ABOUT US
The PGT Team
Julie Pearl
University of California, Juris Doctor
Stanford University, BA Econ/IR
Leader & Technologist
Co-founded in 1995 Pearl Law Group, internationally awarded
for innovation, global business immigration and pro bono service
- One of 5 U.S. “Preeminent Practitioners of Immigration Law”
(Chambers Guide to Leading Lawyers, US) - Ranked 10+ years in “Nation’s Top 20 Immigration Lawyers”
(HR Executive Magazine) - Largest woman-owned law firm in Northern California, with offices in the Americas, Asia Pacific and EU
“Legal Technology Entrepreneur”(Bloomberg, Forbes)
- Built Tracker Corp (sold 2020 to Mitratech) – now the world’s largest immigration technology company.
- Innovated four immigration web-based products, used by thousands of employers to comply with visa, labor and travel rules worldwide for over 20 years.
Sherri Staples
Yale University, BA Russian
Knowledge and Content
15 years immersed in the comprehensive immigration and compliance requirements worldwide
Experience at a Big Four consulting company, where she managed immigration cases for cross border projects in Europe
Implemented Permiso travel tool at Big Four company
Worked at the world’s largest immigration law firm as a knowledge manager, designed earliest visa assessment system
Sherri has led curation at PGT, managing our dozens of highly reputable legal experts worldwide, and is engaged to keep our systems updated daily with legal changes that impact business travelers.
Ali Ramezanzadeh
Sciences Po,(Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris), Intl. Diploma EU politics
University of California, BA Politics/Intl. Studies
Legal & Customer Experience
8+ years of experience in guiding legal compliance, at both the world’s largest immigration law firm and the largest immigration technology company
Advised Fortune 500 companies and emerging companies on immigration and employment eligibility
Led employment compliance division at the world’s largest immigration law firm
As Director of Immigration Legal Technology at Tracker Corp (acquired by Mitratech), advised employers and lawyers alike in technology configurations and innovations for compliance purposes.
At PGT, he promotes the expansion and full use of the Hub and Permiso products, listens to customer needs, and designs enhancements to the core products, leveraging his legal background to collaborate with the engineering team.
Brock Haugen
B.S. Math, Minor: Computer Science
Software Development
Over 10 years experience in software development
Has served as CTO and Sr. Engineer for a range of companies (Coinbase, Tripgrid, Imbrex)
Built software to manage travel data for Fortune 100 companies (including integrations to Concur, Amex, CWT, etc), which included all the related security questionnaires, testing, multi-tenancy, etc (time at Tripgrid)Manages and codes in multiple languages, including JavaScript, Python, Node, Ruby, PHP, SQL, Bash
Worked specifically on “platform engineering” teams for both Coinbase and Daily Harvest (last couple years-ish) to support security and reliability initiatives
Time at imbrex was working with blockchain tech to decentralize the real estate market (i.e. built out several version of an “Escrow Contract”)