Heather Drabek Prendergast is a member of Aljijakli, Kosseff & Prendergast, LLC, a boutique immigration law firm with offices in Cleveland, OH and New York, NY. Her practice focuses on employment-based immigration for skilled professionals; complex removal defense including trials, appeals, and federal court litigation; family-based immigration; waivers; humanitarian; naturalization and citizenship. Heather is one of 21 Directors elected to serve on the Board of Governors for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a national association of more than 18,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. She worked with the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), to create a national board certification in immigration law, and is among the first to achieve Board Certification as an Immigration Law Advocate from the NBTA. Heather previously served as Chair of AILA’s Governance Committee, Chair of AILA’s National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Liaison Committee, Vice-Chair of AILA’s Department of State Liaison Committee, Chair of AILA University, and Chair of AILA’s Annual Awards Committee. She regularly speaks about immigration issues at local, regional, and national conferences, and serves on conference planning committees. Heather is an Adjunct Professor at Cleveland State University (CSU) College of Law where she teaches Immigration & Nationality Law. Her remarks have been quoted in Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Washington Post, NPR, Bloomberg Law, the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as other publications. Heather is a graduate of CSU College of Law in Cleveland, OH and Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and is admitted to practice in Ohio, New York, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is an avid equestrian, runner, and skier.