Six Northwestern Pritzker Law Post-graduate Fellows Begin Their Careers in Public Interest 

Six recent Northwestern Pritzker School of Law graduates (all JD ’26) received post-graduate fellowships this year to support their work addressing issues such as environmental justice, education equity, voting rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and health equity. 

The Law School awards fellows $65,000 to support one year of full-time service as lawyers at a nonprofit or government agency to facilitate the start of their public interest careers. Post-graduate fellows have gone on to work for public defenders, legal aid clinics, district attorneys’ offices, and nonprofit organizations like the ACLU and the Environmental Law and Policy Center. The fellowships are facilitated through Northwestern Pritzker Law’s Public Interest Center, which provides dedicated career advising, offers robust clinical programs, and cultivates a thriving community of students committed to social justice. 

“These fellows embody Northwestern Pritzker Law’s longstanding tradition of public service,” said Leah Gould, Assistant Dean of Public Interest. “Through this fellowship program, we invest not only in the careers of talented new lawyers, but also in the communities, causes, and clients they will serve throughout their professional lives.” 

Ken Cavanaugh (Center for HIV Law and Policy) 

Ken Cavanaugh came to Northwestern Pritzker Law with a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies from Loyola Marymount University and a commitment to gender identity and sexual orientation law. Over the course of two years as a student attorney in the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic, they represented trans and gender-diverse clients in Illinois name change and gender marker proceedings and contributed to federal appellate amicus briefs. Their clinic work also spanned national and state policy. During their 2L summer with the Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP), Ken helped develop litigation strategy using the Americans with Disabilities Act to challenge HIV criminalization and researched privacy protections against the use of HIV molecular surveillance data in prosecutions. As a fellow, Ken will return to CHLP to continue that work, supporting state coalitions working to end HIV criminalization and helping ensure people living with HIV are met with public health resources and care rather than punishment. 

Collin Dowson (Illinois Attorney General’s Office) 

Collin Dowson attended undergrad at University of Wisconsin Madison and received a bachelor’s in Legal Studies, with course work and a senior thesis focused on environmental and energy issues. During law school, he worked as a research associate for the National Sea Grant Law Center, clerked with the Department of Justice’s Environmental Enforcement Section and Earthjustice’s Midwest Regional Office, and spent 3 semesters in Northwestern’s Environmental Advocacy Center clinic. Now, through his fellowship with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, he plans to continue building his experience as an environmental law public interest attorney. His work in the AG’s office will focus on multi-state environmental accountability issues. He is very excited about the opportunity the fellowship presents to not only deepen his substantive knowledge of the law, but also to collaborate with attorneys from across the country on issues of pressing importance for our health and for the planet. 

Jayla Johnson (Legal Aid Chicago) 

Jayla Johnson has been dedicated to public interest work since before her admission to Northwestern Pritzker Law. Between college and law school, Jayla served as an AmeriCorps member at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she researched the impact of social determinants on health. At the Law School, Jayla enrolled in the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic. She also externed at Metropolitan Family Services and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and received court-approved mediation training to mediate cases in Cook County. As a fellow, Jayla will join Legal Aid Chicago, where she will use her commitment to public service and legal advocacy to help individuals and communities facing medical-legal challenges. 

Carmen Parkinson (Illinois Attorney General’s Office)  

Carmen Parkinson has been dedicated to public interest environmental work her entire life, ever since learning about the dangers of environmental destruction and pollution as a child. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Michigan under its Program in the Environment. During her time at Northwestern Pritzker Law, she was able to gain invaluable hands-on legal experience with organizations such as ClientEarth, Equip for Equality, The Wilderness Society, the Illinois Attorney General Environmental Enforcement division, and the Law School’s Environmental Advocacy Center. During her time in the Environmental Advocacy Center, she co-authored Illinois’ Billion Dollar Blindspot, a report on oil and gas reform in Illinois, an experience that deepened her commitment to environmental public interest work. She also served on the board of the Environmental Law Society and was a member of the Journal of Law and Social Policy. After graduation, Carmen began a fellowship at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office Environmental Enforcement Division, using civil litigation to protect the environment and serve the people of Illinois. 

Diana Salkic (Reprieve US)  
Throughout her time at Northwestern Pritzker Law, Diana Salkic pursued work at the intersection of criminal defense, human rights, and individual liberty. After her first year of law school, she worked with the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois, gaining experience in felony criminal defense and sentencing advocacy. At the Law School, she continued this work through the Children and Family Justice Center, representing young people in criminal matters and advocating on their behalf in appellate briefs, clemency proceedings, and youthful parole petitions. She also worked with the Women and Children’s Human Rights Advocacy Clinic. Beyond her clinical work, Diana served as Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern Journal of Human Rights and was a Salzburg Cutler Global Fellow. As a Postgraduate Fellow, she is now working with Reprieve US, supporting litigation and advocacy for individuals facing the death penalty across Africa and Southeast Asia. She hopes to continue working in the human rights space to hold governments accountable for due process violations.  

Tara Stetler (Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights) 

Tara Stetler entered law school after spending seven years as a professional storyteller, including four years as a photojournalist in the U.S. Air Force. During law school, she interned with the Legal Council for Health Justice, conducting legal and policy research related to health care access and disability benefits. She also worked extensively with the Movement Lawyering Clinic, contributing to litigation and policy advocacy involving police accountability and federal government overreach. These experiences deepened her commitment to a career focused on government accountability and preventing systemic abuses of power. As a fellow with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Tara will focus on advancing voting rights and equity in housing and education.