Amari Verástegui

Amari Verástegui joined the NETWORK Lobby Board of Directors in 2023 and serves on the Development Committee. She is a native of Ecuador and is deeply committed to immigrants’ rights and advocating for the rights of children and families. She is currently writing a spiritual memoir and has volunteered for diverse organizations focused on social justice, mindfulness in education, and fighting human trafficking.

Ms. Verástegui , of Somerset, New Jersey, is the Senior Grants and Contracts Officer for Legal Services at the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Amari joined the IRC as Program Manager of the ImportaMí project in August 2021. ImportaMí is a national program focused on empowering unaccompanied children with general legal resources and attorney referrals. Previously, she was part of a national project at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and worked closely with formerly separated families impacted by the prior administration’s zero tolerance policy.

Ms. Verástegui also spent over 10 years managing and overseeing federal, state, and private grant funding in leadership positions at diverse social justice centers at Rutgers University. She is an alumna of Rutgers University with a master’s degree in adult and continuing education, and a graduate certificate in English and Spanish translation and interpreting. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of New Jersey and completed an immigration law course through the Immigration Service and Aid Center’s Summer Institute.

What calls you to NETWORK? Where do you find inspiration in this work?
NETWORK is committed to social justice issues, through a Catholic perspective that is empowering, engages the community and staff, and remains hopeful. Ms. Verástegui is inspired by the deep faith, resilience, and hope that children and families demonstrate everyday. She feels connected to our Lady of Guadalupe and how our Lady is a champion of all those who lack power in society.

Ms. Verastegui enjoys spending time in nature/by the water, reading, and going on silent and writing retreats in different locations throughout the US.