoor block party in front of the Telesca Center, bringing together partner agencies, donors, law firms, community members, and civic leaders to celebrate the Center’s legacy and future.

‍About the Telesca Center for Justice

The Telesca Center for Justice is a revolutionary, collaborative model of four legal organizations committed to using the power of the law to stabilize lives. We provide civil representation to individuals with low income in Monroe County by bringing together resources and people who share a vision for a fairer, brighter community for all.

Named in honor of the late Senior U.S. District Judge Michael A. Telesca, a universally-respected senior federal judge who spent his entire career in the legal profession committed to the rights of individuals, the Telesca Center for Justice houses four non-profit law firms working to promote meaningful and equitable access to justice–via the civil legal system–to the most vulnerable in our communities. The Telesca Center for Justice honors the strength that comes with true collaboration and multiplies the partners' collective impact, ensuring more community members have access to justice.

Together, the Telesca Center for Justice partners work toward a community where all individuals have access to the fundamental need for justice—a community where stability and fairness reverberate to all people, in all neighborhoods, in all homes. The Telesca Center for Justice approaches civil justice with unity and hope. And it won’t stop until it’s for all.

‍Partner Agencies

The Telesca Center for Justice is home to:
Empire Justice Center
JustCause
Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY)
Legal Aid Society of Rochester

For more information, visit www.telescacenter.org

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