2023–2024 Fellows

Sandra is a second-year J.D. candidate from Bakersfield, CA. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Political Science in 2019. Prior to law school, Sandra worked in San Francisco as a litigation paralegal and as an SEO Law Fellow at international firms. These experiences crystallized her interest in data privacy, technology, and immigrant rights. At Columbia Law School, she is a part of the Latinx Law Students Association and the Columbia Science & Technology Law Review.  

Through the Davis Polk Leadership Initiative, Sandra and co-Fellows Isamar and Sharline plan to combine their personal experience as first-generation daughters of immigrants along with their immigration and tech backgrounds to make a meaningful impact in the technology field. Their fellowship will empower low-income individuals, especially those facing language barriers, to navigate social media privacy settings effectively, ensuring digital privacy and literacy in an era of increasing government surveillance. By bridging the gap between their heritage and experience, they aim to create solutions that protect vulnerable communities in the digital age.

Rana is an Afghan lawyer of Hazara ethnicity. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of British Columbia, as well as a Juris Doctor from the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining Columbia Law School, Rana interned for Lawyers for Human Rights, based in South Africa, in their Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme through Global Affairs Canada’s Young Lawyers International Program. Rana is also a Director of the Vancouver Summer Mentorship Society, a non-profit organization that creates mentorship and legal education opportunities for high school students from marginalized communities across British Columbia. Rana is proud to share that five students of the program have been accepted into Canadian law schools to date.

Over the years, Rana has been working on several national and international emergency efforts in response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. She is a legal advocate for the Afghan Women’s Organization and has assisted with the emergency evacuations of at-risk Afghans, the resettlement of Afghans in Canada, and the drafting of public legal education materials, calls to actions, and submissions before Canada’s Special Committee on Afghanistan and Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights. Rana is also a part of a group of international human rights lawyers that was awarded the PILnet Pro Bono Publico Award for their mobilization efforts in response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

As a Davis Polk Leadership Fellow, Rana intends to organize a conference at Columbia University to spread awareness on the escalating gender apartheid against women in Afghanistan, especially against the Hazaras. Rana also intends to combine her athletic Varsity background with her advocacy efforts by organizing activities between Afghan refugees and Columbia law students that prioritize physical and mental well-being.

Sharline is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She graduated from the University of Rochester in 2020 with a degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies. After graduation, she worked for two years as a paralegal at Covington & Burling in Washington D.C. During her time at Covington, she served a year-long pro bono rotation with a legal aid organization assisting D.C. residents with small claims and rental assistance due to the pandemic. In addition, Sharline helped the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project as a part-time Paralegal. She helped establish an advocacy network across Pennsylvania that provided incarcerated folk with Medication for Opioid-Use Disorder (MOUD). Before law school, Sharline worked as an SEO Law Fellow at Jenner & Block in NYC. 

Through the Davis Polk Leadership Initiative, Sharline and co-Fellows Sandra and Isamar plan to combine their personal experience as first-generation daughters of immigrants along with their immigration and tech backgrounds to make a meaningful impact in the technology field. Their fellowship will empower low-income individuals, especially those facing language barriers, to navigate social media privacy settings effectively, ensuring digital privacy and literacy in an era of increasing government surveillance. By bridging the gap between their heritage and experience, they aim to create solutions that protect vulnerable communities in the digital age.

Edson is a first-generation law student from Guadalajara, Jalisco, and Los Angeles, California. Prior to attending Columbia Law School, Edson earned his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. During his time there, Edson was heavily involved in programs related to increasing diversity in the legal profession, and worked to increase accessibility to legal resources for aspiring law students. During his last quarter at UCLA, Edson participated in the UCDC program in Washington, D.C., where he gained first-hand experience on the way legal issues affect low-income individuals at a boutique law firm. This past summer, Edson participated in the SEO Law program where he worked at a corporate law firm downtown in the intellectual property litigation practice group. Edson is very passionate about immigrants rights and intellectual property and fashion. Edson is excited to make a lasting contribution at Columbia Law School and beyond through the Davis Polk Leadership Initiative.

Edson’s project addresses the lack of community support for undocumented/DACAmented students at Columbia University and Columbia Law School by creating a welcoming space that reminds students of their roots and supports them through their academic, social, and professional journeys at the institution. This project serves to remind students that they belong at this institution by creating a community of support and understanding for current and prospective students.

