Health & Human Rights Fellowship

UCLA School of Law proudly presents the Health & Human Rights Fellowship. Launched in 2011, and expanded in 2022, the program has provided specialized training to top graduates from African law schools for careers as impact-oriented public interest lawyers in the areas of health, human rights, HIV prevention, and gender equality. The program now features global eligibility to support activists and scholars around the world who have dedicated their work to addressing issues of access to health care and the resulting violations that occur when this right is denied in their home countries.

Fellowship Information

  • Details of the Fellowship

    The fellowship offers a full-tuition grant to enroll in UCLA Law’s LL.M. (Master of Laws) Program. This includes the full cost of tuition, health insurance, and mandatory health facilities fees. 

    Fellows may earn a specialization in UCLA Law’s David J Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, Law and Sexuality, or related fields. Through Public Interest Law and Policy workshops and seminars, fellows will meet PILP students and faculty and study the problem-solving challenges faced in public interest legal practice. Fellows will examine the principal skills and conceptual approaches useful to public interest lawyers in the PILP seminar, Problem Solving in the Public Interest.

    Through the course Human Rights and Sexual Politics, fellows will interact with students from medicine and public health, and conduct legal research and advocacy for a cause of their choice. Each UCLA Law Health & Human Rights Fellow will also elect other related courses and author a substantial writing assignment on a health, human rights, and/or gender equality-related legal issue facing their home country.

  • Eligibility & Award Conditions

    The UCLA Law Health & Human Rights Fellowship is open to legal professionals and law graduates holding LL.B. degrees classified second class (division two) or higher from law school programs. Competitive applicants will also have a demonstrated commitment to health, human rights, or gender equality, and work or volunteer experience, or research publications in these areas.

    As a condition of the award, fellows will be asked to certify that they will return to their home country upon completion of their LL.M. degree, and commit to a public interest career that promotes health, human rights, and gender equality in their practice region.

    Although successful candidates in the past have predominately come from Africa, any applicant who demonstrates a background and commitment to the purpose and vision of the fellowship will be considered upon receipt of their application.

  • Application Instructions

    To apply for admission, prospective students must submit an online application to UCLA Law's LL.M. Program, a separate supplemental application form for the UCLA Law Health & Human Rights Fellowship, and supporting documentation.

    1. UCLA Law LL.M. Program Application
      To create an account and complete the online LL.M. program application, click the link above and follow the instructions to submit your application and supporting documentation via the LSAC platform no later than February 1.
    2. UCLA Law Health & Human Rights Fellowship Supplemental Application Form [PDF]
      Click the link above to download the supplemental application for the Health & Human Rights Fellowship. After completing this form, include it as part of the "personal statement" file uploaded as a supporting document through the LSAC platform.

    Applicants for whom the LSAC fees present a barrier to application may email llm@law.ucla.edu to request consideration for a waiver of the LSAC process.

    Please direct questions about the fellowship to vanzyl@law.ucla.edu, and questions about UCLA Law's online LL.M. application procedure to llm@law.ucla.edu.

  • Project Leadership

    UCLA School of Law is the youngest top law school in the U.S. It has pioneered innovative specializations and cutting-edge research centers, and has long been committed to skills training courses that offer students hands-on lawyering experience as they master legal doctrine.

    The UCLA Law Health & Human Rights Fellowship is directed by Lara Stemple, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and International Student Programs.

Fellows

  • Current Fellows

    Ayodeji Ayolola
    Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2024
    LL.B. University of Ibadan, 2016

    Ayodeji Ayolola was a 2023-2024 UCLA Health and Human Rights Fellow. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) at the University of Ibadan in 2016 and his qualification certificate at the Nigerian Law School in 2018. He is licensed as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and has practiced in commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Prior to joining the LL.M. program at UCLA Law, he served as an adjunct professor of corporate law at the Nigerian Law School for five years. While at UCLA, Ayodeji completed his LL.M. with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy. He also completed a judicial externship in the chambers of Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins of the Supreme Court of California.


