News > Press Releases
ILCM Has a New Executive Director
Posted on Jul 19 2019
Contact: Melissa Pfeiffer, Associate Director, ILCM, 651-641-1011 ext. 201
SAINT PAUL, MN, July 19, 2019 —The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) has selected Veena A. Iyer, JD as our new executive director. Iyer will begin at ILCM on September 9th.
“In this time in our nation’s history, it is vital to defend and advance the rights of immigrants and refugees in our communities,” said Iyer. “The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota has long been at the forefront of these efforts in the Upper Midwest, and it is my privilege to join this team.”
ILCM board chair Irma Márquez Trapero welcomed Iyer to the team, saying, “We at ILCM have a big task ahead of us to not only continue to provide exceptional legal support, but also to continue to act boldly as community leaders at a time when our immigrant and refugee communities are targets of hateful and racist attacks. Veena Iyer is an outstanding and fearless advocate and we are excited to have her lead ILCM into the future.”
Serving immigrant and other underserved populations is a passion for Iyer. She began her career as an Equal Justice Works Fellow and staff attorney at Legal Aid Chicago (formerly the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago), where she represented clients, created and managed a legal clinic for low-income immigrant students, and conducted English and Spanish presentations for community members and service providers. In Minnesota, Iyer has represented low-income clients as a pro bono attorney with ILCM, Tubman and Standpoint.
Iyer has worked at the Nilan Johnson Lewis law firm since 2011, and was named shareholder in 2015. She is the chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Working Group at the firm, received Minnesota Lawyer’s Diversity & Inclusion Award in 2018, and was named to the Minnesota Super Lawyers list in 2019. She is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and Illinois.
An active community leader, Iyer is a past president of the Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association, is a member of the organization’s Advisory Board and its Judicial Committee, and received the organization’s Leadership Award. She has held numerous board roles with Minnesota Women Lawyers and was honored with the Service to MWL Award. She also serves on the board of directors at Portico Healthnet as vice chair and member of the Finance Committee.
Iyer’s educational background includes a BA in History from the University of Chicago (with honors) and a JD from Harvard University, cum laude. She speaks conversational Spanish and Tamil and basic Russian.