Leadership Academy

Financial and programmatic support

Launched in 2023, Berkeley Law’s Leadership Academy provides funding, support, and training to the next generation of leaders. The academy is designed for students hoping to serve society in an array of leadership roles, from government officials and judges to nonprofit executives and startup founders. To that aim, the academy helps students recognize, foster, and develop their leadership acumen skills.

The initiative provides an extra $10,000 scholarship per year on top of the student’s existing gift aid award. In addition to the scholarship, the program offers training to effectively lead people and solve problems in both the public and private sectors. The academy will also have opportunities to meet accomplished Berkeley Law alums and leaders, including elected officials, judges, CEOs, government advisors, and founders. Students will leave Berkeley Law with a jump-start to their careers and the skills to make an impact no matter their career path.

Review and selection

Berkeley Law will select up to 10 incoming JD students each year to enter the Leadership Academy. Currently, there is no separate application for the program; all admitted students will be evaluated for the program based on their application materials. Successful applicants show innovation and leadership in their work, have made an impact on their field, and are interested in leadership roles after law school.

Meet the scholars

Skip to the Class of 2028, 2027

Class of 2028

Mansoor Alam

Mansoor Alam comes to Berkeley Law after a decade in the tech industry. He was first introduced to programming 20 years ago, teaching himself through YouTube videos, forums, and IRC channels how to build everything from bots for AOL Instant Messenger to basic exploit protections for WordPress Plugins he created.

Mansoor began his career as a data scientist at athenahealth, where he worked on large-scale recommendation engines to help map patients with providers experienced in their unique clinical needs. He then co-founded a venture-backed precision health startup that developed AI-supported clinical decision support tools for managing complex polypharmacy in patients with severe mental illness and chronic pain. He later held leadership roles in software development, most recently as Director of Applied AI & Machine Learning at Flyte Health, leading a team focused on observability and safety in deploying large-language models in a clinical setting.

His decision to pursue law arises from a commitment to cyber civil rights and a belief that law is perhaps our most effective tool to confront the growing social perils of technology. He believes technologists have a moral obligation to shape and build systems in service of a more empowered, accountable, and accessible society.

Mansoor graduated from Wesleyan University with dual degrees in Economics and Psychology, where he conducted computational research on health information diffusion and online community dynamics. At Berkeley Law, he aims to advance cyber civil rights, internet law, and information policy through interdisciplinary research and public-sector work.

Cody Bloomfield

Cody Bloomfield (they/them) is passionate about advocating for a world where activists can pursue transformative change without fear of political repression and government surveillance. Beginning in high school, Cody became engaged in environmental and political protest movements in their hometown of Colorado Springs, CO. They subsequently attended Smith College in Northampton, MA, where they majored in Government and minored in Biological Sciences, graduating cum laude in 2022. As an undergraduate, Cody advocated for food justice, founded a trans* affinity organization, and engaged in cross-affinity group collective organizing.

After graduating, Cody worked for Defending Rights & Dissent, a small civil liberties nonprofit based in Washington DC. There, they engaged in grassroots advocacy, direct lobbying, and public education around legislation impacting First and Fourth Amendment freedoms. They also reported on rising threats to dissent for Truthout, Jacobin, and The Intercept. They reported on the repression of Stop Cop City protesters in Atlanta, used FOIA to expose a domestic terrorism investigation into a nonviolent environmentalist group, and covered other issues pertaining to protest and policing.

At Berkeley Law, Cody hopes to learn the law governing surveillance authorities and study how best to protect activists. In their free time, Cody is an avid reader, rock climber, plant/frog dad, and Halloween enthusiast.

Alexis Fineman

Alexis Fineman (she/her) brings a decade of experience as an educator, public servant, and climate advocate to her education at Berkeley Law. A graduate of Wesleyan University with a background in cultural anthropology and critical food studies, she spent her early career working on organic farms, for an heirloom seed company, as a public school garden teacher, and as an outdoor educator before becoming an elementary school teacher. Most recently, she led SEI’s Energize Schools program, where she managed K-12 programs focused on air quality, renewable energy, environmental leadership, and zero waste initiatives.