    Elizabeth Mzungu
    Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2024
    B.Com LL.B. University of Pretoria, 2011

    Elizabeth Mzungu was a 2023-24 UCLA Health and Human Rights Fellow. She earned her B.Com Law cum laude in 2010 and LL.B. in 2011, both from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Before joining UCLA, she worked in legal mediation and policy advocacy for greater accessibility to public resources. While at UCLA, she completed her LL.M. with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy as well as in Law and Sexuality. She focused on the intersectionality of law, race, sexuality, and public benefits. She was a 2024 U. Serve L.A. honoree and graduated with the highest pro bono distinction for her contributions to the PILP community and for her completion of over 70 hours of pro bono work with underserved communities in Los Angeles. She contributed to a forthcoming publication by the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy wherein she used her public interest lens to develop policy recommendations for the governance of extended reality technologies.

  • Past Fellows & Affiliated Practitioners

    Ohene Yaw Ampofo-AntiOhene Yaw Ampofo-Anti
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2019

    Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti was a 2018-19 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. He earned his LL.B. from the University of Cape Town in 2013 and was admitted as an attorney in 2017. Prior to attending UCLA, Ampofo-Anti worked as a trainee investigator at Public Protector South Africa (PPSA). At PPSA, he assisted with ongoing investigations into maladministration in various government entities. His work covered issues related to administrative justice, immigration law, family law, refugee and asylum seeker law, and socio-economic rights. Ampofo-Anti has also written legal articles for Ground Up, an online news publication covering social justice issues in South Africa. Ampofo-Anti’s articles have been featured on numerous news websites and publications throughout South Africa.


    Ayodeji Ayolola
    Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2024

    Ayodeji Ayolola was a 2023-2024 UCLA Health and Human Rights Fellow. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) at the University of Ibadan in 2016 and his qualification certificate at the Nigerian Law School in 2018. He is licensed as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and has practiced in commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Prior to joining the LL.M. program at UCLA Law, he served as an adjunct professor of corporate law at the Nigerian Law School for five years. While at UCLA, Ayodeji completed his LL.M. with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy. He also completed a judicial externship in the chambers of Associate Justice Martin J. Jenkins of the Supreme Court of California.


    Chuma Bubu
    Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2023

    Chuma Bubu was a 2022-2023 UCLA Health and Human Rights Fellow. She earned a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Economic History, International Relations and Politics 2014; and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2017, both from the University of Cape Town. Chuma is an admitted attorney in South Africa. Prior to attending UCLA, Chuma held a position as an associate in the Public and Regulatory Law department at ENSafrica in Johannesburg. While at UCLA, she worked as a racial justice and human rights research assistant for the Promise Institute of Human Rights. Her primary research interest areas are at the intersection of human rights law, critical race theory and gender.


    Melissa HendrickseMelissa Hendrickse
    Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2022

    Melissa Hendrickse was a 2021-2022 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics, history, and French in 2013, and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2017, both from the University of Cape Town. She is admitted as an attorney in South Africa. Prior to attending UCLA, Melissa held a position as an associate in public and constitutional law at Webber Wentzel in Cape Town. While at UCLA, Melissa worked as a racial justice and human rights student fellow for the Promise Institute for Human Rights. In this role, she focused on issues surrounding climate reparations for previously colonized states. Melissa also interned as a critical race theory law clerk at the African American Policy Forum. Her primary interest areas are at the intersection of human rights law and racial justice, with a particular emphasis on restorative and redistributive justice for colonialism and other forms of racial oppression.


    Katy HindleKaty Hindle
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2013

    Katy Hindle was a 2012-2013 UCLA Law – Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow. She obtained a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Politics, Gender Studies and Sociology in 2005 and a Social Science degree in International Relations in 2008, both from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Hindle also earned a postgraduate LL.B. degree at UCT in 2009 and completed her articles of clerkship at the firm Edward Nathan & Sonnenbergs, Inc. She was admitted as an attorney in South Africa in 2012.

    During her year as a Sonke Fellow at UCLA Law, Hindle focused her studies on health, gender, human rights, and empirical legal studies. Wherever possible, Hindle made attempts to link the academic content of her law school coursework to current issues in South Africa; Hindle was “grateful that her professors allowed and encouraged her to do this.” It made the transition to joining Sonke upon graduation rapid, and she now “grounds her advocacy and research efforts within theoretical frameworks” she studied at UCLA Law.

