The Immigrant Families Advocacy Project (IFAP) in conjunction with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the Washington Law School Foundation invites you to participate in a Continuing Legal Education program on the Violence Against Women Act and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status self petitioning process.

The Immigrant Families Advocacy Project (IFAP), founded in 1996 as a partnership between the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) and the University of Washington School of Law, trains and matches law students with pro bono attorneys and eligible immigrant survivors of domestic violence to self-petition for legal permanent resident status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). IFAP has enabled many immigrant women and children to leave abusive relationships and begin lives free of violence while providing law students with an opportunity to gain training and experience in immigration law, domestic violence advocacy, and client counseling. This year we are excited to add a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status petitioning component to the program!

Andrea Parra is the supervising attorney at the domestic violence unit of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where she represents immigrant survivors of domestic violence in self-petitions, conditional residence waivers and removal proceedings. She has also worked as a removal and citizenship attorney at the same organization. She received her law degree from the University of Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia and obtained a Masters Degree in American Law at Boston University. In Colombia she worked at a Center for Socio-Legal Studies and participated as principal researcher in a number of projects, including "Sex Crimes in Santafe de Bogota", "Congress Watch", and "Human Rights Discourses of Armed Actors." In Colombia, she also worked with domestic violence survivors advocating for their access to legal services. While in Boston she participated in the Battered Women Advocacy Program with Northeastern University and the Boston Medical Center.

Anita Sinha is a Skadden Fellow at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where as an attorney in the domestic violence unit, she provides direct immigration representation to victims of trafficking and to immigrant juveniles. She is the director of the Immigrant Child Advocacy Project and has represented immigrant survivors of domestic violence in filing self- petitions under the Violence Against Women Act. Ms. Sinha conducts numerous trainings on advocating on behalf of immigrant survivors of crimes, as well as to immigrant community members on their rights in the post 9-11 climate. In August of 2002, she was selected to sit on the Seattle Women's Commission, where she participates in the legislative advocacy committee. Ms. Sinha received her B.A. from Columbia University in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and received her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Robert A. Free B.A. University of California at Berkeley, 1969; M.A. Stanford University, 1970; J.D. University of Washington, 1975. Bob is a past President of the Washington Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and past member of the Board of Governors of the national association. He is a frequent lecturer at local and national immigration law seminars and writes about immigration law for scholarly publications. He is an adjunct professor of law at Seattle University and an attorney with MacDonald, Hoague and Bayless.

Sara L. Ainsworth is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law. She is a staff attorney with the Northwest Women’s Law Center, a non-profit agency that advocates on behalf of women’s rights throughout the region, where she specializes in the issues of violence against women and reproductive rights. Prior to joining the Law Center, Ms. Ainsworth practiced family law for low-income clients as Public Service Counsel at Foster Pepper & Shefelman, and at the legal services programs Northwest Justice Project and Snohomish County Legal Services. She has provided instruction on family law issues and domestic violence to volunteer attorneys and advocates, and provided advocacy and coordination for pro bono representation of battered immigrant women while at Foster Pepper. Ms. Ainsworth is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Immigrant Families Advocacy Project.

Grace Huang works as the public policy coordinator for the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV). She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law. Prior to her position at WSCADV, Ms. Huang worked for at the law firm of Gibbs Houston Pauw, where her practice emphasized immigration law, in particular, family-based immigration, asylum, and removal defense. She has also previously been employed at Columbia Legal Services, where she focused primarily in cases in public benefits, family law, and immigration law, and at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where she worked representing victims of domestic violence. Ms. Huang has conducted numerous trainings both locally and nationally regarding the overlap of domestic violence law, immigration, and public benefits. She currently participates in the Washington State Anti- Trafficking taskforce convened by the Washington State legislature. She also serves as a board member for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project , and is an advisory board member for the National Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant Women. She is a recipient of the 1999 Northwest Immigrant Rights Project "Golden Door Award," for her advocacy on behalf of immigrants, and the recipient of the 2000 Northwest Women's Law Center Cynthia Gillespie Award recognizing her work toward advancing legal rights for women.