Six Paul, Weiss Fellows Start at NYU’s Center for Race, Inequality and the Law

Six Paul, Weiss Fellows have been selected by the NYU School of Law Center for Race, Inequality and the Law for the 2023-2024 academic year. Launched in 2017, the center advances the cause of racial equity through research, advocacy, public education and litigation in collaboration with racial and social justice organizations. In 2019, Paul, Weiss established the Paul, Weiss Fellowships for rising 2L students to support the center’s work and training of the next generation of social justice advocates. Jason Williamson, a Paul, Weiss alumnus, became the center’s executive director in June 2021.

The six fellows reflect diverse backgrounds and have had a variety of experiences prior to law school.

Zoe Chang is from Clinton, New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2021, where she studied psychology, sociology and biology. In addition to being a student fellow at the Center, Zoe is a student advocate with NYU's Parole Advocacy Project and Civil Rights in the Criminal Legal System Clinic, a staff editor for the Review of Law and Social Change, and a member of the Public Interest Law Student Association's working group.

Maryum Elnasseh is a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar from Richmond, Virginia. Maryum obtained dual degrees in journalism and political science from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2020. In addition to her fellowship at the Center, she is a staff editor on the Review of Law and Social Change and serves on the boards of Ending the Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC), the International Law Society and the Muslim Law Students Association.

Jennifer Fu is from Kansas City, Kansas. She graduated from Rice University in 2020 with bachelor’s degrees in English and sociology. Before coming to law school, Jennifer spent a year in Taipei conducting research and organizing workers at an Indonesian migrant labor union. At NYU Law, she is a student advocate for the Global Justice Clinic, community activism co-chair for the Asian-Pacific Allied Law Students Association, on the leadership team for EPIC, and a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar.

Fatoumata (Fatou) Kaba is from East Orange, New Jersey. In May 2022, she graduated from Georgetown University with bachelor’s degrees in English and justice and peace studies. In addition to her role as a fellow, Fatou is also a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar, a volunteer for the Suspension Representation Project, a staff editor for the Review of Law and Social Change, and a student advocate in the Civil Rights and Racial Justice clinic.

Coleman Powell is from Louisville, Kentucky. In 2020, he graduated from Swarthmore College with a major in comparative racial and transnational politics and a minor in Arabic studies. At NYU, in addition to being a fellow, Coleman is a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar, the reentry co-coordinator for the Parole Advocacy Project at NYU's EPIC student organization, a staff editor for the Review of Law & Social Change, and the racial justice co-chair for NYU's Defender Collective.

Soreti Teshome is originally from Ethiopia and was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2018, where she studied public policy and comparative race and ethnic studies. In addition to her role as a fellow, Soreti is a Root-Tilden-Kern scholar, a student advocate for the Criminal Defense and Reentry Clinic, a staff editor for the Review of Law and Social Change, and a member of the Black and Latinx Students' Association.