Amanda Gennerman – Alumni Spotlight, Class of 2000

Amanda Gennerman (she/her) graduated from UW-Madison in 2000 with a dual degree in Women’s Studies and Afro-American Studies (which is what both programs were called back then!) She has practiced immigration law exclusively since her graduation from the University of Denver – Sturm College of Law in 2003 and opened a solo practice dedicated to immigration law within a year of graduating. She, along with fellow community attorneys, saw a need to provide informative immigration services to the greater Madison area, founding the Community Immigration Law Center (CILC), which has been running for more than 10 years. In 2021, she transferred her solo practice to become a Partner at Pines Bach LLP. Amanda’s practice includes family-based petitions, humanitarian petitions, consular processing, naturalization applications, and removal defense. She also advises on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. She is currently on the Executive Committee of WI Chapter of AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) and has been selected to serve on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Legal Assistance Committee.  She was the recipient of Dane County Pro Bono Awards in 2010 and 2022, and the WI AILA Chapter Pro Bono Champion for 2023-2024. Amanda is in the midst of raising two teenage boys and remains committed to social justice both as an attorney and a mother.

How does GWS matter in the day-to-day of your professional life?

I have the privilege of providing legal services to immigrant communities who have a variety of life experiences and identities. I am exposed to many cultures and navigate the challenges my clients face from a variety of perspectives. My GWS principles are always present as I collaborate with my clients to find solutions. I continue to grow and my conceptions of gender and identity evolve on a regular basis as the needs of my clients present themselves.

Do you have advice for students who share your interests and may want to pursue a similar graduate degree and/or career?

As a Women’s Studies major, I did not intend to go to law school, but after four years in my undergraduate career and multiple internships, I realize the intersection law played with communities I was serving specifically social justice and women’s rights. It seemed like a natural fit to pursue law. I did not have any prior encounters with Immigration law when I enrolled in law school. It wasn’t until an internship opportunity working in a domestic violence law clinic that I had the exposure to that field. The opportunity crossed into my past work with survivors of domestic violence and those that were now fleeing violence in their home countries. There are so many ways to advocate for what you are passionate about, whether that is law, social work, education, or international human rights. 

What do you remember fondly from the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies? Favorite class? Instructor?

My first Women’s Studies class was a cross between Women’s Studies and Afro-American Studies. It only took one class for me to realize that would be my passion. The department as a whole was filled with brilliant minds and actionable people. I think my final Women’s Studies seminar/internship lead by Mimi Orner (who sadly passed away that following fall), was probably the most memorable as it gave me the opportunity to facilitate support groups in the Dane County Jail with the Rape Crisis Center. I had the opportunity to sit with women who were incarcerated, but at the same time had experienced sexual violence. 

What, if anything, do you wish you could tell your undergraduate self?

That people you meet throughout your life will impact the way in which you grow and see the world. That everybody’s story and everybody’s life is valuable and if you can find a way to shed kindness in any way you will continue to make a difference. Remain confident, remain humble.