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Esther Peterson Public Interest Fellowship
Fellowship
Overview
Esther Peterson
(EP), one of history's leading consumer, women, and labor advocate. She advised
three U.S. Presidents (John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter)
on consumer policy issues. She represented the international consumer movement
in a leading advocacy role at the United Nations. The Esther Peterson fellowship
was established in late 1998. Esther kept an office at our Washington Office.
Current EP Fellow
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Chanelle Hardy 2004-2005 Chanelle comes to Consumers Union after graduating cum laude in May of 2004 from Howard University School of Law. She brings two years of experience teaching 5th graders in the District of Columbia Schools as part of Teach for America Corps. Chanelle participated in the criminal justice clinic at Howard Law School, and worked in the Women and Fair Practices Department of the American Federation of Government Employees the previous summer. Chanelle teaches piano, has a green belt in Tae Kwon Do, serves as a student mentor, and directs the Joyful Noise Gospel Ensemble. |
Past
Fellows
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Mister Phillips 2003-2004 At the end of his fellowship, Mister took a staff position with the National Low Income Housing Coalition in Washington, DC, where he works presently. |
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Luis Figueroa 2003-2004 After his fellowship, Luis returned to his hometown of San Antonio, Texas to serve as advocate and lobbyist for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, where he works presently. |
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Ami Gadhia 2002 - 2003 After completing the Esther Peterson Fellowship, Ami stayed on at the WO as Assistant Legislative Counsel for a limited duration. Ami received her law degree from the University of Connecticut and her B.A. with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University. She recently passed the bar both in Connecticut and New York. |
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Susannah Montezemolo 2001 - 2002 After her fellowship with Consumers Union, Susanna completed her masters degree in public policy and urban planning at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton. She then took a position working as a Policy Analyst in the Policy Development Division of HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, helping to develop and evaluate affordable housing and community development programs and proposals. Susanna has since returned to Consumers Union's Washington office and currently serves as Legislative Representative on telecom, financial services and other legislative matters. |
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Martha Coven 2001 "I'm currently on the legislative staff of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which is a DC-based non-profit that works on federal & state budget and tax policy, as well as specific programs that help low-income people. I serve as my organization's lobbyist on welfare, housing, and unemployment benefits. My job involves a real mix of activities -- communicating with people on Capitol Hill, working with other advocates (both national and state-based) on legislative and press strategy, and keeping up to speed on the latest research and policy analysis in my issue areas. My experience as an Esther Peterson Fellow was a very positive one, and it helped convince me that I would enjoy working as a non-profit advocate. It also gave me an opportunity to learn some basic lobbying skills that I've been able to put to use in my current job. I was glad for the opportunity and highly recommend it to others!" |
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Nicole Beason
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Olivia Wein 1998 - 1999 Olivia Wein our very first Economic Justice Fellow; thereafter, known as the Esther Peterson Fellowship. At the completion of Olivia's fellowship in 1999, she joined the Washington office of the National Consumer Law Center (www.nclc.org) as a staff attorney representing the energy and utility interests of low-income consumers at the federal and state level. She regularly submits testimony to Congress on the importance of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), as well as comments to various federal agencies and state public utility commissions on an array of utility service issues. Olivia is on the board of the National Low-Income Energy Consortium, and co-chairs the LIHEAP Coalition, which is comprised of a broad array of national, regional and local groups and organizations. She was recently a member of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council's Small Systems Affordability Work Group. Olivia co-edits NCLC's quarterly Energy & Utility Update newsletter, co-authors NCLC's Access to Utility Service (2nd edition) and is a contributing author to several other NCLC legal treatises including Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices. Olivia is a 1989 graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University and a 1995 graduate of Golden Gate School of Law in San Francisco. She also has a Master of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. |
Project
Description
Launched in September 1999, the fellow receives hands on training in advocacy
on consumer issues at the federal legislative and administrative level. The
fellow is responsible for legal research and writing, bill analysis, lobbying
Congress and administrative agencies, and filing petitions at administrative
agencies.
Project Goals
The fellow will learn the skills involved in public interest advocacy and
gain experience toward a career in the public interest community
Schedule
A new fellow joins the Washington Office during the fall of each year.
