Welcome to the MINDFUL ON PURPOSE PODCAST where we discuss unexplored topics with survivors, innovators, clinicians, and professionals on the frontline of IPV/DV and Child Endangerment to inform and inspire you to be a part of the solution for those in crisis.
Guest: The Honorable Karen Gopee
Judge Gopee was born in Trinidad and immigrated to the United States when she was one. She grew up in East NY, Brooklyn and attended local public schools including Franklin K. Lane HS. She earned her BA from Binghamton University majoring in Political Science, Sociology and Women’s Studies and her JD from St. John’s Law School.
She began her legal career at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. For eight years she prosecuted Misdemeanor and Felony matters, from arrest to trial, supervised junior assistants and specialized in cases involving domestic violence and child abuse, speaking up for those without a voice.
Interested in working closer to the community and helping court involved individuals get back on track, she accepted the Principal Court Attorney position with Judge Calabrese at the Red Hook Community Justice Center, a multi-jurisdictional Community Court acclaimed for innovative problem-solving techniques. There, she worked with the Office of Court Administration, the Center for Court Innovation and community organizations to implement programs that diverted youth from criminal and/or family court and helped individuals access mental health and substance abuse programs in lieu of incarceration. She also worked closely with NYCHA residents to facilitate repairs, address rent arrears and prevent eviction.
The programs that Judge Gopee is most proud of include ‘Making the Change’ an anti- violence workshop to address gangs, guns and bullying; and ‘Saturday Night Lights,’ a collaboration with the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorney’s offices, the Police Department and local community centers to provide professional basketball training as well as mentoring to youth on Friday and Saturday nights. She partnered with Project Boost to inner-city youth the opportunity to attend Broadway Shows, Concerts and Sporting events and visit museums. She co-created programs designed to improve Police/Community relationships, enhance educational and employment opportunities and lower recidivism.
In December of 2015, Mayor Di Blasio appointed her as the first Indo-Caribbean Judge in New York. Judge Gopee has handled Misdemeanor and Felony matters in Queens Criminal Court, presided over pretrial hearings, bench and jury trials and published a dozen decisions. She worked with the Queens District Attorney’s office to implement the Queens Treatment Intervention Program to offer screening and treatment to low level offenders suffering from opioid addiction. Since the 2018 launch there has been hundreds of successful participants.
Judge Gopee was the Chair to the American Bar Association Criminal Justice ADR and Restorative Justice Committee, current President, former Executive VP and founding member of South Asian Indo- Caribbean Bar Association of Queens, launched in 2017 and currently serves as the Treasurer of the Asian American Judges Association of NY. She is a recipient of the Meritorious Award by the ABA, the Community Impact Award by the Indo-Caribbean Alliance, the Pioneering Indo-Caribbean Woman Award by the East Indian Diaspora Heritage Committee of New York and has received citations from the Mayor and the Queens Borough President for her volunteer work.
Host: Christina M. Blackburn, MS is the Founder & Chief @ Vanguard Medicine Inc. and Speranza Human Compassion/The Institute for Human Compassion - both provide education and targeted solutions for intimate partner and gender-based violence and child endangerment to end the cycle of abuse, save lives, and promote safe homes for women and children in crisis.
