Robert E. Wone Fellowship | AEF will award the Robert E. Wone Fellowship to one applicant each year. Created in 2007, this fellowship is awarded to the applicant who most embodies what a former director, Robert E. Wone, sought to be as a lawyer—a trusted member of the community, making a difference in public policies and seeing his efforts improve the circumstances of those around him. The winner of the Wone Fellowship will receive a total stipend of $6,000.  The Wone Fellow will receive $5,500 of that stipend at the beginning of the summer. The Wone Fellow will then be responsible for completing the internship to the satisfaction of his or her employer, providing a written summary of the work he or she performed, and submitting a photo of himself or herself to appear in AEF’s annual newsletter. Upon fulfilling these conditions, the Wone Fellow will receive the remaining $500 of the stipend.

AEF Public Interest Fellowships | AEF will award AEF Fellowships to applicants who have a demonstrated commitment to public service.  Each AEF Fellow will receive a total stipend of $4,000.  Each AEF Fellow will receive $3,500 of that stipend at the beginning of the summer. Each AEF Fellow will then be responsible for completing the internship to the satisfaction of his or her employer, providing a written summary of the work he or she performed, and submitting a photo of himself or herself to appear in AEF’s annual newsletter. Upon fulfilling these conditions, each AEF Fellow will receive the remaining $500 of the stipend.

Abigail Van Buren, Recipient of the 2022 Robert E. Wone Fellowship

I am honored to be a Robert E. Wone Fellowship recipient and to follow in the footsteps of APA trailblazers in public interest work. The AEF's support will sustain me in my pursuit of becoming a career public defender. I will be a law clerk at the Alexandria Public Defender this summer and I hope to learn best practices in client-centered representation. My goal is to give back to the DMV community for years to come through zealous advocacy and to encourage fellow law students down the rewarding path of public service.

Ellen Florek, 2022 AEF Fellowship Recipient

Ellen Florek is a rising 2L at the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to law school Ellen served as a middle school special education teacher in Tulsa, OK, which sparked her interest in public interest law. At UVA Ellen is the president of the Child Advocacy Research and Education organization, a pro-bono volunteer with the Virginia Innocence Project, a Peer Advisor, and is an editorial board member of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law. This summer she will be working as a Summer Legal Intern at the Second Look Project. The Second Look Project is an innovative non-profit dedicated to providing advocacy and legal support for individuals seeking relief from extreme sentences in the District of Columbia. Ellen is looking forward to assisting individuals as they re-enter the community and contributing to the fight to end mass incarceration in D.C. In the future Ellen hopes to do work at the intersection of child advocacy and criminal legal reform, focusing on juvenile justice and access to education.

Livia Luan, 2022 AEF Fellowship Recipient

Livia Luan is a second-year law student at Temple University Beasley School of Law. This summer, she will be interning for the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law. During law school, Livia has interned for the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. She also worked as a student attorney in the Social Justice Lawyering Clinic, providing legal representation to an immigrant worker in an unpaid overtime lawsuit. This past year, she served as a co-president of APALSA and a staff editor for the Temple International and Comparative Law Journal. Before law school, Livia worked as a programs associate and executive assistant at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. She received a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University.

Asritha Vinnakota, 2022 AEF Fellowship Recipient

My name is Asritha Vinnakota, and I am a rising 3L at American University Washington College of Law. In school, I am the Public Relations Chair of the Women's Law Association and Law Revue, a student-run musical theater organization; I am also an active member of our school's Equal Justice Foundation. This summer, I will be working with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB). HLAB is a student-run civil legal aid organization that provides free legal services to low-income communities in the Greater Boston area. While at HLAB, I will be acting as an attorney, under the supervision of the clinical faculty, representing and communicating with clients on their legal matters. I have a strong passion for public interest work, specifically in family law and domestic violence prevention advocacy. Previously, I have interned with Legal Aid Society of D.C. with their Domestic Violence/Family Law Unit and with Amara Legal Center, who provide legal services to survivors of sex trafficking and sex workers. These experiences and the stories I heard from clients during these internships have cemented my ardor for public interest work and helping survivors move one step forward in their healing journey. With AEF's fellowship, I am able to continue my work in public interest by aiding those in need at HLAB and helping survivors empower themselves through the legal process.