Category: 2019

Timothy Cordova ‘21 is a 2019 Law & Public Policy Scholar and a Conwell Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Tim is a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and completed his bachelor’s degree in government and politics with high honors at the University of Maryland. Before entering law school, Tim worked as a Research Associate at The Pew Charitable Trusts in their Washington, DC office. There he worked with the Research Review and Support team to ensure the research quality and accuracy of all research produced by Pew. He also worked closely with Pew’s Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Initiative on research related to the opioid crisis.

While in Washington, D.C., Tim is interning at the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Torts Branch, Aviation, Space & Admiralty Section. His policy interests include Medicaid and Medicare policy and substance use treatment.

Zachary Allen ’21 is a Law Faculty Scholar, a member of the Temple Environmental Law Society and a 2019 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Allen graduated from University of Delaware with a B.A. in Political Science. As an undergraduate, Mr. Allen worked on research about environmental terrorism. Before going to college, Mr. Allen worked with the University of Delaware to help and develop crops which could withstand the effects of climate change.

While in Washington, D.C., Mr. Allen is working at the ABA Commission on Law and Aging. His policy interests range from climate change and sustainability to healthcare reform.

Heather Swadley is a 2019 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She is concurrently pursuing a PhD in Political Science and is writing her dissertation on the politics of community integration for persons with intellectual, developmental, and mental health disabilities. Prior to starting law school, Heather worked in the UK House of Commons and as a health policy researcher for a public affairs consultancy. She also helped found, develop, and implement a national mental health campaign for the Labour Party.

In Washington, DC, Heather is working at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.  Her primary policy interest is disability policy.

Shannon Scabora is a 2019 Law and Public Policy Scholar, a Beasley Scholar, and a Barrack Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She graduated from Temple University, where she studied political science and English, with honors in 2018.

Prior to law school, Ms. Scabora served as a team leader for Jumpstart, an AmeriCorps organization that promotes quality early childhood education by implementing literacy, language, and social-emotional programming in Pre-K classrooms. At Temple Law, she serves as Co-President of Temple’s chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, Community Service Chair of the Student Public Interest Network (SPIN), and Co-Chair of the National Lawyers Guild Gender Justice Committee. Beyond the law school, she serves as a legal advocate at the Medical-Legal-Community Partnership (MLCP), where she helps patients at community health centers in Philadelphia navigate Medicaid, Social Security, and issues involving access to safe and healthy housing by providing on-site legal advice, assistance, and referrals. She also volunteers at Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania as a clinic escort.

In Washington, Ms. Scabora is working as a legal fellow at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), a nonprofit organization that advocates for international sexual and reproductive health and rights. Her primary policy interests are in reproductive health and justice.

Sarah Connor ’21 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she also serves as Secretary of the Student Bar Association, Chair of the Political Action Committee for Temple Outlaw, Co-Chair for Fundraising for the Student Public Interest Network (SPIN), Co-Chair of Gender Justice for Temple’s chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, student coordinator of Temple’s Name Change Project, and a volunteer for Temple’s Expungement Project. Sarah is also a Weisman Family Fellow and a Beasley Scholar, and she is working to establish an affinity and advocacy group for disability rights and education on campus.

Prior to law school, Sarah experienced the nonprofit sector at a high level while working at Sandler Search, a firm that places executive leadership at many leading cause-oriented organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Psychology from New York University, where she conducted research with youth, especially girls and young women, in the juvenile justice system in the lab of Dr. Shabnam Javdani. Sarah served as an Advocate and later as a Peer Supervisor for Dr. Javdani’s groundbreaking R.O.S.E.S. intervention, which pairs girls in the juvenile justice system with student advocates who utilize a strengths-based, client-centered approach to change by helping the girls’ communities to better meet their needs and enable them to thrive. Sarah also served as a research assistant in Dr. Javdani’s C.O.R.E. lab and worked as an information technology assistant in NYU’s Bobst Library and Silver School of Social Work.

While at NYU, Sarah also partnered with several fellow students to found the Queership Project, or QP, a grassroots queer organization and network. By creating curricula for a series of differently themed group gatherings, QP’s mission is to raise political consciousness, encourage self-expression, and create a truly intersectional space for bond-making within the queer community.

