SAVING LIVES, CELEBRATING COURAGE

Limited Quantity of Reduced Price Presale Tickets Available Now

 
Purchase tickets online now
Reduced price presale tickets available
until February 20^th, 2012.  

April 25, 2012
The Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, DC
 
 
6:00: VIP Reception
6:30: General Reception
Followed by Seated Dinner & Program

Business or cocktail attire

If you are unable to attend, but would still
like to support the work of the Tahirih Justice Center, please make
an online gift now.

Regular ticket prices
(General: $275, VIP: $475) will be available February 21 through April 12.

For information regarding ticket sales or becoming a Corporate Sponsor, contact Justine Finn at 571-282-6193 or justine@tahirih.org.

*As a Bahá’í-inspired organization, Tahirih does not purchase alcoholic beverages. Alcohol will be donated by generous Tahirih supporters.

Photographs courtesy of Michael Colella

Tahirih Justice Center
15th Anniversary Gala

SAVING LIVES, CELEBRATING COURAGE

April 25, 2012 The Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, DC Business or cocktail attire 6:00: VIP Reception 6:30: General Reception Followed by Seated Dinner & Program

The Tahirih Justice Center invites you to join us in celebrating 15 years of providing lifesaving legal services and engaging in high-impact public policy advocacy on behalf of immigrant women and children fleeing violence. The Gala will begin with an elegant reception and silent auction followed by a seated dinner and program for approximately 400 guests.

Distinguished past participants have included Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, numerous Members of Congress including then-Senator Joe Biden, and acclaimed actors including Sam Waterston (Law & Order) and Debra Winger. This year’s Anniversary Gala will be similarly well-supported and inspirational.

Ticket Sales
Reduced price presale tickets available now!

Regular Presale Tickets: $229

Amenities include:

• Cocktail Reception with passed hors d’oeuvres
• Silent Auction Reception
• Amy Lin Pearls for sale, including brand-new designs
• Four-course meal by The Four Season’s Executive Chef Douglas Anderson
• Wine, soda, tea, coffee and juice served during dinner
• Program and entertainment featuring special guests and recorded remarks by NBC Today’s Anne Curry

VIP Presale Tickets: $399

Amenities include:

• Pre-Gala VIP Cocktail Reception with passed hors d’oeuvres prior to general admission
• “Meet and greet” with special guests and presenters
• “Sneak Peek Silent Auction,” an exclusive opportunity to view and purchase silent auction items and Amy Lin Pearls
• Photo opportunity with special guests
• Four-course meal by The Four Season’s Executive Chef Douglas Anderson
• Wine, soda, tea, coffee and juice poured during dinner
• Program and entertainment featuring special guests and recorded remarks by NBC Today’s Anne Curry

Regular ticket prices (General: $275, VIP: $475) will be available February 21st- April 12th.

For information regarding ticket sales or becoming a Corporate Sponsor,
contact Justine Finn at 571-282-6193 or justine@tahirih.org.

We also welcome your support of Tahirih through your employee giving program or the Combined Federal Campaign (Tahirih’s CFC number is 11756). Tahirih is no longer a member of the United Way, but is eligible for participation in some local United Way branches. If you participate, please contact your United Way to see if they support write-in charities.

If you have any questions about donating to Tahirih, please contact Anne Paschke, Development & Communications Associate, at annep@tahirih.org.

Daniela is from Central America, where she suffered over two decades of severe physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her boyfriend, the father of her children. She was hospitalized on three occasions from the abuse, once incapacitated for over a year. She tried multiple times to seek help, calling the police and successfully obtaining a protective order. However, the police were not able to protect her. Daniela’s boyfriend was never jailed for more than a few days at a time, and he ignored the protective order and continued his abuse.

In 2005, Daniela felt she’d run out of options in her home country, and fled to the United States to file for asylum. She appeared before a court in Texas, and was her request for asylum was granted. However, the government appealed. Due to the unsettled nature of the law surrounding gender-based asylum, her case was pending for several years. During this time of extreme uncertainty, Daniela moved to Virginia.

After years of waiting, Daniela’s next hearing was set for 2011—in Texas, impossibly far from her new home. The court refused to transfer her case to Virginia. She could not afford to pay a private attorney to travel to Texas for her, and no nonprofits had the money to fund the travel themselves.

Luckily, Daniela found Tahirih.

