May 06, 2009
Queens, NY – St. John’s School of Law students James Conigliaro,
Nila Merola, Lauren Stulmaker, and Ayanna Vest have been awarded
the prestigious Peggy Browning Fellowship Award. In 2009 the Peggy
Browning Fund will support nearly 50 public interest labor law
fellowships nationwide. With close to 350 applicants from 110
participating law schools, Peggy Browning Fellowship awardees are
distinguished students who have not only excelled in law school,
but who have also already demonstrated their commitment to workers'
rights through their previous educational, work, volunteer and
personal experiences.
Stulmaker, a first year student at St. John's University School of
Law will spend her fellowship working at The Workplace Project in
Hempstead, NY. Lauren was a 2008 graduate of Cornell
University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), where
her interest in labor truly began. Her courses in collective
bargaining and human rights at the ILR School, combined with her
study of labor in Spain at the University of Seville, led Stulmaker
to commit fully to the labor side of labor law as she recognized
the importance of union organizing and representing individuals
with employment matters. She completed a legal internship at the
International Institute of Buffalo where she learned to appreciate
the non-profit legal sector while assisting clients with their
immigration issues.
Conigliaro, a second year student at St. John's University School
of Law, will work at CWA District One in New York, NY.
After graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, NY,
James was guided by his family's passion for the labor movement. He
worked at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers, AFL-CIO, where he assisted in union organizing, training
development, and strategic planning. Conigliaro is considering
pursuing a career in Labor Law and is expected to graduate in the
spring of 20l0.
Merola is a first year student at St. John's University School of
Law and will spend her fellowship working at Kennedy Jennik &
Murray in New York, NY. The daughter of active New York
State United Teachers (NYSUT) members and the granddaughter of the
president of a Syracuse-area factory, Merola's passion for labor
was ignited at a young age. She graduated from Cornell University's
School of Industrial and Labor Relations and interned at both NYSUT
and the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland,
where she worked directly for the International Programme for the
Elimination of Child Labor. At St. John's University School of Law,
Merola is both a St. Thomas More and the Dorothy Day Labor and
Employment Law Scholar.
A second year student and Vincentian Scholar at St. John's
University School of Law, Vest will also spend her fellowship
working at CWA at the National Headquarters in Washington, DC. Her
first exposure to labor issues occurred 25 years ago while walking
the picket line with her parents. Vest has worked in both
union and non-union jobs for 15 years prior to attending law school
and her externship with the Department of Labor's Office of the
Solicitor demonstrated the indispensable role of labor attorneys in
insuring an equitable system and cemented her decision to become a
labor lawyer. Ayanna's primary career goals are to educate
workers on their rights and to hold employers accountable for
compliance with labor laws.
The Peggy Browning Fund is a not for-profit organization
established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent
union-side attorney who was a Member of the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB) from 1994 until 1997. The Fund provides law
students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences
fighting for social and economic justice. These experiences
encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest
labor law.
The Peggy Browning fund relies on support from a broad-based
network of individuals, organizations, unions, and law firms in
order to offer such experiences to these law students. For more
information please log onto www.peggybrowningfund.org.