our team

Candace was born overseas and her father is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She fondly remembers watching him take the oath of citizenship while waving her American flag. He inspires her love for immigration.

She grew up in Oregon and enjoys hiking, kayaking, and camping in this beautiful state. She spent a year living in France and hopes to move back one day, although her French has grown a little rusty. She loves to travel and meet new people from all over the world. She is married to her best friend and together they have three small children.

Candace graduated from Willamette University College of Law. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon where she graduated with departmental honors. She is a member of the Oregon State Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Languages: English

Molly was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She received her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Molly is a member of the California State Bar, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and is admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Molly moved to Oregon with her husband and son in 2020 and joined Vanderwall Immigration in January 2021. Molly’s husband is from Mexico City and she has other relatives and close friends who immigrated to the United States as refugees and immigrants. Molly is very passionate about asylum, family-based immigration, and removal defense, and has focused her career in these areas.

Prior to joining Vanderwall Immigration, Molly spent 7 years as an immigration attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area, working for private firms and volunteering with non-profit organizations serving low-income immigrant women and children – many of whom were Indigenous. During law school, Molly spent a semester as a judicial student extern at the San Francisco Immigration Court and was also a Stronach Women’s Rights Fellow at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS). Before attending law school, Molly was a Fulbright Research Scholar in Granada, Spain, and a volunteer with the Spanish Red Cross. Molly also worked for two years as a domestic violence victim’s advocate in Boulder, CO.

Languages: English & Spanish

Claire Fawcett graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2013 and is a member of the California State Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). 

Claire moved to Oregon in 2020 with her family. She worked at Immigration Counseling Service (ICS) in Portland, Oregon as the Unaccompanied Children’s Program Managing Attorney for a year and a half before joining Vanderwall Immigration.  

Prior to her work in Oregon, Claire practiced immigration law in the San Francisco Bay Area, primarily working in non-profit organizations, where she specialized in U-visas, removal defense, and working with unaccompanied children.  

Claire grew up in Hanover, Pennsylvania and attended college at Haverford College outside of Philadelphia. She graduated with a Bachelor of the Arts, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish. She spent a semester studying in Xalapa, Veracruz, where she learned Spanish. After graduation, she worked as a legal assistant in the areas of employment, consumer, and housing law. Because the majority of the clients with whom she worked were undocumented, she realized that often they felt they had to make a decision between asserting their rights and being deported or staying in the shadows. For that reason, she became passionate about helping people gain legal status. 

Languages: English & Spanish 

Alicia was born and raised in Hillsboro Oregon along with her 12 brothers and sisters. Half of Alicia’s siblings came to America as refugees and have since been able to petition for their siblings and parents to join them in the US. Family gatherings at the Vial homestead are very exciting with over 70 family members, representing 3 different nationalities and speaking 8 languages. 

Alicia and her husband raise their four children on their farm, where they enjoy caring for their horses, cows, sheep, dogs, and chickens. 

Alicia completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropology. During her undergraduate years, she took time off and had the opportunity to spend a year and a half in the Indian Ocean where she learned French on the Islands of Mauritius and Reunion. Upon returning she decided to learn Spanish. After two semesters of Spanish, she was able to spend three months in Momostenango Guatemala where she completed her senior capstone project. She continues to visit Guatemala as often as possible to spend time with the family who took her in while there as a young student. Alicia completed her Law Degree at BYU Law in Utah while also working for various non-profits which gave her the opportunity to work in Africa. Alicia runs a non-profit that supports sustainable humanitarian businesses. 

Alicia practiced a variety of different types of law before becoming an immigration attorney and she is thrilled to now be practicing law in a way that allows her to support her community and help others thrive. Alicia is a member of American Immigration Lawyers Associates (AILA). 

Languages: English, Spanish, and French 

Lucie was born and raised in Paris, France. Since she was a child and likely due to the influence of American movies, she dreamt of living in the United States. She decided to make her dream come true, and after graduating with a Bachelor of Law from the University of Paris X, she traveled to California to learn English. Lucie’s first time in America only reinforced her goal to settle in the U.S. one day. Upon returning to France, she continued to learn English to ensure she could practice law in America. Lucie graduated Valedictorian with a Master of International and European Law from the Catholic Institute of Paris and a Master of Law at the University Of Denver, CO. She successfully passed the New York Bar and started her career in Immigration Law in Chicago, Illinois. Throughout her studies across the world and work experience in Chicago, Illinois, she has realized the importance of diversity. As an immigrant herself, Lucie recognizes and values the needs of immigrants and is eager to contribute to the service that Vanderwall Immigration provides them. Because Lucie relates to our clients, she enjoys helping them make their American dream come true. 
 
