Diarra Diop
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Diarra Diop is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of IWJC. Originally from Senegal, she moved to the United States in 2009 after...
About Us
About IWJC
The Immigrant Women's Justice Center (IWJC) is a Connecticut-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2025, providing free, confidential legal assistance, advocacy, education, and community support to immigrant women and their families. Our team understands the challenges immigrant women face — because we have lived them. We help you navigate the legal system, know your rights, find safety, and build a brighter future.
Our Mission
IWJC empowers immigrant women and their families through culturally responsive legal assistance, advocacy, education, and community support. We dismantle systemic barriers to ensure every immigrant woman has access to justice, safety, and opportunity.
Our Vision
We envision a world where every immigrant woman is empowered to live free from fear, fully informed of her rights, and supported by a community that values her dignity, strength, and contributions.
Leadership
Our Team
Ankita Priya
Co-Founder
Ankita is a UConn Law graduate working in immigration law, with experience spanning corporate in-house teams and law firms...
What guides us
Our Values
Justice
Every person deserves equal access to the legal system regardless of immigration status. We advocate fiercely for immigrant women's rights.
Empowerment
We equip women with knowledge, resources, and confidence to advocate for themselves. We build power, not dependency.
Cultural Responsiveness
We honor diverse backgrounds, languages, and traditions. Our services are culturally sensitive, linguistically accessible, and trauma-informed.
Community
Lasting change happens together. We foster a supportive community where immigrant women connect, share, and lift each other up.
Integrity
We operate with transparency, accountability, and honesty. The trust of those we serve is sacred to us.
Compassion
We approach every interaction with empathy, recognizing the courage it takes to seek help, and meet every woman where she is.
Our Story
Born from a shared conviction
IWJC was born from a shared conviction: immigrant women in Connecticut deserve more. Co-founders Diarra Diop and Ankita Priya met at the University of Connecticut, where they witnessed profound gaps in legal services and community support for immigrant women — women navigating a complex system in unfamiliar languages, afraid to seek help, with nowhere to turn.
In 2025, they combined their expertise in law, advocacy, and nonprofit leadership to establish IWJC as a 501(c)(3) in Connecticut. Drawing on Diarra's international legal training and experience at CIRI, and Ankita's dedication to justice, they built an organization rooted in cultural responsiveness, dignity, and empowerment.
Today, IWJC provides free, confidential services — from legal navigation and crisis support to community empowerment and resource referrals. Our belief is simple: when immigrant women are empowered with knowledge, access, and community, they transform their lives and the world around them.
Transparency
Nonprofit Transparency & Compliance
- Legal Name
- Immigrant Women's Justice Center, Inc.
- Organization Type
- Registered 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Organization
- Official Email
- info@iwjcenter.org
- Official Domains
- iwjcenter.org · immigrantwomensjusticecenter.org
The Immigrant Women's Justice Center, Inc. (IWJC) is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. EIN available upon request.
IWJCenter.org and ImmigrantWomensJusticeCenter.org are the organization's official domains.
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