Seventh Annual E. Nathaniel Gates Award Ceremony Cardozo School of Law’s LGBT and allied organization OUTlaw presented the seventh annual E. Nathaniel Gates Award to Emily Tisch Sussman ’08 for her legal representation of LGBT members of the military and her advocacy efforts to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The overflowing crowd at the award reception celebrated the most recent policy reforms as well as the recognition of same-sex marriage in seven states and the District of Columbia. In his remarks, Dean Matthew Diller called Sussman a “beacon of light” and an inspiration to students who want to use their law degrees to make change and pursue social justice. E. Nathaniel Gates was a beloved professor at Cardozo, a teacher of constitutional law, criminal law, legal history and employment discrimination; and a mentor and advisor from 1992 until his untimely death in 2006. Vice Dean Edward Stein and Professor Myriam Gilles offered heartfelt remembrances of Gates, who was Cardozo’s first AfricanAmerican professor and first openly gay faculty member. Gates was a founding member and chair of Cardozo’s Diversity Coalition, an adviser to BALLSA (Black, Asian and Latino Law Students Association) and a founding member of Gay Men of African Descent. In 2006, Cardozo established an award in recognition of Gates that honors alumni whose work benefits the LGBT community. OUTlaw Co-chairs Lauren Zimmerman and Daniel Davidson presented Sussman, who is now executive director of Young Democrats of America—which is the official youth arm of the Democratic Party—with the Gates award. To effect change in an institution, Sussman said to “Get in the door, gain serious credibility and disrupt the hell out of it.” The award reception was co-sponsored by Cardozo’s Program in Family Law, Policy and Bioethics, the Center for Public Service Law, and the offices of Alumni Affairs and Career Services.
STUD ENT AWA RD S A ND AC C O M PLISHMENT S
Record Number of Students Awarded Prestigious Peggy Browning Fellowships
Andrew Hannibal ’12 Picked for Inaugural Mark Whitlock Scholarship Hannibal was recognized as an outstanding third-year J.D. student who, through his effort, energy, spirit and initiative, contributes to, expands and strengthens student life and community at Cardozo. The award honors Mark Whitlock ’10, who passed away from brain cancer while a student at Cardozo. When establishing the Mark Whitlock Scholarship, his family sought to celebrate his joyous spirit and vitality.
Three Cardozo Students Presented with New York City Bar Diversity Fellowships Yuu Kinoshita ’14, Christina Noh ’14 and Kelli Ortega ’14 were awarded the 2012 NYC Bar Diversity Fellowship. The program provides students from New York City area law schools the opportunity to spend their 1L summer in a law firm or a corporate or government legal department to better prepare them for careers in the law.
This year, the Peggy Browning Fund awarded summer fellowships to four outstanding Cardozo students. The students worked at union-side labor law firms and a labor union. David Feinstein ’14 spent his fellowship at Service Employees International Union in Washington, D.C.; Allison Gotfried ’13 worked at Kennedy, Jennik & Murray P.C. in New York City; and Nora Sullivan ’13 and Marie Winfield ’13 spent their summer at Levy Ratner, P.C. in New York City.
Chauniqua Young ’12 Selected for Fellowship from the Center for Constitutional Rights Young was picked for the Social Justice Institute Fellowship in Government Misconduct/ Racial Justice at the Center for Constitutional Rights. In her new role, she will develop creative litigation and nonlitigation advocacy projects in areas such as racial justice, economic and social rights, immigrant justice, gender equality and national security.
Emily Tisch Sussman ’08, left, won the Seventh Annual E. Nathaniel Gates Award. She is pictured with Brandi Borer ’96, the 2011 recipient. FA L L 2 012
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