About the Program
The Program in Law and Public Service is designed to provide a select group of students the opportunity to receive a tailored curriculum and intensive training that will prepare them for public service careers. Fellows are required to spend at least one summer working for a public service employer (a government agency or nonprofit organization). Each year, approximately 40 first-year fellows will be admitted to the program. Several slots will be held open for second-year students. Applications for first-year students are typically due in mid-October.
The program is directed by Professor Annie Kim, who formerly led the Law School’s Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center. Kim also worked for years as a litigator and in-house counsel representing Virginia school districts and local governments, and continues to consult on issues relating to local government law.
The Curriculum
Program fellows coming in as first-year students are required to take the course Law and Public Service in the spring of their first year. This seminar provides fellows a broad overview of public interest lawyering and career paths, exposure to practitioners, and a chance to build community within their cohort. Fellows use their second year to explore public service advocacy- and skills-based courses, clinics, and doctrinal courses related to their own practice interests. Finally, in their third year, fellows may opt to take a one-semester capstone seminar focusing on contemporary issues in public service offered in the spring. Additional course requirements include a clinic or externship (full-time or part-time) and at least 10 additional credits in courses that will assist fellows in their future public service careers. Courses are tailored to each fellow’s individual career goals and interests. Fellows will also complete a substantial research paper or final paper on a public interest topic of their choice.
Mentoring
Students in the program build mentoring relationships with public service faculty at the Law School through a semi-annual LPS Faculty Dinner Series, other small events hosted by faculty, and access to faculty office hours. All fellows are also encouraged to meet with the program director and core LPS faculty teaching the 1L and 3L courses to help them develop their academic and professional plans for public service work. Fellows are also assigned peer mentors within the program.
Community
The fellows participate in many events designed to build the LPS community, nurture individual professional and academic interests in public service, and introduce fellows to public service practitioners. These include “Serving Justice” meals with practitioners, book clubs, career-focused workshops, social gatherings, faculty and peer mentorship events, new and graduating fellows’ banquets, and the annual Shaping Justice public service conference.
Faculty Director(s)
Annie Kim
Assistant Professor of Law, General Faculty
Director, Program in Law and Public Service
Resident Faculty
Resident Faculty
Administrative law, civil procedure, computer crime, federal courts, national security law
Juvenile justice, child advocacy, state and local government law
Criminal procedure and criminal defense law
Criminal law, evidence and procedure
Family law, trusts and estates, feminist jurisprudence, reproductive technology, and aging and the law
Criminal law, feminist jurisprudence and women's issues
Cybersecurity, foreign relations, international law and national security law
Innocence cases, DNA exoneration, criminal investigation
Race and law, constitutional law, employment discrimination
Criminal law, civil rights, race
Immigration and refugee law, judging, legal ethics, legal history
Business law, contract theory, mergers and acquisitions
Legislation, election law, law and economics, and direct democracy
Post-conviction relief, innocence, death-penalty cases
Civil rights, constitutional history and constitutional law
Tax law and policy, behavioral economics
Environmental and regulatory law, energy policy, climate change policy
Public service, state and local government law, litigation
Legal aid, civil rights, impact litigation
Environmental law and climate change, administrative law
State, international taxation and policy
Civil rights, constitutional law, legal history, law and inequality
Constitutional law, antitrust and communications regulation, national security
Prisoner decarceration and reentry, civil rights, nonprofit organizations
Constitutional law, administrative law, election law
Education law, Civil rights, Affirmative action, Desegregation and integration, Race, Sexual discrimination and harrassment
Employment discrimination, civil rights and admiralty, civil procedure and international civil litigation
Separation of church and state, property, local government and land use
Advocacy and verbal persuasion, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Civil litigation, appellate advocacy, clinical education and community engagement
Special education, child advocacy and juvenile justice
Domestic relations and family law
International human rights law, Inter-American human rights system, business and human rights, transitional justice
Employment law and discrimination, contracts, contract theory, law and economics
Comparative law and human rights
About the Program and Selection Process
LPS was created in 2009 to provide a select group of UVA Law students the curricular foundation, specialized training, and community of faculty and peers that would assist them in pursuing careers in public service. Each year, the program admits approximately 35 first-year students and about five second-year students. Fellows typically plan to enter public service careers immediately after graduation. For more information on program curricular requirements, contact Professor Annie Kim. In addition, all fellows must work at least one full-time summer internship after the first or second year of law school for a public service employer.
