The Foundation recognizes two of its top scholars with named scholarships. We sincerely thank the two law firms for their generous support of the Rosenthal Bar Exam Scholarship Program.

Angela McNair Turner, UC Berkeley School of Law
Reed Smith Scholar

Maribel Gonzalez, UCLA School of Law
Sidley Austin Foundation Scholar

California Western School of Law
Kyung Eun Latimer
A graduate of Kyung Hee University in South Korea, Kyung immigrated to the United States as a non-English-speaking single mother raising a son with Down Syndrome. Her American dream was to become a valuable member in the community and to practice law here. During law school, Kyung interned at the California Court of Appeal for the 4th District and the San Diego Alternate Public Defender's Office; she also served as a research assistant for three law professors while waiting tables to support her son. Hyung hopes to begin her public interest law career in the San Diego District Attorney's Office

Lisa Orozco

Lisa is the first person in her family to earn an undergraduate and graduate degree. A teenage parent, she managed to graduate with her high school class and eventually majored in political science at Loyola Marymount College while interning at the Children's Law Center. In law school, Lisa served as a volunteer Street Law teacher and interned at the Public Defender's Offices in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Committed to helping youth and the indigent, Lisa plans to pursue a career as a public defender.

Liseth M. Saravia

As an undergraduate at UCLA, Liseth was a youth instructor and counselor for at-risk Latino teenagers. Through the eyes of her students, Lisbeth realized the lack of Latino role models in law enforcement, which led to her desire to become a Latina prosecutor. Throughout law school, she pursued opportunities to further her career goal, interning at the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and San Diego and at the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego. After graduating from law school, Lisbeth will be working at the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office.

Stanford Law School
Katrina Eiland
Katrina Eiland After graduating from UCLA, Katrina spent four years advocating for low-income communities of color in the labor and immigrants' rights movements, organizing immigrant homecare providers, seniors, and people with disabilities and serving as a vocational teacher for ex-offenders. The granddaughter of a low-wage Chicana worker, she went to law school to acquire the tools necessary to address systemic discrimination and poverty. She has used her passion for public interest law in her work at the Stanford Immigrants' Rights Clinic, Community Legal Services, and the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project. After graduation, Katrina will clerk for Judge Keith P. Ellison, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas.

Rachel Marshall*

Rachel's career in public service began as a public school teacher in the Bronx through Teach for America. After seeing her students face the challenges of poverty, violence, and abuse, Rachel was motivated to attend law school, where she focused on criminal defense and civil rights issues. She has worked at the Southern Center for Human Rights, the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and participated in Stanford's Criminal Defense and Community Law Clinics. After graduation, Rachel will clerk for Judge David O. Carter, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

University Of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Angela McNair Turner*
Growing up in a low-income community of Los Angeles, Angela was inspired by her mother's successful fight to escape poverty. While at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Angela was angered by FEMA's inability to address the needs of displaced families after Hurricane Katrina and organized volunteer and fundraising efforts to help the victims. In law school, she worked at the East Bay Community Law Center, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), the Los Angeles Community Action Network, and Bay Area Legal Aid. After graduation, Angela will return to LAFLA to work on affordable housing and family law issues as a Skadden Fellow.

University of California, Hastings, College of the Law
Meredith L. Alexander*
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Meredith witnessed the need for legal services while working as a legal advocate for impoverished victims of domestic violence. In law school, she has sought out opportunities that will help her realize her goal of becoming a youth advocate, interning at Legal Services for Children, the Youth Law Center, and the Child Care Law Center. After graduation, she hopes to obtain a postgraduate fellowship at Youth Law Center to work on issues related to kinship foster care.

Anna Claire Johnson

An emancipated minor at age 16, Claire successfully balanced supporting herself financially and furthering her education. After graduating from California State University, East Bay, she headed to law school determined to pursue a career as a legal services attorney. In law school, Claire has worked at Tenants Together, the Homeless Action Center, Bay Area Legal Aid, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and Housing and Economic Rights Advocates. After graduation, she has will serve as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Bay Area Legal Aid, working on consumer rights and economic justice issues facing domestic violence survivors.

University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
Maribel Gonzalez*
The child of undocumented workers, Maribel survived a challenging childhood in South Central Los Angeles to become valedictorian and the first person in her family to graduate from high school. After attending UCLA, she taught recent immigrant children in New York through Teach for America and then worked as a criminal justice family advocate with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. In law school, she was a clinical intern at the Learning Rights Law Center and participated in the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy. Inspired by the plight of a close family member, Maribel is dedicated to the cause of advocacy for the mentally ill and she intends to pursue a career as a public defender in mental health court.

Julia I. Vazquez*

Julia's upbringing in a working-class Mexican immigrant household and her experience as an urban educator have shaped her desire to pursue a career in public interest law. After obtaining both her bachlor's degree and a master's in education, Julia taught in a dual language elementary school program in Los Angeles. Passionate about the injustices facing low-income immigrant families, Julia has worked at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Public Counsel, and the Executive Office of Immigration Review, Los Angeles Immigration Court. She intends to pursue a career specializing in immigration law.

University of Southern California Gould School of Law
Jessica Hewins
Through her work at organizations like the Disability Rights Legal Center, the Orleans Public Defender's Office, and California Rural Legal Assistance, Jessica believes that the work of one person can effect system-wide change. A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Jessica has also worked at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, and the Los Angeles Superior Court. An active member of the Public Interest Law Foundation at USC, she served as president of Legal Aid Alternative Breaks, organizing service learning trips to Coachella Valley and New Orleans.

Harden Sooper*

Inspired by his police officer grandfather, Harden has long had a passion for public service. Throughout law school, he worked exclusively in the public sector - including three stints with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office - in preparation for a public interest law career. At the beginning of his second year of law school, Harden decided to join the U.S. Army ROTC. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Harden plans to fulfill his military commitment as a Judge Advocate in the California Army National Guard while also serving, in a civilian capacity, as a prosecutor in Los Angeles.

* Received California BAR/BRI Law Review Bar Exam review course in addition to $2,000 cash award.