Meet the 2015-­‐2016 LEAD Fellows Katie Barry, 2017 Katie was born and raised in Bow, New Hampshire, or as she likes to refer to it, “the sticks.” After getting a bored of the woods she decided to experience life as a city girl, attending Villanova University in Philadelphia. She graduated in 2014 with a double major in political science and history. Her love for college basketball led her to Duke, home to her second favorite team (the cats will always be #1 in her heart), where she accepted the challenge of finding North Carolina’s best pulled pork sandwich. When she isn’t out looking for good food, Katie enjoys running, reading a good book and watching Boston’s sports teams bring home banners. She spent the summer working for the U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire, playing with her dog and eating her mom’s delicious cooking. Katie’s favorite 1L year memories include surviving campout, tearing up the Shooters dance floor, and watching Duke win the national championship. She is excited to meet her LEAD group and show them all the great things she loves about Durham and Duke! Andrew Bellis, 2017 Andrew attended Gettysburg College where he double majored in philosophy and political science. At Gettysburg, Andrew played varsity soccer for four years. He also served as an undergraduate fellow and a leadership mentor in the Eisenhower Institute and the Garthwait Leadership Center respectively. Before law school, he served as a Presidential Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. At Duke, Andrew has worked with the Innocence Project and the Veteran’s Disability Assistance Project. He also enjoys a wide variety of Duke’s intramural sports and finding new places to eat in Durham. Marcus Benning, 2017 Marcus Benning is currently a 2L and will serve as Black Law Students Association President for the 2015-­‐2016 school year. This summer, Benning interned with two corporate law firms -­‐ Burr & Forman in Birmingham, AL and Smith Moore Leatherwood in Raleigh, NC. In May 2014, Marcus Benning graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Linguistics. During the summer before law school, Benning interned with Fried Frank LLP. After law school, Benning plans to begin his career at a corporate law firm in either North Carolina or Washington, DC. As a Double Dukie, Marcus is obsessed with Duke Basketball and Duke athletics in general. Garrett Brodeur, 2017 Garrett is originally from The Woodlands, TX, a suburb north of Houston. He graduated from the University of Houston in 2009 with a degree in Clarinet Performance and a minor in Political Science. As an undergraduate, Garrett placed as a finalist in several statewide concerto competitions and performed with various ensembles at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. As a 2L at Duke Law, he will serve on the Moot Court Board and as Co-­‐Director of the Cancer Pro Bono Legal Project. For his 1L summer, Garrett worked as a summer associate with TMI Associates in Tokyo, Japan, and attended Duke’s Asia-­‐America Institute in Transnational Law in Hong Kong. Garrett plans to pursue a career focusing on mergers and acquisitions within the energy industry in Houston, Texas. In his spare time, he enjoys running, skiing, watching Food Network, and rooting for the Houston Astros. Garrett is grateful for the opportunities Duke Law has afforded him, and is excited to welcome you into the Duke Law family! Peter Chatigny, 2017 Pete grew up in Simsbury, CT, where he spent summers working on a farm and developed a life goal of bringing the Whalers back to Hartford. At Cornell University, he majored in China & Asia-­‐Pacific Studies and spent a semester living in China and interning at CNN's Beijing Bureau. After graduating in 2011, Pete worked for three years as a writer and researcher at Fox News Channel in New York City -­‐-­‐ (he was one of the guys that wrote the on-­‐screen text). At Duke, he is a proud member of Street Law, the 2015 bronze medal-­‐winning Duke 1L bowling team, and the Bojangles frequent guest rewards program. This summer, he worked as a summer associate at Dechert LLP in Hartford, CT. Pete is excited to welcome you to Durham and looks forward to meeting you all. Welcome! Melany Cruz Burgos, 2017 Melany Cruz Burgos, a New Jersey Native, graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies in 2014. Alongside her J.D., she is pursuing an M.A. in Bioethics with a focus on Health Policy. Besides being able to attend Duke Basketball games, Melany’s favorite thing about Duke Law is the amazing programming provided by the active and able student organizations. At least once a week there is an interesting and engaging catered lunch panel or networking event to