Admission decisions will be based on past achievement, dedication to public service, and promise of future success. Brief interviews will be conducted in October and decisions will be made soon thereafter.
We encourage all interested students to apply, including those who may be underrepresented in public service practice, such as students of color, LGBTQ students, first-generation students and students with disabilities.
How to Apply
Submit the following materials in pdf format by Friday, Oct. 13, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. to Professor Annie Kim at @email:
- A resume (does not need to be in UVA Law school format);
- An unofficial copy of your undergraduate transcript (for 1Ls) or your law school transcript (for 2Ls),which will be reviewed for coursework rather than grades;
- A list of 2 references for people who know you well and can speak to your potential as an LPS fellow, including their names, titles, and contact information (i.e. former professor, mentor, coach, supervisor, co-worker);
- Answers to the following questions (maximum of 400 words for each):
- Tell us why you’re passionate about working as a public service attorney after law school. If you already know what kind of public service work you’d like to pursue, describe it. If you don’t know yet, explain your general interests and how you plan to determine your path.
- A number of factors can make it difficult to commit to a public service career, including financial constraints, familial expectations, and cultural norms among law students. What do you think are the most significant factors for you or other UVA Law students? How can we address them?
A decade after the birth of the Program in Law and Public Service at the University of Virginia School of Law, three alums who were there in the beginning share their career stories.
Meet some of the fellows in the Program in Law and Public Service.
Class of 2026
![Preston Bowden](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Preston-Bowden.jpg?itok=VsTMDZuM)
Preston Bowden
Hometown: Tooele, Utah
Before UVA Law: Majored in history and political and social thought at UVA
Public Service Interests: Civil rights impact litigation, union lawyering, public defense
![Lara Chuppe](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Lara-Chuppe.jpg?itok=gnsMMBVe)
Lara Chuppe
Hometown: South Bend, Indiana
Before UVA Law: While in college, volunteered for Pax Populi Academy and taught English to young women in Afghanistan
Public Service Interests: Immigration law, human rights
![Anna Figueroa](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Anna-Figueroa.jpg?itok=fNLmvk8A)
Anna Figueroa
Hometown: Atlanta
Before UVA Law: Legal assistant at the Southern Environmental Law Center, anti-trafficking paralegal working with farmworkers at Georgia Legal Services Program
Public Service Interests: Immigration, child advocacy
![Liz Gaccione](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Liz-Gaccione.jpg?itok=EW-SzeM7)
Liz Gaccione
Hometown: Groton, Connecticut
Before UVA Law: Taught middle school on O‘ahu island, designed culturally responsive climate curriculum
Public Service Interests: Environmental justice, climate refugees
![Mary Guardino](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Mary-Guardino.jpg?itok=hZzCKJri)
Mary Guardino
Hometown: Point Lookout, New York
Before UVA Law: Taught high school English and science for four years in Oakland, California, and East Harlem, New York
Public Service Interests: Juvenile justice and child advocacy (with a focus on restorative justice)
![Alex Hanna](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Alexander-Hanna.jpg?itok=ovo9eyPe)
Alex Hanna
Hometown: Smithfield, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Double majored in political and social thought and English at the University of Virginia
Public Service interests: Public defense and civil rights
![Ella Missan](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Ella-Missan.jpg?itok=ujXRGvD7)
Ella Missan
Hometown: Menlo Park, California
Before UVA Law: Paralegal for the Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Practice in the Bronx
Public Service Interests: Child advocacy, juvenile defense, education law and policy
![James Pierpoint](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---James-Pierpoint.jpg?itok=SpeMZCkr)
James Pierpoint
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Before UVA Law: Teach For America, legal aid, Deloitte
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, education, poverty law
![Indira Rajkumar](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Indira-Rajkumar.jpg?itok=2RaT4j6c)
