California Western School of Law
Catherine Pugh $7500 — Dreier Stein & Kahan LLP Scholar
Catherine is a graduate of Howard University. For the past nine years, Catherine has worked at Amity Foundation, a treatment agency for incarcerated offenders and parolees. Prior to law school, she was selected as an associate of the Council on Legal Education Opportunity and developed a program to match minority high school students with mentors. She is also a foster and adoptive parent and a cancer survivor. Catherine plans to pursue a career as a civil rights attorney focusing on police misconduct.

Anne Marie Rios $5000

A graduate of UC Berkeley, Anne Marie has mentored at-risk students, worked as a Street Law teacher, and served as a crisis counselor for sexual assault and domestic violence victims. She provides interpretation services for Spanish-speaking families with emotionally disturbed children in therapy and for inmates seeking remedy for wrongful conviction with the California Innocence Project. Anne Marie intends to continue her work as an advocate for diverse and economically challenged individuals after law school.

Golden Gate University School of Law
Anna Benvenue $5000
Anna graduated from the University of Georgia and received her teaching credential from San Jose State University, after which she taught at-risk elementary school children in San Jose. As a law student, she continues to tutor students and has interned with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. She hopes to use her law degree to provide legal representation to working families.

Kira Murray $5000

Kira graduated from UC Santa Barbara. She has volunteered for Goodwill, the Self-Help Legal Access Center at the Van Nuys Courthouse, and for a union of university employees, and in law school she has worked with the U.S. Department of Labor and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel. Kira is currently interning with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office and hopes to be a public defender for juveniles after graduating from law school.

John F. Kennedy University School of Law
Peggy Bristol-Wright $2500
Peggy received a B.S. and an M.A. in organizational management from Azusa Pacific University. Her volunteer work includes serving on the board of a local development organization that provides community outreach programs and writing grants and providing board support for a prison transitional program for women. Her work at JFK's Elder Law Clinic has inspired her to provide legal services for low-income seniors who are victims of financial abuse.

Loyola Law School
Jonathan Ames $5000
While an undergraduate at Bard College, Jonathan volunteered with the Bard Prison Initiative, which brings higher education programs to prisons, supported diversity for admissions at Bard High School Early College, and organized gala fundraisers for Planned Parenthood. Jonathan currently participates in Loyola's Juvenile Justice Clinic as a certified law student and has externed for a federal district court judge and two state court appellate judges.

Jessica DeWitt $2500

A graduate of Boston College, Jessica has worked with troubled and disadvantaged youth in a variety of capacities, including as a volunteer special needs tutor, and through an externship with the Massachusetts Juvenile Court and a work-study program with the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola. She spent this summer working with the Anti-Defamation League on First Amendment issues. Jessica hopes to work as a public defender or a legal aid attorney serving children.

Ashley Ruiz $2500

Overcoming personal challenges growing up in Inglewood, Ashley graduated from UC Berkeley, where she worked with the Head Start Program, as a Berkeley Copwatch volunteer and facilitator, and as a volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul dining room in Alameda County. She also planned an afterschool program for at-risk youth at an Oakland housing project. Ashley hopes to serve indigent families and children.

New College of California School of Law
Rana Chang $2500
After graduating from Michigan State University, Rana attended medical school for three years before deciding to pursue law. In law school, she has interned at the Center for Biological Diversity and the civil division of the U.S. Attorneys' Office, volunteered with a post-Katrina home-rebuilding project in New Orleans, and worked for the Baha'i Voicemail for the Homeless Project. Rana hopes to use her background in science to pursue policy changes regarding the ties between land use and public health.

Santa Clara University School of Law
Nicole Clemens $5000
Nicole is a graduate of the University of Texas. Nicole provides worker's compensation advice and has educated workers about their rights at a community law center. She also works on Santa Clara's Loan Repayment Assistance Project, has coordinated public interest career fairs for law students, and spent this summer working with California Rural Legal Assistance. Nicole interned at the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC), where she hopes to work after law school as a fellow on LAAC's advocacy efforts.

