Our Boston Team

Alex joined KIND’s Boston office in 2016 as a pro bono coordinating attorney. Before coming to KIND, Alex ran a solo immigration practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A 2006 graduate of Suffolk University Law School, Alex started practicing immigration law in as an associate at an immigration firm in San Juan, Puerto Rico, handling removal defense and family-based immigration cases while managing the litigation side of the firm. She opened her office in Boston in 2011 and her practice evolved to focus on the representation of children in removal proceedings. Prior to her career in immigration law, Alex was a staff attorney at Massachusetts Advocates for Children where she represented parents of children with special needs. Alex is co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Immigration Section Steering Committee and is an active member of the New England Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Liz Ahmadi graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she studied political science and art history. She obtained her juris doctor from New England Law Boston. While in law school, Liz interned with De Novo where she worked with clients to prepare U visa and VAWA applications. After graduating, Liz began her career at Ascentria Care Alliance where she most recently served as Managing Attorney. In that role, Liz represented asylum seekers, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, and unaccompanied minors. As Senior Attorney, Liz provides direct representation to unaccompanied children and mentorship to pro bono attorneys. Outside of practicing law, Liz teaches yoga and serves on the board of directors of the non-profit African Community Education.

Before joining KIND as a Staff Attorney, Ashley was in private practice for over 10 years practicing exclusively in the area of immigration law. Her practice focused on asylum, family-based immigration, removal defense, and appellate work to the Board of Immigration Appeals and First Circuit Court of Appeals. Ashley has been an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) for many years, previously serving as liaison for over five years to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and congressional relations. Recently, Ashley authored a chapter of the Massachusetts Continuing Education Manual on immigration appeals, and co-authored a chapter on removal proceedings before EOIR. Ashley is also an adjunct professor of Legal Research and Writing at New England School of Law, where she obtained her JD in 2008. During law school, Ashley completed two UN internships abroad with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh. Ashley graduated summa cum laude with a degree in history from the University of Memphis.

Camilo joined KIND in 2020 as a Paralegal. He graduated from Clark University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and in 2018 with a master’s degree in Public Administration. While working on his graduate degree, Camilo worked as a paralegal for Ascentria Care Alliance, the largest low-cost immigration legal assistance office in Central Massachusetts. While at Ascentria, Camilo assisted clients who were victims of domestic violence and violent crimes. Along with this work, Camilo also helped clients with their applications for adjustment of status and naturalization. Camilo hopes to go to law school in the future.

Jose is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School where he concentrated in international law and with an area of focus on immigration law. Jose has worked at various immigration law firms where he has gained experience in removal defense, family, and humanitarian immigration petitions. Attorney Carrasquillo represents minors in individuals in removal proceedings and before US Citizenship and Immigration Services. A native Spanish speaker, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Attorney Carrasquillo has extensive international experience he conducted graduate level research in San Jose, Costa Rica and Havana, Cuba while completing an M.S. in International Relations with a specialization in Central and South American political systems. Attorney Carrasquillo received his M.S. and B.A. from the University of New Hampshire. His extensive research and first-hand experience inform his approach to navigating the complex social and political issues that many immigrants face today.

Justin graduated from Boston University in 2010, where he majored in environmental policy, with a minor in East Asian Studies. He obtained his Juris Doctor from New England Law Boston and has been a member of the Massachusetts Bar since 2014. Prior to joining KIND, Justin worked in private practice for nearly six years, exclusively in the field of immigration law. His primary focus was on removal defense of children, LGBTQ+ individuals, and victims of domestic violence. Over his years of practice, Justin developed an affinity for representing children in their Special Immigrant Juvenile applications, from the State Court petition all the way to obtaining lawful permanent residence before the immigration court of USCIS. As a pro bono coordinating attorney at KIND, Justin mentors pro bono attorneys, while also providing direct representation to clients.

