ABA ROLI Announces Inaugural Class of Jones Day Interns

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is delighted to announce the six talented young law-students who will comprise the inaugural class of Jones Day interns. After an intensely competitive process with more than 700 applicants, Britney Carattini, Devin Farrow, Alexandra Horn, Whynter Morgan, Abril Perez, and Christina Rodriguez, have been identified as both exceptional students and community leaders. They will be spending the summer in Washington, DC, working alongside the rule of law development professionals at ABA ROLI.

Consistent with the American Bar Association’s Goal III, which seeks to eliminate bias and enhance diversity and with the generous support of the Jones Day Foundation, ABA ROLI launched the Rule of Law Diversity Internship (ROLDI), including this class of Jones Day Interns. ROLDI is an initiative to diversify the workforce engaged in the promotion of the rule of law abroad by offering summer internships to students from diverse backgrounds who otherwise might not have had the opportunity or means to engage in the rule of law field and experience other international aspects of Washington, DC. As ABA ROLI Deputy Director Jeff Borns wrote, "having a greater mix of employees from diverse backgrounds will promote achievement of our mission, improve the effectiveness and impact of our work and generate more ideas and innovations."

We're looking forward to welcoming this impressive group, who begin their internships on June 4th!.

Britney Carattini

Britney Carattini was born and raised in the small town of Apache, Oklahoma. Carattini's mother is Apache Indian, and her father is Puerto Rican and Italian. After receiving her undergrad degree in Political Science from Columbia University, Carattini worked for a foreclosure law firm in Oklahoma City. She is currently a first-year student at Oklahoma City University School of Law where she is a merit scholar, an active member of the Energy Law Association, and a Public Interest Volunteer. This year she had the opportunity to volunteer at CAIR Oklahoma and the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office - Juvenile Division. Carattini said her first year of law school has been challenging, but nonetheless rewarding. She is honored to be part of the ABA ROLI's inaugural class of Jones Day interns, and is looking forward to helping with the advancement of its mission and goals.

Devin Fairrow

Devin Fairrow is 30 years old and the oldest of eight siblings. Fairrow was born to a single mother who was a junior in high school. He grew up in government housing and on welfare but says his mother worked hard to provide a happy household for them. Now she is a registered nurse and Fairrow's biggest inspiration. He has always looked for opportunities to help others and continued this joy of helping people by joining Teach for America. Fairrow put his law school dreams on hold to give back and help other ethnically diverse young people reach their highest potential. He taught for seven years and built so many genuine, life-long relationships with students and their families. Fairrow sought to equip his students with the tools to be able to effectively advocate for themselves and their families when they felt that no one else would. Fairrow said he is happiest when his students are successful and when they appreciate and live up to the extremely high standards that he set for them. Now, in law school, Fairrow is trying to live up to their extremely high standards for him.

Alexandra Horn

Alexandra Horn grew up in NASA’s backyard in Merritt Island, Florida. From a young age, she has had a fascination with the world, especially when considered against the vastness of the universe. Between earning her Bachelors in psychology and attending law school at the University of Florida, she spent six months backpacking alone through the Middle East and Europe, hoping to better understand some of the global issues currently faced in those regions. Horn decided to pursue international law after spending over two months in Israel and Palestine, observing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of both cultures. Her experiences abroad made her interested in global judicial development and she hopes that her journey through law school and ABA ROLI's internship will equip her with the knowledge and tools in order to help effect change.

Whynter Morgan

Whynter Morgan is a first-year law student at Washington University in St. Louis. Born and raised in Jamaica, Morgan has always been fascinated with the idea of working with people in other countries. After migrating to the U.S., Morgan attended the University of South Florida where she majored in Spanish and history, and minored in French and anthropology. During her tenure in college, Morgan studied abroad in Panama and Spain, and participated in the University’s inaugural class of the Global Citizenship Program. Through the program, she was exposed to different aspects of international development and how it played a role in developing countries. As a citizen of a developing country, Morgan said she was captivated by the work that these organizations do, and went to law school with the hopes of using her degree to help the international community. Outside of her studies, she enjoys cooking, traveling, watching historical dramas, and watching musical theatre.

Abril Perez

Abril Perez is a first-year law student at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. Born and raised in a Texas community bordering Mexico, Perez has had direct experience with how international law affects a community and its citizens. As a proud member of the LGBTQI community, and as a Mexican American woman, she says social justice issues are personal for her and it is her mission to empower marginalized communities through legal representation and research. She is passionate about public interest work and wants to learn how to assist marginalized communities worldwide by studying international law. It is her dream to run for office and she believes this internship will grant her the skill-set she needs to work with these communities.

Christina Rodriguez

Cristina Rodriguez is a second-year student attending St. Mary’s University School of Law. Rodriguez considers herself as a non-traditional student who feels overcoming adversity has given her an incredible drive to take each day as an opportunity to learn, grow, and persevere. She is 36 years old and the single mom of an amazing ten-year-old boy. During her undergraduate years, she discovered her interest in rule of law work. Rodriguez had the opportunity to visit ABA ROLI's field office in Mexico City for her thesis research. Her passion to work with judicial reform programs is rooted in her family ties to Mexico she says. Her personal interests include modern/outsider art, cooking, and a wide variety of music.

For more information on the ABA ROLI and Jones Day Rule of Law Diversity Internship, please email rol@americanbar.org.