Anderson Fellowship Recipients

2023 – Andy Froelich
Andy Froelich has been described as “exceedingly respectful, conscientious, and kind,” all instrumental qualities when working with children and young people that serve him well in his work with the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy. Andy’s commitment to public interest work began much earlier, highlighted by his volunteer work in Belize supporting students and teachers in under-resourced schools. Throughout and following his education at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Andy has dedicated his legal career to education and child law in underserved communities in the Chicago area.
Andy has been involved with many different organizations in the Evanston and Rogers Park communities that assist young people in all areas of the law. Andy worked at the Northside Transformative Law Clinic helping emerging adults navigate the criminal justice system, at Stand Up for Each Other advocating for students facing expulsion, and at the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic at Loyola University Chicago representing children in child protection and domestic relations cases. He also served as a law clerk at the Moran Center in their Educational Advocacy Program before becoming an attorney there, representing students directly and advocating for increased equity in Evanston schools.
As an Equal Justice Works Fellow, Andy now leads the expansion of the Moran Center’s Educational Advocacy Program to Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. The program provides free special education and school discipline legal services to low-income families in Rogers Park. Andy also leads “Know Your Rights” workshops for caregivers, so they can confidently advocate for their children in special education and school discipline cases. Andy prioritizes a “child-centered” approach when representing students and in his broader advocacy.
Andy’s dedication to equitable and supportive education, uplifting young people in the legal system, and promoting restorative justice methods has been evident throughout his career. The Anderson fellowship will burnish his tireless commitment to this work, allowing him to continue at the Moran Center with a much more manageable student debt load.

2022 – Nicole Smith
Nicole Smith has a longstanding commitment to serving those who typically lack access to the justice system. Nicole graduated from Washington University School of Law in 2019, but her commitment to public interest law began while she was still in law school. She interned at the Missouri Public Defender’s Office, the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender, and the ACLU of Illinois. She also volunteered as a hotline operator for the ACLU’s Judicial Bypass Project and as a domestic violence court monitor in St. Louis County.
Nicole is passionate, dedicated, and a strong advocate. Justice Mary Mikva, in recalling Nicole’s time as a clerk in her chambers, stated that there were times when Nicole was able to convince her and even other justices to reconsider their positions on certain cases by showing how certain evidence could be interpreted in a different light.
As a staff attorney at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), Nicole works on a project funded by the state’s Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) Program for the Safe and Thriving Communities Initiative, hosted by the Cook County Justice Advisory Council. This program focuses on providing services to youth to prevent gun and domestic violence. A large part of her work is providing direct legal services and education for young adults in the southern suburbs of Cook County. One example of the many exemplary things Nicole has been able to do while at CLGA is successfully petition judges to seal and expunge the criminal and juvenile records of multiple clients in contested proceedings. Her current supervisor praised Nicole’s empathy for her clients and the communities that CGLA seeks to serve.
Nicole truly embodies the character and commitment to public interest that the Anderson Fellowship seeks to reward. As this year’s recipient of the Anderson Fellowship, Nicole will be able to continue her excellent work at CGLA, serving communities in Chicago that are often overlooked by the legal system.

2021 – Alyssa Phillips
Alyssa K. Phillips, a 2017 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, is already making a remarkable impact in her legal career as an Education Staff Attorney at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. She advocates and provides legal assistance for the educational rights of homeless students in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs through outreach, community education, and direct representation.
Alyssa’s passion for equitable education stems from her friendship with a peer experiencing homelessness who was on the same honors track as her during junior high. The friend’s mother struggled with substance abuse, and she and her four younger siblings were bounced to many different houses. As school progressed, Alyssa continued to do well in her classes while her friend began failing. With unreliable transportation, her friend missed school frequently, and her often unhealthy living conditions left her ill. She was the sole provider for her siblings and unable to obtain a driver’s license because she did not have a stable address. By the end of high school, Alyssa graduated and was off to college while her friend had failed too many classes to graduate.
Alyssa’s passion was fueled further by the negative impact the COVID-19 Pandemic had on many students experiencing homelessness. During the pandemic, Alyssa had to think creatively on how to reach the most vulnerable students. As a result, she facilitated eight Facebook Live sessions around the rights of homeless families to education, and public benefits. Alyssa also assisted homeless shelters with gaining access to Wi-Fi, school fee waivers, and other educational rights information. While this year was incredibly challenging, Alyssa says she has never been more confident of her decision to work public interest law.

