Gates Public Service Law Program Grads Continue their Generous Service
Vanessa Hernandez is finishing up a clerkship on the 9th Circuit with our
esteemed alum Judge Betty Binns Fletcher. This fall she will begin an Equal
Justice Works Fellowship with ACLU-WA where she will represent individuals with criminal records who are having difficulty securing housing and employment. Through this project she hopes demonstrate what social science research has already confirmed: that an inability to secure housing and employment dramatically increases an ex-offender's chances of recidivism, depresses his or her economic mobility for decades, and burdens his family and community. Through her efforts she will help to establish a national model for how to address these problems.
Colleen Melody completed her federal court clerkship with Judge Ronald Gould last fall and began her new position at the Department of Justice, Civil Right Division this past October. She is actively litigating civil rights cases and loving her new life in Washington DC. Mike Peters continues his work at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project here in Seattle. He has been working, thanks to an Equal Justice Works fellowship, to create a model of coordinated advocacy to serve immigrant youth in Washington State's juvenile justice system through policy reform, education, and legal immigration representation.
We will update you on the members of the classes of 2010 and 2011 in upcoming newsletters. But here’s your preview – they are all doing exciting work!