2023 BWLF Luncheon Scholarship Recipients

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Alexandria Ellison UCLA School of Law

Alexandria Ellison is a UCLA Law School graduate.

She graduated magna cum laude from Emerson College. While in undergrad, Alexandria was the Commencement Student Speaker and delivered a TEDx Talk on the alarming rate at which black women disappear.

After college, Alexandria worked as a Video Production Fellow at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. She also contributed as the Vice-Chair of Public Relations for Stonewall Democrats, a leading LGBTQ+ Democratic organization in California.

Alexandria interned for the UCLA Tribal Legal Development Clinic and worked as a judicial extern for the esteemed Judge Magistrate Elizabeth Stafford. Alexandria was a summer associate at Cox, Castle, and Nicholson, where she will also start as a firstyear associate.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Delilah Hill Loyala Law School

My name is Delilah Hill, and I am currently a third-year evening student attending Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, CA.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University. I am currently a Principal Accountant Supervisor, a CPA, and also an Army National Guard Veteran.

After law school, I plan on becoming In-House Counsel or working closely with Regulatory Agencies to help effect change at a state level.

My biggest passions include leadership, mentoring, and being an inspiration to anyone I can impact in a positive way, with a heavy emphasis on girls and women of color. In my spare time, I enjoy binge watching missed shows, making custom cakes, and naps when I can sneak one in.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Derrick Luster

UCLA School of Law

Derrick Luster is a Class of 2023 graduate from the UCLA School of Law, where he earned specializations in Public Interest Law & Policy and Critical Race Studies.

Derrick graduated from Elon University in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, having minored in Sociology and African & African-American studies. At Elon, Derrick was recognized for his research as an Elon College Fellow, and for his leadership in public service as a 2019 Harry S. Truman Scholarship finalist. Derrick served in Student Government, and was selected as one of four students on the Elon Strategic Planning Committee to represent students’ interests in developing the 10year University strategic plan.

At UCLA, Derrick was a member of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), the National Black Law Journal (NBLJ), and the Queer and Trans People of Color Collective (QTPOCC). During his 1L summer, Derrick clerked with the Equal Justice Society, where he prepared research and briefs for race-based impact litigation cases. During the spring semester of his 2L year, Derrick externed with the Center for Public Research & Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University as a graduate consultant for an education organization supporting the needs of marginalized students in Houston, Texas.

Last summer, Derrick worked as a summer associate at Kaufman Lieb Lebowitz and Frick LLP, a complex civil litigation boutique in New York City, where he collaborated with attorneys to develop and execute strategies for cases ranging from disability discrimination in schools to police brutality. Derrick recently served as a Civil Rights Fellow at the Law Offices of Do Kim, APLC in Koreatown.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Evan Zepeda UCLA School of Law

Evan Zepeda is a rising third year student at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law where she is a scholar in the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy and the Critical Race Studies Program.

Evan is the Co-Academic Chair for the Black Law Students Association, Articles Editor for the UCLA Law Review, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the National Black Law Journal. Evan earned a bachelor’s degree in both Public Health Studies and Spanish from Johns Hopkins University. She then earned a Master of Public Health Degree from Columbia University with a certificate in Health Policy Analysis.

Prior to UCLA Law, Evan served as a Legislative Fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Health Policy Advisor to Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly, and Policy Analyst at ChangeLab Solutions. Evan strives to continue to advocate for equity and be an agent of change by connecting law and policy to advance economic and racial justice.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

I’niah Clark Southwestern Law School

Originally from Fresno, California, I’niah Clark earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Norfolk State University while serving in the United States Navy.

Clark will obtain her law degree from Southwestern Law School in May 2023, where she was a Contracts I and II Teaching Assistant, Law and Social Change Research Assistant, Advocate in the Negotiation Honors Program, Deans Fellow, and served as Treasurer of the Women’s Law Association, and Executive Committee of the Overarching Reproductive Law Project (ORLP).

