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Each summer, approximately 20 students from Moritz College of Law have the opportunity to take part in the Washington, D.C. Summer Program. Students work in substantive externships in D.C., accompanied by a high-quality academic program and a summer in the nation’s capital. The Drug Enforcement and Policy Center has partnered with the D.C. Summer Program to award select Moritz law students, interested in the area of drug policy and enforcement, a fellowship that partially supports their participation in the program. The fellows are placed in externships that will enhance their real-world understanding of drug enforcement and policy issues. D.C. Fellows help advance the center’s mission during their summer in D.C. and are also expected to contribute to the center’s work during the following academic year.

2023 D.C. Fellow

Headshot of Ioanna Skubas.

Ioanna Skubas is a rising 2L interested in the policy and regulatory aspects of health law which grew out of her academic background in Medical Anthropology and Global Health and prior work in public health. As a law student, her goal is to explore the regulatory process so she can understand how law can be used as a tool to address public health epidemics and advocate for individuals trapped in inequitable systems. This summer, she will intern for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Intergovernmental Affairs office.

2022 D.C. Fellows

Jen Patton

Jen Patton is a 1L interested in drug law and public policy. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a minor in Political Science. As a result of her undergraduate coursework, which focused on the effects of various drugs on the body, she developed an interest in drug reform. Jen will spend her summer interning with the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Legislation.

Kylie Kuhlman

Kylie Kuhlman is 1L that is passionate about creating safe, just, and compassionate communities through public service and criminal justice reform. Originally from Lima, Ohio, her undergraduate career was spent at Ohio State, where she double majored in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy and Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies. Kylie has accepted a legal internship at Families Against Mandatory Minimums, where she will work towards creating a more equitable criminal justice system through individualized sentences and will assist with compassionate release cases.

2021 D.C. Fellows

Addie Becker

Addie Becker is from Cortland, Ohio. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Her interest in criminal justice was sparked after completing an internship at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in the Criminal Justice Section during her undergraduate studies. She also spent a summer interning in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill where she developed an interest in policy. In the summer of 2021, Addie worked for Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), an organization dedicated to creating a more fair and effective justice system through public education and targeted advocacy. She assisted on projects such as the COVID-19 Compassionate Release Clearinghouse.

Austin Grimmett

Originally from Wirt County, West Virginia, Austin Grimmett graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University Parkersburg with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Austin is interested in researching how drug policy decisions affect rural America, particularly the impact of policies targeting the opioid epidemic. Austin spent his summer working for the Office of the West Virginia Attorney General in the Criminal and Solicitor General Divisions. On campus, Austin is a member of the Criminal Law Society and is actively involved with the Student Bar Association, serving on the Health and Wellness Committee and the Executive Committee as Treasurer for the 2021-22 academic year.

2020 D.C. Fellows

Rachel Riestenberg

Rachel Riestenberg is interested in a career in criminal prosecution. Originally from Texas, Rachel graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Corporate Communication. Prior to law school, Rachel interned in the Texas House of Representatives and subsequently for a government relations group. During law school, she has had various internships at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus, the Ohio Supreme Court Section on Dispute Resolution, and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office in the Drug and White-Collar Unit. During the summer of 202, Rachel worked in the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Department of Justice. On campus, Rachel is actively involved in Ohio State’s Moot Court program, the Student Bar Association, and is an Articles Editor for Ohio State’s Journal on Dispute Resolution.

Kevin Kolar

Kevin Kolar, originally from Hudson, Ohio, is interested in criminal law and public policy. His undergraduate degree in Forensic Psychology focused on criminological theory and its psychological underpinnings through a research-based approach. He hopes to build upon his academic understanding of the causes of crime and effectiveness of the criminal justice system by pursuing a career in public defense after graduation. Later on, he intends to transition to a policymaking role where he can utilize this knowledge to institute beneficial reforms. Kevin spent his summer as a legislative extern at the Clause 40 Foundation, a bipartisan advocacy organization for the strengthening of due process rights. He conducted research on pressing issues in criminal law and analyzing proposed legislation. He also assisted in drafting reports published by the organization and amicus briefs filed in pivotal due process cases.

