Shiwali is a nationally recognized Title IX expert and leads advocacy addressing gender-based harassment in schools, including sexual harassment and sexual assault. Her work also focuses on strengthening civil rights protections for LGBTQI+ students, advocating against censorship in schools through the proliferation of book and curriculum bans, and addressing other issues of gender equity in education. Previously, she was at the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), where she worked on civil rights policy and legal guidance interpreting Title IX’s anti-discrimination protections, including schools’ responsibilities in responding to sexual harassment, protections for transgender students, and the rights of girls of color. Before joining OCR, Shiwali was an Administrative Judge and investigator at the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Hearings and Appeals, a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia in the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Unit, and a law clerk to the Honorable Laura A. Cordero at the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.  Prior to law school, Shiwali was a community educator at the District of Columbia Rape Crisis Center, where she conducted workshops and educational presentations for adults and young people on sexual assault, domestic and dating abuse, and sexual harassment, and was a trained hotline counselor and hospital advocate.
Shiwali regularly speaks at conferences and events, and has been quoted in outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, LA Times, Mother Jones, NPR, as well as in the legal press.
Shiwali serves as the Co-Chair of the Leadership Conference’s Education Task Force, and on the Board of Callisto. She previously served as the Board President of the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project (DVRP), as Vice President for Community Affairs of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area, Inc. (APABA-DC), and on the Board of Directors of APABA-DC Educational Fund. Shiwali graduated from Boston University and American University Washington College of Law, where she is an adjunct law professor.