On March 24th, 2021, Santa Clara Law will award the 2021 Katharine & George Alexander Law Prize to Jackie Gonzalez, Policy Director and co-founder of Immigration Defense Advocates.
Jackie Gonzalez is the Policy Director for Immigrant Defense Advocates (IDA), a policy project focused on the abolition of immigrant detention facilities in California. Combining years of experience working in direct services, Jackie has advocated for cutting edge policy related to immigration detention and legal services. As an expert on the issue of immigration detention policy before the California legislature, Jackie has led strategic initiatives designed to shut down detention facilities and secure much needed legal support to under resourced immigrant communities in the state.
Jackie received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Jackie began her career as a direct legal services attorney representing detained immigrant youth at Legal Services for Children, and working as a Deportation Defense Fellow at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP.
From 2011 to 2018, Jackie played an instrumental role in building two of the leading removal defense teams at non-profit agencies in the state of California. At Dolores Street Community Services, she coordinated and facilitated legal service provision and outreach efforts as the lead attorney for the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN), a network of thirteen organizations serving low-income immigrants. As the Immigration Policy Director at Centro Legal de la Raza, she helped grow Centro into one of the largest providers of removal defense services in the state. In the wake of the Trump presidency, she helped spearhead the formation of the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP), a network that provides legal and support services to Alameda County families targeted by ICE enforcement.
Read Jackie Gonzalez’s full bio.
The first Katharine & George Alexander Law Prize was presented in March 2008 and has been awarded annually thereafter. This award has been made possible through the generosity of Katharine & George Alexander to bring recognition to legal advocates who have used their legal careers to help alleviate injustice and inequity.
Katharine & George Alexander
The late Katharine Alexander practiced law for 25 years as a public defender for Santa Clara County and taught law courses for several years at San Jose State University.
The late George Alexander served as professor of law at Santa Clara University for 34 years and as dean of its School of Law for 15 years.
Both Katharine and George dedicated their lives to instilling in students and lawyers a commitment to justice. Their service to humanity serves as a model for other lawyers.
2020-2021 Law Prize Committee:
Deborah Moss-West, Co-Chair
Executive Director, Katharine and George Alexander Law Center, Santa Clara Law
Ellen Kreitzberg, Co-Chair (spring)
Professor of Law, Santa Clara Law
Scott Maurer
Associate Clinical Professor, Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, Santa Clara Law
Lynette Parker
Associate Clinical Professor, Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, Santa Clara Law
Kathleen “Cookie” Ridolfi
Professor of Law Emerita, cofounder and former Director, Northern California Innocence Project, Santa Clara Law
Francisco Rivera Juaristi
Associate Clinical Professor and Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Santa Clara Law
Steve O’Brien (ex officio)
Senior Assistant Dean for External Relations, Santa Clara Law
