Scholars and Alumni

Class of 2025

Jorge Lee Ochoa ‘25 was born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. From kindergarten to high school, he crossed the Mexican-American border on a near-daily basis to receive his education in the United States. He graduated from Columbia University in 2021, where he majored in English and Comparative Literature and was named a John Werner Kluge Scholar. After graduating, he worked as a paralegal at the offices of Diez & Crane, an immigration law firm located in the border town of Brownsville, Texas. His time at Diez & Crane reinforced his ambitions to pursue a career in public interest to advance the interests of the Latinx community. At present, he is an active member of the National Hispanic Institute (NHI), a non-profit organization that engages Latinx youth in community leadership roles throughout the United States and Latin America. As part of his work with NHI, he has served in various capacities at over two dozen programs in Texas, Illinois, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Mexico. His proudest accomplishment within NHI is co-authoring a submission to the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy with the President and Co-Founder of NHI, Ernesto Nieto.

Class of 2026

Ana Mariel Gonzalez-Medellin ‘26 was born in Morgantown, West Virginia and has lived in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. Mariel graduated from Georgetown University in 2021, where they majored in Culture and Politics with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. Born to immigrant parents and growing up queer, Mariel was specifically interested in the intersections of gender, sexuality, and immigration status. During their time in college, Mariel also played an active role in the Sexual Assault Peer Educators (SAPE) program, working with the other members to increase awareness about sexual assault on campus through various events and workshops. After graduating, Mariel went on to work in client services at Affordable Family Law, a legal document preparation office. In those two years, they witnessed firsthand how little Latinx representation there is in the legal field and how systemic barriers often prevent the community from seeking the help they need. 

Asha Ramachandran '26 Asha Ramachandran '26 is originally from central Massachusetts. They graduated from NYU where they studied Social and Cultural Analysis, Journalism and Spanish. Asha worked at NYU's student newspaper Washington Square News throughout their undergraduate study, at the Opinion Desk and on management. They published dozens of editorials about social justice issues on campus and in New York City, with a particular focus on injustice in the criminal and immigration legal systems. Asha also conducted a research study investigating the impact of electronic monitoring mandates on impacted individuals and their families in New York City. They worked as an Undergraduate Research Fellow for NYU's Prison Education Program and helped produce the PEP Research Lab Oral Histories on Debt and Incarceration. Asha also interned at the Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans and the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, where they conducted research on the immigration legal system and engaged in street outreach during the height of the pandemic in immigrant communities in Queens and the Bronx. After graduating, Asha worked as a Court Representative at The Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services, where they advocated for people in Manhattan Criminal Court to receive social services as an alternative to pretrial detention. During their 1L summer, they interned at the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project. 

 

Class of 2027

Mariana Boully Perez ’27 was born in Medellín, Colombia and immigrated to the United States when she was 5 years old. She grew up in Maryland and moved to Texas when she was in high school. Mariana graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021, where she majored in Public Policy with a focus on civil rights, social justice, and the law. Following graduation, she worked as a paralegal at Relman Colfax PLLC, a civil rights law firm that focuses on a wide breadth of cases, such as housing discrimination, police accountability, and disability rights. Her time as a paralegal showed her how the law can be used to create positive change, and it further motivated her to go to law school. After two years as a paralegal, Mariana was awarded a Fulbright grant as an English Teaching Assistant in Colombia. She spent this time rediscovering the country she was born in, which further deepened her pride and love for her community. 

 

Annabella Lugo ‘27 was born and raised in South Florida. She graduated from Yale University in 2024 with combined bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Political Science. During her time at Yale, she worked with the law school’s Lowenstein Human Rights Project, gathering information on the derogation of due process rights during the COVID-19 pandemic in trials around the world and helping to write a report on human rights abuses against migrants under Title 42. Annabella volunteered at her university’s undergraduate Prison Project, where she participated in efforts to help pass legislation limiting the use of solitary confinement in Connecticut. She also volunteered with the undergraduate Legal Aid Association to compile a working document with legal, health, and social resources for domestic violence survivors. In between academic years, Annabella interned on Capitol Hill at the office of Congressmember Adriano Espaillat. There, she researched and drafted high-priority legislation regarding the restriction of ghost gun materials and worked closely with the communications director to draft press releases and address constituent concerns. Before her final year of university, she returned to her hometown and interned at Coast to Coast Legal Aid, where she collected data on evictions, foreclosures, and housing affordability in Broward County to design a program that connects lawyers with pro se clients in local courthouses.

Alumni

Gabriela McPherson '24, 

Deborah Merino' 24

Mariana Lopez' 24, 

David Jimenez '23, The Bronx Defenders (New York, NY)

Andrés Orr '23, United States District Court

Julio Castillo '22, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (New York, NY)

Jesica Tenaglia '21, The Bronx Defenders (New York, NY)

Sofia Lopez-Franco '21, IJC Fellow, The Bronx Defenders (New York, NY)

Daniela Ugaz '21, The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (Tucson, AZ)

Maria Romero '20, Norton Rose Fulbright, Fellowship Program at The Door (New York, NY)

Astrid Reyes '19, Staff Attorney, Human Rights and Access to Justice Program, Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice (New York, NY)

Gerardo Romo '19, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Civil Rights Fellow, Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP (New York, NY)

Bobby Hunter '18, Appellate Counsel, Center for Appellate Litigation (New York, NY)

Juliana Morgan-Trostle '17, Senior Program Associate, Acacia Center for Justice (Oakland, CA)

Mariel Villarreal '17, Senior Attorney, California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (Oakland, CA)

Frances Dávila '16, Program Manager, Unaccompanied Children Program, Acacia Center for Justice (Oakland, CA)

Alicia Nieves '16, Chief of Staff, State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer (Austin, TX)

Cristopher Santos '15, Criminal and Civil Litigator at Cohen Williams LLP (Los Angeles, CA)

Luis Angel Reyes Savalza '15, Co-Director & Immigration Attorney, Pangea Legal Services (San Francisco, CA)

Christine LaRochelle '14, Officer, United States Customs and Immigration Services

Amy Pont '14, Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society (New York, NY)

Lisandra Fernández-Silber '13, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit, MI)

Kevin Herrera '13, Legal Director, Shriver Center on Poverty Law (Chicago, IL)

Jordan Wells '13, Senior Staff Attorney, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (San Francisco, CA)

Maria Romani '12, Immigrant Rights Program Director, ACLU of Northern California (San Francisco, CA)

Alba Lucero Villa '11, Executive Director, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (New York, NY)

Maribel Hernández Rivera '10, Deputy National Political Director, Director of the Equality Division, American Civil Liberties Union

Andrea Nieves '10, Supervising Attorney, Policy & Community Engagement, New York County Defender Services (New York, NY)

Tom Fritzsche '09, Executive Director, Milk with Dignity Standards (Burlington, VT)

Melissa Navarro '09,  Deputy Public Defender, Clark County Public Defender's Office (Las Vegas, NV)