Category: 2018

Jonah Fish-Gertz ’19 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Mr. Fish-Gertz graduated from Elmira College with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy & Religion, summa cum laude, and a minor in Women’s Studies. Raised in small town upstate New York (Avoca, formerly Podunk), his interest in environmental issuesstarted with his opposition to the fracking boom.

While in Washington, he will be serving as a legal intern for the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Aviation and Admiralty Section. His policy interests are in environmental law, specifically energy policy.

Nikki Hatza ’20 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she serves as Co-President of the Student Public Interest Network (SPIN), Vice President of Temple Outlaw, a student coordinator of the Name Change Project, and a volunteer for the Expungement Clinic.

Prior to law school, Nikki cultivated her facilitation skills as an educator and community organizer in diverse settings, including the Navajo Nation, Spain, and Philadelphia, PA. After serving as a Spanish and U.S. Government teacher with Teach for America, Nikki spent two years as a Fulbright Grantee in Spain where she developed the University of Cantabria’s first gender and sexuality course and organized charitable productions of The Vagina Monologues to help end violence against women. Thereafter, Nikki developed and facilitated LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion workshops for thousands of professionals across industries as the Professional Development Manager of an LGBTQ non-profit organization in Philadelphia.

Nikki holds B.A. degrees in Women’s Studies, Spanish, and International Studies from the Pennsylvania State University’s Schreyer Honors College, where she graduated as Student Marshal of the College of Liberal Arts. As an undergraduate student, she studied abroad in Ecuador, where she lived and volunteered in a Quechua community near Quito.

While in Washington, Nikki is working as a legal intern with the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, exploring her intersecting policy interests in Civil Rights, LGBTQ Rights, and Racial Justice.

Chris Hirokawa ‘20 is a 2018 Law & Public Policy Scholar, Weisman Fellow, and Barrack Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Chris is a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and graduated cum laude from Skidmore College in 2012 with a B.A. in English and French. Before entering law school, Chris worked as Executive Assistant and Research Associate for Garriott Enterprises. There he worked with business development teams at several start up companies, including space launch technology company Escape Dynamics and video game developer Portalarium. Prior to his position at Garriott Enterprises, Chris worked as Executive Assistant at The Explorers Club in New York. At Temple, he serves on the executive board of the Asian and Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA) as Fundraising Director.

As a Law & Public Policy Scholar, Chris is interning at Internet2, a non-profit consortium of internet technology companies that operates and maintains the nation’s largest and fastest high-speed fiber optic network. His policy interests include digital privacy, cybersecurity, and telecommunications regulation.

Chanelle Jones ‘20 is a Rubin-Presser Social Justice Fellow, Weisman Fellow, Conwell Scholar, and 2018 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Originally from Elkton, Maryland, Chanelle was a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where she graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in Africana Studies.

Chanelle’s interest in juvenile justice developed from working with the youth in The Choice Program referred by the Department of Juvenile and Social Services and learning about their experiences. This interest led her to intern as an undergraduate with Judge Silkworth at the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in Annapolis, Maryland, where she also worked with the truancy court program. At Temple Law School, Chanelle is the President of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and volunteers with the School Discipline Advocacy Service (SDAS) and the Name Change Project.

As a Law & Public Policy Scholar, Chanelle is working as a Law Clerk at the National Juvenile Defender Center. Her policy interests include education policy and banning-the-box initiatives.

Manish Kurien ‘19 is a Law Faculty Scholar and 2018 Law and Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Mr. Kurien graduated from Davidson College in 2014 with a B.A. in History, Minor in Religion, and concentration in Political Science. During his undergraduate education, Mr. Kurien also spent nine months in the United Kingdom. While there, he studied at Cambridge University and Queen Mary, University of London, and worked at the North Kensington Law Centre in London where he worked in the fields of immigration and employment discrimination.

