Virginia completed a clerkship with the Honorable Ronald Gilman on the 6th Circuit of Appeals in Memphis, Tennessee.  She earned her B.A. from Yale cum laude, and her J.D. degree from Harvard Law in May 2002.  While at Harvard, Virginia was awarded the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership and was a member of the Native American Law Students Association.  During a six week trip to Accra, Ghana with Harvard’s Legal Resources Centre, Virginia worked on a grassroots campaign aimed at improving access to healthcare in a low-income, Muslim community.  Her published article, “A Discovery of Sorts: Reexamining the Origins of the Federal Indian Housing Obligation” appears in the Harvard Blackletter Law Journal. 

Virginia spent her Fellowship year at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), working on equality initiatives, including promoting the nomination of high quality and fair judges who demonstrate a commitment to women’s fundamental rights.  Virginia analyzed speeches and decisions by nominees, attended coalition meetings and Senate hearings, drafting action alerts to be sent to the Center’s members, and wrote questions for Judiciary Committee Members to ask nominees.  She also analyzed Bush Administration policies affecting women in the military for a comprehensive report recently released by the Center on how Bush Administration policies have impacted women.  Virginia worked with a coalition of groups opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment.

After her Fellowship, Virginia began her work at the National Congress of the American Indians (NCAI), working on violence against Native women, reproductive health care, and other women’s issues.