Ashely Cevere
Florida State University College of Law, Class of 2024
John Kozyak and Barbara Summer Fellow
Ashley Cevere is a second-year law student at Florida State University College of Law. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Non-Profit Organizational Leadership. Ashley is a first-generation college graduate and law student. Upon graduation from the University of Florida, she served as an AmeriCorps Public Ally. She was placed at the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, where she led monthly community panel discussions and an early literacy campaign.
Prior to attending law school, Ashley served a Volunteer Recruitment Specialist for the American Red Cross of South Florida, where she led a team of volunteers in recruitment efforts to establish a ready and trained disaster response workforce to ensure mission delivery. She was a 2019 – 2020 Sant La Fellow through which she participated in a year-long leadership program for young professionals of Haitian descent. Ashley also served as a Guardian Ad Litem for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida where she advocated for the best interests of children in care.
Currently, Ashley is a member of the FSU Mock Trial Team and serves as the 2021 – 2022 Black Law Student Association Social Justice Chair. Ashley is dedicated to serving and uplifting marginalized communities.
Barbara Silverman and John Kozyak generously selected Ashley as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2022. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Ashley will be serving as a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge Roy Dalton, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Laura Chiu
University of Florida Levin College of Law, Class of 2024
Laura Chiu is a first-year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. In 2020, Laura received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Central Florida, graduating summa cum laude. At UF Law, Laura has earned the CALI Highest Grade Award (Book) in Legal Research. She was selected as a 1L Section Representative for the Association for Tax Law & Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and has volunteered with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Laura will be interning this summer for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Frank Alejandro Gonzalez
University of Florida Levin College of Law, Class of 2024
John Kozyak and Barbara Silverman Summer Fellow
Frank Alejandro Gonzalez is a first-year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. In 2021, Frank received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Florida International University, graduating cum laude. As an undergraduate student, Frank was part of FIU’s Pre-Law Path, spending his summers simulating a law school environment and preparing for the LSAT. In addition, he was awarded a Law, Ethics, and Society honors certification and a Pre-Law certification. During his time at UF Law, Frank was selected as a Governor’s Scholar and President of the Latino Law Student Association.
Barbara Silverman and John Kozyak generously selected Frank as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2022. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Frank will intern in the Miami State Attorney’s Office, working on capital punishment cases.
Olivia Ingram
Florida State University College of Law, Class of 2023
Olivia Ingram is a second-year law student/rising third year law student at Florida State University College of Law. In 2019, Olivia graduated from the University of Florida, cum laude, and received their Bachelor of Arts in Criminology. During their 1L year at FSU Law, they interned at the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee where they helped to establish a Sealing and Expungement Clinic that helped those in the Tallahassee community begin the process to seal and/or expungement their criminal record.
Olivia also served as a Student Advocate in the Children’s Advocacy Clinic their 1L year and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Law Project their 2L year. As an Advocate, they worked on cases where children were victims of human trafficking, were facing homelessness, criminal charges, and termination of parental rights. They are also a moot court competitor on FSU Law’s BLSA Moot Court team where they and their co-counsel won the 2022 Regional Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition Best Petitioner’s Brief Award.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Olivia will intern at the Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, Louisiana where they will work with juveniles facing life sentences.
Sabrina Jérôme
Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, Class of 2024
Sabrina Jérôme is a proud servant-leader and first-year law student at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. Sabrina received a bachelor degree in both Political Science, International-Relations and Religion & Cultural Studies from the University of Central Florida. There, Sabrina was involved in the Student Government Association, President’s Leadership Council, Multicultural Student Center, LEAD Scholars Academy, Club Kreyòl, and earned the Order of Pegasus Award- the highest honor awarded at the university. Upon graduation, Sabrina worked for the Florida House of Representatives, African- American Chamber of Commerce, and Hope for Haiti- an international organization. During her first year in law school, Sabrina was selected as a Student Bar Association Election Representative, and Top 20 Under 40 Young Professionals. She also volunteered in a pro bono immigration clinic as a Haitian Creole interpreter.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Fellow, Sabrina will be interning at the City of North Miami Mayor’s Office.
MaryGrace Longoria
Florida International University College of Law, Class of 2023
Charles Bray Summer Fellow
MaryGrace Longoria is a second-year student at Florida International University College of Law. Prior to law school, MaryGrace built a successful career in education advocacy, working with parents and teachers to organize and seek transformational changes for their students. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Colorado with a degree in Philosophy of Law & Society. Inspired by her organizing work to learn more, MaryGrace went on to earn a Master’s degree from her alma mater in Education Foundations, Policy and Practice.
MaryGrace is a member of the FIU College of Law Moot Court Team, serves on various student organization executive boards, and has made the Dean’s List every semester. As a 1L, she interned with Coast to Coast Legal Aid, and as a 2L, worked as a law clerk with Legal Services of Greater Miami, and currently interns at Disability Independence Group. In every role, she has served indigent clients and assisted them with various disability appeals and other public health issues. MaryGrace is passionate about civil rights litigation and the intersection at which advocacy and social justice coalesce in defending our most disenfranchised communities.