Stanford Law School
Brian Bilford $5000
Brian graduated from UCLA. He has pursued his interest in civil rights and youth advocacy through volunteer work with the ACLU, as a research assistant and mentor to high school students in Watts, and as a clinical student at Stanford's Youth and Education Law Clinic. A Stanford Public Interest Fellow, Brian is the co-founder of Youth and Education Advocates at Stanford and spent this summer as an intern at the ACLU's National Legal Department and at the Youth Law Center.

Kristin Burford $5000

Kristin obtained a B.S. from both Washington University and Rhodes College. After college, she applied her science background as a toxics reduction associate for the City and County of San Francisco and as a staff member at the National Resources Defense Council. Kristin spent this summer working on environmental issues at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Land Use and Energy Division of San Francisco's City Attorney Office.

Jesse Hahnel $7500 — Jim Pfeiffer Scholar

After graduating from Harvard University, Jesse taught at a public school in Washington, D.C., and worked at the KIPP Foundation, a national network of charter schools. Jesse came to law school to advocate for low-income children. He has interned at Stanford's Youth and Education Law Program, worked on education issues at Public Advocates, researched the educational needs of low-income and foster children at the National Center for Youth Law, and is co-authoring a publication on education finance reform.

Ruth Zemel $5000

$5,000 Ruth graduated from New York University and spent several years as a high school math teacher at a low-performing school in Washington, D.C., and as a team leader and advisor for Teach for America. Seeing the struggles of the students' lives outside the classroom inspired her to attend law school to advocate for the poor. She spent last spring working with youth on probation and this summer with death row inmates in Alabama. Ruth intends to dedicate her career to criminal justice reform.

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Lindsay Harris $2500
With a degree from UC San Diego in international studies, Lindsay has volunteered as a French teacher in Ghana, a casework intern at International Rescue Committee, a volunteer at a Ghanaian refugee camp, and a coordinator for a Ghanaian foundation supporting educational opportunities. Lindsay has represented asylum seekers at the California American Refugee Clinic. Lindsay intends to pursue a career in international human rights work, with a focus on African refugee rights and issues related to gender-based violence.

Vanessa Ho $7500 — Seyfarth Shaw Scholar

Since graduating from Oberlin College, Vanessa has demonstrated her commitment to legal services for the poor. She has volunteered with children at a battered women's shelter and worked at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, the San Francisco Public Defender's Juvenile Division, the East Bay Community Law Center's Clean Slate Clinic, and the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Vanessa plans to participate in Boalt's Death Penalty Clinic and intends to pursue a career as a public defender.

Melinda Pilling $5000

Melinda Pilling $5,000 A graduate of Antioch College, with a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, Melinda worked on asylum and anti-trafficking projects at the Midwest Immigrant and Human Rights Center, advocated for immigrants and asylum seekers at World Relief, and served as a citizenship specialist at the National Immigrant Justice Center. She has interned at the California Asylum Representation Clinic and the East Bay Community Law Center and plans to advocate for systemic changes in immigration policy as a lawyer.

University of California, Davis, School of Law (King Hall)
Nagmeh Shariatmadar $5000
Nagmeh graduated from the University of Michigan, where she was a minority peer advisor for Michigan’s Housing Multicultural and Diversity Programs. She was a pre-law tutor for socioeconomically disadvantaged undergraduate students with the King Hall Outreach Program and has clerked with Davis' Prison Law Clinic, the Office of the State Public Defender, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the World Organization for Human Rights USA. Nagmeh hopes to use her law degree to advocate for prisoners' rights.

University of California, Hastings College of the Law
Reagan Joern $5000
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Reagan spent six years providing direct social services to individuals at risk of homelessness, including a number of clients disabled by HIV and AIDS. In law school, she has volunteered with the General Assistance Advocacy Project and spent this summer at the East Bay Community Law Center working with low income, HIV-positive clients on immigration matters. She looks forward to practicing as a public interest lawyer focusing on health, poverty, and immigration law.

