BPI Announces 2018 Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellows

BPI is pleased to announce the selection of two outstanding 2018 Polikoff–Gautreaux Fellows. Isabel Breit and Marsheda Ewulomi will join our staff in Fall 2018.  Some highlights from their impressive credentials include:

Isabel Breit

Izzy will graduate in May from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she has a full-tuition merit scholarship. During law school, Izzy has served as Staff Editor for the Criminal Law Review and Co-President of the ACLU.  She has interned with the Denver Juvenile Court, the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, and the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.  Prior to law school, Isabel earned an M.S. in Education with a focus on Early Childhood Education at Dominican University and taught taught Pre-K in a bilingual, multicultural Head Start program in Chicago through Teach For America. She also supported a classroom of fourth-grade students through Teach For India, focusing on language and literacy skill development. Isabel graduated from Lehigh University with a B.A. in English and Political Science. In her spare time, she loves all things outdoors, including playing tennis, skiing, hiking, and running, and also enjoys yoga, reading, and traveling.

Marsheda Ewulomi

Marsheda will graduate in May from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she served as Vice President of Events for the Black Law Student Association and Articles Editor for the Journal of Law and Social Policy. She was a founding member of the Northwestern Law Diversity Student Advisory Board—a group of student leaders that advises administrators on ways to improve the law school experience for students of color. Marsheda also was a Judicial Extern for a  federal district judge.  Her internships have included work with the ACLU of Michigan, as well as the MacArthur Justice Center, and Lawndale Christian Legal Center.  Prior to law school, Marsheda taught English to seventh and tenth-graders with Teach For America in Washington D.C.  She also served as an Academic and Behavioral Interventionist with the Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy in Lansing, Michigan, directing an aftercare program for kindergarten and first grade students. Marsheda graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English and a Minor in African and African-American Studies. Her special interests include creative expression and fostering the empowerment of women. She has conducted workshops on self-love and activism, and is preparing to launch a lifestyle blog focusing on women’s narratives.  She also enjoys Korean dramas.

The addition of Isabel and Marsheda in fall 2018 will strengthen our team, and we look forward to their arrival.

BPI’s Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellowship is designed to prepare the next generation of public interest professionals. It was established in 1999 to honor Alexander Polikoff, who served as BPI’s Executive Director for 29 years, and Dorothy Gautreaux, the public housing activist who gave her name to Polikoff’s landmark lawsuit. Fellows have gone on to pursue successful careers in affordable housing law, legal aid, civil rights advocacy, non-profit leadership and government.