CEO Selects 2026 Fifth Annual Civil Rights Fellows: A Record-Breaking Class

Joshua Barri is a second-year law student at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Prior to law school, he studied finance and public policy at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America, where his education emphasized Catholic social thought and natural law philosophy. His academic interests include constitutional law, equal protection, civil rights, and access-to-justice issues, particularly the relationship between legal complexity, institutional discretion, and equal treatment under the law. Joshua participates in Innovation for Justice, serves in the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic, and is Vice President of the Christian Legal Society at the University of Arizona.

Louis Chuang is an extern at the Center for Equal Opportunity and a J.D. candidate at Cornell Law School. He is a fellow at the Blackstone Legal Fellowship and an associate at the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. He earned his B.A. in Government from Cornell University and spent a year as a visiting student at the University of Oxford, where he studied jurisprudence and competed on the Pembroke College moot court team. He also interned at the Federalist Society, conducting research on the structure and scope of the administrative state.

Louis is passionate about civil rights, constitutional law, and the role of the administrative state. During law school, he served as a summer law clerk at the Pacific Legal Foundation, where he drafted the initial version of an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin. He is committed to advancing individual liberties, limited government, and principled legal interpretation, and hopes to continue working in impact litigation or public interest advocacy that reflects these values.

Serena Cochran is a rising 2L at Florida State University College of Law. She earned her B.S. in Legal Studies, summa cum laude, from Southeastern University. Between high school and college, Serena competed in speech and debate for seven years, developing a deep appreciation for civil discourse and oral advocacy.

In law school, Serena is a member of the Moot Court Team, Historian of the Christian Legal Society, a committee member of the Women’s Law Symposium, and a commissioner on the Student Government Association Elections Commission. This summer, Serena will work as a law clerk for the Orange County Attorney’s Office in Orlando, Florida.

After law school, Serena hopes to serve as the General Counsel at a college or university, integrating her passions for compliance, educational access, and fair institutional policy. In her free time, Serena enjoys spending time with her husband, Elijah, and their cat, Magnolia.

Ariane de Gennaro recently graduated from Yale University with a degree in History and is an incoming 1L at Harvard Law School. An alumna of Directed Studies, Yale’s Western Canon sequence, she has a background in philosophy, military history, and Classics. At Yale, she wrote for The Yale Daily News, helped lead the Alexander Hamilton Society, and served as Communications Director of the Yale College Council. She was also active in Israel-related programs, including Yale Friends of Israel and the Peace and Dialogue Leadership Initiative, a fellowship fostering dialogue between Yale and West Point students.

Ariane has interned with the United States Senate, The Yale Law Journal, and the Institute for the Study of War, and is an alumna of Hudson, Hertog, and Tikvah summer fellowships. In her free time, she enjoys drawing and singing.

Anastasia Eden is a rising 4E at Antonin Scalia Law School with a background in media, education, and politics. Before starting law school and through her first three semesters, she worked in digital media, where she developed an eye for persuasive storytelling and effective communication. Before that, she earned a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Virginia, where she also earned undergraduate degrees in literature and classics. She is currently a law clerk for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she will remain this summer.

Ailan Evans is a third-year student at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where he serves as a board member of the George Mason Law Review. Originally from the California Bay Area, Ailan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently lives in Virginia with his wife and two children. Following law school, he hopes to work in public interest litigation protecting the civil rights and liberties of all Americans.

Colton Godsey is a rising 2L at the University of Arkansas School of Law, where he serves as the Vice President-elect of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA). A native of Blytheville, Arkansas, Colton brings a robust background in leadership and industry to his legal studies, having previously served as a Shipping Automation Lead at Nucor Steel and as a manager at Colton’s Steakhouse and Grill. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management, with honors, from Arkansas State University, where he was a frequent fixture on the Chancellor’s List and received the College of Business Elevator Pitch Achievement Award.

At the Law School, Colton has distinguished himself as a Final Four competitor in the 2026 Negotiations Competition and has gained practical experience as a legal intern at OMG Law Firm, assisting in trial preparation and the analysis of discovery. His commitment to civil rights is grounded in a belief in individual merit and the rule of law, advocating for the expansion of opportunity in rural communities through a focus on individual character rather than racial classification. In his free time, Colton enjoys watching Arkansas Razorback athletics, learning Spanish, golfing, and taking walks with his wife, son, and dogs.

Yonatan Klecky is a rising 3L at Florida International University College of Law, guided by a firm belief in personal accountability and public service. Born in Santiago, Chile, Yonatan came to the United States as a young child, and that journey instilled in him a lasting appreciation for the freedoms, opportunities, and constitutional traditions that define this country. He graduated magna cum laude from FIU with a degree in Psychology and has earned CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in both Introduction to International and Comparative Law and Federal Income Tax during his time in law school, where he will also soon serve as Secretary of the Tax Law Society.

Before pursuing law, Yonatan spent more than two years teaching English and history to middle and high school students, an experience that strengthened his conviction in the importance of public service. He has also given his time to Chai Lifeline, serving as a counselor and later head counselor at its summer camp for children facing serious illness. Yonatan is committed to a career devoted to upholding justice, defending communities, and ensuring that the law is applied fairly and impartially to every American.

John Knight is a rising third-year law student at the University of Miami School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree from Troy University in Alabama and was raised in Tallahassee, Florida. John recently completed an internship in Washington, D.C. with the United States Department of Justice, and he will spend his second summer in 2026 with Greenberg Traurig in the Government and Policy Group. He is drawn to the work of the Center for Equal Opportunity, where he excitedly awaits training to promote and apply principles of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.

Simon Laird is a Visiting Economist and a doctoral student at George Mason University’s Economics program, where he studies immigrant assimilation. While in college, Simon argued for free speech and open intellectual inquiry, hosting a screening of a film from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education that was protested by more than 100 students. After college, Simon earned a Master’s degree in Economics from George Mason University and then worked for a Federal IT contractor before returning to George Mason to enter the PhD program. Simon is an alumnus of the America’s Future GO fellowship for community organizing. He lives in Northern Virginia.

David Merry is a Doctoral student of Occupational Therapy based on the Oregon coast, bringing a uniquely diverse professional background to both his clinical and advocacy work. Before pursuing his OTD, David gained extensive experience in the blue-collar sector, working in commercial fishing, logging, construction, and landscaping. He further rounded out his professional profile in the white-collar world through corporate software tech sales at Salesforce and Veeam Software.

Currently, in addition to completing his doctorate, David serves as an Assistant Coordinator at Clatsop Community College, where he manages events and marketing initiatives. A former competitive triathlete, David applies the same discipline and endurance from his athletic background to his goal of advancing equitable healthcare and professional leadership.

Peter Murphy is an Advisor to Devon Westhill, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at USDA, where he carries out research, regulatory review, and public relations regarding federal civil rights law and policy. His six years as a school administrator and instructor in the American Tradition of Humane Letters helped him to love his country and its colorblind tradition of justice. Peter graduated from The King’s College in New York with a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and has served various nonprofits and community organizations. He is a proud husband and father of four.