Matthew Melamed $2500

Matthew graduated from Wesleyan University and worked for four years with incarcerated youth at The Beat Within. In law school, Matthew has interned at the Prison Law Office in San Quentin, the San Francisco Public Defenders' Office Juvenile Division, and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, worked as a research assistant for the Center for WorkLifeLaw, and served as the student co-director of Hastings' General Assistance Advocacy Project. Matthew hopes to use his law degree in pursuit of prison reform.

Abigail Sullivan $5000

Upon graduating from Oberlin College, Abigail worked as a bilingual instructional assistant and teacher in Seattle. A political activist, she has volunteered for several organizations in Central America, providing support for orphaned and abused children and war survivors. In law school, Abigail has worked with the Volunteer Legal Services Program and serves as an interpreter for the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights. Abigail hopes to work for an organization that provides services to and empowers immigrant communities.

University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
J. Andrew Boyle $7500 — Milstein, Adelman & Kreger Scholar
After graduating from Boston University, Andrew worked at the ACLU, focusing on projects relating to civil liberties of Guantanamo detainees and deported Pakistanis in the wake of September 11. In law school, Andrew has interned at the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania and led a group of students to conduct volunteer legal work regarding housing issues resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Andrew is hoping to secure a fellowship with a civil rights organization after law school.

Vivek Mittal $5000

A graduate of Rice University, Vivek has worked in a number of organizations that support immigrants and low-wage workers, including the Alliance for South Asians Taking Action, the Service Employees International Union, Border Network for Human Rights, and the South Asian Network. Vivek spent this summer externing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He plans to use his law degree in support of immigrant and workers rights for the South Asian community.

Shayla Myers $7500 — Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Scholar

After graduating from Kenyon College, Shayla worked as a crisis services coordinator for the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center. After her first year of law school, she conducted research for the National Center for Lesbian Rights as a Williams Institute Summer Fellow. Shayla enrolled in law school with the goal of providing legal access to the disenfranchised. After law school, she intends to advocate for low-income LGBT members of marginalized communities.

Carmina Ocampo $7500 — Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP Scholar
Carmina graduated from UCLA and then interned at the Democracy Council and The Nation magazine. In law school, Carmina has interned at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where she focused on education and voting rights projects. She hopes to use her law degree to build coalitions between Asian, African American, and Latino civil rights organizations.

Desmond Wu $5000

After graduating from UC Riverside, Desmond worked for several years at The Williams Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on sexual orientation law and public policy at UCLA School of Law. Desmond volunteers with the Neighborhood Legal Services Workers Rights Clinic and El Centro Legal's HIV & AIDS Services Alliance Clinic. Desmond spent this summer interning at Lambda Legal, and he wants to continue to work for LGBT rights after law school.

University of San Diego School of Law
Hasmik Badalian $5000
With a B.A. and a master's degree in Public Policy from UCLA, Hasmik has pursued her interest in youth issues as an intern at the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles, a consultant analyzing the impact of the presence of juveniles at dependency hearings, a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children, and an extern in the Juvenile Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court. She also serves as a Certified Legal Intern for the San Diego District Attorney's Sex Crimes and Stalking Division.

Rebecca Blain $5000

Rebecca graduated from UC Santa Cruz. While in law school, Rebecca has served as a board member of Pro Bono Legal Advocates, a legal intern for the HIV/AIDS legal program of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, and a law clerk and clinical intern at Casa Cornelia Law Center, working on a wide range of asylum and immigration matters. Rebecca plans to work in Southern California, providing legal services to immigrant and refugee clients.

Desiree Serrano $2500

Desiree Serrano $2,500 While an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara, Desiree tutored and mentored elementary school children. In law school, she has worked at Children’s Advocacy Institute, the Center for Public Interest Law, and the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles. Desiree spent this summer at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and plans to use her law degree to advocate for youth in underrepresented communities.

University of San Francisco School of Law
Phyra McCandless $5000
Phyra graduated from Harvard and received a master's in public health from John Hopkins University. She has worked with public health organizations such as the HIV Prevention Project and a free clinic in Baltimore. She has advocated for women prisoners infected with Hepatitis C and other medical conditions and interned with the San Francisco City Attorney's human services team. Phyra hopes to improve access to health care through direct services and, ultimately, through reform of the health care system.

