Current Role
  • Associate, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
Experience
  • Between 2019-2025, Roxana was an immigration defense attorney at Pangea Legal Services, where she brought civil actions raising statutory and constitutional claims in federal district court on behalf of incarcerated immigrants.
  • Roxana began her career at the White House where, between 2011-2015, Roxana served in President Barack Obama’s Administration in multiple roles, including as a Policy Advisor in the National Economic Council (NEC).
  • She has also worked as a litigation associate at a commercial trial boutique and a consultant for national and international NGOs, think tanks and the California state government. 
  • Roxana co-founded an international non-profit organization focused on education and another that provides legal services and advocacy. 
     
Pro Bono
  • Roxana has defended numerous families in avoiding deportation and winning their release from immigration detention.
  • She was lead counsel in lawsuits raising the novel argument that immigration detention can be a form of disability discrimination and in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
  • In the wake of the 2021 U.S. military evacuation from Afghanistan, Roxana co-founded Project ANAR, a legal services organization that assists Afghans with obtaining permanent immigration status as a form of reparations.
Publications
  • Co-author, “Ending the Discriminatory Pretrial Incarceration of People with Disabilities: Liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act,” Harvard Law & Policy Review, 2022
Presentations
  • Panelist, “Joy, Wellness & Resilience,” Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) - Biennial National Convening, Detroit, Michigan, Oct. 2024 
  • Guest lecture, Intersectional Disability Studies Class, Cornell University, April 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024
  • Panelist, “Social Justice Lawyering,” National Lawyers Guild, UC Law San Francisco, March 2023
  • Panelist, “Migration from Afghanistan After the American Withdrawal,” UC Santa Barbara, Nov. 2021
  • Guest lecture, Disability Law, Boston University School of Law, Nov. 2021
  • Moderator, “Beyond Welcoming Afghan Arrivals,” Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Oct. 2021
  • Keynote, “Immigration, Lawyering and Islam,” Foothill Community College, April 2021
  • Panelist, “Amplifying Immigrant Voices: Intersections Between Race, Gender & Ability,” Harvard University Law School, March 2021
  • Panelist, “Race, Disability and Law,” Boston University School of Law, Feb. 2021
  • Guest lecture, Disability Law, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, Jan. 2021
  • Workshop co-leader, “How to File a Habeas Petition,” California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, Dec. 2020 
  • Speaker, “Voices for Opportunity and Economic Mobility: A Jobs for the Future Summit,” New Orleans, June 2016 
  • Speaker, Advance CTE Spring Meeting, March 2016 
  • Speaker, 25th Annual MASIE Learning Conference, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Nov. 2015
Languages
  • Farsi (fluent) 
  • Dari (proficient)
  • Spanish (conversant) 
  • Modern Standard Arabic (basic)
Personal Insight

In her free time, you can find Roxana pulling weeds from her garden, making ceramic and glass sculptures, and fostering rabbits for Oakland Animal Services.