For the summer of 2019 in Washington, Sarah is a Legal Intern in the Special Litigation and Advocacy Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a leading racial justice organization founded at the behest of John F. Kennedy in 1963. She is exploring her policy interests in LGBTQIAP+ rights, racial justice, and rights for persons with disabilities, and especially her interest in examining intersectional approaches to civil rights.

Peter S. Konchak ’21 is a 2019 Law and Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. In 2016, Peter graduated from Temple University with a B.B.A. in Finance after only three years of study.  He served as financial analyst for the Owl Fund, a student-run mutual fund in the Fox School of Business. Upon graduation, Peter worked as a fellow in Secretary Clinton’s presidential campaign where he organized in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia. He went on to work for a judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and then the Defender’s Association of Philadelphia before to attending law school.

While in DC, Peter will be working at Schwartz & Ballen, LLP.

Lily Austin ’20 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar and a Beasley Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Lily is a City Year Los Angeles alumna and a graduate of Swarthmore College, where she studied Education and Latin American Studies. After college, Lily worked for several years at a civil legal services organization in North Carolina, where she led regular outreach to migrant farmworkers and assisted with employment and immigration cases.  During her first year in North Carolina, Lily was also in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

During her 1L summer, Lily worked at Philadelphia Legal Assistance, where she represented clients at administrative hearings for unemployment benefits. While at Temple, Lily has also engaged in extensive clinical work to support an organization that is seeking to improve legal protections and labor standards for domestic workers in Philadelphia.

As a Law & Public Policy Scholar in Washington D.C., Lily is working at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel, Fair Housing Compliance Division.  Lily’s policy interests are in workers’ rights, affordable housing and economic development, and models of policymaking and legal enforcement that include workers and communities.

Brittany Jones ’20 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law and currently serving a second term as the Mid-Atlantic Black Law Student Association Regional Parliamentarian.  Last summer, she worked at the Philadelphia Board of Ethics where she worked on ethics training materials for city employees and campaign finance investigations.  Brittany also holds B.A. degrees in Government and Middle Eastern Studies from the College of William and Mary.

Prior to law school, she worked in the marketing department for a large law firm.  Brittany managed the webinar program for all fourteen North American offices while providing training to business development managers and attorneys.   She also worked and volunteered on a number of policy issues on the local and state level.

While in Washington, Brittany is working as a legal intern with the Taxpayer Advocate Service at the Internal Revenue Service.  During this time, she will be exploring her interest in Banking and Financial Services Regulation.

Lauren Boothe ’20 is a 2019 Law & Public Policy Scholar, Weisman Fellow, Equal Justice America Fellow, and Conwell Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Ms. Boothe graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Prior to law school, Lauren completed a 10.5 month AmeriCorps service term in Seattle, Washington assisting individuals and families who were currently experiencing homelessness and trying to access housing resources. It was during her time with AmeriCorps that she developed an interest in helping those facing financial and personal hardships and decided to pursue a career in public interest law.

Since entering law school, Lauren has been involved with public interest focused organizations and has served as a 1 L representative for the National Lawyers Guild and solicitations co-chair of the Student Public Interest Network (SPIN), She is the current SPIN fundraising co-chair for the 2019-2020 school year. Lauren is also an active member of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and served as the fundraising chair for the 2018-2019 school year.

This summer, as a Law & Public Policy Scholar, Lauren is working at Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Her policy interests include housing access and inequality.

Luis Miguel Meléndez ’20 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law where he has served as a board member of OutLaw and the Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA).  He also volunteers for the Transgender Name Change Project and the National Lawyers Guild Expungement Project and serves as an Academic Core Enrichment (ACE) Counselor. During his time at Temple, Luis has worked as a legal intern at the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Mazzoni Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Luis earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from la Universidad del Turabo. As an undergraduate student, he served as a volunteer in seven political campaigns in Puerto Rico.

While in Washington, Luis is working as a legal intern at the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice. His policy interests include racial justice and LGBTQ rights.