KAREN L. NICOLSON

Chief Executive Officer

Karen L. Nicolson, Esq. has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Elder Law & Justice (CELJ) since 2000. When she first stepped into the role, CELJ was a small nonprofit law office with just ten staff members serving three counties in Western New York. Over the years, through steady leadership and a deep commitment to justice, the organization has grown into a team of over eighty professionals working across the state to provide civil legal services, policy advocacy, and support for older adults and disabled individuals.

Karen’s work is rooted in the belief that healthy aging should not be a privilege reserved for the few. She has witnessed firsthand how decades of systemic inequality—based on race, income, gender, and disability—have shaped who gets to age with dignity and who does not. She often says that while some people retire into comfort and security, others grow older facing eviction, isolation, and abuse. Her goal has always been to help close that gap.

In 2024, CELJ closed 6,500 cases, benefiting over 11,000 individuals with issues involving housing instability, healthcare access, elder domestic violence, consumer scams, public benefits, and family court matters. The organization also serves as trustee for pooled supplemental needs trusts totaling over $15 million in assets, and acts as guardian for approximately seventy individuals who have experienced neglect or mistreatment and have no trustworthy family member, or friend, to serve in this role.

Karen has been honored to contribute to broader aging policy efforts. She was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for New York’s Master Plan for Aging, where she chairs the Workplace Engagement Subcommittee. She also serves on several statewide legal and justice committees, including the New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates, the Committee on Legal Aid, and the President’s Committee on Access to Justice. In 2023, she joined AARP New York’s Executive Council and continues to serve on the Elder Justice Working Group through the NYS Unified Court System. She is honored to serve as the treasurer for the New York Legal Services Coalition.

Her work has been recognized by peers and community organizations. She’s received honors such as the Erie County Bar Association’s Lawyer of the Year, Buffalo Business First’s Woman of Influence and C-Suite Leader awards, and the University at Buffalo School of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service. She is also a Health Leadership Fellow through the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York.

Before becoming CEO, Karen spent eleven years as a staff attorney at CELJ and began her legal career at the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo. She lives in Amherst, New York with her husband, Thomas Smith. Her proudest accomplishment is seeing her daughter, Haley Smith, carry forward the family’s commitment to public service as a criminal defense attorney at the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo.