Villanova University, B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy, May 2009

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Christina Bernardo’s interest stems from her belief that low-income people are the best advocates for change in their community and legal advocacy is an empowering tool for supporting those interests. After graduating from college she worked as a community organizer with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now!, a neighborhood-based community group. There, she worked alongside local community members to resolve local issues such as increasing public school funding, improving food access, and assisting homeowners at-risk of foreclosure negotiate affordable mortgage repayments. Overall, Christina came to law school to provide legal representation to underserved neighborhoods and engage in legal reform.

University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A.in Community Studies, Immigration and Social Justice focus, June 2007

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Scott Foletta’s interest in social and economic justice began with volunteering and internships in post-Katrina relief organizations, and continued to grow through several years of work with service sector unions in California, New York, and Puerto Rico. This experience, which exposed him to the passionate work of dedicated lawyers in the field, helped solidify his belief that the law can be a powerful tool for justice, and ultimately led to his pursuit of a law degree. Scott’s long-term goal is to assist efforts to defend the rights of all workers and establish greater protections for those left most vulnerable by contemporary labor law.

Barnard College, B.A. in Political Science, May 2011

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Setenay Akdag’s interest in international politics and public policy led her to appreciate the impact of legal advocacy in those fields, and inspired her to attend law school. A first-generation immigrant in the United States, Setenay has a personal investment in advocating for immigrants’ rights, and a strong commitment to international human rights. During her time at Barnard, she expanded on her studies through internships at the New York City Council and the Attorney General’s office, where she learned about different avenues for serving constituents. While studying foreign languages and social movements, Setenay sought to apply her evolving international perspective as an intern at the Foreign Policy Association and Human Rights Watch. As a Sparer fellow this summer, she looks forward to working for underserved communities through legal services.

Northwestern University, B.S. Education and Social Policy, Concentration in Psychological Services and a specialization in Urban Childhood Development, 1998

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After studying educational policy and sociology at Northwestern University, Sarah spent a year with City Year as a literacy tutor in San Antonio. Returning to New York, she spent the next few years as a paralegal specialist with the Legal Aid Society, working both in Federal and Family Court. Taking a strong interest in the juvenile justice system, she went on to work as a court representative and education advocate for CASES, an alternative to incarceration program, and later as the Director of Community Based Services with Friends of Island Academy, a re-entry program for young adults returning home from Rikers Island. While at Friends, she also ran a program for ex-offender young fathers, and helped to implement new curriculums for parenting classes, employment readiness workshops, as well as for a batterer’s intervention program. In order to be able to continue to expand her ability to serve the disconnected youth of New York City, Sarah chose to return to school, and pursue her J.D. at Brooklyn Law School. She has partnered with the Resilience Advocacy Project to bring a new pro-bono project to BLS that allows students to act as community advocates, assisting teens and young adults with issues such as applying for housing, securing child support, obtaining important identification documents, and securing cash assistance and food stamps. Sarah is also a member of Outlaws, the National Lawyers Guild, the Immigration Court Observation Project, and volunteers with Sanctuary for Families’ Uncontested Divorce project and the Ask Trevor letter writing campaign.

University of Notre Dame, B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies and Psychology, May 2009

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Rebecca’s interest in the need for advocacy and representation among under-served groups began while she was volunteering as a GED tutor at a juvenile correctional facility in South Bend, Indiana for several years while attending college. Upon graduation, Rebecca chose to explore issues of juvenile justice and children’s rights by volunteering for a year of service through AmeriCorps *VISTA, working as a development assistant at CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Morris and Sussex Counties in Morristown, New Jersey. Rebecca worked as a development assistant, supporting the organization’s mission of providing volunteer advocates for abused and neglected children in family court proceedings. Rebecca hopes to spend her summer working for an organization providing quality advocacy to juveniles and children involved in the legal system.

University of California, Los Angeles, B.A. in African American Studies, Psychology Concentration, June 2006

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Placement: Legal Aid Society, Employment Law Unit

Karume James entered Brooklyn Law School with a deep passion for public service. His dedication began at an early age when his mother shared stories about her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. As an undergraduate student at UCLA, he led a successful student campaign to reform the university’s admissions policies to increase campus diversity, carrying on the tradition of advocacy that had shaped his childhood.

