Meet our 2001-2002 Advocates!
U.S. Fellows
Adrienne DerVartanian recently finished a federal clerkship in Georgia. She earned her law degree summa cum laude from University of Georgia School of Law in 2000 where she served on the editorial board of the law review and received the Knox Award for Excellence in Serving the Public Interest. Adrienne has special interest and experience in issues affecting immigrant women. She has worked on these issues at the Family Violence Clinic in Athens, Georgia, Catholic Social Services Immigration Unit in Atlanta, Georgia, the North Carolina Legal Services Farmworker Unit, and at Ayuda, Inc. here in Washington D.C. She is working at the National Partnership for Women and Families along with Board Member Judith Lichtman and Director of Legal and Public Policy Jocelyn Frye. Adrienne’s fellowship is generously supported by the Revson Foundation. .

Amid Tragedy, New Fellows Begin Work
As we continue to carry on with our everyday tasks, the events of September 11th are never far from our minds. The terrorist attacks took place just a week after the new Advocates started their Fellowships, many of them living in Washington, DC for the first time and some distance from their families. We hope that all of you, the WLPPFP family, and your families and friends are safe and well.

Women Play a Key Role in Rebuilding Sierra Leone
By Isatu Hyde
Sierra Leone is a small country on the west coast of Africa, with a population of approximately four million people. For nine years Sierra Leone has undergone a devastating civil conflict which ended in July 1999, after a peace accord was signed by the Government and insurgents led by the Revolutionary United Front. In light of the current atmosphere of post-conflict rebuilding and reconstruction, WLPPFP felt it was timely to commence a LAWA program in Sierra Leone. It was apparent that during the civil conflict there had been numerous gross violations of human rights against women and girls. Rebel forces used rape as a terror tactic and forced women and girls to act as sexual slaves. There are little or no medical or psychological services for women who were abducted and raped during the conflict. The time was clearly right to equip the women with the tools to shape and push for gender inclusive laws, policies and practices to protect and promote the women of Sierra Leone.

Despite ongoing discrimination, the women of Sierra Leone have demonstrated an interest in their own welfare and have long been active in civic, philanthropic and non-governmental organizations. Women were instrumental in pressuring the previous government to allow free and fair multiparty elections in 1996 and were also vocal representatives of civil society during the peace talks in Lome in 1999.

The Program is dedicated to keeping this program active in Sierra Leone and continues to seek additional funding with the hope of adding additional Fellows to the Program for the coming year.

Annual Luncheon Inspires a Global Perspective
By Vanessa Brocata, WLPPFP Research Assistant
The Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program held its annual Luncheon to welcome new Fellows on Friday, September 7. Over 100 guests, including Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown University Law Center) faculty and staff, program supporters, alums, advisory board and board members and members of placement organizations gathered to greet the 2001-2002 Advocates and learn about their upcoming work as Fellows. Ambassador John Ernest Leigh from Sierra Leone was in attendance, marking the first year of LAWA Sierra Leone.

WLPPFP Family Grows
The WLPPFP family has welcomed two new members since our last Outreach newsletter. On April 28, Program Director Charlene Gomes and husband Roy Speckhardt (WLPPFP’s pro bono webmaster) welcomed baby Johanna Madeline Gomes Speckhardt. Alumni Co-Director Margaret Johnson also gave birth to a daughter, Maya on October 4, 2001. Charlene returned to work part-time in August and the Program added Marianne Hamilton to the staff as a part-time Program Assistant.

Marianne recently moved from Ohio to the DC area to pursue her Masters in Public Administration at The George Washington University. She is an Earlham College graduate where she majored in Politics and Women’s Studies. Marianne was a leader in Earlham’s Action Against Rape. She has been a domestic violence/homeless shelter volunteer and a Take Back the Night organizer. Marianne hopes to use her degree to pursue projects that allow her to combine her interests in disability rights and feminism.

