Meet the Team

Candace Vanderwall – Attorney

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 two 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 Franck – Attorney

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, 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- Attorney

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 Vial Beesley – Attorney

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, along with approx. 15 head of cattle, 5 horses, and a multitude of sheep and chickens.

In 2002-2003, Alicia spent a year and a half in the Indian Ocean learning French on the Islands of Mauritius and La Reunion. Upon returning she continued her studies in anthropology at BYU-Hawaii, where she decided to learn Spanish. Alicia then completed her senior ethnography project in Momostenango Guatemala. She continues to visit 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 and spent as much time as possible during law school traveling and volunteering doing non-profit work. Alicia runs a non-profit which supports sustainable humanitarian businesses in various countries in Africa.

Alicia loves the complexity and happy endings she gets to play a part in with immigration law. Alicia is a member of American Immigration Lawyers Associates (AILA).

Languages: English, Spanish

Paula Smith – Operations and Staff Manager

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

Erika Rodriguez – Paralegal

My name is Erika and I was born and raised here in Oregon. My parents are both from Mexico and although I was born here, Spanish was my first language. I struggled throughout my elementary school years due to the language barrier. I remember having to go to ESL class to perfect my English, and although I struggled I managed to graduate from my ESL class before heading off to middle school. I think that was one of many accomplishments to come in my life. After living here my whole life I’ve learned to appreciate the rain and to me there’s no better weather than Oregon’s weather. I’m very passionate about helping those in need of a helping hand. I think it’s important to help and support each other out whether it’s through a good or bad situation, because I know we all need someone at some point in our lives. Outside of work I love spending time with my family, friends and daughter. My daughter is my biggest motivation and it’s because of her that I am the person I am today. I also enjoy making people laugh, making new friends and I really like exploring new places in Oregon. I believe that every struggle and every challenge we face in life has a reward waiting for us at the finish line, you just have to be patient, make sacrifices and willing to jump through the obstacles. “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone” –Ronald Reagan

Languages: English, Spanish

Jennifer Navarro – Paralegal

Jennifer was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She also has a daughter who was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Her family is from Jalisco, Mexico. Jennifer grew up speaking Spanish. At a young age she had to translate for her parents who knew very little English. But yet the practice of translating helped her become a fluent Spanish speaker. The first time Jennifer heard the word immigrant, was when your close aunt got deported back to Mexico. That was a very hard time for her, as she was very close to her aunt and saw her as a second mother. The word immigrant became more and more familiar, as she saw more and more relatives and family members become affected by immigration laws. That’s when she realized she wanted to help immigrants. Jennifer recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She hopes to go to law school in the near future and become an immigration attorney. Until then she hopes to help more and more immigrants through her job at Vanderwall Immigration.

Languages: English, Spanish

Stephanie Castro – Paralegal

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 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 in 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 is weaving, reading, dancing and enjoying quality time with her husband, family, and small dog named Kingston.

Languages: English, Spanish

Karla Garcia Rahbari – Paralegal

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 be able to 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 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 finding new places for hiking and camping. Being new from California to the Pacific Northwest, she cannot wait to discover everything it has to offer.

Languages: English, Spanish

Gisela Barroso – Paralegal

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

Sandra Perez – Paralegal

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 from Oregon to California to visit family and friends. She is excited to make a difference in people’s lives working in Vanderwall Immigration and also within the company. She believes anything is possible, if we work together.

Languages: Spanish, English 

Erika Chaidez – Paralegal

Erika was born and grew up in California. She grew up in a mixed Mexican and Guatemalan household. She graduated from the California State University of Northridge as a Gender and Women’s Studies Major. While here she took part in volunteer work in Neighborhood Legal Services, Los Angeles (NLSLA) and Strength United (SU). While in NLSLA she was able to take part in the Self Help center where she aided litigants with family law based cases who don’t have representation. In SU, she took part assisting sexual assault and domestic violence survivors after difficult situations, and provided assistance as well through the sexual assault hotline. After graduating she knew she wanted to pursue the legal field because she wanted to make a difference and be able to help others going through difficult points in their lives. She later graduated from College of the Canyons as a Paralegal major. She chose to be a paralegal to be able to help individuals at a greater level.

Erika’s education, along with growing up in Hispanic household has shaped the way she is today. She grew up seeing the inequalities and injustices experienced from people around her. Those moments made her want to make an impact and help in any way she could. She enjoys being able to help others by facilitating the process through translation, explanation, and overall hard work.

On her time off she enjoys relaxing. Erika enjoys reading and watching movies with her partner. She also enjoys drinking coffee.

Languages: Spanish, English 

Tania Buenrostro – Administrative Assistant

Working for an Immigration law firm office has always been a big dream of mine. I have a passion for helping others, especially immigrants because of my own personal experience. I am from Guadalajara, Mexico. Spanish was my first language. I have been living in this country for many years and I can now speak fluent English. I love working in this field because I can relate and be a witness to the life changing experience of others who are also looking for the American dream like myself. I hope one day to pursue my career as a paralegal in the near future. In my free time I love to spend quality time with my daughter and two boys. I love to dance and meet new people.

Languages: English, Spanish

Jessica Martinez – Administrative Assistant

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 boyfriend and sister. She also enjoys bicycling, camping, live music, and international cuisines.

Languages: Spanish, English 

Nohemi Romero – Administrative Assistant

Hello you can call me Mimi! I was born in Mexico, And Raised in Oregon. Doing immigration work so far has made me realize how much I truly love helping people! As an immigrant myself I know how hard it is to live undocumented. I spent many summers working out in the fields picking fruits in the hot blazing sun unaware that I can be doing so much more. Not everyone who works there knows that there is so many more opportunities out there. So, I want to help people just like me. I was given a second chance here in the US and I know I can help others find that chance too. I wish to keep growing with this company and I am Grateful for the opportunity to be here alongside such an amazing team! A quote that will forever be in my heart is “The way you treat people, and the way they treat you Is only a reflection of one’s own self” -unknown

What I like to do in my free time is Reading, Writing, Drawing, Programming, and spending time with my Family & Son. I love walking in the rain and exploring the beautiful scenery here in Oregon. You can always catch me reading a book snuggled up with a blanket listening to the pitter patter of the rain.

Languages: Spanish, English