About Niloufar
Niloufar Khonsari trained at Georgetown. She completed her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University in 2003 and earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2006. Early academic honors and activities are not listed here, but the sequence of degrees set the course of a career focused on immigration and community law.
After law school, Khonsari spent time abroad as a Fulbright Fellow in 2009. The fellowship shaped her perspective on cross-border issues and informed the community-centered approach she later brought to practice. In 2011 she opened the Law Office of Niloufar Khonsari, taking on immigration matters for individuals and families. That solo practice laid a foundation for a more collaborative model of service.
In 2012 she co-founded Pangea Legal Services. She has served as co-director there, helping build a clinic-style organization that pairs volunteer attorneys with community members who need representation. Pangea’s model emphasizes hands-on legal assistance and training for new volunteers. Khonsari’s role has involved program development, case supervision and connecting community needs to pro bono resources.
Her career also includes work in legal education. In 2023 she joined the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco as an adjunct professor. In the classroom she has taught immigration-related subjects and supervised practical clinics. The teaching role runs alongside her practice commitments and her administrative responsibilities.
Also in 2023 Khonsari became executive director of Bala Rising. That position expanded her portfolio into organizational leadership and nonprofit management. She holds credentialing that complements those duties: a Coach certification from the Co-Active Training Institute and an Executive Fellow Certification from OneJustice. Those qualifications support her work overseeing teams, mentoring new lawyers and developing community programs.
Across her career Khonsari has combined direct client work, program-building and teaching. She remains based in California and continues to lead and shape community legal efforts through Pangea Legal Services and Bala Rising. Her current practice concentrates on immigration law and community-based legal services.
