Stevens Fellowships

 
2025 Recipients

• John Luke Farah, International Institute of the Bay Area
• Elliot Kevane, Federal Defender, Sacramento
• Caitlin Strickland, Habeas Corpus Resource Center

2024 Recipients

• Terra Bilhorn, class of 2025
  Natural Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC
• Danielle Dybbro, class of 2025 (a 3L part-time program student)
  Santa Clara County Office of the County Counsel, Education Law Team, Santa Clara, CA
• Colleen Gill, class of 2026 (and one of our new Public Interest Certificate Program students)
  National Center on Gun Violence in Relationships a project of the Battered Women’s Justice Project, St. Paul, Minnesota

2023 Recipients

• Alejandra Barcena, class of 2025
  Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA
• Lucero Carrasco, class of 2024
  Centro Legal de la Raza, Oakland, CA
• Nicole Nikanorov, class of 2025
  AIDS Legal Referral Panel, San Francisco, CA
• Gavin Partington, class of 2025
  County of Santa Clara Public Defender Office, San Jose, CA

2022 Recipients

• Joshua Abeyta, class of 2023
  Office of the Public Defender of Hawai’i, Honolulu, HI
• Michelle Fregoso, class of 2023
  County of Santa Clara Public Defender Office, San Jose, CA
• Xiomara Galeano, class of 2023
  San Mateo County Counsel, San Mateo, CA

2021 Recipients

• Romae-Anne Aquino, class of 2022
  Disability Rights California, San Diego, CA – legal extern
• Ashley Harunaga, class of 2023
  Bay Area Legal Aid, Redwood City, California – law clerk
• Kassandra Mariscal, class of 2023
  Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, San Francisco, CA – law clerk

2020 Recipients

• Quetzalli Haro, class of 2021
  Merced County Public Defender’s Office, Merced, CA – intern
• Victor Hugo Valdez Gonzalez, class of 2021
  Immigrant Legal Resource Center, San Francisco, CA – law clerk, legal trainings for community-based organizations
• Lizette Valles, class of 2022
  Bay Area Legal Aid, Santa Clara, CA – law clerk, Immigration Unit

2019 Recipients

• Camilla Amato, class of 2020
  Center for Justice & Accountability, San Francisco, CA – international human rights work
• Caterin Miralda, class of 2021
  Legal Services for Children, San Francisco, CA – child deportation cases
• Sydnie Mitchel, class of 2021
  East Bay Family Defenders, San Leandro, CA – litigation for children in foster care

2018 Recipients

• Shannon Cullen, class of 2019
  Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office, Los Angeles, CA
• Nandini Ruparel, class of 2020
  Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Asian Law Caucus, San Francisco, CA
• Linette Salcedo, class of 2020
  Legal Advocates for Children & Youth (a project of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley), San Jose, CA

2017 Recipients

• Jessica Atwood
  Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Monterey Park, CA
• Regan Bradley-Brown
  Bay Area Legal Aid, Redwood City, CA
• Carlos Castro
  Center for Constitutional Rights, New York, NY
• Melissa Fox
  Disability Rights California, Oakland, CA

2016 Recipients

• Sabeena Bali-Dingra
  Alameda County Office of the Public Defender
• Ms. Bali-Dingra spent her summer clerking with the Alameda County Office of the Public Defender. She assisted in all stages of legal representation including researching and writing pretrial motions and performing a wide range of other research and case preparation duties.
• Hannah Bertrando
  California Office of the Attorney General
  Ms. Bertrando spent her summer with the California Office of the Attorney General. She assisted deputies on varied legal research and writing projects, such as motions to dismiss, summary judgment motions, or Ninth Circuit appellate briefs, as well as the opportunity to accompany and assist deputies at depositions and trial.
• Shauna Lord
  Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
  Ms. Lord spent her summer interning with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, where she assisted with drafting pleadings, motions, discovery, and briefs, conducting legal research, interviewing clients and witnesses, conducting factual investigation of pending cases, and participating in client community education projects.
• Francisco Lozano
  Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
  Mr. Lozano spent his summer interning with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, where he assisted with drafting pleadings, motions, discovery, and briefs, conducting legal research, interviewing clients and witnesses, conducting factual investigation of pending cases, and participating in client community education projects.