Indira Rajkumar
Hometown: Bethesda, Maryland
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at public defender doing death sentence appeals
Public Service Interests: Public defense, impact litigation, appeals, criminal legal system reform
![Ashley Ramsay](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Ashley-Ramsay.jpg?itok=B8eYVq5Z)
Ashley Ramsay
Hometown: South Salem, New York
Before UVA Law: Served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, worked as a paralegal at a civil legal services organization in New York and worked as a barista
Public Service Interests: Public defense/juvenile defense
![Hayley Richbart](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop%3D2026---Hayley-Richbart.jpg?itok=SJrGhTAm)
Hayley Richbart
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
Before UVA Law: Worked as a music therapist for students with special needs in grades K-12, volunteered with AmeriCorps NCCC and worked as a case manager for individuals seeking humanitarian legal relief
Public Service Interests: Immigration, public defense, poverty law
![Cayleigh Soderholm](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026%20-%20Cayleigh%20Soderholm.jpg?itok=red2B4D_)
Cayleigh Soderholm
Hometown: Honolulu
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at a public interest firm representing workers and labor unions
Public Service Interests: National security and constitutional rights, international human rights law, foreign relations law
![Marissa Varnado](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Marissa-Varnado.jpg?itok=Q3TU_b9P)
Marissa Varnado
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Before UVA Law: Teach For America, homelessness nonprofit work
Public Service Interests: Housing and labor/employment law
![Ariel Vasser](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Ariel-Vasser.jpg?itok=bL1Ymmfr)
Ariel Vasser
Hometown: New Rochelle, New York
Before UVA Law: Worked on political campaigns and in public health, focused on COVID-19 vaccine equity and health care policy reform
Public Service Interests: Health care, reproductive justice and civil rights
![Kyndall Walker](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2026---Kyndall-Walker.jpg?itok=bwJ3E0xQ)
Kyndall Walker
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Public Service Interests: Wrongful convictions, public defense, post-conviction
Class of 2025
![Fabrizio Herrera Alfaro](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Fabrizio-Herrera-Alfaro.jpg?itok=54OdmSLg)
Fabrizio Herrera Alfaro
Hometown: Oceanside, California
Before UVA Law: Staff assistant with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce
Public Service Interests: Prosecution, working for a federal agency, congressional counsel
![Dana Almberg](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Dana-Almberg.jpg?itok=kDVX5l9v)
Dana Almberg
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Before UVA Law: AmeriCorps teacher in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Public Service Interests: Youth public defense, improving prison conditions
![Ben Baldwin](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Ben-Baldwin.jpg?itok=CRQn9DBJ)
Ben Baldwin
Hometown: Cleveland
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at a government office
Public Service Interests: National security law, international law
![Kathryn Barbella](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Kathryn-Barbella.jpg?itok=LCFxlFaY)
Kathryn Barbella
Hometown: Linwood, New Jersey
Before UVA Law: Majored in economics, government and politics at the University of Maryland
Public Service Interests: Public international law, particularly international human rights and humanitarian law
![Cheryl Bond](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Cheryl-Bond.jpg?itok=XYF5bPew)
Cheryl Bond
Hometown: Los Alamitos, California
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division
Public Service Interests: Federal antitrust enforcement, post-conviction innocence work, public defense, legal aid (housing/tenant law)
![Ryan Carp](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Ryan-Carp.jpg?itok=OQLaKE38)
Ryan Carp
Hometown: New Lenox, Illinois
Before UVA Law: Marketing at a consulting firm
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, human rights, environmental justice, legislative policy
![Seth Coven](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Seth-Coven.jpg?itok=WcGSkgvr)
Seth Coven
Hometown: Boston
Before UVA Law: Associate at an executive advisory firm in Washington, D.C.
