Led by founders with decades of experience in immigration practice and training, SAIL offers innovative training and guidance to help practitioners steer through the ever-shifting complexities of immigration practice.

Founding Partners

Jennie Guilfoyle

Jennie Guilfoyle has been practicing immigration law for 25 years, with a focus on training and mentorship on humanitarian and family-based immigration, as well as citizenship and naturalization. Among other roles, Jennie was a Senior Training Attorney at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the Deputy Director at the Immigration Justice Campaign, and the Legal Director at VECINA. She also worked for 4 years at the State Department as an Attorney Advisor in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. She has deep experience training and mentoring on asylum, VAWA, U visas, inadmissibility, family-based immigration, and citizenship and naturalization. Jennie holds a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Jennie is member of the New York bar.

Co-Founder

Kathleen Reilly

Kathleen Reilly was formerly an Appellate Immigration Judge at the Board of Immigration Appeals in Falls Church, VA and an Immigration Judge sitting in Hyattsville, MD. As an IJ, Kathleen managed a large and varied docket of cases and presided over a specialized docket serving juveniles in proceedings in the Hyattsville jurisdiction. Before joining the bench, Kathleen was an attorney advisor at the BIA, advising on appeals and providing training and mentoring to EOIR legal and paralegal staff. Kathleen is an editor of the forthcoming 2026 update to Immigration Law and Defense and will be on the faculty for the Ninth Annual Immigration Court Trial Advocacy College in Kansas City, MO in April 2026. Kathleen has also served as an independent advisor on BIA Appeals and Petitions for Review to U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. Kathleen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Bucknell University and a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. Kathleen is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and Maryland bars.

Co-Founder

Contributing Faculty

Jess Dawgert

Co-Founding Partner, Ariela Lake Law and Consulting. Former Associate Deputy Attorney General and Senior Litigation Counsel at DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation.

Sarah Vuong

Co-Founding Partner, Ariela Lake Law and Consulting. Former Assistant Director at DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation and Associate Counsel at USCIS.

Maria Lurye

Principal Attorney, Maria Lurye Law. Former Immigration Judge, New York, NY. Former Assistant Chief Counsel, ICE-OPLA (Appellate and Trial level).

Practitioner-in-Residence University of Maryland, Baltimore, Francis King Carey School of Law. Former Immigration Judge, Detroit, MI and Hyattsville and Baltimore, MD. Former Asylum Officer, USCIS.

David Koelsch

Former Immigration Judge, Denver and Aurora, CO. Former Legal Director, International Rescue Committee Denver, CO. Former Fraud Counsel & Associate General Counsel, DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Brea Burgie

Managing Attorney, Seton Hall Law school, Center for Social Justice, DDDI Program. Former Immigration Judge, Newark, NJ. Former DHS Trial Attorney. Former Staff Attorney at DOJ’s Board of Immigration Appeals.

Susan Roy

Of Counsel, Immigration Equality. Former Immigration Judge, New York, NY. Former Co-Director, Immigration Intervention Project, Sanctuary for Families. Former Managing Attorney, Refugee Representation Project, Human Rights First.

Lori Adams

Senior Immigration Attorney, Wilkes Legal. Adjunct Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law. Former Assistant Chief Immigration Judge, Arlington and Annandale, VA.

Rebecca Walters

Frequently Asked Questions

  • SAIL is the Strategic Academy for Immigration Law. SAIL focuses on delivering affordable, innovative, and practice-focused training, mentoring, and education to immigration practitioners.

  • SAIL was founded by Kathleen Reilly, a former Appellate Immigration Judge and Immigration Judge, and Jennie Guilfoyle, a former Senior Training Attorney and Legal Director at CLINIC and VECINA, respectively. Together, Kathleen and Jennie have over five decades of experience in immigration law, including many years of training and mentoring.


  • All of SAIL’s trainings, workshops, and courses are created by leveraging the decades of expertise of both SAIL’s founders and our wonderful colleagues. If we don’t have the expertise on a topic, we recruit experts to deliver the best and most effective training we can! 

    Our faculty includes former Immigration Judges, Asylum Officers, DHS trial attorneys, OIL attorneys, and experienced immigration practitioners.


  • SAIL is committed to finding technological solutions to deliver training and education in the most effective way possible. We use Learnworlds, an online learning management software that allows us to deliver substantive education alongside complementary practical written materials.  Through Learnworlds, practitioners can access our courses for up to one year and receive substantive updates as the law changes and develops.

    Additionally, SAIL offers regular live workshops designed to give practitioners an opportunity to practice trial skills in a supportive setting. These live workshops are led by former IJs, former DHS trial attorneys, and by SAIL’s founders. 



  • SAIL offers mentoring, to both individuals and cohorts. Mentoring is provided via video and can include discussion, review of filings, and general Q&A. 

    SAIL also provides custom training and commissioned practice materials for non-profits and law firms. 


  • Yes! Learnworlds reflects the jurisdictions that have approved CLE credits for online courses. We also have applications pending for approval of our live workshops.

  • SAIL administers a free listserv that serves both practitioners who seek educational opportunities and organizations that offer trainings. Any attorney, accredited representative, or person working under the supervision of an attorney may join, with the exception of those working for the federal government.  Click here to join the listserv, or to seek more information about SAIL’s offerings.  

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