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
Equip for Equality, Chicago, IL
Nneka Ugwu
Nneka will utilize legal representation, outreach and training, and policy advocacy in support of Black students with disabilities in Illinois, to address persistent disproportionality of exclusionary school discipline.
By representing Black students with disabilities who are suffering from all forms of school pushout, my project will use the law as a tool for reimagining schools as sites of restorative justice and opportunity rather than punishment and fear.
2024
New York Legal Assistance Group, Public Housing Justice Project, New York, NY
Sophia Fenn
Sophia will represent underserved New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) tenants who face severe habitability issues caused by NYCHA's systemic divestment and neglect.
Despite facing severe habitability issues, New York City Housing Authority tenants are intentionally shut out from city services by exclusionary policies. My project arose from community concern over these policies, and a desire to fill the gap in services they create in order to secure safe housing for NYCHA communities.
2024
Make the Road New York, White Plains, NY
Diego Fernández-Pagés
Diego will address exploitation of immigrant workers of color in Westchester County by mobilizing two novel legal tools — a reporting app and Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement — to inform legislative advocacy, impact litigation and workplace organizing and build collective, democratic power.
I picked my project out of a commitment to immigrant worker communities that extends back to my days as an organizer before law school, from one coast to the other, and that has been central to my legal education. I’ve also always admired Make the Road’s membership-based model and their enormous successes in bringing justice to immigrants in the New York City area.
2024
ACLU of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
Maya Hiebert
Maya will use direct representation in administrative appeals, strategic litigation and policy advocacy on behalf of New Jersey parents to enhance parental rights in the child welfare system.
Very few things are more invasive than a child welfare investigation, as for many individuals, family is the most intimate, personal part of their lives. Despite this, my incredible clients display resiliency and love throughout investigations and inspire me to pursue systemic changes to fight for parental justice.