Announcing our Summer 2018 Public Interest Fellows
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 11:39 am
Greetings!
On behalf of the Buffalo Public Interest Law Program (BPILP), we would like to thank everyone who supported this year’s Auction! Whether you attended the auction, bought a ticket or made a donation, it was one of our most successful auctions ever…even with the snow storm and UB closing, which we all know doesn’t happen too often. For those who were able to come to the auction, we hope you had fun and left with some cool stuff.
We would also like to thank the Law School Dean’s Office, the Development Office, the Career Services Office, the UB Law Alumni Association, and the Charles E. Mann Public Interest Award Fund; the remarkable leadership and members of BPILP; our very generous alumni, faculty, staff, student donors; and members of the legal community, who continue to be committed to public interest law.
Through this combined dedication and support, 43 projects are receiving funding this summer. These include the BPILP Fellows, several UB Law Alumni-Funded Fellows that BPILP helps to facilitate, four Catalyst Public Service Fellows, which is jointly funded by the law school and the New York Bar Foundation, five students receiving funding from the Buffalo Human Rights Center (BHRC), and nine students receiving funding from the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD Program. Excitingly, UB School of Law has the most students enrolled in the AmeriCorps JD Program this summer.
Please join me in CONGRATULATING this year’s terrific summer public interest fellows!
BUFFALO PUBLIC INTEREST LAW PROGRAM FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS:
Charles E. Mann Public Interest Award Recipient
Meghan Zickl ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. – Batavia, NY
Dean’s Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellows
Caitlin Beck ’20 – Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit –
Newark, NJ
Kenisha Flowers ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
Katie Gojevic ’20 – Honorable Sharon LoVallo, Erie County Family Court – Buffalo, NY
& Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Attorneys for Children – Buffalo, NY
Michael Ryman ’20 – New York State Office of the Inspector General – Buffalo, NY
Emily Sauers ’19 – Ontario County District Attorney’s Office – Canandaigua, NY
Anna Stern ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
UB Law Alumni Association’s Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellow
John Kuebler ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., Housing Unit – Buffalo, NY
Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellows
Jonathan Francisco ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Rochester, NY
Diana Ganis ’20 – New York State Mental Hygiene Legal Service, Second Judicial Department –
Tarrytown, NY
Michael Garrett ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. – Batavia, NY
Kapila Kapoor ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
Cassondra McCormick ’20 – Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, United States Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit – Newark, NJ
Meghan McElligott ’20 – United States Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources
Division, Environmental Enforcement Department – Washington, DC
Samantha Rubino ’20 – New York State Office of the Attorney General – Buffalo, NY
UB LAW ALUMNI-FUNDED FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS:
Alan Carrel Award Recipient
Vicki Bell ’19 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
Freudenheim Fellow
Leighann Ramirez ’20 – Unlocal, Inc. – New York, NY
Garry Graber Fellow
Christopher Phillips ’20 – Center for Elder Law & Justice – Buffalo, NY
Kaplan & Reynolds Fellows
Kelsey Hatfield ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Brian Whitney ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Krisel Fellows
Ross Lopez ’20 – Queens County District Attorney’s Office, Homicide Trials Bureau – Kew Gardens, NY
Gargy Sarker Monterville ’19 – Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Criminal Defense Unit – Buffalo, NY
Terry M. Richman Fellow
Elizabeth David ’19 – American Bar Association Center on Children and Law – Washington, DC
Western New York Law Center Fellow
Nicholas Mansour ’20 – Western New York Law Center, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Women, Children and Social Justice Advocacy Fellow
Gina Piva ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., Family Unit – Niagara Falls, NY
ADDITIONAL FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS:
Catalyst Public Service Fellows
Ashley Baxter ’20 – Honorable Doris Ling-Cohan, New York Supreme Court, Appellate Term, First
Department – New York, NY – as part of the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program.
Deonna Jones ’19 – Erie County District Attorney’s Office – Buffalo, NY
& The Door’s Legal Services Center – New York, NY
Natalia Marte ’20 – The Bronx Defenders, Criminal Defense Practice – Bronx, NY
Ifeoluwa Popoola ’19 – Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Civil Unit – Buffalo, NY
BHRC Human Rights Fellows
Amani Abuhamra ’20 – Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York – Buffalo, NY
Erin Barry ’20 – Center for Elder Law & Justice – Buffalo, NY
Peter Farruggia ’20 – Univera Healthcare Resource Center, Health & Human Rights Policy – Buffalo, NY
Taylor Knowles ’20 -- Center for Elder Law & Justice – Buffalo, NY
Robert Neill ’20 – Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Health Care Access Project – New York, NY
Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD Program Members
Kerri Bejger ’19 – Clinical Legal Education Program at the University at Buffalo, School of Law – Buffalo, NY
Carrington Garber ’20 – Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Immigration Services – Buffalo, NY
Kelsey Hatfield ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Jennifer Klemenz ’19 – Neighborhood Legal Services – Buffalo, NY
Robert Neill ’20 – Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Health Care Access Project – New York, NY
Leighann Ramirez ’20 – Unlocal, Inc. – New York, NY
Shelby Scibetta ’20 – Erie County Bar Association, Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc., Immigration Services
– Buffalo, NY
Brian Whitney ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
John Zakour ’20 – Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. – Bath, NY – as part of the NYS Family Security
Project.
