Xhoana Ahmeti
Pronouns: they/she
Host: Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Washington, D.C.
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Xhoana (J.D. Candidate, 2023) is currently a second-year law student with a fierce commitment to workers’ rights advocacy and union organizing. They are a student member of the CUNY Law Labor Coalition and a trained Legal Observer through the NYC National Lawyers Guild.
Prior to law school, Xhoana worked on fast food workers’ organizing campaigns with 32BJ SEIU and Fast Food Justice and earned a graduate degree from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
Xhoana has seen firsthand the victories that workers can accomplish when they come together: wage increases, fair scheduling laws, paid sick leave, and just cause protections.
These experiences inspired them to seek legal training at the intersection of labor and employment law and practice law in furtherance of economic justice. As a labor lawyer, Xhoana will continue to organize and win alongside working people, particularly low-wage workers in the service industry.
“I’m delighted to be part of the largest contingent of CUNY students yet to be awarded fully funded summer fellowships through the Peggy Browning Fund.
If not for the support of my Labor Coalition colleagues Abigaíl Ramos and Heather Ramírez — who shared their prior fellowship experiences on a student panel and made themselves available to answer questions about the application process — I would have surely let this opportunity pass by.
This summer, I cannot wait to further develop movement lawyering skills in the practice area of workers’ rights, a vital yet often overlooked component of public interest law. In the meantime, I will be working with students, faculty, and administrators to establish a permanent workers’ rights, labor, and employment track at CUNY Law!
Amanda Jimenez
Host: National Employment Law Project (NELP) in New York, NY.
Amanda (J.D. Candidate, 2023) is a Filipino activist and artist based in Queens, NY.
As a founding organizer of Anakbayan-Manhattan, she’s fighting for national democracy in the Philippines and the rights and welfare of Filipinos abroad.
As Legal Coordinator of the Mission to End Modern Slavery, Amanda utilizes her legal and organizing knowledge to empower, educate, and serve migrant workers and trafficking survivors. Studying and working at the intersection of immigration law and labor law, she aspires to become a people’s lawyer to serve Filipino and other migrant communities.
“As I continue my journey, I will always remember that a people’s lawyer is nothing without the people. We/I have just as much to learn from them as they do from us (if not more).
I cannot imagine being a good leader or lawyer without being firmly rooted in the community I hope—and be honored—to serve. In my work and studies, I strive to honor and embody this quote by Romeo Capulong, the Founding Chair of the National Union of People’s Lawyers in the Philippines: ‘We have brave clients. They deserve brave lawyers.'”
Nicolette Moore
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Host: Farmworker Justice in Washington, D.C.
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Nicolette (J.D. Candidate, 2024) became interested in labor issues while growing up as the daughter of transport workers who were involved in union organizing.
She pursued a degree in international politics with a minor in Latin American studies at Georgetown University.
After college, she spent a year in Mexico City as a Fulbright fellow, where she worked on anti-corruption compliance at a commercial litigation firm.
Her most recent job was at a legal tech startup, where she worked with attorneys and subject-matter experts to assess the viability of cases in areas such as OSHA violations, products liability, and criminal matters.
She has also served as a legal assistant at a workers’ compensation firm. She is a member of the Labor Coalition at CUNY Law. Her goal is to work as a labor attorney with a focus on immigrant workers’ rights. She is thrilled to be interning at Farmworker Justice this summer.
“I am very honored to be a Peggy Browning Fellow and join this incredible network of labor rights advocates. I am also so proud to have been selected amongst five other CUNY Law students. As a 1L applying to Peggy Browning, I relied greatly on guidance and advice from my 2L/3L colleagues in the CUNY Labor Coalition. I am thankful for their support and am constantly amazed by their passion and generosity.
I am excited to bring my energy and passion to the internship role at Farmworker Justice (FJ). I will have the opportunity to work on litigation aimed at advancing the rights of immigrant workers in the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector is one of the most vulnerable to workplace abuses and exploitation because farmworkers are still largely excluded from federal labor protections. This presents unique challenges for labor rights advocates. I believe working at FJ will contribute greatly to my growth and help prepare me for a career advocating for workers.
