By Andrew Cohen
“Transformative” is notoriously overused in education circles, but there’s no more accurate way to describe the Center for Youth Development through Law (CYDL) — and no more common theme that surfaces when talking with participants.
Celebrating its 25th year anniversary with a spirited recent event on campus, the center has inspired and prepared nearly 800 East Bay public high school students from first-generation and marginalized backgrounds for higher education, fulfilling careers, community engagement, and leadership.
Each summer, 25 to 30 students are selected for the program. They spend the first two weeks at Berkeley Law, immersed in a pragmatic curriculum that incorporates critical thinking, communication skills, legal empowerment, and social justice. After that, they spend four days a week at full-time law-related internships with individualized coaching, and one day a week back at Berkeley Law diving back into the curriculum
Professor Catherine Albiston ’93 is CYDL’s faculty advisor, and serves on the Center’s Advisory Committee with fellow Berkeley Law faculty Calvin Morrill, David Oppenheimer, Sue Schechter, and Jeffrey Selbin.
A whopping 95% of the program’s students, who cap their summer with an intensive mock trial, have gone on to college.
“After participating in CYDL, I felt like I could conquer all things in front of me,” says 1L Khiari Neal, a 2017 student and the first to attend Berkeley Law. “As a youth from a disadvantaged background, I struggled with my confidence and self-image. I remember trying to force-fit a mold that I thought successful people looked like. CYDL helped me see my diverse background as an asset for spaces I hadn’t been in yet, and challenged me to be unapologetically authentic while adapting to those spaces.”
Neal interned for State Sen. Nancy Skinner, made history as her high school’s first African American valedictorian, got a prestigious scholarship to UCLA, and became her family’s first college graduate. Along the way, she saw how CYDL Executive Director Nancy Schiff kept in close contact with her and other participants — presenting job opportunities, writing recommendation letters for internship applications, and regularly checking in about their lives.
In 2022, Neal became the first center alum to join its board of directors and now connects with students, answers questions on transitioning to college, and speaks at the annual summer graduation ceremony.
“CYDL is a family,” she says. “It’s a stepping stone for students from underrepresented professional backgrounds to see their potential early on. That’s why I continue to give back. We have to invest in our youth and I pride myself in being a role model to show them that their goals are attainable.”
Constant catalyst
Along with providing internships, mentoring, and training, Schiff — who has led the center from its inception — offers guidance on the college application and financial aid process. She also helps cultivate an enduring, supportive community of program alumni who provide year-round networking, advice, and support.
At the anniversary celebration, former students and board members hailed her strategic acumen, relentless work ethic, and fervent dedication to the students.
“She makes sure the program is specifically tailored to meet the students’ needs where they are,” Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Joni Hiramoto, who chairs CYDL’s board of directors.
Indeed, Schiff ensures that the program provides a legal curriculum that relates to the students’ own lives and interests, covering such issues as racial justice, criminal justice reform, and immigration law.
Over 20 program alums pursued advanced degrees, and eight became members of the California Bar — including a California Department of Justice deputy attorney general and a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development lawyer. A few others are currently in law school.
California Supreme Court Justice Kelli Evans gave the anniversary event’s keynote remarks, which Vice President Kamala Harris gave in 2007 when she was San Francisco’s district attorney. Raised in low-income housing by her grandmother, who had to drop out of school in eighth grade to help take care of her 11 younger siblings, Evans recalled her constantly touting education to avoid being relegated to physically demanding minimum wage jobs like she was.
“Our house was small but always filled with books. She made sure we had library cards, and I wore mine out,” Evans said. “I knew my neighborhood was filled with smart, hard-working, capable people; they just lacked opportunity and access. It felt like something was off and that law could be a way to help right the ship, which is why CYDL resonates with me so strongly.”
In their own words
The celebration featured a 10-minute video and printed program with several past students discussing CYDL’s far-reaching impact — and its role as a bridge to opportunities often inaccessible to people in their communities.
“Before this program, I thought I only had two career options: carpenter or auto mechanic. But afterwards, I knew I could do anything,” says 2012 participant Marcos Nuñez, now a help desk engineer and manager at a technology consulting company. “It highly shaped who I am now. Today, I continue to expand on and use the life lessons from this program. I have taught the skills to others that did not attend the program, and I will continue to ‘pay it forward.’”
2015 participant Luis Calixto, operations manager at Jubilee Immigration Advocates, is now applying to law school.
“I got to intern at Richmond City Hall, I got to take law classes, I got to do things poor kids like me dream of,” he says. “Thanks to the mentorship, the internship, and the tutoring, I ended up getting a full ride to UC Berkeley. The support I got was a huge help, as I was the first in my family to attend college. My long-term goal is to be an attorney in the Bay Area, helping those who cannot afford legal representation.”
Board member Michael Wilson, an Alameda County assistant public defender, described why CYDL met his key criteria for getting involved: local impact, effectiveness, and efficiency in maximizing students’ opportunities and resources.
“At the graduation ceremony each year, to a person the students speak to what a difference this program has made in their lives,” Wilson said during the anniversary event’s closing remarks.
Schiff — who has seen the center become an enduring springboard to civic engagement and careers in law, restorative justice, public policy, social services, and education — relishes its growing legacy.
“Many program alumni give back to CYDL by teaching and mentoring new participants, and serving on our program leadership,” she says. “That’s very gratifying. We’re creating an ever-expanding community that provides a sense of belonging and practical support.”