UW Law Students Jenny Zimmerman and Sara Kelton have been named recipients of the Children's Justice Project (CJP) Marygold Melli Fellowships for Summer 2008.
The CJP Fellowship Program, named in honor of UW Law School Professor Emerita Marygold Melli, a pioneer in the field of family law, provides funding to students who take unpaid summer internships that focus on children’s law. Students compete for a fellowship through an application and interview process and recipients receive up to $5,000 to fund their summer internships.
Jenny Zimmerman will be an intern with ProBAR, the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project, Harlingen, Texas.
Zimmerman will be working with ProBAR's Immigrant Children's Assistance Project, representing unaccompanied immigrant children detained in South Texas. Many of the children are fleeing dangerous situations in their home countries because of domestic violence, gang violence and human trafficking. These children are extraordinarily vulnerable and face impending deportation without any way of obtaining counsel, aside from ProBAR's efforts.
Zimmerman’s other experience working with children includes a position with Youthworks of Minneapolis, where she oversaw an eight-week summer program for 80 children at an orphanage in Tijuana; a position as an after-school teacher for Latino students at an elementary school in south Minneapolis; and work as a mentor for inner-city youth at the YWCA on the University of Minnesota campus.
Sara Kelton will be an intern with Legal Aid Society, Guardian ad Litem Division, Milwaukee.
Kelton will be working with court-appointed attorneys who represent the best interests of children in CHIPS, paternity, divorce, TPR and adoption cases. The GAL Division represents about 5,000 children annually in such matters. In addition to supporting the attorneys with direct client contact and researching and preparing court documents and memoranda, Kelton will also conduct at least one major research project related to children's law.
Kelton has always worked in child-centered environments: as a camp counselor at Greenwood Lake Camp, a Salvation Army Camp in Columbus, Ohio; as an English teacher in Madrid, Spain; and as a bilingual Head Start home visitation teacher with the Dane County Parent Council, Inc. in Madison.
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In 2008, CJP has also awarded additional smaller grants to fund summer work related to children. The CJP Summer Grant Recipients are:
Jessica Ozalp – Intern with Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Immigrant Project, Madison
Kirsten Reneau – Intern with Legal Aid Society, Guardian ad Litem Division, Milwaukee
Karen Siettmann -- Intern with Dane County Corporation Counsel, Madison
The CJP Summer Fellowship Program was initiated in 2003 with an award of $3,000 from the American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys, which was matched by the UW Law School. The program has been further sustained with significant funding from Attorney Clark R. Smith ‘65 and other private donors, including the firm of Foley & Lardner.
Submitted by on April 28, 2008
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