PHRGE Fellowship

An innovative model integrating scholarship and practice.

The PHRGE Fellowship gives Northeastern law students the opportunity to address economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights both within the US and internationally. Each student fellow receives a stipend to work full time for three months as a staff member at a partner organization. Four students rotate through the position over a year. New fellows are able to build directly on the work of prior fellows, encouraging employers to engage students in the full range of the organization’s work.

Scholarship

During on-campus quarters, students hone their human rights knowledge with law professors who are leading legal thinkers on ESC rights, taking courses in Law and Economic Development, Refugees and Asylum Law and International Human Rights: Race, Gender and Culture, among others. PHRGE continually brings leading international experts to campus as well.

Partners

PHRGE employers are among the most effective ESC rights organizations in the world.

In 2008-2009:

Oxfam America, Boston, MA
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Geneva
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

In 2009-2010:

Oxfam America, Boston, MA
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC
Physicians for Human Rights, Cambridge, MA

Application Process

The application package should include a resume, writing sample, course evaluations and co-op evaluations. In addition, please include a cover letter describing your human rights interests and experience, whether through law school coursework, pre-law school experience, prior coops or some other work or study experience. While prior experience need not be extensive, some familiarity with international human rights is a prerequisite for the Fellowship. Applications should be submitted via email to m.woo@neu.edu. PHRGE Fellowship application deadlines follow that of the co-op office: Co-op Application Submission Deadlines. Please note that you should only submit an application if you are prepared to accept an offer if one is made.

Fellows

Summer 2009

Erin Albright ’10

PHRGE Employer: Oxfam America, Boston

Jessica Gustin ’11

PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

Spring 2009

Tasmin Din ’09

PHRGE Employer: Oxfam America, Boston

Nick Matthews ’10

PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

Winter 2008
Taran Nadler ’10
PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

I migrated from the west to east coast for law school, but remain an Oregonian at heart. I grew up in a small town of southern Oregon called Ashland, and then went to undergrad a couple hours north at University of Oregon where I graduated with a BS in political science. From there I went straight to law school. My interest is in the international realm of law/policy/diplomacy with law school serving (hopefully) as a reasonable step in that direction. I distract myself from law school with Ultimate frisbee and jams (listening). I am looking forward to working at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty as it integrates several pieces I am very interested in working on, namely human rights, policy and international issues.
Nathanael Player ’09
PHRGE Employer: Centre on Human Rights and Evictions, Geneva

I am the current PHGRE fellow at the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) in Geneva, Switzerland. I have only been here two weeks, but so far it has been wonderful. Geneva is a beautiful city and COHRE is a great place to learn about human rights. I have already drafted documents for the European Committee on Social Rights and two U.N. treaty bodies. I have also had the opportunity to attend events at the U.N., including Colombia's Universal Periodic Review and the Forum on Minority Issues. Two of my previous co-ops involved housing issues at the domestic level, and one career path I am considering involves working on issues of housing and homelessness in San Francisco and incorporating a human rights perspective.
Paige Young ’10
PHRGE Employer: Oxfam America, Boston

I received my BA in Politics and Turkish from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies in 2004. Upon graduation I completed a fellowship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, before beginning a second fellowship with Dogan Media Group, a major multimedia company in Turkey. My first legal internship at NUSL was completed with U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young. As a PHRGE fellow, my second internship at Oxfam is proving to be a fantastic opportunity to learn about unique collaboration between the private sector and the developing world. Besides researching and learning about SRIs, the extractive industry, climate change, and writing shareholder resolutions, the internship at Oxfam has also allowed me to continue to research legal topics relating to the justicability of social and economic rights (ESRs) – an area that I continue to research for Professor Lucy Williams. Without a doubt, the Oxfam internship is a wonderful opportunity to learn about a variety of incredibly high-profile issues through the Oxfam "poverty" lens and from a development perspective.

Fall 2008

Carolyn Hunt ’09

PHRGE Employer: Oxfam America, Boston

I was the first student to co-op at Oxfam America, based in Boston, as a PHRGE fellow. At Oxfam America, I worked in the private sector department, assisting staff with several innovative projects at the intersection of business and human rights. One such project involved a new methodology for measuring the impacts of multinational corporations on those living in poverty in developing countries, in partnership with the corporations and with the goal of improving the corporations' "poverty footprint." I hope to use the insights I gained at Oxfam America to inform my future work applying principles of human rights and alternative dispute resolution to smart land use and natural resource protection.
Jane Moisan ’10
PHRGE Employer: Centre on Human Rights and Evictions, Geneva

I completed my PHRGE fellowship at the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions in Geneva, where my work included submitting an amicus brief to the European Court of Human Rights on comparative international housing rights law, and a Collective Complaint to the European Committee on Social Rights concerning Italy's violations to housing rights and the obligation to protect family life and to take measures to prevent poverty and social exclusion. I also worked with a coalition on drafting Guiding Principles on extreme poverty. Before law school and after graduating from Mount Holyoke College, I worked for the homeless as a counselor and an advocate in New York City, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco. I also volunteered at the American Civil Liberties Union in Portland and San Francisco for five years as an intake counselor, providing referrals and advocacy to persons seeking ACLU assistance. I have worked on many campaigns for access to basic resources, women's issues and activists' rights. I anticipate working in poverty law, particularly in the housing sector, and hope to bolster in that the human rights perspective.
Summer 2008
Allison Garren ’10

PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

Following my first year of law school, I served as the PHRGE fellow at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty in Washington, DC during the summer of 2008. For my initial assignment, I built upon the work of the spring fellow, developing plans for a public hearing on racism where grassroots advocates and citizens could testify before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. I helped coordinate the national steering committee for the event, gathered testimonies and orchestrated the hearing itself. I also helped build a structure for NLCHP's "right to housing" section of their online "wiki", which serves as a web-based resource for attorneys. Throughout the summer, I researched domestic and international law on a wide number of issues for an NLCHP case protecting homeless persons. My research included issues addressing the right to sanitation and sanitary facilities, the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to life in the context of the criminalization of the elimination of bodily wastes in public. Upon returning to Boston, I hope to cultivate a student led human rights caucus that will work intimately with the US Human Rights Network and educate other students - from high school to law school - on the international, legal human rights framework and how to utilize it in ongoing advocacy. I also am working with Northeastern's chapter of the National Lawyers Guild to develop a "best practices" guide for university expansion that protects and promotes affordable housing.

Anne-Sophie Young ’09

PHRGE Employer: Centre on Human Rights and Evictions, Geneva

I was the PHRGE fellow at COHRE in Geneva, Switzerland for the summer of 2008. During my three months at COHRE, I worked on several different projects including drafting complaints to the UN and the Council of Europe regarding housing rights violations, writing urgent action letters to prevent imminent evictions, and drafting research proposals on housing laws around the world. I also attended numerous meetings at the UN, including meetings for CERD and meetings for the UN Human Rights Council. Additionally, I presented two country report recommendations on Ghana and Brazil at the 8th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review. My work at COHRE focused on housing as a human right, but also touched on other important human rights such as women’s rights and rights against discrimination, among others. My co-op with COHRE was my third co-op at Northeastern. In addition to my internship with COHRE, I have co-oped at Greater Boston Legal Services in the health and disability unit, the US Attorney’s Office in the criminal division, and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to starting law school at Northeastern, I worked for the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau and for the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. I hope to pursue a career in the non-profit/public interest sector upon graduation.

Spring 2008
Scott Bell ’09
PHRGE Employer: Centre on Human Rights and Evictions, Geneva

My PHRGE fellowship was with the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions in Geneva, Switzerland during the spring of 2008. My initial assignment included assisting COHRE specialists with shadow reports to the UN on Kenya on the Philippines. However, these assignments were sidetracked when I was asked to do a field assignment in Turkey on the rights of Roma populations. I traveled to Turkey for two weeks, observed the living conditions of Roma populations, interviewed residents of Roma neighborhoods and interviewed activists and academics working in the field. When I returned to Geneva I wrote a substantial report on my findings and delivered it to a Member of European Parliament, who had funded the project. While this assignment occupied the bulk of my stint with COHRE, I also drafted for COHRE a proposed research methodology on the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. I also frequently attended sessions at the United Nations, including informal working groups, the Universal Periodic Review, and the annual UN Human Rights Conference.
Caitlin Egleson ’09
PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

Winter 2007
Florence Heuschen ’09
PHRGE Employer: Centre on Human Rights and Evictions, Geneva

Monica Katz-Lapides ’09

PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

Fall 2007

Sara Sluszka ’09

PHRGE Employer: Centre on Human Rights and Evictions, Geneva

As a fellow at COHRE, I focused on drafting advocacy documents for submission to the UN, which is a large part of the work of COHRE's Geneva office. I drafted submissions to the UN Human Rights Council on human rights violations in South Africa and Guatemala for the first Universal Periodic Review; drafted a Communication to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing to inform his upcoming review of the Czech Republic; and researched and wrote an amicus brief to be presented before the European Committee of Social Rights in a suit against France for its alleged violations of the right to adequate housing provisions of the European Social Charter. It was amazing to be at the "center" of the human rights advocacy world, with so many advocates from all over the globe (I met people from Sri Lanka, Germany, Kenya, Ireland, France, Scotland, Belgium, Canada, the UK, Argentina, Australia, and more). I also really enjoyed having my daily work be to learn about human rights conditions all over the world and research legal norms that can help, and have helped, protect people's rights. In the future, I plan to use the advocacy tools I gained at COHRE to push for enforcement of human rights norms in the United States, especially for marginalized groups in the areas of criminal justice and immigration.

Eva Tafoya ’08

PHRGE Employer: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Washington, DC

I am from New Mexico, the home of my father’s family for the past three hundred years. My father was born when Hispanic New Mexicans were beginning to be fully integrated into American society, often not entirely by choice. My mother is Jewish, a third-generation immigrant, from a long line of highly educated professionals. My life was enriched from the beginning by a diverse social circle and an involved and attentive family. I dropped out of school at fifteen, feeling that high school was no longer challenging and was unnecessarily repressive. With help from my family, I enrolled at the College of Santa Fe through an early college credit program, and went on to earn a G.E.D. and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. I then moved on to the dual J.D./M.S. in Law, Policy and Society program at Northeastern. This program allowed me to study the issue that concerns me most, group inequality in access to resources, from several academic perspectives: law, policy, economics, criminal justice, public health, and history, to name a few. My PHRGE fellowship was the best of my co-ops, though I greatly enjoyed the Shelter Workgroup at Greater Boston Legal Services and the three months I spent in San Francisco at the Policy Department of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. At the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, I combined advocacy for homeless people with my desire to work for systemic change. I learned how to use a human rights approach in that advocacy, and that knowledge greatly enhanced my studies abroad in Italy and Turkey. As I come to graduation, I am seeking a career in public policy, where I hope to contribute to a system-level improvement in the equality of access to resources, much as I did at NLCHP.