Ameena Qazi Joins the PJLC as Co-Executive Director

The Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Ameena Mirza Qazi as Co-Executive Director and its second staff attorney, expanding the organization’s reach in police accountability and civil rights advocacy in Orange County.

Qazi brings nearly two decades of legal experience to the PJLC, with a career focused on defending civil liberties, challenging discrimination, and holding institutions accountable under the law. Her work has spanned First Amendment rights, open government, employment and anti-discrimination law, police accountability, and national security issues.

Before joining the PJLC, Qazi held leadership roles at several prominent civil rights organizations. She previously served as Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild’s Los Angeles chapter and as Deputy Executive Director and staff attorney at the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Greater Los Angeles (CAIR-LA). In those roles, she litigated discrimination cases, challenged unlawful government surveillance, and supported community members facing civil rights violations.

Qazi has also worked on high-impact civil rights litigation, including wrongful death and police misconduct cases, and has collaborated with organizations such as the ACLU of Southern California. Her background combines courtroom advocacy with organizational leadership and movement support.

At the PJLC, Qazi is helping lead the organization’s Police Misconduct Project, which focuses on addressing routine but harmful police practices that often go unchecked. This work includes supporting community-based accountability efforts, hosting legal clinics, assisting Cop Watch programs, and using public records and civil rights litigation to expose unlawful policing practices.