Charlotte English Joins TNJFON as Staff Attorney
By Laura Yepes, Communications and Development Assistant
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors is excited to welcome Charlotte English to the team as a staff attorney. English joined TNJFON on October 15, 2024.
“I’m thrilled to have Charlotte join our team,” said Emily Stotts, Legal Director at TNJFON. “I’ve known Charlotte for a few years and admire her determination and compassion for the community she serves. She will be a valuable asset to our organization.”
A Nashville native, English comes to TNJFON after having worked two years in the immigration department at Nashville International Center for Empowerment. She was awarded her J.D. from the Nashville School of Law, graduating with distinction, and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in November 2012.
While English’s career in law began in trust administration, the seed that would lead her to transition to immigration law was planted in early 2018 when she began volunteering in the Nashville refugee and immigrant community. At the time, it was important to her that her family — particularly her daughters— step “outside of their bubble” to gain perspective on how others live.
“It was a great experience for my kids,” English said. “It’s given them the ability to talk and connect to people. Even when they can’t speak the same language, it is so cool to see how kids can just connect through play. They start playing a game and find a common bond.”
The family’s involvement with this community ultimately led English to pursue a new career direction focused on helping refugees and immigrants. She started working at NICE, where she represented Afghan clients fleeing their country after the Taliban took over the government in Afghanistan.
As English’s experience in immigration law grew, so did her reassurance that this path was more fulfilling in terms of what she wanted out of her career. She always knew that whatever she did, she wanted to help people.
“This is just such personally rewarding work,” English said. “It is impossible to listen to the stories of the Afghan arrivals and not feel very passionately about advocating for them in the situation they found themselves in, and are still navigating.”
The work does not come without its challenges. English shared that some of the hardest parts for her were witnessing the family separations and encountering cases of people who clearly qualified for special immigrant visas, yet never got them.
Ultimately, her goal is to help people navigate the immigration system, and taking on the role of staff attorney at TNJFON felt like a natural progression in that regard and in her career.
“I am very excited to work with JFON to broaden my immigration background and serve a larger population,” English said. “I am looking forward to being able to advise and counsel people on what immigration options they may have that they are not aware of.”
As a Tennessean, English is also able to reflect on the growth and contributions of the immigrant population, and how it has injected new energy to the state.
“I grew up in Nashville and people refer to me as a ‘unicorn’ because you are more likely to meet someone who isn’t originally from here,” she said. “And it’s not just people relocating from out-of-state that are adding to our diversity. We have an amazing community of immigrants bringing exciting energy, intelligence and talent to the city, and Nashville is better for it.”
“There are many challenges to starting a new life in America,” she continued. “I feel fortunate to be able to help remove some of those barriers and to use my skills to try to help people navigate some of those challenges.”