Clark is also active as a student member in community organizations such as the International Cannabis Bar Association (INCBA) and The Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA). Post-bar, she intends to practice as a business transactional attorney with a concentration in cannabis law.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Joan Komolafe

UCLA School of Law

Joan Komolafe is a rising third-year law student at UCLA School of Law interested in entertainment, public policy, and technology law. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, she later moved to New Orleans, LA, to study Business at Tulane University. she was a Tulane Black Student Union board member and interned at the New Orleans Public Defenders’ office.

After graduating from Tulane, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Northern Macedonia. During her service, she worked at an international NGO with the mission of providing access to legal aid for marginalized groups in the region.

During her 1L summer, Joan spent the first half of her summer as a Legal fellow at Yale Law School’s Jerome N. Frank Legal Services clinic to work with local clients on legal issues regarding federal tax compliance and IRS documentation. She spent the second half of her summer refining her understanding of corporate law through her internship with the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Southern California chapter.

Now she looks forward to continuing to work to enrich the UCLA law community with the work she started during her 2L year, where she served as a proud board member of both BLSA and the Entertainment Law Association, and she was appointed Chief Executive Editor of the UCLA Law Review. She is looking forward to her summer associate position with WilmerHale in their Los Angeles office this summer.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Justicce LaBarrie Loyola Law School

Justicce LaBarrie is a recent graduate of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, who has centered her studies around Intellectual Property Law. Her background in musical theater and dance taught her early on about the power of storytelling and its ability to transcend social divides. Moreover, it informed her decision to pursue a legal career representing talent.

As a former Black Law Students Association executive board member and Woman in Entertainment Law Society member, Justicce is highly passionate about community. After passing the California Bar Exam, she endeavors to work with creatives and innovators of color to increase the representation and economic empowerment of BIPOC communities in all facets of the entertainment industry.

Eager to get started, she spent her 2L summer with ARS IP Law Firm analyzing exploitative practices in traditional music agreements and learning the importance of copyright law for the music industry.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Kamilah Mims UCLA School of Law

Kamilah Mims is a rising fourth-year dual degree law and public policy student at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018.

At the UCLA School of Law, Kamilah is a member of the Epstein Program for Public Interest Law and Policy and the Critical Race Studies program. She also is the Chief Diversity Editor for the UCLA Law Review and is Co-Editor-In-Chief of the UCLA National Black Law Journal. Last year, she served as an Academic Chair for the Black Law Students Association, supporting Black 1Ls in their transition to law school.

In 2022 Kamilah was selected for the American Association of Law Schools Pro Bono Honor Roll for her outstanding participation in pro bono activities at UCLA, and in 2023 she was selected for the Equal Justice Works Regional Public Interest Award for her deep commitment to public interest law. Outside of her studies, Kamilah has contributed to the drafting of legislation as a member of the Restorative Justice Legislation Work Group and is also Co-Chair of the Prison Accountability Project, which recently published a report on conditions in CDCR facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kamilah is also an active member of Moot Court Honors, where she hones her oral advocacy and legal research skills through simulated appellate court competitions. Kamilah hopes to create systemic change that promotes human dignity and advances the liberation of oppressed communities through public defense and thoughtful, equity-driven public policy.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Sorrel Call

Western State College of Law

Sorrel Call is a 3L at Western State College of Law. She is passionate in assuring that people are recognized for their humanity, and not systematically disadvantaged because of poverty, race, ethnicity, addiction, or lack of access to resources.

After passing the California Bar Exam, Sorrel plans to begin her legal career by working at the Public Defenders’ Office and has hopes of eventually starting her own nonprofit or shifting from litigation to legislation.

Sorrel started law school with one child and ended with three, having given birth a couple weeks after her 1L year, as well as a few weeks into her 3L year. Sorrel graduated third in her class, motivated by her desire to make this world a better place for her children.