The Foundation recognizes its top scholars with named scholarships. We sincerely thank the following law firms and corporations for their generous contributions to the Diversity Scholarship Program.

Cozette Thanh-Thao Tran-Caffee, UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Buchalter Nemer Scholar

Phung H. Truong, Santa Clara University School of Law
Fenwick & West LLP Scholar

Jonathan Thomas Dawson, UCLA School of Law
Girardi & Keese Scholar

Stephanie Mercedes Tennant, Stanford Law School
Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin Scholar

Daniela Conde, University of San Francisco School of Law
Keesal, Young & Logan Scholar

Kamar O'Guinn, UC Hastings College of the Law
Keker & Van Nest LLP Scholar

Angelo Arnaldo Mathay, UCLA School of Law
Lim Ruger Foundation Scholar

LaToya Baldwin-Clark, Stanford Law School
The Morrison & Foerster Foundation Scholar

Jonah Lalas, UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Foundation Scholar

Noemi O. Gallardo, UC Hastings College of the Law
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP Scholar

Alejandro Gabriel Callirgos, UC Hastings College of the Law
Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP Scholar

Brittany Gibson, UCLA School of Law
Southern California Edison Scholar

Kelvan Patrick Howard, UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation Scholar

Loyola Law School
Karla Patricia Alcala-Navarrete $2500
The example of hard work and commitment set by her immigrant, single mother motivated Karla to focus on her academics and give back to the community. After graduating from UCLA, Karla served as a union organizer working with custodians on the UCLA campus and has continued in public service as an organizer with the California Partnership and a coordinator at a homeless shelter for immigrant youth. Through her organizing work, she has learned about the important role lawyers can play mediating between community interests and government. She now seeks a law degree as a tool to help families of immigrant workers.

Santa Clara University School of Law
Huy Ngoc Tran $2500
The son of Vietnamese refugees, Huy grew up appreciating the sacrifices his parents made to care for the family. Honoring their hard work has driven his involvement in the Vietnamese American community and his work in the labor movement. As a student at San Jose State University, Huy helped launch the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations, a broad network of Vietnamese youth organizations to promote leadership development. After college, he joined UNITE HERE, the restaurant and hotel workers union, as an organizer. He plans to use his legal education to improve the lives of working Americans as a labor attorney.

Phung H. Truong $7500 — Fenwick & West LLP Scholar

A graduate of Santa Clara University, Phung researched the potential political power of the Vietnamese American community in San Jose. Phung has done extensive volunteer work, including traveling to Ho Chi Minh City with Volunteers for Peace Vietnam and spending three months teaching English to disabled children and orphans suffering from HIV/AIDS. She has also volunteered with the Asian Law Alliance as an intake screener for Vietnamese-speaking and English-speaking clients and with Santa Clara Adult Education, helping minority students learn English.

Southwestern Law School
Yvonne Garcia $2500
The child of Mexican immigrants, Yvonne faced many struggles growing up, but a visit to the doctor's office proved to be a defining moment. After witnessing the rude treatment her Spanish-speaking mother received from the doctors, Yvonne gathered information about patients' rights, translated it into Spanish, and distributed it in the local community. This experience motivated her to go to law school and become a public interest lawyer to help ensure that all voices are heard in policies and laws. After graduating from Loyola Marymount University, Yvonne worked for Planned Parenthood of New York City and the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion.

Stanford Law School
LaToya Baldwin-Clark $7500 — The Morrison & Foerster Foundation Scholar
LaToya studied economics at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her interest in criminal justice and its effects on minority communities came in large part from family members' experiences in the criminal justice system. Along with a growing awareness of the large number of poor, African American men in prison, these experiences drove her to get her master's in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, to begin a Ph.D. program in sociology at Stanford University, and to attend law school. She believes that her law degree and sociology studies will help her pursue justice for communities of color.