Public Service Interests: Child advocacy, public defense, innocence
![Simeon Daferede](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Simeon-Daferede.jpg?itok=iZe9sBoc)
Simeon Daferede
Hometown: Winter Haven, Florida
Before UVA Law: Project associate at Chapin Hall Center for Children
Public Service Interests: Public defense and civil rights
![Mason Davenport](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Mason-Davenport.jpg?itok=WHGDxSDs)
Mason Davenport
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Worked in politics and nonprofit space
Public Service Interests: Public policy, progressive prosecution
![Nathaniel Glass](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Nathaniel-Glass.jpg?itok=uZ7r1Eus)
Nathaniel Glass
Hometown: San Diego
Before UVA Law: Four years in political/environmental communications consulting
Public Service Interests: Public defense, energy policy
![Trey Gray](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Trey-Gray.jpg?itok=VV4jeg5D)
Trey Gray
Hometown: New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi
Before UVA Law: Dishwasher, part-time investigator
Public Service Interests: Post-conviction work, data privacy
![Catie Haddad](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Catie-Haddad.jpg?itok=cgy6-2J5)
Catie Haddad
Hometown: San Luis Obispo, California
Public Service Interests: Public defense, international human rights
![Duncan Hardiman](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Duncan-Hardiman.jpg?itok=JYwnhoEP)
Duncan Hardiman
Hometown: Brigantine, New Jersy
Before UVA Law: AmeriCorps VISTA in Philadelphia
Public Service Interests: Public defense, criminal legal reform, government
![Luci Harris](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Luci-Harris.jpg?itok=VP7CWT_J)
Luci Harris
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Public Service Interests: Immigration, international human rights
![Anna Harvey](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Anna-Harvey.jpg?itok=2lp5wbq0)
Anna Harvey
Hometown: Evanston, Illinois
Before UVA Law: Researcher at education-focused consulting firm
Public Service Interests: Youth advocacy, special education, addressing school-to-prison pipeline, prison abolition
![Nick Hoffman](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Nick-Hoffman.jpg?itok=e4i2x2_9)
Nick Hoffman
Hometown: Dallas
Public Service Interests: Public defense
![Noa Jett](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Noa-Jett.jpg?itok=iCRbEO67)
Noa Jett
Hometown: Gainesville, Florida, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at a public health nonprofit
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, impact litigation, prisoners’ rights, juvenile justice
![Rohini Kurup](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Rohini-Kurup.jpg?itok=O0aDWctm)
Rohini Kurup
Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut
Before UVA Law: Editor at Lawfare, a national security legal publication
Public Service Interests: Government, national security
![Jocelyn Lee](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Jocelyn-Lee.jpg?itok=L1Vil8KR)
Jocelyn Lee
Hometown: Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Service Interests: Public defense, racial justice, civil rights
![Azalea Lopez](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Azalea-Lopez.jpg?itok=6f1u_q3T)
Azalea Lopez
Hometown: Berwyn, Illinois
Before UVA Law: Nonprofits, paralegal at Department of Justice, paralegal at nonprofit, program associate at social B Corp
Public Service Interests: Public defense
![Henry Maguire](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Henry-Maguire.jpg?itok=gk9ar2q-)
Henry Maguire
Hometown: New York
Before UVA Law: Worked as an EMT
Public Service Interests: Prosecution
![Gabriel Mahoney](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-Gabriel-Mahoney.jpg?itok=ztW3-AU_)
Gabriel Mahoney
Hometown: Falmouth, Maine
Before UVA Law: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, education, government work
![Alyssa Marshall](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Alyssa-Marshall.jpg?itok=TJLKsO2a)
Alyssa Marshall
Hometown: Annandale, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Social worker at Office of the Public Defender
Public Service Interests: Public defense
![Kylie Mignat](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Kylie-Mignat.jpg?itok=s8ILIMla)
Kylie Mignat
Hometown: Woodside, New York
Before UVA Law: Senior paralegal at Kids in Need of Defense in Manhattan
Public Service Interests: Immigration, child advocacy
![Katie Poore](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Katie-Poore.jpg?itok=oGrCLplZ)
Katie Poore
Hometown: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Before UVA Law: Taught English in France, worked in book publishing and then worked for a small law firm in hometown
Public Service Interests: Child advocacy, particularly youth defense; education law; gun violence prevention
![Shelby Singleton](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Shelby-Singleton.jpg?itok=ra3bzqwO)
Shelby Singleton
Hometown: Atlanta
Before UVA Law: Interned on Capitol Hill and other political spaces in college
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, racial justice, international human rights
![Nicholas C. Sheets](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Nicholas-Sheets.jpg?itok=fO8BrHH2)
