In recognition of the oneness of humankind, and in light of the current pandemic, we are combining the San Francisco Bay Area Benefit and our Greater DC Gala into one virtual event. On April 24, at 4:00 p.m. PDT/7:00 p.m. EDT, we will help flatten the curve and celebrate our crucial work supporting immigrant survivors from coast to coast.

Join the Tahirih Justice Center for our coast-to-coast virtual event! This year, we will bear witness to the long and arduous journey to freedom taken by Tahirih clients. We will acknowledge the strength and resilience women and girls embody as they seek to attain the most basic of human rights – to live in safety and with dignity, and we will recommit ourselves to ending violence against women. We hope you’ll join us!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT

Sponsors

Greater DC Sponsors

Champion
Steve & Jessica Sarowitz

Defender
PepsiCo

Patron
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
DLA Piper
The Ejtemai Foundation
Hogan Lovells LLP
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Latham & Watkins LLP
Mayer Brown
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
The Steptoe Foundation
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP

Advocate
Annenberg Foundation
Arnold & Porter LLP
Cestone & Thompson PC
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Dawn Vermilya
Egrari Plastic Surgery Center
Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP
Frank Kendall & Elizabeth Halpern
Jamie Gorelick & Richard Waldhorn
Laura Loeb & Howard Morse
M&T Bank
McDermott Will & Emery
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Isaac Souede & Sein Chew
Venable LLP

Lifesaver
Akerman LLP
Ballard Spahr LLP
Capital One
Citi Private Bank
Crowell & Moring LLP
Martha Cochran
Fidelity National Title Insurance Company
Foley & Lardner LLP
Paul Glist & Karla Jamir
Charles & Christine Henck
Betsy Krieger
Joanne Moore
Christine Savage
James & Barbara Shea
Sharon & Paul Strain
Transamerica

Friend
Anisa Cott & David Martin
David Thompson
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Freddie Mac
Hollingsworth LLP
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Nina McLemore
Reed Smith LLP
RJ Whyte Event Production
Tom Mackall & Beth Roberts
Willis Towers Watson

San Francisco Bay Area Sponsors

Underwriter
Anonymous

Champion
Blatt Family Foundation

Defender
Sidley Austin LLP & Yabo Lin
VISA Inc.
White & Case LLP

Protector
Carelle Karimimamesh
Stacey Keare
Mitra & Barry Solomon

Advocate
Airbnb
Arnold & Porter LLP
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Lief King
Major, Lindsey, & Africa LLC
Dan Murriello
JunHe LLP

Matching Gifts

Thank you to our National Board Members for your generous matching gifts!

Rafa Abdalla

Katherine Ashley

Brigida Benitez

Rwanda Campbell

Tara Hogan Charles

Marjorie de la Cruz

Matthew R. Dowell

Suzanne and Douglas Henck

Yabo Lin

Shabnam Mogharabi

Rosita Najmi

Homa Sabet Tavangar

Paul B. Salvaty

Olga Sanchez

Shira Saperstein

Mehrnaz Vahid

Rishi Varma

Payam Zamani

Thank you to our San Francisco Advisory Council and Host Committee Members for your generous matching gifts!

Paul Allen

Lawrence and Nicole Blatt

Nikka Ghalili

Neha Gohil

Carelle Karimimanesh

Vidhya Prabhakaran

Julia Rottenberg

Mitra Solomon

Bijal Vakil

Douglas A. Winthrop

 

Greater DC Gala Honorees

Corporate Partner of the Year
Capital One

Firm of the Year
Gallagher Evelius & Jones

Innovators of the Year
Steve & Jessica Sarowitz

Pro Bono Attorney of the Year
Olivia Singelmann, Foley & Lardner LLP

Volunteer of the Year
Carmen Zerpa

Host Committee Members

Greater DC Chair
Jamie Gorelick, Partner, WilmerHale

Greater DC Host Committee
Kady Ashley, Partner, Mergers and Acquisitions, Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP
Anisa Cott, Psychiatrist, Maryland Department of Health
Ellen Dew, Partner, DLA Piper
Marlo Goldstein, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Host Hotels & Resorts
Elizabeth Halpern, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Frank Kendall, former Under Secretary (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics), US Department of Defense
Laura Loeb, Manager, Loeb Oil
Nader Tamadon, Assistant Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch
Luise Welby, Managing Associate General Counsel, Freddie Mac
Michael Zhang, CEO, Newbridge Wireless

San Francisco Bay Area Chair
Yabo Lin, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP

San Francisco Bay Area Host Committee
Nicole Blatt, Esq., Blatt Family Foundation
Sayona Freeman, Entrepreneur
Natassia Kapuniai, Administrative Business Partner, YouTube
Marjan Manavi, Director of Strategic Operations, Engineering, Nutanix
Bernell Smithen, Service Leader, New York Life
Mitra Solomon, Entrepreneur
Julie Wenah, Community Counsel & Acting Africa Regional Counsel, Airbnb

CEO Remarks: LAYLI MILLER-MURO

Layli Miller-Muro
CEO and Founder, Tahirih Justice Center

Layli Miller-Muro is the CEO and Founder of the Tahirih Justice Center. She established Tahirih in 1997 following her involvement in a high-profile case that set national precedent and revolutionized asylum law in the United States. Fauziya Kassindja, a 17-year-old girl who had fled Togo in fear of a forced polygamous marriage and female genital mutilation, was granted asylum in 1996 by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals. This decision opened the door to gender-based persecution as grounds for asylum. Using her portion of the proceeds from a book she and Ms. Kassindja co-authored about the case, “Do They Hear You When You Cry?,” Layli established Tahirih.

Since 2001, Layli has led Tahirih in its service to more than 27,000 women and children, growing the non-profit from a staff of six to over 100 located in offices in Atlanta GA, Baltimore MD, Greater Washington DC, Houston TX, and the San Francisco Bay Area CA.

Prior to joining Tahirih, Layli was an attorney at the law firm of Arnold & Porter, where she practiced international litigation and maintained a substantial pro bono practice. Prior to joining Arnold & Porter, Layli was an attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Board of Immigration Appeals.

Layli is a frequent lecturer and has appeared in numerous news outlets including CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She lives in the Greater Washington, D.C. area with her husband, three children, and dog, Anis.

FEATURING

Master of Ceremonies Eun Yang, Anchor

Penn Badgley, Actor & Musician 

Andy Grammer, Musician 

Olga Sanchez, Former Client & Current Board Member, Tahirih Justice Center

Rainn Wilson, Actor

Special Thanks

C2Auctions
Capitol Prompting Services, Inc.
Gil Miller-Muro
Ed Plamondon, Owner of “Wide Eye Productions”
RJ Whyte Event Production Company
Farhad Shadravan
Showcall, Inc.
Woolly Mammoth Theater