Meet Briana!

Meet Briana, Open Door Legal’s new Frontline Coordinator. Briana became interested in working for Open Door Legal almost as soon as she heard about it. Having grown up in Hunters Point, Briana knows a lot about the neighborhood. “I joined the team because I want to help my people.” When Briana found out she would get to work at the front desk, she was excited. “I love being the first person our clients speak to. Life out here is complicated; there’s always more than one issue going on with our clients. You start to see patterns that lead people to us.”

I joined the team, because I want to help my people.

As a Frontline Coordinator, Briana gets to direct our clients towards the people in our office who can help mend problems that have been building for years. “It’s great to figure out how to make the bleeding stop. I want to offer relief and make people feel better. I want to listen and help people feel that I’m trying to understand. I don’t have to side with people, I just have to put myself in their shoes and ask myself ‘what would I do if that was me? How would I feel?’ and always give people the benefit of the doubt.”

I want to listen and help people feel that I’m trying to understand.

Since working at Open Door Legal, Briana has learned that a lot of people need legal help. “Beforehand, I didn’t think it was that big of an issue. But every day, someone is getting evicted. Someone is experiencing domestic violence. Someone is losing their child. These are everyday issues. Here, I can learn the basics of what is a legal issue and what isn’t. I feel like I’m going to school every time I walk into the office.”

Before joining the Open Door Legal team, Briana worked as an administrative assistant with Root and Rebound, a nonprofit hotline service that helps incarcerated or previously incarcerated individuals transition back into society. When not at work, Briana enjoys cooking for family and friends and going to the park with her daughter.