Keighly Rector

Keighly Rector is the Director of the Immigration Project at VOLS and has dedicated the majority of her career to fostering impactful pro bono partnerships and mentoring initiatives. She has been practicing law since 2014, specializing in humanitarian immigration relief and removal defense. With prior roles as Pro Bono Supervising Attorney at Catholic Charities Community Services in New York City and Pro Bono Manager for the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Keighly brings a wealth of substantive experience and commitment to building responsible and supportive pro bono models. In addition to her role at VOLS, Keighly is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), serving on the Executive Committee for the Connecticut Chapter and several committees for the New York City Chapter, including the EOIR, Asylum, Public Interest, and Media, Advocacy & Political Engagement Committees. She also serves as a subject matter expert on trauma-informed lawyering and has trained over 500 advocates nationwide on trauma and organizational resilience. Outside work, Keighly is an avid runner and dedicated member of the New York City running community.  Keighly graduated magna cum laude in 2011 from Quinnipiac University with a BA in Legal Studies and Spanish and received her JD cum laude from Pace University School of Law (now the Elisabeth Haub School of Law) in 2014.