Hannah Seigel $2500

A graduate of the University of Denver, Hannah grew up in Seward, Alaska, home to a maximum security prison. Her early exposure to the criminal justice system inspired her to reduce prison populations by addressing violence in communities and forming viable alternatives to prison. While in law school, she has volunteered for the California Habeas Project, the Safety Network Partnership at the YMCA, SeaView Community Services, Justice Now, and the California Appellate Project.

University of Southern California Gould School of Law
EmmaElizabeth Gonzalez $7500 — Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP Scholar
Elizabeth graduated from USC and then went on to work in development and community relations for the Manhattan Theatre Club, Cornerstone Theater Company, and the ACLU of Southern California. She worked at Public Counsel this past summer. Her work at the ACLU, combined with her experiences growing up in southeast Los Angeles, inspired Elizabeth to attend law school, after which she hopes to provide direct services to communities in need of access to the legal system.

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Victor Copeland $5000
Victor graduated from UC Davis. He has volunteered in a number of capacities providing one-on-one instruction as a coach, mentor, and tutor. In law school, he has clerked with the Developmental Disabilities Area Board III, with a private practitioner specializing in special education law, and with the Office of Administrative Hearings. Victor came to law school intending to serve and advocate for children with disabilities, with the ultimate goal of becoming an administrative law judge.

Ventura College of Law
Denise Trerotola $2500
Denise graduated from Ventura Community College and is a full-time working, single mother of two. She has worked as a Court Judicial Secretary, Family Court Case Coordinator, and Court Program Supervisor at the Ventura County Superior Court, as well as a paralegal and legal secretary. While working full-time as a paralegal, she attends law school and volunteers at the Family Law Facilitator's Office of the Ventura County Superior Court. Denise hopes to become a district attorney or public defender.

Whittier Law School
David Minh Duc Do $5000
After graduating from UCLA, David worked at UCLA's SouthEast Asian Campus Learning Education and Retention program. At Whittier, he is a Children's Rights Fellow and has volunteered with the Special Education Clinic, the Juvenile Criminal Unit of the Orange County Public Defender's Office, and Public Law Center. Concerned about inadequacies in the education system, David intends to work as an advocate for children with disabilities to help them achieve success and stay out of the criminal justice system.

Melissa Duchene $5000

A graduate of Briar Cliff University, Melissa's personal and professional experiences with the health care system inspired her decision to become an advocate for the disabled and terminally ill. She worked with mentally and developmentally disabled clients as a program counselor with ACR Homes and as an In-Home Provider for Visinet of Iowa, where she witnessed the struggles of the low-income disabled to receive adequate health care. This past summer, Melissa worked at the Center for Children's Rights.

Melinda Gomez $5000

After graduating from UC Davis, Melinda did advocacy work for Women Escaping a Violent Environment. She has also volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and as a Certified Peer Counselor at the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center of Yolo County and conducted research for the Public Policy Research Committee–California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. Melinda hopes to continue supporting domestic violence and sexual assault victims through direct legal services and policy work.

Amy Kaye $2500

A graduate of Northwestern College, Amy has worked as a substitute teacher and an outreach coordinator for an AmeriCorps VISTA Camp Fire USA program. As a volunteer, she has worked with disabled children in a Peruvian shanty town and HIV-positive children in hospice care in Tanzania, provided ESL instruction to Cuban refugees, and tutored at Public Law Center's homeless shelter clinic. Amy hopes to work with immigrants and refugees in Los Angeles after law school.

Kelly Nguyen $5000

Kelly graduated from UCLA. She escaped Vietnam as a child and lived in refugee camps for several years before coming to America. Kelly organized the First Annual Vietnamese American Cinema Symposium and has volunteered for the Indochinese Youth and Community Center and the Vietnamese Language and Cultural Center. She has also volunteered for the Van Nuys Self Help Legal Center and AmeriCorps VISTA. At Whittier, Kelly is a Fellow at the Center for Children's Rights.