2025-2026
Finlay Adamson
I am a Y-Lab fellow from Gig Harbor, Washington who attended Hamilton College. I am interested in the intersection between labor organizing and education policy, and want to explore how teachers, staff, and students can support one another to build a just and sustainable public education system. Prior to HLS I worked for two years as a high school teacher in Bulgaria, where I taught English to students ages 14 to 19. While in Bulgaria I joined “Our House” Community Centre, a community and social space for Roma families. Through tutoring young students, organizing recreational activities, and writing grant proposals for employment programs, I was able to learn more about the Bulgarian Roma community and the challenges young Roma students face. Through Y-Lab classes and programming, I have explored how structural reforms to school budgeting can promote democracy within the classroom, analyzed Washington State’s constitutional provisions regarding public education, and studied Bulgarian and EU responses to Roma school segregation.
Sarah Kate Childs
My family was a foster family growing up, which showed me the importance of zealous legal advocates for children and inspired me to pursue a legal career in hopes of advocating for children involved in youth-facing legal systems. I have worked in criminal defense on behalf of survivors of family violence, and I am looking forward to building on this experience in the Family Justice Clinic here at HLS. By studying and working in family violence, I have developed a passion for child advocacy within the dynamics of family law, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Fellows Program to become a more well-rounded child advocate.
Miranda Costigan
I decided to apply to law school after serving as a CASA in LA County, where I had the privilege of watching attorneys advocate on behalf of youth in the child welfare system. I love working with kids, and I am hoping to spend my career serving youth and families.
Julia Danson
My background is in education, public policy, and government service. Before attending law school, I taught second grade in Chicago; this experience deepened my commitment to equity and showed me how systemic barriers shape student outcomes. I hope to learn how to use the legal system to improve the lives and educational experiences of young people.
Christopher Egi
My interest in the Youth Advocacy Fellows Program is grounded in my belief that how we treat our youth reflects our broader societal values of care, dignity, and compassion. I am dedicated to ensuring that young people learn from an early age that they are valued, their voices matter, and their dreams are attainable. As a JD/MBA I hope to leverage my multidisciplinary background in in business and the law, to develop solutions at the intersection of youth policy and economic justice. I am excited about the formal training the Youth Advocacy & Policy Fellows Program offers and look forward to growing with a community of mentors, professors, alumni, and peers who share my passion for advocating for children.
Lindsay Fincher
Gaby Furman
Anna Hackel
A desire to make the world more just for children defines my personal and professional ambitions. In my senior year of college, I wrote my thesis on the impact of legal representation on immigrant youth, and the experience opened my eyes to the power of legal advocacy to reform systems impacting children and reimagine new ones. After college, I worked as a paralegal at Children’s Rights. In this role, I assisted with class action litigation that targeted children’s rights violations across the country and gained a deeper understanding of how law can ignite systemic change. During my 1L summer, I interned with Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project’s Unaccompanied Children Team and focused on direct representation of children and their families across Los Angeles. I am excited to join the Youth Advocacy Fellows community and to continue learning how we can make the systems impacting youth more just.
Kelsey Han
Lia Hayduk
A commitment to child advocacy has guided my work and education for nearly a decade. I first became involved in youth justice as a summer camp counselor for girls in the foster care system, where I saw how profoundly trauma and systemic harms shape young people’s lives. This interest led me to intern at the Nashville Juvenile Justice Center and later write my college thesis on the criminalization of Black youth. I spent my 1L summer representing children in family court with the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, where I worked on both delinquency and child welfare matters, supported newly detained youth, and won a suppression hearing. Inspired and motivated by my 1L summer, I plan to build a career as a juvenile public defender dedicated to trauma-informed advocacy for children.
Jenny Herrell
Before law school, I spent four years working in government and the financial services industry, where I developed a strong interest in policy development and the impact of regulatory frameworks. I ultimately decided to attend law school to align my career more closely with the issues I care about most, particularly child welfare and youth advocacy. My family has been involved in Alabama’s foster care system for many years, giving me a close view of both the strengths and shortcomings of the child welfare landscape. After law school, I hope to work on legal and policy reforms that strengthen the foster care system and better support the youth and families it serves.
Revati Joshi
Louis Lainé
James Limbaugh
I came to law school after teaching and coaching in Oklahoma City. That experience pushed me toward youth-focused legal work. At Harvard, I have advocated for students in the Special Education Law and Youth Advocacy Clinics and will represent young clients in the Criminal Justice Institute this spring. I also spent my 2L summer at San Diego Juvenile Public Defender’s office representing kids facing delinquency proceedings. My classes and clinical work have shown me how the education and juvenile legal systems collide, and they have solidified my goal of building a career centered on supporting and defending young people. After school I hope to be a public defender back home in Oklahoma.
Cordy McJunkins
I am eager to join the Youth Advocacy & Policy Fellows Program to collaborate with professors and students who share my passion for advocating for youth and challenging systems. As someone who grew up in the foster care system and attended underfunded public schools, I witnessed firsthand the challenges that many children face, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. These experiences ignited my passion for civic education and its power to empower young people to be active participants in society. After law school, I aspire to pursue a career in politics and academia, focusing on reforming how educators, policymakers, and politicians work with students to enact meaningful change. I chose HLS because of the unparalleled opportunities to connect with others who are equally dedicated to improving the lives of children. Through this program, I am excited to develop the skills and network necessary to drive impactful reforms in education policy.
