Meet the Fellows

Ahmad Abdulwadood ’29
Ahmad Abdulwadood seeks a career in juvenile defense. Before returning to New York City, Ahmad double majored in Africana studies and government and legal studies at Bowdoin College. At college, Ahmad split his time between labor and mutual aid organizing, working as a peer educator at the Office of Gender Violence Prevention, and research experiences at the Maine Conservation Voters, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and the American Bar Foundation. After graduating,  Ahmad worked at the New York Public Library as an after-school teacher at Riverside Library. 

Zander D'Anconia Arnao ’29
Zander Arnao is passionate about fighting corporate power and elite influence in American democracy, and plans to pursue a career focused on antimonopoly law. Zander earned his B.A. in public policy and M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago. Prior to law school, he served as a public interest technologist at the Federal Trade Commission and a policy analyst at the Knight-Georgetown Institute, where he focused on competition policy in digital markets. Zander also regularly publishes commentary and scholarship on topics related to law and political economy. 

Jack Barrett ’29
Jack Barrett is passionate about crafting better environmental regulatory law and understanding legal roadblocks to the energy transition. He earned a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College after completing a dual-major in environment, economics & politics and international relations. Jack has worked as a wildland firefighter with CalFire, a stage technician at the Garrison Theater, and a development intern at The Carter Center. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing, slacklining, and billiards.

Lalise Beyene ’29
Lalise Beyene is passionate about promoting human rights and advocating for refugees through stronger international frameworks and policies. Lalise earned her B.A. in international relations and economics at the University of Southern California. Before law school, she worked for the United Nations World Food Programme, where she contributed to initiatives aimed at improving operational effectiveness and supporting sustainable development and humanitarian outcomes.

Ama Boham ’29
Ama Boham is passionate about indigent criminal defense and economic policy that redirects resources from punishment toward violence prevention and root-cause community care. Ama has a B.S. in policy analysis and management from Cornell University, where she minored in crime, prisons, education, and justice. Ama spent two years postgrad as a senior paralegal at Youth Represent, where she directly supported justice-impacted young people with criminal and employment legal issues, followed by a year as a legal assistant at the civil rights high-impact litigation firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel. Ama is the Cornell school record holder and Ivy League Champion in the 60m hurdles.

Rehan D. Chaudhuri ’29
Rehan Chaudhuri aspires to a career in plaintiff-side litigation focused on advancing sexual & reproductive liberty – and, more broadly, substantive equality – as a constitutional right. Rehan earned a Bachelor of Civil Law with Distinction from the University of Oxford, where he specialized in jurisprudence and equality law. He also graduated second in his class with an LL.B. from the University of Leeds. After his initial studies, Rehan spent 3 years as a senior U.S. litigation paralegal at the Center for Reproductive Rights. There, he assisted with litigation to expand medical exceptions to state abortion bans and to develop the right to choose where and with whom to give birth. While at Leeds, he provided in-court support to domestic violence survivors, and he interned at a migrant support clinic. Rehan is a first-generation law student and a first-generation American.

Jack Covert ’29
Jack Covert seeks a career in public interest law focused on serving transgender people and advancing LGBTQ+ civil rights. Before moving to New York, he graduated from Tulane University with a B.S. in psychology and a B.A. in philosophy. In Louisiana, Jack interned with a legal aid organization, supporting intake and case development for low-income, unhoused, and veteran clients.

Dina Eldawy ’29
Dina Eldawy hopes to explore anti-war advocacy at the intersection of international law and U.S. foreign policy. Dina Eldawy studied international relations at Syracuse University ('19), and pursued her graduate studies in the United Kingdom as a Marshall Scholar, studying migration and imperial history from the University of Sussex and Oxford, respectively. While living in Syracuse, Dina was first introduced to upstate New York's refugee communities and volunteered weekly with refugee youth. Dina later worked with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., in the largest refugee resettlement program at the time.

Catie Fee ’29
Catie Fee aims to use her career to address the harms of the American criminal legal system through direct services and system-level advocacy. She received her B.A. in sociology with a minor in human rights from Stanford University. Since graduating, Catie has spent two years at the Bronx Defenders, where she worked with clients to navigate the consequences of criminal and family court involvement, such as property retrieval after arrest, access to NYC shelters, and addressing police misconduct.