WLPPFP Welcomes LAWA Participants from South Africa, Sierra Leone
Last spring, WLPPFP initiated the Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Program in Sierra Leone and South Africa. WLPPFP would like to thank the Rockefeller Foundation and the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation for providing the seed money to initiate the program in these countries. We would also like to thank the individuals and groups that helped with advertising and recruitment: USAID South Africa, the Ford Foundation, the Campaign for Good Governance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and the American Embassy in Sierra Leone. In July we welcomed Jamesina King as the first LAWA Fellow from Sierra Leone, and Sibongile Sigodi and Ntibidi Rampete as our first LAWA Fellows from South Africa.

2001 LAWA Commencement
By Harriet Musoke, LAWA Uganda 2000-2001
Shouts of congratulations were heard on May 27, 2001, when the African Fellows met at the Georgetown Main Campus for their commencement. The congratulations were received with smiles on our classmate’s faces. This is the day when we all looked our best wearing blue and purple gowns with hoods. We had completed our mission and obtained our Masters of Law (LL.M.). Our smiles grew when we saw that Mary Hartnett, Executive Director of the LAWA Program, was as excited as the graduates.

We marched elegantly to the quadrangle where the commencement was to take place. The day was bright and cool and the rain held off until we had moved indoors to receive our degrees. Loud shouts and applause erupted when our names were called by Dean Areen. At last, we had graduated. Congratulations to Naomi, Jackie, Mande, Jane, Schola, and Harriet. Congratulations and thanks to the LAWA Program staff who ably steered the course and enabled the graduates to complete their studies successfully.

WLPPFP Explores Program in Mexico
In September, WLPPFP Board Chair Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Executive Director Mary Hartnett had breakfast with Mexico’s First Lady, Martha Sahagun de Fox at Blair House. Mrs. Fox was in Washington, DC with President Vicente Fox for a state visit, and President Fox also greeted the group prior to the breakfast. As a result of this meeting, the LAWA program may eventually be welcoming Advocates from Mexico. Look for an update in our next newsletter.

Seminars and Events
The 2000-2001 Women’s Law Advocates wrapped up their Fellowship activities in August, following a seminar on public advocacy skills entitled “Media, Messages and More” with guest speakers Judy Appelbaum, Joan Entmacher and Margot Friedman of the National Women’s Law Center, and the annual Harriet B. Burg seminar on disability issues with an Advocate’s Report by Amy Fettig, Harriet Burg Fellow at the National Association of Women Judges and a presentation by Professor Chai Feldblum on recent developments in disability law. Special guests representing the Harriet Burg Fellowship also attended, including Barbara Franklin, Jan Flack, Gerry Burg, and former Harriet B. Burg Fellow and current Advisory Board member Lisa Small.

Alum Corner
Thanks to Our Alum Directors: We are pleased to welcome Johanna Bond as our newest Alumni Director, while we say goodbye with great sadness to Karen Guss, as she becomes our first former Alumni Director. After a year service in her post as co-director, Karen is stepping down due to the demands of her new position working on child welfare issues in Philadelphia. We are grateful for the contributions of all our Alumni Co-Directors in addition to Karen and Johanna: Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, Margaret Johnson, and Sarah Lubega, who keep us in touch with alumni around the globe.
Outreach: For the third year in a row, alumni from coast to coast took time out of their busy schedules to visit their alma mater or local law school(s) to talk to students about the Fellowship Program. Visits were made to more than a dozen schools nationwide. This year’s volunteers include: Nicole Deddens, Liliana Garces, Jill Morrison, Karen Getman, Jackie Scott, Catherine Caporusso, Regan Ralph, Joan Meier, Laurie Mikva, Carol Beier, Lynn Paltrow, Karin Raye, Karen Guss, Debra Loya, Deborah Epstein, Mary Whisner, Helen Norton, and Sally Burns.
Mentor Program: Once again, our DC area alumni have stepped up to the plate to mentor the 2001-2002 Women’s Law Fellows. Mentors and mentees met at orientation on September 4, 2001 and will stay in contact with one another throughout the Fellowship year. Alums participating this year are: Johanna Bond, Lisa Bornstein, Cassandra Butts, Elaine Grant, Laurie Kohn, Jacqueline Scott, Marion Stillson, Kathleen Stoll, Sandhya Subramanian, Cynthia Totten, and Elana Tyrangiel.