Fellowships

Sully joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September of 2025. Sully was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles and is dedicated to being an advocate for marginalized communities in Los Angeles. During their time in law school, Sully was a law clerk at Disability Rights California and Disability Rights Advocates where they worked on a variety of disability rights impact litigation efforts. Sully also interned in the LA Jails Team of ACLU of Southern California, in the Mental Health Unit of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office and was a clinical student in the Criminal Justice Clinic at UCI Law. Sully is passionate about movement lawyering, disability justice, and anti-carceral organizing. Sully received her J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California.

Randy (she/they) joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in 2025, after graduating from UC Davis School of Law. During law school, her work centered on disability justice and LGBTQ+ rights. She interned with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Disability Rights California’s Housing Stability Project, and served on the steering committee of the National Lawyers Guild UC Davis chapter, where she deepened her commitment to movement lawyering. Before law school, Randy worked as a middle school teacher and youth group facilitator. She continues to draw inspiration from that work, and her legal advocacy is rooted in a desire to help build a better world for young people. Outside of work, she loves roller skating, weightlifting, and gardening.

Katie Cannon joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2025. Katie has always been committed to social justice and working toward an equitable society. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Non-Profit Management from California Lutheran University. In 2018, she began research and development for what would become her non-profit, Empathy Responding to the Voices, focused on teaching K-12 students about mental health and empathy. Although she had to pivot when the pandemic made this venture impossible, she redoubled her efforts enrolling in law school. Katie earned her J.D. from Emory Law School. During her time there, she volunteered with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation in tenant defense, revived her school’s Child, Family, and Elder Law Society where she served as President, participated in Mock Trial, acted as Vice President of Emory’s chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and represented children in the Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic. She held numerous internship positions, but her favorite was Georgia Appleseed, a legal non-profit advocating for the basic needs of foster youth. To Katie, there is nothing more important than fulfilling the basic needs of the community, and that starts with families maintaining stable housing.

Patricia De La Hoya-Velez (She/Her/Ella) is a Housing Justice Fellow at Inner City Law Center. Patricia holds a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Philosophy with specialization in Law, Ethics, and Politics from the University of Nevada- Reno and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Michigan State College of Law. During law school, Patricia interned with the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Disability Rights Program, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), and Latino Justice PRLDF. Prior to law school, Patricia focused on community organizing and intersectional advocacy and worked for Bernie 2020, Planned Parenthood Political Action, and Feminist Majority. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and is a first-generation low-income woman of color with disabilities whose goal is to use her legal education as a tool for advocacy to honor her mother’s memory. Patricia is interested in civil rights litigation, economic justice, and liberation movements. Patricia maintains a strong determination to make a mark in the legal community and act in public service to advance justice.

Sierra Erdem received her Juris Doctor from LMU Loyola Law School in 2025, after earning a B.A. in Communications, with minors in Ethnic Studies, Law and Society, and Dance, from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 2022. Her interdisciplinary interests in art, rhetoric, and intersectional legal advocacy allowed her to engage with a range of civil and human rights issues, solidifying her passion for the fields. During law school, Sierra focused on advocating for vulnerable communities. She participated in Loyola’s Rights In Systems Enforced (RISE) Legal Clinic, representing survivors of human trafficking and other violent crimes in civil, criminal, and immigration matters. In her final year, she advocated before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of Loyola’s International Human Rights Practicum. Sierra also combined her interests in art and law through serving two years as Arts Editor for Loyola’s Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law (LIJPIL). She will be joining Inner City Law Center in September 2025 as a Housing Justice Fellow.

Arnold J. Esqueda (he/him) is a recent J.D. graduate from Golden Gate University School of Law, where he earned a Litigation Certification and was an active member of the Moot Court Board. Arnold has a strong commitment to social justice, developed through his work at Centro Legal de la Raza and internships with the San Francisco District Attorney and Public Defender’s offices. His passion for housing justice and tenant advocacy led him to join Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow. Arnold is dedicated to using his legal skills to protect the rights of vulnerable communities and combat housing instability in Los Angeles.