Chandler Gallaher ’29
Chandler Gallaher is passionate about gender and reproductive justice. Chandler earned a B.A. in women's and gender studies and politics from Sewanee: The University of the South. Before law school, Chandler worked at a nonprofit law firm as an advocate for survivors of sex and labor trafficking.

Ellis Glazer ’29
Ellis Glazer is interested in pursuing a career in plaintiff-side antitrust litigation or civil rights appellate work. He studied political science at American University with a minor in philosophy and graduated magna cum laude. Prior to law school, Ellis interned with the Legal Services Corporation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. At American University, he was vice president of the Model United Nations Team and a research assistant evaluating the efficacy of United Nations Human Rights Treaties.

Sophia Gustafson ’29
Sophia Gustafson is passionate about how human rights and civil rights frameworks can support environmental justice. In 2024, Sophia graduated from Harvard, where she studied environmental science and public policy, with a secondary in ethnicity, migration, and rights. Throughout college, she held internships at the World Resources Institute, Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute, and the Environmental Defense Fund, and engaged in on- and off-campus environmental justice activism. Leading up to law school, Sophia worked as a case manager at a nonprofit serving people experiencing homelessness, while simultaneously managing a nonprofit that she founded in 2010, which supports orphaned children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sawyer Huckabee ’29
Sawyer Huckabee is pursuing a career advocating for free expression and LGBTQ+ rights internationally. At Columbia College, Sawyer graduated with a B.A. in English literature and a minor in mathematics. Sawyer's commitment to free expression began while working as a protest journalist at Columbia's radio station, WKCR. After witnessing institutional pressure directed at WKCR's journalism, Sawyer began collaborating with the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Student Press Law Center to advocate for the free expression rights of journalists and the broader public.

Piper Janoe ’29
Piper Janoe is interested in international civil and political human rights law, particularly as it intersects with governance, conflict, and displacement. Piper earned a dual B.A. in international relations and political science from The Johns Hopkins University and a master's in conflict resolution at Georgetown University, with a certificate in refugees and humanitarian emergencies. Before pursuing law school, Piper worked in the humanitarian and development sector, including as a humanitarian aid worker in South Sudan with the U.N. International Organization for Migration. Piper also spent part of her career working in the political and policy space, including as a staff member on Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Piper is from Oklahoma and, though beginning her undergraduate career as an English literature major, pivoted to a focus on international relations after discovering her passion for international human rights issues while volunteering with a local refugee resettlement organization in Baltimore.

Sebastian Javadpoor ’29
Sebastian Javadpoor is dedicated to the intersection of First Amendment rights and immigration enforcement, having worked closely with peers who have faced targeting and deportation proceedings related to their pro-Palestine advocacy. Sebastian has remained a perpetual student of Columbia University, having earned his B.A. in political science and psychology and an M.A. in political science. Sebastian has spent the entirety of his academic career working in public and community service, having served as an executive aide to Attorney General Letitia James and a mental health hotline operator at Columbia's own Nightline. Recently, Sebastian has returned to organizing, where he works as a political strategist for political campaigns and public figures seeking to uphold a lasting peace in Israel & Palestine.

Akash Kaza ’29
Akash Kaza aims to become deeply involved in voting rights and public service at the municipal and state level and to explore these interests in law school. Akash studied political science and economics at Northeastern University and is completing a master's in public administration at the University of Connecticut. Before law school, Akash worked for the City of Hartford, CT as the mayor's communications director; he also worked on Governor Tim Walz's traveling team during the 2024 Presidential Election, served as campaign manager of Luke Bronin's congressional campaign, and other elections across the country. Akash is the son of South Indian immigrants and a proud Connecticut lifer.

