EXPERT FACULTY: Valentina Restrepo Montoya, JD, Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services

Valentina Restrepo Montoya is a native of Boston and the daughter of Colombian parents. Since 2021, she has served as the Executive Director and CEO of Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services. After graduating from Berkeley Law in 2014, Valentina joined the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, where she participated in a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections for inadequate medical care, mental healthcare, and noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Following that, Valentina became an Assistant Public Defender in Birmingham, Alabama where she represented clients in specialty courts and in jury trials. She then joined The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona, where she provided direct representation to people deemed unable to represent themselves in immigration removal proceedings under Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder.