Ezera Miller-Walfish

Ezera grew up in rural New Mexico and attended Middlebury College in Vermont. During college, she organized voter registration drives to support women candidates, dedicated time to assisting unhoused families in her community, and volunteered as an advocate for migrant farmworkers. After graduating, Ezera moved to Washington, D.C. to work as a case manager for immigrant women and children, and she later worked as a coordinator for a citizenship program. These experiences working in the public interest motivated Ezera to attend UC Davis School of Law. While in law school, Ezera participated in the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic, served as the Social Justice and Political Action Chair of the Women’s Law Association, became meaningfully involved in her local chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, and volunteered on a national voter protection hotline. During the summer after her first year, Ezera engaged in affordable housing and climate justice advocacy while interning with the Metropolitan Equity Team at Public Advocates. Last summer, Ezera helped advance the rights of low-income working women and their families while interning with the Work and Family Team at Legal Aid at Work. This experience inspired her to extern at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last fall where she investigated a range of workplace discrimination and retaliation claims. Upon graduating from law school, Ezera plans to pursue her passion for low-income working women’s rights in the Bay Area.

Jameelah Najieb

Jameelah Najieb is a current 3L at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. During law school, Jameelah was involved in various organizations dedicated to the empowerment of women of color in the legal field. She is passionate about pursuing a career in public interest with a specific focus in civil rights and disability justice. Jameelah has a deep-rooted desire to help bridge the gap between legal representation and accessibility for people and communities in need. After passing the California Bar Exam, she plans to continue the fight for equal rights through impact litigation for disability rights at a non-profit in the Bay Area.

Natalie Thompson

Natalie Thompson is part of the class of 2022 at UC Hastings and a Lawyers for America Fellow at the Solano County Public Defender’s Office. Natalie grew up in Oakland and is the first in her family to attend college. Her passion for being a public defender stems from the impacts incarceration had on her own family. After taking the July 2022 bar, Natalie will return to Solano County Public Defender’s Office for her post-bar year. Natalie aspires to give back to her community and communities like her own across the Bay Area.

Gabby Sergi

Gabby Sergi is a current 3L at UC Hastings expected to graduate in May 2022. She received her B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of San Francisco. Gabby is incredibly humbled to receive this award and recognizes how fortunate she is to have been given the opportunity to help change the face of the legal profession since only about 4% of lawyers identify as LGBT+ and 2% identify as Latina. This award will help Gabby during Bar studies and pursue a career as a public interest advocate.