Six University of Wisconsin Law School students have been awarded 2024 Peggy Browning Fund fellowships in workplace justice advocacy.
Securing a national Peggy Browning Fellowship is a challenging process, with over 3,950 applications and 117 students accepted this year.
The program provides stipends to first- and second-year law students who dedicate their summers to working for labor unions, worker centers, labor-related nonprofits and union-side law firms.
Ana Avendano Martinez (J.D. candidate, 2026) will be at Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP) in Chicago. Avendano Martinez was born in Mexico City and now calls Chicago home. During undergrad, she served in AmeriCorps and interned for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Before law school, Ana worked as a legal assistant, supporting detained asylum seekers in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. There, she wrote “Know your Rights” materials and expanded post-detention release aid programs. She also served on the first steering committee of her nonprofit’s union, helping lead the union from initial formation to contract bargaining. Avendano Martinez has volunteered in various capacities, including helping migrant families affected by the family separation policy, translating for counsel investigating inhumane treatment of migrant youth, and participating in the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. She hopes to use the tenets of community lawyering to further workers’ rights. She is excited to study the ways in which immigration and labor laws intersect in the lives of immigrant workers this summer.
Lenisha Gibson (J.D. candidate, 2025) landed placement at Chicago News Guild (2023-24 School Year) in Chicago. Gibson is a daughter, organizer, political strategist and aspiring legal professional born and raised in South Florida. With a passion for justice, equity and data, Gibson has several cycles of experience in labor, electoral and community organizing. She has served in positions of leadership for many organizations including being current Political Director with Dream Defenders and serving on the Racial Justice Task Force for Broward County. She holds a B.S. in Political Science with a concentration in Statistics and Leadership Studies.In her free time, Gibson can be found doing community service, listening to her extensive music collection, coding web applications or dashboards, painting and playing piano.
Jefferson McCain (J.D. candidate, 2025) will be at National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), D.C. Field Office in Washington, D.C. McCain is from Maryland and hopes to pursue a career in worker-side labor law to advocate for better rights, conditions and protections for working-class people. Since he was 15 years old, McCain has continuously held at least one job; he has worked mowing lawns, waiting tables, roofing and unloading trucks. Seeing the conditions that millions of people are forced to spend the majority of their days in lit a fire in McCain and inspired him to attend law school to fight on their behalf. With a degree in history, McCain believes that one of the best ways to develop a strong labor movement for the future is to look to the labor movement’s past. He is excited to be working as a fellow this summer and hopes to contribute in some way to the betterment of working people.
Tristin Ott (J.D. candidate, 2025) will be at National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C. Ott grew up in a union family in rural Minnesota. From a young age, his imagination was captured by the dramatic and passionate discussions about injustice and inequality that his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles held. This background motivated him to study the history of the labor movement in undergrad, culminating in senior thesis research on Milwaukee unions’ struggle against deindustrialization in the 1980s and 1990s. Now at University of Wisconsin Law School, Ott hopes to learn more about how to effectively fight back against this kind of economic injustice. A second-year PBF Fellow, he is excited to return this summer to the NTEU and continue working on behalf of federal employees.
Iva Petrova (J.D. candidate, 2026) will be at Fair Work Center & Working Washington in Seattle. As an immigrant from Macedonia, Petrova is deeply passionate about advocating for underprivileged members of society. She became interested in labor issues as a legislative aide in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where she helped craft legislation to promote union participation and workers’ rights. She then volunteered at a workers’ rights organization, where she educated workers on the impact of collective worker power and helped multiple workplaces organize. This exposed her to the structural inequality low-income, immigrant workers face and solidified her interest in using the law to advocate for workers’ rights. At University of Wisconsin Law School, Petrova serves on the executive board of the Labor and Employment Student Association and as a student advocate for the Unemployment Appeals Clinic. She hopes to use her law degree to bolster immigrant participation in organized labor and illustrate the impact comprehensive immigration reform can have on the ongoing labor movement.
Erika Vasek (J.D. candidate, 2026) will be at Previant Law Firm, S.C. in Milwaukee. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Vasek earned her bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. While in college, she developed a passion for unions and workers’ rights during her internship at the Nebraska Association of Public Employees/AFSCME Local 61, which represents Nebraska government employees. After graduating, Vasek continued working for Local 61 as a Field Representative, where she handled employee discipline and grievances and traveled extensively organizing state employees. Throughout her time at Local 61, Vasek further developed her passion for advocating for workers’ issues and empowering workers by educating them on their rights. She looks forward to furthering her experience with unions and labor law as a fellow this summer.
Submitted by Law School News on May 29, 2024
This article appears in the categories: Features, Students
