Professor Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia speaks at 2026 Refugee Education Summit

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA—On September 23, Professor Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia participated in “Supporting Refugee and Newcomer Youth During Changing Times: A Fireside Chat,” a Lunch and Plenary Session held at the 2026 Refugee Education Summit.

The two-day convening in King of Prussia, PA, brought together Pennsylvania educators, community staff, and other practitioners who work with refugee students and families, offering information on engaging with, supporting, and advocating for newcomer students and their families.

Wadhia appeared alongside three other Plenary speakers: Alix Croswell, K-12 family liaison and bilingual educator at State College Area School District; Charlotte Fry, Pennsylvania state refugee coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services; and Shellie Robinson, assistant state refugee coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services/Refugee Resettlement Program.

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia is a nationally respected immigration scholar, law professor, author, and attorney. She joined Penn State Dickinson Law as a Clinical Professor of Law in 2008 and was named Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar in 2013.

Wadhia's scholarship has focused on the role of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law and policy and the intersection of immigration, race, and national security. She is the author of two award-winning academic press books by New York University Press and co-author of a textbook on Immigration & Nationality Law by Carolina Academic Press.