Lawyers Demo

Education

• J.D., American University Washington College of Law, 2007
• B.A., Cross-Cultural Services, John Brown University, Magna Cum Laude, 2004
• A.S., Broadcasting, John Brown University, 2004

Awards and Distinctions

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Missouri-Kansas (MO-KAN) Executive Committee

• 2020-2021: Immediate Past Chair
• 2019-2020: Chapter Chair
• 2018-2019: Chair-Elect
• 2017-2018: Vice Chair
• 2016-2017: Secretary

“When I was a junior in college at John Brown University, a group of human rights lawyers from the International Justice Mission presented at my college about the injustice in the world and how we can fight injustice through the legal system. After that presentation, I went back to my dorm room and felt a deep calling to become a lawyer to advocate for and defend people who didn’t have a voice. I went to law school after graduating from college with the sole purpose of becoming a “human rights lawyer.” The only problem was, I didn’t know precisely what the term “human rights lawyer” actually meant.

I went to Guatemala to work with IJM for nine months but quickly learned that I couldn’t live in Guatemala forever and use my U.S. law degree. I returned to the U.S. and began a federal judicial clerkship in Washington, DC. I worked as a federal law clerk and pondered how I could be a human rights lawyer in the U.S. I was also in the process of marrying my Honduran husband and filing a petition with the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security for his green card. I learned through filing my husband’s permanent residence petition that the U.S. immigration laws are incredibly complex. I enjoyed helping my husband gain legal status in the U.S. and came to realize how important that service is to immigrants in the U.S.

I love being around people from other countries (and using my Spanish language skills when I can), so serving immigrants felt like an excellent fit for me. I became passionate about helping immigrants navigate the U.S.’s immigration laws and quickly realized that IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS! I feel called to be an immigration lawyer and feel so grateful that God led me to this career. It is an honor to be able to serve and empower immigrants every day as an immigration lawyer.”

Education

• J.D., University of Missouri–Kansas City, Magna Cum Laude, 2016
• B.S., Mathematics/Philosophy/Spanish, Rockhurst University, 2000

Awards and Distinctions

• 2021 Super Lawyers® Missouri & Kansas Rising Star
• 2019 Recipient of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Presidential Commendation

“My dream of practicing immigration law took root during a semester I spent volunteering with migrant farmworkers in rural Missouri. I was just back from a Spanish immersion program in Xalapa, Mexico, and eager to practice my new language skills. Suddenly, the ability to speak Spanish opened a new world to me, but one that I didn’t have to travel to experience. This community of farmworkers, many of whom were immigrants, opened their lives and homes to me. Speaking their language allowed me to witness and share their struggles, joys, heartaches, and triumphs. Even today, nearly 25 years later, I treasure what they shared with me and who they helped me become.

Comic Trevor Noah, who grew up in South Africa speaking multiple languages, said, “when you make an effort to speak someone else’s language . . . you are saying to them, ‘I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being.’” Understanding my clients’ stories and discussing their goals and concerns in their language is fundamental to my role as an attorney. I hope that clients leave my office carrying less of a burden than when they came in. Especially in the problematic immigration climate of the last four years, we don’t always have good news. Still, we do have this: the promise to treat each person with dignity, to give honest and reliable advice, and to work creatively to find the best way forward in each and every case.”