attend. This fall, Melany is looking forward to serving as Vice President of the Women Law Students Association and the Hispanic Law Students Association and as an intern with Humana’s Ethics Committee. During the summer, Melany worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, New Jersey. Rita Fishman, 2017 Rita grew up in Centerville, Ohio, and attended THE Ohio State University for undergrad. After graduating, Rita lived in Israel where she taught English in Israeli elementary schools, ate lots of hummus, and traveled the country. At Duke, she is on the Mock Trial Board and enjoys attending various educational lunch meetings (FREE LUNCH). For her 1L summer, she worked as a summer associate at Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rita is a huge Buckeye fan, and likes to brag that both of her schools won national championships this past year. In her spare time, she likes photographing her kitten Pippin, playing with Pippin, and watching videos of Pippin. She also loves to watch TV, explore Durham, eat delicious North Carolina barbecue, and can not wait to meet the Class of 2018! Cameron Gibbs, 2016 Cameron Gibbs is a 3L at Duke Law and was raised in Seattle, Washington. Prior to law school, Cameron attended the University of Southern California, where he graduated in 2012. At Duke, Cameron serves as Vice President of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, and was also a LEAD Fellow during the 2014-­‐15 academic year. This summer, Cameron was a Summer Associate at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn's Seattle office. Away from class, he enjoys playing golf, reading, boxing, and eating his way through Durham. His cooking skill is historically underwhelming, though sources say that it's improving. Emily Harrington, 2017 Emily grew up in Santa Barbara, California where she developed a love for ocean sports, sunshine, and wearing flip flops 365 days a year. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2012 after studying Political Science and English (with minors in farmers market elitism and fair trade espresso snobbery). In undergrad Emily played tennis, served on student government, and explored the Bay Area’s many cultural and culinary gems. After graduating she worked as a legal assistant and a preschool teacher for two years. Before starting law school Emily lived in Munich, Germany and explored parts of southern Europe by train, ferry, and foot. This summer, Emily was a legal intern at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office where she worked on the Homicide and Gang Units, helping take a felony murder case to trial. Outside of school Emily loves playing tennis, watching movies, and brunching as often as possible (Durham doesn’t disappoint). Emily is excited to meet you all and welcome you to the Duke Law family. Welcome Class of 2018! Erik Kennelly, 2017 Erik was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. Staying true to his roots, Erik attended THE Ohio State University, graduating in 2012 with degrees in History and Anthropology. That spring, Erik took the leap and moved to St. Louis to teach high school math with Teach For America. Although it was a great two years, law school was always in the plans and in 2014 he again uprooted, this time for Durham. Erik is a cadet in the Army ROTC Battalion here at Duke with plans to commission into the Army as a JAG officer after graduation. While at Duke, Erik competed in mock trial and moot court tournaments, is a member of the intramural champion basketball team, and captained Duke's top 1L softball team (Section 3!). This summer Erik worked in the Ohio Attorney General's Employment Law section in Columbus. Erik enjoys playing pickup basketball, exploring Durham's phenomenal food options, watching Buckeye games on fall Saturdays, and attending basketball games in Cameron Indoor. Erik is looking forward to showing his LEAD group a great time and welcoming them to Duke Law! Jasmin Lott, 2017 Jasmin was born and raised in Dallas, TX (Go Mavs!). She attended The University of Texas at Austin where she majored in History and minored in Business. While in undergrad, she interned at the Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division for a semester. She spent her remaining semesters working part-­‐time as a paralegal assistant at Flahive, Ogden & Latson, a local workers’ compensation law firm. After graduating, she came straight through to law school. At Duke, she is a member of the Moot Court Board, Auction Director for PILF, and Co-­‐President of the Christian Legal Society. Jasmin spends her free time watching TV and exploring Pinterest. Welcome to Duke! Garbrielle Lucero, 2017 Gabs will proudly tell you that she