After graduating, he continued his dedication to public service, first representing healthcare workers at UCLA as a labor organizer with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, and later as the Communities Rising Director at Community Coalition, a non-profit community-based organization in South Central Los Angeles. There, Karume led the organization’s neighborhood transformation effort, recruiting thousands of local residents to enforce City regulations on poorly operated businesses, revitalize a local park rendered unsafe for years, and dramatically increase recreational and educational programming in the area. During the summer of 2011, Karume partnered with the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools Program to coordinate a ten-week summer reading enrichment program for over 70 low-income elementary and middle school students.
This summer, Karume will be working as an intern with the Legal Aid Society, Employment Law Unit.

University of Wisconsin – Madison, B.A. in Political Science, 2009

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Gideon spent time in student government as an undergraduate in a volunteer and intern capacity. He also took his opportunity in Wisconsin to work for an Assembly Member focused on issues within the rural communities of the state. Upon graduation he moved to New York to work for two years as a Policy Analyst and Community Liaison for a New York State Assembly Member. There he was committed to a wide range of issues, focusing on affordable housing, labor issues, and the environment. His practical, everyday work included close cooperation with New York City Parks and ensuring that constituents received proper unemployment insurance benefits. He also monitored the controversial state policy regarding drilling. Gideon looks forward to learning about these topics from the other side of the law, and continuing his work on these issues as a Sparer Fellow.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. in English and B.A. in Religious Studies, May 2008

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Erin’s commitment to achieving educational equity for all students stems from her own personal experiences and her work with Teach For America. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill and joining the Teach For America corps, she taught reading, writing, and U.S. History to eighth grade special needs inclusion students in a Newark, New Jersey public middle school. Working with low-income special needs students, she was exposed to a variety of legal issues affecting her students, including custody, foster care, neglect, housing, healthcare, immigration status and debt. Most importantly, she realized that the needs of her students were not met by the school system and that her students were significantly behind their more affluent peers. She taught her students to advocate for their needs so that when they left her classroom they could articulate what accommodations and modifications they needed from their teachers to be successful. She later joined the Teach For America Greater Newark staff as a program coordinator, observing and training other corps members. Erin plans to focus on child advocacy and education law to help ensure that all students, no matter their backgrounds, receive an excellent education.

American University, B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies, August 2009

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Ava is deeply committed to working for a nation where justice is not based on race or socioeconomic class. Her passion for criminal justice reform was sparked inside the walls of California’s San Quentin State Prison on a prison research trip in college. Prior to attending Brooklyn Law School, she advocated for “smart-on-crime” policy reforms at the Justice Policy Institute, provided re-entry support to men incarcerated in Washington, D.C. with Visitors Services’ Center, and founded community organization Justice Not Jails to mobilize the D.C. community to end mass incarceration and capital punishment. As a federal policy analyst and case researcher at Families Against Mandatory Minimums for three years, Ava assisted prisoners and worked with impacted families on state and federal campaigns to abolish harsh criminal penalties in favor of proportional and individualized sentencing.

At Brooklyn Law School, Ava is a student advocate with Sanctuary for Families’ Uncontested Divorce Project and co-chair of BLS-ACLU. An aspiring public defender, Ava hopes to provide direct services to indigent individuals facing cases in criminal or family court this summer. After graduation, she hopes to work on impact litigation to affect institutional criminal justice policy reform. She is extremely grateful for the Sparer Fellowship and the opportunity it gives her to work directly with clients to achieve justice.