    After earning her LL.M. degree from UCLA Law, Hindle worked as a fellow in Sonke’s Policy Development and Advocacy Unit, focusing on projects relating to gender and the South African judiciary, the decriminalization of sex work, and research and advocacy surrounding sexual violence in prisons. After her fellowship, Hindle was hired as an associate in the Policy Development and Advocacy Unit at Sonke, and she plans to continue a lifelong career in public interest law in South Africa.


    Mateenah HunterMateenah Hunter
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2014

    Mateenah Hunter was a 2013-2014 UCLA Law – Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow. Prior to earning her LL.M. degree from UCLA Law, she earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Wits University in 2009, completing her practical legal studies in the Human Rights Unit of Wits Law Clinic. Hunter served her articles of clerkship at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg and then clerked for Justice Yacoob of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. She also briefly clerked for Justice Frank Stock, VP at the Hong Kong Court of Appeal before joining the Open Society Foundation for South Africa as a project officer in their Criminal Justice Initiative.

    During her time at UCLA Law, Hunter pursued two specialized courses of study: Public Interest Law & Policy and Law & Sexuality. While at UCLA Law, Hunter felt as though she “was spoilt for choice due to the wide number of courses [she] could choose from covering issues of health and broader human rights.” She felt “fortunate . . . to be taught by great professors” and “really enjoyed being able to take courses in the Public Health School” while completing her LL.M. degree at the Law School because it offered a perspective beyond a legal one.

    Upon graduation from UCLA, Hunter began working as a fellow in Sonke Gender Justice’s Johannesburg office. Through this fellowship, Hunter works in Sonke’s Policy Development and Advocacy Unit, focusing on several different projects, including: The Sex Work Decriminalization Project; The National Strategic Plan to End Gender-Based Violence; and Oversight and Accountability in the Criminal Justice System Involving Crimes Against Women. In July of 2014, through the UCLA-Sonke partnership, Hunter attended an intensive course on Women’s Health and Empowerment co-sponsored by the UC Global Health Institute’s Center of Expertise on Women’s Health and Empowerment and Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya.


    Godfrey KangaudeGodfrey Kangaude
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2013

    Godfrey Kangaude was a 2012-2013 UCLA Law-Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow. Prior to pursuing his LL.M. degree at UCLA Law, Kangaude earned a Bachelor of Philosophy at Urbaniana, an LL.B. (Hons) at the University of Malawi, and an LL.M. degree at the University of the Free State in South Africa. Kangaude is an expert in sexual and reproductive rights, having previously worked for many years on research and advocacy concerning the high incidence of abortion-related morbidity and mortality with Ipas, an international NGO, in Malawi.

    During his year as a Sonke Fellow at UCLA Law, Kangaude specialized in Public Interest Law & Policy, focusing his studies and coursework on sexuality, gender and human rights law. After earning his LL.M. degree from UCLA Law, Kangaude began working with Sonke Gender Justice as a Policy Development and Advocacy Fellow, where his work has focused on research, advocacy and training of men and boys to achieve gender equality.

    Kangaude’s interests lay at the intersection of society, culture, and human rights, and in particular the sexual and reproductive rights of populations including adolescents, persons with disabilities, LGBTI persons, and women. He has published several works: Disability, the Stigma of Asexuality and Sexual Health: A Sexual Rights Perspective, 5 Rev. Disability Stud. 22 (2009); a chapter in the book Sexuality and Disability: Politics, Identity and Access (2010); and A Sexual Rights Approach to Addressing Gender-Based Sexual Violence Among Male Prisoners in Malawi, 14 Af. Hum. Rts L.J. 1 (2014), the latter of which he began in a seminar course at UCLA Law.


