Christina Ontiveros was born and raised in California. She is the oldest child of two immigrant parents from Michoacán, México. Christina is a 2013 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Legal Studies. Following graduation, Christina worked as a legal assistant for the Beles Law Firm in Oakland, California. Working in a high-volume office, Christina was able to immerse herself in immigration law, learning how to prepare applications, conduct client intake interviews, and draft motions. In 2018, Christina graduated from Golden Gate University, School of Law, receiving a J.D. with a specialization in Family Law & Public Interest Law. While in law school, Christina was on the Dean’s List. She was also the Co-Chair of GGU’s Latin American Law Students Association and part of GGU’s Law Review, finishing her 3L year as its Executive Research Editor. In 2019, Christina joined the KIND Los Angeles office as a Staff Attorney. In her time at KIND LA, Christina has represented clients before EOIR and USCIS, in their adjustment of status, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, asylum cases, and other matters. In 2023, Christina became a Senior Attorney for the Detained Program for KIND LA. Christina is fluent in Spanish and is licensed to practice law in California.

Kel White is the Associate Program Director for Public Education & Training at Acacia Center for Justice. Prior to that she worked at Amica Center for 10 years working with people impacted by detention, supporting Universal Representation and due process for immigrants in removal with mental health challenges. She tracks patterns across the US to see where advocates can join together to safeguard the rights of impacted people. Recent work has included the Habeas Bridge Project. She serves on the board of HabeasDockets.org and as Chair-Elect of the AILA-DC chapter. She is grateful to the community of legal warriors, the practitioners working on the issues discussed, and advocates’ on-the-ground experience.

Autumn Gonzalez is a labor and employment attorney. She volunteers with NorCal Resist, a grassroots immigrants rights group, as well as the Center for Workers’ Rights, and is a board member of the ACLU of Northern California. Autumn is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Columbia Law School, and lives in Sacramento with her partner, their two cats and two chihuahuas.

Gina Amato Lough (she/ella) is the Directing Attorney of Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. She leads a 30-member team of attorneys, paralegals, administrative staff, and social workers who serve asylum seekers, immigrants in detention, survivors of violent crime, unaccompanied children, and victims of notario fraud. Her team works toward a world where all (im)migrants live with dignity, power, and opportunity.

Gina has been a public interest attorney and community leader for over twenty years. She joined Public Counsel in 2008, and for 14 years, she led the Immigrants’ Rights Project’s Survivor Team. The Survivor Team provides holistic services to immigrant survivors from a trauma-informed, client-centered perspective. In addition, Gina has engaged in widespread policy advocacy to protect the rights of immigrant survivors, and has worked in partnership with governmental and non-profit organizations to launch a campaign to combat notario fraud – a type of legal services fraud that is devastating to immigrant communities.