Ellen Coogan

J.D. 2018

Ellen Coogan is a 2018 graduate of Washington University School of Law. Ellen is from Des Plaines, Illinois. She graduated in 2014 from the University of Alabama, majoring in philosophy and Spanish. As an undergraduate, she interned at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, Illinois, where she interviewed detained immigrant children, primarily from Central America, and delivered relief determinations from supervising attorneys. This experience inspired her to research the impact of the Cuban Adjustment Act on Cuban families while studying abroad in Havana, Cuba, and she based her philosophy honors thesis on exploring whether states have a right to exclude immigrants. She also volunteered by providing art therapy to an Alzheimer’s patient and her family in rural Alabama and by tutoring a third grade student through READ Alabama. After graduating, she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she worked for a healthcare real estate consulting firm and private equity fund. While in Milwaukee, she was a volunteer English tutor to Spanish-speaking immigrants through the English Language Partners of Wisconsin. In the summer after her first year of law school, Ellen worked on the Humanitarian Relief Project of the Immigrant Rights Program at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. In the summer of 2017, she worked to protect internet privacy rights at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. Ellen is currently a co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Public Service Advisory Board.

Karen Hinkley

J.D. 2018

Karen Hinkley graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2009 with a bachelor’s in Psychology. During her undergraduate years she volunteered for organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters and Habitat for Humanity and worked for AVID, an organization whose mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. After college, Karen worked in youth ministry while attending Dallas Theological Seminary, where she obtained a master’s in Christian Education in 2011. During graduate school, Karen spent a summer volunteering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she designed and instructed an undergraduate-level course and taught a seminar for international youth. After finishing her master’s, Karen worked for two different non-profit organizations, teaching in Dallas-area middle and high schools and doing mission work in Asia.

During her time at Wash U, Karen participated in the Children’s Rights Clinic and the Appellate Clinic. She spent her first summer working for the New York City Law Department’s Family Court Division in Brooklyn, and her second summer as a Summer Associate at McGuireWoods LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina. Karen served as an Executive Editor for the Washington University Law Review and was honored to receive the National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Graduate Award. She returned to McGuireWoods after graduation, where she practices complex commercial, financial services, and securities litigation.

Rose McCarty

J.D. 2018

Rose McCarty is a 2018 magna cum laude graduate of Washington University School of Law. Rose is from Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Washington University in 2014 with her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Psychology. During her undergraduate career, Rose was a residential advisor and volunteered at the St. Louis city juvenile detention center, Innovative Concept Academy, and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. Before returning to Washington University for law school, Rose spent a year working as a paralegal at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri in the Volunteer Lawyer Program and was trained as a Court Appointed Special Advocate through Voices for Children in the city of St. Louis. Rose spent her first summer at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia. As a 2L, she participated in the new Children’s Rights Clinic and was a Court Appointed Special Advocate in the city of St. Louis. Rose was also Publishing Editor for the Washington University Law Review and a member of the National Moot Court team.

Kevin Flannery

J.D. 2017

Kevin Michael Flannery is a Missouri native. From 2008 to 2012, he attended Georgetown University, where he studied theology and government. During his time at Georgetown, Kevin worked in the office of Senator Claire McCaskill and volunteered with LGBT advocacy groups on- and off-campus. After graduation, he returned to Missouri to work on then-state Representative Jason Kander’s campaign for secretary of state. After the winning campaign, Kevin served as Secretary Kander’s spokesman and media liaison in the state capital. In addition to working full-time, Kevin took night classes and earned a graduate certificate in public management from the University of Missouri. While a law student at Washington University, Kevin promoted civic engagement and equal rights through his involvement in OUTLaw, for which he previously served as co-president. In between school years, Kevin twice worked as a summer associate at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn in Portland, Oregon. Kevin currently has the privilege of clerking for the Honorable Rives Kistler of the Oregon Supreme Court and, subsequently, will clerk for the Honorable Sheryl Gordon McCloud of the Washington Supreme Court.

Kayla Ruben

J.D. 2017

Kayla Ruben is originally from Los Angeles, California. In 2013, she graduated from the University of California, Davis, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Professional Writing. Throughout her undergraduate career, Kayla was an active leader in several on- and off-campus groups, including Teach For America, UC Davis’ Office of Grants and Research, and UC Davis’ associated student body. She also volunteered as a camp counselor at a summer camp serving homeless and foster youth and interned at the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles. After graduation, Kayla worked in the behavioral health field as Marketing Coordinator for an internationally-recognized center for the treatment of eating disorders and volunteered as a crisis line counselor for a Sacramento-based suicide prevention program. Active in the law school community, Kayla served as Chair of the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition during her second year of law school and was a Notes Editor on the Washington University Law Review. Kayla graduated law school magna cum laude as a member of the Order of the Coif. After graduation, Kayla joined the tax practice at Kirkland & Ellis in San Francisco, California.