Stephanie Mercedes Tennant $7500 — Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin Scholar

Raised by a mother who fled the Salvadoran Civil War for the United States, Stephanie grew up with a strong sense of social responsibility and was inspired to give back to her community. As an undergraduate at UCLA, Stephanie traveled to Ghana as part of an international studies program and created a human rights education program for youth at the Buduburam Liberian Refugee Camp once she discovered that many refugees sought to understand their rights but did not believe they had the resources to do so. With her law degree, Stephanie plans to work in immigration and human rights law.

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Kelvan Patrick Howard $7500 — Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation Scholar
As the only member of his high school graduating class to attend a four-year college and an illiterate African American farmer's son who has earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and bioengineering, Kelvan knows how to beat the odds. With an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, Kelvan moved west to UC Berkeley for graduate school. He has worked as a technical analyst and patent agent at Morrison & Foerster and as a patent agent and intellectual property strategist at MDS Analytical Technologies. Kelvan hopes to combine his legal education with his biotechnology background to expand access to health care for underserved communities around the world.

Jonah Lalas $7500 — Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Foundation Scholar

Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, Jonah struggled with his identity as a Filipino until becoming involved in community activities in college. After graduating from UCLA, Jonah spent six years working for the Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles and Texas, where he led a campaign to unionize 13,000 Houston city workers. His organizing work began with health care workers in part because many Filipinos — like his mother, who came to America to escape poverty in the Philippines and worked as a nurse — work at hospitals. Jonah intends to use his legal education to protect workers' rights.

Lisa Magged $2500

The daughter of an Egyptian Muslim father and a white Christian mother, Lisa has bridged divergent cultural expectations throughout her life. As a primary caretaker for her disabled brother while her single mother worked, she also was forced to grow up quickly. With a B.A. in biology from Smith College, Lisa obtained a master's degree in social sciences from the University of Chicago and then became a senior analyst for a public policy firm. As a lawyer, she hopes to advocate for reforms in the criminal justice system.

Cozette Thanh-Thao Tran-Caffee $7500 — Buchalter Nemer Scholar

The daughter of an immigrant from Vietnam, Cozette faced many obstacles throughout her childhood. She left home at the age of 14 and worked to support herself throughout high school and college. She ultimately earned a bachelor's degree in American studies and went on to receive her master's degree in public policy — both from UC Berkeley. Cozette has been a policy consultant for the City of San Jose Housing Department and a research assistant for the Berkeley Media Studies Group. As a lawyer, Cozette hopes to advocate for minority and other marginalized communities.

University of California, Hastings, College of the Law
Alejandro Gabriel Callirgos $7500 — Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP Scholar
With the help of his mother, Alejandro has overcome a challenging childhood that included political unrest and economic uncertainty in his native Peru. After immigrating to the United States, his family struggled to make ends meet. Alejandro stayed out of trouble by focusing on academics. Graduating from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Alejandro made it his mission to mentor underprivileged and troubled youth. He has worked as a group leader for the Florida Sheriffs Youth Camp, tutored Upward Bound participants, and volunteered with a nonprofit organization that helps migrant families.

Noemi O. Gallardo $7500 — Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP Scholar

A graduate of Pepperdine University, Noemi was the first in her Mexican American family to graduate from college. After her graduation, she studied to become a professional interpreter. She started her own interpreting business and is now a Certified Administrative Hearings interpreter, providing assistance to immigrants seeking legal, medical, and social services. She also obtained a master's degree in public policy from USC, specializing in urban and social policy. As a lawyer, she plans to focus on human rights law and immigration policy.

Kamar O'Guinn $7500 — Keker & Van Nest LLP Scholar

Kamar grew up in a rough Oakland neighborhood in a family fractured by substance abuse and violence. With no support from his family, he worked his way through California State University, East Bay, and was elected student body president. Committed to giving back to his community, Kamar has been an after-school coordinator with a nonprofit family services agency. He has also participated in AmeriCorps VISTA and worked at an Oakland middle school, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

Sodaba Samad $5000

As a five year old, Sodaba came to the United States as a political asylee after losing her father in the Soviet-Afghan war. Grateful for the assistance her family received when they arrived in the United States, she has given back to the community by volunteering with the Red Cross and working in after-school programs in Oakland. While a student at UC Berkeley, Sodaba volunteered for the Children of Afghanistan Hope Project. Sodaba speaks seven languages and plans to use her language skills as an immigration and civil rights attorney.

