Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
What do you enjoy the most about your work?
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has four main pillars—voting rights, education, criminal justice, and economic justice. One of the great things is that in my role I work across all four areas. I love the variety, and I love that we get to bring really important cases that have a meaningful impact in people’s lives.
Tell us about working on voting rights.
A lot of the cases that I handle have been going on for a while. We have many, for example, in which we’re challenging district maps that dilute the voting power of Black people. And we’re challenging laws denying people access to the ballot box.
There are real challenges in this work. Some of that is due to changes in how the law treats voting rights. But we and other partner organizations are fighting very hard, and we’ve had some success. And across the country, we’re seeing energy and activism to protect voting rights. While there are plenty of challenges, there’s a lot to hope for.
Why did you choose to enroll in NYU Law?
I went to Amherst College in Massachusetts [from 2010 to 2014]. My major was called Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, which I think is unique to Amherst. Right after college, I worked as a paralegal at a civil rights law firm for about two years. That’s when I told myself, “Okay, I can do this,” and decided to go to law school. I wanted to do public interest work, so applying to NYU Law was always at the top of the list for me.
Another reason was kind of a personal thing. I’m from Millburn, New Jersey. My father is actually a professor at NYU—not at the law school, but at the College of Arts and Sciences. And so I was looking forward to staying close to my parents and getting to see my dad regularly.
While attending NYU, did you have any favorite professors?
I had a lot of great professors and learned so much. Some of these professors I’m still in touch with. In my third year, I took Law of Democracy with [Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law] Rick Pildes. I had not really thought about being a voting rights lawyer before, but the class was honestly so interesting and eye-opening. And I just love that I get to work on voting rights cases now after the experience of taking his class. I also really loved 1L Civil Procedure with [Dean and Cecelia Professor of Law] Troy McKenzie ’00 before he was dean. It was foundational, and it’s another class that has really stuck with me.
You were also editor-in-chief of Law Review. What do you recall about that time?
It was hard, but rewarding. We got to review and publish some of the best scholarship in the country. We read tons of articles, discussed them, and figured out which ones to publish. I learned so much about the law, but I also got to learn different aspects of printing and the minutiae of editing. And I had the chance to work closely with people who are now very close friends.
What advice would you have given yourself when you were at NYU?
I would tell myself to be more confident. I was nervous when I started law school and when I first began working as a lawyer, but confidence is something you have to develop—even if you have to pretend at first—because it really helps. For example, when I became editor of Law Review, I was trying something I had never done before. And that could be very nerve-wracking. It was easy to feel like, “I have no idea how to handle this.” I had to learn how to handle new and challenging situations, and I had to find the confidence in myself to do so.
What would you say to current law school students?
One is to widely explore your interests. NYU Law gives a lot of opportunities to do that. And I think you never know what you might find interesting or where your career will take you.
I’m only five years out, but I’ve already had many different types of jobs. I was a housing attorney at the Brooklyn Defenders for two years. I clerked in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. And now I do civil rights litigation. I never would have had this career path if I wasn’t open to exploring different areas of the law and types of work.
The other thing I would say is that being a lawyer comes with the responsibility to work in service of the public good. I know that not everybody wants to become a public interest lawyer, but I think it’s important to remember that as lawyers, we all have a responsibility to improve the law and advance justice.
What do you enjoy in your leisure time?
I like to run a lot. I’ve done four marathons. I ran the New York City Marathon in 2023. It was the hardest one I’ve done because it’s very hilly. But it’s amazing because the whole city comes out, and it’s just such a good atmosphere. Marathon training takes a lot of time. But I really enjoy it because running is one of those things where it’s easy to get better if you just keep doing it.
What are your future ambitions?
Starting in July, I will be clerking for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. It’s going to be a super interesting and challenging year. Unfortunately for me, this means I will have to leave LDF. But I’m looking forward to this opportunity. I read Justice Jackson’s book [Lovely One: A Memoir], and she is so inspiring. It made me even more excited and thrilled to get to work for her.
Posted April 14, 2025