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Richey Fellows Program

The purpose of the Richey Fellows Program is to bring mid-career public interest lawyers to the GW Law campus as a resource for students considering non-profit or public sector legal careers. The program is named in honor of the Hon. Charles R. Richey of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and its funding has been provided by his law clerks and friends. Each semester, two distinguished attorneys from a broad range of public interest and public sector practice areas will be invited to provide diverse perspectives about their careers for the benefit of GW Law students. Richey Fellows will be selected from a wide variety of practice areas, including criminal and civil direct legal services, law reform litigation, and public and non-profit regulatory and policy practice.

Program Overview

Expectations

Each Richey Fellow spends three days on the GW Law campus. Fellows participate in a large GW Law community event, typically a Fireside Chat, coordinated by the Public Interest and Public Service Law Center. In addition, fellows meet with small groups of students and interested faculty over lunch and dinner. If circumstances allow, there may also be an opportunity for fellows to speak in classes addressing subject areas within their expertise. Each fellow receives a $1,500 stipend in addition to having their travel and related expenses reimbursed.

Selection Criteria

This program selects attorneys with approximately 10-15 years of experience to ensure that they are both well-established in their respective fields and able to relate to law students. We select from a wide range of practice areas, employer types, and career paths to provide a comprehensive overview of careers in the public interest landscape.

Timeline

The Richey Fellows Program application is now available. You may submit an application on your own behalf or nominate a public interest law career professional who meets the above criteria. To nominate someone, please provide their name and email to the Public Interest and Public Service Law Center at [email protected].

The application process will close on June 10, 2024. The selection committee, consisting of faculty, senior staff, and three students, will review the applications and make final selections for the entire following academic year by mid-June. The chosen fellows will be notified by the end of June, and the dates of their visits will be determined by mutual agreement.

Fall 2024 Semester Visits

Headshot of Auden Perino. It is a black and white photo and they are smiling.
 

Auden Perino

Senior Counsel for LGBTQI+ Equality, National Women's Law Center

Visit: October 28 - 30, 2024
Community Event: Advancing LGBTQI+ Rights in the States | October 28th

Register

Schedule a One-On-One Advising Appointment

Auden Perino (they/them) is a Senior Counsel for LGBTQI+ Equality at the National Women's Law Center, where they engage in policy efforts and litigation to advance the rights of LGBTQIA+ students and workers. Auden came to NWLC after several years at legal aid organizations, representing immigrants and survivors of domestic violence in court. Auden is an alum of the University of Virginia School of Law, Tufts University, and the University of Oxford, and spends time outside of work hiking, traveling, and learning new languages.

Headshot of Chelsea Sharon. It is a professional headshot. She is wearing a white shirt with a black blazer. She has shoulder-length, straight, dark hair, glasses, and is smiling.
 

Chelsea Sharon

Attorney, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Appellate Litigation Services Program

Visit: November 11 - 13, 2024
Community Event: TBD

Schedule a One-On-One Advising Appointment

Chelsea Creo Sharon is an attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s Appellate Litigation Services Program. At EEOC, she litigates employment-discrimination cases in the federal courts of appeals, working to enforce civil rights statutes like Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Previously, she was a Senior Staff Attorney with the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia's Public Benefits Unit, where she challenged improper delays, denials, and due process violations in the provision of Medicaid coverage, food stamps, and other critical safety-net benefits.

Chelsea clerked for Judge David S. Tatel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She obtained her JD from Harvard Law School and her BA from Brown University.

Spring 2025 Semester Visits

Julia Burke. This is a professional headshot. She is wearing a white shirt with a black blazer. She has light brown, shoulder-length hair and is smiling.
 

Julia Burke

Assistant Federal Defender, Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - Capital Habeas Unit

Visit: February 10 - 12, 2025
Community Event: TBD

Schedule a One-On-One Advising Appointment

Julia Burke is an Assistant Federal Defender in Philadelphia with the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the Capital Habeas Unit. In this role, she represents death-sentenced individuals seeking habeas relief in federal and state courts around the country.

Julia has spent her entire career as a public defender at trial, post conviction, and appellate levels. Prior to her current position, she worked at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender in Baltimore doing post conviction; the Office of the Appellate Defender in Manhattan doing reinvestigation and appeals; and the Legal Aid Society in Queens, New York, representing thousands of individuals in trial court.

Julia received her J.D. at George Washington University Law School in 2013, where she was involved with public interest clinics, coursework, and clubs. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Government & Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2010. 

Ari Savitzky. This is a professional headshot. He is wearing a light purple shirt with a purple tie and dark gray blazer. He has short, dark hair, a short beard, and is smiling.
 

Ari Savitzky

Senior Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union - Voting Rights Project

Visit: March 11 - 12, 2025
Community Event: TBD

Schedule a One-On-One Advising Appointment

Ari Savitzky is a Senior Staff Attorney in the ACLU Voting Rights Project. Ari litigates voting rights and democracy matters at the trial and appellate levels, including redistricting cases in Georgia and Mississippi, and mail ballot suppression cases in Pennsylvania and Texas.

Ari has argued over a dozen appeals in state and federal appellate courts and filed over twenty briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court on a wide range of constitutional and statutory matters, including challenges to partisan and racial gerrymandering.

Before joining the ACLU, Ari was an Assistant Solicitor General for the State of New York. Before that, he practiced at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. Ari also served as a judicial law clerk to Hon. Raymond J. Lohier, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Hon. John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
 

 

Students talking at a patio table on the quad

Specifications & Responsibilities

The Richey Fellows Program seeks applicants who are both well-established in their fields and are able to relate to law students seeking information about career choices.