was born and raised in the same town that birthed the New Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado. Though unable to sing herself, she followed her love of musicals to New York City where she studied Gender Studies and Anthropology at Columbia University. After graduation she surprised herself and moved to the South. She is coming into her third year of a four year MPP/JD dual degree program at Duke. She joined Army ROTC with the hopes of commissioning into the JAG Corps. At the Law School Gabs is the President of the Coalition Against Gendered Violence, the co-­‐Director of the Veterans Disability Assistance Project, and is on the Mock Trial Board. She has a particular interest in sexual assault prevention and response. This summer she interned at the Army JAG Defense Appellate Division at Fort Belvoir, VA. She loves to play basketball, play trivia at Fullsteam Brewery, watch anything superhero related, and to tell you random facts about Elvis. She is looking forward to showing the LEAD fellows the delicious food in Durham and the wonderful community at Duke. Carlos Marquez, 2017 Carlos is originally from Bethesda, Maryland. He graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 2011 with a degree in Political Science, Latin American Studies, and Economics. After graduation, Carlos joined Teach For America in Houston, Texas teaching 4th grade bilingual math, 5th grade ESL math and science, and 6th grade math. While living in Houston, Carlos acquired cowboy boots and a love for taco trucks (there is a great one in Durham!). This summer Carlos returned to Houston to work as a summer associate at Baker Botts. When not studying in the library basement, Carlos enjoys running around Duke’s East Campus, going to Fullsteam Trivia, and exploring new restaurants in the Triangle. Rosie McKinley, 2017 Rosie is originally from a small town called Danville. Before law school she worked as an Admissions Counselor for the University of Pittsburgh, her alma mater, where she studied History and Communication Rhetoric. As a 1L Rosie served on the Duke Bar Association, the Public Interest Law Foundation, and OUTLaw. She is also pursuing an LLM in Law and Entrepreneurship. Beyond law school, Rosie can be found exploring (and instagramming) Durham, either by bike or on an adult tricycle with one of her two housemates. Bulls games and the Eno River are her favorite study breaks. This summer she split between working at a health IT start-­‐up in Durham and the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. Brittany Mixon, 2017 Brittany Mixon is a Charlotte, North Carolina native and second-­‐year law student at Duke. In May 2014, Brittany graduated from Appalachian State University (Go Mountaineers!) with a Bachelor's in Political Science and a Minor in Criminal Justice. After graduating, Brittany enrolled at Duke in Fall 2014 to pursue a career in litigation. During her first year, she served as a 1L Representative for the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) and as an Assistant Merchandise Sale Director for the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF). Currently, Brittany serves as the Executive Vice President of BLSA and one of the Merchandise Sale Co-­‐Directors for PILF. Following her 1L year, Brittany worked with Duke’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic. When she isn’t actively engaged in the classroom or with her extra-­‐
curricular activities, Brittany enjoys spending her free time cheering on the Carolina Panthers, shopping, cooking, and working out. Welcome to Duke Law, Class of 2018! Sean Murphy, 2017 Sean was born and raised just outside of Syracuse, New York. He stuck around after high school, earning his B.A. in Political Science from Syracuse University in 2011. During college, Sean interned for a member of the House of Representatives in D.C., and later for a Senator. After college, Sean decided to pack everything up into his car and move west to be a full-­‐time ski bum in Salt Lake City, Utah. After a season there, Sean moved to Portland, Oregon for a year, and then to Lake Tahoe, California, in order to continue skiing, as well as backpacking throughout many of the national parks. Sean worked in jobs such as photography, painting, and retail in order to fund his travels, eventually reaching all 48 states in the continental U.S. Unfortunately, living out of a backpack became unsustainable, and Sean eventually decided to return to the east coast to attend Duke Law, where he enjoys the great weather, golf courses, and the softball league. Lauren Myers, 2017 Lauren is originally from Rockville, Maryland. She graduated from Duke University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and