Fellowship Program
Fellowship Program
Annually, the Center offers three or four Curt and Linda Rodin Social Justice Fellowships to law students to develop the skills needed to work with underserved individuals and communities through litigation, legislative and policy reform, or other work that strengthens communities.
This year four students will be selected as the 2025-2026 Curt and Linda Rodin Social Justice Fellows to help to promote social justice programming, service, and careers. The Rodin fellowship is intended to support students with strong leadership skills who are committed to careers in social justice and public interest work.
Full-time 2L and Part-time 3L students are eligible to apply. (See application below.) Fellows will receive a total of $2785 per semester in tuition remuneration over their last three semesters (Total tuition support $8625) and a $6,000 summer stipend to support unpaid social justice and public interest work during the summer before their last year of law school. The fellowship is renewable based on satisfactory academic performance and full participation in program activities and a summer internship as described below.
2024-2025 Rodin Student Fellows
Ally Hayes
Ally Hayes (she/her/hers) is a current 2L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Prior to law school, Ally worked for the Missouri State Public Defender's Children's Defense Team. This experience inspired Ally to use her legal degree to amplify the voices of those impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems. At Loyola, Ally worked as a research assistant exploring the impact of electronic monitoring on youth, and she is also the President of the Public Interest Law Society. Ally spent her 1L summer with the Illinois Prison Project where she drafted clemency petitions for people incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Currently, Ally works as a law clerk in the Cook County Public Defender’s Homicide Task Force.
Constance Young
Constance Young is currently a 2L. Over the summer she interned for the Federal Defender Program, where she was able to take a Federal Sentencing Guidelines and Trial Advocacy course, attend the Criminal Justice Seminar in Rockford, IL, attend MCC visits and court hearings, and more! Constance is also the Black Law Students Association President and a member of the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Team. One of her core values is volunteerism and Constance has given back to her community by participating in Know Your Rights trainings, hosting a holiday fundraiser for the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, and hosting a food drive for low-income individuals and families. Upon graduation, Constance plans to continue pursuing her interest in social justice by becoming a criminal defense attorney so she can be an active and effective advocate for individuals within marginalized communities.
René J. Valenzuela
René J. Valenzuela (he/him/his) is a 2L devoted to working at the intersection of education, criminal, and immigration law. During his 1L summer, René worked with Equip for Equality in their Special Education Clinic where he provided direct legal services to ensure students with disabilities had access to an appropriate education. Prior to law school, René was a fellow at the Immigrant Justice Corps in New York City where he worked with diverse communities to file affirmative immigration applications. René’s lived experiences inform his pursuit of a career in social justice. Upon graduation, he hopes to be a zealous legal advocate that works alongside marginalized communities in pursuit of a more equitable and just society.
Yael Pineda Chavez
Yael Pineda Chavez is a first-generation Mexican immigrant and a 2L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and labor and workplace studies from UCLA. Yael was a community organizer and policy advocate in Los Angeles prior to law school. She was also an eviction defense paralegal at Bet Tzedek Legal Services and provided counsel and advice and other legal services to low-income immigrants and other marginalized communities. Yael spent her 1L summer interning at Impact for Equity where she conducted legal and policy research on the use of pretextual race-based traffic stops. Currently, Yael is a law clerk at Georges & Synowiecki Ltd.
2025-2026 Rodin Student Fellows
Dede Benissan
Dede Benissan (she/her/hers) is a first-generation Togolese immigrant and a 2L at the School of Law. She holds a B. in biology and public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to law school, Dede worked as an undergraduate policy consultant for FEMA, researching the best strategies to support communities affected by natural disasters. She also served as a Medical-Legal Partnership (AmeriCorps) VISTA coordinator with the Health Justice Project at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she worked to increase access to health care and economic opportunities for Black and Brown communities. During her 1L summer, Dede worked as a student attorney at the Harvard Law School’s Legal Aid Bureau, where she represented tenants at risk of eviction and provided brief legal services to unrepresented tenants in court. Dede is a member of the Loyola Law Journal, Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Team, and the boards of BLSA and FSBA. After graduation, Dede plans to use her policy and legal skills to advocate for civil rights, criminal justice, fair market competition, and consumer protection.
Sharon Kirchner
Sharon Kirchner (she/ella/ona) is a first-generation Slovakian student and 3L in the Weekend JD program. Outside of classes, Sharon runs a dog care business. During her 1L year at University of Illinois Chicago's School of Law, Sharon spearheaded the founding of Leaders in Law, a student organization empowering first-generation and minority students with aspirations to become judges, senators, and law professors. One of Sharon’s core values is volunteerism, and she has given back to her community by assisting low-income Spanish speakers seeking citizenship and starting a charity that has donated over $7,000 worth of household and personal hygiene essentials to Chicago’s homeless communities through retail couponing. Prior to law school, Sharon was chosen to be Cook County’s first survivor engagement specialist, responsible for empowering domestic violence and sexual assault survivors through their navigation of the justice system. Sharon is a law clerk at both the Chicago Federal Defender Program and the Felony Trial Division of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. Upon graduation, Sharon looks forward to being a zealous public defender serving marginalized community members.
Elizabeth Martinez
Elizabeth Martinez (she/her/hers) is a 2L. She was born and raised in Texas, where she worked at a criminal justice reform organization and a personal injury firm before starting law school. Her prior experiences solidified her dedication to a public interest legal career. Beginning her 1L year, she volunteered for local immigration organizations in Chicago and plans to continue supporting these communities in her spare time. During her 1L summer, Elizabeth interned for the Federal Defenders Program, where she did legal research and brief writing to support the criminal defense strategies of incarcerated clients. She is exploring career paths that address mass incarceration and believes that early social interventions are key to preventing or disrupting a cycle of incarceration. During her 2L year, Elizabeth joined Loyola’s ABA negotiations team and is the president of SUFEO, Loyola’s student-run organization that provides free information and assistance to families of PreK-12 students facing issues in school.
Lindsay Nicholas
Lindsay Nicholas (she/her/hers) is a 2L. Prior to law school, Lindsay worked at Cabrini Green Legal Aid, assisting with juvenile and adult criminal record expungement, which inspired her to pursue a career in post-conviction advocacy to address the disproportionate impact of the criminal legal system on Chicago’s most vulnerable communities. At Loyola, Lindsay serves as the advocacy coordinator for SUFEO, Loyola’s student-run organization that provides free information and assistance to families of PreK-12 students facing issues in school. In the spring, she will return to Ascend Justice, where she will work with the Family Defense and Incarcerated Survivors Project teams.
Annually, the Center offers three or four Curt and Linda Rodin Social Justice Fellowships to law students to develop the skills needed to work with underserved individuals and communities through litigation, legislative and policy reform, or other work that strengthens communities.
This year four students will be selected as the 2025-2026 Curt and Linda Rodin Social Justice Fellows to help to promote social justice programming, service, and careers. The Rodin fellowship is intended to support students with strong leadership skills who are committed to careers in social justice and public interest work.
Full-time 2L and Part-time 3L students are eligible to apply. (See application below.) Fellows will receive a total of $2785 per semester in tuition remuneration over their last three semesters (Total tuition support $8625) and a $6,000 summer stipend to support unpaid social justice and public interest work during the summer before their last year of law school. The fellowship is renewable based on satisfactory academic performance and full participation in program activities and a summer internship as described below.