Steven Alagna

J.D. 2016

Steven Alagna is a law school graduate from Kansas City, Missouri. In 2011, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame where he majored in Political Science and Spanish and minored in Japanese. During his undergraduate career, Steven was a community service and environmental commissioner for his dorm community, and he volunteered as a mentor through the marching band’s Bandlink program. After graduating, Steven served in AmeriCorps with the Alliance for Catholic Education, a two-year service program established by Notre Dame. Through this program, Steven taught middle school social studies in Jacksonville, Florida. At the law school, Steven has served as a co-president of OUTLaw, as the public service coordinator for the American Constitution Society, and as a co-founder and co-president of the American Indian Law Students Association. He has worked in public-interest law at the ACLU of Missouri through the law school’s Lawyering Practice Externship. Steven is also a member of the National Moot Court Team and is the Chief Notes Editor of the Washington University Law Review.

Gursharon Shergill

J.D. 2016

In 2010, Gusharon received her bachelor’s degree from Oakland University where she majored in Public Administration and Public Policy, and minored in Biology. Throughout her undergraduate career, Gursharon held various positions in healthcare. Before coming to law school, Gursharon worked as a Research Compliance Administrator at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Active in the law school community, Gursharon is Chair of the Honor Council, an Executive Editor on Washington University Law Review, a representative on the Facilitating Inclusive Classrooms Committee, a Peer Advisor in the Center of Career Development, and a member of the Black Law Student Association. Gursharon is currently in the Juvenile Law and Justice Clinic, where she represents young people in the St. Louis juvenile court system, represents youthful offenders, who are now incarcerated adults, in issues relating to parole, and examines policy issues surrounding St. Louis municipal codes and parole standards for youthful offenders. During the summer between her first and second year at the law school, Gursharon interned at Thompson Coburn LLP in St. Louis, MO. During the summer between her second and third year at the law school, Gursharon interned at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, NY. Following graduation, Gursharon will clerk for Judge Ann Claire Williams of the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, IL.

Tessa Reinhard Castner

J.D. 2015

Tessa Reinhard Castner is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. As a part of the law school community, she has been actively involved in many student organizations, including leadership roles in the Public Service Advisory Board and Class Giving Campaign. Tessa served as the Chief Notes Editor on the Washington University Law Review, overseeing the publication of over forty student notes this year. Tessa has pursued her interest in litigation through an internship with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and a summer associate position with Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, Ohio. In her final year, she spendt a semester interning for the Honorable Audrey G. Fleissig in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Before coming to Washington University School of Law, Tessa attended The Ohio State University where she majored in Political Science and Spanish. Click here to listen to Tessa’s thoughts on public service.

Katherine (Katie) Wutchiett

J.D. 2015

Katherine (Katie) Wutchiett, throughout her time at Washington University has taken advantage of an incredible number of the opportunities the school has had to offer, both on-campus and off. On campus, she has worked as a research assistant to Professor Marion Crain and to Professor David Becker, competed in and earned the rank of finalist in the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition, and held leadership positions with Women’s Law Caucus and the Labor and Employment Law Society. Off campus, she has volunteered as a mediator with the Better Business Bureau, interned with the EEOC, clerked at the Service Employees International Union’s headquarters, and participated in the Semester in Practice Program at the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center. She was an Articles Editor for the Washington University Law Review and a dedicated public servant. Since graduation, Katie is serving as a law clerk to the Hon. Bobby Shepherd, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Veronica Harwin

J.D. 2013

Veronica Harwin currently works for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. A native of St. Louis, she earned her J.D. and A.B. in Political Science both from Washington University. As a law student, Veronica was an active member of the Women’s Law Caucus, assisting with its annual auction for the Public Interest Stipend. She also worked as the Executive Notes and Projects Editor on the Journal of Law & Policy. Additionally, Veronica was an intern with the Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office.

Sasha Appatova

J.D. 2012

After earning her J.D., Sasha Appatova transformed her commitment to public service into a position with the Ohio Justice & Policy Center in Cincinnati, where she previously had contributed to ex-offender reentry initiatives and conducted community outreach legal clinics. While a law student, Sasha was a Staff Editor for the Washington University Law Review and served on the board of the Washington University Education Law & Policy Society. She also assisted with landlord-tenant disputes and housing policy analysis at the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunities Council. Before law school, she earned her B.A. in English and Political Science from Boston University.

Georganna Ekpo

J.D. 2012

A St. Louis native, Georganna Ekpo is currently working as a labor associate at Blake & Uhlig in Kansas City, where she continues her commitment to public service. Before law school, she served as a New York City Teaching Fellow for seventh-graders in the Bronx, NY. She also worked as a union organizer for several years, advocating for the rights of the working poor. Before earning her J.D., Georganna received her A.B. in History and African American Studies from Washington University and an M.B.A. from Webster University. As a law student, she interned at the Office of the Missouri Attorney General, the AFL-CIO’s Law Student Union Summer Program, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, and the St. Louis County Public Defender. Georganna was very active in the law school community, including serving as president of the Washington University Law School Democrats.

Jessica Mayo

J.D. 2012

After earning her law degree, Jessica Mayo works at her dream job as an immigration attorney at the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action (MICA) Project, which she co-founded with Nicole Cortés, JD ’12. Her clients come from across the globe, including Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. She also is gaining experience in a full range of areas from legislative advocacy to organizing, communications, grant writing, working with donors, producing newsletters, planning events, and strategic initiatives. Jessica’s goal is to use these experiences and her position as a lawyer to challenge systemic injustice within law and society. She also loves spending time with her husband and two boys, Levi and Damian. She observes that her sons remind her daily of the challenges of eliminating hierarchy (get back in bed now!), while also exhibiting the “hope these little people bring to the world.”