minors in Education and African & African American Studies. From there, she spent a year teaching in Donaldsonville, Louisiana before starting a Master's in Mass Communication at Louisiana State University which she is finishing up while in law school. At Duke Law, Lauren is the Co-­‐President of the Christian Legal Society and Director of Programming for the Black Law Students Association. This summer, she is working for the Duke Office of Counsel (which is coincidental because before getting the position, her law school friends often joked that she worked for Duke since she loves it so much). She loves college sports (Go Duke!), sweet tea, and trying out all of the fun new restaurants in Durham that she missed out on in undergrad. She is so excited to welcome you to one of her favorite places on earth and hopes that you will love it just as much as she does! Rachel Ofori, 2017 Rachel is a native of Lawton, Oklahoma. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2014, where she majored in Government and minored in Psychological and Brain Sciences. At Dartmouth, Rachel was president of Kappa Kappa Gamma and was also a member of the Dartmouth Decibelles, Dartmouth College’s oldest all female A capella group. This summer, she was a summer associate at Winston & Strawn in New York City. Here at Duke Law, Rachel is President of the Women Law Students Association, a board member of the Black Law Students Association and a member of Street Law. In her spare time she enjoys shopping, napping, eating at the various brunch spots in Durham, eating in general and traveling! Welcome to Duke! Carly Penner, 2017 Carly is from New Jersey and lives right by the shore. She often pretends to be from New York to avoid being asked if she knows Snookie or The Situation (sadly he lives in the town next to her). She attended Cornell University and majored in Industrial and Labor Relations. Carly studied abroad in London in a dual program where she took classes at the London School of Economics while interning in Parliament. During her time abroad Carly visited 8 countries. Carly loves Duke, and her favorite memories revolve around basketball season, especially participating in Camp Out and attending the Duke-­‐UNC game. After finishing 1L Carly split her summer, spending the first half at a small patent law firm in Tokyo, Japan, and the second half in Durham working as a research assistant for Professor Lemos. When Carly is not studying she likes to go to brunch with her friends and binge on Netflix. Her most prized accomplishment is finishing all seven seasons of The West Wing in a few short months. Carly is also a movie snob, and will provide you with great movie selections if you need advice on what to watch. Welcome to Duke! Khahilia Shaw, 2017 Khahilia was born in Maryland but grew up in South Florida. Abandoning the sun-­‐
soaked land of her childhood, she graduated from Wellesley College in 2012 with a degree in Political Science. After graduation, she worked for political campaigns and non-­‐governmental organizations in Washington, D.C. and as an independent bookseller in Albany, New York. At Duke Law, she served as a 1L Representative to the Women Law Students Association and is an incoming 2L Representative this year. She spent the summer working as with K&L Gates, LLP in Washington, D.C. and with the Parliamentary Monitoring Group in Cape Town, South Africa. She is interested in international humanitarian law, arbitration, and development law. When not studying, she loves dancing ballet (it's a sport!), reading, and drinking copious amounts of hot chocolate. She is excited to welcome the Class of 2018 to Duke Law! Elle Stuart, 2017 A native of Arizona, Elle Stuart graduated from Stanford University in 2014 with a B.A. in History and honors in International Security Studies. At Duke, Elle has participated in WLSA, National Security Society, and is looking forward to being a LEAD Fellow next year. For her 1L summer, Elle is working for Coast Guard JAG and K&L Gates in DC. Stephen Tagert, 2017 Stephen grew up in Bristol, TN. He graduated from Furman University in Greenville, SC with a degree in Political Science and Economics. After graduating, he spent a year as an Urban Fellow at a church plant in Richmond, VA while also working as a paralegal at a BigLaw firm. At Duke, Stephen is a Case Manager for an Innocence Project Investigations team, Treasurer of the Christian Legal Society, and on the executive board for Environmental Law Society. After his 1L year, Stephen interned for Judge Gibney in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys outdoor activities, runs around Duke’s beautiful campus, and Durham’s many wonderful restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries. Welcome to Duke Law! Jennifer Tian, 2017 Jenn was born and raised in a small town in rural Missouri. