Meet the Founders.
Mejgan Afshan
The daughter of refugees from Afghanistan, Mejgan Afshan grew up in City Heights and La Mesa and is dedicated to equity for all our most impacted siblings. As Co Founder of Borderlands for Equity, a pro bono, civil rights, nonprofit serving our San Diego County borderlands region, I have made it my mission to center the voices and fight for our most marginalized community members to ensure equity at all levels of our community. I have almost 20 years of experience serving our community in various capacities from working for then City of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Madam Speaker of the House Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, San Diego County Democratic Party, International Rescue Committee, and CAIR San Diego. She believes in supporting our BIPOC, Immigrant/Refugee, Women and Femme’s in centering our voices through more progressive policy changes that are long over due. She is also founder of the East County Justice Coalition and the Borderlands Coalition. In November of 2020, she was elected Treasurer for the San Diego Refugee Forum, a coalition of 40+ of individuals, ethnic-community based organizations and nonprofits, resettlement agencies, and local city and county government offices. And recently, she began serving on the Borderlands Get Free Bail Fund Committee.
Susanne Arani
Susanne Arani earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 2005, with a focus in litigation. After her internship with the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco, she opted for advanced course work in the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments in law school. As a practitioner, she has handled a variety of cases, including personal injury, contract, employment law, family law and wills. In her nine years of experience, she has handled cases from inception to trial, negotiated favorable settlements on the eve of trial, deposed several dozen parties, witnesses, and experts. She is a certified mediator and pursues creative means before and during a case for a just and satisfying result for those requiring her representation. As proud daughter of an immigrant, Susanne is dedicated to making our community more inclusive and safe for all.