Katy De La O joined the Office of General Counsel at Rice University in May 2026 as the Legal Operations Specialist. In this role, she leverages her extensive background in legal administration and policy to optimize the department’s operational workflows, technology, and strategic initiatives. She brings over seven years of dedicated experience in the immigration field. Prior to her arrival at Rice, she served as a Supervising Paralegal at the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project (GHIRP), a Houston-based non-profit, where she managed complex legal casework and led operational teams. Her background also includes a public policy fellowship at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she gained valuable experience in federal policy frameworks. Katy holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Houston-Downtown.