Introducing our
2024 Skadden Fellows
These 28 Fellows come from 15 law schools and will address a wide variety of civil legal needs for people living in poverty across the U.S. The Skadden Foundation has funded 990 public interest fellowships since the program's founding 35 years ago.
2024
Brooklyn Defender Services, Brooklyn, NY
Mia Stange
Mia will provide direct representation in employment law and immigration matters to immigrant workers, with a focus on identifying and representing noncitizen workers eligible for Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement.
I am honored to support Brooklyn Defender Services in its efforts to expand access to labor-based deferred action for noncitizens in New York City who are impacted by the criminal, family and immigration legal systems. These protections are the product of worker-led organizing, and ensure that our clients and other immigrant workers will not face retaliation for asserting their right to safe and stable employment.
2024
Project on Predatory Student Lending, Boston, MA
Malik Jarvis
Malik will engage in policy advocacy, outreach and litigation to protect borrowers’ rights and reduce the burden of Parent PLUS loans on low-income families, with a particular focus on Black families.
Low-income parents who borrow to finance their children's education want what most families do — to give their children more opportunities. Too many of these families instead end up saddled with unsustainable, intergenerational debt burdens, and I want to use the law to combat this problem.
2024
ACLU, LGBTQ & HIV Project, New York, NY
Alexandra Johnson
Alexandra will bring impact litigation and develop public education materials to challenge and address state Medicaid programs' prohibitions of and limitations on providing gender-affirming care.
I came to this project through my work in the clinic on behalf of transgender veterans who rely on government health care, but who were denied it on the basis of their gender identity. Gender-affirming care is essential care, and — just like other essential care that Medicaid must cover — it shouldn’t be conditioned on one’s ability to pay.
2024
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, Des Moines, IA
Barbara Rodriguez
Barbara will employ legal representation, community outreach and know-your-rights trainings to support detained noncitizens as well as immigrants living in remote, rural communities across Iowa who are at high risk of being deported.
I chose my project because I want to work with and on behalf of immigrant communities across Iowa to expand legal representation in immigration proceedings, and help obtain noncitizens' release from detention and relief from removal.