Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute Announces 44 New Fellows

Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute Announces 44 New Fellows

Groundbreaking Program Centers Racial Equity in Anti-Poverty Advocacy

Contact: Lane Pickett
(P) 312.368.5231
lanepickett@povertylaw.org

CHICAGO—The Shriver Center on Poverty Law today announced 44 Fellows have been selected to take part in its 2020 Racial Justice Institute (RJI), a leadership program that equips and coordinates anti-poverty advocates to affirmatively advance racial equity. 

Policies and laws that create and perpetuate poverty and racial inequity are written into the fabric of our country. The recent COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the systemic inequities and structural racism that many communities experience daily. The Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute grounds advocates in a commitment to race equity as an integral and essential part of anti-poverty advocacy and prepares them to tackle these issues on behalf of the communities they serve. Following seven months of intensive training, Racial Justice Institute fellows join a national network of over 240 alumni advancing race equity litigation, policy advocacy and organizational alignment.

This year’s RJI Fellows include a diverse group of public interest lawyers, legal aid attorneys, philanthropic program officers, community advocates, executive leadership, communications and policy professionals, and paralegals. They come from 14 organizations advancing justice in nine states, the District of Columbia, and three international offices in New Delhi, Mexico, and Nigeria.

“It is long past time to move our nation into action to dismantle systemic racism and end disparities in opportunity,” said Kimberly Merchant, Director of the Racial Justice Institute and Network. “The Racial Justice Institute equips leaders to call out the structural changes necessary and advocate for laws and policies that ensure all people have an equitable opportunity to thrive.”

The 2020 Fellows’ come to the Racial Justice Institute with experience in a wide range of advocacy areas, including criminal justice reform, second chance opportunities, civil rights, consumer protection, economic advancement, disability rights, immigrants’ rights, affordable housing/homelessness, and climate change/environmental justice. Under the intensive seven-month RJI program that begins in May, the Fellows will be exposed to a core set of racial equity concepts which they can apply to projects they are carrying out with and on behalf of various communities.

“This year’s Fellows are working with communities facing many systemic challenges, including individuals experiencing discrimination in the criminal justice system, people facing gentrification and housing discrimination, low-income immigrants, and people with disabilities,” said Janerick Holmes, Associate Director of the Racial Justice Institute and Network. “As RJI participants, they will learn tools and concepts they can use to confront the impact structural racism has on the communities they serve.”

Entering its seventh year, the Shriver Center’s Racial Justice Institute has cultivated nearly 250 advocates, representing 90 organizations in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Fellows emerge from the program ready to help shape policies that support a more racially just society and continue to work in concert as part of the RJI alumni network.

By providing anti-poverty advocates with racial justice tools and concepts, including a framework to contextualize structural racism, systems thinking, and social cognition and implicit bias, RJI is transforming legal aid and public interest advocacy. The full list of the 2020 Fellows can be found below.

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2020 RJI Fellows

Emmy Aceves Mitchell, Legal Services of Northern California
Daniel Bahls, Community Legal Aid (Massachusetts)
Marie Bechtel, Legal Aid of West Virginia
Vicki Belstadt, Legal Assistance of Western New York
Taima Beyah, National Center for Youth Law
Elise Brown, Georgia Legal Services Program
Sandra Chung, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County
Verónica Cortez, Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Aisha Edwards, MacArthur Foundation
Krystall Escobedo, Legal Assistance of Western New York
Tanya Gassenheimer, Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Bria Gillum, MacArthur Foundation
Alyssa Golden, Community Legal Aid (Massachusetts)
Jesse Hahnel, National Center for Youth Law
Michael Harris, National Center for Youth Law
Nina Harrison, Community Legal Aid (Massachusetts)
Sylvie Henry, HopeWorks of Howard County
Karla James, National Center for Youth Law
Patrice James, Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Ashley Jarvis, HopeWorks of Howard County
Medge Joseph, Brooklyn Defender Services
Whitney Knox Lee, Georgia Legal Services Program
Laurie Lambrix, Legal Assistance of Western New York
Laurence Lee, Legal Services of Northern California
Victoria Maqueda, Ayuda
Robin Marable, Legal Assistance of Western New York
Molly Meltzer, Brooklyn Defender Services
Jarrell Mitchell, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County
Weyayonnoh Nelson-Davies, Community Legal Aid (Massachusetts)
Fernando Nunez, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County
Mario Paredes, Prisoners’ Legal Services
Alexandra Reyes, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County
Sara Ropelato, Legal Services of Northern California
Kristina Rosales, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County
Sarah Saadian, National Low Income Housing Coalition
Jacqueline Schwaben, Legal Aid of West Virginia
Paul Sheridan, Legal Aid of West Virginia
Alison Slagowitz, Georgia Legal Services Program
Reed Steberger, Legal Assistance of Western New York
Treshia Thomas, Ayuda
Chrishana White, Brooklyn Defender Services
LaToya Whiteside, Prisoners’ Legal Services
Chantelle Wilkinson, National Low Income Housing Coalition
Renee Willis, National Low Income Housing Coalition

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The Shriver Center on Poverty Law fights for economic and racial justice. Over our 50-year history, we have secured hundreds of victories with and for people living in poverty in Illinois and across the country. Today, we litigate, shape policy, and train and convene multi-state networks of lawyers, community leaders, and activists nationwide. Together, we are building a future where all people have equal dignity, respect, and power under the law. Join the fight at povertylaw.org.