Alexis’s love for plants and her work to protect a neighborhood community garden unexpectedly launched a parallel career in local government. She was appointed to the San Anselmo Town Council in 2019 and elected to a full term in 2020. She served as vice mayor in 2021 and mayor in 2022. As a councilmember, Alexis worked to operationalize San Anselmo’s Climate Action Plan by initiating staff reporting protocols, hiring the Town’s first-ever Climate Action Coordinator, and establishing both the Climate Action Fund and the Active Transportation Fund. Her policy work focused on building electrification, single-use plastics, housing affordability and tenants’ rights, and urban habitat protection. She played a critical role in developing the town’s first solar microgrid, first protected bike path, and first “purple pipe” outlay, as well as a downtown parklet program, public mural program, and neighborhood speed hump program.

Alexis also represented San Anselmo on a variety of regional boards, including the Marin Wildfire Protection Agency and Marin Clean Energy, where she proposed developing Green Hydrogen Procurement Guidelines (adopted 2024) to counter industry greenwashing. She is eager to use her legal education to champion decarbonization, livable communities, and healthy ecosystems as well as to pursue accountability for climate and environmental injustices.

In her free time, Alexis enjoys hiking, biking, visible mending, and creating visual art. She will talk about bike infrastructure with anyone who will listen.

Desmond Johnson

Desmond Johnson grew up in Philadelphia and earned his degree in Cognitive Science, with a minor in Computer Science, from the University of Pennsylvania, where he explored how technology and equity intersect. Through Engineers Without Borders, he helped design an electronic medical record system for a children’s home in Eswatini and collaborated on a water infrastructure project in Guatemala—experiences that deepened his commitment to using technology for social impact. As an intern with Uptrust, a startup focused on reducing recidivism, he designed an app to help people on probation and parole avoid pitfalls that often lead to reincarceration. He also served as a Student Educator with Penn Anti-Violence Educators, leading workshops on preventing sexual violence and fostering an inclusive campus culture.

After graduation, Desmond joined Accenture as an AI Strategy Consultant, advising clients on responsibly integrating artificial intelligence across industries including healthcare, utilities, and cybersecurity. Beyond client work, he led a pro bono team within Accenture’s Data & AI for Good initiative to help a community health clinic in South Florida improve patient outreach through data analysis and visualization. As an executive board member of Accenture’s African American Employee Resource Group, he organized programs connecting Black-owned businesses with venture capital and highlighting diverse experiences within the firm.

Desmond’s decision to pursue law reflects his belief that technology and corporate power must be guided by principles of justice and accountability. At Berkeley Law, he hopes to build on his interdisciplinary background to advance public interest law at the intersection of technology, equity, and human rights.

Zz Khan

Zainab Zohra “Zz” Khan (they/them) is a Muslim artist born and raised in the Bay Area. They earned a B.A. in Psychology and Public Affairs at UCLA, where they also minored in Education Studies and Visual & Performing Arts Education. During their undergraduate years, Zz immersed themselves into the ways policy, pedagogy, and creative expression can intersect to shape more equitable educational experiences.

After graduation, they worked as a Mental Health Specialist at a healthcare nonprofit, where they supported individuals navigating the Medi-Cal system, designed and facilitated harm-reduction curricula, and led community outreach initiatives.

At Berkeley Law, Zz looks forward to deepening their study of education policy, its ability to better support youth and marginalized communities, and its intersections with the criminal justice system. They hope to explore legal academia through a lens of public health–bridging law, youth advocacy, and developmental psychology.

In their free time, Zz recharges themselves through crafting, crocheting, and cooking!

Kate Leonard

Kate Leonard was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She graduated from Duke University with degrees in Neuroscience, Cultural Anthropology, and East Asian Studies. While at Duke, she explored the intersection of culture and neurobiology and researched sustainable agricultural practices in Hawai’i, drawing from her family’s experience farming on O’ahu.

Prior to coming to Berkeley Law, Kate spent the last three years in DC working on Capitol Hill. There, she worked for Senators from Hawai’i and Michigan covering appropriations and issues of the environment, energy, agriculture, maritime, and infrastructure. At Berkeley Law, Kate looks forward to continuing to explore these topics and engage with them at a deeper level through the legal lens. In her free time, she enjoys baking, cooking, reading, and spending time at the beach.

