Current Fellows

After graduating in 2015 with a degree in Economics from Columbia University, David Berman explored financial markets and litigation through his work at Wells Fargo Securities in commercial real estate and capital markets and his work at Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe, LLP as a public finance practice assistant. In particular, David cites his time at the United State Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York as a formative experience in exposing him firsthand to the ways in which average, working-class Americans were being exploited by debt collectors. Thus, David's experiences in the financial, legal, and federal sectors have created an interdisciplinary passion to work in the future as a consumer protection attorney for social justice in financial services.

As a Davis Polk Fellow, David strives to minimize problems related to consumer protection in American life. When he arrived in Morningside Heights to begin law school, David made it his goal to bridge the gap between an increasingly central role that consumer protection problems play in the lives of everyday Americans and its lack of visibility and placement at Columbia Law. As a Davis Polk Leadership Fellow, David seeks to utilize Columbia’s position in New York City, one of the world’s greatest financial capitals, and network of talented alumni and law students to maximize community impact for victims of consumer abuse. Ultimately, he strives to leverage fellow students to engage with the community through a consumer finance experiential learning program through a two step plan: first, by creating a consumer protection-focused law school student group, and second, by coordinating with faculty to tailor an experiential learning program to the needs of the community. 

Kori Cooper’s marked academic interest in the intersection of Chinese and African-American experiences led her to study these fields as an undergraduate at Northwestern University. Kori wrote her English major thesis on the cultural legacy of Gone with the Wind and minored in Chinese Language and Culture, even studying abroad at the prestigious Nanjing University. These academic interests united in Kori's professional endeavors when she was awarded a Mellon Mays fellowship to study the media habits of Chinese students to analyze the propagation of African American stereotypes, and when she acted in an ambassadorial capacity to promote cooperation between China and the United States through her internship with the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy.

With a Davis Polk fellowship, Kori will spearhead “Black Voices on Greater China,” a project focused on amplifying Black voices and perspectives in Sinology. During her personal experience in this field, Kori noticed a lack of visibility from members of the African diaspora in research institutions, media coverage, and relevant discussion panels. As such, Kori says, “my aim is for this project to become an organization that provides resources, a network, and events geared toward promoting greater exchange, diversity, and inclusion within the field.” In addition, through the facilitation of discussions involving a range of China-related topics that include Black creators, scholars, and professionals, “Black Voices on Greater China” hopes to create creative, informative, and engaging content for China-experts, students in the field, and in-country practitioners who will benefit from the insights that this project spotlights. 

Even before his pursuit of a Master of Law degree from Columbia, Mihir Samson possessed a plethora of legal experience and knowledge through his academic and professional achievements in New Delhi, India. After graduating in the top 2% of his class from Symbiosis Law School in India, Mihir co-founded and worked as a partner at his law firm Chakravorty, Samson, & Munoth, where he represented clients in diverse areas ranging from criminal to commercial law. Mihir's firm stresses pro-bono services for LGBTQ persons; this interest translated to his research, with Mihir authoring publications on the intersections between Indian law and queer individuals.

Mihir seeks to establish a fellowship program for LGBTQIA+ identifying law students from India, which would enable them to undertake training in the Columbia Law School and organizations in New York, with the ultimate aim of supporting and fostering a diverse LGBTQIA+ bar in the courts in India. In doing so, Mihir seeks to build on the momentum generated from the recent landmark decision of the Indian Supreme Court decriminalizing adult same sex relationships last year, as well as support the numerous student groups in Indian law schools, comprising persons of different gender identities and sexuality orientations.

Sudi Tassisa demonstrates a commendable dedication to create impactful work by advocating for marginalized groups and creating impactful work in her local community. After graduating with a degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Sudi worked as a member of the Montgomery County Human Rights Committee to tackle local human rights violations. She continued to advocate for others during her tenure as Advocacy Chair of the Montgomery County Young Democrats by addressing issues such as LGBTQ and immigrant rights. 

This same dedication to community is seen in her goals for her project as a Davis Polk Leadership Fellow. Sudi seeks to bridge the gap between lesser privileged and wealthier groups. She will spearhead a program to teach disadvantaged youth the professional etiquette necessary to recruit for and thrive in the legal industry. By arming disadvantaged youths with these tools, Sudi hopes to enable them to feel confident in areas where they may have not had previous exposure and to encourage future professional success.

Upon finishing his undergraduate degree in International Relations at UC Davis, Tanner Ryan Zumwalt served as an officer in the US Army. Becoming one of the youngest Officer Candidate School graduates in recent years, Tanner was stationed as a tank platoon leader near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. During this period, Tanner's remarkable leadership skills propelled him to the rank of top platoon leader among the US Forces on the Korean peninsula for a full year. Upon conclusion of his tour of duty, Tanner continued his public service by working with the New York State Office of the Attorney General in the Health Care Bureau, and specifically focusing on legal efforts to address the opioid epidemic.

Tanner brings this extraordinary drive, innate discipline, and confident leadership in his endeavors as a Davis Polk Leadership Fellow. Tanner will be working with students and administrators across Columbia University to address the high costs of childcare for student-parents. By shedding light on the challenges faced by student-parents at Columbia University, Tanner hopes to put the University on a path toward greater accessibility, and set a standard of excellence for the rest of the Ivy League to follow. In addition to preparing a comprehensive report on the childcare situation at Columbia University, Tanner will be working with administrators to provide clearer communication to admitted student-parents, and better connect them with resources. Furthermore, Tanner plans to work with admissions' offices to help them understand the tremendous value that student-parents bring to the classroom, and the ways that they are often overlooked during the admissions process.