Public Law and Policy Fellowship welcomes new cohort

Public Law and Policy Fellowships are awarded to students with a demonstrated interest in public policy who are selected after a competitive process. Fellows spend the year working on a self-selected policy issue. This year culminates in paper presentations to attorneys and policy leaders with expertise in their selected topics. Fellows also assist with the O’Connell Conference, which is funded by an endowment in honor of former Chief Justice Kenneth O’Connell. This endowment also provides funding for the 2L and 3L PLP Fellows.

Gareth Ford, JD ’22: University of Idaho. Prior to law school Gareth owned a real estate investment company in Detroit. He also volunteered his time with the Detroit Fair Housing Center as a Discrimination Tester. Gareth also worked for Ghana Think Tank, an arts organization that focuses on social justice.

McKenna Rackleff, JD ’22: Boise State University. Prior to Oregon Law, McKenna worked as a policy research assistant on health care issues, as an office assistant for the Idaho State Appellate Public Defender, and an assistant with an Idaho gubernatorial campaign.

Meghan Gross, JD ’21: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Meghan worked for the Oregon Department of Justice this past summer. While at UNC-Chapel Hill, Meghan worked for a criminal defense firm, which represented  both private and court-appointed clients. Her previous summer work includes serving as a small business consultant on a social justice campaign for Ben & Jerry’s.

Taylor Kinch, JD ’21: Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, Taylor was a Farrell Fellow. As part of that fellowship, she assisted with research on the project, The Black Lives Matter Movement in American Political Culture. This past summer, Taylor worked for Legal Aid Services of Oregon.

Zak Metzger, JD ’21: Boise State University. Zak works for the Bureau of Land Management and simultaneously holds a part-time position with the agency while in law school. He previously worked for the Department of Environmental Quality in Boise, Idaho.

Victoria Nguyen, JD ’21: University of Oregon. Victoria owns her own communications business and previously worked as a press secretary of the Office of Governor Kate Brown.This past summer, she worked for the United States Attorney’s Office.