Fighting to help marginalized women & youth gain legal status in the United States

Elizabeth Wood ’14

Senior Attorney, Immigration Intervention Project, Sanctuary for Families

Major: PROGRAM OF LIBERAL STUDIES

Supplemental Major: SPANISH

Enacting positive change for her clients at an individual, community, and national level, Elizabeth Wood ’14 continues to fuel her passion for serving historically marginalized populations as a Senior Attorney with Sanctuary for Families’ Immigration Intervention Project.

On any given day, Wood is directly responsible for the legal defense of anywhere from 60-100 cases in immigration proceedings in New York City.  She represents immigrant women and children navigating a legally complex and underfunded immigration system while also supervising a staff with equally significant caseloads. Despite each case’s individual complexities and challenges, Wood remains both undaunted and compassionate in helping women and children who have endured unspeakable traumas gain legal status in the United States. Whether the victim is a victim of cartel gang violence, a Central American separated from their parents at the border, or a Ukrainian feeling war, Wood accompanies these clients with empathy and a warm demeanor by talking through, documenting, and communicating these traumatic experiences during immigration and family court proceedings.

 Wood’s success in helping her clients win legal status began at Catholic Charities in New York City.   There she progressed from a staff attorney to supervising attorney within the Unaccompanied Minors Program (UMP) allowing her to teach and mentor other attorneys— and also took on the role of Legal Director with UMP’s partnership with Terra Firma a medical legal partnership helping to provide holistic medical and legal care to unaccompanied youth.  Recently, Wood sought to expand her engagement through a new role at Sanctuary for Families which allows her to continue her work with and advocating for youth, but also allows her to work with adult women escaping gender based violence.

During law school at Fordham, Wood created public facing guides for refugee seekers completing a Request for Review, investigated land tenure security and traditional governance in rural South Africa, and interned for both Terra Firma and The Door: A Center for Alternatives. She has also worked on anti-human trafficking initiatives that concentrate on enhanced employment services for trafficking survivors.

Making tangible change to our nation’s immigration laws, rules, and practices, Wood is engaged in the immigration policy discussion through her casework, published work and legal comments, and has given multiple presentations to law enforcement and public sector organizations. Her service-minded and mission-centered leadership and care towards her work makes her a Domer who fully lives out Notre Dame’s call to serve those most in need.