2015 Recipients

• Nnennaya Amuchie
  Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights
  Ms. Amuchie spent her summer interning at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. She assisted attorneys at this public interest civil rights organization with discrimination, immigration, and poverty law issues. Her work primarily focused on economic justice.
• Paria F. Amini
  Bay Area Legal Aid
  Ms. Amini spent her summer clerking at Bay Area Legal Aid. Ms. Amini directly served a large number of pro per litigants seeking civil domestic violence restraining order protection (including child custody, visitation and support) and engaged in all stages of the process. She had the opportunity to work directly with litigants, conduct interviews, and draft pleadings.
• Daniel Buffington
  United States District Court for Northern District of California
  Mr. Buffington spent his summer at the Oakland Pro Se Department of the United States District Court for Northern District of California. He worked with staff attorneys on pro se habeas corpus cases that challenge convictions and sentences and civil rights cases that challenge the conditions of prisoner confinement. He also worked on death penalty cases.
• Samantha Fuchs
  Contra Costa County Office of the Public Defender
  Ms. Fuchs spent her summer with the Contra Costa County Office of the Public Defender/Alternate Defender. Ms. Fuchs assisted in all stages of legal representation including researching and writing pretrial motions and performing a wide range of other research and case preparation duties.

2014 Recipients

• Ashley Albiani California Coastal Commission
  Ms. Albiani assisted in the investigation and resolution of Coastal Act violation cases that can involve either unpermitted development activities or activities undertaken in violation of a Commission permit. She was additionally involved in investigation and collection of evidence, analysis of fact patterns; dispute resolution and settlement negotiations; and verbal and written contact with alleged violator.
• Marcos Favela
  East Bay Community Law Center
  Mr. Favela worked in the immigration unit where he conducted client intake interviews, performed legal research, drafted declarations and pleadings, and represented clients in administrative court proceedings.
• Lizbeth Mateo
  Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
  Ms. Mateo worked with the immigration unit where she will interview clients, drafted declarations and cover letters, request U-visa certifications from law enforcement agencies, helped clients with their adjustment and naturalization applications, and gathered evidence to support those applications.
• Matthew Warren
  ACLU of Northern California
  Mr. Warren conducted legal research and writing in support of active and potential impact litigation focused upon essential constitutional issues, particularly where there is a significant effort upon low-income or marginalized communities in Northern California. He drafted legal memoranda, portions of court documents, and pre- litigation demand letters. He also attended appellate arguments, trial proceedings, and depositions.

2013 Recipients

• Michael Branson
  EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
  Michael Branson spent his summer working at the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. He assisted attorneys in everything from legal and technical research to policy analysis
• Esther Fallas
  Esther Fallas spent her summer at the Office of the Federal Public Defender. As an intern at the Federal Public Defender’s Office she conducted legal research, wrote motions, investigated cases and helped with trial preparation.
• Siena Kautz
  Alaska Public Defender Agency – Fairbanks
  Siena Kautz spent her summer working at the Alaska Public Defender Agency. She had the opportunity to appear in court and represent clients due to Alaska’s student practice rule.
• Peter Swiniarski
  Santa Clara Office of the County Counsel and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
  Peter Swiniarski spent his summer with both Santa Clara Office of the County Counsel and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. For the Santa Clara Office of the County Counsel, he interned specifically with the litigation unit, working on all stages of civil litigation. While at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, he worked directly with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to better implement human right law and take human rights actions with respect to refugees.