Prior to joining KIND, Paola was a Staff Attorney at Northeast Justice Center, where she provided legal representation to non-citizen survivors of domestic violence. Previously, Paola worked for four years as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow and a Staff Attorney for KIND, where she provided legal representation to minors in immigration removal proceedings. Before moving to the United States, Paola worked for a law firm in Argentina as an insurance defense litigation attorney. Paola is a graduate of the LL.M. program at Northeastern University School of Law and earned her first law degree from the University of Buenos Aires School of Law in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Jessica has been an attorney at KIND since January 2016. Prior to joining KIND, Jessica was a senior associate at Cooley LLP, specializing in employment law and commercial litigation. While at Cooley, Jessica was an active member of its pro bono committee and a 2011 Cooley Pro Bono Achievement Award recipient. She was a KIND pro bono attorney from 2011 to 2016 and also represented low-income clients in child custody, child support, and tax matters and assisted in appealing an immigrant’s Convention Against Torture claim to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jessica is a graduate of Scripps College and American University, Washington College of Law.

Karen Mejia has over seven years of experience working with immigrant youth and unaccompanied minors. For the last five years, she has worked for Massachusetts General Hospital’s Chelsea Campus as the unaccompanied minors case worker supporting UCs and their families with a wide range of services including basic medical care, mental health assessment and referrals, school access advocacy, truancy diversion, and parenting classes. She was awarded the Ernesto Gonzalez Award for her excellence and dedication to vulnerable patient populations at MGH. Karen also provided cultural sensitivity training to doctors and residents as well as initial training for first year medical residents at the start of their placement. She was also the designated complex population health worker working under a Chelsea Police grant conducting home visits along with the FBI Gang Unit providing support to families involved in high-profile gang violence cases. Prior to her work at MGH, Karen worked as OB/GYN case manager for the past two years, she has been a certified facilitator for the Parent Leadership Institute in various Massachusetts cities training immigrant parents and parents of UCs to advocate at the local and state levels. In a personal capacity, Karen volunteers with Agencia ALPHA as a citizenship coach volunteer, and as a youth leader in her faith community. Being an immigrant from Central America with life experiences similar to our clients, Karen is very well-known as an immigrant issues advocate, supporter, and social services professional. Karen is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Human Services and plans to continue onto an MSW program thereafter.

Adam joined KIND in 2019 as a Paralegal. He graduated from Indiana University - Bloomington in 2017 with degrees in History, Spanish, and Art History, where he completed a thesis on trans artist Martine Gutierrez and the importance of queer Latinx voices in the evolution of intersectional feminism. Adam began work with Boston’s immigrant communities in 2017 through Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition’s (MIRA Coalition) New American Integration Program (NAIP), an AmeriCorps program focused on working with immigrants and refugees in Massachusetts to empower them toward finding jobs and pathways to citizenship. During his time with NAIP, Adam assisted folks with applications for citizenship and taught a civics course to prepare applicants for the citizenship exam at Action for Boston Community Development, a local antipoverty agency. Adam continued his work with working-class immigrants during a year of service through the program AmeriCorps Legal Advocates of Massachusetts, where he assisted clients with family-based petitions and humanitarian-based immigration relief at Catholic Charities of Boston’s Immigration Legal Services program. Adam’s passion for immigrant rights has been rooted in his belief in addressing systemic social, political and economic inequalities through the direct empowerment of vulnerable communities, especially youth, women, queer and trans communities and people of color.

Jose Pineda Portillo serves as the program assistant in KIND's Boston Office. In 2017, he graduated with highest honors from Bunker Hill Community College where he obtained an Associate in Arts in paralegal studies. In May 2020, he graduated summa cum laude from Suffolk University where he obtained a BA in undergraduate law. While completing his education, he worked as an immigration paralegal for a solo practitioner in Cambridge, MA. In January 2020, he joined KIND as an undergraduate paralegal intern for the spring semester, and in June 2020, he started his role as the program assistant for the Boston office. His passion and dedication for immigrant rights stem from his own personal experience as an unaccompanied minor back in 2008.