Marco Balestri is a JD candidate at Harvard Law School. He received a BA with honors from Columbia University, where he majored in American history and won the Chanler Historical Prize for his thesis examining the disenfranchisement of naturalized immigrants under the 1922 New York State Literacy Test Law. Marco’s thesis was inspired by his work at the Brennan Center for Justice and as an organizer on multiple Senate and Congressional campaigns, where he witnessed the inequalities of the American electoral system.

For the past decade, Marco has worked at advocacy nonprofits and government offices, with the goal of defending and expanding civil rights and access to legal representation. Passionate about eviction defense and addressing patterns of systemic injustice, Marco is proud to have played a role disrupting a legal system that disproportionately harms marginalized New Yorkers. Since 2022, Marco has worked at the Neighborhood Defenders Services of Harlem, helping more than 185 families remain in their homes and securing more than $2.2 million in rental assistance for his clients. At NDS, he also founded a citywide working group of lawyers and advocates to improve access to public benefits, spearheaded the publication of a New York Times article on housing voucher access, and testified before the New York City Council. After graduation, Marco plans to work at the intersection of indigent defense and systemic legal reform, with a focus on promoting legal education to help grassroots organizations build lasting power. Marco ultimately aspires to establish nationwide civil right-to-counsel programs for low-income people facing eviction and deportation.

Marco is a lifelong New Yorker. He loves soccer, photography, and mixology. Throughout college, Marco managed the Columbia Bartending Agency, where bartending highlights included assisting highwire artist Philippe Petit with a magic trick, helping Jane Fonda prepare for a speech, and dancing salsa with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Half-Florentine, Marco loves cooking traditional Tuscan dishes and is an avid Fiorentina fan.