Get to Know Brooklyn A – Marlon Vargas

Office Associate Marlon Vargas knows Brooklyn A inside and out. Having worked for us since 2017, he’s seen several chapters of the organization, helping us grow to double our size during his time on board. Before joining BKA, Marlon volunteered at a summer camp for kids and has long been invested in serving his community. A Brooklyn native, Marlon was instrumental in getting our new Brooklyn and Queens offices up and running and has helped us spread our reach well beyond his home borough. Read our Q&A with Marlon to learn more about him and his work:

Q: Your job covers a lot of different areas—tell us more about what all you do.

Marlon: I work in many different parts of the organization, such as assisting our staff with various technical issues that may arise while at the office. I also assist with operations to ensure our offices are all in working order. Finally, I assist with client services, which entails answering the phone to incoming callers who are looking for legal help. I also take care of any walk-ins from anyone in the community.

Q: How does it feel to work for an organization dedicated to helping our neighbors across the city?

Marlon: I was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Growing up, I saw many people in my community going through hardships. So, working in my community and being able to assist people with their legal issues is a full circle moment for me. As someone who’s the first contact with a client, I always try to step into the shoes of the client, listening to their story and providing the most efficient resources to assist them.

Q: What’s your favorite part of your job?

Marlon: My favorite part of my job is seeing the smile and appreciation of our clients after assisting them with their legal issues.

Q: We’ve added two new offices in the last year—the (relaunched) Bushwick office and the new Preserving Affordable Housing Queens program office. What was that process like?

Marlon: Setting up the last two offices was a long process. There’s a lot of commuting between all our offices to ensure the new offices had enough supplies and were set to operate smoothly. Jenn Flores (Director of Operations) coordinated with our contractor to do the necessary renovations. Ariel Peavy (Office Manager) assisted with ordering and organizing supplies for the offices. I assisted with setting up tech and transporting supplies. Jenn pre-planned and organized the process thoroughly to ensure we didn’t have any unexpected events.

Q: Like a lot of organizations post-pandemic, Brooklyn A is now a hybrid office—partly in-office and partly working remotely. How does managing a hybrid office differ from operations at a five-day-in-office organization?

Marlon: The difference is having to be more involved in the communications between the client and the attorney. We play a middle person messenger role when the attorney is not onsite. Prior to the pandemic, attorneys would be onsite to meet with the client more often. For example, now a client may have an appointment to come in and sign documents. Before they sign, they may have questions about the document and we’ll have to communicate with the attorney to have them explain it.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

Marlon: Outside of work I love to sketch, and I recently picked up the electric guitar. I also love to do boxing and read books. My favorite genre of books are fiction and manga.

Q: What’s one movie, book, TV show, or album you’ve enjoyed recently that you’d recommend to everyone?

Marlon: My favorite book series is “Vagabond,” which is about the fictitious retelling of the life of one of Japan’s most renowned swordsmen, the “Sword Saint” Musashi Miyamoto—his rise from a swordsman with no desire other than to become “Invincible Under the Heavens” to an enlightened warrior who slowly learns of the importance of close friends, self-reflection, and life itself.