Alexander Dawson IV is a second-year law student from Haw River, North Carolina. He serves as the President of BLSA. Prior to law school, Alexander played Division I football at Elon University, where he received his B.S. in Business Management and minored in Computer Science. While at Elon, Alexander earned his MBA. In addition to his leadership role in BLSA, Alexander serves as Law representative on the University of Pennsylvania Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA). This past summer, Alexander worked in Los Angeles as a summer intern at CBS Broadcasting and Ballard Spahr LLP. In his leisure time, Alexander enjoys Connect4, boxing and rapping.
Jarron McAllister Social Chair
Jarron McAllister was raised in Flint, MI but somehow ended up in New Jersey for college. He studied History, Near Eastern Studies, and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University. After graduation, he returned to Michigan to work as a legal assistant for class action lawsuits related to the Flint Water Crisis. In addition to his involvement with BLSA, Jarron is the Social Chair of Penn Law Lambda is an Associate Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.
Daniel Kees Fundraising Chair
Daniel Kees is a second-year law student from Vicksburg, Mississippi. He currently serves as the Fundraising Chair for the Black Law Students Association, as an Associate Editor for theUniversity of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and as a Communications Editor for The Regulatory Reviewonline publication. Prior to law school, Daniel received his B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Millsaps College before spending a year in Mexico as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. This past summer, Daniel worked at a regional law firm in Mississippi and at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Chimeze Udozorh Pan-Africa Trip Co-Chair
Chimezie Udozorh is a 3L. Originally from Nigeria, Chimezie lives in Dallas, Texas and plans to work in Houston, Texas after graduation. Chimezie attended Brown University, receiving a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Public Health. Chimezie co-coordinated the 2018 Pan-Africa service trip to Accra, Ghana and plans to coordinate BLSA's 2019 trip.
Vivek Kembaiyan Advocacy Chair
Vivek Kembaiyan is a 2L from The Woodlands, TX. After college at Yale, he spent several years working on political campaigns before starting law school. At Penn Law, he's involved in student government and the National Lawyer's Guild in addition to BLSA. After law school he hopes to build a career around public interest litigation in the fields of racial justice and expanding digital privacy rights.
Rachel Williams 1L Rep
Rachel Williams is a 1L from Washington, DC. After graduating from Dickinson College with a degree in Law and Policy, she enlisted in the Air Force Reserves as a Air Transportation Specialist . Prior to law school, she also worked as a Litigation Legal Assistant in the White Collar and Government Investigations Group at Wiley Rein LLP. Rachel spent the past summer as an SEO Intern at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, DC. At the law school, Rachel is also involved with the Penn Law Veteran's Club and during her free time you can find her at the Penn ice rink.
Nishi Tavernier was born and raised in Bronx, New York. She received her B.S. in mechanical engineering and M.S. in aerospace engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. She was a member of the 2009 NCAA DIII women's basketball championship team. After graduation, she worked for Accenture as a Senior Digital Analyst. At Penn, Nishi serves as the President of Lambda, the Vice President of BLSA, and as an Associate Editor for theUniversity of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. She worked as a Summer Associate for Morrison and Foerster during Summer 2018.
Gabriella Ravida Professional Development Co-Chair
Gabriella Ravida is a dual-degree candidate in her second-year at the Law School and her first year at Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice. She is originally from York, PA and graduated from Princeton University in 2015 majoring at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs with a Certificate in American Studies. After college, she worked as a paralegal in Washington, D.C. then taught elementary through middle school students in central Pennsylvania before attending law school. She spent the past summer participating in Morgan, Lewis & Bockius’ 2018 Summer Associate program and hopes to use her law degree to purse her interests in employment law and education reform.
Shannon Reid Alumni and Admissions Chair
Shannon Reid is a second-year law student and currently serves as the Penn BLSA Alumni and Admissions Chair. She was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017 with degrees in Political Science and International Affairs. Shannon also serves on the Executive Board of the Penn Youth Advocacy Project and is an Associate Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, listening to music, reading, and travelling.
Fumanya Ekhator Sadie Alexander Conference Co-Chair
Fumnanya Ekhator is a 2L. She grew up in the larger Philadelphia area, and attended Dartmouth for undergrad. After graduating from Dartmouth, she worked at the White House as an intern and then as a paralegal in DC. This summer she will be a summer associate at Dechert’s Philadelphia office.
Khary Anderson Communications Chair
Khary Anderson was raised in Prince George's County, Maryland and is currently a third-year dual-degree student. Since coming to Penn Law, he has also been involved in BLSA’s Project Peace, Penn Law Advocates for the Homeless, and is currently the Symposium Editor for theUniversity of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. Prior to law school, Khary graduated from Villanova University in 2015 with a degree in History. When he is not studying, he enjoys reading blogs, drinking margaritas, and connecting with friends on social media.
Davina Okonkwo Treasurer
Davina Okonkwo is a 2L from Reno, NV who currently serves as the Treasurer of BLSA. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in May of 2015. This past summer, she worked at Kline & Specter, PC, exploring litigation from the plaintiff’s side. Davina is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Law and Innovation and the gym is her happy place.
Amanda Gould Professional Development Co-Chair
Amanda Gould is a second-year law student from Lewiston, Idaho. Amanda received her B.A. from Yale University where she majored in Political Science. Prior to law school, Amanda worked as a product manager at AOL specializing in the development of digital advertisements for Fortune 500 advertisers. She spent the past summer as a Summer Associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in New York, NY and intends to focus her legal career on the intersection of media, technology, and the law.
Fatoumata Waggeh Pan-Africa Trip Co-Chair
Fatoumata Waggeh is a second year law student. She was born and raised in New York City to West-African immigrants. She completed her undergraduate studies at New York University (NYU) where she studied "African Political Development and Colonial History." Prior to law school, she was a Corporate Paralegal at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and a Civic Organizer at an African immigrant rights organization called African Communities Together.
Jeremiah Oteh Sadie Alexander Conference Co-Chair
Jeremiah Oteh is a 2L from St. Louis, Missouri. Before law school, he worked as the Director of Content at Learn Fresh Education Co. and served as an Algebra & Geometry teacher at Leadership Public Schools in Oakland, California. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his masters in Urban Education at Loyola Marymount University. He is currently enjoying life in Philadelphia, PA at Penn Law. He is fascinated by how the law intersects with relevant industries, and how legal professionals leverage their skills to drive innovation and solutions to complex problems. On a personal note, he loves podcasts, the NBA, watching Chopped, cooking (as if he's a contestant on Chopped), and running half marathons in a new city every year.
Taylor Davis 1L Rep
Taylor L. Davis is from Memphis, TN and graduated from Howard University in 2016 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Davis currently serves as the BLSA 1L Representative for the class of 2021.
