HIRC Faculty and Staff, 2011-2012

Deborah Anker

Deborah Anker is Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program (HIRC).  She has taught law students at Harvard for over 25 years.  Author of a leading treatise, Law of Asylum in the United States, Anker has co-drafted ground-breaking gender asylum guidelines and amicus curiae briefs.  Professor Anker is one of the most widely known asylum scholars and practitioners in the United States; she is cited frequently by international and domestic courts and tribunals, including the United States Supreme Court.  In 2011, she was chosen to be a fellow of the prestigious American Bar Foundation. Professor Anker is a pioneer in the development of clinical legal education in the immigration field, training students in direct representation of refugees and creating a foundation for clinics at law schools around the country.

John Willshire-Carrera

John Willshire-Carrera, co-managing director of HIRC at Greater Boston Legal Services and clinical instructor at HLS, is a nationally known researcher and practitioner with numerous prominent, immigration and asylum litigation victories to his credit. In 1987, he directed the Ford Foundation national research and organizing project on implementation of Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court decision that established the right of all immigrant students to a public education in the United States. He has received the Dow-Gardner-Landrum Award for outstanding commitment to legal services to the poor and the annual legal services attorney award from the Massachusetts Bar Association, among others.

Nancy Kelly

Nancy Kelly is the co-managing director of HIRC at Greater Boston Legal Services and clinical instructor at HLS, as well as an adjunct professor of immigration and asylum law at Northeastern University School of Law. She previously served as a Harvard Law School Human Rights Program fellow. At the Human Rights Program, Ms. Kelly initiated the nationally and internationally prominent Women Refugees Project, a centerpiece of the Clinic’s work. Among other honors, Ms. Kelly received the 2000 John G. Brooks Award of the Boston Bar Association for her work with refugee women and children, and for her teaching at the Clinic.

Sabi Ardalan

Sabi Ardalan, Assistant Director and lecturer on law, clerked for the Honorable Michael A. Chagares of Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie, Chief District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. She previously served as the Equal Justice America Fellow at The Opportunity Agenda and as a litigation associate at Dewey Ballantine LLP. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in History and International Studies from Yale College. sardalan@law.harvard.edu

Emily Leung

Emily Leung is the Albert M. Sacks Clinical & Advocacy Fellow at HIRC. She was previously a partner at the law firm of Kenney, Leung & Grady-Harper, P.C., specializing in immigration practice. She has worked at numerous boutique firms and non-profit organizations in the Boston area focused on asylum law, family-based petitions, removal defense, and other humanitarian-based relief. Emily received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her M.A. in International Relations, also from Boston University. She graduated with a B.A. from Emory University in Economics and Chinese. eleung@law.harvard.edu

Phil Torrey

Phil Torrey is a Clinical Instructor with HIRC and the supervising attorney of the Harvard Immigration Project student practice organization.  He previously worked as an attorney fellow in the Immigration Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services and as a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.  He received his B.A. from Colgate University and his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law with honors. ptorrey@law.harvard.edu

Catherine Birdwell

Catherine Birdwell is an Immigration and Refugee Research Fellow with the clinic. While in law school, she developed her passion for immigration and refugee advocacy, working with immigration law firms and non-profits throughout Texas and the Washington, DC area.  She received her B.A. from Rhodes College in International Studies and received her J.D. from the Catholic University of America, cum laude.

Bonnie Rubrecht

Bonnie Rubrecht, HIRC’s Administrative Director, has extensive experience working as a paralegal on family-based cases, waivers, deportation defense, asylum and employment-based immigration. Bonnie graduated with a B.A. from Westmont College with honors in Political Science and discovered her passion for immigrant and refugee clients while working at Kingston, Martinez, Hogan, LLP in Santa Barbara, California. brubrecht@law.harvard.edu