Cessie Alfonso

{{Infobox person

| name = Cessie Alfonso

| image = File:Social Justice Activist Cecilia "Cessie" Alfonso, c. 2018.jpg

| caption = Cessie Alfonso, c. 2018

| birth_name = Cecilia Alfonso

| birth_date = January 14, 1945

| birth_place = New York City, New York, United States

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| spouse =

| occupation = Forensic social work, domestic violence prevention and response, and organizational development consultant and activist

| years_active = 1960s to present

| known_for = Pioneering use of forensic social work techniques to reduce death penalty sentencing of criminals in the United States

| notable_works =

}}

Cecilia "Cessie" Alfonso (born January 14, 1945) is an American forensic social work, domestic violence prevention and response, and organizational development consultant and activist who has protested against the Vietnam War and the use of the death penalty in the United States to prosecute criminals and in support of improved civil rights for women and the LGBT community.Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "[https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/resources/11716 Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018]." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, retrieved online August 1, 2023.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "[https://alarifirstconference.fas.harvard.edu/node/1472270 The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies]." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019 (retrieved online August 1, 2023)."[https://napdwethedefendersseattle19.sched.com/speaker/cessie%20alphonso.1zcnkvhh Cessie Alfonso]" (bio), in "We the Defenders Seattle" (2019 conference program). Denver, Colorado: National Association for Public Defense, retrieved online August 1, 2023."[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMiKgro-dRo Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso]" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show. Albany, New York: WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017 (retrieved online August 1, 2023).Mikati, Massarah. "[https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/The-intergenerational-fight-for-racial-justice-15330477.php Faces of the Capital Region's fight for racial justice]." Albany, New York: Times Union, June 10, 2020 (subscription required)."[https://nytruthcommission.org/commissioners Celia Alfonso]" (bio). Albany, New York: Truth Commission on Poverty in New York State, retrieved online August 1, 2023.Tabak, Ronald J. "[https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol22/iss3/3/ Are Executions in New York Inevitable?]", Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 586-591, 1995. New York, New York: Fordham University School of Law, retrieved online August 1, 2023.

The founder and president of Alfonso Consultants, Inc., she trained and worked as a social worker and has collaborated with civil and criminal defense attorneys nationally and internationally for more than three decades to provide psychosocial assessments and other social work support to their clients. During the course of her work, she and her colleagues have undertaken more than one thousand mitigation investigations.Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.Chammah, Maurice. "[https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/03/02/death-penalty-mitigation-specialists-rare-look The Mercy Workers]." New York, New York: The Marshall Project, March 2, 2023.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.

Formative years

Born in New York City, New York in the United States on January 14, 1945, Cecilia "Cessie" Alfonso is a first-generation, Caribbean American who attended the Montefiore School of Practical Nursing, where she earned her Licensed Practical Nurse degree in 1965. She was then awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and sociology by Hood College; in 1977, she earned her Master of Social Work degree from the Graduate School of Social Work at Rutgers University.Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.Chammah, "The Mercy Workers," The Marshall Project.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019."Alfonso, Cecilia," in Birth Records (January 14, 1945). New York, New York: New York City Department of Health, 1945."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.Mikati, "Faces of the Capital Region's fight for racial justice," Times Union, June 10, 2020.

Beginning in 1982, she was awarded a series of certifications and licenses, including the:"Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.

CSW by the State of New York's Board of Higher Education (1982);
ACSW by the National Association of Social Workers, Academy of Social Workers (1983);
LCSW by the State of New Jersey's Board of Social Work Examiners (1983); and
Diplomat status by the National Association of Social Workers (Clinical Registrar, Certified Social Work, School Field Instructor, 1985).

Activism

During the 1960s and 1970s, she protested against the Vietnam War and for civil rights, women's rights and LGBT rights. She has also been a member of the Combahee River Collective, and has been active in trying to end the use of the death penalty in the United States.Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.Tabak, "Are Executions in New York Inevitable?", Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 586-591, 1995.