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). After undergrad, Jenn came straight to Duke Law, where she is a member of the Moot Court Board and the Asian Law Students Association. This past summer, Jenn worked as a summer associate at Bryan Cave in their St. Louis office. When not studying, Jenn enjoys following Kansas City sports, hitting the driving range, and watching too much TV. She’s excited to welcome you to Duke! Christian Vazquez, 2017 Hailing from Hialeah, Florida (a Miami suburb), Christian is a rising 2L with an interest in international and comparative law-­‐-­‐in particular Latin America. He returns to Duke Law after spending the past two months as a summer associate with Jones Day's Miami office. He is currently a 2L representative for the Duke Bar Association (DBA) and a member of the Federalist Society. Before moving to Durham, Christian reported to an Associate Vice President of Yale University-­‐-­‐
working on various projects for the university cabinet and corporation. He graduated with a B.A. in History from Yale in 2013 where he was an editor of the Yale Daily News, an active member of his residential college council and President of the Cuban-­‐American Undergraduate Student Association (CAUSA). An avid traveler and enthusiast of different cultures, Christian hopes to increase the number of countries that he's been able to visit to twenty-­‐two with a trip to Brazil in time for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Alex Volandt, 2017 Alex was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. He attended The Citadel in Charleston, SC, graduating in 2010 with an NROTC commission in the United States Marine Corps. After graduation, Alex spent four years as a Ground Intelligence Officer stationed in northern Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Afghanistan in 2012 as part of an Afghan military advisor team. This year, Alex is the incoming President of the National Security Law Society, where he also served on the board as a 1L. Over the summer, Alex was an intern for the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Office of the Assistant Attorney General. When he’s not hiding in the library or his office, Alex is usually with his wife Danielle, a resident physician at UNC-­‐Chapel Hill, walking their dog Sadie through Duke Gardens or enjoying the great Durham weather. Benjamin Wasserman, 2017 Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Ben lives the proud yet tortured life of a Mets and Jets fan. He left Long Island to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) in 2012. Upon graduating, Ben worked as a paralegal for the Criminal Fraud Section of the DOJ in Washington, D.C. After two years of fighting foreign bribery, Ben decided to come to Duke Law. At Duke, Ben leads an active investigation as part of the Duke Law Innocence Project, is a Teaching Assistant for the 1L Legal Writing course, and is President of the Student Organization for Legal Issues in the Middle East and North Africa (SOLIMENA). This summer, Ben worked for the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the New York Attorney General’s Office. When not camped out in the library, you can find Ben going to Duke Basketball games, binge-­‐watching Netflix, or at Q-­‐Shack. He looks forward to welcoming the Class of 2018 to Duke Law. Emily Weiss, 2017 Emily hails from New York City and received her B.A. from Northwestern University in 2014 with a double major in Political Science and French. She is interested primarily in corporate practice. For her 1L summer, Emily has been working as a Summer Law Clerk at Otterbourg P.C. back home in New York. In addition to serving as a LEAD Fellow at Duke, she is a 2L Representative for WLSA and is looking forward to another season of IM softball. Kate Wheelock, 2017 Kate Wheelock was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. As a child, Kate spent every summer, spring, and winter break traveling to numerous multiple parks from Washington to South Florida. She graduated from Duke University with a major in history. She also received her elementary teaching certificate after student teaching at Central Park School for children (which is right by MotorCo, Fullsteam, and the Farmer's Market) in Durham after graduation. Kate left the teaching world and worked at a wrongful convictions nonprofit in Durham until she decided to remain in -­‐-­‐you guessed it -­‐-­‐ Durham, NC for law school. At Duke, Kate is a member of the Innocence Project, the mock trial board, and DBA. She's excited to meet the incoming class and welcome to Duke!!