Vikas Maturi

Vikas is a strategist, researcher, and organizer committed to advancing reparatory justice and a culture of repair. Previously, he served as the Director of Grantmaking Strategy and Research at Liberation Ventures, a nonprofit accelerating the Black reparations movement in the United States. He’s also worked on campaigns to end forced prison labor and expand tenant protections in California. Vikas earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Stanford University, where he studied design, sociology, and data analytics. He’s originally from Indiana and loves open-water swimming, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and baking banana bread.

Samia Noor

Samia is a 1L at Berkeley Law and originally from Corona, CA. She graduated from Duke University in 2021 with a degree in Public Policy and Documentary Studies. While at Duke, she focused on research related to violence against women. After college, she worked in government consulting for three years in New York City. She also spent one year serving in the Capital Fellows program, placed as a Judicial Fellow at the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside.

At Berkeley Law, Samia hopes to explore the vibrant pro bono culture and engage in meaningful service opportunities. Samia envisions serving her community through advocacy and empowerment.

Camryn Pak

Camryn Pak grew up in Orange County but has lived primarily in the Bay Area since 2019. Camryn graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in Communication and a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. For her master’s thesis, she examined the impacts of large language models on reporter conduct and newsroom policies. Camryn is passionate about storytelling, supporting local journalism, and protecting civil rights.

Prior to starting at Berkeley Law, Camryn completed the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. She also spent a summer working in attorney recruiting and development at a law firm. As an undergraduate, Camryn interned at the U.S. Department of Justice, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Orange County Register.

Camryn believes that a Berkeley legal education will equip her with the necessary tools to serve her communities with integrity and purpose. Outside the classroom, Camryn enjoys learning new languages, making kimchi udon, and working on her 50-state travel bucket list.

Greta Zorn

Greta Zorn is from Seattle, Washington. After graduating from Barnard College in 2020 with degrees in Political Science and English, she moved from Morningside Heights down to Brooklyn and worked in research and writing positions, including supporting breaking-news reporting projects for New Yorker journalist Ronan Farrow.

Greta has also spent the past ten years running Uterish, a reproductive justice nonprofit she co-founded in 2016. Uterish fundraises for reproductive justice causes––largely consisting of directing funds to local abortion clinics––while engaging in digital advocacy and educational initiatives. Among her responsibilities at Uterish, Greta has especially loved writing for the company’s monthly newsletter reporting on the reproductive justice movement, and running Uterish’s annual summer internship program for high school students interested in social justice.

Greta’s work in the reproductive justice movement directed her to issues of carcerality and criminalization. She has volunteered for the Northwest Community Bail Fund, a fund serving people trapped in pretrial detention in the greater Seattle area, since 2021. Learning more about the issues driving arrests, imprisonment, and recidivism in Seattle continued to emphasize the intertwined concerns of reproductive justice and the prison-industrial complex. Greta hopes to continue exploring criminality through a reproductive justice lens by working in public interest law.

Greta is thrilled that Berkeley Law has given her a chance to return to the West Coast, and in her free time can be found driving to nearby hikes or frequenting Berkeley Bowl to mine its supply of nectarines.

Class of 2027

Peter Clune

Peter Clune (he/him) is passionate about using the tools of creative storytelling to explore the law and questions of power, accountability, and systemic change. He grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Yale with a degree in political science.

Before law school, Peter spent over a decade as a documentary producer. His work has ranged from projects on Billie Eilish and Bob Ross to juvenile life without parole sentences and communities reckoning with systemic abuses. The films have premiered at Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca, and on Netflix, HBO, and Apple TV.

At Berkeley Law, Peter hopes to build on his foundation in narrative storytelling to bring clarity and impact to the practice of law. As part of the Leadership Academy, he looks forward to exploring the many ways storytelling can be deployed to shape legal outcomes and systems of power. He enjoys soccer, singing, motorcycle rides, and a well-constructed sandwich.

Viktor Dimas 

Viktor Dimas is a 2L at UC Berkeley School of Law, originally from Greece. He holds a BA in Political Science from Yale and an MA in International Security from SciencesPo – Paris School of International Affairs.

Before law school, Viktor worked for Valent Projects, a London-based startup, providing clients with actionable insights on online disinformation campaigns. This experience inspired him to study law to understand the framework governing technology companies with global reach.