Ruhma Khawaja ’29
Ruhma Khawaja’s interests include asylum/refugee law, incarcerated people's rights, post-9/11 civil liberties, and human rights in South Asia and the Middle East, and she intends to pursue a career in civil and human rights law with a focus on unlawful and inhumane detention. Ruhma graduated from Brown University, where she received a B.A. in international and public affairs and an undergraduate certificate in engaged scholarship. At Brown, Ruhma has engaged with multiple public service organizations, spanning issues such as asylum law, prison reform, refugee policy, voting rights, and housing law. Since graduating and moving to NYC, Ruhma has worked at the Legal Aid Society's criminal defense practice and the Federal Defenders of New York. Ruhma is Pakistani-American with Kashmiri ancestry, and she is a first-generation student.

Jacqueline Kline ’29
Jacqueline “Ellie” Kline is interested in human rights and international humanitarian law. Ellie earned her B.A. in Russian, East European, & Eurasian studies and film & media studies at Smith College, and her M.A. in Russian, East European, & Eurasian studies at Stanford. Before law school, Ellie was a lobbyist and junior staff assistant on Capitol Hill. She also interned at the United Nations on their Holocaust Outreach Programme team.

Andres Cruz Leland ’29
Andres Cruz Leland is interested in a career in public defense and advancing access to justice by strengthening public defense systems, legal aid, and judicial institutions around the world. He earned a B.A. in anthropology with a minor in human rights from the University of Chicago. Before joining Columbia, Andres was a Fulbright grantee in Morocco, where he researched the role of judicial reform in expanding access to justice for Amazigh Indigenous communities and served as a trial paralegal at the Federal Defenders of New York, where he supported the defense of indigent clients in domestic and international criminal cases. His work has also included asylum law, advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, policy advocacy supporting peacebuilding efforts in Israel–Palestine, and prisoners' rights litigation. Before starting law school, Andres spent 300 days traveling through Latin America, Asia, and the Balkans.

Shahid Khan Naeem ’29
Shahid Khan Naeem is focused on using the tools of antitrust and financial regulation to build a more just and stable economy. He is a graduate of Vassar College, where he studied political science and history. Before law school, Shahid worked on tech policy at the Department of Financial Services, the New York State financial regulatory authority, and led the finance program at the American Economic Liberties Project, an antimonopoly think tank that helped lead the Biden administration's antitrust revival. Previously, Shahid worked at the defense think tank CSIS, and he maintains a keen interest in international political economy and U.S. foreign policy.

Amy Nam ’29
Amy Nam is interested in addressing issues related to criminal representation, incarceration, and policing. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in law, history, and culture. During college, she worked on judicial opinions in various civil and criminal matters and spearheaded a cognitive evaluation and treatment program at the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office. Amy is a second-generation Korean-Canadian and the first in her family to attend law school.

Sarah Ogundare ’29
Sarah Ogundare is excited about exploring movement law and civil rights law, especially in the housing justice context. Sarah graduated from Brown University with a concentration in international and public affairs and a certificate in data fluency. Sarah spent two years working as a paralegal at Relman Colfax, a plaintiff-side civil rights law firm that focuses on fair housing and fair lending. She also spent a year as a John Lewis Scholar (a program founded by the Faith and Politics Institute), exploring John Lewis’s principles and political advocacy around faith-based nonviolent activism.

Jared Ortaliza ’29
Jared Ortaliza is passionate about promoting healthcare accessibility and affordability. Jared graduated from the University of California – Los Angeles, where he studied human biology and society and minored in Asian American studies. Before law school, Jared was a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation researching healthcare costs and policy changes to the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces.

Caroline Reed ’29
Caroline Reed seeks a career focused on the intersection between immigration and labor law. Caroline graduated with honors from Yale University with a major in history, writing a senior thesis about the response to the AIDS epidemic in U.S. women's prisons. At Yale, Caroline advocated for better mental healthcare, employees' rights, and progressive political campaigns through leadership positions in Students Unite Now, the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, Elis for Rachael, and Yale Young Democratic Socialists of America. She also worked as a rock climbing guide in Maine and New Hampshire. Caroline is the first in her family to attend law school.

Sean Reilly ’29
Sean Reilly is committed to using the law to fight for working people and looks forward to learning about new pathways to do so. Sean graduated from American University in Washington D.C., having earned a B.S. in economics with minors in sociology and Arabic language. Since finishing his undergraduate education, Sean has spent more than a decade in the labor movement, holding positions as a rank-and-file union leader, organizer, and most recently as a strategic researcher. He has seen firsthand the life-changing impact of robust and militant union organizing.