Liz Pudel
Pronouns: she/they
Host: Cohen, Weiss & Simon LLP in New York, NY.
Liz (J.D. Candidate, 2023) is a first-generation American who was raised by her working-class, Russian immigrant family in Brooklyn.
When she came to the CUNY School of Law, she knew she wanted to pursue worker-side labor and employment law because she recognizes that any movement for racial, economic, and social justice requires efforts situated in the workplace.
During law school, she has interned with Region 29 of the National Labor Relations Board and with the Workers’ Rights Program at Catholic Migration Services.
She also currently serves on the executive board of the CUNY Law Labor Coalition, which is an organization dedicated to highlighting that workers’ struggles are central to all legal advocacy.
Through the Peggy Browning Fellowship at Cohen, Weiss & Simon LLP, Liz is excited to channel her commitment to the labor movement into serving the workers and labor organizations of the only city she has ever called home.
“I am honored to be a part of this wonderful cohort of worker advocates, all of whom have taught me so much about what it means and what it takes to fight for workplace justice.
I look forward to spending my summer at Cohen, Weiss & Simon supporting the work of the labor movement and bringing that energy back to CUNY in the semesters and years to come, as we work to build a robust and permanent infrastructure for supporting students interested in workers’ rights.”
Heather L. Ramirez
Pronouns: she/her
Host: Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP in New York, NY.
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Heather (J.D. Candidate, 2023) is a first-generation college and law student. As a movement lawyer in training, she seeks to be a resource and work alongside marginalized communities in their fight for justice.
Heather developed an interest in law after attempting to unionize a former workplace. Combining her passions for social justice and community organizing, she is interested in the intersection of immigration and workers’ rights.
Prior to law school, she was a paralegal at the Legal Aid Society, representing public housing tenants in their administrative housing cases against the New York City Housing Authority. Heather is a board member of CUNY Law’s Labor Coalition for Workers’ Rights and Economic Justice.
Last summer, she was a Peggy Browning Fellow at Farmworker Justice (FJ), a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving farmworkers’ working conditions. Heather was honored to have interned with FJ, given her own family’s history of being farmworkers when they first migrated from Mexico.
This summer, Heather is looking forward to supporting the Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss team in ensuring workers and unions receive top-quality legal representation.
“I am thrilled to be part of the larger contingent of CUNY Law students who have been awarded a Peggy Browning Fellowship. I am constantly inspired by recent workers’ struggles, such as Amazon and Starbucks’ unionization campaigns that directly challenge some of the wealthiest companies.
I look forward to spending my summer at Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss to gain the necessary skills to support workers in their fights for better working conditions, pay, and dignity on the job. Currently, I am working with fellow law students, faculty members, and administrators to develop a permanent workers’ rights, employment, and labor law track at CUNY Law.”
Hugh Schlesinger
Host: Communications Workers of America (CWA) in Washington, D.C.
Hugh (J.D. Candidate, 2023) grew up in Athens, GA. He began working in food service in high school and eventually came to the labor movement when he and his coworkers organized their restaurant in Portland, OR.
Since then, he has worked as a union organizer in multiple cities and for a number of unions, including organizing hotel and hospitality, graduate students, and call center workers. In law school, Hugh has helped found CUNY’s Law and Political Economy student group and served as an executive board member of CUNY’s Labor Coalition, a worker solidarity student group.
His approach to legal education and practice is informed by his experiences as a worker and union organizer, his desire to return to the labor movement after law school, and an overarching conviction that working-class lawyering entails a subordination of law and legal practice to the project of working-class power.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to work with CWA and be part of the 2022 Peggy Browning Fellowship cohort. This summer and the coming years look to be an exciting moment for working-class struggles in the U.S. I look forward to using this fellowship as an opportunity to develop the lawyering skills necessary to support workers in their struggles for power at the workplace and help grow the Labor Movement.”