During his time at Berkeley Law, Viktor has been a member of the Berkeley Journal of International Law (BJIL) and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal (BTLJ). He has also participated in the International Human Rights Workshop (IHRW) SLP, which he is co-leading this year, and served as a Miller Fellow, assisting Professor Katerina Linos with the production of “Borderlines,” Berkeley Law’s International Law podcast. Most recently, Viktor was a Summer Law Clerk for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he supported the Protecting Racial Equity (PRE) clinic by advising organizations on the implications of the SFFA v. Harvard decision.

Claire Elliman

Claire Elliman was born and raised in New York City. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Yale University and an M.Phil. in Education from the University of Cambridge, where her dissertation focused on the future of higher education in UK prisons. She has worked as a Paralegal Casehandler at the Legal Aid Society’ Parole Revocation Defense Unit in New York City and as Program Manager at the nonprofit Freedom Reads, where she traveled to over 30 state prisons installing 500-book libraries in cellblocks and dormitories.

As a 1L, Claire participated in the Policy Advocacy Clinic. She spent her summer interning at Rights Behind Bars, challenging cruel and inhumane conditions of confinement through litigation. Now in her 2L year, Claire serves as an associate editor of the California Law Review, continues to be part of the Policy Advocacy Clinic, and is working with the Criminal Law and Justice Center. After law school, she intends to use litigation and advocacy to support people behind bars. She is particularly interested in issues related to eldercare in prisons, jails, and ICE detention centers.

Elena Fabian

Elena Fabian grew up in San Diego, CA and Highland Park, IL. Before coming to Berkeley, she studied computer science at Northwestern University. She especially enjoyed learning about computer systems and understanding what lies behind the products many people use every day.

At Berkeley, Elena is currently on the Berkeley Technology & Law Journal as a submission editor and California Law Review as an associate editor. She is also co-president of the Intellectual Property Law Society, and a member of several other student organizations. Elena hopes to practice in patent litigation, and spent her 1L summer at Desmarais LLP.

Arthur Filppu

Arthur came to Berkeley Law to support innovators and his primary interest is in technology law and startups. At school, much of his coursework covers technology, including artificial intelligence governance and deep tech commercialization. He is also on the editorial board of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Arthur spent this past summer as an RA with the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology where he researched artificial intelligence transactions and used AI tools to process massive datasets. Next summer he will join the Emerging Companies/Venture Capital practice group at Perkins Coie in San Francisco.

Before law school Arthur worked at Deloitte & Touche as a technology risk consultant. He attended the University of Southern California where he studied economics and mathematics. Arthur grew up across the Bay in Palo Alto.

In his free time Arthur enjoys playing basketball and singing with his acapella group at Berkeley Law, the Pro Bonotes. He is also an avid poker player.

Sky Karp

As a 2L Justice Scholar, Sky Karp (he/they) is committed to fighting state violence and surveillance while building access to holistic defense across criminal, civil, and family policing legal systems. Sky grew up outside of Boston, MA and holds a B.A. in History and Gender Studies from Smith College, with a focus on transgender social movements of the 20th century. While at Smith, Sky founded Smith’s Transcending Gender and led advocacy efforts to create more inclusive policies for trans students, which remain in effect today.

Prior to law school, Sky worked as a paralegal with queer and trans immigrants at the National Immigrant Justice Center and as a paralegal in the Consumer Protection Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. While at the AG’s office, he worked with hundreds of consumers, securing meaningful relief from abusive business practices in the areas of homeowner and tenant rights, debt collection, vehicle sales, financial technology, and the unauthorized practice of immigration law.

As a 2L, Sky is a co-leader of the Family Defense Project, working with partner organizations across the Bay to support parents impacted by the family policing system. They also serve as the Recent Developments and Commentary Editor of the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law, and Justice; the Transgender/Gender Non-Confirming Chair of Queer Caucus; and the citation tutor for the 1L Legal Research and Writing curriculum. This past summer, Sky interned at the Marin County Public Defender’s Officer, where they won three diversion and speedy trial motions, successfully argued for the release of several clients in custody, and conducted novel research on electronic searches. He also volunteers as a student advocate in the East Bay Community Law Center’s Tenants Rights Workshop.

