Niloufar Khonsari is a movement lawyer and activist committed to collective leadership in struggles for justice. They co-founded Pangea Legal Services, a worker-led migrant justice organization in California. Prior to this work, Nilou earned degrees from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and Georgetown Law, and they received two decades of training by activists, undocumented organizers, and community leaders in dismantling oppressive systems. Nilou’s commitment to collective leadership is the focus of their forthcoming book, The Future is Collective, where they offer lessons from growing Pangea as a collectively-run organization.
Nilou’s community-centered leadership has been recognized through several recent awards, including the BIPOC Pioneers in Justice Award from Levi Strauss Foundation (2021), the Community Impact Award by the Iranian American Bar Association of Northern California (2022), the Community Impact Award by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2022), the Bernstein Parker Activist Writer Fellowship through the Mesa Refuge (2023), and the Unsung Heroes Award from Resonance Philanthropies (2023).
