Pooja’s commitment to radical social justice work is truly inspiring. When I began working with Pooja, I had just attended a few panels about participatory defense and was excited to attempt that model in our clinic. Pooja was the perfect student to lead that effort. When one of Pooja’s clients was recommended for expulsion, she immediately began gathering documents for a binder she would introduce at his hearing. The binder included several letters of support from her client’s community, family pictures, and clinical reports that discussed some of her client’s life experiences. She also spent a significant amount of time preparing her client to tell his own story, which helped humanize him for the hearing judges. I was not surprised when I learned the following morning that she won her case. I’m confident that Pooja’s dedication to her clients will result in several more victories throughout her career.

– Oscar Daniel Lopez, Education Defense & Justice for Youth Clinic