University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
Jonathan Thomas Dawson $7500 — Girardi & Keese Scholar
With financial struggles and feelings of exclusion due to his identity as a Native American, Jonathan faced many challenges growing up. He joined the U.S. Air Force after high school and was stationed in Texas, California, South Korea, and the Middle East over eight years. While he was in the military, his mother was diagnosed with ALS and died shortly thereafter, causing Jonathan to become a committed volunteer with the ALS Association. Later, Jonathan attended UCLA, where his interest in law and government blossomed. For the past two years he has been a project assistant in the real estate division of a law firm.

Caroline Dessert $5000

In the four years since she graduated from UC San Diego, Caroline has dedicated herself to empowering groups through community organizing. She was the grassroots coordinator for Planned Parenthood, the public policy and community organizing coordinator at the San Diego LGBT Community Center, and a regional field director for the No on Proposition 8 campaign. The first in her family to attend graduate school, Caroline is pursuing a law degree to more effectively work on social and economic justice issues.

Brittany Gibson $7500 — Southern California Edison Scholar

Growing up in the inner city as the daughter of a disabled veteran, Brittany learned the importance of community support at an early age. She benefited from the guidance of mentors and a church community that pooled together funds to give her a scholarship as she went off to UCLA for college, which has led to a deep commitment to public service. In particular, she has mentored low-income high school students in Los Angeles. As an African American lawyer-to-be, she hopes to serve as a role model and help those in need access the justice system.

Francis Villasenor Guzman $5000

Raised by a Mexican immigrant mother who worked low-wage jobs to support the family, Francis has overcome a tumultuous upbringing surrounded by gangs and crime to succeed in college and now begin law school committed to advocating for low-income communities. While at UC Berkeley, he organized statewide outreach and informational recruitment visits for thousands of low-income high school and community college students. Prior to law school, Francis worked at the Greenlining Institute and the National Center for Youth Law. Francis' goal is to establish a nonprofit organization to provide community-based legal services to low-income people.

Angelo Arnaldo Mathay $7500 — Lim Ruger Foundation Scholar

As a six year old, Angelo fled the Philippines with his mother for California, where he grew up as an undocumented immigrant. Although he lacked a Social Security number, which is needed to obtain loans and scholarships, he was able to qualify for in-state tuition and attend UCLA as an undergraduate. He ultimately became legalized at the age of 19 and wants to use his law degree to help immigrant communities. Angelo campaigned against Proposition 8, interned in the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein, and worked as a legal assistant and research assistant.

Kimberlina McKinney $2500

A childhood defined by absent parents, mental illness drug addiction in her family, and an assortment of foster homes for her and her siblings serves as the source of Kimberlina's passion for public service. A graduate of Scripps College, she has worked for the California Legislature as a Jesse Marvin Unruh Assembly Fellow. As an African American woman, Kimberlina brings an underrepresented voice to the legal profession and hopes to work in the political arena, shaping policy and championing the issues facing disadvantaged communities.

University of San Francisco Law School
Daniela Conde $7500 — Keesal, Young & Logan Scholar
The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Daniela was motivated to attend law school by the conditions in her community and the socioeconomic struggles her family faced. At UCLA, Daniela demonstrated a strong will to succeed, juggling academics, employment, family responsibilities, and a full plate of activities as a student activist. She recently worked as a program coordinator at Access OC, a nonprofit that provides free, low-risk surgeries for low-income uninsured individuals. Daniela plans to advocate for immigrant rights as a public interest lawyer.

Michael Fortes $2500

Aware of the small number of African American male attorneys, Michael is inspired by the election of President Obama and committed to using his law degree to give back to the community. While a student at the University of San Francisco, Michael devoted significant time to tutoring at-risk inner-city students at a low-performing San Francisco public high school, supervising after-hours youth programs, refereeing youth basketball games, and caring for preschoolers at a child development center.