Charles Bray generously selected MaryGrace as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2022. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, MaryGrace will work at Disability Independence Group, supporting their mission to expand opportunities for participation, education, employment and acceptance of Persons with Disabilities through advocacy, litigation, education, and training.
Jenelly Perez
Florida State University College of Law, Class of 2024
Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton (“KTT”) Women Summer Fellow
Jenelly Perez is a first-year law student at Florida State University College of Law. Jenelly is a first-generation college graduate and a Miami-native. In 2020, Jenelly received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Florida International University, graduating Summa Cum Laude and being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate student, she served as a law clerk for the Florida Department of Transportation, Office of the General Counsel and was an award-winning student attorney on her school’s mock trial team. As a law student, she currently serves as a 1L representative for the Federal Bar and Cuban American Bar Associations, as well as a Staff Editor on the FSU College of Law Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law. She hopes to use her legal degree to become a public servant to Floridians everywhere.
KTT Women generously selected Janelly as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2022. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Jenelly will be clerking at the Florida Division of Emergency Management. She will work within the Division to ensure that the State of Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impacts. Aside from that, Jenelly is also going to spend her summer serving as a research assistant to FSU Law Professor Jeffery Kahn.
Leat Perez
University of Miami School of Law, Class of 2024
Leat Perez is a first-year law student at the University of Miami School of Law. Leat graduated cum laude and with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in the Biological Basis of Behavior. As the daughter of immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, Leat has always enjoyed mentoring others. In undergrad, she tutored elementary students and served on the executive board of the Women in Leadership Series (WILS). Prior to law school, Leat worked as a clinical research coordinator and published papers on autism and family genetics.
She was also elected as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Champion at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, in Miami. After seven years of researching the human condition, Leat wanted to be a part of the solution and effectuate real change. A legal education enables Leat to take her advocacy beyond the laboratory and into the community.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Leat will participate in the Honorable Judge Beth Bloom’s Judicial Intern Academy, while also interning in the chambers of the Honorable Judge Stacey Schulman of the Dependency Division of the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
Diego Rosette
University of Miami School of Law, Class of 2023
Diego Rosette is a second-year student at the University of Miami School of Law. For his undergraduate studies, Diego attended Columbia University, where he majored in Political Science and Latin American Studies. He is a native of Mexico City.
Diego is a member of the Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board, the Society of Bar & Gavel, the Federal Bar Association, and the Criminal Law Society. As a 2L, Diego worked for his school’s Immigration Clinic, where he assisted on an asylum case and cancellation of removal proceedings. During the past summer, he worked as an intern in the Felony Division at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office and over the past semester, he has been working at the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. After graduation, he intends to practice as a criminal defense and appellate lawyer.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Fellow, Diego will be returning to the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office to represent indigent clients facing the loss of their liberty.
Rachel M. Salazar
St. Thomas University College of Law, Class of 2024
Rachel Salazar is a first-year law student at St. Thomas University College of law (“St. Thomas”). She is a first-generation, Hispanic-American law student, and she received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Florida State University in 2015. Prior to attending law school, Rachel worked for several non-profit organizations focused on animal rescue and rehabilitation. She is an advocate for the ethical treatment of wildlife, farm animals, companion animals, and animals used in biomedical research. In 2017, she successfully led emergency response for a non-profit animal shelter in South Florida in preparation for category-5 Hurricane Irma. Her passion for animals and the environment is what inspired her to go to law school.
In Rachel’s first semester at St. Thomas, she earned a 4.0 GPA and three CALI Excellence for the Future Awards. She plans to devote her legal career to advocacy for environmental justice—specifically sustainability, wildlife conservation, green technology, and ecosystem protection. Additionally, Rachel is dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) for marginalized groups in her community and nationally. She will delve further into this passion for DEI as the Environmental Justice Project Coordinator for the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Foundation’s 2022 Summer Volunteer Program.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Fellow, Rachel will serve as a judicial intern for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid of the Southern District of Florida.
Photini Kamvisseli Suarez
University of Miami School of Law, Class of 2024
Harley & Sheryl Tropin KMMF Summer Fellow
Photini Kamvisseli Suarez is a first-year student at the University of Miami School of Law. Photini is a Greek American first-generation law student, and a Miami native. She became interested in a career of advocacy after volunteering at a refugee camp on Lesvos, Greece. In 2021, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College, graduating as a joint major in Human Rights and Psychology. Her studies at Bard as well as her work at the Bard Prison Initiative sparked her passion for criminal law reform and access to education. During her time at Miami Law, Photini has continued to pursue these interests by volunteering with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
Harley and Sheryl Tropin generously selected Photini as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2022. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Photini will be interning this summer for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.