Tahirih’s Washington, DC area attorneys worked with Daniela close to her home, while her pro bono attorneys at Mayer Brown LLP in Houston prepared her filing. When Daniela flew to Texas, she used air miles donated by generous Tahirih supporters in Houston. Daniela and her team of pro bono attorneys at Mayer Brown and Tahirih staff drove to the courthouse in San Antonio where Daniela again took the stand to testify about the decades of abuse that she endured.

Thanks to Daniela’s team of attorneys and after seven years of waiting in fear she was finally granted asylum. Daniela can finally rest peacefully, knowing she is secure in the United States.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy. The photograph included here is not of Daniela. Photo by Sergio Pessolano.

View events in Houston, Texas and in Washington, DC.

Sunday, December 4, 2011
11am – 3pm
The Frog At Home
2427 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77098

20% of all Frog at Home sales (including window fashion and special furniture
orders) will be donated to the Tahirih Justice Center. Refreshments will be provided. Come to win one of our frequent door prizes and giveaways! Click here to view invitation (PDF)

Hosted by Tahirih Advisory Board Members Lynne Averett, Sonia Azad, and Michele Gibbons

 Tuesday, December 6, 2011
10am – 1pm
 6612 Westchester St, Houston, TX 77005

Morgan Shin and Heather Beliveaux invite you to start your morning off with pearls!
Appetizers and beverages will be served. Click here to view invitation (PDF)

RSVP to Morgan at 713-432-7400 or dshin4@comcast.net

 Thursday, December 8, 2011
11am – 2pm
Spring Branch Medical Center
8850 Long Point, Houston, TX 77055

Hosted by Tahirih Advisory Board and Advisory Council of Houston members
Hon. Marty and Parvin McVey

Monday, December 12, 2011
12 – 6pm
Hogan Lovells
Concourse Level Conference Center, Columbia Square
555 Thirteenth St, NW, Washington, DC

Click here to view invitation

Thursday, December 15, 2011
10am – 2pm
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
1333 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036

Click here to view invitation

The Tahirih Justice Center protects immigrant women and girls seeking justice in the United States from gender-based violence. Leveraging both in-house and pro bono attorneys, Tahirih empowers clients to achieve justice and equality through holistic direct legal services and national public policy advocacy. Amy Lin’s Pearls will be donating 45% of all sales to the Tahirih Justice Center. All sales are final.

For more information, please contact Justine Finn at justine@tahirih.org or 571-282-6193.

The panel features Jasvinder Sanghera, chief executive of Karma Nirvana, who shares the painful story of her refusal to enter into a forced marriage at 15 and her family’s resulting ostracization; Diana Nammi, who founded the International Campaign against Honor Killings after she fled Iran for the United Kingdom in 2002, who speaks about her work to promote women’s rights in Iran and worldwide; and Tahirih’s Executive Director Layli Miller-Muro, describing the scope of forced marriage in the United States as revealed in Tahirih’s survey on Forced Marriage in Immigrant Communities in the United States. Layli’s remarks begin at the 15 minute mark.

In the Name of Honor: How Women and Girls Disappear

We are excited to announce that, today, the Tahirih Justice Center released the results of our groundbreaking national survey on the state of forced marriage in the United States. The survey is the first of its kind conducted in the United States and designed to understand the scope and nature of forced marriage among immigrant communities. Newsweek magazine has reported on the survey results in this week’s edition and the full survey report can be read on Tahirih’s website (PDF).

Forced marriage is an issue that has increasingly come to our attention as Tahirih received calls for help from around the country. There is a regrettable lack of information in the United States about forced marriage, there are no laws designed to protect forced marriage victims, and there is a void in community dialogue and advocacy on the issue. In stark contrast to the United Kingdom, which has a governmental agency focused on forced marriage, a national forced marriage hotline, and a specific forced marriage temporary restraining order, the United States is woefully behind and has very little in place to adequately protect women and girls fleeing forced marriage. To address this need, Tahirih has launched a Forced Marriage Initiative to protect courageous women and girls who step forward and ask for help. We invite you to support our efforts and sign up to receive updates on this important issue.

Thank you for your partnership in ending violence against women and girls,

Layli Miller-Muro
Executive Director

Staff Moves into New Rented Office Space

In June 2011, Tahirih’s Houston office signed a lease and moved into rented office space in the Galleria neighborhood of Houston. Tahirih made this move with the help of many individuals and companies—all of whom generously donated their services and helped secure office furniture for our new space. We’d like to thank:

Realtor Lynette Lew
Gary Greene of Prudential
James Stone of J. Stone Construction
Jones Day
Shell Oil Company
Advisory Council of Houston Member Mitch Gibbons

We are deeply grateful to St. Joseph Medical Center; Akin Gump LLP; Houston Advisory Council member Marty McVey, President of McVey & Associates LLC; and Houston Advisory Council member Chris LaFollette for their support and the donation of space which incubated Tahirih’s Houston office through our formative 18 months in the community.

