Ms. JD has awarded Fellowships to 15 law students. Fellows were selected based on their academic performance, leadership, and dedication to advancing the status of women in the profession. The winners reflect a full range of diverse interests and backgrounds, with women pursuing opportunities in public interest, academia, and private sector in every region of the country.
The 2016 Ms. JD Fellowship Winners are:
Céline Aka, Washington University School of Law
Sarah June Benjamin, Washington College of Law
Shoshana Brown, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law
Ally Chiu, Harvard Law School
Marina Gatto, UCLA School of Law
Hunter Glenn, University of Richmond Law School
Amari Hammonds, Stanford Law School
Lauren Jackson, Howard University School of Law
Katherine MacRae, University of Maine School of Law
Irene Mo, Michigan State University College of Law
Tierney O'Rourke, Stanford Law School
Anne Sherwood, Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana
Kristin Tellis, Florida State University College of Law
Yue (Ada) Wang, University of Virginia School of Law
Natalie Yello,Stetson University College of Law
Meet the 2016 Ms. JD Fellows
Céline Aka
Céline Aka is a third-year law student at Washington University in St. Louis. She earned a Bachelor of Art and Sciences in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013. After completing her first-year of law school, she returned to Champaign to work at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. as the recipient of the 2015 Public Interest Law Initiative Scholarship. As a Summer Law Clerk, she worked on a variety of litigation matters. In the Fall of 2015, she was an Extern with the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Illinois. Céline is an Executive Notes Editor of the Washington University Global Studies Law Review. She is very involved with the Black Law Students Association and was the organization's Secretary for the 2015-2016 academic year. In the Spring of 2016, she taught a course called 'Women and the Law' to Washington University undergraduates. The Summer of her second-year, Céline was a Summer Associate at White & Case LLP splitting between the firm’s New York and Paris office. She has volunteered as a Success Coach with Service Works through the St. Louis United Way, and was a Crisis Line Volunteer. Born and raised in Côte D’Ivoire, West Africa, Céline is fond of gourmet cuisine, an avid world-traveler, and a west and central Africa music lover.
Sarah June Benjamin
A joint Juris Doctorate and Master of Arts candidate at American University, Sarah June Benjamin serves as the President of the Parents Attending Law School Association at the Washington College of Law. She is interested in the rights of women and children in conflict zones, working this past year with the Tahirih Justice Center and the War Crimes Research Office. She is currently coauthoring a book publication with the Baha’i Chair for World Peace on the development of a holistic global peace model.
Shoshana Brown
Shoshana M. Brown is a rising third-year student at CUNY School of Law in Queens, New York. As a grassroots activist at heart, Shoshana was led to CUNY Law in 2014 to pursue her passion for public interest lawyering. Prior to law school, she dedicated several years of community work in New York City as Director of Programs at Caribbean Women’s Health Association in Brooklyn. This extraordinary opportunity allowed her to confront the health and legal disparities faced by many immigrant populations and enabled her to respond to these critical issues through community programming and advocacy efforts with local and state legislators. Shoshana earned her Masters of Public Health Degree with a concentration in International Community Health from New York University and received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Miami.
Shoshana continues her community lawyering interests as a law student today—bringing the voices of the underserved into her extracurricular projects and legal internship experiences. Last summer, Shoshana interned at the United Nations Tribunal in Cambodia, which was established to bring justice for the war crimes and genocide committed against 2.1 million people. This summer, she is a Law Clerk at the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights aiming to bring international attention to the human rights violations occurring in the U.S. Delta region. From Cambodia to Mississippi, she has advocated for legal and social change in settings permeating with stark racism, social injustices, and overwhelming environmental challenges. Shoshana is an active leader on her law school campus as the Founder of the CUNY Law Student Diversity Mentorship Program, a Senior Staff Member of CUNY’s Law Review Journal, Student Ambassador for the NYC Bar Association and the 2015-2016 Academic Chair of the Black Law Students Association. Shoshana is a proud new Fellow of Ms. JD and looks forward to contributing meaningful work as a future human rights attorney.
Ally Chiu
Ally Chiu is a third-year student at Harvard Law School, where she was the Public Interest Chair of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and President of Rootstrikers, a campaign finance reform organization. She graduated magna cum laude from New York University in 2013 with a B.A. in Global Liberal Studies and East Asian Studies and minor in French. During law school, she worked in Senator Ed Markey’s office (D-MA) working on issues related to transportation, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. Previously, she worked in the Administrative Conference of the United States. She is spending her summer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York City.
