Shelby Cherilyn Dolch, LAW ’24, is a Law and Public Policy Scholar and Beasley Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Shelby graduated from Swarthmore College in 2021 with a B.A. in Black Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies. While at Swarthmore, Shelby studied abroad in Rwanda where they participated in a Post-Conflict Restoration and Peacebuilding Program. As part of this program, they served as a Peacebuilding Intern with Never Again Rwanda, where they studied post-conflict healing methods. In this role, Shelby helped develop youth peace education curriculum and participated in field work with local community healing groups. Shelby also participated in a course study trip to Israel-Palestine where they studied the conflict and met with stakeholders from different local communities.
Prior to Temple, Shelby worked as an intern with the Nationalities Services Center, assisting refugee survivors of torture adapting to life in Philadelphia. They have also worked with the Capital Habeas Unit for the Federal Community Defender’s Office of Eastern Pennsylvania as a legal intern.
At Temple, Shelby has worked extensively with the Temple Law Name Change Project. Next year, they will serve as the Student Coordinator Administrator for the Project, working to ensure client care and volunteer support systems. They have also volunteered with the NLG Pardons and Expungement Clinics.
Shelby has served as a 1L Representative for the Political & Civil Rights Society, the NLG Expungements Clinic team, the Student Public Interest Network Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and the Student Bar Association.
This summer, Shelby is working at the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney. Shelby’s policy interests include death penalty and prison abolition, anti-racist public policy, genocide prevention, and transitional justice. They are particularly interested in exploring alternatives to punishment that center restorative justice and survivor support.