Columbia University, B.A. in Urban Studies, May 2008

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Placement: Education Advocacy Project, Legal Aid Society

Dacia's commitment to advocating for and protecting juveniles' rights to safety, education and defense grew out of the 10 years she spent teaching, mentoring and learning from students in under-resourced schools in Providence, RI and NYC. While at Columbia University, Dacia spent academic years and summers teaching students in Columbia's Talent Search and Upward Bound programs; taught weekly decision-making workshops in NYC high schools; and researched and wrote a senior thesis on the relationship between small schools co-housed in a large school building in the South Bronx. From 2008-2010, Dacia served as New York City Program Manager for Peer Health Exchange, Inc., working with public high school administrators to provide a comprehensive health curriculum to students in 32 high schools across Manhattan and the Bronx. Before arriving at BLS as an entering-Sparer in 2011, Dacia returned to her home in Providence, Rhode Island as an Americorps VISTA at Providence Summerbridge - the same organization she worked at when she began her work with youth as a middle school math teacher during high school. Dacia currently volunteers with formerly incarcerated youth through a weekly program run by the Children's Aid Society and serves as a suspension advocate for students through the Suspension Representation Project at BLS.

Cornell University, M.I.L.R. in Collective Representation and Dispute Resolution, May 2011; B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations, May 2006

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Kris Reichardt is interested in labor and employment law, the expansion of workers’ rights and conflict resolution. After graduating from Cornell University, Kris received a commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. Driven by an inner passion for public service, Kris spent four years in the Persian Gulf and Iraqi coastal waters assigned to various patrol craft – coordinating with Iraqi military forces, conducting maritime security, and fostering community relationships. He has interned for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Labor-Management Center at Dowling College, and with several labor mediators and arbitrators. Last year, while studying towards a Masters in Labor Relations, Kris was a graduate teaching and research assistant for the Department of Labor Law, History, and Collective Bargaining at the NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations. His research focused on 20th Century public-sector working class history, NYS fiscal and education policy, and various conflict resolution systems. Since starting law school, Kris has volunteered for the Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office (CLARO), devoted to assisting pro se litigants who are being sued by creditors or who have other consumer debt issues. Additionally, he is a member of Law Students’ for Veterans Rights. This summer, he looks forward to advancing the cause of the working class and asserting economic justice through advocacy and direct legal services.

Portland State University, B.A. in Arts and Letters, Women’s Studies Concentration, May 2006

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Placement: New York Legal Assistance Group, Domestic Violence Clinic

Prior to starting law school, Claire lived in Boulder, Colorado, where she volunteered at the Parenting Place. The non-profit focuses on providing a holistic approach in strengthening families and reducing stress in new parents.  She was particularly committed to the single-mothers’ group, which provides support and respite care to mothers in a state of crisis or transition. Seeing the mothers’ dire need for legal advocacy is what brought Claire to law school. Prior to her work at the Parenting Place, Claire completed her bachelor’s degree in Arts and Letters with an emphasis in Women’s Studies at Portland State University. While at PSU, Claire developed an interest in the tie between the marginalization of women and the gender achievement gap in young women. This led to Claire’s work with America Reads, where she provided school year long tutoring and mentorship for at-risk female students.  Since starting law school, Claire has volunteered at Sanctuary for Families, advocating on behalf of women being denied their right to public benefits. Claire’s commitment and passion to assisting mothers in need stems from her own experience as a single-mother. Dedicated to providing family law services for low-income mothers, with a special interest in parental rights to custody, visitation and child support, Claire will spend her summer working at NYLAG’s Domestic Violence Clinic.

University of Central Florida, B.A. Political Science: International Relations, December 2010

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Inspired by her experiences as a first-generation immigrant, Johana developed a passion for defending the rights of vulnerable populations as an advocate and activist during her undergraduate studies. While at the University of Central Florida, she joined the Orlando chapter of the Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry. During her time with the organization, she helped organize many different campaigns, which addressed issues that affect farm workers, such as poverty wages, modern day slavery and women’s issues. As part of her work with that organization, she became involved in an immigration campaign that brought together ACLU attorneys and community organizers. It was then that she observed how much more could be accomplished when community based organizations and attorneys work together. Spurred by that realization, she decided to apply to law school. Johana is interested in immigration and refugee law. She has helped start a new student run program at Brooklyn Law School that works with immigrants seeking U-Visas, Asylum and VAWA relief. As a Sparer Fellow she hopes to work with an international human rights organization that focuses on refugee and asylum issues.