Georgetown Law Names Inaugural Moses Public Interest Scholars and Fellows

Five Georgetown Law 2Ls and three recent graduates have been selected to receive scholarships and fellowships to support their pursuit of public interest careers. They are the first to receive awards from the historic $10 million public interest fund established last spring by alumnus Alfred Moses, L’56, H’13.

“The students and graduates in this cohort are impressive changemakers,” said Morgan Lynn-Alesker, L’07, Assistant Dean for Public Interest Programs. “They have demonstrated a deep and long-lasting commitment to careers that will make the world better in arenas across the spectrum of public interest, from the U.S. Congress to legal aid offices; domestic human rights organizations to international NGOs. We hope that as this new fund grows, we can support even more Georgetown Law students dedicated to making a difference.”

For the current students, the scholarships will significantly reduce the cost of attendance for their second and third years of law school. For the recent graduates, the fellowships have allowed them to launch their careers in government and nonprofit positions that otherwise would not exist due to lack of funding.

Moses, a partner for 60 years at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, held public service positions several times during his career, including as U.S. Ambassador to Romania from 1994 to 1997 and as a special advisor and special counsel to President Jimmy Carter. In announcing his original gift last year, he explained that he hoped it would help meet the urgent need he sees for talented and dedicated lawyers to use their skills in public service work. Upon the announcement of the first round of scholarship and fellowship awards from the new fund, he said, “Congratulations on an outstanding group of future contributors to civil society and the betterment of humanity.”

Georgetown Law’s Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS) is overseeing the yet-to-be-named fund established by Moses’ cornerstone gift. The OPICS team, working with the Law Center’s Office of Development and others, will identify additional ways it may eventually support public interest-oriented students and graduates.

“Georgetown Law has long been a home for those interested in a career in the public interest,” said Interim Dean Joshua C. Teitelbaum. “We are grateful to Ambassador Moses not only for his generous gift but also his recognition of the importance of government and nonprofit work, and of the need to assist new lawyers pursuing this path.”

Student Scholarships

Five current Georgetown Law students have been selected to receive scholarships from the new fund.

Susan Aboeid, L’27, is a Global Law Scholar and Fritz Fellow at the Center on Privacy and Technology with an interest in surveillance, privacy, international human rights and humanitarian law. Before law school, Aboeid worked at Human Rights Watch and was a consultant with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Amman, Jordan. Last summer she completed an internship with the International Humanitarian Law Centre in Jerusalem. This summer she will intern with the Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project at the ACLU in New York.

Claire Ellis, L’27, is a staff editor of The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law and is interested in gender justice, workers’ rights and anti-discrimination law. Before law school, Ellis advocated for domestic violence survivors at the Sarasota County State Attorney’s Office and interned for New York City Civil Court Judge Ilana Marcus through the Sonia and Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program. Last summer, she worked for First Shift Justice Project, and this summer she will serve as a Peggy Browning Fellow with Legal Aid at Work in their National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights division. Ellis is currently fighting wage theft as a student attorney in the Civil Justice Clinic.

Molly Izer, L’27, a staff editor of The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, has an interest in constitutional law, government accountability and rule of law. Before law school, Izer held internships in the House, Senate, and Biden White House and authored political science research for the American Political Science Association and the Midwest Political Science Association. Last summer, they worked on federal investigations in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. During this school year, Izer has been a research assistant and amicus drafter at Lawyers Defending American Democracy and an intern with the House Committee on Government Oversight.

Mikaylah Ladue, L’27, a staff editor of the Georgetown Journal of National Security Law & Policy, is interested in civilian security, government accountability and civil and human rights. During law school, Ladue has worked on domestic and international rights violations with the Global Justice Center, Lawyers Defending American Democracy and Physicians for Human Rights. Prior to law school, Ladue was a policy adviser and visiting fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Justice, with experience at the United Nations. She focuses on violations of human dignity and bodily autonomy, such as sexual and gender-based violence and surveillance. Last summer she interned with AEquitas, and this summer she will intern with the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Ashley Nies, L’27, a staff editor of The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, is interested in health equity and social justice. Before law school, Nies conducted research on intimate partner violence for the Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine and studied health policy issues with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Health program. Last summer, she worked as a legal intern at the O’Neill Institute’s Center for Community Health Innovation. Nies is currently working with the Alliance to End Hunger through the Federal Legislation Clinic, and this summer, she will be working for the civil rights law firm Relman Colfax.

Alumni Fellows

Three recent Georgetown Law graduates have been named Moses Fellows.

Ian Lynch, L’25, is a legal fellow with the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. In law school, Lynch participated in the Federal Legislation Clinic, assisted the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection as a practicum student and sought other experiences focused on empowering workers, pursuing civil rights and engaging in congressional advocacy.

Jemison Tipler, L’25, is an International Crimes and Accountability Team fellow at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights in Berlin, Germany. During law school, she completed two international summer internships focused on refugee aid with nonprofit organizations in Thailand and Malta, and participated in the Center for Applied Legal Studies Clinic, which represents asylum applicants.

Leah Zinker, L’25, is a fellow at the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), where she supports the TrialWatch Initiative, working alongside CFJ partners to identify and monitor potential cases, generates reports analyzing the fairness and compliance of trials with international standards, and creates and implements a range of legal advocacy strategies to promote rule of law and counter unjust prosecution. Prior to law school, she worked at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and came to law school to transform what she learned about documentation and preservation of testimony at the museum into a vehicle for victim-centered, internationally oriented justice.