Sofia Barbosa joined Tahirih in 2021. As Weil Legal Innovator in the Houston office, Sofia serves as Health Justice Coordinator. Within this role, she supports the Policy & Advocacy team while working to increase health access for immigrant survivors and their families in the Houston area. Prior to joining Tahirih, Sofia served as a volunteer in emergency rooms and inpatient units of public hospital centers providing care to underserved communities in New York City and Mexico City. She also spent four years working as a research assistant in a biomedical engineering laboratory at Columbia University where she spearheaded an NIH R21-funded study within the field of orthopedics. Through her research, Sofia is second author on a paper in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2020) and she has co-authored six abstract submissions to national and international conferences. Additionally, Sofia spent her senior year developing a gunshot wound treatment to be used in the event of a shooting, earning her team second place in their biomedical engineering class. Following her time at Tahirih, Sofia will pursue her JD at the University of Pennsylvania as a Dean’s Fellow.

“I am inspired by Tahirih’s mission to serve brave immigrant survivors through innovative, empowering, and survivor-centered advocacy and legal support.”

Education: Columbia University, MS & BS

Languages: Spanish and French

Hometown: New York, NY