Queens Defenders' board forces out controversial executive director
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Lori Zeno, the executive director of the Queens Defenders, was put on immediate leave by the group’s board of directors this week. AP file photo by Kevin Hagen
By Jacob Kaye
Lori Zeno, the controversial executive director of the Queens Defenders, was forced to go on immediate leave by the public defender group’s board of directors late Thursday, the Eagle has learned.
Zeno, who has made headlines in recent years for clashing with her staff, was barred from all Queens Defenders property, and staff at the public defense organization were told to reach out to the Queens Defenders’ board of directors should Zeno contact or attempt to intimidate them.
Rashad Ruhani, Zeno’s husband, also was fired from his position as a senior legal advocate at Queens Defenders. Two other staffers, Teyana Reyes and Ureka Washington, were also given the boot by the board. Neither Reyes nor Washington were ever listed on the Queens Defenders’ staff page on the group’s website.
In an email sent to Queens Defenders’ staff Thursday evening, board chair Doneath Powell did not specify the reason behind Zeno’s dismissal. However, Powell directed staff with complaints to reach out to the New York attorney general’s whistleblower office, which fields information from insiders “with sensitive information about misdeeds by their employer.”
“As a result of information received by the Board of Queens Defenders, Lori Zeno has been placed on leave effective immediately and is not allowed on any Queens Defenders property,” Powell said in the email obtained by the Eagle.
The board chair also said that an internal investigation into “employee relations” will begin in the coming days, and a new leadership team will soon be appointed.
When asked about any potential investigation into Zeno or the three other former Queens Defenders staffers, a spokesperson for the attorney general said their office “does not comment on ongoing investigations.”
Zeno did not respond to the Eagle’s requests for comment.
Queens Defenders did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding Zeno’s leave on Friday morning.
Zeno, a longtime public defense attorney, is the founder of Queens Defenders and has served as its executive director since 2018.
The organization is a bit of a family affair for Zeno, who employed several family members during her tenure, including Ruhani.
Zeno’s son, Zachary Zeno, and her daughter, Zoe Zeno, were both at one point on the Queens Defenders’ payroll, according to Queens Defenders employees. Sources granted anonymity because of fear of reprisal told the Eagle on Friday that despite his title of “software specialist” Zachary Zeno has seldom been seen doing work for the organization.
Zeno’s brother, Don Uderlitz, is also involved in the organization, serving on its board as an unpaid volunteer, according to the organization’s tax documents.
Despite her long tenure at Queens Defenders, Zeno’s work at the organization has not been without controversy.
In 2021, Zeno was accused of firing two staffers who were attempting to unionize the public defense group. While Zeno claimed the terminations were related to the employees’ job performances, she was vocal in her opposition to the union effort.
“Do I believe that lawyers who represent indigent people who are in jail charged with crimes, not been convicted yet, do I think that it’s ethical or wise to have a court date come up where your client is coming to court to see a judge and you’re a lawyer and you’re supposed to be there but instead you’re out on a picket line because you want $5 more on your health insurance?” Zeno told the Eagle in 2021. “I do have a problem with that.”
That same year, Zeno sparked outrage when she refused to close Queens Defenders’ offices during a COVID-19 outbreak. In an email to staff, she said that one of their colleagues had contracted the virus and had reached out to those they may have come in contact with.
In reality, Zeno was the infected staffer, something she later admitted to the office in an email.
“The anonymous person that has tested positive for COVID is me,” Zeno’s email to staff read, as reported by the Daily News at the time. “I did not tell you before now, because I was afraid. Unfortunately, the old accusations and allegations have surfaced again about me and the culture we have at QD, because of how terrible I am as a person and as a boss.”
Also in 2021, Zeno was sued by a former Queens Defenders employee who claimed that the executive director retaliated against her after she requested workplace accommodations for multiple physical ailments she was suffering from.
In the complaint, the former employee alleged Zeno fostered an “abusive work environment.”
Among the incidents cited in the complaint was an October 2019 sexual harassment training, where Zeno allegedly told the training facilitator that gossiping about intimate relationships between co-workers was acceptable.
“Everyone knows everyone here is f––king everyone else and we all talk about it,” Zeno said, according to the complaint.
Former Queens Defenders attorneys told the Eagle on Friday that Zeno has long been seen as a difficult person to work for.
Rebecca Cary, who was fired by Queens Defenders several years ago for allegedly reporting what she believed to be a conflict of interest within the organization, said Zeno ran the organization by promoting and firing people not based on merit, but loyalty.
“The organization very much seemed to run on favors and loyalty,” Cary said. “[Zeno] wants people in powerful positions who are loyal to her and who won't question her.”
“It was a, ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,’ kind of thing,” she added.
This is a developing story and was last updated on Jan. 31, 2025 at 4:19 p.m.