In their free time, Sky enjoys rock climbing, weight lifting, exploring queer archives, and going on new outdoor adventures.

Sophie Kupetz

Sophie (she/her) returned to her home state of California and the beloved Pacific Ocean to attend Berkeley Law and pursue a career in indigent defense. Since she was an undergraduate at Brown University—organizing with formerly incarcerated activists, tutoring in the Rhode Island prison, advocating for a bill to end juvenile life sentences in partnership with Mario Monteiro, and writing a thesis about an anti-carceral anti-sexual violence group started by incarcerated men—Sophie has had the privilege to learn from and with those most impacted by the criminal legal system, who inspired her to pursue indigent defense. After college, Sophie was a client advocate at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office through the Partners for Justice Fellowship and a paralegal for a Criminal Justice Act panel attorney in New York City. Sophie is a firm believer that, as transformative justice practitioner and abolitionist Mariame Kaba states, “everything worthwhile is done with other people” and is so grateful to her community who shapes and supports her.

During the summer after her 1L year, Sophie interned at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, where she worked in the Capital Unit. She is currently interning at Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, co-leading the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project, re-starting the National Lawyers Guild Chapter at U.C. Berkeley Law, and sneaking in hikes between classes on the fire trails by campus.  

Sophie hopes to be a public defender in order to do what she can to mitigate harm and create more room for freedom. She believes that it is an immense privilege to represent clients and is dedicated to using mitigation and holistic advocacy to intervene in the victim-perpetrator binary and to strive to create room for clients’ agency and power in a system that works to strip them of it. Sophie views this as one small part of the larger struggle for a world which rejects incarceration and disposability and, instead, is rooted in life affirming resources and healing.

Rena Kaur McRoy

Rena is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended college at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with highest distinction with majors in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics and Environment in 2023. As an undergraduate, she was involved with various environmental and sustainability-focused student organizations and internships, including the Graham Sustainability Scholars program. She also studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark with a focus on sustainable development. After graduating, she worked as a legal assistant at an immigration law office in Michigan.

As a 1L at Berkeley Law, Rena was a member of the Clean Energy Leaders in Law student pro bono project. She is also a member of the Ecology Law Quarterly and is currently serving as a Publishing Editor. Rena spent her 1L summer as a legal intern for the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental nonprofit, in the Great Lakes Regional Center in Michigan. In her free time, she enjoys trying local restaurants, spending time with friends, and getting outside.

Michelle Pyke

Rachel Rood-Ojalvo

Rachel Rood-Ojalvo is a 2L at Berkeley Law, and she is eager to pursue immigration/refugee law at its intersections with the criminal legal system and the climate crisis. Rachel’s background in anti-carceral organizing informs her goal of building a world without cages or borders, in which all people enjoy the right to stay, the freedom to move, and access to the resources that let us live with dignity and safety. Before law school, Rachel lived in Mexico City for 2.5 years to gain Spanish fluency.

At the law school, Rachel is a co-leader of the Berkeley Immigration Group, a clinic student in the Human Rights Clinic, a student researcher with the Climate Migration & Displacement Project, and an associate editor of the California Law Review. During her 1L summer, she interned on the Immigrants’ Rights team of the nonprofit TakeRoot Justice based in New York City. In her free time, Rachel enjoys dancing salsa, baking dessert, and swimming in the ocean.

Lauren Weiss

As a 2L Innovation Scholar at Berkeley Law, Lauren was drawn to law school by her passion for technology, entrepreneurship, and the legal frameworks that govern them.

She spent her 1L summer as a patent litigation summer associate at Fish & Richardson in New York. At the law school, she is involved with the Public Law & Policy Program as a research assistant and the Startup Law Initiative as a fellow. She is also engaged in entrepreneurial opportunities at Haas, including being a finalist in the StEP program and co-founding Seek, a social discovery app launching this fall in Berkeley to help people connect offline.

Before attending law school, she worked in London as a consultant for R&D tax incentives after graduating with an M.Phil. in Technology Policy from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. She is originally from Denver and earned a B.A. in Computer Science and Political Science from Colorado College as a Boettcher Scholar.

In her free time, Lauren enjoys training for marathons and teaching indoor spin classes at CycleBar in downtown Berkeley.