2018 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows Announced

Six students have been selected as the 2018 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows. The $4,500 fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding students who are committed to public service to support their summer public interest work. The fellowships are made possible by a generous multi-year gift from Bill, ‘70, and Stephanie Whitehurst.

Each year the Whitehursts name the fellowships for lawyers and others they admire in hopes that the fellows will be inspired by the honorees’ work in the public interest. This year the following fellowships have been awarded:

Marissa Balonon-Rosen ‘19 has been awarded the Eva Marszewski Public Interest Law Fellowship to work with the Alaska Public Defender Agency in its Ketchikan office. She will be the office’s sole intern and will represent clients in misdemeanor bail hearings, arraignments, sentencing, and jury trials.

David Engleman ‘19 has been awarded the Terry Brooks Public Interest Law Fellowship to work at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, where he will assist with capital cases, parole matters, and impact litigation.

Marissa Jeffery ‘19 has been awarded the Karen Burgess Public Interest Law Fellowship to work at the Austin Medical-Legal Partnership in Austin where she will help address clients’ health-harming legal needs through individual counseling, litigation, and community education.

Caitlin Machell ‘19 has been awarded the David Stern Public Interest Law Fellowship to work for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, D.C. She will focus on advancing education rights of children with mental health needs.

Seti Tesefay ‘19 has been awarded the Maya Guerra Gamble Public Interest Law Fellowship to work in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender Services of Idaho in Boise. She will help to represent individuals sentenced to death in Idaho, California, and Nevada.

Logan Wexler ‘19 has been awarded the Rebecca Webber Public Interest Law Fellowship to work for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. He will work in the parole division representing clients in parole revocation hearings.