Nicholas C. Sheets
Hometown: Henrico, Virginia
Public Service Interests: Child advocacy, victims’ rights, prosecution
![Matt Steelberg](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Matthew-Steelberg.jpg?itok=W_51h16i)
Matt Steelberg
Hometown: McLean, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Municipal adviser
Public Service Interests: Antitrust, economic justice
![Mitchell Szlabowicz](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Mitchell-Szlabowicz.jpg?itok=PfiYy8_4)
Mitchell Szlabowicz
Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida
Before UVA Law: Child advocacy and case management internships in Gainesville, Florida
Public Service Interests: Environmental litigation, computer crime prosecution, innocence, federal sentencing reform
![Delaney Tubbs](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Delaney-Tubbs.jpg?itok=INR1GjCg)
Delaney Tubbs
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Before UVA Law: Legal support
Public Service Interests: Holistic defense and prison abolition
![John Henry Vansant](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---John-Henry-Vansant.jpg?itok=Cuc6ad6U)
John Henry Vansant
Hometown: Thetford, Vermont
Before UVA Law: Legislative aide in Colorado General Assembly, campaign manager in Colorado
Public Service Interests: Workers' rights, labor law and organizing, employment law and policy, economic justice
![Grace Wenstrom](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Grace-Wenstrom.jpg?itok=fDtUmAXm)
Grace Wenstrom
Hometown: Galesburg, Illinois
Before UVA Law: Interned with legal aid, child advocacy center and Department of Justice Immigrant and Employee Rights Section during undergraduate school
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, human rights
![Jess Williams](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Jessica-Williams.jpg?itok=hGr3WVr3)
Jess Williams
Hometown: Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Before UVA Law: U.S. Air Force
Public Service Interests: International humanitarian law, international human rights law
![Shelby Wolfe](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Shelby-Wolfe.jpg?itok=v_keLtvU)
Shelby Wolfe
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia, and South Lake Tahoe, California
Before UVA Law: Paramedic
Public Service Interests: Public defense and capital defense
![Matthew Wulf](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2025---Matthew-Wulf.jpg?itok=jGWAn1u8)
Matthew Wulf
Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at U.S. Attorney's Office (Eastern District of New York), field organizer in Iowa
Public Service Interests: Prosecution, government
Class of 2024
![Ahmad](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Salwa-Ahmad.jpg?itok=4t1u4Sqb)
Salwa Ahmad
Hometown: Woodbridge, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Worked at global and public health nonprofits in the Washington, D.C. area, most recently at Population Services International
Public Service Interests: International human rights, global and public health, humanitarian crises, refugee law
![Allaman](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Grace-Allaman.jpg?itok=qKEJiHEb)
Grace Allaman
Hometown: Washington, Illinois
Public Service Interests: Immigration, human rights, voting rights, national security, foreign relations
![Anders](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---David-Anders.jpg?itok=qXD4CuSe)
David Anders
Hometown: Darnestown, Maryland
Before UVA Law: Management consultant for federal agencies
Public Service Interests: National security, federal prosecution
![Buell](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Ben-Buell.jpg?itok=-AY-_p2J)
Ben Buell
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Before UVA Law: AmeriCorps college counselor in rural Virginia
Public Service Interests: Federal prosecution, national security, criminal appeals, crimes against children
![Hayley Brower](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2024---Hayley-Brower_0.jpg?itok=xFnDTaIU)
Hayley Brower
Hometown: Reno, Nevada, and McLean, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Legislative aide, U.S. Senate, Sen. Mark R. Warner
Public Service Interests: Government investigations, criminal justice, legislation
![Evan Carcerano](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2024---Evan-Carcerano.jpg?itok=oH28ph0S)
Evan Carcerano
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Before UVA Law: Field director for a local political campaign, government affairs fellow with undergraduate alma mater
Public Service Interests: Housing, state and local government, economic justice, consumer protection, civil rights
![Veronica Cihlar](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2024---Veronica-Cihlar.jpg?itok=umJLys_c)
Veronica Cihlar
Hometown: Burlingame, California
Before UVA Law: Financial legal and compliance
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, education and employment law, reproductive rights
![Citron](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Julia-Citron.jpg?itok=4RxHM7Z7)
Julia Jean Citron
Hometown: Baltimore
Before UVA Law: Worked on political campaigns at the presidential, congressional and local levels
Public Service Interests: Voting rights, racial justice, civil rights