She moved to Oregon in January 2023 and loves exploring new hiking places and watching the pine trees. She has two U.S. citizen cats and hopes she will one day become a U.S. citizen herself. Lucie is currently learning Spanish at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, and is excited to become trilingual.  

Languages: English & French 

Originally from Argentina, Paula was brought to the United States by her parents in 1999. Just two weeks later she started high school in California without speaking a word of English. She remembers how hard it was to communicate with her teachers, but also remembers how patient and helpful they were with her. In 2000, Paula and her family moved to Oregon, where she graduated from Wilsonville High School in 2003, and right after she attended Clackamas Community College for one year for general studies. 

Paula worked many different jobs out of high school, searching for the career she was passionate about. Being undocumented herself, she suffered much mistreatment and many disappointments throughout her search. Before working at Vanderwall Immigration, Paula was familiar with some immigration applications and helped her family members to obtain their residency. That is when Paula realized that she really enjoyed helping people change their lives through immigration. 

In 2009, Paula married her soulmate surrounded by her family and friends. She became a U.S. Citizen in 2012 and a mom to a beautiful boy in 2013. Paula enjoys spending time with her family and traveling. She loves getting together with her parents to eat a traditional Argentinian “Asado” every week where they only speak Spanish so that her son is ready for his first trip to Argentina. 

Languages: English & Spanish 

Karla was born in Mexico and was brought to the U.S. as a young child. She grew up undocumented for many years until in 2012 she was able to benefit from the program known as DACA. The enaction of this program deeply and positively impacted her life. She began her career in the immigration field that same year. In 2017 she married her soulmate and in 2019 she became a permanent resident; very soon, she will become a naturalized citizen.  

Karla’s journey through her own complex immigration process has provided her with invaluable lessons that she is able to implement when speaking and working with clients. She loves to dedicate her time and energy to assisting and empowering immigrants as a way to give back to her community. Karla hopes to continue to serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community and their families for many years to come through her work at Vanderwall Immigration.  

In her free time, Karla loves spending time with her family. She and her husband enjoy taking their son outdoors and exploring new places for hiking, camping, and stargazing. 

Languages: English & Spanish  

Erika was born and raised in Oregon. Her parents are both from Mexico and although she was born in the US, Spanish was her first language. Erika struggled throughout her elementary school years due to the language barrier but she managed to graduate from ESL class before heading off to middle school, one of many accomplishments to come to her life. Living in Oregon her whole life, she learned to appreciate the rain and to her, there’s no better weather than Oregon’s weather. Erika is very passionate about helping those in need and she thinks it’s important to help and support each other whether it’s through a good or bad situation because she knows that we all need someone at some point in our lives. 
 

Outside of work, Erika loves spending time with her family and friends. Her family is her biggest motivation. Erika also enjoys making people laugh, making new friends, and exploring new places in Oregon. Erika believes that every struggle and every challenge we face in life comes with a reward, you just have to be patient, make sacrifices, and be willing to jump through the obstacles to get to the finish line. 

Languages: English & Spanish 

Tania was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her first language is Spanish. She has been living in the US for many years so she now speaks English fluently. Working for an Immigration law firm has always been her dream as she has a passion for helping others, especially immigrants because of her own personal experience. Tania started her career at Vanderwall Immigration as an Administrative Assistant. She really enjoyed every aspect of it and was always eager to learn more about immigration law and what it takes to help the immigrant community and unite families through immigration. Tania decided to move forward with her career as a Paralegal for the removal defense team at Vanderwall. She loves working in this field because she can relate and be a witness to the life-changing experiences of others who are also looking for the American dream like herself.  

In her free time, she loves to spend quality time with her daughter, two sons, and boyfriend, she loves to dance, and laugh a lot. 

Languages: Spanish & English

Stephanie was born and raised in a small beach town called Seaside, Oregon. She graduated from Portland State with a major in Communication studies and a minor in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Stephanie is a first-generation Mexican-American, first-born daughter, and raised by her immigrant parents, who hail from Mexico City. She has learned to live between the hyphen of what it means to be Mexican and American and the hardships that immigrant families face. Stephanie moved to Portland in 2012 where she continued her higher education and embarked on an immigration legal assistant journey in 2017. 

Stephanie remembers translating for her parents at a young age and today, she strives to continue to help those navigating the immigration system, as she understands it can be both a challenging and rewarding journey. 

