AILA National Spokespeople

AILA's network of national spokespeople includes recognized immigration law experts. To schedule an interview with an AILA national spokesperson, contact the Communications team at newsroom@aila.org.

For non-media contacts, please visit the Contact AILA page.

2023–24 AILA National Officers

Farshad Owji, Esq.

President
San Francisco, CA

Expertise:
Family, Business, Asylum, General

Kelli Stump, Esq.

President-Elect
Oklahoma City, OK

Expertise: Family, Business, Asylum, General

Jeff Joseph, Esq.

First Vice-President
Denver, CO

Expertise:
Family, Business, General
Twitter handle: @jeffjoseph

Alexis S. Axelrad, Esq.

Second Vice-President
New York, NY

Expertise:
Family, Business, General

Jacqueline Watson, Esq.

Treasurer
Austin, TX (English, Spanish)

Expertise:
Citizenship and Naturalization, Family, Removal Defense, Asylum, Federal Court Litigation

Rekha Sharma-Crawford, Esq.

Secretary
Kansas City, MO

Expertise:
Removal Defense, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Family, and Federal Court Litigation

Advisor to the 2023–24 Executive Committee

Jeremy McKinney, Esq.

Immediate Past President
Greensboro, NC,

Expertise:
Family, Business, General, Litigation, Removal Defense
Twitter handle: @McKJeremy

National Office Spokespeople: Washington, DC

Benjamin Johnson, Esq.

AILA Executive Director

Twitter handle: @AILAExecDir

Greg Chen, Esq.

Senior Director of Government Relations

Expertise:
Legislation/Congress and Agency Outreach
Twitter handle: @GregChenAILA

Sharvari Dalal-Dheini

Director of Government Relations

Expertise:
Legislation/Congress and Agency Outreach
Twitter handle: @shevdd

Media Advocacy Committee

Evangeline Chan, Esq.

Chair
Pronouns: she/her
New York, NY

Expertise:
Humanitarian-Based Benefits (Asylum, U/T Visas, VAWA, SIJ, TPS, DACA), Removal Defense, and Naturalization
Twitter handle: @EvangelineMChan

John Manley, Esq.

Vice-Chair
Pronouns: he/him
(English, Farsi, Spanish)
Los Angeles, CA

Expertise
Family, Business, Trusted Traveler Issues, CBP
Twitter handle: @JohnManley

Wilberforce Agyekum

Greenbelt, MD

Sandra Feist, Esq.

Pronouns: she/her
Minneapolis, MN

Expertise:
Business, Scientists/Academics, General, O/P visas, Religious Workers, H-1Bs, E-2
Twitter handle: @SandraFeistMN

Jennifer Michelle Howard

Aurora, CO

Tammy Lin

Isabel Machado

Clovis, CA

Kevin Miner

Pronouns: he/him
Atlanta, GA

Expertise:
High-skilled Business Immigration, PERM, LCA, and I-9 Compliance

Victor D. Nieblas Pradis, Esq.

Pronouns: he/him
(English, Spanish)
Los Angeles, CA

Expertise:
Deportation Defense, Asylum, DACA, Family, Waivers, EOIR, ICE Arrests
Twitter handle: @VictorNieblas

Brittany Nicole Odom

Pronouns: she/her
Metairie, LA

Expertise: J-1 Visa Waivers, Naturalization, and Employment-Based Matters (H-1B, O-1, NIW, EB-1)

Anthony Pawelski

Pronouns: he/his
Somerville, MA

Expertise: Healthcare Immigration, J Visas, and Achievement-Based Green Cards (NIW, EB-1B, EB-1A)

Gina M. Polo

Pronouns: she/her
(English, Spanish)

Miami, FL

Expertise:
Business, Family

Heather Drabek Prendergast

Pronouns: she/her
Cleveland, OH

Expertise: Business, Family, Waivers, Complex Removal Defense, Consular Processing, TPS, Naturalization, General

Sara Ramey, Esq.

Pronouns: she/her
(English, Spanish, French)
San Antonio, TX

Expertise:
Asylum, Removal Defense, Detention, Humanitarian Protection (TPS, VAWA, U/T Visas, Humanitarian Parole)

Shannon M. Shepherd, Esq.

Pronouns: she/her
Chicago, IL

Expertise: Business and Family
Twitter handle: @ImmAttyShannon

Annie Jen Wang

Pronouns: she/her
New York, NY

Expertise:
DACA and Pathways to Citizenship for Undocumented Youth, Family-Based Adjustment of Status Applications