Sarah Yore-Van Oosterhout, Esq. (she/her)

Sarah's Bio

Sarah is the founder and managing attorney at Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates (LIA), a nonprofit immigration law office and advocacy center in Holland, serving all of West Michigan. Sarah also sits on the board of directors for the Michigan State Bar Association Immigration Law Section. As a nonprofit immigration attorney, she specializes in family reunification and humanitarian remedies for victims of violent crime, sexual assault, and persecution in other countries. In addition to a doctorate of jurisprudence, Sarah has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Spanish and social work.

Sarah’s support of OOTL stems from both a professional commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and justice and a personal desire to find community and support. She grew up in a socially conservative, Christian, mono-ethnic community and knows too well the detrimental impact it can have on young members of the LGBTQ community. Sarah desires to create forces of change to remove the barriers that prevent young people from freely and fully exploring their identities and keep LGBTQ+ individuals and families from being included in all that Holland has to offer. Furthermore, Sarah looks forward to seeking new ways for LIA and OOTL to partner, exploring further the intersectionality of immigration and LGBTQ+ issues. Minoritized communities continue to be excluded from many aspects of life in Holland. Organizations working in support of these communities have much common ground and, therefore, much opportunity to partner and magnify their impact.

On top of her work, Sarah coparents two daughters with her partner, Aaron. Together, they enjoy traveling and exploring nature. Sarah is a self-proclaimed plant lady and amateur gardener. When she’s not in the office, you can find Sarah in her gardens or in nature, whether in a pair of hiking boots with her dog, Otis, or atop her road bike.