Whitney Viets L’15

Whitney Viets currently works as an immigration attorney at the Bronx Defenders, a non-profit public defense organization in New York City focused on holistic, client-centered defense. In her day-to-day work, she conducts immigration consults for non-citizen defendants in criminal proceedings, assists immigrants in filing affirmative applications for relief, and defends those facing deportation in immigration court. After law school and prior to joining the Bronx Defenders, Whitney completed a fellowship at Human Rights First, where she advocated for immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. From 2016 to 2018, she represented low-income tenants in the Bronx as a staff attorney in the Tenants’ Rights Coalition of Bronx Legal Services. Prior to law school, she worked as a community organizer in San Jose, California and a volunteer teacher in Lima, Peru. At Penn Law, Whitney was active in the student group International Human Rights Advocates (IHRA), and served on the board of the Journal of International Law. She interned at the Tahirih Justice Center, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, and the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. with honors from the University of Pennsylvania.