2012 Recipients

• Lauren Aguirre
  County of Santa Clara – Office of the County Counsel
  Lauren Aguirre spent her summer with County of Santa Clara – Office of the County Counsel. She assisted attorneys conducting affirmative litigation, drafting new legislation, and developing policies and programs to secure social justice for all Santa Clara residents.
• Sophia Areias
  Commonwealth Initiatives for Human Rights
  Sophia Areias spent her summer with Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. She researched and organized information pertaining to Ghana’s prison system, conduct interviews with detainees to ascertain information about prison treatment and standards, and assist local attorneys with trial preparation.
• Harry Cheng
  California Office of the State Public Defender
  Harry Cheng spent his summer at California Office of the State Public Defender. The Office of the State Public Defender represents indigent defendants on appeal in death penalty cases. He prepared appeals or habeas corpus petitions to the California Supreme Court; legal and factual research on guilt and innocence; forensic and mental health issues; and investigation and field work. He also assisted on projects compiling and editing internal practice guides on psychological issues that pertain to capital cases.
• Katherine McDonnell
  International Rights Advocates
  Katherine McDonnell spent her summer with International Rights Advocates. She assisted in all stages of the cases, working with all the attorneys. The majority of the work was research and writing for active cases.
• Lizbeth Najera
  Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
  Lizbeth Najera spent her summer at Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles where she assisted the CED unit’s litigation and community empowerment efforts, by conducting legal and factual research, attending resident and community group meetings and project hearings, drafting legal memos, client materials, policy documents and facilitating public participation.

2011 Recipients

• James Caparas-Hardwick
  Senior Adults Legal Assistance, San Jose, California
• Maximilian John Mizono
  The Office of the Federal Public Defender of the Northern District of California, San Jose Division
• Sharlyn Vareed
  The Office of the International Co-Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
  Sherrett Walker The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office

2010 Recipients

• Michelle Forrest
  Bay Area Legal Aid – Redwood City, California
• Monica Macaluso
  California Public Utilities Commission – San Francisco, California
• Dominic McKeown
  Bay Area Legal Aid – San Jose, California
• Sarah Mercer
  Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center – San Francisco, California

2009 Recipients

• Landon Davis
  Legal Services of Northern California – Auburn, California
• Ashley Jones
  Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office – San Jose, California
• Erik Kaeding
  Navdanya – Hauz Khas, New Delhi
• Rachel Leff-Kich
  Law Foundation of Silicon Valley – AIDS Legal Services – San Jose, California
• Erin Peck
  Stanislaus County Public Defender – Modesto, California

2008 Recipients

• Adam Micahel Birnbaum
  Law Foundation of Silicon Valley – Fair Housing Law Project – San Jose, California
• Russell Mangan
  California Appellate Project – San Francisco, California
• Natalia Nahra
  Documentation Centre of Cambodia – Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Delores Thomas
  Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley – San Jose, California
• Paul Christopher Torio
  World Organization for Human Rights USA – Washington, District of Columbia
• Nicholas Webber
  Watsonville Law Center – Watsonville, California

2007 Recipients

• Jennifer Alesio
  Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto – Palo Alto, California
• Vandana Balakrishnan
  South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre – New Delhi, India
• Molly Brennan
  Legal Services for Children – San Francisco, California
• Nicole Clemens
  California Rural Legal Assistance – Santa Cruz, California
• Lorraine Sachiko
  Lakota People’s Law Project – Romero Institute – Hot Springs, South Dakota
• Monica Toole
  International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Arusha, Tanzania, Africa

2006 Recipients

• Monica Bernal
  Law Foundation of Silicon Valle, Legal Advocates for Children and Youth, – San Jose, California
• Christine Keller
  Center for Justice and Accountability – San Francisco, California
• Jessica Tillson
  International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Arusha, Tanzania, Africa

2005 Recipients

• Linh Tu Hua
  Public Interest Law Firm – San José, California
• Sonja Zavala
  American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California – San Francisco, California

2004 Recipients

• Kirsten Bowman
  – International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The Hague, Netherlands
• Alaric Degrafinried
  East Bay Community Law Center – Oakland, California

2003 Recipients

• Stephanie Grogan
  Southern Center for Human Rights – Atlanta, Georgia
• Kimberly Pederson
  South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre – New Delhi, India

2002 Recipients

• Aubrey L. Ardema
  International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Arusha, Tanzania
• Julia J. Duncan
  National Organization for Women – Sacramento, California

2001 Recipients

• Philip C. Andonian
  Southern Center for Human Rights – Atlanta, Georgia
• Claudia B. Callwood
  California Rural Legal Assistance – San Luis Obispo, California
• Michelle E. Pusateri
  Fresh Lifelines for Youth, Inc. – San Jose, California

2000 Recipients

• Benjamin D. Galloway
  Southern Center for Human Rights – Atlanta, Georgia
• Ava C. Yajima
  Children’s Defense Fund – Washington, DC