    Portia KaregeyaPortia Karegeya
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2015

    Portia Karegeya was a 2014-2015 UCLA Law - Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow. Prior to earning her LL.M. degree with honors from UCLA Law, she earned a Master of Laws from McGill University in 2013 and an LL.B. from the University of Cape Town in 2011, where she also graduated with a Bachelor of Economics and Law. A lawyer born in Rwanda, raised in Uganda, and educated in South Africa, Canada, and the U.S., Karegeya's research interests span the globe, and have focused on human rights, gender, global health, sexual violence, access to affordable medicines, and freedom of expression and information. Her current work includes legal research for the Global Freedom of Expression and Information @Columbia and work with the Health and Human Rights Law Project at UCLA Law. Karegeya has a forthcoming publication with Lara Stemple and Sofia Gruskin in Human Rights Quarterly entitled, "Human Rights, Gender, and Infectious Disease: From HIV/AIDS to Ebola."


    Emily Nagisa KeehnEmily Nagisa Keehn
    UCGHI Women's Health & Empowerment Fellow, 2010

    Emily Nagisa Keehn is the associate director of the Academic Program in the Harvard Law Human Rights Program (HRP). Her work primarily focuses on the intersection of human rights issues with criminal justice, gender, and health.

    Prior to joining HRP, Keehn worked in South Africa where she was the head of policy development and advocacy at Sonke Gender Justice in Cape Town. At Sonke, she developed cases for strategic litigation, and directed parliamentary engagement, research, and advocacy related to health, gender equality, sexual and gender-based violence, policing, and penal reform.

    Keehn has published her scholarship in Feminist Criminology and the Health & Human Rights Journal, presented before the South African Parliament, and has helped shape national policies on corrections, gender, and health. Her media commentary has included the Guardian, Al-Jazeera, the Mail & Guardian, the Huffington Post, CNN, and United Nations IRIN News.

    Previously, Keehn worked for the Health & Human Rights Law Project at UCLA School of Law and was awarded an inaugural UC Global Health Institute Women’s Health & Empowerment Fellowship. She also held positions with the Annenberg Foundation, mothers2mothers, Legal Aid of Cambodia, and Relief International. Keehn has a B.A. in Anthropology from UC San Diego, a J.D. from UCLA School of Law, and is a member of the State Bar of California.


    Ralph MadlalateRalph Madlalate
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2018

    Ralph Madlalate was a 2017-18 UCLA Law-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. Prior to completing his LL.M. at UCLA Law, he earned his LL.B. from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2014. Madlalate served as a research and teaching associate at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2015, and thereafter earned an LL.M. in human rights advocacy and litigation (cum laude) from the same university in 2016. That year, he joined the Legal Resources Centre as a candidate attorney, where he worked to advance civil, political, and socio-economic rights at the domestic and regional levels.


    Thamsanqa MalusiThamsanqa Malusi
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2020

    Thamsanqa Malusi was a 2019-20 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. He completed his LL.B. at the University of Cape Town in 2014, and a Bachelor of Social Science degree in political and legal studies from the same institution in 2012. Thamsanqa was admitted as an attorney in 2017. Prior to enrolling at UCLA, he worked as an associate in a public interest law firm in Johannesburg, where he focused his practice on land reform, occupational health and safety, consumer protection, and constitutional and administrative law. Thamsanqa has extensive experience assisting mining communities and land restitution beneficiaries with settlement agreements, negotiations, commercial structures, and proceeds management with an eye to transparency and accountability. His legal career includes work on several high-profile South African cases, ranging from a class action lawsuit for victims of the listeria outbreak to litigation against South Africa’s gold mining industry, which culminated in the largest settlement in South Africa’s legal history.


    Sinethemba Memela
    Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2023
    LL.B. University of the Witwatersrand, 2015


    Nabeelah MiaNabeelah Mia
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2017

    Nabeelah Mia was a 2016-2017 UCLA Law-Sonke Health and Human Rights fellow. Prior to completing her LL.M. at UCLA Law, she earned a Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology and Law in 2009 and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Psychology in 2010, both at the University of Cape Town. She also earned a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Cape Town in 2012. In 2013, Mia completed her articles of clerkship at Webber Wentzel, a South African law firm, and was appointed as an associate in the Corporate Practice department in 2015. Her areas of interest include sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a particular emphasis on adolescents, as well as on prison advocacy and reentry services.


