CUNY School of Law proudly celebrates four students who were awarded Peggy Browning Fund (PBF) Fellowships for Summer 2025: Sara David, Ivy Girdwood, Justin Gravlee, and Sarah Southey. These highly competitive public interest fellowships support law students who are deeply committed to the labor movement and to using the law to advance workplace justice.
This year’s fellows bring with them lived experience as organizers, paralegals, legal service providers, and advocates in movements for racial, economic, and disability justice. From the fight for trans-inclusive healthcare in media unions to solidarity with immigrant workers and minor league athletes, each student represents the power of legal training grounded in community organizing, coalition-building, and a bold vision for collective action. Their placements with United Steelworkers, the Major League Baseball Players Association, New York State United Teachers, and TakeRoot Justice reflect the breadth of CUNY Law’s labor justice pipeline and the deep, personal commitments these students bring to the fight for worker power.
In her opening letter introducing this year’s PBF Fellows, Ruby Tumasz, PBF Acting Executive Director says, “As the country continues to face unprecedented challenges to workers’ rights, the fight for workplace justice has never been more pressing. Labor needs lawyers and we are inspired by the passion and dedication this year’s Fellows bring to the movement. These Fellows are distinguished students who have not only excelled in law school but who have also demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights through their previous educational, organizing, work, volunteer, and personal experiences.”
CUNY LAW’S 2025 PBF FELLOWS
Sara David ’27
United Steelworkers in Pittsburgh, PA
“I’m honored to be a Peggy Browning Fellow at United Steelworkers this summer! Over the last decade, I unionized my workplace, negotiated three collective bargaining agreements with VICE Union, and was elected Vice President of Online Media at the Writers Guild of America East. I’ve seen collective action transform workplaces, industries, and lives, and I’m so excited for the opportunity to learn more about worker power and deepen my commitment to the labor movement.”
Sara is a proud Filipino from Queens, New York and 1L at CUNY School of Law. She worked as a writer at Netflix, Paramount+, and VICE, where she was a member-organizer of VICE Union at the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE). Over seven years, Sara negotiated three collective bargaining agreements, securing media’s first trans-inclusive healthcare policy, and founded the WGAE’s industry-wide organizing committee. She was elected by more than 7,000 members to the WGAE’s governing board in 2021 and has served as Vice-President of Online Media since 2022. After the 2023 Writers Strike, Sara decided to pursue law and deepen her commitment to the labor movement, which has ignited and transformed her. She is thrilled to dedicate her life to worker power—and this summer to United Steelworkers!
Ivy Girdwood ’26
Major League Baseball Players Association – Full Year in New York City, NY
“Being a part of the Peggy Browning Fellowship program is incredibly special to me. This fellowship is a goal I made for myself early on in law school, and seeing it realized is the result of immense support and inspiration drawn from my community in addition to my own hard work.
“My dedication to workers’ rights originates from my own experiences as a low-wage worker and has been utterly shaped by my colleagues in the service industry, who have shown me the beauty of working with people you trust and how profound solidarity can be.
“Over time, my personal stake in the labor movement has grown and developed into a larger commitment to a labor movement that advances human rights and helps to build a formidable opponent to the rise of corporate dominance and the systemic violation of human rights under our system of racial capitalism.
“I am so excited to be working with the MLBPA, where I will be part of a historic union built from the ground up. I am honored to support the PA’s work advocating on behalf of professional baseball players who give so much to their profession and deserve strong and just advocacy. I am particularly looking forward to taking on work in support of players in the minor leagues, who have secured a historic first collective bargaining agreement in 2023!”
Ivy Girdwood grew up in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to coming to law school, Ivy worked part-time in the service industry and full-time at a law firm specializing in the representation of teenagers. In her free time, Ivy began volunteering as a Civil Facilitative Mediator for the Conflict Resolution Center, which she continues to do today. In law school, Ivy has worked with the New York Attorney General’s Labor Bureau, supporting investigations of egregious labor law violations on behalf of New York workers. Ivy has also interned with the Director’s Guild of America, assisting collective bargaining, union governance, and grievance investigations. Working within an entertainment guild, she has witnessed how union power can shape an entire industry. She cannot wait to learn more about the role of unions in the sports industry with MLBPA this summer. She is excited for this chance to support the representation of Major and Minor League Baseball Players and work within a union built on a historic legacy of powerful organizing and player solidarity.
Justin Gravlee ’26
Justin Gravlee ’26 New York State United Teachers in Albany, NY
“Today, Americans are living through a period of increasingly dire economic inequality and political repression. Strong unions are one antidote to these struggles. This is why I am excited and honored to be a Peggy Browning Fellow at NYSUT this summer. Fighting for the rights and economic dignity of educators across New York will be a rewarding experience and will help me develop my legal acumen for the battles ahead.”
Before law school, Justin was a laborer and an organizer. Over the years, he worked numerous jobs across disparate industries, from healthcare to food service to education. After finding his footing as a bike messenger in NYC, he helped found a worker’s cooperative that was able to provide him with a living wage and a democratic workplace. Laboring across unionized, non-unionized, and worker-owned jobs taught Justin the value of solidarity and the power workers have when they come together to fight for their collective benefit. Justin brings this lived experience to his Peggy Browning Fellowship at NYSUT. He is grateful for the opportunity to work and learn at a large and powerful labor union fighting for educators across New York. With anti-union, anti-immigrant, and anti-educator forces bearing down on us, Justin is proud to stand on the side of organized labor in its fight for social and economic justice for all.
Sarah Southey ’26
TakeRoot Justice in New York City, NY
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to learn from the Workers’ Rights team at TakeRoot Justice as a Peggy Browning Fellow this summer.”
Sarah Southey is a second-year law student at CUNY School of Law. Sarah first became involved in the fight for worker rights as a farmworker advocate, fighting against the exploitation of farmworkers in the United States and Canada. She later worked as a legal clinic coordinator and organizer at a workers’ center in Chicago, organizing alongside community members to build a powerful movement fighting for immigrant and worker rights on the Southeast Side. During law school, Sarah interned with the employment teams at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and Make the Road New York. Sarah strongly believes that collective action is the best tool to achieve meaningful justice for workers, and she is dedicated to using legal strategies to support worker-led movements. Sarah is excited to work with TakeRoot Justice to support grassroots worker centers this summer.