Nursing, social work and legal career

From 1969 to 1972, Alfonso worked as a licensed practical nurse in the operating room of Morrison Hospital in New York City. Her work related to the gynecological aspects of surgery. Between 1978 and 2000, Alfonso was employed as a social worker in clinical practice in New York and New Jersey, during which time she served as a psychiatric social worker, a clinical coordinator, a mental health specialist, and a drug counselor."[https://www.newspapers.com/image/316766035/?terms=%22Cessie%20Alfonso%22%20&match=1 Battered Women is topic of talk]." New Brunswick, New Jersey: The Central New Jersey Home News, January 24, 1978, p. 7 (subscription required)."[https://www.newspapers.com/image/516031614/?terms=%22Cessie%20Alfonso%22%20&match=1 YWCA Forum]." Montclair, New Jersey: The Montclair Times, April 27, 1979, p. S4 (subscription required).

Beginning in 1984, Alfonso provided expert witness testimony about domestic violence-related topics in legal cases in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. She also worked as a consultant and mitigation specialist on state and federal death penalty cases in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019.Cope, Jane. "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/169352333/?terms=%22Cessie%20Alfonso%22&match=1 Clerk's killer objects to testimony]." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 8, 1986, p. B5 (subscription required)."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.Tabak, "Are Executions in New York Inevitable?", Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 587-591, 1995."[https://casetext.com/case/people-v-smith-3796 People v. Smith], 241 Ill. App. 3d 446, 608 N.E.2d 1259 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993)." Springfield, Illinois: Appellate Court of Illinois, February 19, 1993 (retrieved online August 1, 2023).Stetler, Russell. "[https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3029&context=hlr The Past, Present, and Future of the Mitigation Profession: Fulfilling the Constitutional Requirement of Individualized Sentencing in Capital Cases]," in Hofstra Law Review, Vol. 46, No. 4, June 1, 2018, pp. 1172-1179.

From 1994 to 2012, Alfonso was employed by county and state public defenders' offices in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin to provide training to their attorneys and other personnel regarding client-centered representation, trial preparation and presentation, mitigation and sentencing issues, and domestic violence-related topics."[https://news.yale.edu/1998/02/16/rebellious-lawyering-conference-yale-rallies-activists-against-poverty-and-injustice Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Rallies Activists Against Poverty and Injustice]." New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University, February 16, 1998. From 1995 to 2005, Alfonso also worked for Albany Law, training attorneys in cultural competency and client-centered representation. In addition, Alfonso worked as a faculty member of, and presenter for, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association from 1995 to 2010, providing training for attorneys, their staff and other social workers on such topics as the consideration of cultural differences in civil and criminal cases, defense-related issues in death penalty cases, preparing clients and their families for trial, the psychosexual dynamics of the serial rapist/killer, rage mitigation in domestic violence cases, and the preparation of witnesses for trial.Tabak, "Are Executions in New York Inevitable?", Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 587-591, 1995. She was also employed as a faculty member with the Clarence Darrow Death Penalty Defense College at DePaul University from 2005 to 2012, where she presented similar training programs and also addressed the impacts of poverty, race, gender, and class on attorneys' relationships with clients and in courtroom settings. During the fall of 2002, she was also employed as an adjunct professor by the department of math and sciences at the College of Saint Rose in Albany."[https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/top_containers/222462 Box 1]," in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, retrieved online August 1, 2023.Stetler, Russell. "The Past, Present, and Future of the Mitigation Profession: Fulfilling the Constitutional Requirement of Individualized Sentencing in Capital Cases," in Hofstra Law Review, Vol. 46, No. 4, June 1, 2018, pp. 1172-1179.

=Founding of Alfonso Consultants to the present=

In 1988, Alfonso founded and expanded Alfonso Consultants, Inc. to offer consultation services to civil and criminal defense attorneys nationally and internationally. In addition to providing psychosocial assessments and other social work support to the clients of those attorneys, she has provided consultation services to attorneys and their clients regarding more than seven hundred capital (death penalty) cases and has also undertaken more than one thousand mitigation investigations with colleagues in cases in Columbia, Cuba, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and the United States. She has also served as an expert witness during the penalty phases of multiple death penalty cases.Von Bergen, Jane M. "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/168783072/?terms=%22Cessie%20Alfonso%22&match=1 The new punishment consultants]." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1988, p. 1 (subscription required).Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.Chammah, "The Mercy Workers," The Marshall Project.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.People v. Smith, 241 Ill. App. 3d 446, 608 N.E.2d 1259 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993), Appellate Court of Illinois, February 19, 1993."[https://www.newspapers.com/image/635497059/?terms=%22Cessie%20Alfonso%22&match=1 Testigo: Street proviene de familia pobre]" ("Witness: Street comes from a poor family"; in Spanish). Miami, Florida: El Nuevo Herald, August 9, 1990, p. 11 (subscription required).Fleischman, Joan. "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/635734441/?terms=%22Cessie%20Alfonso%22&match=1 Jury told of Street's childhood poverty]." Miami, Florida: The Miami Herald, August 8, 1990, p. B1 (subscription required).

