Where Are They Now: Equal Justice Works Alumni Reflections Panel

Our alumni have helped uplift lives and improve widespread access to our justice system with the support of an Equal Justice Works Fellowship. These passionate public service leaders have advocated on behalf of human trafficking survivors, knocked down barriers to legal services for immigrant families, secured safe and affordable housing for tenants, assisted individuals with disaster recovery and preparedness, and so much more.

Today, more than 85% of our Fellows stay in public service following their Fellowships, where they continue to challenge systems of injustice and help inspire and educate future passionate public service leaders.

In April, we kicked off our Alumni Engagement Program with a series of virtual events to reconnect and celebrate with our alumni community. One of these events was a panel featuring members of our alumni community in discussion about how their Equal Justice Works Fellowships have helped them to grow and develop as public service leaders.

The alumni panelists—Ahilan Arulanantham, Mary Bissell, Andrew Cederdahl, Ericka Garcia, and Aurora Martin, alongside moderator Meghan Kempf—reflected on how their Fellowships laid the foundation for them to pursue their passion for equal justice and turn it into a lifelong career. “The peer relationships and support networks I developed are still incredibly important 20 years later,” Ahilan noted, on the impact of the connections he made as a Fellow.

If you’re a recent law school graduate or a lawyer new to public interest law, learn more about how you, too, can follow your passion to serve your community or a cause you care about. Visit here to apply for a 2022 Design-Your-Own Fellowship before the deadline on September 20, 2021.  

Already part of the Equal Justice Works alumni community? Visit here to learn more about our current alumni engagement opportunities, including becoming a member of the inaugural Equal Justice Works Alumni Advisory Council (AAC).