Public Interest Resource Center
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PUBLIC INTEREST RESOURCE CENTER MIAMI SCHOLARS PUBLIC INTEREST PROGRAM “The Miami Scholars Public Interest Program represents dedicated and extraordinary students at Miami Law. Their passion for justice, intellectual curiosity and motivation drives them to effectuate change in agencies and communities near and far.” ~Marni Lennon, Esq. Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono Director, HOPE Public Interest Resource Center Lecturer in Law ABOUT THE PROGRAM MIAMI SCHOLARS PUBLIC INTEREST PROGRAM Established in 1997, the Miami Scholars Public Interest Program brings exceptional students with a passion for public service and social justice to the University of Miami School of Law. Miami Scholars are selected based on their outstanding academic credentials and demonstrated commitment to public service and advocacy. The Miami Scholars Public Interest Program offers its students exclusive opportunities for legal advocacy training and advising from the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center team of attorneys, including individualized curriculum advising and career planning assistance. Miami Scholars receive mentoring by upper-class Scholars and public interest and pro bono attorneys. Miami Scholars are awarded an annual scholarship and are provided with a stipend for public interest work that is performed during their first or second year summer. Tuition awards are automatically renewed if the scholar remains in good standing. MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2015 LINDSAY ADKIN Lindsay Adkin is a Miami Scholar who is passionate about incorporating public service into her time at law school as well as into her legal career. As an undergraduate, Lindsay spent much of her time working with the immigrant community. She taught English to Spanish-speakers as well as interned at the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County to submit VAWA and U-Visa applications on behalf of her clients. As a 2L, Lindsay continued her commitment to the immigrant community as an intern in the Immigration Clinic. She is serving as a fellow in the Immigration Clinic during her 3L year. During the summer of 2013, Lindsay interned for U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Lee Brannon in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. During her 2L summer she worked for a law firm in West Palm Beach, FL. Additionally, Lindsay serves as an Admissions Ambassador, the Chair of the Public Interest Leadership Board, and the Symposium Editor for the University of Miami Law Review. NEJLA CALVO Nejla Calvo graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Political Science. At Miami Law, she is a Miami Scholar, a legal intern with the Historic Black Church Program's Civil Rights Project, research assistant to Professor Jennifer Hill, member of the Charles C. Papy Moot Court Board, staff editor on the Race and Social Justice Law Review and President of the Society of Bar & Gavel. During her 1L summer, Nejla was a legal intern at Florida Justice Institute, a nonprofit civil rights firm dedicated to improving the administration of justice for all Floridians in cases dealing with prisoner's rights, housing, and disability discrimination. During her 2L summer, Nejla served as a HOPE Fellow and an Ella Baker Fellow with the Community Justice Project of Florida Legal Services, which provides legal support to grassroots community organizations in Miami's low-income communities, working on local campaigns to: resist anti-immigrant legislation; pass local "wage theft" ordinances; preserve low-income mobile home parks; confront "slumlords" in low-income housing; and improve working conditions for taxi-drivers. KATHERINE (KATIE) CLEMENTE Katie Clemente is a Brooklyn native and graduated from New York University in 2010. After a brief stint in the media industry, Katie worked as a Legal Assistant for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project from 2010 to 2012. There, she crafted a “Know-Your- Rights” campaign for middle and high school students dealing with gender-based violence and harassment. At Miami Law, Katie is a Miami Scholar and Senior Notes & Comments Editor for the University of Miami Law Review. Katie has also served as a Legal Intern/Student Attorney for the Human Rights Clinic, where she received a CALI Award, and President of the Student Organization for Human Rights. During her 1L summer, she interned for the Honorable Jose E. Martinez at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Following her 2L year, Katie was a Summer Associate at Greenberg Traurig, where she worked on various litigation, appellate, and pro bono matters. MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2015 TREY DAHL As both a Division 1 NCAA baseball player and an Honors College Scholar at the University of South Florida, Trey brought a wide-range of accomplishments to the Miami Scholars program. His work experience at Marshall Thomas Burnett Law Firm, where he assisted lawyers and paralegals in compiling, organizing, and drafting case