CHICAGO – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) has appointed Susana Sandoval Vargas interim Midwest Regional Counsel.
In this role, Sandoval Vargas will help lead the organization’s work to protect Latinos civil rights in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
“MALDEF is proud to name Susana Sandoval Vargas as the next in a long line of esteemed civil rights champions to serve as regional counsel in our Chicago office,” said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF president and general counsel. “The breadth and success of her litigation efforts at an early stage of her career demonstrate that she is the right counsel to lead our Midwest efforts in this critical era in our nation's development.”
Sandoval Vargas joined MALDEF in 2019 as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. In 2021, she became a staff attorney in MALDEF’s Chicago office, where she continues to work on myriad cases and issues, including voting rights, tenants’ rights and worker protections.
“The Latino community has been the driver of growth throughout the Midwest for decades, and MALDEF has been a leader in the fight to protect their rights and amplify their voice,” said Sandoval Vargas. “As a Latina and an immigrant, I am humbled by this opportunity and ready to lead MALDEF’s Midwest Office in this important work.”
Sandoval Vargas earned her law degree from Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2019, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.