Vivie Hengst

Vivie Hengst served as General Counsel for the MA Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) from 1997 until her retirement in 2017. In her role as the agency’s chief legal officer, she helped enforce the state’s policies and programs for refugees and immigrants and administered the federally-funded Massachusetts Refugee Resettlement Program

Prior to becoming general counsel, Vivie worked as a staff attorney with OIR from 1994 to 1997. She also previously served as Assistant General Counsel with the MA Department of Mental Health (DMH) from 1983 to 1988, during which time she represented DMH in guardianship, civil commitment, and client trust matters; prepared responses to MCAD, EEOC and OCR complaints; collaborated with AGs office on litigation; and represented DMH on state legislative task force on guardianship.

Vivie holds a B.A. from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and graduated with a J.D. from the Creighton University School of Law in 1982.

Since 1998, Vivie has served on the board of the Political Asylum and Immigration Representation Project (PAIR). She has also been a member of the board of Amnesty International since 1986.

As an Access to Justice Fellow, Vivie will partner with PAIR to support the organization’s ongoing legal work on behalf of immigrants and people seeking asylum by leading Know Your Rights presentations and assisting with intake for asylum cases.