files, helped him gain an insider’s view of the litigation process. Additionally, it allowed him to hone in on his desire to spend his time at Miami Law working towards a career that benefits those less privileged. In pursuing a legal education, Trey has focused on addressing the inequalities and exploitative institutions that do not represent people, especially minorities, fairly. While at Miami Law, Trey has served as a HOPE Fellow in Bolivia, working on environmental policy issues, and he took part in the Environmental Justice Project through the Center for Ethics and Public Service. He is also active with the Insightful Mind Initiative, dedicated to bringing mindfulness to legal education and practice. JENNA FELDMAN Throughout her undergraduate experience at Tulane University, Jenna Feldman focused on graduating in three years so that she could work to effect positive social change in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. After graduating cum laude with a B.S. in Public Health and a minor in Spanish, she participated in Teach for America, where she served as a lead teacher for 20 low-income prekindergarten students. During college, Jenna also held a summer internship at a small non- profit organization in Washington, D.C., where she advocated for childhood obesity prevention and urban food justice. At Miami Law, Jenna has continued to pursue her interest in health care law, serving on the executive board of the Health Law Association and participating as both a legal intern and clinical fellow in the Health Rights Clinic. Jenna is Communications & Outreach Editor for the University of Miami Law Review and a member of Bar and Gavel. She has also worked as a Writing Dean's Fellow and as a research assistant for Professor Marc Fajer and has volunteered with Books & Buddies and HOPE Day of Service. During her 1L summer, she served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Jonathan Goodman in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. During her 2L summer, she worked with DLA Piper's healthcare transactional group in Miami, where she gained skills to help her become a stronger legal advocate and future practitioner. In addition to working on assignments for the healthcare group, Jenna worked on a number of pro bono projects, including helping to represent abandoned and neglected undocumented immigrant children and analyzing the constitutionality of Florida's felony disenfranchisement laws for the ADL. She looks forward to joining the firm as a first-year associate next fall. ERIN FITZGERALD Graduating magna cum laude from New York University with a degree in Childhood and Special Education and a minor in Sociology at New York University, Erin Fitzgerald worked New York Public Schools. Teaching children of all learning capacities, Erin’s motivation to attend law school stemmed from seeing that all students have an equal opportunity to learn. After her 1L year, Erin spent the summer at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in NYC MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2015 gaining legal research and writing skills. During her 2L year, Erin was a Legal Intern at the University of Miami Investor Rights Clinic where she provided pro bono legal representation to investors in disputes with their brokers before FINRA. She also served as Legal Intern in the Special Prosecutions Criminal Division at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. During her 2L summer, Erin was a Summer Associate at Marcus Neiman & Rashbaum LLP in Miami, a trial boutique focusing on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and regulatory enforcement. Erin also serves as an Articles and Comments Editor of the University of Miami Law Review. ALEX FLINT Born in Colombia and raised in Miami, Alex decided to move to Israel at the age of 18. The international atmosphere he encountered provided him with a challenging academic environment. By the time he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, Israel, Alex had experienced the devastating impact of the 2006 Lebanon war on Israeli society. He became a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces and, stationed in Ramallah, he worked in coordination with Palestinian and International Organizations. Upon his completion of duties with the IDF, Alex worked as a legal assistant to the general counsel at Zumba Fitness. It was there that he picked up on aspects of the law that he felt could help him continue his search for responsible ways to improve the world. In his time at Miami Law, Alex participated in the International Moot Court Program, specifically as part of the Vis Team, which competed in Vienna on topics of International Commercial Arbitration. Most recently, Alex worked at Rozencwaig & Nadel, where he got experience working on corporate structures, tax strategies, and trusts. HAYLEY GLENNIE Hayley Glennie dedicated her second year at Miami Law to the Children and Youth Law Clinic, which gave her the opportunity to represent twelve current and former foster children in Dependency Court, Juvenile Detention Centers, Social Security Administration, and public schools.