Annie Sholar (LAW ’27) is a 2025 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Before coming to Temple, Annie worked in food and agriculture. She has worked as a project manager for a farming non-profit, as a sales manager for a worker-owned fair trade coffee company, and on the field crew of several small-scale farms. This summer, Annie will be working as a Summer Law Clerk for Food & Water Watch. Annie’s interests include agriculture policy, antitrust and competition policy, and alternative economic models.

Reynerio Joseph “Joey” Muradaz, LAW ‘26, is a Beasley Scholar and Law and Public Policy Scholar. At Temple Law, Joey works as a Law Owl Ambassador with the Admissions Office, providing advice to prospective students about the ups and downs of law school. This summer, Joey will be an inaugural Knauer Fellow, working to address the issue of extremist media pipelines that target young men through an innovative, project-based internship offered through the Law and Public Policy Program.

Prior to starting at Temple Law, Joey worked for two years as a Client Service Coordinator at the Pond Lehocky Giordano law firm, taking calls from injured workers and answering questions about Pennsylvania’s workers compensation system. Joey graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2021 with degrees in English and Legal Studies. Outside of work and school, Joey enjoys 80’s pop rock, creative writing, and spending time with family.

Curran McLaughlin (she/her) LAW ’27 is a Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Prior to law school, she graduated from Boston College in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. Her undergraduate laboratory work along with her passion for criminal justice led to her pursuing a law degree with the goal of blending her interests. While at Boston College, she was also a Division I athlete on the Women’s Crew Team.

Curran has had the opportunity to work as a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge Daine Grey Jr. of Pennsylvania’s First Judicial District Court of Common Pleas. Most recently, Curran worked as a legal intern for SKA Law Group, assisting in trial preparation, drafting, and providing office support.

As a L&PP Scholar, Curran will work as a law clerk at Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, and will be assisting Senior Legal Researchers in researching & writing on projects funded by a cross-agency effort between HHS, FEMA, and the DoD. Her policy interests include criminal justice reform and public health law, with a specific focus on reproductive health rights.

Jessica Li, LAW ’26, is a rising third-year student at Temple Law School, where she is a staff editor on the Temple Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Competition Team. Before law school, she served as an investigator with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. There, she advocated for the rights of people incarcerated in jails and prisons, authoring a report, Broken Rules: How Pennsylvania Courts Use Cash Bail to Incarcerate People Before Trial, and developing a companion data tool, brokenrulespa.org.

In law school, she has spent much of her time with the Sheller Center for Social Justice. Her projects have included representing an owner-occupant in a quiet title action, investigating chronic disability discrimination by local rehab facilities, and researching whether Philadelphia can employ individuals who lack federal work authorization. Last summer, she interned at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Third Circuit. This summer, she will intern with the Capital Habeas Unit at the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia. Her policy interests are, very broadly, civil rights and criminal justice issues. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College.

Jennifer Levito, LAW’ 27 is a rising 3LE at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she is a 2025 Law and Public Policy Scholar and Weisman Fellow. Jennifer is a member of the Temple Rosner National Trial Team, has served on the Executive Board of Night Owls and Women’s Law Caucus, and served as her class SBA President during 1LE and 2LE. She is also a member of the Plaintiff’s Law Association.  

In addition to being an evening law student, Jennifer has worked full time at Kline & Specter, P.C. since 2021 on matters relating to human trafficking and sexual abuse.  During the Summer of 2025, she is serving as a Legal Intern with Child Justice, Inc. Through her personal and professional experiences, Jennifer’s resolve to fight for those who cannot speak for themselves has deepened, and she hopes to pursue a career at the intersection of law and advocacy in the future. This commitment is further demonstrated by her Summer 2025 policy research, which focuses on advancing children’s rights in the United States.  

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Legal Studies from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, where she was also a member of Temple’s Rowing Team. 

 

Reese Lemke, LAW ’26, is two years into her law school education and cannot/refuses to look back! As a rising 3L at Temple Law School, she is over-involved in every opportunity available. From Editor-in-Chief of the Temple International & Comparative Law Journal, to a member of the Systemic Justice Clinic, and volunteer for Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Reese is committed to growing in her knowledge of transactional law. This summer, Reese is working at the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania full time. 

Nicholas H. Kim, LAW ’27, is a rising 2L at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he is a Law and Public Policy Scholar. He is a member of the Temple Rosner National Trial Team and currently serves as Secretary of the Student Bar Association Board of Governors,  Vice President of the Temple Democrats, Secretary of the Plaintiffs’ Law Association, Staff Editor for the Temple Law Review, and Lunar Banquet Chair of the Temple Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. Prior to law school, Nicholas managed statewide operations for bipartisan petitions and high-stakes Presidential campaigns across Michigan, overseeing over 50 field offices and multiple regional directors. His policy interests include racial and economic justice, food and nutrition regulations, equity in education, and democratic reform. This summer, he is serving as a Legal Intern with the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, where he tracks criminal justice legislation in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and supports advocacy on behalf of increased public defense funding, criminal justice reforms, and indigent defendants across the Commonwealth. 

Brooke Hanraty, LAW ’27, is a 2025 Law and Public Policy Scholar and a Weisman Fellow at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She is also a founding member of the Temple University Disabled and Allied Law Student Association. Brooke graduated from Tulane University in 2020, intending to pursue a career in social work. In her last role prior to law school, Brooke was a behavioral health case manager for children in Philadelphia. She assisted children and families by facilitating connections between them and providers, treatment, and community supports. She serviced clients at their home, schools, hospitals, and community centers. As she realized how omnipresent, yet poorly understood, legislation and legal terminology are in social services, her career path shifted toward law and policy. Her policy interests include advocating for accessible, patient-first healthcare and disability justice.

