This year, 18 Penn Carey Law alumni launch dynamic public interest careers through post-graduate fellowships.
Every year, graduates from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School launch impactful careers dedicated to serving the public interest. From public interest lawyering to government, Penn Carey Law post-graduate fellowships empower our graduates to pursue careers as advocates for positive change and leaders dedicated to serving the public good.
Eighteen Penn Carey Law graduates secured competitive fellowships, including prestigious national and regional fellowships. Fellows include:
- 6 JD graduates whose work will be funded by the Penn Carey Law Catalyst Fellowship;
- 5 JD graduates pursuing project-based fellowships on a wide range of issues;
- 1 JD graduate and 1 alumna who will fight to protect voting rights as Cozen Family Voting Rights Fellows; and
- 4 JD graduates and 1 alumna who earned prestigious national fellowships.
Catalyst Fellowships
Penn Carey Law’s Catalyst Fellowships support students to launch public interest careers by funding students to work with local, state, federal, and international government agencies; public defenders offices; and public interest organizations and NGOs.
Alex Geisel L’23 will join the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender in Camden, leading civil litigation and conducting legal and other research projects to support broader litigation strategies.
Cade Underwood L’23 joins the office of Philadelphia City Council Member-at-Large Kendra Brooks and will collaborate with the legislative director to craft legislation and policy to realize the office’s legislative goals and priorities.
Casey Danoff L’23
Danoff will advocate for women’s rights at the ACLU of Delaware, specifically focusing on gender-justice issues and expanding civil rights for Delaware women.
Anna Rosenfeld L’23
Rosenfeld will advocate for reproductive rights, including fighting discrimination related to pregnancy, at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
Trevor Stankiewicz L’23
At Climate Rights International, Stankiewicz will investigate legal frameworks for small island nations to address non-economic loss caused by climate change.
Layla June West L’23
West will join the Invisible Institute’s in-house legal team to advocate for human rights, explore legal strategies for police accountability, and support investigative journalism.
Project-Based Fellowships
Project-based Fellowships empower our students and recent alumni to engage in substantive advocacy work that advances justice and equity. Fellows partner with a nonprofit organization and design a one-year project to address a particular need or issue. Fellowships are sponsored by donors; the Toll Public Interest Fellowship; the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Public Interest Fellowship; and the Langer, Grogan & Diver Fellowship in Social Justice.
Sage Lincoln L’23 will advocate for environmental justice for Southeastern Pennsylvanians’ affected by new gas-related infrastructure projects. Lincoln’s project-based work with Clean Air Council includes regulatory advocacy and litigation.
Shira Hereld L’23
As a Toll Public Interest Fellow, Hereld will join the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network to advocate for immigrants’ rights.
Margaret Hu L’23
Hu will join the Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) to advocate for prisoners’ rights and build advocacy coalitions in counties surrounding Philadelphia.
Phillip Moore L’23
Moore will join the MacArthur Justice Center to advocate for prisoners’ rights via project-based work that includes litigation, education, and coalition-building.
Thomas Munson L’23
A Toll Public Interest Fellow, Munson will join the New York Civil Liberties Union to advocate for civil rights and challenge criminalization of transportation.
Cozen Family Voting Rights Fellowship
With the support of a multi-year gift from Stephen Cozen L’64 and Sandy Cozen, the Cozen Family Voting Rights Fellowship funds two years of project-based work at a non-profit organization. This year, two Cozen Family Voting Rights Fellows will work to advance and protect voting rights.
Andrew Bernstein L’23 will partner with the ACLU of Delaware to challenge Delaware’s disenfranchisement and ensure those currently enfranchised under the felony disenfranchisement provision are able to cast ballots.
Victoria Ochoa L’22 will join the ACLU National Voting Rights Project to represent voters of color and election administrators who face intimidation at the polls and challenge laws that enable private poll watchers to exclude voters of color from the electoral process in Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
National Fellowships
Announced during the fall semester, Makayla Harrison L’23 (pictured, left) and Bridget Lavender L’21 (right) earned Skadden Fellowships.
Harrison will partner with Education Law Center in Philadelphia to provide direct legal representation to students in psychiatric facilities and enforce their education rights. Lavender will work with the ACLU National Legal Department to challenge laws that criminalize life-sustaining behavior of unhoused people in Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Utah.
Jamie Packs L’23 earned a two-year Immigrant Justice Corps Fellowship with New York Legal Assistance Group’s Immigration Protection Unit. Packs’ work will provide essential legal support to people affected by the U.S. immigration system.
Jessica Zalph L’23 will join the Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) as a Douglas T. Kendall Fellow working on the CAC’s litigation team and collaborating with the CAC’s think tank and communications teams to advance justice and equity.