Jane graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honors) and a Bachelor of Arts. During her undergraduate studies, she was actively involved in university life including as Women’s Officer of the Sydney University Law Society, as a tutor for the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme, and as a volunteer mentor with the Law Society’s Juvenile Justice Mentoring Program. Jane also competed in various moots, including the Jessup International Law Moot Competition where her team was the Australian National Champion, and the International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot where her team won the prize for Best Overall Written Memoranda. After graduating, Jane worked as a lawyer at the commercial law firm King & Wood Mallesons (KWM). At KWM, she coordinated a pro bono housing clinic run in partnership with Redfern Legal Centre, a non-profit legal service. She also worked on a number of pro bono matters for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organizations and individuals in the areas of justice reinvestment, intellectual property infringement, and the child protection system. Jane has also previously volunteered as a legal intern at the Aboriginal Legal Service in Sydney and the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency.

With the support of the Davis Polk Leadership team, and alongside her co-Fellow Reakash Walters, Jane intends to cultivate a culture of “sousveillance” or "watching from below" in the Morningside Heights and Harlem community. Court watchers across the country use collective action to challenge institutional ideas of justice and safety; they flood courtrooms to draw attention to the systemic harms caused by criminal punishment and the legal system. Jane and Reakash will create a courtwatching program where community members and students observe court proceedings, reflect on what they see, and report their findings to justice system actors. In the award-winning short film The Court Watchers, a formerly incarcerated woman called Carmen notes that “Injustice happens in empty courtrooms.” Jane and Reakash’s goal is to increase accountability by filling courtrooms and interrupting this injustice. Through the project, they also hope to cultivate trust and solidarity between residents of Harlem and members of Columbia Law School to bridge the gaps between these two communities.

Isamar is a Washington, D.C. native who holds a Master's and Bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University. Isamar has extensive federal government experience as a former intern in the Obama White House, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Senate, and the U.S. Department of State. Most recently, Isamar worked on the deployment of a cloud-based, data-sharing technology to modernize the way the U.S. Department of Defense Intelligence Community shares and analyzes intelligence. Isamar spent her 1L summer at Cooley LLP in Washington D.C., where she primarily worked with the firm's cyber, data, privacy group. During her 1L summer, Isamar also did a secondment at Meta, where she gained insights into in-house tech counsel work.

Through the Davis Polk Leadership Initiative, Isamar and co-Fellows Sandra and Sharline plan to combine their personal experience as first-generation daughters of immigrants along with their immigration and tech backgrounds to make a meaningful impact in the technology field. Their fellowship will empower low-income individuals, especially those facing language barriers, to navigate social media privacy settings effectively, ensuring digital privacy and literacy in an era of increasing government surveillance. By bridging the gap between their heritage and experience, they aim to create solutions that protect vulnerable communities in the digital age.

Reakash is a Canadian lawyer with degrees in law and communications. During law school, Reakash published a multi-generational study detailing the history of Black female activists in Canada’s anti-racism movement throughout the mid-20^th century. She also co-founded an award-winning podcast called Appointed with Canadian Senator Kim Pate. The podcast explores the legal and social obstacles facing criminalized and marginalized people. After receiving her J.D., Reakash worked as a criminal defense attorney in Toronto before clerking with Justice Sheilah Martin at the Supreme Court of Canada. Reakash is attending Columbia as a Fulbright Scholar to examine notions of public safety under racial capitalism.

With the support of the Davis Polk Leadership team, and alongside her co-Fellow Jane Spencer, Reakash intends to cultivate a culture of “sousveillance” or "watching from below" in the Morningside Heights and Harlem community. Court watchers across the country use collective action to challenge institutional ideas of justice and safety; they flood courtrooms to draw attention to the systemic harms caused by criminal punishment and the legal system. Reakash and Jane will create a courtwatching program where community members and students observe court proceedings, reflect on what they see, and report their findings to justice system actors. In the award-winning short film The Court Watchers, a formerly incarcerated woman called Carmen notes that “Injustice happens in empty courtrooms.” Reakash and Jane’s goal is to increase accountability by filling courtrooms and interrupting this injustice. Through the project, they also hope to cultivate trust and solidarity between residents of Harlem and members of Columbia Law School to bridge the gaps between these two communities.