MAKE AN IMPACT - Sorensen Center

Sorensen Fellows posing at a retreat in Val-Kill

Fellows at a retreat to Val-Kill, the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

The Center’s Fellowship Program, launched in 2015, provides CUNY Law students with the opportunity to contribute to peace and justice efforts in their local communities and communities around the world. Through the Program, the Center provides Fellows with funding and assistance securing internship placements at leading institutions where they engage in research, provide technical expertise, and spearhead justice initiatives around the world. Fellows participate in specialized skills trainings, intimate conversations with distinguished leaders, and legal retreats. Since the Program’s inception, 145 CUNY Law students have become Sorensen Center Fellows.

FELLOWS

CONTINENTS

COUNTRIES

ORGANIZATIONS

Sorensen Center Fellows make an impact…

at home in New York City…

Through their internships, Fellows address global challenges affecting our local communities in NYC. Fellows have fought for housing and voting rights, LGBTQ+ and Muslim rights, voter protections, and more. Thanks to an exciting new partnership with The Jerome L. Greene Foundation, the Center is able to increase the number of fellowships awarded to students tackling injustices in our local communities. Local placements have included: Bronx Defenders, Common Cause, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Sylvia Rivera Law Project

Dannelly Rodriguez with a bullhorn at a protest

2019 Fellow, Dannelly Rodriguez, at a housing justice rally with Make the Road NY

Sorensen Fellow Ashley posing with other interns

2019 Fellow, Ashley Franklin, with her fellow interns at ACLU of Michigan

across the United States…

Our Fellows are committed to fighting injustice not only in NYC, but across the entire country. Fellows serve as advocates for individuals and families struggling with the immigration process in border towns and cities. They push for reforms to the nation’s actions on climate change and food and water security and engage with issues of state’s rights. National placements have included: the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights, Corporate Accountability Lab, Food and Water Watch, and Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services

and around the world.

Protecting human rights is a global challenge. Fellows use their legal skills and expertise to support and further the work of organizations that work internationally, as well as in local communities around the world. They exchange knowledge and strategies with lawyers and activists and advocate for change that will benefit people everywhere. International placements have included: Al Marsad Arab Human Rights Centre, Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente, OutRight Action International, and Sustainable Development Institute

2018 Fellow, Jess Halperin, in South Africa with 2018 Scholar-in-Residence, Justice Albie Sachs

Meet our Fellows

Apply for a Sorensen Center Fellowship

All current CUNY Law students are eligible to apply for a Fellowship, except for those who will graduate in or before May 2023. In addition to ongoing training and learning opportunities, recipients of Sorensen Center Fellowships receive either a $6,000 stipend for an 8-10 summer legal internship/project or a $1,250 stipend for a 70-hour legal internship/project.

The 2023 Fellowship Application is available now and closes on January 6, 2023 at 11:59pm.

The Application is open to those who have secured and/or are seeking an internship/project. The Sorensen Center’s network serves as a valuable resource, in conjunction with CUNY Law’s Career Planning Office and others. CUNY Law students are strongly encouraged to apply for both a Sorensen Center Fellowship and a CUNY Law Public Interest Grant. If offered both, students may only accept one offer.

Application Requirements

An up-to-date resume
Two references able to speak to your quality of work, reliability, initiative, and cooperation (ideally, though not required, one academic reference from CUNY Law and one professional reference)
Describe how your lived experience impacts your commitment to public interest work. Share as much detail as you’d like. (200 word limit)
Describe how your experience in activism, advocacy, affinity group membership, activities or volunteering has played a role in your public interest commitment. Share as much detail as you’d like. (200 word limit)
Describe how your professional experience (paid or unpaid), if any, has impacted your commitment to public interest work. Share as much detail as you’d like. (200 word limit)
Describe how your long-term goals demonstrate your commitment to public interest work. Share as much detail as you’d like. (200 word limit)
Elaborate on your interest(s) and further describe the internship(s) or project(s) you will seek (or have obtained). (250 word limit)
The Sorensen Center encourages sharing lessons learned between communities and across borders. As you think about your area of interest, is there a global connection that comes to mind? (i.e., how the issue has been addressed in another country, the impact of the issue on another community, etc.) (100 word limit)
Openly describe financial needs and circumstances you would like the committee to consider. (150 word limit)

Additional Question

The Application highly encourages:

Describe your leadership qualities and experiences (traditional or nontraditional). For example, you can focus on experience(s) in a professional or academic setting, or with you community or family. (250 word limit)

Criteria and Review Process

The following criteria are considered by the Committee: commitment to social justice, desire and ability to undertake proposed work, and leadership experience/potential (traditional and nontraditional). Consideration will be given to expressed financial need and whether a student has previously received a Public Interest Summer Grant. The Committee is committed to diversity in all its forms. The Committee will conduct a thorough, holistic review of each application and may conduct reference checks and applicant interviews during the review process. Applications and information contained within are strictly confidential and will only be reviewed by the Committee.

Apply for a Fellowship

sonia sotomayor + shoshana brown – make an impact

Fellow Shoshana Brown (right) greets Justice Sonia Sotomayor

rosemary barkett + katy naples-mitchell – make an impact

Fellow Katy Naples-Mitchell (right) with Judge Rosemary Barkett

Special Thanks!

Jill and Jay Bernstein’s Harold P. Bernstein Fellowship Fund

Haywood Burns Global Fellowship Fund

Joel Z. Hyatt

An Invitation…

If you would like to be involved as a mentor to a law student or supporter of the Fellowship Program, please contact Camille Massey. 100% of your gift will enable talented, law students to pay for internship travel and basic cost-of-living expenses, so they can learn while helping communities from local to global.

Sorensen Burns Pro Bono Scholars to South Africa in 2018

In early 2018, two Sorensen Center Haywood Burns Fellowships were granted to third-year law students participating in the Pro Bono Scholars Program at CUNY Law. The program allows students to devote their last semester in law school to an approved externship. Haywood Burns, CUNY Law’s second dean, died in a car accident while working for post-apartheid judicial reform in South Africa.

Inaugural Sorensen Opal Tometi Fellowship

For the first time, in 2017, a Sorensen Center Fellowship was awarded in the name of Opal Tometi, co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter and Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). Lovely Bonhomme, whose project in Haiti focused on international development and land rights, was the recipient.