"Over the past summer, I worked as a legal intern at the East Bay Community Law Center in their Housing Practice doing eviction defense. I cannot speak enough about the positive impact this experience has had on me and the valuable legal advocacy skills I learned there. This experience solidified my ambition to work in direct legal services with disparately impacted communities. Previously, I was a tenants’ rights organizer in Brooklyn and I can say that the housing crisis in the Bay Area is just as dire as in New York City. That is why it is so crucial to have legal advocates who are fighting alongside tenants to help them keep their homes. I am extremely appreciative of Equal Justice America for supporting me in this experience this summer, and I hope you will consider donating to EJA so that future summer fellows can engage in this important and gratifying work."
Chelsea Blocklin
UC Hastings College of the Law
EJA Summer Fellow, 2018
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Summer 2021
- Amira Bell-Jetton (UC Hastings) worked at the Children’s Law Center of California in San Francisco.
- Yurie Blons (Loyola Los Angeles), Alice Cao (Georgetown University), Robin Chang (UC Berkeley), Daniella Cho (GWU), Larissa Grijalva (UC Hastings), Julia Irwin (Stanford), Rachel Kassler (Georgetown University), Julia Marostica (UC Davis), Lina Martinez (UC Berkeley), Celina Romano (UC Berkeley), Nia Sims (Georgetown University), Lindy Velasco (UC Hastings) and Ioannis Zografos (UC Berkeley) worked at the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC).
- Aleyda Castro worked at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program at the Law School.
- Stephanie Gonzalez (UC Hastings) worked at Catholic Charities of Los Angeles.
- Joseph Kim (UCLA), Yi Li (Stanford), Jacob Maddox (Stanford), Latrel Powell (UCLA), Robyn Thompson (UCLA) and Claire Weintraub (UC Berkeley) worked at Public Counsel in Los Angeles.
- Rebecca Liu (UC Hastings) worked at Legal Assistance for Seniors in Oakland.
- Vivian Martinez (Loyola Los Angeles) worked at California Rural Legal Assistance in Oakland.
- Jameelah Najieb (UC Hastings) worked at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley in San Jose.
- Arianna Nord (University of Washington) and Jacob Zarone (UC Hastings) worked at East Bay Family Defenders in San Leandro.
- Viveka Ray-Mazumder (Loyola Los Angeles) worked at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles.
- Ariana Smith (University of Virginia) worked at East Bay Sanctuary Covenant in Berkeley.
- Lauren Valledor (University of Colorado) worked at the UCLA Voting Rights Project in Los Angeles.
- Chris Yarrell (University of Virginia) worked at the National Center for Youth Law in Oakland.
- Jaden Zwick (UCLA) worked at Public Advocates in Los Angeles.
Seeing how heavily people relied on non-profit organizations like BayLegal helped me realize just how important providing legal aid and serving the public interest was. My time at BayLegal was challenging, productive, and fun. I will never forget the sense of community and camaraderie so inherent in their office culture. They provided a safe space for me to learn and ask questions. It was a strong reminder of why I went to law school in the first place. The funding and support I received from Equal Justice America allowed me to have this great summer experience. I learned a great deal about the legal profession and found a greater appreciation for public interest work. As a result, I am now more confident and better prepared to continue my legal career at Santa Clara University and give back to my community.
Brian Olfato
Santa Clara University School of Law
EJA Fellow
EJA Summer Fellow, 2016
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Summer 2015
- Piper Akol (UC Hastings) worked at Fair Housing of Marin in San Rafael.
- Nnennaya Amuchie (Santa Clara University) worked at Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Erica Ascencio (Loyola Los Angeles), Avneet Chattha (Loyola Los Angeles), Seth Fowler (Loyola Los Angeles) and Carla Jacobo (Whittier Law) worked at the Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles.
- Ryan Blackney (University of San Francisco) worked at Catholic Charities of the East Bay in Oakland.
- Jehmima Carril (UC Hastings) worked at the Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco.
- Grecia Ceja (UC Hastings), Sydney Hargrove (UCLA) and Srbui Karapetyan (Loyola Los Angeles) worked at the Alliance for Children’s Rights in Los Angeles.
- Jane Cho (Stanford) and Eliana Corona (UC Hastings) worked at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto.
- Joys Choi (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Rebecca Chraim (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Cory Hernandez (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Katherine Jayne (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Ahmed Lavalais (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Andrew Le (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Aaron Murphy (UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall), Dustin Hovda Perez (UC Hastings) and Julie Singer (University of Michigan) worked at the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley.
- Gustavo Cubias II (Loyola Los Angeles) worked at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.
- Raul Galan (Brooklyn Law) worked at the Children’s Law Center of California in Monterey Park.
- Liliana Garcia (UC Hastings) worked with the Immigration and Citizenship Program at the Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey.
- Robin Gray (UC Irvine) worked at Bet Tzedek Legal Services.
- Yuridia Guerrero (Santa Clara University) worked with the Mental Health Advocacy Project at Health Legal Services in San Jose.
- Stephanie Jones (NYU) worked at the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment in Oakland.
- Heather Paik (George Washington University) worked at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
- Whalen Peete(UC Hastings) worked at the African Advocacy Network in San Francisco.
- Jesse Peters (Stanford), John Stiff Jr. (UC Davis) and Yuko Tanaka (Harvard) worked at Bay Area Legal Aid in San Francisco.
- Monica Porter (George Washington University) and Margo Watson (Stanford) worked at the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center in San Francisco.
- Harsh Ronvelia (UC Hastings) worked at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in San Francisco.
- Kristina Rosales (UC Hastings) worked with the Homeless Advocacy Project at the Justice and Diversity Center in San Francisco.
- Nubyaan Scott (University of San Francisco) worked at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley.
- Kiran Sidhu (UC Hastings) worked at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
My summer internship is crucial for my transition towards a career in public interest legal work. The internship was, however, more important to the clients I served [at California Rural Legal Assistance]. The stories and challenges of these clients demonstrate the high demand of legal services regarding our impoverished California agricultural workers. Equal Justice America addresses the demand through its law student fellowships. I am proud of my summer work and proud to have represented EJA by serving the civil legal needs of low-income working clients. I will continue to represent the EJA vision in my service as an aspiring public interest lawyer.
Curtis Davis
University of San Diego
EJA Fellow
EJA Summer Fellow, 2017