She has also worked with the New York State Defenders Association since 2005, providing training to attorneys and other staff regarding the impacts of poverty, race, gender, and class on attorneys' relationships with clients and in courtroom settings and ways to foster client-center representation.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.

Other community service efforts

Alfonso serves on the board of directors of Citizen Action of New York and is a former president of the board of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates. In 2017, she served on the Truth Commission on Poverty in New York State, which was established by the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State.Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University."[https://www.albany.edu/ssw/news/msw-student-presents-citizens-action-new-york Citizens Action of New York]." Albany, New York: School of Social Welfare, University at Albany, retrieved online August 1, 2023."Celia Alfonso," Truth Commission on Poverty in New York State.

=News program and talk show appearances=

Alfonso has been a guest on multiple news programs and talk shows throughout her career, including the following:"[https://archive.org/details/media-sanctuary-reclaiming-history-with-cessie-alfonso Reclaiming History with Cessie Alfonso]" (audio). Troy, New York: The Sanctuary for Independent Media (via the Internet Archive), September 3, 2018 (retrieved online August 1, 2023)."Forensic Social Work—Cessie Alfonso" (audio), on The Social Workers Radio Talk Show, WCDB Radio, January 9, 2017.

"Battered Women's Syndrome," Sonya Live (CNN, 1990)
"Alternative Sentencing" (BBC TV, 1993)
"Battered Women's Syndrome," Sally Jesse Raphael Show (NBC, 1996)
"Domestic Violence," Sally Jesse Raphael Show (NBC, 1997)
"Women Who Stalk," Montel Williams Show (WOR-TV, 1998)
"Forensic Social Worker," Social Worker Radio (WCDB Radio, 2017)
"Social Work and the Death Penalty" (WOOC Radio, 2018)

Publications

Alfonso, C. and K. Baur, K. "Enhancing Capital Defense: The Role of the Forensic Clinical Social Worker." Washington, D.C.: The Champion, 1986.
Alfonso, C. "Poverty and Its Impact on the Client-Attorney Relationship," in The Advocate, Vol. 13, No. 4, June 1991 (revised May 2006, Vol. 28, No. 3).
Alfonso, C. "A Module: Training for Cultural Competence." Jersey City, New Jersey: Alfonso Associates, 1995.
Alfonso, C. "Concerns and Considerations for Mitigation Specialists Handling International Investigations," in Cornerstone, Vol. 29, No. 2; September-December, 2007.

Awards and other honors

Alfonso has been the recipient of numerous awards and other honors, including the:Cessie Alfonso (bio), in "Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.Cecilia Alfonso (bio), in "The ALARI First Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies," Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University, December 2019.

Trailblazer Award for Innovation and Leadership from New Jersey Social Work (1992);
Innovation and Leadership—Edwin Gould Services Award from STEPS to End Family Violence (1995);
Outstanding Faculty Member in the Defender Institute Basic Trial Skills Program Award from the New York State Defenders Association (June 2000);
Mim George Award from the National Association of Sentencing (2005);
Life in the Balance Achievement Award from the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (March 2008);
Recognition Award presented by Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey in recognition of her leading mitigation specialist work which contributed significantly to the abolition of the death penalty in New Jersey (2008); and
Recognition Award for service as the first president of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialists (March 2013).

References

External links

[https://www.cessiealfonso.com/ Cecilia "Cessie" Alfonso, LCSW, ACSW, CSW] (official website)
"[https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/resources/11716 Papers of Cessie Alfonso, 1989-2018]," Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
"[https://archive.org/details/media-sanctuary-reclaiming-history-with-cessie-alfonso Reclaiming History with Cessie Alfonso]" (audio). Troy, New York: The Sanctuary for Independent Media (via the Internet Archive), September 3, 2018

Category:21st-century American women

Category:20th-century American women

Category:Activists from New York (state)

Category:American anti–death penalty activists

Category:American anti-war activists

Category:American civil rights activists

Category:American community activists

Category:American feminists

Category:American health activists

Category:American social justice activists

Category:American social workers

Category:American women's rights activists