Valerie Zukin Memorial Fellowship (ILD 2025)

Valerie Zukin was a fierce immigrant rights lawyer dedicated not just to her clients, but to mentoring new attorneys to fight for detained and other marginalized immigrants. The Valerie Zukin Memorial Fellowship was established in September 2021, when Valerie passed at the age of 41. The Fellowship honors Valerie’s memory and legacy by continuing her mentorship work. Summer fellows gain hands-on experience advocating for immigrants in detention and enjoy close mentorship from Valerie’s former colleagues and friends.

The Fellowship rotates between host organizations where Valerie represented clients herself. In 2025, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ) and Immigrant Legal Defense (ILD) will each host one Fellow for a 10-week, full-time fellowship paying $15,000 over the summer. Start/end dates are negotiable.

Valerie helped to found CCIJ and was its first Legal Director. CCIJ moves beyond traditional legal services to support innovative approaches to liberation and empowerment of detained immigrants and their communities. To learn more about CCIJ, visit https://www.ccijustice.org/. The CCIJ fellow must reside anywhere in California during the course of the fellowship, with the option to work from CCIJ's Oakland office and opportunities to visit detention centers in California.

ILD’s mission is to promote justice through the provision of legal representation to underserved immigrant communities. In her last direct services case, Valerie co-counseled a detained client’s case with ILD attorneys at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. To learn more about ILD, visit https://ild.org/. All work and supervision for the ILD Fellow will be remote, with possible in-person court appearances and detention center visits. The ILD Fellow can reside anywhere in the United States.

Valerie’s family and friend-colleagues, including from the host organizations, will make up the selection panel. We seek future immigrant rights lawyers who exemplify key characteristics of Valerie – a passionate, kind, and creative advocate for the most marginalized immigrant populations. To learn more about Valerie, visit bit.ly/ValerieZukinMemorialFellowship. Applicants must have strong Spanish skills.

CCIJ and ILD are equal opportunity/affirmative action employers that provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees/applicants in all of our employment practices without regard to race, religion, color, sex or gender (including gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, pregnancy- and childbirth-related medical conditions), sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, uniform service member/veteran status, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, taking/requesting statutorily protected leave, or any other basis protected by law.