Sahmra is passionate about her role as a public servant. She has worked with attorneys in Maryland to combat exploitive labor practices endured by immigrant workers in Maryland forming the group, “Maryland Attorneys Working Against Labor Trafficking” (MDAWALT) as a way to educate attorneys and non-attorneys on labor trafficking and employment issues, and provide valuable resources to the vulnerable population.

She also volunteers her time and skills as a mediator to help resolve foreclosure disputes and utilizes her expertise as a custody attorney by providing pro bono litigation services to immigrant children seeking asylum and Special Immigration Juvenile Status (“SJIS”) in Maryland. As an artist herself, she considers her work with Maryland Volunteer Attorneys for the Arts to be amongst the most important of the volunteer work she does.

Sahmra graduated from the American University Washington College of Law (“AU WCL” or “WCL”) with a Juris Doctor in May of 2010. While matriculating at Washington College of Law Ms. Stevenson worked for judges in both D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. District Court. She was selected to serve as a Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy Deans Fellow and taught Constitutional Law at Wilson High School in The District. She also served as a Rule 16 student attorney with the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office where she litigated cases at both the District and Circuit Court levels. Upon completion of her second year at WCL Sahmra was one of six law students in the country selected by the NAACP to participate in the 2009 NAACP/Kellogg’s Law Fellow Program.  

In addition to her work as attorney, Ms. Stevenson pursues her second passion which is painting and furniture making and in 2014 launched a website (www.artbySahmra.com) and a greeting card line that she is still working to get off the ground. When she is not painting she enjoys competitive long distance running and she has completed a total of six full marathons and seven half-marathons in five different states since 2012.

Sahmra April Stevenson is a graduate of Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts where she received her B.A. in History and American-Studies and studied as part of a combined degree program with the School of Museum of Fine Arts Boston. During her  time at Tufts Sahmra was selected as one of twenty University College Public Service Scholars assigned to help develop community based projects throughout the Boston area. As a scholar Sahmra successfully designed and implemented an after school program at East Somerville Elementary School titled Better Faster Stronger Athletes (“B.F.S.A”) which provided education about fitness and nutrition to fourth through eighth grade students. The program is still in existence to this day.

In addition to her work as a University College Public Service Scholar, Sahmra served as Director and Program Coordinator for NIA, a local non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring and tutoring youth in the local community. After graduating from Tufts, Ms. Stevenson accepted a position at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr, LLP where she worked for nearly two years before enrolling in law school.