Sarah graduated from Southwestern Law School in 2025, receiving her J.D. with a concentration in Public Interest. During her time there, she served as Co-Chair of the Public Interest Law Committee, Student Advisor to the Board of the Homelessness Prevention Law Project, and was selected as a Judge Harry Pregerson Fellow for the 2024-2025 school year. She also spent her time volunteering with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Bet Tzedek. Sarah’s dedication to housing rights is exemplified by her previous work at Inner City Law Center, externing on both the Lawyers Preventing and Ending Homelessness Project and Tenant Defense Project. To further expand her experience in the public interest sector, she also externed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Legal Unit and the Los Angeles LGBT Center through Southwestern’s Asylum Law Clinic. Sarah believes in the power of the community, and feels incredibly grateful for the chance to contribute to such important and life-changing advocacy.

Harriet Joya graduated from Southwestern Law School in 2025 and earned her B.A. in Anthropology from UC Santa Barbara, where she developed a deep interest in how social systems shape people’s lives and access to resources. Growing up in Koreatown, Harriet witnessed firsthand the challenges of housing insecurity, which inspired her commitment to advocating for tenants’ rights. During law school, she gained extensive experience in eviction defense through clinical work, researched housing and tenants’ rights issues, and developed skills in trauma-informed advocacy. She looks forward to advancing ICLC’s mission of securing housing and stability for vulnerable communities.

Alex (he/him) joined Inner City Law Center in 2025 after graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law. He grew up in Simi Valley, CA and received his B.A. in Sociology and History of Public Policy/Law from UC Santa Barbara in 2021. Prior to joining ICLC, Alex’s legal work has focused extensively on transgender rights and disability justice, including a handful of pro bono projects and externships with social justice organizations like the Homeless Action Center of Alameda County, ACLU of Northern California, and Disability Rights California. He also was an Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice. Alex is committed to using his law degree to pursue justice and equality with an intersectional lens, and he looks forward to expanding housing access with ICLC.

Xandrie (Alexandra) Martinez is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law, where she was active member with the Women of Color + Collective, Queer Caucus, and treasurer of La Alianza. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Washington. Her commitment to public interest law is shaped by her experiences growing up in Southern California and working with immigrant and working-class communities. While in law school, she deepened her interest in housing and social justice work through internships with the East Bay Community Law Center’s Housing and Clean Slate Units, and volunteer work with the Police Review Project and the Name and Gender Change Workshop. Xandrie came to Inner City Law Center to continue building power with directly impacted communities and fight for housing justice through movement-driven legal advocacy.

Meena Morar joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2024 after graduating with their J.D. from UC Davis School of Law. While in law school, Meena served as a co-director for both the Lambda Law Students Association and Gender and Name Change Project with a passion to build queer community and promote radical trans joy. Meena has also interned at Legal Services of Northern California, East Bay Community Law Center, and Alameda County Public Defender’s Office in the Sacramento/Bay Area. At their core, Meena believes that community organizing and holistic care are the only ways to be a good advocate. Prior to law school, Meena received their B.A. in American Studies with a minor in Journalism from Georgetown University in 2021. In their free time, Meena loves to watch the sunset and get over invested in tv characters’ lives.

Jimi (he/him) joined Inner City Law Center (ICLC) as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2024. At law school, Jimi represented clients in a hearing against the United States in front of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, worked with unionized laborers in a variety of industries across Los Angeles as a clinical student for UNITE-HERE Local 11, worked on several unionization campaigns as a legal intern at Bush Gottlieb, and was a founding member and chair for the UCLA chapter of the People’s Parity Project. Jimi was also a legal intern at ICLC during his first summer at law school. Jimi is passionate about client-centered, grassroots lawyering that empowers the working class, and views housing rights as fundamental to the fight for worker power. Jimi holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law and a B.S. from West Point. Jimi and his wife Ida have a cat, Bobby McGee, and a dwarf lionhead rabbit, Iggy Hop.