Other passions that Stephanie enjoys in her free time are weaving, reading, dancing, and enjoying quality time with her husband, family, and a small dog named Kingston. 

Languages: English & Spanish

Gisela was born and raised in California. Her family is originally from Mexico City and recently became Legal Permanent Residents of the United States. She is a first generation Mexican-American. Gisela graduated from University of La Verne with a major in Criminology. She recently moved to Oregon in 2021 and is excited for the cooler weather. 

Prior to joining Vanderwall Immigration, Gisela worked as a Legal Advocate for Survivors of Domestic Violence. Gisela advocated for clients seeking U-Visa and VAWA. Gisela understood the importance of advocating for limited English clients through legal processes. Gisela also remembers the struggles that her parents went through in obtaining their Legal Permanent Residency, and wants to continue advocating for clients through their immigration process. Gisela enjoys dancing and exploring new restaurants.  

Languages: English & Spanish 

Baudelia was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Her family is from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, and she’s a first-generation Mexican-American. She spent much of her childhood traveling back and forth between Cuidad Juarez and El Paso as the majority of her family still lived in Juarez. She has many fond memories of her childhood and family holidays in Juarez. She later moved to San Antonio and graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University with a degree in biology. She worked as a math and science tutor for a long time because she enjoys helping people. Baudelia used to volunteer at the immigrant shelters back in El Paso, with her father when she’d go visit home. It was through this that she began to learn even more about the immigration process and how truly complex it is. Baudelia chose to become a paralegal after her volunteer work because she has seen many of her family members go through the immigration process and knows how difficult it can be. She felt that she could continue to help people through this type of work. 

In her free time, Baude likes to spend time with her husband and their two cats. She and her husband enjoy bird-watching together and going to new restaurants. She also loves to read and play video games. As recent transplants from Texas, they are looking forward to enjoying all the Pacific Northwest has to offer. 

Languages: English & Spanish

Sandra was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her family is originally from México. Her first language was Spanglish, which was not correct. So trying to perfect both English and Spanish was a struggle she overcame when she was younger. Her parents always reminded her how important it is to never forget her roots. Now she loves to help translate whenever she sees the need in her everyday life and is super thankful her parents instilled that mentality in her. Being able to speak English and Spanish has helped her find her passion in helping people. She moved to Oregon with her family back in 2008 and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. She attended Western Oregon University to study legal studies and hopes to soon be able to go back to accomplish her dream of one day going to law school. 

She loves to explore and try something new every chance she gets. From going to new hiking places to trying a new restaurant. She loves to spend time with her family. Also travels back and forth from Oregon to California to visit family and friends. She is excited to make a difference in people’s lives working at Vanderwall Immigration and also within the company. She believes anything is possible, if we work together. 

Languages: English & Spanish

Jessica has many years of experience in hospitality which has given her a healthy foundation in excellent customer service. She was born and raised in California. She has also lived in the dry desert biomes of southern Utah, the blue-bonnet blanketed central Texas, and finally making the misty side of Oregon her new home. Jessica is a first generation Salvadoran-American. Her parents and older sister emigrated from El Salvador to escape the political upheavals of their country’s civil war to cultivate a more stable livelihood. This gives Jessica an advantage in immigration law from her upbringing. 
 

In her free time, Jessica likes to get her steps in via exploring the rain soaked forests of the Pacific Northwest with her sister and niece. She also enjoys bicycling, camping, live music, and international cuisines. 

Languages: English & Spanish 

Nohemi, also known as Mimi, was born in Mexico, And Raised in Oregon. Doing immigration work so far has made her realize how much she truly loves helping people! As an immigrant herself, she knows how hard it is to live undocumented. Mimi spent many summers working out in the fields picking fruits in the hot blazing sun unaware that she could be doing so much more. Not everyone who works there knows that there are so many more opportunities out there. So she wants to help people just like herself. Mimi feels like she was given a second chance here in the US and she knows that she can help others find that chance too. Mimi hopes to keep growing with Vanderwall Immigration and she is grateful for the opportunity to be here alongside such an amazing team! A quote that will forever be in Mimi’s heart is “The way you treat people, and the way they treat you Is only a reflection of one’s own self” -unknown 

In her free time, Mimi likes to Read, Write, Draw, Programming, and spend time with her family and son. She loves walking in the rain and exploring the beautiful scenery here in Oregon. You can always catch her reading a book snuggled up with a blanket listening to the pitter-patter of the rain.

Languages: Spanish, English