After graduation, Mr. Kurien spent two years working at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington D.C. in the Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection, and the Office of Commissioner Julie Brill. During his time in law school, he also interned in the chambers of Judge Roth of the Third Circuit and Judge Petrese B. Tucker of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

As a Law and Public Policy Scholar, Mr. Kurien is working as a Law Clerk at the Department of Justice Environmental and Natural Resources Division, particularly within the Environmental Enforcement Section. Mr. Kurien’s policy interests include international, environmental, and refugee law. His personal interests include playing and watching soccer.

Nathan Larkin ’20 is a Weisman Fellow, Beasley Scholar, and 2018 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Larkin graduated cum laude from the Penn State University Schreyer Honors College with a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Communication Arts & Sciences. As an undergraduate, Mr. Larkin was recognized for his work as a community organizer, focusing on environmental and social justice issues. Before coming to law school, Mr. Larkin worked in and around state government in Pennsylvania, including on Governor Tom Wolf’s campaign, in the Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor’s office, at NextGen Climate PAC, and at a Harrisburg-based government relations and lobbying firm.

While in Washington, D.C., Mr. Larkin is working as a Law Clerk at the Department of Justice, Environmental Torts Litigation section.  His policy interests range from climate change policy and campaign finance reform to media and mass communication policy.

Travis Leatham ‘19 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar and a Beasley Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law.  A native of the Salt Lake City, Utah area, Travis earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and in Asian Studies from the University of Utah, with a focus on modern Chinese history.  During his undergraduate degree, Travis took a two-year leave of absence to perform religious and humanitarian service in Taiwan, during which he learned to speak Mandarin Chinese.  In law school, Travis spent his 1L summer working at a non-profit in Philadelphia, assisting low-income individuals with Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings. As a Law & Public Policy Scholar, Travis is working at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel, Legislation and Regulations Division.  His policy interests include economic and urban development, anti-poverty, and employee ownership.

Priya Mehta ’19 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she is pursuing a dual JD/MPH. Ms. Mehta earned her bachelor’s degree from New York University, where she studied Chemistry. Ms. Mehta worked for several years in clinical ophthalmology, where she saw the positive effects of the Affordable Care Act on her patients, as well as the Act’s flaws. While at Temple, Ms. Mehta has served as Co-Chair of Auction for the Student Public Interest Network (SPIN). Ms. Mehta was also a member of the Moot Court Team. In her previous summers, Ms. Mehta has worked at the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia in the Aging and Disabilities Unit.

While in Washington, Ms. Mehta is working at the Public Policy Center at the American Foundation for the Blind. Ms. Mehta’s policy interests are in access to health care, including Medicaid and Medicare, and concerns that affect public health, such as the opioid epidemic.

Emma Pajer ’20 is a 2018 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Ms. Pajer graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in History and Psychology. After graduating, she worked at an alternative high school for students with behavioral disorders and the ACLU-PA before deciding to attend law school.

At Temple, Ms. Pajer serves on the Executive Board of If/When/How: Temple Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. In Washington, Ms. Pajer is a legal fellow at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), a nonprofit organization focused on international reproductive health. Her policy interests include women’s issues and access to abortion. She is interested in researching the tension between religious freedom, access to healthcare, and freedom of speech during the Law & Public Policy Program.

Alexander (Sasha) Rojavin ’20 is a Beasley Scholar and a 2018 Law and Public Policy Scholar. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 2014 with a B.A. in Theater and in Film & Media Studies, after which he received an M.S. from Temple University in Communication Management. His studies have focused on the intersection of the arts, media, policy, and politics. His master’s thesis dealt with media ownership and the television broadcasting landscape in Ukraine. Sasha is a published translator, a native speaker of Russian and English, and knows four other languages to varying degrees. His research has centered on Eastern Europe, especially post-Soviet countries.

While in D.C., Sasha is working as a research intern at the American Foreign Policy Council. His policy interests include fostering a free and open global media and implementing an effective and constitutionally sound global government.