New Democracy Summer Fellowship Adds to Summer Public Service Opportunities

The Democracy 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 and recent graduates to work in public service jobs this summer.

Sarah Guinee ’23 and Virginia Whorley ’22 are the inaugural fellows. The fellowship was created in memory of Max Kaufmann, a refugee from Nazi Germany and lifelong advocate for justice, by his daughter and son-in-law, Pamela Kaufmann ’86 and Eric Zankman.

“We have learned from history that our freedoms are only protected when our democracy is robust,” Pamela Kaufmann said. “The purposes of this fellowship are to safeguard our democratic institutions and promote justice.”

This summer, with support from the fellowships, Guinee will work at the Brennan Center for Justice, and Whorley will work at the Federal Election Commission, both in Washington, D.C.

The Law School announced additional public service awards and fellowships for the summer and beyond.

Claire Corcoran Award

• Elizabeth Harris ’22 will work at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia.
• Nevah Jones ’22 will work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C.
• Maggie Woodward ’22 will work at the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville.

Equal Justice Works Fellow

• Carly Wasserman ’21 will work with the National Center for Youth Law in Oakland, California, to provide legal services for schoolchildren facing court fines and fees. The fellowship provides a salary for two years.

Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellows

• Morgan Maloney ’22 will work at the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Appellate Section in Washington, D.C.
• Kathryn Neuhardt ’22 will work at the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights in Washington, D.C.
• Maggie Woodward ’22 will work at the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville.

Katherine and David deWilde ’67 Public Interest Summer Fellows

• Bao Chau ’22 will work at the Xenophobia Meter Project in Ithaca, New York.
• Elizabeth Harris ’22 will work at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia.
• Chris Yarrell ’22 will work at the National Center for Youth Law in Washington, D.C.

Monroe Leigh Fellows in International Law

• Ida Abhari ’22 will work at the Center for Justice & Accountability in San Francisco.
• Elizabeth Simper ’22 will work at the Office of the Chief Prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions in Washington, D.C.

Powell Fellow in Legal Services

• Nooreen Reza ’21 will work with the Legal Council for Health Justice in Chicago to provide legal services for communities facing health inequities. The UVA Law School fellowship is awarded for one year with the expectation that it will be renewed for a second year.

Public Interest Law Association (PILA) Fellows

• A total of 162 students will receive $750,000 in funding from a grant program supporting summer public interest work.

Squire Patton Boggs Foundation Public Policy Fellows

• Julia Eger ’23 will work at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law in Washington, D.C.
• Sydney Stanley ’23 will work at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville.

Virginia Law Foundation Public Service Summer Interns

• Bryanna Lindberg ’23 will work at Just Neighbors in Annandale, Virginia.
• Lane Spears ’22 will work at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville.

Virginia State Bar Criminal Justice Summer Interns

• Juhi Desai ’23 will work at the Eastern District of Virginia Federal Public Defender Office in Norfolk.
• Amanda Garcia-Pretelt ’23 will work at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender’s Office in Charlottesville.