Legal Professional and Victim Rights Advocate Simone Monasebian

Simone Monasebian has built a diverse career, including as a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, principal defender, and legal analyst. Now serving as the the first Chief Program Officer for Sanctuary for Families in New York City, Simone Monasebian’s professional experience of over 30 years includes significant roles in US and international organizations, including substantial work on the African continent.

Early in her career, Ms. Monasebian worked as East Coast correspondent for Radioscope, a nationally syndicated radio program in Los Angeles and New York. She was among the first journalists to cover hip-hop on a national scale. She went on to earn her law degree, and shortly after joined the Law Offices of Michael Kennedy, P.C., in New York City, where she handled complex civil and criminal cases.

After seven years with the firm, Simone Monasebian became a Trial Attorney, with the Office of the Prosecutor, at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, prosecuting war criminals and managing investigations in Kigali, Rwanda and Arusha, Tanzania. In Africa, she also served as Principal Defender at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, focusing on cases of war crimes.

Back in the US, Ms. Monasebian became an on-air legal analyst for Court TV, discussing high profile international criminal trials and terrorism cases. Concurrently, she was an Adjunct Law Professor at Seton Hall University Law School's Cairo and Zanzibar programs. Before her current role as Chief Program Officer, she was the Director of the New York Office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, where she led all New York policy, advocacy and engagement efforts.

Contact

Simone Monasebian
New York, NY US