Professor Susan Sturm smiles while teaching a lecture.

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:

  • Delia Addo-Yobo ’19, Senior Staff Attorney, U.S. Advocacy and Litigation, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  • Paul Barker ’19, Assistant District Attorney, Manhattan District Attorney's Office
  • Esha Bhandari ’10, Director, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
  • Molly Biklen ’04, Legal Director, New York Civil Liberties Union
  • Caitlin Boyce ’10, Policy Specialist, U.N. Development Programme
  • Bianca Chavez-Norgaard ’22, Deputy State Public Defender, Colorado Office of the State Public Defender
  • Susannah Cohen ’22, Associate, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight
  • Kinara Flagg ’11, Director of Fair Housing Test, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
  • Margaret Garnett ’00, United States District Judge, 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, Deputy Director, Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU of Southern California
  • Suz Kroeber ’21, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor
  • Tyler Anne Lee ’20, Attorney, Appellate Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Oscar Lopez ’13, Associate Managing Attorney, Mental Health Practice Group (MHPG), Disability Rights California (DRC)
  • Patricia Okonta ’18, Litigation Director, Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom
  • 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, Staff Attorney, National Security Project, ACLU
  • Camilla Taylor ’96, Director of Constitutional Litigation, Lambda Legal

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. The 2026-2027 Advisory Board includes:

  • Leah Bahramipour '28
  • Celena Castelnuovo-Tedesco '28
  • Michael Gelb '28
  • Ivanna Guerra Navarro '27
  • Joe Kelly '27
  • Keerat Singh '28
  • Liel Sterling '27
  • Doris Turkel '28
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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.”