Twelve New Launchpad to Justice Fellows Announced

As most of you know, our Launchpad for Justice Program provides recent CUNY School of Law graduates with a rich entree into the role of a practicing lawyer. Fellows receive excellent training, free CLE credits, quality supervision, and invaluable experience, while they serve New Yorkers with unmet legal needs. Fellows are also supported with stipends for their participation in the program.

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Rebecca Abraham

Rebecca brings a wealth of experience to the Launchpad for Justice Program. Her clinical work at school and her in-depth work with Indigenous people will inform her legal advocacy in the court systems and, more generally, her practice of law.

Amy’s experience is at the intersection of prisoners’ rights and disability justice. In her last year of law school, she collaborated extensively with the Disability & Aging Justice Clinic, where she worked with incarcerated clients experiencing disability discrimination. She hopes to engage more deeply with civil legal issues and to obtain more direct client experience.

Charles, a community activist, immigrated to America during Liberia’s civil war. He is passionate about working in the community and has served on Manhattan Community Board #9, in addition to leading the Bronx Borough President’s African Advisory Council. His background in leading education initiatives, international development, and business development will contribute widely to client care and success.

Lou’s legal experience is at the intersection of direct services to clients in criminal court and advocacy for incarcerated people. They want to expand their legal knowledge to best serve client needs, because self-advocacy tools and access to information are crucial to empowering people to navigate complex systems, so their basic needs are met.

Theodore is aiming to use a community-based approach to movement lawyering for economic, racial, and gender justice. As a former student of the CLEAR Clinic, Theodore worked alongside communities targeted by law enforcement under the guise of national security. Before joining Launchpad, Theodore interned with the Legislative Division of the New York City Council, where he developed legislation across a wide range of social justice issues.

Jason’s professional career has been in service to the public and in support of progressive goals. As the Director of Constituent Services for New York City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, he worked with thousands of constituents to help them navigate systems and to access legal assistance. Jason hopes to continue fulfilling his commitment to the community by providing access to networks during this time of uncertainty.

Sarah’s expertise is in immigration law, and the majority of her law school experience focused on immigration issues. She hopes to expand her knowledge in additional areas of law, and wants to share resources with future clients. Since realizing that communities often overlap and share similar issues, Sarah wants to use the fellowship to build partnerships with trust, compassion, and communication.

Kimberly’s past experience is in health and consumer law. Through the fellowship, she aspires to develop her public interest lawyering skills in various areas of law and network with other public interest lawyers, while assisting under-served populations in her community.

James recognizes the need to empower and create channels for marginalized and underrepresented communities to improve access to justice.  He has been impressed by the innovative approaches of the Launchpad’s partner organizations’ work, centered on the shared humanity of staff and community members, as well as the “legal bodgea” delivery model.  With the fellowship, James is inspired to see front-line, immediate community needs as his own, and to leverage the law creatively and sustainably to promote legal, political, and economic reform for the sake of peace and justice.

Dayana brings ten years of civil service work to this program. She finds it rewarding to advocate for quality-of-life issues, knowing that these changes not only help the individual raising the issues, but the families and communities they represent.

Valerie has a background in art, education, and immigration law. Recognizing that clients often have needs beyond their presenting issue, she is looking forward to helping clients navigate complex systems and access key resources, such as public benefits and affordable housing.

William has vast experience in voting rights, governmental accountability, and election law. During law school, William interned at several public interest legal organizations, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause, and the New York Democratic Lawyers’ Council. He is most excited for the opportunity to apply what he learned over the last three years at CUNY to directly helping individuals in need with Legal Hand.