Recently, she has been especially concerned about self-determination and over-sight in places of confinement.

As a Law and Public Policy Scholar, Brooke is a Summer Law Clerk at the Center for Global Health Science & Security at Georgetown University.

Kelly Rose Gavenus, LAW ’27, is a 2025 Law & Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law.  Kelly Rose graduated from Guilford College in 2014 with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Theatre Studies. 

Before law school, she worked for eight years in film and television as a union costumer and wardrobe supervisor, which led her to pursue a law degree to enable her to better advocate for workers’ rights. 

This summer, she will be working as a Law Clerk for the House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee Democrats. Her policy interests include labor and employment, housing, veterans’ affairs, and civil rights. 

Caden Diffenderfer, LAW’27, is a 2025 Law and Public Policy Scholar and Beasley Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Born and raised in Oregon, Caden moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Belmont University where he earned a B.A. in Faith and Social Justice. While at Belmont, Caden founded the Civic Engagement and Advocacy Club, a student-led organization that empowers students to engage in the political process and learn how social change occurs while putting change-making strategies into practice in their communities. 

Before law school, Caden worked as a community engagement and development coordinator at Room in the Inn, a nonprofit in Nashville that provides hospitality, nonviolent community, and a wide range of services to those experiencing homelessness in Middle Tennessee. 

This summer, Caden is interning at Advancement Project – a national civil rights organization that supports grassroots movements to achieve racial justice. Caden’s policy interests include housing, education, immigration, and criminalization, with a focus on how these intersect to perpetuate systemic poverty. 

Maria Consuelo “Cielo” De Dios, LAW ’27, is a Conwell Scholar and a Law and Public Policy Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law.  After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in psychology and educational studies, she worked as an Educational Researcher under the EF + Math Program.  Collaborating with educators, neuroscientists, and program developers, Cielo has co-authored publications that research and recommend mathematics curricula designs, including the online and open-access activity platform “Virtual Math Teams”. Prior to this work, she also trained to be a Medical Assistant in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a medically underserved area where she grew up.  

Cielo’s experiences led her to develop an interest in the intersections of legislation, education, and public health. This summer, she is interning as a Law Clerk at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security to perform legal research and develop policy recommendations for patient movement during disaster relief operations. Similarly, she is focusing her independent research on the public health threats and constitutional violations that arise when K-12 public schools hold drastically different educational standards in health education. 

Hailey Collins, LAW ’27, is a rising 2L at Temple University Beasley School of Law and a 2025 Law & Public Policy Scholar. After graduating from Howard University in 2021, Hailey has served as a criminal defense paralegal, managed local campaigns, and held roles in public affairs and federal lobbying firms within Washington, DC. This summer, she will work under Professor Noelia Rivera-Calderón as a research assistant, supporting policy initiatives in partnership with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) to address mental health and surveillance practices in schools. Hailey will also intern with Lincoln University’s Office of the General Counsel, where she will contribute to higher education policy initiatives and help expand the NACUA legal internship network. Her policy interests include constitutional rights, education equity, and mainly the structural protection of democracy.

Ethan Cheers, LAW ‘27, is a 2025 Law & Public Policy Scholar and Conwell Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Ethan graduated from Michigan State University in 2022 with a B.A. in Political Science and History alongside a minor in Law, Justice, and Public Policy.

Before law school, Ethan worked as an Ombudsman Analyst for the Legislative Corrections Ombudsman agency within the Michigan State Legislature. Ethan assisted Michigan legislators and their constituents with investigating, resolving and responding to complaints regarding the State Corrections system, providing impartial information and advice related to Corrections issues, and offering guidance for proposed legislation affecting Corrections matters.

Ethan is a 2025 Knauer Fellow who will be working to address the issue of the barriers incarcerated individuals face when seeking legal redress via prison grievance systems through an innovative project-based internship offered through the Law and Public Policy Program.

Sofia Carratala, LAW ’27, is a 2025 Law and Public Policy Scholar and a Conwell Scholar at Temple University Beasley School of Law. At Temple, she served as a 1L Representative for the Latin American Law Student Association. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2019 where she earned a BSFS in International Politics.

Prior to law school, Sofia served in the Biden-Harris administration as a policy advisor on the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Office of the Staff Secretary. In her role, she managed the daily operations for the Domestic Policy Advisor’s office and supported the Council’s policy development and implementation efforts on a range of issues including student debt forgiveness, healthcare affordability, criminal justice reforms, and humanitarian relief for immigrants. Before her time in government, Sofia worked as an executive policy associate and a research assistant on immigration policy at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC.

This summer, Sofia will be interning at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, a non-profit organization focused on providing free legal and social services to immigrant children and adults who are at risk of deportation. Her policy interests include immigration law and its intersections with labor/employment, tax, and gender equity issues.

Olivia Avery, LAW ’27, is a 2025 Law and Public Policy Scholar, Beasley Scholar, Weisman Fellow, and Bonnie Rome Memorial Scholarship recipient. She graduated from the University of Vermont with bachelors degrees in anthropology and political science, and received honors from both departments. Prior to law school, she taught elementary and middle school in Philadelphia. She is an executive board member of both the Temple and Philadelphia chapters of the National Lawyers Guild, and a member of Temple Outlaw. Olivia’s policy interests include constitutional interpretation, decarceration, K-12 education, and local drug policy. This summer, she is a law clerk at Solid Ground Law, a small Black woman-owned firm that represents clients in criminal cases, post-conviction matters, and civil matters related to the collateral consequences of criminal legal system involvement. Olivia is also a multimedia artist specializing in print and bookmaking.