Professor Susan Sturm smiles while teaching a lecture.

Advisory Groups

  1. Careers
  2. Public Interest and Public Service Careers
  3. Advisory Groups

Berger Fellows benefit from the following advisory bodies that are closely involved with the Berger Fellows Program.

This interdisciplinary group of faculty members provides guidance on various elements of the program, assists with the development of curricular guidelines, hosts programming, and serves as mentors to Berger Fellows.

Current Faculty Advisory Group members:

Practitioner Advisory Board members represent a range of public interest and public service practitioners (diverse in practice area, geographic location, and experience level) who help oversee the program, serve as mentors to Berger Fellows, and participate in key events.

Current Practitioner Advisory Board members:

  • Paul Barker ’19, Assistant District Attorney, Manhattan District Attorney's Office
  • Esha Bhandari ’10, Deputy Director, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
  • Molly Biklen ’04, Deputy Legal Director, New York Civil Liberties Union
  • Michael Bochenek ’95, Senior Counsel, Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch
  • Caitlin Boyce ’10, Policy Specialist, UN Development Programme
  • Bianca Chavez-Norgaard ’22, Law Clerk, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • Carmen Cheung ’02, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Accountability
  • Kinara Flagg ’11, Trial Attorney, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
  • Margaret Garnett ’00, Deputy U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York
  • Lee Gelernt ’88, Deputy Director, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project
  • Madeline Gomez ’15, Policy Counsel, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
  • Adriene Holder ’91, Attorney-in-Charge, Civil Practice, The Legal Aid Society
  • Hon. Carolina Holderness ’06, Judge, Criminal Court of the City of New York
  • Mayra Joachin ’15, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Southern California
  • Tyler Anne Lee ’20, Attorney, Appellate Section, Criminal Division, US Department of Justice
  • Oscar Lopez ’13, Senior Staff Attorney, Mental Health Practice Group (MHPG), Disability Rights California (DRC)
  • Patricia Okonta ’18, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  • Nina Perales ’90, Vice President of Litigation, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF)
  • Susan Butler Plum, Senior Adviser, Skadden Foundation
  • Ami Shah ’15, Deputy Director, Housing Unit, Manhattan Legal Services
  • Jeff Stein ’19, Associate Attorney, Earthjustice
  • Camilla Taylor ’96, Litigation Director, Lambda Legal

View Practitioner Advisory Board Member bios

This large group of senior-level alumni are experts and leaders (past or present) in the public interest and government sectors, and are available to provide support or advice to PI/PS Fellows. A list of council members can be found here.

This group of upperclass Berger Fellows provides insight and recommendations to ensure the program meets the needs of the Fellows.

Current Student Advisory Group members:

  • Sarah Al-Shalash ’24
  • Sofia Calvo Castillo ’25
  • Ilana Dutton ’25
  • Jamie Jenkins ’24
  • Angela Kang ’25
  • Zachary Kayal ’24
  • Anthony Mejia ’25
  • Nayzak Wali-Ali ’24
  • Isabel Zúñiga ’24
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“To build effective careers in public service, students will need to prepare both inside and outside the classroom. The Max Berger ’71 Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program enables students to explore public interest and public service opportunities more deeply, while having fun doing so.”