2015 – 2016
EVENTS
Center Student Stephanie Rosendorf Wins Exemplary Service to the Poor Award Presented to Stephanie Rosendorf Stephanie Rosendorf, a Center Fellow with the Environmental Justice Clinic’s Civil Rights Project, won the annual UM Law Exemplary Service to the Poor Award. Stephanie has been working with the Center since her 2L year when she began as an intern. From day one, Stephanie’s passion for the underserved and her motives for attending law school were present. She knew that she wanted to help those that were disenfranchised and lacked access to adequate legal services. Because of Stephanie’s superb research and writing skills and her dedication and passion, she was invited to be a Fellow with the Civil Rights Project during her third year. Stephanie has shepherded and mentored the five interns in the project to great successes for the community. She has been instrumental in our recent affordable housing and upzoning project. She has worked collaboratively with the other students in the project to produce statistical data and mine through federal, state, and local data sets to find the facts to prove the legal theories. Stephanie is one of those rare individuals who sees the forest from the trees and recognizes what needs to be done on the ground to solve the larger, more systemic problems facing society. Stephanie is admired for her tenacity and excitement. She is revolted by injustice and always willing to do what she can to alleviate it. She may be researching the Fair Housing Act for 8 hours straight, but if you ask her to reach out to a community member or door knock, she is the first to volunteer. Her energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to “doing the right thing” is inspiring. As if these qualities were not enough, Stephanie is a rock star student and she is always professional, courteous, and sincere in her desire to provide rights education, research, and tools to empower. n
Lawyers in Leadership Award Presented to Judge Darrin P. Gayles
1—(l-r) Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, HBCP Fellow Stephanie Rosendorf, and Lecturer Catherine Millas Kaiman 2—(l-r) PREP Fellow Justin Boyd, PREP Director Jan L. Jacobowitz, Judge Darrin P. Gayles, HBCP Fellows Stephanie Rosendorf, and Leslie Coulter. 3—(l-r) Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, Cindy McKenzie, Catherine Millas Kaiman, Judge William M. Hoeveler, award recipient George Knox, PREP Director Jan L. Jacobowitz, and Ebonie Carter
22 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW
The Lawyers in Leadership Award Series honors leading members of the bar and bench. The program invites prominent community leaders for an informal luncheon discussion with law students about their lives and careers—an “up close and personal look.” Judge Darrin P. Gayles, this year’s recipient, is a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, and is a graduate of Howard University and The George Washington University Law School. He is a leader and active participant in South Florida’s legal and civic communities, as well as a volunteer in several charitable organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 100 Black Men of South Florida, and the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project. The discussion was moderated by Center Fellows Stephanie Rosendorf, Leslie Coulter, and Justin Boyd. When asked to define “integrity”, Judge Gayles reflected that it was hard to define, but that, “There’s a simple rule, not just as a judge or as a professional, but as a person—behave as if you wouldn’t want it on the front page of the newspaper.” When questioned about his career path, Judge Gayles stated that his original path was “never to be a lawyer, but to go into the Foreign Service.” Through his experience as a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives, and working closely with lawyers, he decided to pursue law school. “The best way to handle your career path is to decide how can you best obtain marketable skills that will help you obtain opportunities in the future, because your interests may very well change.” Judge Gayles began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, and was subsequently hired by the U.S. Department of Justice. He then became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and after that served for more than ten years as a judge of Florida’s 22th Judicial Circuit. He said that his focus was always, “to be the best lawyer that I can be, and then to be the best judge that I can be.” n