Becky Eakins is entering her junior year at Williams College majoring in American Studies, Cultural and Critical Theory. She serves as secretary and event coordinator for the Lehman Council for Community Engagement, and is excited to write for the Williams Record in the fall. Becky has previously interned at the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, where she helped design a neighborhood outreach program and lead a student-based green energy campaign. At NCYL, Becky is working with attorney Jesse Hahnel on Foster Ed Connect, a new on-line community for those working to help California foster youth succeed in school. She is also working on an education resource directory for Alameda County, and assisting Communications Director Tracy Schroth on various website projects. Upon graduation, Becky hopes to pursue a career in social justice. She enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee, riding horses, and watching bad movies.

Deanne Katz is entering her third year at UC Hastings where she is Executive Managing Editor of the Hastings Science and Technology Law Journal. She is an active member of Law Students for Reproductive Justice and has organized their V-Day advocacy event for the past two years. This past year, Deanne worked with the San Francisco Peer Court as a mentor to students participating in the juvenile justice diversion program. She also worked for the Tenderloin Economic Development Project in San Francisco as part of her work with the Civil Justice Clinic at Hastings. Last summer, Deanne worked for Legal Advocates for Children and Youth in San Jose on guardianship, mental health, and dependency cases. Deanne has an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Hamilton College. At NCYL, she is working with attorneys Patrick Gardner, Zahra Hayat, and Leecia Welch on child welfare and foster care issues. In her spare time, Deanne enjoys Frisbee, reading historical fiction, and playing outside.

Stephanie Klitsch is entering her second year at Stanford Law School, where she is a member of the Environmental Law Journal. She also serves as the secretary of Stanford’s Chapter of Law Students for Reproductive Justice and has participated in the Domestic Violence Pro Bono Project. Prior to entering law school, Stephanie taught middle school science for two years in Charlotte, NC through Teach for America. She received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where she majored in Policy Analysis and Management with a concentration in Family and Social Welfare. At NCYL, Stephanie is working with attorneys Rebecca Gudeman and Christiana Macfarlane on adolescent access to confidential health services. Stephanie is also assisting attorney Bryn Martyna on Henry A. v. Willden, NCYL’s foster care reform case in Las Vegas. In her free time, Stephanie likes baking, hiking, and spending time with her husband and their dog, Huxley.

Erin Liotta is entering her third year at Berkeley Law. Upon graduating from Yale with a degree in history, Erin went abroad to teach at a middle school in China. Prior to law school, she also spent several years with the Legal Aid Society in New York City, where she served as Grants and Contracts Manager in the Civil Practice. Since arriving at Berkeley, she has volunteered or interned at the Workers’ Rights Clinic, the Housing Clinic of the East Bay Community Law Center, the National Housing Law Project, and Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. Erin also serves as Treasurer for the Berkeley Law Foundation, which this year raised nearly $100,000 to fund public interest work. In addition to her interest in youth advocacy, Erin has a passion for all issues related to domestic violence, particularly those involving incarcerated survivors of abuse. At NCYL, she divides her time between adolescent health work with attorneys Rebecca Gudeman and Christiana Macfarlane, and assisting attorney Bryn Martyna on Henry A. v. Willden, NCYL’s foster care reform case in Law Vegas. Erin’s favorite things about her new life in the Bay Area include: working at NCYL, getting around on her pink bike, and finally learning what a tomato is truly supposed to taste like.
 
Mellori Lumpkin is a second-year student at Berkeley Law, where she was recently selected for Law Review. She is also a member of the California Law Review and the Board of Advocates, Berkeley Law’s national trial competition team. Mellori serves as president of the Black Law Students’ Association and Articles Editor for the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law and Policy. This year, Mellori won Best Oral Argument in Berkeley’s Written and Oral Advocacy course. Mellori also participated in the Juvenile Hall Outreach program, where she taught detained youth about their legal rights and responsibilities. Prior to law school, she worked as a Gubernatorial Fellow with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in Tallahassee. Mellori received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration, summa cum laude, from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University’s School of Business and Industry. This summer, she is working with Senior Attorney Pat Arthur, conducting substantive legal research and analysis on juvenile justice issues. Mellori enjoys cooking, live music, and politics.
 
