Dr. Kirsten Rambo is Executive Director of ASISTA, which provides national advocacy, training and technical assistance on rights and routes to status for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and related crimes.

With over twenty years of experience in local, state, national, and international institutions aimed at preventing domestic and sexual violence, and throughout her career, she has closely collaborated with immigrant and refugee organizations while incorporating a strong intersectional analysis of survivor rights and criminalization. 

Formerly, Dr. Rambo served as the Executive Director of Stand Strong, a domestic violence organization on the Central Coast of California, where she grew the agency budget by fifty percent, including doubling the size of two core departments.  Previously, she held positions as the Director of Programs and Public Policy at the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence and as Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, where she successfully led two statewide, grassroots legislative efforts on behalf of survivors of family violence.  She led the national domestic violence prevention program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is a published author of Trivial Complaints, a book that examines the history of domestic violence law and activism in the US. Dr. Rambo holds a Ph.D. in Women's Studies from Emory University. 

Cristina comes to ASISTA from the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), where she was a Supervising Attorney engaged in national advocacy, training, community defense, and litigation. She has
represented immigrant survivors of trauma and gender based violence in many capacities throughout her career. Before joining NIPNLG, Cristina directed the immigration unit at Queens Legal Services of Legal Services NYC, specializing
in removal defense and complex humanitarian relief for survivors of violence.Previously she spent several years leading the immigration practice at the HIV Law Project, where her practice encompassed humanitarian relief including
VAWA, U and T visas, Battered Spouse Waivers, and asylum, as well as naturalization, removal defense, appellate, and amicus work. In between, Cristina worked at the NYU Immigrant Defense Initiative and the Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center (now Takeroot Justice). She clerked for the Honorable Denny Chin in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Oberlin College. In her spare time, Cristina enjoys cooking, yoga, and playing with her dear rescue dog Nugget.

Amy comes to ASISTA with five years' experience, serving most recently as Senior Staff Attorney for Tahirih Justice Center in Washington, DC. At Tahirih,  Amy represented immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, and was a mentor and trainer for pro bono attorneys needing technical assistance on humanitarian forms of relief including VAWA self-petitions, Battered Spouse Waivers, U and T nonimmigrant status, and asylum.

Kelly comes to ASISTA from Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (“CLASI”) in Wilmington, Delaware, where she served as a Skadden Fellow and then Staff Attorney.  At CLASI, Kelly represented immigrant survivors of violence on U-visas, T-visas, VAWA Self-Petitions, Battered Spouse Waivers, Adjustment of Status, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.  Kelly’s experience representing survivors has given her deep substantive knowledge of survivor-based immigration relief and the effect of immigration policies, statutes, and regulations on immigrant survivors.  Licensed in Delaware, Kelly is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Georgetown University Law.  In her spare time, Kelly enjoys reading, yoga, and spending time with her loved ones.

Lia comes to the ASISTA team from RISE Law Center, where she represented immigrant survivors of gender-based violence in their applications for humanitarian forms of immigration relief and in family court proceedings. Prior to that, at Legal Services NYC, Lia represented low-income immigrants in their asylum, naturalization, AOS, SIJS, U Visa, or VAWA applications. During this time, Lia also collaborated with community organizations to increase accessibility for Know Your Rights presentations and legal consultations. To better meet the growing need for legal representation, Lia also trained and provided technical assistance to pro bono attorneys on specific immigration law matters, such as naturalization, asylum, VAWA, and U Visa petitions. Lia is licensed in New York and Wisconsin, and is a graduate of Binghamton University, University of Wisconsin, and University of Wisconsin Law School. In her spare time, Lia enjoys baking, keeping the Duolingo Owl happy, and watching shows that make her laugh.

Maria has been with ASISTA since 2009. She is primarily responsible for ensuring grant compliance and arranging logistics for implementation of ASISTA's project and membership.  She produces and conducts Spanish-language webinars for ASISTA as well as the drafting, editing and translation of many of ASISTA's resources.  She has also served as a BIA accredited representative.

Ahlam Moussa came to ASISTA in September 2013 with 15 years of prior business administration experience, including project and senior level management experience for multinational corporations. Ahlam is fluent in Arabic and provides administrative support for all staff as well as financial management and budgets.