Mirelle Raza

Ms. Raza is entering her second year at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law this fall.  Ms. Magana’s interest in issues affecting women and children began as an undergraduate student at Santa Clara University (“SCU”).  While at SCU, she worked as a research assistant at the Santa Clara County Office of Women’s Policy, where she learned not only about the creation of policies, but also the difficulty in implantation due to the bureaucracy.  Ms. Raza also studied abroad in Italy while at SCU, and while there, she volunteered at a home for young girls who were abused or trafficked throughout Europe.  Ms. Raza sought to continue her advocacy for victims when she returned to the United States by interning at the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office Victim Services Unit, which focused on survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.  Ms. Raza was then hired as a victim advocate at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she was promoted to become the sole advocate for the Human Trafficking Unit at the age of 22.  As the sole advocate for the unit, she worked closely with the Special Victims Unit, where she was involved with sting operations, searches for missing witnesses and victims, and interviews of juveniles in custody in detention centers.  Her work for this office prompted her decision to attend law school.  This summer, Ms. Raza will be an intern at the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.  Ms. Raza is aiming for a career with the District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles after law school.