![Coleman](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Lauryn-Coleman.jpg?itok=tiCS7nsN)
Lauryn Coleman
Hometown: Philadelphia
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at district attorney’s office looking at potential innocence cases
Public Service Interests: Public defense, innocence, death penalty, federal drug sentence reduction
![Elliott](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Daniel-Elliott.jpg?itok=mPU66zXj)
Daniel Elliott
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Before UVA Law: Legal assistant with the U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis, Tennessee
Public Service Interests: Government work, prosecution, criminal justice reform
![Florek](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Ellen-Florek.jpg?itok=CfRqIPXi)
Ellen Florek
Hometown: Cleveland
Before UVA Law: Teacher for students with disabilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Public Service Interests: Child advocacy, public defense, education
![Foley](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Isabelle-Foley.jpg?itok=O9adtmsZ)
Isabelle Foley
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Before UVA Law: AmeriCorps Fellow in Washington, D.C.; program manager at a pro bono international law firm
Public Service Interests: Public defense, juvenile justice, transformative/restorative justice
![Genaris](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Rose-Genaris.jpg?itok=zZCuKGD0)
Rose Genaris
Hometown: Leawood, Kansas
Public Service Interests: Wrongful convictions, civil rights, public defense
![Goddu](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Kiera-Goddu.jpg?itok=5xZKnEsK)
Kiera Goddu
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Public Service Interests: Health justice, Indigenous justice, civil rights
![Goddard](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Julia-Goddard.jpg?itok=S2S4WX50)
Julia Goddard
Hometown: Lafayette, California
Before UVA Law: Youth offender parole hearings and other post-conviction work at home county's public defender office
Public Service Interests: Conditions of confinement litigation, parole and resentencing, public defense
![Griffith](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Zachary-Griffith.jpg?itok=0GLFYe9_)
Zach Griffith
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Before UVA Law: Financial analyst atAmpliFi Capital, Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia and corporate accounting/,finance and sales at Union Pacific Railroad
Public Service Interests: International law/,human rights
![Monica Wang Hanratty](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2024---Monica-Hanratty.jpg?itok=ZIQA4e3I)
Monica Wang Hanratty
Hometown: Houston and Herndon, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at an immigration law firm, researcher at a government watchdog organization
Public Service Interests: Economic justice, employment and labor, civil rights
![Hauer](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Abigail-Hauer.jpg?itok=VEHJXugN)
Abigail Hauer
Hometown: Baltimore
Public Service Interests: Gender-based violence, women’s and victims’ rights, progressive prosecution
![Herth](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Nina-Herth.jpg?itok=uQ3m5zrp)
Nina Herth
Hometown: St. Augustine, Florida
Before UVA Law: Fundraising and communications at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, public defense, criminal legal system reform
Io Jones
Hometown: New York
Before UVA Law: Paralegal
Public Service Interests: Reproductive justice; civil rights; youth justice
![Keck](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Molly-Keck.jpg?itok=mcKyfT8q)
Molly Keck
Hometown: Annandale, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Legal Assistant in Detained Children’s Program at CAIR Coalition
Public Service Interests: Labor, immigrants’ rights, youth advocacy, transitional justice
Malcolm Law
Hometown: Eden, North Carolina
Public Service Interests: Public defense
![Leonard](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Lauren-Leonard.jpg?itok=O_EyXkmv)
Lauren Leonard
Hometown: Puyallup, Washington
Before UVA Law: Victim advocate at the King County Prosecutor’s office
Public Service Interests: Military, women’s rights, reproductive justice.
Bryanna Lindberg
Hometown: Galax, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Staff at an anti-human trafficking organization based in Perth, Australia
Public Service Interests: Public defense, human rights, immigration
![Mato](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Sabrina-Mato.jpg?itok=hU1z7W24)
Sabrina Mato
Hometown: Guines, Cuba, and Naples, Florida
Before UVA Law: Worked as a paralegal specialist at the Department of Justice in the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
Public Service Interests: Immigration, civil rights, workers’ rights.
![Mehrotra](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Swati-Mehrotra.jpg?itok=51uJA4Ax)
Swati Mehrotra
Hometown: Albany, New York
Before UVA Law: Teach for America in Philadelphia
Public Service Interests: civil rights, public defense, policing reform
![McNerney](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Lauren-McNerney.jpg?itok=1UasYiY4)
Lauren McNerney
Hometown: Sykesville, Maryland
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, government advocacy, legal aid, public defense.