    Letlhogonolo MokgoroaneLetlhogonolo Mokgoroane
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2018

    Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane was a 2017-18 UCLA Law-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. Before completing his LL.M. studies at UCLA, he earned his LL.B. from Stellenbosch University in 2013. At Stellenbosch, Mokgoroane served as a tutor and as an on-campus residence academic mentor. He co-founded the First Generation Camp, which ensures that first-generation university students are equipped with the skills needed to succeed. Following graduation, Mokgoroane completed his articles and was appointed as an associate at Bowman Gilfillan Inc. in Johannesburg. He then clerked for Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga at the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He is a co-creator of the Cheeky Natives – a literary podcast that reviews arts and literature of black authors and creative people. His areas of interest include identity politics and sexuality, intersectionality, and socio-economic rights.


    Tzili MorTzili Mor
    UCLA School of Law Visiting Jurist, 2014

    A former Visiting Jurist at UCLA School of Law’s Visiting Scholars & Researchers Program, Tzili Mor is an international human rights expert in advocacy, law reform, and litigation focused on gender justice and women’s human rights. Previously she was acting director and clinical fellow at Georgetown Law’s International Women’s Human Rights Clinic, a global coordinator on human rights defenders with Amnesty International, and a human rights and gender specialist with the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, based in the Middle East and Central Asia. She served as a Gender Justice Adviser in Afghanistan working with the country’s first special prosecution Unit on Violence Against Women. She holds a B.A. from UCLA, a Master of Science degree focused on International Development from Georgetown University, and J.D. and LL.M. degrees in advocacy and international human rights law from Georgetown Law.


    Manisha MunshiManisha Munshi
    UCGHI Women’s Health & Empowerment Fellow, 2010

    Manisha Munshi was a Women’s Health and Empowerment Fellow at the UC Global Health Institute. Through this fellowship, funded by the National Institutes for Health Fogarty International Center, Munshi’s research focused on legal empowerment models to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS among women in detention in South and Southeast Asia. She conducted her research at Just Detention International, a human rights organization in Los Angeles that works to end sexual abuse in detention. Munshi examined the legal framework relevant to women in detention in South and Southeast Asia. She also conducted qualitative field research in Mumbai, India exploring sex workers’ experiences with detention. Munshi was mentored by Lara Stemple at UCLA School of Law, David Eisenman at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and Lovisa Stannow at Just Detention International.

    Munshi earned her A.B. with a joint concentration in Social Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Harvard College (2006) and her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law (2010). Her research interests include international law, human rights, trafficking and sex work, and the intersections among these topics. She has conducted anti-trafficking work for Saathi, a Mumbai-based NGO, and has researched refugee resettlement policies at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.


    Sandile NdeluSandile Ndelu
    Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2022

    Sandile Ndelu was a 2021-2022 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Laws as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Writing Studies, both from the University of Cape Town. An attorney of the High Court of South Africa, Sandile was most recently attorney and advocacy coordinator at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS). There, she worked across all programmatic areas of the public interest law organization, namely in business and human rights, civil and political justice, environmental justice, gender justice, and home, land, and rural democracy. She currently leads the philanthropic advocacy team at FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund, an intermediary fund committed to moving resources to young feminist collectives in the global south.


    Elizabeth Mzungu
    Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2024

    Elizabeth Mzungu was a 2023-24 UCLA Health and Human Rights Fellow. She earned her B.Com Law cum laude in 2010 and LL.B. in 2011, both from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Before joining UCLA, she worked in legal mediation and policy advocacy for greater accessibility to public resources. While at UCLA, she completed her LL.M. with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy as well as in Law and Sexuality. She focused on the intersectionality of law, race, sexuality, and public benefits. She was a 2024 U. Serve L.A. honoree and graduated with the highest pro bono distinction for her contributions to the PILP community and for her completion of over 70 hours of pro bono work with underserved communities in Los Angeles. She contributed to a forthcoming publication by the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy wherein she used her public interest lens to develop policy recommendations for the governance of extended reality technologies.


