Mieko Failey, Esq. (she/her) is the Director of Legal Services at the LGBTQ Center Long Beach where she oversees LBGTQ-specific legal services for the greater Long Beach area, including comprehensive direct legal services to LGBTQ survivors of violence. Mieko began working in anti-violence in 2007 and has a concentration in LGBTQ anti-violence legal issues. From 2011 to 2018, Mieko served in various legal advocacy roles at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, including as Supervising Attorney for the Legal Services Department where she oversaw domestic and sexual violence legal service provision. In her role as Supervising Attorney, Mieko supervised a wide range of legal issues, including domestic and sexual violence, hate violence, stalking, human trafficking, and other forms of violence. She has served hundreds of LGBTQ survivors and trained thousands of service providers locally, across the state, and nationally, including judges, court personnel, law enforcement, attorneys, mental health providers, and physicians. Mieko’s legal advocacy is focused on overcoming barriers in access to resources for LGBTQ survivors, who are disproportionally impacted by violence. During law school, Mieko interned with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California’s LGBT Student Rights Project and The Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, advocating for those who were wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced as juveniles. Mieko was a recipient of the Post-Graduate Loyola Law School Public Interest Legal Fellowship, which enabled her to provide legal advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ youth survivors of violence at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Mieko currently serves on the Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council where she is Co-Chair of the LGBT Domestic Violence Issues Committee. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Family Violence Appellate Project, is a Board Member of the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ), and serves as regular training faculty for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Mieko has received local and national recognition for her advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ communities, including The Donald L. Snow Award from The LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles; The Student Leadership Award from The National LGBT Bar Association; The Dean’s Service Award from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; and the Women of Distinction Award from California State Assmeblymember Patrick O’Donnell. In 2019, Mieko was named a “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association. Mieko received her Bachelors in Sociology with highest distinction from UC Berkeley and received her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School with a Public Interest Concentration.