![Mueller](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Austin-Mueller.jpg?itok=zg1QOQ9G)
Austin Mueller
Hometown: Long Valley, New Jersey
Before UVA Law: Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of North Carolina; assistant English teacher in Mallorca, Spain; fundraising professional at the Center for Responsible Lending in Durham, North Carolina
Public Service Interests: Economic and consumer justice, housing, financial regulation, poverty law
![Patel](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Sheena-Patel.jpg?itok=6MDmLQbD)
Sheena Patel
Hometown: Westminster, Maryland
Before UVA Law: Nonprofit and federal sector internships during undergraduate career
Public Service Interests: Environmental law
![Pritchard](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Meg-Pritchard.jpg?itok=qDb5fd4j)
Meg Pritchard
Hometown: Charlottesville
Before UVA Law: Fellow at environmental nonprofits in Alaska, youth backpacking trip planner in Western Mass.
Public Service Interests: Environmental justice, climate change, water law
![Elizabeth Putfark](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2024---Elizabeth-Putfark.jpg?itok=6SMZ7AC6)
Elizabeth Putfark
Hometown: Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Before UVA Law: Adjunct professor of English at community colleges, freelance journalist
Public Service Interests: Energy and environmental law
Riley Ries
Hometown: Vinton, Iowa
Before UVA Law: Legislative correspondent for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, logistics officer in the U.S. Army Reserve
Public Service Interests: Tax law, white-collar prosecution, civil litigation, military justice
![Seiler](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Christopher-Seiler.jpg?itok=AIBqXFge)
Chris Seiler
Hometown: Midlothian, Virginia
Before UVA Law: Air Force intelligence officer
Public Service Interests: Environmental law, consumer protection, voting rights
![Singsank](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024----Lauralei-Singsank.jpg?itok=ejovwHFU)
Lauralei Singsank
Hometown: Maui, Hawaii
Before UVA Law: AmeriCorps volunteer in Portland, Oregon
Public Service Interests: Government, economic and consumer justice
![Mia Smutny](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/crop-2024---Mia-Smutny_0.jpg?itok=XYRyShJK)
Mia Smutny
Hometown: Minneapolis
Before UVA Law: Paralegal at a law firm in Washington, D.C.
Public Service Interests: Education civil rights and policy, economic justice
![Stone](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Keith-Stone.jpg?itok=2aXwYDr-)
Keith Stone
Hometown: Los Angeles
Public Service Interests: Prosecution, criminal justice reform
![Surgill](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Sabrina-Surgil.jpg?itok=S3CmZdTf)
Sabrina Surgil
Hometown: Pittsburgh
Before UVA Law: French interpreter for asylum seekers in Lesvos, Greece
Public Service Interests: Immigrant rights, removal defense, LGBTQ/trans rights, disability justice, abolition, movement lawyering
Stephanie Turrentine
Hometown: Huntsville, Alabama
Before UVA Law: Peace Corps volunteer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, AmeriCorps volunteer in Honolulu
Public Service Interests: Civil rights, housing, economic justice
![Zipperer](/sites/default/files/styles/1_scale_x_small/public/images/2024---Grace-Zipperer.jpg?itok=v4cFNnFC)
Grace Zipperer
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Public Service Interests: Refugee/immigration law, international human rights law, abolition
Third-year student Grace Zipperer is the University of Virginia School of Law’s first recipient of the Immigrant Justice Corps’ Justice Fellowship, through which she will advocate for asylum-seeking children.
2023-24 Student Board
- Co-Presidents: Ellen Florek and Molly Keck
- Communications Chair: Salwa Ahmad
- Outreach Chairs: Nathaniel Glass and Shelby Wolfe
- Membership Chairs: Anna Harvey and Delaney Tubbs
- Alumni and Networking Chair: Alyssa Marshall
- Shaping Justice Chairs: Noa Jett and Rohini Kurup
- Academics Chair: Simeon Daferede
Kara Hafermalz, a 2023 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law from Dawsonville, Georgia, who volunteered 468 hours over the past three years, received the school’s annual Pro Bono Award at graduation.
Events
NoGI Dinner
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, 5:30-7:30 p.m., The Park
For 2L and 3L LPS fellows who identify as “NoGI,” come on out to The Park for dinner and reconnecting with your friends!
Program in Law and Public Service Information Session and Cupcake Social
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 1-2 p.m., Purcell Reading Room
Hear about what the LPS program and community have to offer, meet LPS fellows and director Professor Annie Kim, and design your own public service cupcakes.
March 26, 2024
UVA Law alumna Tahesha L. Way ’96 speaks about her career path to the roles of New Jersey lieutenant governor and secretary of state, offers advice to current law students, and stresses the importance of voting in every election.