Meet Our Summer Fellows

This summer, WAMI was thrilled to host four fellows from Yale University. They each worked on a number of projects and programs, as well as helped WAMI with administrative and communication tasks. One of the programs that all four of the fellows worked on was WAMI’s Youth Peer Court, a court consisting of young people for young people that we are launching. Our fellows also worked on other programs, including Moving On, CourtWatch, and WLVC, as well as worked on building apps to help justice-impacted people. Read more about our fellows below!

Julianne Harwood

Julianne is from a small town in western Massachusetts and is currently a rising sophomore from Yale University majoring in history.

"Working with WAMI has been the best experience and has allowed me to explore my passion for criminal legal reform hands-on in a supportive and welcoming environment."

Julianne says:"I've been working on multiple projects for WAMI this summer, including helping develop the Youth Peer Court, developing an app to help system-impacted individuals access public defenders, and creating a database to help women living with violent convictions. Working with WAMI has been the best experience and has allowed me to explore my passion for criminal legal reform hands-on in a supportive and welcoming environment."

Tanisha Narine

Tanisha, originally from New York City, is currently a rising sophomore from Yale University majoring in political science on the pre-law track.

”I wanted to intern for WAMI because I wanted to gain hands-on experience with political advocacy and the legal field, all while making a significant and positive impact on the local community.”

Tanisha says: ”I wanted to intern for WAMI because I wanted to gain hands-on experience with political advocacy and the legal field, all while making a significant and positive impact on the local community.”

Tanisha is working on multiple projects for WAMI this summer, including adapting "Moving On: A Program for At-Risk Women" for use as a curriculum in Connecticut prisons, assisting in the effort to establish the WAMI Youth Peer Court, researching violent crime registries, monitoring rulings that target women who are living with violent convictions, and building a risk detector application for friends and family members to identify if their loved ones are victims of forced labor (labor trafficking and sex trafficking).

Macy Lerner

Macy is a Yale University sophomore from Los Angeles majoring in history.

"WAMI is an incredible organization to be a part of because they use innovative methods to tackle a wide range of issues related to justice-impacted women, girls and families."

Macy says: "WAMI is an incredible organization to be a part of because they use innovative methods to tackle a wide range of issues related to justice-impacted women, girls and families.

So far, I have worked on a restorative justice alternative to the juvenile court system, an app to help people determine if they are eligible for a public defender, a curriculum for a cognitive-behavioral therapy course for Connecticut women’s prisons, and on legal research on barriers for women living with violent convictions. These projects represent just a fraction of the amazing work being done by WAMI."

Tara Bhat

Tara is a rising junior, originally from Wisconsin, at Yale University studying political science with dreams of becoming a public defender.

"Tara is passionate about social justice and the Connecticut communities she’s had a chance to live in these past two years, and that’s why she wanted to spend her summer with WAMI. "

Tara is passionate about social justice and the Connecticut communities she’s had a chance to live in these past two years, and that’s why she wanted to spend her summer with WAMI. This summer, she has been working on building a Connecticut court watch program, building a coalition for women living with violent convictions, supporting a youth peer court project, helping to build a human trafficking detection app, and helping WAMI with their operations.

We are so excited to have Tanisha, Macy, Julianne, and Tara working with us this summer, and we can’t wait to see what else our fellows will accomplish!