With this year’s launch of the Equity & Inclusion Fellows Program, 17 second- and third-year Penn Carey Law students have been taking a deep dive into developing conversational and critical thinking skills focused on generating dialogue across difference, beginning with deep introspection about one’s own identity.

“The training that we have received as a cohort is the most sustained and intensive DEI-centered training I have ever experienced,” said Andrew Bookbinder L’24, a participating fellow and rising 3L. “The program gives me hope for the evolution and direction of programming designed to support students at Penn Carey Law.”

The fellowship is an outgrowth of the Morgan Lewis Impact Fund for Racial Justice. In June 2021, the firm gave the Law School a multiyear $250,000 gift to advance racial justice and anti-racism efforts.

Arlene Rivera Finkelstein, Associate Dean for Equity & Justice and Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Advisor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, said the fellowship is timely for students, adding that the inaugural participants were selected because of their particular interest in advancing equity and racial justice.

“The legal profession has become more vocal than ever about matters of racial justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace,” Rivera Finkelstein said, though she noted that such conversations have not significantly moved the needle in furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion. “To be conversant substantively and have a real, personal impact on individuals being represented, I think it’s critical to understand not only how the law works but how lawyers can deeply engage… and make a difference in the country.”

Jamiella Brooks, Penn Carey Law’s Director for Student Equity & Inclusion Initiatives, runs the fellowship program. Brooks, who earned her PhD at the University of California, Davis, has more than a decade of professional experience in advancing DEI efforts in higher education.

“This program is intended to be challenging and transformative, and our E&I Fellows are meeting the difficult task of equity work head-on,” Brooks said. “The work required is twofold—it necessitates inner reflection, to engage in a practice of better understanding oneself and one’s history, as well as professional development, that will allow the fellows to engage with others in a world where equity and justice matter.”

The Fellows receive training from experts in the field. This year the program partnered with The Lion’s Story, a nonprofit that focuses on racial literacy and the importance of first understanding one’s own journey and then helping others with challenging conversations. The students were also trained with Restorative Practices at Penn, to enhance skills in active listening and facilitating dialogue across difference.

An important focus, Rivera Finkelstein said, has been to be “bridge-oriented” instead of divisive, and she has been inspired by fellows’ “pay-it-forward spirit.” Plans are in the works for moving forward with a refined version of the fellowship next year, she said, applying lessons learned from this inaugural pilot program.

Alyssa Sohn L’24, WG’25, a second-year fellow, said participants have been passionate about improving DEI experiences both at the Law School and in the profession. “We’ve hit the ground running, and often, that’s how necessary, salient change is made,” she said.

The fellowship, Sohn said, has been eye-opening, challenging, and rewarding. “It’s given us the opportunity to wrestle with fundamental topics such as race, culture, and identity, both within ourselves and our legal education,” she said. “There is so much work to be done, but I’m thankful that Penn Carey Law continues to invest in equity and inclusion initiatives by empowering its students.”