    Ariane NevinAriane Nevin
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2015

    Ariane Nevin completed a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and History and subsequently pursued her interest in human rights by earning a postgraduate degree in Law at the University of Cape Town. During her time at UCT, she participated in student activism and community outreach and became a member of Students for Law and Social Justice, a national student movement dedicated to protecting human rights, preventing discrimination and promoting the rule of law. In 2013 Nevin joined SECTION27 as a fellow, where she worked on issues relating to the right to education. After completing her fellowship, she remained at SECTION27 as a junior researcher and expanded her portfolio to include access to healthcare. Nevin plans to pursue a career in public interest law, and hopes to focus on issues relating to healthcare access.


    Nomonde NyembeNomonde Nyembe
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2012

    Nomonde Nyembe was one of the two inaugural UCLA Law-Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellows during the 2011-2012 academic year. Prior to pursuing her LL.M. degree at UCLA Law, Nyembe earned her LL.B. degree at the University of the Witwatersrand and completed her articles of clerkship at the firm Edward Nathan & Sonnenbergs, Inc. She then clerked for Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

    During her year as a Sonke Fellow at UCLA Law, Nyembe specialized in Public Interest Law & Policy, focusing her studies on gender, health, and human rights. Nyembe appreciated the multidisciplinary nature of her studies at UCLA Law and especially the opportunity to take two classes outside of the law school in public health and advocacy. Nyembe’s courses at the law school, especially Human Rights & Sexual Politics, helped her to “contextualize sexuality as a human rights issue, a political issue . . . related to and at times dominated by a health discourse.” Through the Public Interest Law & Policy specialization, Nyembe received invaluable training “on the utility, complexity, and multifaceted nature of advocacy for social justice.”

    After earning her LL.M. degree from UCLA Law, Nyembe began working at Sonke Gender Justice where she conducted research for advocacy purposes, made written and oral submissions to government bodies, and helped local communities with capacity building and mobilization. Nomonde worked at Sonke as a Policy Development and Advocacy Associate for an additional year after her fellowship year ended. She now works at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, a law clinic that engages in advocacy and litigation. Her current work is centered specifically in the Business and Human Rights Programme which aims to ensure that corporate entities abide by and advance human rights principles.


    Thabang PooeThabang Pooe
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2016

    Thabang Pooe was a 2015-2016 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. Prior to earning her LL.M. degree from UCLA Law, Pooe earned an LL.B. from North West University in 2011 and served as clerk for Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga on South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court of South Africa. She also served as fellow and legal researcher for SECTION27, a public interest law center in South Africa. Pooe currently serves as a liaison for Out in Africa Ride, an organization that supports African NGOs working on LBGT rights. Her areas of interest concern the right to education and the right to health, with specific focus on access to health services, sanitation and school infrastructure, sexual victimization in schools, HIV, and medical scheme regulation.


    Cherith SangerCherith Sanger
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2012

    Cherith Sanger was one of the two inaugural UCLA Law-Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellows during the 2011-2012 academic year. Prior to studying at UCLA Law, Sanger was an accomplished litigator working to end sexual and domestic violence, hate crimes, and discrimination against LGBTI persons. In addition to her six years as a litigator, Sanger had also taught a course in Legal Education and Development to candidate attorneys in South Africa.

    During her year as a Sonke Fellow at UCLA Law, Sanger specialized in Public Interest Law & Policy. In fact, Sanger applied for the UCLA-Sonke Fellowship program for the specific purposes of “further developing her skills as a public interest lawyer,” with the intention of “taking her advanced skills back to South Africa to reduce gender based violence and HIV and the impact of AIDS.”

    After earning her LL.M. degree from UCLA Law, Sanger worked at Sonke as a fellow in the Policy Development and Advocacy Unit. Sanger stayed on at Sonke after her fellowship year ended and was promoted to a management position in the Policy Development and Advocacy Unit. Sanger currently works as an independent legal consultant in Cape Town, South Africa, providing legal services and conducting research and writing in the areas of gender, health, and human rights law.


    Sekgame Shadrack TebeileSekgame Shadrack Tebeile
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Law Fellow, 2014

    Shadrack "Shaddy" Tebeile was a 2013-2014 UCLA-Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from University of Limpopo in 2012. Tebeile then clerked for clerked for Justices Froneman and Skweyiya of Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was admitted as an Advocated of the High Court of South Africa in 2013.

