Esta R. Bigler, Esq.

Esta Bigler, Esq., is Director of Cornell University ILR’s Labor and Employment Law Program and Director of ILR's NYC Government and Community Relations. She uses her extensive background in labor and employment law to convene conferences and forums studying the relationship between social science research and law to address labor and employment law and workplace issues with the goal of influencing legislation and public policy decisions.

The early focus on her work on mass incarceration and reducing barriers to employment of people with criminal records has led to her current work with the Cannabis Workforce Initiative. That work with the Workforce Development Institute concentrates on the labor and employment law aspects of the social equity opportunities of NY's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act to create generational wealth in communities disproportionately affected by mass incarceration due to our drug laws. She is also the faculty adviser to the NYC High Roads summer social justice program for ILR undergraduates. Her recent work with the Cannabis Workforce Initiative and the Workforce Development Institute is concentrated on the labor and employment law aspects of the social equity opportunities of NY's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act to create generational wealth in communities disproportionately affected by drug laws.

Ms. Bigler is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and was the 2006 Recipient of the Alice H. Cook and Constance F. Cook Award for commitment to women’s issues and for improving the climate for women at Cornell. She is the current Chair of the New York State Apprenticeship Council and was previously appointed to the Advisory Committee on Governor Cuomo’s Task Force investigating worker exploitation.

Ms. Bigler earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and B.S. from Cornell ILR.