New Women’s Health Fellowship Adds to Summer Public Service Opportunities

The new Women’s Health Summer Fellowship has been established at the University of Virginia School of Law, adding to the mix of opportunities that will enable scores of law students to work in public service jobs this summer.

As the inaugural fellow, Salwa Ahmad ’24 will work at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office on Trafficking in Persons.

The fellowship is designed to help preserve women’s access to safe, affordable health care and to address systemic inequities and gaps that impede women’s access to health care in the U.S., including inequities in health insurance. The fellowship was created in memory of Lila Kaufmann, a labor and delivery nurse, by her daughter and son-in-law, Pamela Kaufmann ’86 and Eric Zankman.

“We are excited that the Women’s Health Summer Fellowship provides us with yet another chance to expand our financial support to our public service students,” said Leah Gould, assistant dean for public service and director of the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center. “The new fellowship adds to the myriad public service opportunities for students to get a foot in the door to build their careers as public service lawyers.”

The fellowship is among those providing more than $740,000 in funding to students working in public service positions over the summer. Other sponsored public service awards and fellowships for the summer include:

Claire Corcoran Award: Award recipients Evan Carcerano ’24 will work for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, and Sabrina Surgil ’24 will work for the Brooklyn Defender Services’ New York Immigrant Family Unity Project.

Democracy Summer Fellows: Alexandra Hough ’25 will work for Sen. Richard Durbin on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and AnnBurns Morrison ’25 will work for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

Ford C. O’Connell Public Service Fellows: Grace Allaman ’24 will work for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Office of the Legislative Counsel, Peter Grema ’25 will work for the U.S. Senate Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment, Alexandra Hough ’25 will work for Sen. Richard Durbin on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Christopher Seiler ’24 will work for the U.S. Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel.

Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellows: Kiera Goddu ’24 will work at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Abigail Hauer ’24 will work at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia’s Domestic Violence Unit and Sabrina Surgil ’24 will work at the Brooklyn Defender Services’ New York Immigrant Family Unity Project.

Katherine and David deWilde ’67 Public Interest Summer Fellows: Michaela Drucker ’25 will work at the ACLU of Southern California’s Police Practices Group in Los Angeles, Noa Jett ’25 will work at the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project in Pittsburgh and Delaney Tubbs ’25 will work at the Texas Defender Service in Austin.

LawTech Center Summer Fellowships for Privacy, Cybersecurity and Technology Public Service: Tessa Morrison ’25 will work at the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection and Austin Mueller ’24 will work at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia’s Consumer Law Unit.

Monroe Leigh Fellows in International Law: Lillie Stephens ’25 will work with the Human Mobility Project at the Center for Justice and International Law in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Virginia Law Foundation Public Service Intern: Brianna Wainczak ’25 will work at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society in Charlottesville.

Virginia State Bar Criminal Justice Summer Interns: Azalea Lopez ’25 will work at the Lynchburg Public Defender’s Office, Ryan Moore ’25 will work at the Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office and Regan Osborn ’25 will work at Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office.