2019 D.C. Fellows

Hannah Wirt

Hannah Wirt plans to pursue a career in criminal prosecution. Before law school, Hannah worked as an Investigative Analyst in the Human Trafficking Response Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. In that role, she observed almost daily examples of the crossroads of illicit drug use and human trafficking, and the overall impact, both positive and negative, of drug enforcement policy on these and most other criminal cases. In the summer of 2019, Hannah interned at the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO). At OEO, Hannah researched and wrote about federal wiretap and electronic surveillance issues. Hannah holds a B.S. with Honors in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Rachel Gurley

Rachel Gurley plans to pursue a career in criminal law. Originally from Mentor, Ohio, she completed her undergraduate studies at The Ohio State University where she majored in Health Sciences and minored in Criminology. Through her unique blend of undergraduate coursework, Rachel studied the opioid epidemic through the lenses of both healthcare policy and criminal sentencing and sanctions. These studies, along with the impact this epidemic has had in the Midwest, contributed to her developing an interest in drug litigation and policy. Rachel spent the summer of 2019 as an intern with the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. She assisted attorneys with work involving the investigations and prosecutions of drug trafficking groups, both national and international. She was the Vice President-Elect of the Criminal Law Society, a member of the Women’s Legal Society, and held a Research Assistant position with Professor Joshua Dressler in August, 2019.

Clare Murphy

Clare Murphy plans to pursue a career in criminal prosecution. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Clare graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Prior to law school, Clare worked in the Boston legal community for several years. She is also a member of the military, and is interested in how drug policy, enforcement, and substance abuse research can impact and implement change in the service-member and veteran community. Clare worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for the Servicemembers & Veterans Initiative during the summer of 2019. On campus, Clare is actively involved in Ohio State’s Moot Court program, and is also a member of the Criminal Law Society and Women’s Legal Society.

Adriana Sandoval

Adriana Sandoval is originally from El Paso, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice with a minor in Legal Reasoning at the University of Texas at El Paso. Adriana became interested in drug policy and the criminal justice system through an internship at the El Paso County Public Defender’s Office. Her passion for public interest also grew from another internship experience where she worked with the Capital Murder Unit, participated in voir dire, and was a third chair during the process. Upon graduation, Adriana plans to return to her hometown to pursue a career in criminal defense. During the summer of 2019, Adriana worked for the United States House of Representatives in Congressman Tim Ryan’s office. On campus, Adriana is involved in the Immigration Law Society’s Bond Project where she has been working under an attorney’s supervision to represent a client in a bond hearing. She the Latino Law Students Association’s Vice President.

2018 D.C. Fellows

Anna Crisp

Anna Crisp plans to pursue a career in health law and policy. While studying public health as an undergraduate, the impact that drug laws, policies, and enforcement had in Ohio and the U.S. became crucial to her education. As a student trustee on The University of Toledo’s Board of Trustees, Anna participated in a decision to implement a special wing of the University of Toledo Medical Center to serve as an inpatient detox unit. Now, as a law student, she hopes to facilitate similar collaborative approaches between the fields of health and law to address issues such as the heroin epidemic and opioid crisis. Anna spent the summer of 2018 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the International Affairs, Food Assistance, and Farm and Rural Programs Division of the Office of the General Counsel. She was the secretary for Ohio State’s Inter-Professional Council and the president of the Health Law Society. Anna also volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem for Franklin County.

Matt Krsacok

Matt Krsacok was a summer legal intern at the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of Policy and Legislation (OPL). At OPL, Matt assisted attorneys and policy analysts in the analysis and development of national crime, sentencing, and corrections policy and legislation. His duties included supporting OPL’s efforts to represent the department before the United States Sentencing Commission and Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committees on Rules and Evidence. Prior to law school, Matt interned for the Office of Ohio Senator Bob Hackett and at civil law firms in Cincinnati and Columbus. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from The Ohio State University.

Clairanne Porter

Clairanne Porter was a summer legal intern at the Drug Enforcement Administration with the Training and Administrative Law sections. Clairanne graduated summa cum laude from Mount Vernon Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and in Psychology in 2017. Her honor's thesis was "Serial Killers; Profiles and Consideration of Treatment."

Micaela Taylor

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and Micaela Taylor completed her undergraduate studies at The Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Business. She first became interested in drug policy through her undergraduate work with Ohio Rights Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates for medical access to marijuana. During summer 2018, she interned with the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Specifically, she worked with the Office of Enforcement Operations, which has its primary focus in federal surveillance. In addition, she was an executive board member for Ohio State’s American Constitution Society chapter, a truancy mediator, an admissions ambassador, and competed through Moritz’s Moot Court Program.