    Tebeile had an interesting and challenging experience as a Sonke Fellow during his year at UCLA Law. Tebeile believes that studying at UCLA Law “granted him an opportunity to be exposed to different dilemmas faced by the international community” with respect to health and human rights.

    Tebeile is now studying for the Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree at the University of Fort Hare with a focus on the judicial realization and enforcement of socio-economic rights in South Africa. After the completion of his LL.D., Tebeile intends to teach public interest law in South Africa and pursue a Ph.D. related to access to higher education.


    Nicole van ZylNicole van Zyl
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2019

    Nicole van Zyl was a 2018-2019 UCLA-Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow. She completed her LL.B. at the University of Cape Town in 2016, and a Master’s degree in Criminology, Law and Society from the same institution in 2017. Since earning her LL.B., she has tutored students in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and the Law of Evidence at the University of Cape Town, in addition to providing mentoring and additional academic support to students. During her time teaching, she conducted research and wrote about legal issues surrounding the sexual grooming of children. Van Zyl is primarily interested in issues of criminal defense, penal reform, and the socio-economic rights of persons re-entering communities after incarceration.


    Lauren VenterLauren Venter
    Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow, 2022

    Lauren Venter was a 2021-2022 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. She earned a BA Law degree in 2015 and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2017, both from the University of Pretoria. She was admitted as an attorney in South Africa in January 2021. Prior to attending UCLA, Lauren worked as an associate at DLA Piper in Johannesburg as part of the Banking, Finance and Restructuring team. In this role, she focused primarily on cross-border banking, finance, and restructuring transactions, and was also involved in many pro bono matters. These included projects for organizations such as UNICEF and UNAIDS, which involved advising and conducting research on the reproductive rights of women in African countries, domestic violence and sexual assault laws in South Africa, and the rights of prisoners in various African countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lauren’s interests lie in public interest and health law.


    Nobukhosi Ntombifuthi ZuluNobukhosi Ntombifuthi Zulu
    Sonke Health & Human Rights Fellow, 2017

    Nobukhosi Zulu was a 2016-17 UCLA Law-Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow. A Zimbabwean national, Zulu earned an LL.B. at University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2012. In 2013, she conducted research with a focus on economic development and governance systems. In 2014, Zulu began articling at Lawyers for Human Rights, where she worked in the refugee and migrant rights clinic. Her work centered on a project with former and current Mozambican migrant mine workers and their families in rural Mozambique. Zulu has also worked with a Zimbabwe-based NGO that provides sexual and reproductive health education resources and sanitary supplies to girls. Her interests include gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights, migration, and economic justice. At UCLA, Zulu focused her research on migration and human rights issues as they relate to women and children.


    Lindsey Zwicker
    Women’s Health & Empowerment COE Coordinator, UC Global Health Institute, 2012

    Lindsey Zwicker served as COE Coordinator from November 2010 through August 2012. She received a joint JD/MPP from UCLA in May 2010 and has spent much of her work and academic career focusing on sexual and reproductive health and rights. After receiving a B.A. in Women’s Studies from UC Santa Barbara, she worked as a Program Assistant for the Center for Reproductive Health Education in Family Medicine (“RHEDI”) at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. She then spent some time as a research assistant for the Irish Family Planning Association, in which she researched Irish adolescents’ access to contraception and sexuality education for a policy report on minors’ restricted access to the full range of reproductive healthcare. During law school, she spent summers working as a law clerk for the New York Civil Liberties Union, Reproductive Rights Project and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Throughout her graduate studies, she focused much of her research and advocacy interests on human rights, sexual violence and women’s conditions in prisons, and HIV/AIDS policies. In her role as COE Coordinator, Lindsey liaised with the faculty leadership to manage the Center and contribute substantively to its conceptualization, growth and development.

News
See All
Nov 04, 2024

Rick Hasen is quoted by ProPublica about a case where the RNC and Trump do not align over false claims of illegal voting

Read More
Nov 04, 2024

Rick Hasen writes in Slate about voter disenfranchisement in Pennsylvania

Read More