Gina Amato Lough (she/ella) is the Directing Attorney of Immigrants’ Rights at Public Counsel. She leads an interdisciplinary team of attorneys, social workers, and administrative staff that collaborates with immigrant communities to fight fearlessly for humanitarian protections and a more just immigration system.
Gina joined Public Counsel in 2008 and, until she stepped into the Directing Attorney role in 2022, led the Immigrants’ Rights Survivor Team, focused on serving immigrant survivors of serious crime and human trafficking. Under her leadership, Gina’s team provides client-centered, trauma-informed direct services to underserved immigrant communities, including immigrant children who crossed the U.S. border without a parent or legal guardian, asylum seekers, survivors of serious crime and human trafficking, immigrants in detention, immigrants who have fallen victim to notario fraud, and those at risk of removal from the U.S. Her team also engages in policy advocacy and strategic litigation to advance and protect the rights of the communities it serves.
Gina has been a public interest attorney and community leader for over twenty-five years. For her leadership, she was awarded the Daily Journal’s California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in 2024 and the Kathleen Kim & Kebok Foundation’s Community Impact Award in 2022.
Gina was an Adjunct Professor in the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic (LIJC) for six years, where she taught law students the practice of humanitarian immigration law and engaged them in advocacy to promote the rights of immigrants, as well as UC Irvine School of Law, where she taught Immigration Law & Policy. Prior to joining Public Counsel, Gina represented tenants in eviction matters and plaintiffs in civil rights, human rights, and employment lawsuits. She was also an Associate Director of Admissions at Berkeley Law, where she worked to create more equitable and inclusive admissions policies and practices.
As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Gina’s work is deeply personal to her and she demonstrates an enduring commitment to uplifting the rights of immigrants, mentoring the next generation of public interest attorneys, and building more sustainability in the practice of humanitarian immigration law.
Gina graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2001 with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master’s Degree in Public Policy (MPP). Outside of her work, she loves to dance, make art, and spend time with her family.