Tahirih will host an Open House to introduce the community to our new space on November 17, 2011 from 7:30 am to 9:00 am. We hope to see you there!

The new office will be located at 1717 St. James Place, Suite 320, Houston, TX 77056. Phone: 713-496-0100; Fax: 713-481-1793.

Two Fellows Will Join Tahirih’s Team

Tahirih’s Houston office is pleased to welcome two new legal fellows: Robine Morrison, a Winston & Strawn Law Fellow, and Jessica L. Howton, a Notre Dame Fellow.

Robine Morrison, a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and a Houston native, is working as a full-time Winston & Strawn Law Fellow at Tahirih assisting our Immigration Law Pro Bono Project during the fall of 2011. She is a part of Winston & Strawn’s recently created fellowship program intended to develop the skills of incoming associates and encourage their participation in public interest work while helping out local legal aid groups. We are thrilled to have Robine working with us, and look forward to furthering Winston & Strawn’s contribution to pro bono legal aid.

Jessica L. Howton will be the beneficiary of the new, highly competitive Notre Dame Fellows program “designed to help launch long-term public service careers for Notre Dame Law School graduates who have the potential to make a difference in their communities.” Beginning on December 15, Jessica will spend her two-year fellowship working as an immigration staff attorney in Tahirih’s Houston office, providing direct representation to immigrant and refugee women and girls fleeing violence. She will also be updating materials for the pro bono attorneys who volunteer their expertise in the representation of Tahirih’s clients and improving educational outreach programs for local immigrant communities. In her application for the position, Jessica stated, “The women and girls that my proposed [fellowship] project will serve comprise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. My project would allow me to use my Notre Dame education to be their voice and promote their human dignity against the discrimination, violence, and ignorance they currently struggle against.” We are excited to welcome Jessica to Tahirih’s team and look forward to her supporting the courage of our clients.

View Notre Dame’s press release about Jessica and its other Fellows

Events Show Community Support for Houston Office

Over the summer, the Houston community hosted two events to support the Tahirih Justice Center and raise local awareness about the women and girls we serve and the issues they face.

On June 30, Houston Director Anne Chandler presented a Continuing Legal Education reception sharing information with the legal committee on the issues of human trafficking in Houston and the need for legal services for immigrant women and girls fleeing violence. Nearly 100 Tahirih clients, pro bono attorneys, and friends attended. The evening was hosted by Texas Women Lawyers and the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend.

On July 12, Board of Directors’ member Kelley Jennings generously hosted an event at the Houston Club introducing the Legal Subcommittee of the Tahirih Justice Center’s Advisory Council of Houston. Remarks were provided by Advisory Council of Houston members and Legal Subcommittee Co-Chairs Mitch Gibbons (Jones Day) and Lydia Protopapas (Weil, Gotshal, & Manges). Local firms and corporations, including representatives of Jones Day; Marathon Oil; Mayer Brown; Skadden; Vinson & Elkins; Watt Beckworth Thompson Henneman & Sullivan LLP; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; and Winston & Strawn attended the event. Half of attendees later agreed to join the Legal Subcommittee as attorney advocates for Tahirih.

• April 29, 2011: 9 News Now, “Victim Advocates Praise Lara Logan For Speaking Out,” by Peggy Fox
• May 12, 2011: TEDx Conference, “Innovate: Justice,” by Layli Miller Muro (video)
• May 18, 2011: The Dailey Caller, “‘The Office’ star Rainn Wilson coming to DC,”
  by Laura Donovan
• May 26, 2011: Washington Examiner, “Wilson, Winger support Tahirih Benefit,” by Katy Adams and Nikki Schwab
• June 10, 2011: TEDxConference, “Layli Miller-Muro – Post-talk Interview,” by Layli Miller-Muro (video)
• June 19, 2011: Washington Examiner, “Accused abusers now being tracked,” by Emily Babay
• July 31, 2011: Interfaith Radio, “Interview with Layli Miller-Muro” (audio)
• August 9, 2011: Dan Rather Reports, “What Happened Next? Forced Marriage” (watch an excerpt or purchase the whole episode on iTunes)
• August 15, 2011: Roll Call, “Miller-Muro: Protections for Victims of Abuse,” by Layli Miller-Muro
• August 19, 2011: Human Rights Brief – American University, “Interview: Layli Miller-Muro [PDF],” by Elizabeth Francis
• August 30, 2011: Huffington Post, “Child Marriage Is ‘A Major Psychological Trauma,’ New Study Says,” by Catherine Pearson
• September 14, 2011: The Daily Beast, “A Night of Extraordinary Women,” by Liz Goodwin

