Virginia Benzan (she/her) is our Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative (MACI) Legal Director.

Virginia is an immigration and social justice attorney who has centered public interest throughout her career. She has specialized in detention, removal defense and humanitarian relief. Prior to joining MIRA, Virginia was the Director of Racial Justice Advocacy for the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Operating across multiple substantive areas, Virginia worked to advance racial justice through identifying issues that thwart the advancement and inclusion of people of color, training the civil legal community on racial justice related topics such as equity and inclusion, and conducting administrative and legislative advocacy.

Before MLRI, Virginia served as a Training Officer and Asylum Officer for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Boston Asylum Office, where she played a critical role determining the eligibility of people seeking asylum. Virginia also directed the Immigration Clinic at Suffolk Law School, primarily representing immigrants in detention and conducting Know Your Rights presentations. She also previously worked as a staff attorney in MLRI’s Immigration practice group, where she specialized in immigration public policy law and advocated on behalf of low income immigrants at the local, state and federal level.

Virginia holds a Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from the College of the Holy Cross. She currently is a Massachusetts Access to Justice Commissioner and co-chairs the Commission’s Racial Equity and Justice Committee. Virginia also leads the Massachusetts Digital Equity Coalition.