Marina Gatto
Marina was raised in the Bay Area by two lesbian moms. Growing up, she and her family were the victims of numerous anti-LGBT hate crimes. At 8 years old Marina began to speak out publicly and via the media about being raised by an LGBT family and became involved politically with activism and lobbying for marriage equality. She appeared on The Today Show with Katie Couric, ABC Family’s Switched, and various other TV shows to educate the public about LGBT families and diversity. Marina attended UC Berkeley where she double majored in Political Science and Ethnic Studies and was elected the Co-Chair of the Latino Pre-Law Society. Prior to law school Marina worked as a paralegal in the Employment Law Group at Gordon & Rees LLP. Currently a rising 3L at UCLA Law, she is specializing in Critical Race Studies and serves as a Mentor for the UCLA Law Fellows Program. She has also been a Staff Editor for the Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review, Academic Co-Chair for La Raza Law Students Association and Co-Chair for the Womyn of Color Collective. Marina was also selected to receive the Mexican American Bar Foundation Scholarship for two consecutive years. Marina plans to pursue a career in litigation, and is currently working as a Summer Associate in the Commercial Litigation Group at Perkins Coie LLP.
Hunter Glenn
Hunter Glenn is currently a third year student at the University of Richmond School of Law. Before heading to law school, Hunterattended Furman University, where she graduated cum laude with a double major in Religion and Sociology. During her time at the University of Richmond, Hunter has been very active with Richmond Women’s Law and served as President during her 2L year. As President, Hunter and her board expanded upon previous programs, philanthropy events and mentorship opportunities, earning them the title of ‘Student Organization of the Year’ for the 2015-2016 year. She looks forward to continuing her work with Richmond Women’s Law as a board member during her 3L year. Hunter is also a Manuscripts Editor for the University of Richmond Law Review and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the American Constitution Society, the Alternate Dispute Resolution Society, and Richmond’s Career Development Office Advisory Board. While in law school, Hunter has had the opportunity to work for Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, The Honorable Joseph F. Anderson of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and Hunton & Williams. In her spare time, Hunter enjoys cooking, hiking, riding horses, playing volleyball, and traveling home to South Carolina to visit her family.
Amari Hammonds
Lauren Jackson
Lauren R. Jackson is a third-year student at Howard University School of Law where she serves as the Student Bar Association President, member of the Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Team, and is a Student Attorney with the prestigious Howard Law Civil Rights Clinic. She also serves as the Membership Intake Chair for Epsilon Sigma Iota Sorority Incorporated, the first legal sorority for African American women. Formerly, she served as the Vice President of the Women Law Students Association and Community Service Chair for ESI.
Prior to attending law school, Lauren received her Bachelors degree from Seton Hall University with a triple concentration in Marketing, Sports Management and Africana Studies. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she remained at Seton Hall where she obtained a Masters in Public Administration. Using the knowledge obtained by her studies, she founded a not-for-profit organization entitled Instilling My Ability to Naturally Embrace Excellence (IMANEE), where she works with New York City Public School girls to provide opportunities for mentorship. Lauren also actively serves her community through her membership and regional leadership positions in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the National Black Law Students Association. While at Howard, Lauren has had the opportunity to gain valuable legal experience through her internships with the United States Attorney’s Office in D.C., the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and with the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Currently she is a Summer Associate with McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP, in their Morristown, NJ office.
Katherine MacRae
Katherine MacRae is a third-year student at the University of Maine School of Law, where she serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal. Originally from Louisville Kentucky, Katherine graduated from the University of Louisville in 2012 with a B.A. in Philosophy, English and Humanities. In 2013, Katherine received her M.A. in Philosophy from Birkbeck College in London, U.K., where her dissertation, titled “Negative Stereotypes as Undermining Autonomy,” focused on how stereotypes impact an individual’s autonomy and capacity for self-realization.
While at Maine Law, Katherine has served as Vice-President of the LGBTQ Law and Policy Group. During her second year, Katherine was an extern at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently, Katherine is a law clerk for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, Criminal Justice Division. After working in criminal law, Katherine hopes to work for a civil rights non-profit organization focused on the legal representation of LGBTQ persons. In her spare time, Katherine enjoys traveling, reading, and drinking coffee.
Irene Mo
Irene Mo is currently a Legal Intern at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, working as part of the National Science Foundation’s Privacy Tools for Sharing Research Data initiative. Using her training in mathematics, economics, and law, her team assists in developing tools to maximize the usability of shared-data while protecting research subjects’ individual privacy. Irene’s work includes writing a research memorandum designed to inform the legal analysis underlying an argument that the use of differential privacy satisfies requirements of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. She is also analyzing HIPAA data-use agreements to identify relevant license text and conditions to support efforts to build a license generator for sharing health data. In the future, Irene plans to practice in information privacy and security law, focusing on advising clients and resolving disputes through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, and, when necessary, litigation.
Irene grew up in the Detroit-area and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with Distinction, from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Since beginning law school, Irene’s passion for increasing access to legal services has grown. As a third-year law student at Michigan State University, she is an Innovation Assistant for LegalRnD - The Center for Legal Services Innovation and a student in the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, a litigation-certificate program. Through the LegalRnD curriculum and her extracurricular activities, Irene has studied and applied lean process improvement, project management, and the incorporation of technology and innovation to improve legal-service delivery. She applied these skills to help win two legal hackathons with two novel legal software programs. Most recently, Irene was part of the Grand Prize winning team at the “Code the Deal” legal hackathon at UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, producing mobile phone application manage the landlord-tenant relationship and inform tenants of potential legal issues with their leases. As part of the Ms. JD Fellowship program, Irene hopes to establish a platform to promote women, especially women of color, to enter into the legal technology field.