Rachel Miller is entering her second year at University of Pennsylvania Law School. She co-founded the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project and is active with the Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, Lambda Law, and the Equal Justice Foundation. Prior to entering law school, Rachel worked at the Children’s Law Center in DC, working with guardians ad litem to secure necessary services for children and teens in the foster care system. Rachel received undergraduate degrees in anthropology and psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. While in college, she was president of her school’s rugby team and spent her summers working with children at an overnight summer camp in western Maryland. Rachel is working with attorneys Patrick Gardner and Zahra Hayat on improving access to mental health care for California foster youth living outside their home counties. In her free time, Rachel enjoys the simple things: good food, good friends, and the outdoors.

Lauren Mogannam is entering her senior year at Northwestern University majoring in journalism and Spanish. She writes and edits for The Daily Northwestern and recently joined the Spanish Department’s quarterly newsletter writing team. Lauren is also an active member of Northwestern’s GlobeMed chapter, a student group focused on providing primary health services in Ghana, and Dance Marathon, one of the nation’s largest collegiate philanthropies. After studying in Seville, Spain last year, Lauren became one of the student ambassadors responsible for promoting her program to prospective study abroad students. Lauren is the undergraduate communications intern at NCYL, working with Communications Director Tracy Schroth on Youth Law News, and helping to maintain NCYL’s website and Facebook pages. Upon graduation, she hopes to teach for a few years in Spain or through Teach for America before going on to graduate school. In her free time, Lauren enjoys traveling, horseback riding, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Casey Schutte is entering his second year at Berkeley Law. Last year, he volunteered with the California Asylum Representation Clinic and helped his Guatemalan client gain asylum. Prior to law school, Casey did social work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started his social work career at a treatment foster care agency serving children of all ages, eventually working as the Treatment Foster Care Program Director. Casey then switched to investigating child abuse with a focus on investigations with children already in out-of-home care. He received his undergraduate degree in political science, history, and sociology from University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with distinction. He stayed at UW–Madison for graduate school and received his Master of Social Work degree. This summer, Casey is working with NCYL attorney Bill Grimm on issues related to child welfare law. In his free time, Casey likes to read and exercise outdoors in the beautiful Bay Area weather.

Caroline Van Zile is entering her second year at Yale Law School. Currently, she is one of the directors for Yale’s Rebellious Lawyering Conference, the largest student-run public interest conference in the country. She is also a member of the education clinic, which recently won a landmark Connecticut Supreme Court victory, and teaches a constitutional law class in New Haven public schools through the Marshall-Brennan Scholars program. She is president of the Project for Law and Education at Yale and on the board of both Yale Law and Policy Review and Yale’s American Constitution Society. Before law school, Caroline taught seventh-grade English in inner-city Brooklyn and worked on Teach for America’s staff. She graduated from Yale College Phi Beta Kappa and holds a Masters in Teaching from PACE University. At NCYL, she is helping to launch the Foster Youth Education Initiative, a project designed to ensure foster children receive the educational advocacy and opportunities they need. As a first-time Bay Area resident, she is surprised by how much she enjoys the nighttime fog in San Francisco.
 
Kate Walker is entering her third year at the University of Iowa College of Law. She is a student writer for the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice, and board member of Iowa’s Equal Justice Foundation. Kate earned her undergraduate degree in Public Policy Analysis with a focus in Psychology from Pomona College in Claremont, California. During undergrad, she played soccer and served as a co-captain of the team her senior year. She also tutored for the Upward Bound program. During her year between undergrad and law school, Kate worked at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles in the Housing Unit working on evictions and foreclosures. Following her first year at University of Iowa, she interned at the Alliance for Children’s Rights (ACR) in Los Angeles, focusing on special education issues. She is working with attorneys Patrick Gardner and Zahra Hayat on improving access to mental health services for California foster youth. She is also assisting on the T.R. v. Dreyfus case in Washington State, and working on a report for the Juvenile Mental Health Court in Alameda County. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the bay area, yoga, and cooking.