Claudia Sibaja is a Program Manager for VALOR in Pasadena. After working as a government-
contracted Spanish Translator for 9 years she decided to change her career and became a
Paralegal, to assist survivors of sexual and domestic violence at a local rape crisis center in Los
Angeles. Claudia received her accreditation with the Department of Homeland Security and worked
as a Legal advocate where she provided direct services on those traditionally limited in their access
to courts, specifically the monolingual immigrants, disabled and those with limited financial
resources. For the last 10 years, her main focus has been within the areas of immigration law, such
as VAWA and U-Visa petitions, family law and Protective Orders. Claudia currently provides
Training and Technical Assistance to rape crisis centers and agencies across the state of California
to build capacity and strengthen their advocacy efforts and programs. She also oversees CILAP
(California Immigration Legal Assistance Program) training and building capacity with rural victims’
advocacy and service providers in addressing current gaps in access to legal services for immigrant
and farmworker survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.