Tia Patrick
As a law student, I recognize the severe long-term consequences that frequently result when youth confronted by the legal system receive inadequate representation. Consequently, as a legal practitioner, I wish to provide adolescents with effective aid, representation, and support. As a law student, I have participated in various elective courses and student organizations, such as Lawyering for Justice in the United States, the Art of Social Change, and Harvard Defenders, which enabled me to identify within myself a passion for serving as a youth advocate. During my 1L summer I served as a law clerk for the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. In my role, I witnessed how caring advocates can fundamentally change the outcome of a child’s life. I am honored to be a Y-Lab fellow! The program will further develop my ability to manage crises, mediate conflict, and serve as an effective youth advocate.
Hudson Patterson
I am a rising 2L from Seattle, WA. Before law school, I worked as a research assistant for two psychological labs which explore youth behavior and cognition. During my 1L summer, I worked as a Law Clerk for the Orange County Public Defenders in the juvenile section, where I got a first-hand look at how attorneys can zealously advocate for youth ensnared in the criminal justice system. I am also a former teacher. As a Y-Lab fellow, I am excited to explore the intersection of law and psychology and how social science can be used to help young people achieve favorable legal outcomes.
Anindu Rentala
Hi! I am Anindu Rentala. I was born in Hyderabad, India and grew up in Austin, TX. Personally, I agree with sayings like “it takes a village” and “all kids are our kids” because I felt deeply supported by my community in Austin. Professionally, my interests revolve around dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. I completed an externship placement at Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee, representing students with disabilities who have been unlawfully suspended from schools in the Greater Boston area. I have also interned at trial and appellate public defender’s offices and previously taught middle school and high school around the country. On campus, I am involved with the Prison Legal Assistance Project and the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Before HLS, I graduated from Dartmouth College and studied English Language Instruction at Boston University’s Wheelock School of Education and Human Development.
Katie Rodriguez
Kaveri Sengupta
A key reason I came to law school was to explore the possibilities of a career at the intersection of law and education, and I’m grateful that being a Youth Advocacy & Policy Fellow will allow me to do so. Much of my passion for education equity stems from growing up in New York City and witnessing the effects of a public school system where students competed for limited opportunities. My prior professional and academic experience includes advocating for marginalized Asian American Pacific Islander students in New York, pushing to close the higher education gap for low-income students and students of color as a fellow in a congressional office, coordinating a program that provided college scholarships to high school students often overlooked by the traditional admissions process, and pursuing my master’s degree in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During my master’s program, I had the opportunity to participate in the Education Law Clinic on legislative and administrative lawyering at HLS, where I was introduced to the system change framework and worked closely with a high school student who delivered testimony on her experiences with academic tracking at a briefing for Massachusetts elected officials. I am especially interested in civil rights, policy, and the government’s capacity to effect change, so during my 1L summer, I worked on legal policy guidance at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in their Program Legal Group. I am looking forward to participating in the Y-Lab program to develop a solid foundation in education law in community with other students who share these interests.
Mark Sterling
Before coming to law school, I taught middle school science in Texas for three years and volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. During my first year at HLS, I was in Professor Gregory’s reading group, “American Public Education and Documentary Films,” learned about systems impacting youth in Art of Social Change, and connected with other students who are committed to youth advocacy through Y-Lab’s mentorship program. During my 1L summer, I interned at the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Hartford, Connecticut. I am excited to be a part of the Y-Lab Fellows Program to develop as an advocate for youth and continue meeting peers who are similarly passionate about empowering youth voice.
Wesley Streicher
Before law school, I spent two years as a client advocate in the Children’s Defense Division of the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office. While there, I worked closely with young clients entangled in the juvenile system. I came to HLS hoping to address patterns of police misconduct and systemic injustices perpetrated against youth. As a 2L, I represented children facing school expulsion and suspension through the Child Advocacy Clinic, and I will be representing youth clients in the Criminal Justice Institute this spring. I am deeply grateful for the community and knowledge I have gained through Y-Lab!
Omar Tariq
I am a third-year student at Harvard Law School interested in using legal tools to advocate for education reform and improve educational outcomes for under-served students. Prior to law school, I worked in education in Houston. I was first a full-time teacher then worked as a district content specialist, where I wrote curriculum and supported science teachers across my school district. As an educator, I witnessed how high-level educational initiatives often fail to have their intended effect on education. I came to law school with the long-term goal of advocating for meaningful educational policy that improves the experience of teachers and students. The Youth Advocacy Fellows program, along with my involvement in education-related clinics and courses, will help me broaden my perspective on education reform and build the skills I need to achieve these goals.
Ciara Tisdale-Vakos
Youth advocacy, criminal justice, and public service have been throughlines throughout my life. I watched my mother serve as a court-appointed special advocate and a foster parent, and my father teach culinary arts to incarcerated individuals at a state jail. Their efforts, alongside witnessing the detrimental impacts of the juvenile justice system on families, sparked my interest in child advocacy. I firmly believe that ending mass incarceration involves reshaping how our criminal legal system treats children and young adults, especially youth of color.
Cindy Wang