Tierney O'Rourke
Tierney O'Rourke is third year student at Stanford Law School. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with distinction from Stanford University in 2013, where she majored in American Studies and minored in Human Biology. She won the George M. Fredrickson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research for her honors thesis on late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century prostitution legislation in the United States. During undergrad, Tierney rowed on Stanford's lightweight women's crew team, served as a Research Assistant at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, and founded the Stanford chapter of Seneca International (a group dedicated to promoting women's rights around the world). After graduation, Tierney worked as a law clerk at a boutique criminal defense firm in Palo Alto.
During her time in law school, Tierney has served as the Executive Editor for the Stanford Law Review (Volume 69), Managing Editor for the Stanford Journal of International Law (Volume 52), and Co-President of the International Law Society. She also works as a Graduate Writing Tutor at the Hume Writing Center and a Research Assistant in securities litigation and civil procedure. She spent her IL summer at the United States Mission to the United Nations and her 2L summer at Davis, Polk & Wardwell. After graduation in 2017, Tierney plans to practice corporate law and hopes to spend several years working abroad. In her spare time, Tierney practices yoga and enjoys drinking and learning about wine.
Anne Sherwood
Anne E. Sherwood is a proud Montana native in her third year at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Montana in 2010 with a B.A. in Communication Studies, Anne worked as the Communications Specialist for the National Institute on Money in State Politics. This organization is a nationwide nonprofit that tracks and analyzes campaign contributions for every state office in the United States. Anne became a graduate student in 2012 and taught Introduction to Public Speaking while she earned her M.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Montana. Since graduating in 2014 and enrolling in law school Anne has become a true campaign finance junkie. Last summer she worked with the State of Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices to research, draft, edit, propose, and pass 60 new administrative rules governing campaign finance in the State of Montana. This summer Anne is the ABA Antitrust Law Janet B. Steiger Fellow, working within the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division to help raise awareness, increase protections, and fight on behalf of consumers across the state. During her time at the University of Montana Anne has been a research assistant for the Constitutional Law professor, and is kept busy with her duties as a Junior Partner small group leader for the first year Law Firm Program and the teaching assistant for Contracts I and II. A true Montana girl, Anne enjoys hiking, biking, floating, and being outside. Passionate about her state and the people in it, she is committed to using her studies to positively give back to the community and the people she loves.
Kristin Tellis
Born in St. Petersburg, Fl., Kristin Tellis is a 2014 graduate of Howard University’s School of Communications. During her time at Howard, Kristin organized the first AAUW/Running Start Elect Her Women Win Training held at a Historically Black College/University: Elect Her-Howard Women Win. The Elect Her initiative acknowledges the necessity to build the pipeline of women running for office in order to diminish the longstanding political leadership gap. Over 80 young women at Howard University have successfully completed the training within the last three years. Many of them have successfully run for office, on and off campus. Ms. Tellis is a Class XI Florida Gubernatorial Fellow. She completed her Fellowship at Florida Department of Juvenile Justice where she worked on addressing racial and ethnic disparities through community engagement. In Fall 2016, Ms. Tellis will begin an internship with the Civil Rights Division of Department of Justice. Ms. Tellis attends Florida State University College of Law and is expected to obtain her J.D. in Spring 2017. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys painting and making her own herbal hair and body products. Ms. Tellis is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She was initiated at Alpha Chapter.
Yue (Ada) Wang
University of Virginia School of Law, JD expected 2017. Brown University, BA in Political Science and German Studies, magna cum laude, 2012. Last Summer, Yue was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Richard Andrews in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. At UVA Law, Yue is a Publications Editor on the Virginia Tax Review and was Vice President for Academic Affairs with the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association in 2015-2016. Yue is also a Volunteer Tax Preparer. Together with her teammates, Yue won best overall performance and best brief at the Mid-Atlantic Transactional LawMeet Competition in Spring 2016.
Natalie Yello
Natalie Yello is a rising third-year law student at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida. She graduated cum laude from the University of Florida and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and a minor in Leadership Development. While at the University of Florida, Natalie served on the board for the Student Conduct Committee and was a Junior Fellow in the Political Science Department to Dr. Beth Rosenson. In 2013, she was awarded the University of Florida’s Phyllis M. Meek Spirit of Susan B. Anthony Award for promoting the advancement, rights, and opportunities of women.
At law school, Natalie serves as the President of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Law Student Division at Stetson University College of Law. She is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of International Aging Law & Policy and is also an Associate Justice for Stetson’s Moot Court Board. Natalie enjoys volunteering as a Guardian Ad Litem child advocate for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida. This summer, Natalie is a Summer Associate at GrayRobinson, P.A. in Orlando, Florida. Her hobbies include snuggling her chihuahua and antique shopping.