Nian Zhan earned her J.D. degree from Columbia Law School. During her time in law school, she served as a staff editor for the Columbia Journal of Asian Law and participated in the Health is Justice project, which tracked court responses to the impact of COVID-19 on prisons. She also interned at Human Rights Now (Tokyo), where her focus was on the rights of migrant workers in the seafood industry. After law school, she received the CLS Public Interest Fellowship and worked at Beijing Qianqian Law Firm. Her work there primarily revolved around advocating for land rights among rural women in China.
