Shirin Assadian

Shirin is an Iranian American JD/MPP student from Newport Beach, CA. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Political Science and Global Studies, concentrating in International Relations and the Middle East.

Shirin is pursuing law to advance the civil liberties of people pushed to the margins, a commitment that has shaped her research and advocacy for incarcerated individuals and communities facing state-sanctioned violence and surveillance. She previously worked at the Vera Institute of Justice, providing logistical and research support to decarceration-focused teams in partnership with community organizations, while helping ensure ethical human subjects standards. Her perspective was shaped by undergraduate research examining how Israeli occupation, including campus raids, arbitrary detention, and travel restrictions, affects Palestinians’ right to education at Birzeit University.

Most recently, Shirin has worked as a researcher at Harvard’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, supporting investigative reporting by Cerise Castle on police misconduct and deputy gang violence within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She continues to work with the Parole Preparation Project in New York, advocating for the release of an elderly incarcerated person.

At Georgetown, Shirin hopes to build the legal and organizing skills necessary to support efforts toward decarceration and Palestinian liberation.