I came to law school thinking I would never practice law, and never envisioning being a professor. Working with Americorps had piqued my interest in immigrant and refugee issues, and I wanted the legal training to become an advocate in a broad sense of the word. I also thought a JD would give me credibility as I worked on behalf of the immigrant and refugee community. During law school, I was a Michigan refugee and asylum law fellow with Amnesty International, and a few years after graduating I led the Immigrant Rights Project at the University of Notre Dame Law School. I also studied human trafficking issues in Europe as a Marshall Fellow. It was an incredible privilege to return to Michigan Law to launch the Human Trafficking Clinic, which is the first clinical law program solely devoted to addressing this issue comprehensively. The clinic is only able to do all that we do because of the collective strength of Michigan’s faculty. No matter what kind of issue our clients might face, I can walk down the hall and knock on the door of a colleague who is an expert in the field and always willing to talk through a case. As a student, I was impressed by the way that the faculty engaged with students and the passion they showed for teaching and learning the law. My work as both a professor and a lawyer embodies that approach: Passion plus engagement can change the world.
