Zorayda Moreira-Smith (Washington, DC) was born in Estelí, Nicaragua and raised in South Carolina. Moreira-Smith received her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden in 2008. After law school, Moreira-Smith was selected to be the CHCI Law Fellow where she was placed with The Honorable Reggie B. Walton of the District Court of the District of Columbia. After the CHCI Fellowship, Moreira-Smith became a Staff Attorney at CASA de Maryland, Inc. As CASA’s senior manager of place-based initiatives and community development, Moreira-Smith spearheads CASA’s work in developing, strengthening and leveraging opportunities for CASA to improve the quality of life for immigrant communities through exploring, researching, designing, integrating and implementing projects in affordable housing, place-based change, community wealth creation and preservation and other related community and economic development initiatives. Moreira-Smith manages the community development legislative advocacy, regulatory advocacy, and impact litigation strategies that CASA employs to address inequitable, unjust and discriminatory policies, tools and laws. (Attended ASCEND at the Aspen Institute)