Zenith T. Taylor, Esq. is the New York State Unified Court System’s first-ever Statewide Civic Engagement Coordinator. Prior to her appointment, she worked as a Court Attorney Referee in Queens County Surrogate’s Court and Supreme Court-Civil Term and before that was a solo practitioner in Queens County for over two decades. While in private practice, Ms. Taylor developed an extensive background in the areas of trusts and estates, guardianship, matrimonial, and family law, also serving on the Assigned Counsel and Law Guardian panels.
Among her numerous professional affiliations and activities, Ms. Taylor serves as past president of the Queens County Bar Association and the Queens County Women’s Bar Association, immediate past president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Queens County, and past Treasurer of the Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association. Additionally, she is a member of various civic and community boards.
As a longstanding member of New York’s legal community, Ms. Taylor is deeply committed to civic engagement. With her broad range of legal expertise and experience—and her keen awareness of the urgent need for civic learning and participation—Ms. Taylor seeks to utilize her unique role within the court system to bridge the “knowledge gap” between members of the legal profession and the public, bringing to life the vision of Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson to prioritize civic literacy and promote civic engagement.
Toward these goals, Ms. Taylor is working to educate and inform citizens about our democracy, judicial branch of government and the importance of the rule of law, fostering a culture of active learning and engagement. Her key objective as the New York State Courts’ Statewide Civic Engagement Coordinator is to educate, empower, and encourage civic engagement both through various school and community initiatives and collaborative relationships with community stakeholders.