Founding Partner, Agoglia Holland
Agoglia
President, Board of Directors, New Ground
Building New Lives for Homeless Families…
As the President of the Board of Directors for New Ground, based in
Hempstead, New York, Emmet J. Agoglia `58 leads a unique agency
committed to educating and empowering families who were once caught
in the vicious cycle of homelessness. An overriding
philosophy of the New Ground program is the belief that the key to
solving homelessness is to not only help families who are homeless,
but also to prevent it in the future. Breaking the cycle of
homelessness lies in catering to the children, therefore New Ground
strives to help each child attain their educational and social
potential through advocacy, academic tutoring and positive cultural
experiences. Parents are provided with educational,
vocational and mental health support through intensive case
management.
New Ground’s team approach leverages the skills of experts whose
disciplines include: social work, substance abuse, education and
vocational rehabilitation. Twenty-two families are presently
enrolled in the program, of which 88% of the adults have secured
full-time jobs. In addition, 52% earned their GED and have
continued on with vocational training or college coursework.
The children are also doing well; 98% of the children in the
program attend school regularly, and they were all promoted to the
next grade. It should be noted that the Board of Directors
for New Ground is rich in St. John’s Law alumni reflecting a sound
Vincentian foundation and a focus on interpersonal
relationships. Mr. Agoglia credits a childhood teacher for
instilling a belief that a person can be compassionate and strong
at the same time.
Respected as a litigator, lecturer and author of numerous works
regarding trial practice, Mr. Agoglia prides himself on being
named, the Volunteer Lawyers Committee, New York Bar Association’s
Pro-bono Attorney of the Year. He is also listed in “The Best
Lawyers in America.” Reflecting on his year’s at St. John’s
Law, Mr. Agoglia vividly remembers Professor Charles M. Sparaccio
emphatically lecturing the class that they could “use a dirty sock
to refresh a witnesses recollection.” The class that
stimulated him the most was Equity by the late Professor Re (Chief
Judge Emeritus of the US Court of International Trade and 50 year
faculty member).
With a strong sense of service to others, Mr. Agoglia served as:
Director of the Nassau County Bar Association; Chair, the Volunteer
Lawyers Committee New York State Bar Association and a Member of
the Grievance Committee, Tenth Judicial District for two terms
totaling eight years.
Acknowledging that the practice of law has evolved significantly
over the last fifty years, Mr. Agoglia reminds the Class of 2009
that, “the essence of lawyering is about morality. It is
critical that everybody practicing law maintain and follow a moral
compass. In addition, it doesn’t hurt to insert a spiritual
perspective into your work.”