TNJFON has grown tremendously this year. We added two staff attorneys, two legal clerks, a paralegal, and an administrative assistant to support our legal team as well as an advocacy and outreach coordinator to support our education initiatives.

In March, attorney Emily Webb and legal clerk Negar Ahmadi joined our team. A native of Middle Tennessee, Emily enjoyed a long career as a Nashville session singer before deciding to pursue a law degree. She graduated from Belmont University College of Law in May 2022. While in law school, she served as a member of Law Review, completed the pro bono pledge, including naturalization and expungement clinics through the Legal Aid Society, and interned with TNJFON and the Federal Public Defender of Middle Tennessee. Negar was born and raised in the Kurdistan region of Iran. She moved to Nashville in 2014 as an immigrant. Her experiences as a young refugee mother inspired her to find ways to help people like herself. After earning an MA in Art Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in May 2021, Negar moved back to Nashville to continue her work with immigrants and refugees.

Last month, Brittany Given and Hashmatullah Azizi joined our efforts to provide legal services to the Afghan community. Brittany is our newest staff attorney and graduated from Stetson University College of Law. During her time in law school, she participated in the immigration clinic with Gulfcoast Legal Services, worked as a paralegal at Saev Hernandez Immigration Practice, and interned at Rios Immigration Law Firm. She worked as an immigration attorney at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Granger, WA before joining TNJFON. Hashmatullah is a legal clerk and interpreter supporting our Afghan clients. Hashmat was born and raised in Kabul. He moved to Nashville in 2021. He has worked with Moore Afghanistan as Compliance Director. He has a BBA degree from Punjabi University of Chandigarh India and has over 6 years of experience in both compliance and legal issues.

This week, Zoey Hamm and Hannah Smalley joined our staff. Zoey is our new paralegal and a current law student at Nashville School of Law. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky where she majored in Spanish and Cognitive Science and studied abroad in Lima, Peru. Zoey has experience working with the immigrant community since 2018 and hopes to work in immigration law when she graduates. Hannah is our new Advocacy and Education Coordinator. She was born and raised in Nashville and graduated from Princeton in 2021 with a BA in Spanish. In her previous role as a Language Justice and Hotline Coordinator, she focused on community outreach and improving access to interpretation. Hannah is looking forward to building community at TNJON in her new role.

Next month, we will welcome Jill Hoyos as our new legal administrative assistant. Jill is originally from the coast of Peru. She lived for a while in Spain and completed her education at Pablo de Olavide in Seville. There, she was part of a Peruvian Folklore Dance Association. Here in Nashville, she helped to organize and co-led the Nashville Welcoming Committee that assisted arriving immigrants on their way to their new homes in the US, including Nashville.