Dawn M. Skopinski
Externship Program Administrator
& Public Interest Coordinator
University at Buffalo School of Law
The State University of New York
610 O’Brian Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
716.645.6261
skopinsk@buffalo.edu
On behalf of the Buffalo Public Interest Law Program (BPILP), we would like to thank everyone who supported this year’s Auction! Whether you attended the auction, bought a ticket or made a donation, it was one of our most successful auctions ever…even with the snow storm and UB closing, which we all know doesn’t happen too often. For those who were able to come to the auction, we hope you had fun and left with some cool stuff.
We would also like to thank the Law School Dean’s Office, the Development Office, the Career Services Office, the UB Law Alumni Association, and the Charles E. Mann Public Interest Award Fund; the remarkable leadership and members of BPILP; our very generous alumni, faculty, staff, student donors; and members of the legal community, who continue to be committed to public interest law.
Through this combined dedication and support, 43 projects are receiving funding this summer. These include the BPILP Fellows, several UB Law Alumni-Funded Fellows that BPILP helps to facilitate, four Catalyst Public Service Fellows, which is jointly funded by the law school and the New York Bar Foundation, five students receiving funding from the Buffalo Human Rights Center (BHRC), and nine students receiving funding from the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD Program. Excitingly, UB School of Law has the most students enrolled in the AmeriCorps JD Program this summer.
Please join me in CONGRATULATING this year’s terrific summer public interest fellows!
BUFFALO PUBLIC INTEREST LAW PROGRAM FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS:
Charles E. Mann Public Interest Award Recipient
Meghan Zickl ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. – Batavia, NY
Dean’s Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellows
Caitlin Beck ’20 – Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit –
Newark, NJ
Kenisha Flowers ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
Katie Gojevic ’20 – Honorable Sharon LoVallo, Erie County Family Court – Buffalo, NY
& Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Attorneys for Children – Buffalo, NY
Michael Ryman ’20 – New York State Office of the Inspector General – Buffalo, NY
Emily Sauers ’19 – Ontario County District Attorney’s Office – Canandaigua, NY
Anna Stern ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
UB Law Alumni Association’s Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellow
John Kuebler ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., Housing Unit – Buffalo, NY
Buffalo Public Interest Law Program Fellows
Jonathan Francisco ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Rochester, NY
Diana Ganis ’20 – New York State Mental Hygiene Legal Service, Second Judicial Department –
Tarrytown, NY
Michael Garrett ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. – Batavia, NY
Kapila Kapoor ’20 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
Cassondra McCormick ’20 – Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, United States Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit – Newark, NJ
Meghan McElligott ’20 – United States Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources
Division, Environmental Enforcement Department – Washington, DC
Samantha Rubino ’20 – New York State Office of the Attorney General – Buffalo, NY
UB LAW ALUMNI-FUNDED FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS:
Alan Carrel Award Recipient
Vicki Bell ’19 – United States Attorney’s Office, WDNY – Buffalo, NY
Freudenheim Fellow
Leighann Ramirez ’20 – Unlocal, Inc. – New York, NY
Garry Graber Fellow
Christopher Phillips ’20 – Center for Elder Law & Justice – Buffalo, NY
Kaplan & Reynolds Fellows
Kelsey Hatfield ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Brian Whitney ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Krisel Fellows
Ross Lopez ’20 – Queens County District Attorney’s Office, Homicide Trials Bureau – Kew Gardens, NY
Gargy Sarker Monterville ’19 – Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Criminal Defense Unit – Buffalo, NY
Terry M. Richman Fellow
Elizabeth David ’19 – American Bar Association Center on Children and Law – Washington, DC
Western New York Law Center Fellow
Nicholas Mansour ’20 – Western New York Law Center, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Women, Children and Social Justice Advocacy Fellow
Gina Piva ’20 – Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., Family Unit – Niagara Falls, NY
ADDITIONAL FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS:
Catalyst Public Service Fellows
Ashley Baxter ’20 – Honorable Doris Ling-Cohan, New York Supreme Court, Appellate Term, First
Department – New York, NY – as part of the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program.
Deonna Jones ’19 – Erie County District Attorney’s Office – Buffalo, NY
& The Door’s Legal Services Center – New York, NY
Natalia Marte ’20 – The Bronx Defenders, Criminal Defense Practice – Bronx, NY
Ifeoluwa Popoola ’19 – Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Civil Unit – Buffalo, NY
BHRC Human Rights Fellows
Amani Abuhamra ’20 – Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York – Buffalo, NY
Erin Barry ’20 – Center for Elder Law & Justice – Buffalo, NY
Peter Farruggia ’20 – Univera Healthcare Resource Center, Health & Human Rights Policy – Buffalo, NY
Taylor Knowles ’20 -- Center for Elder Law & Justice – Buffalo, NY
Robert Neill ’20 – Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Health Care Access Project – New York, NY
Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD Program Members
Kerri Bejger ’19 – Clinical Legal Education Program at the University at Buffalo, School of Law – Buffalo, NY
Carrington Garber ’20 – Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Immigration Services – Buffalo, NY
Kelsey Hatfield ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
Jennifer Klemenz ’19 – Neighborhood Legal Services – Buffalo, NY
Robert Neill ’20 – Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Health Care Access Project – New York, NY
Leighann Ramirez ’20 – Unlocal, Inc. – New York, NY
Shelby Scibetta ’20 – Erie County Bar Association, Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc., Immigration Services
– Buffalo, NY
Brian Whitney ’20 – Journey’s End Refugee Services, Inc. – Buffalo, NY
John Zakour ’20 – Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. – Bath, NY – as part of the NYS Family Security
Project.
Dawn M. Skopinski
Externship Program Administrator
& Public Interest Coordinator
University at Buffalo School of Law
The State University of New York
610 O’Brian Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
716.645.6261
skopinsk@buffalo.edu