Laila Rodenbeck ’29
Laila Rodenbeck is passionate about refugee advocacy and investigating torture and war crimes. Laila graduated with honors from Brown University with a double concentration in economics and politics, philosophy, and economics. After graduating, Laila worked at a social impact-focused consulting firm advising global clients. There she supported clients such as the U.N., USAID, and the Caribbean Development Bank on a range of strategic projects. Hailing from Cairo, Egypt, Laila has also spent time as a volunteer grassroots organizer in New York City, as well as in Cairo working with refugees.

Sonia Subramaniam ’29
Sonia Subramaniam is pursuing a career in education policy and advocacy because she is passionate about educational equity. Sonia graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in neuroscience and Spanish, and earned her master's degree in special education from CUNY Hunter College. Before law school, Sonia completed the Teach for America program. She spent three years teaching 3rd and 4th grade with the Harlem Children's Zone.

Kaila Sung ’29
Kaila Sung is passionate about international human rights, with a particular focus on advancing the rights of women and children. She graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with B.A.s in international and public affairs—with a focus on security—and business economics.  During her undergraduate studies, Kaila spent a semester abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, to study humanitarian law. Before beginning law school, she interned with the United Nations NGO Branch, where she supported engagement with civil society organizations around the world. Kaila is from Honolulu, Hawaii, and is a first-generation Japanese-Taiwanese American. She is the first in her family to attend law school.

Shuyan Tang ’29
Shuyan Tang is passionate about asylum reform, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and their intersection with legislative policymaking. He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan with highest distinction and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before law school, Shuyan was an LGBTQ+ activist in China and advocated for immigrants while working in Congress. His experiences as a former asylum seeker motivated him to build a more humane and accessible immigration system. Shuyan is a Truman Scholar and the first in his family to attend college and law school.

Emily Whitehead ’29
Emily Whitehead is interested in the intersection of policy and the law and aspires to have a career in government. Emily attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied political science and business administration. Before law school, Emily worked in the speechwriting and research teams at the White House, was part of the paid media team for Kamala for President, and served as the executive communications strategist at the Brennan Center for Justice.

Hannah Agar ’28
Charles April ’28
Leah Bahramipour ’28
Jonah Berger ’28
Mackenzie Berwick ’28
Sylvie Binder ’28
Michelle Brucker ’28
Celena Castelnuovo-Tedesco ’28
Johan Cavert ’28
Bianca Dammholz ’28
Kit Donovan ’28
Melat Eskender ’28
Michael Gelb ’28
Steven Gray ’28
Maggie Kormann ’28
Yoonseo Lee ’28
Tolliver Mance ’28
Isabel Manning ’28
Meagan Matt ’28
Bryan Miller ’28
Maya Mitrasinovic ’28
Max Niles ’28
Salomé Ragot ’28
Cecilia Sebastian ’28
Keerat Singh ’28
Doris Turkel ’28
Jack Waxman ’28
Gabriella Zalot ’28

Vanessa Braganza ’27
Henry Brody ’27
Danna Burshtine ’27
Sophia Dalldorf ’27
Will Damarjian ’27
Ryan Dyke ’27
Alexis Jade Ferguson ’27
Maurice Frediere ’27
Kailey Griffith ’27
Michael Gross ’27
Ivanna Guerra Navarro ’27
Sam Hernandez ’27
Cam Humphrey ’27
Ria Kanani ’27
Joseph P. Kelly ’27
Ria Bindra McDonald ’27
Annie McGovern ’27
Ishani Mehta ’27
James Morrison ’27
Quinn Muscatel ’27
Danielle Nwosa ’27
Anna Perry ’27
Macario Ramirez-Moriarty ’27
Madigan Ruch ’27
Liel Sterling ’27
Connor Sullivan ’27
Sobechukwu Uwajeh ’27
Selah Williams ’27
Valentina Zavala-Arbelaez ’27