2020 – Martin Cozzola
Martin can trace the origins of his strong commitment to public service back to his childhood. The son of a psychologist and a long-time legal aid attorney, Martin’s parents instilled in him the belief that we are all responsible to improve society. His career in public service is a natural extension of this belief. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Martin committed much of his college years to volunteerism. After college, he served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for Habitat for Humanity in rural New Jersey. This experience had a profound impact on him as he witnessed both what it is was like to live in poverty and the impact a safe and stable home can have on those living in poverty. It was these experiences that influenced his decision to attend Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law.
While at Maurer, Martin sought out every available public interest opportunity, and he received two public service awards upon graduation. However, it was his summer internship at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) that cemented his passion for helping Chicago’s most vulnerable populations. Martin’s passion and commitment did not go unnoticed, CVLS hired him as a staff attorney in 2015 to assist people facing foreclosure, including complicated cases in Probate Court that involved deceased homeowners.
In 2017, Martin was named project leader for CVLS’ new Veterans Pro Bono Program, part of the statewide Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN). In this role, Martin works with an intake team to conduct interviews with veterans from all over Chicago and the world. Thus far, Martin has handled over 280 referrals from the IL-AFLAN hotline. Many of his veteran clients are elderly, disabled and suffer from trauma. Together with an army of CVLS volunteer attorneys, Martin ensures that these veterans get the legal representation they deserve. With his passion, integrity and skill, Martin is the epitome of the kind of attorney Kimball and Karen had in mind when they created this fellowship.

2019 – Sue Pak
Sue Pak’s commitment to public service and serving vulnerable communities began well before she attended law school. With a Master of Divinity from Trinity International University, Sue worked for almost 13 years in various ministry settings that served low-income, disenfranchised communities. In these roles, she witnessed firsthand the need for these communities to have access to legal services for them to flourish. She knew a law degree could further her calling of serving these communities, and in 2013, she made the decision to attend DePaul University College of Law.
While at DePaul, Sue worked at the Center of Public Interest Law, and also volunteered at a variety of legal aid organizations to gain a deeper understanding of the issues low-income clients face. However, it was her internships that allowed her to work in the area of criminal records that made the largest impact on Sue and her career, ultimately leading her to apply for and receive a Skadden Fellowship working at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA).
As a Fellow, Sue focused on providing re-entry services to emerging adults who had some interaction with the juvenile or criminal justice systems and lived in the neighborhoods most affected by gun violence. She provided services to expunge and seal records, represented clients in family law court proceedings, and presented Know Your Rights programs to educate emerging adults on their rights. As her fellowship ended, CGLA created the Emerging Adults program, a practice group that focuses on meeting the legal needs of youth and emerging adults and hired Sue as the Supervising Attorney.
Today, Sue continues to tirelessly fight for the rights of her clients in and outside of the courtroom. She gives presentations in the communities that need them the most and provides individual consultations to help clients and their mentors understand the expungement and sealing process. Through the Anderson fellowship, Sue will be able to lessen the burden of her student loans and continue working for the rights of young people in need.
2018
Lydia Sharp
2017
Sarah Hess
2016
Amanda Walsh
2015
Candace Moore
2014
Catherine Longkumer
2013
Daniel M. Hochbaum
2012
Susan LePeau DeCostanza
2011
Todd L. Belcore
2010
Elizabeth A. Cunningham
2009
Teri L. Ross
2008
Dennericka Brooks
2007
Miguel Keberlein Gutierrez
2006
Sarah E. Biehl
2005
Michael G. Bergmann
2004
Sherizaan Minwalla
2003
Elizabeth Berrones-Rotchford