Emma Quinn joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2024. While in law school, Emma deepened her commitment to housing justice and civil rights advocacy through clerkships at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the Law Office of Carol A. Sobel, and Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes, LLP. She also participated in Loyola Law School’s Civil Rights Litigation Practicum and Homeless Rights Advocacy Practicum. Through the latter, she had the opportunity to collaborate with the ACLU of Southern California’s Dignity for All Project, contributing to a white paper advocating for a constitutional amendment to establish housing as a fundamental human right in California. Additionally, Emma was a production editor on the Entertainment Law Review, and an active member of the Public Interest Law Foundation. Emma earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, and her B.A. from Framingham State University in Massachusetts.

Giselle Rojas joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2025 after graduating from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. She attended law school to help and fight for our underserved communities, with her passion for housing justice growing after taking Loyola’s Homeless Rights Advocacy Practicum and LGBTQ+ Advocacy courses. During law school, she was also a member of Loyola’s Scott Moot Court Honors Board and competed on the National Moot Court team. Her dedication to protecting housing rights began as an undergraduate, where she studied political science and volunteered at a local church for four years in preparing and serving meals to those experiencing food insecurity. In her free time, Giselle enjoys going to bookstores and record collecting.

Arturo Samaniego (He/Him) joined Inner City Law Center in September 2025. Arturo graduated with a BA in English and History from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. He recently received his JD from the University of California, Irvine, this past May as part of the class of 2025. During his time at UCI, Arturo engaged in a variety of pro bono projects and summer clerkships with organizations such as the Public Law Center, and Community Legal Aid of SoCal, in order to provide low income litigants with assistance in navigating a variety of legal issues ranging from responding to unlawful detainers to filing unpaid wage claims. During his time at UCI Arturo also participated in UCI’s workers’ rights clinic and was the community outreach chair for UCI’s Latinx Law Students Association. Arturo looks forward to continue working on behalf of low-income and underrepresented communities.

Isha joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2025. During law school, Isha deepened her commitment to housing and social justice while interning with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County’s eviction defense team and ACLU of Southern California’s Economic Justice team. She also spent a semester in Washington, D.C., clerking with the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In her free time, she enjoys bouldering and exploring different neighborhoods in her hometown of Los Angeles. Isha received her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Public Affairs from UCLA.

Grace joined Inner City Law Center as a Housing Justice Fellow in September 2025 after working as a Staff Attorney at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to law school, she was a math and special education teacher in New York City’s alternative school district where she taught many students who experienced housing insecurity and homelessness. While in law school, she represented tenants in eviction proceedings as an intern at the Legal Aid Society. She also worked with individuals returning from incarceration at the Fortune Society and conducted policy research on New York City’s Fair Chance for Housing Law, which prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their criminal history. In addition to this housing work, Grace represented high school students in suspension hearings, worked with incarcerated individuals seeking resentencing under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, and assisted with litigation against schools that unlawfully segregated students of color and students with disabilities. Grace obtained her B.S. at Cornell University and her J.D. at Brooklyn Law School. In her free time, Grace enjoys running and training for races.

Annie joined Inner City Law Center as a housing Justice fellow in September 2024. After working in environmental justice law, local campaigns and legislative offices in San Francisco during law school, she realized that stable housing is a crucial prerequisite to achieving justice in other spaces. At the legal aid of Sonoma county, Annie worked on a variety of eviction litigation cases that dealt with illegal lockouts, invalid notices, and warranty of habitability breaches. As an undergraduate, she studied sustainable food systems before moving to Basque Country to teach English full time. In her free time, you can find Annie doing her friends’ nails as an uncertified nail technician, or at her local flea market.

Nathan (he/him) joined ICLC as a Housing Justice Fellow in 2024 after graduating from the University of California, Irvine School of Law. While in law school, he worked on environmental justice issues at the California Attorney General’s Office, Earthjustice, and the UCI Environmental Law Clinic. Nathan also worked pro bono, helping refugees with their humanitarian parole applications and working with communities in the fight for cleaner air. In his free time, he enjoys fishing and running with his dog, Zoe.