In Your Community

Upcoming Events: Join Tahirih attorneys and staff in these upcoming outreach and training opportunities!

• September 29—Free Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Training, DLA Piper, Houston, TX. For more information, view the invitation (PDF).
• October 18—CLSS Training on Representing Immigrant Victims of Sexual Violence: Safely Discussing Traumatic, George Mason University, Arlington, VA. For more information, visit Tahirih’s webpage. 
• November 10—Asylum Claims Based on Membership in a Particular Social Group, online webinar. For more information, visit the Immigrant Legal Resource Center website. 
• November 16—Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault within Immigrant Communities, Akin Gump, Washington, DC. For more information, visit Tahirih’s webpage. 
• November 17—Immigration Relief for Victims of Domestic Violence and the Kennedy Amendment, Columbia, MD. Open only to members of the Maryland Legal Aid Society.

Since April 15, 2011, Tahirih has conducted outreach or trainings at the following organizations and events:

• Abraham & Watkins, Houston, TX
• Adelante Familia, Baltimore, MD
• Aggies Monthly Breakfast, Revielle Outreach, Houston, TX
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Washington, DC
• Arnold and Porter LLP, Washington, DC
• DC Bar Advanced Asylum Law Training, Washington, DC
• Department of Homeland Security, USCIS Ombudsman Office, Houston, TX
• Elon University’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic Seminar, Elon, NC
• Fairfax County Dept. of Family Services, Fairfax, VA
• Falls Church Rotary Club, Falls Church, VA
• Florida Coastal Law School, Jacksonville, FL
• Harris County Judicial Education Conference, Houston, TX
• Hogar Immigrant Services, Falls Church, VA
• The Houston Club, Houston, TX
• Houston Volunteer Lawyer’s Program, Houston, TX
• Houston Young Lawyer’s Association, Houston, TX
• Jones Day, Washington, DC
• Kiwanis Club, Falls Church, VA
• Legal Momentum/Vera Institute of Justice, Alexandria, VA
• Milbank Tweed, Washington DC
• National Sexual Assault Conference, Baltimore, MD
• Partners for Justice Conference, Baltimore, MD
• Prince William County Back to School Symposium, Forest Park High School, Woodbridge, VA
• Regional Victim Assistance Training in Portsmouth, VA
• SAFE Inc, Washington, DC
• State Bar of Texas, Immigration Task Force, Houston, TX
• Warrenton Police Department, Warrenton, VA
• Women United for the Advancement of African Countries Conference and Expo, Boston, MA
• The Woodlands, Houston, TX

My internship allowed me to assist in providing direct services to clients and service seekers, perform intake interviews, and deliver interpretation assistance during phone calls and meetings between Spanish-speaking clients and Tahirih’s staff. I also had a chance to raise awareness of the needs and barriers that our clients face by working on an education and outreach reception in June.

Working on different tasks gave me the chance to learn how to prioritize my work. I realized that in a nonprofit organization like Tahirih, each individual wears many hats and must be dedicated to all aspects of the organization. It was a challenge, but I could see that the work I was doing strengthened Tahirih’s capacity to bring hope to the women and girls we serve.

Learning the intimate details of Tahirih’s clients’ cases was extremely difficult because of the extreme violence they face, but I was honored to play a small part in increasing their access to justice. The highlights of my internship included seeing clients’ cases progress and developing a unique relationship with so man inspiring women. I learned so much about these strong women and the various challenges they had faced in their lives, and I felt very special when they gave me their trust.

Tahirih renewed my interest in immigration law, specifically as it applies to women and other marginalized groups. Now, I am planning a career in public interest law and policy advocacy, and working at Tahirih for a summer gave me a glimpse of what that field is like and the difference I can make. I am confident that the experience I acquired while working at Tahirih will serve me well in the future, and I encourage others who are considering this field to apply for an internship and help grow this amazing organization.