Keir Adamson ’26
Andrew E. Brennen ’26
Abigail Shaska Carbajal ’26
Katherine Coyle ’26
Ava DeSantis ’26
Caelan Dick ’26
Emily Dinan ’26
Pedro Ariel Dominguez ’26
Carly Feldman ’26
Kylie Nicole Ford ’26
Carly Gittrich ’26
Kalvis Golde ’26
Makayla Haussler ’26
Jasmine M. Heiss ’26
Nina Kumar ’26
Hannah LeBaron ’26
Emma Liles ’26
Caroline Mann ’26
Brenley Markowitz ’26
Jennifer Morgan ’26
Alia Nahra ’26
Samantha Norrito ’26
Emmanuel Uyi Osayande ’26
Sarah Safi ’26
Safia Karasick Southey ’26 GS ’21
Elizabeth Sturley ’26
Charles Touche ’26
Alondra Vazquez ’26
Celeste Woloshyn ’26
Lauren Young ’26
Emma Ziegler ’26

Alexis Birge ’25
Benjamin Davis Boston ’25
Martina Brady ’25
T.J. Braxton ’25
Helena Brittain ’25
Sofia Calvo Castillo ’25
Alexander Cordovés Serrano ’25
Ilana Dutton ’25
Skylar Gleason ’25
Alon Goldfinger ’25
Sara Gomez Bohorquez ’25
Alcira Hava ’25
Angela Hyokyoung Kang ’25
Mikhal Kidane ’25
Hannah Kirk Nass ’25
Anne Li ’25
Anthony Mejia ’25
Katie Mimini CC ’19, LAW ’25
Christopher Neville ’25
Sabriyya Pate ’25
Kristen Popham ’25
Nathan Porceng ’25
Sabrina Rich ’25
Kai Salem ’25
Malik Sammons ’25
Jacob A. Sarasin ’25
Mark Scaggs ’25
Natalie Smith ’25
Aubrey Vial ’25

Zartosht Ahlers ’24
Sarah Al-Shalash ’24
Drew Brazer ’24
Jackeline M. Carcamo ’24
Dakota Fenn ’24
Meanna Gray ’24
Margaret Hassel ’24
Josh Jacob ’24
Jamie Jenkins ’24
Daniel “Jack” Jones ’24
Zachary “Zak” Kayal ’24
Divya Korada ’24
Stephen Kpundeh ’24
Peyton Lepp ’24
Erika Lopez ’24
Kendrick Lu ’24
Ashley Marceus ’24
William Oh ’24
Justin Onwenu ’24
Michael Orlando ’24
Elias Passas ’24
Clayton Pierce ’24
Priyanka Radhakrishnan ’24
Harry Reis ’24
Gabriela Rocío Ramírez Ornelas
Rubí Rodriguez ’24
Nayzak Wali-Ali ’24
Rose Wehrman ’24
Isabel Zúñiga ’24

Christopher Alter ’23
Hunter Baehren ’23
Madhuri Belkale ’23
Molly Bodurtha ’23
Likhitha Butchireddygari ’23
Grace Coleman ’23
Kathrina Dabdoub ’23
Allie Doyle ’23
Nkechi Erondu ’23
Fatima Hasanain ’23
Chakshu Hurria ’23
Emily Katz ’23
Eileen Li ’23
Laura McFeely ’23
Anna Belle Newport ’23
Austin Owen ’23
Lee Rea ’23
Tyler Ritchie ’23
Emma Shumway ’23
Julianna Simms ’23
Patricia Elizabeth Stewart ’23
Imani Thornton ’23
Katherine Wilkin ’23

Katja Botchkareva ’22
Bianca Larez Chavez ’22
Susannah R. Cohen ’22
Diana Costin ’22
Emily L. Drake ’22
Raisa Elhadi ’22
Adaeze Eze ’22
Samuel Fishman ’22
Daimiris Garcia ’22
Abie Green ’22
Ailee D. Katz ’22
Hyun Kim ’22
Kate Kobriger ’22
Geesu Lee ’22
August "Gus" Leinbach ’22
Bridgett McCoy ’22
Stephanie Nnadi ’22
Sana Shahzad ’22
Roger Antonio Tejada ’22
Brandon Vines ’22
Dante Violette ’22
Oren Vitenson ’22