A decade after switching from litigation to immigration law, I am now running my own firm, Kahn Immigration Law, focusing on extraordinary ability and employment-based cases. My journey here included a maternity leave that transitioned into permanent remote work when COVID arrived, a move from Queens, NY to Tampa, FL to be near my parents, and a second child born in Florida.
With a virtual law firm and two young kids, life in the Tampa suburbs is sorely lacking in grown-up conversation. I cannot wait to catch up with everyone, meet your families, and make some new memories.

Since graduating from Georgetown, I have tried to live the Jesuit ideal of being a man for others. I spent the first part of my career in the private sector, including with Fortune 500 company Procter & Gamble and later in the telecommunications industry. Seeking an opportunity to contribute more directly to my country, I entered public service and ultimately served as Guatemala's Minister of Economy during a particularly turbulent period in the nation's history. Among other initiatives, our team presented Guatemala's first modern antitrust bill and worked to strengthen competitiveness, investment, and economic opportunity.

That commitment to reform often required challenging longstanding institutional and economic interests, providing a real-world illustration of themes explored in *Why Nations Fail*. The years that followed brought significant legal, political, and personal challenges in both Guatemala and the United States. While the experience tested every aspect of my life, it also strengthened my faith, character, resilience, and conviction that strong institutions, due process, and the rule of law ultimately matter.

Today, I live in Miami Beach, where I recently passed the New York Bar Examination twenty-five years after earning my LL.M. at Georgetown. I am currently conducting research on the use of artificial intelligence to improve oversight of prosecutorial discretion, with the goal of strengthening due process, transparency, accountability, and protections against government abuse.

I remain especially grateful to my parents, Acisclo Valladares Molina and Raquel Urruela, whose example of service, faith, and perseverance shaped my life. My greatest source of pride remains my family: my children, Acisclo, Agustina, Emiliano, and Lucila, and my fiancée, Marie Andrée, whose support and encouragement have sustained me through every chapter of this journey.

I also wish to thank Georgetown's Dorothy Mayer and Mary Anne Gibbons for their unwavering friendship and support during some of the most challenging years of my life, and former Dean Bill Treanor for the opportunity to serve on Georgetown Law's Latin American Law Alumni Advisory Board, helping strengthen Georgetown's engagement throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

I am especially grateful to the classmates who nominated me for the Robert Drinan Award. Regardless of the outcome, the nomination itself is a meaningful honor and a reminder of the lasting friendships and values that unite our Georgetown community.

As I reflect on the past twenty-five years, I remain deeply grateful for the education, friendships, and values that Georgetown instilled in me. I look forward to reconnecting with classmates and hearing about the journeys that have shaped their own lives since our time at GULC.

So excited to see everyone in DC in October!

Georgetown Law's philosophy of cura personalis shaped my decision to dedicate my legal career to the nonprofit healthcare sector, where holistic care and service to others are paramount.

Here it is 30 years after graduation and almost 33 years since the first day we walked into Georgetown Law (Greta continues to insist that she walked me to class!). I hope the ride has been as rewarding for you as it has been for me. I continue to think of my classmates as some of the finest people I have ever known.

Wow, I cannot believe how time flies! It’s our 35th reunion. I’m retired after 25 years of working in the New York State Court system, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of you after so many years.