The Center for Racial Justice’s 2025–26 intern cohort is already deep into the work. These 11 Stanford Law School 1Ls and Stanford Graduate School of Education students bring curiosity, lived experience, and a readiness to take on some of the hardest questions in American public life.
They come from many paths, including human rights, education, criminal justice, and research at the intersection of technology and policy. And when they’re not buried in data or case law, they’re tutoring students, building nonprofits, dancing salsa, rock climbing, knitting, and rolling dice over Dungeons & Dragons.
Working alongside Center researchers, these exceptional interns are helping turn analysis into action—shaping police use-of-force policies, developing education policy for schools serving vulnerable students, and unpacking the complex intersection of AI, race, and the law.
Now let’s meet them:
Tarina Ahuja
Tarina is a 1L at Stanford Law School from Ashburn, Virginia. Before law school, she graduated from Harvard College and received a Bachelor’s in Social Studies. After graduating, she was a fellow at the Kennedy Human Rights Center, helping lead international human rights litigation protecting the rights and safety of human rights defenders across the globe. She has an extensive background in racial justice, community organizing, and civil rights. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Young Khalsa Girls, a grassroots organization empowering young girls to serve and advocate for their communities. She also co-founded The Greater Good Initiative, a youth-led COVID-era national policy think tank that released 16 policy proposals spanning civil rights, education, and environmental justice. Additionally, seeing a need to build unity amongst Sikh youth, she launched the Sikh American National Youth Council, creating the nation’s first Sikh youth organizing platform. She is an internationally renowned speaker, engaging venues spanning from TEDX, the National Democratic Institute, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Foreign Policy, and more. She has worked in many capacities on human rights and social justice issues. Her experience includes time with Amnesty International, the National Democratic Institute, and the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic.
Lynne Dillman
Lynne is a graduate student from San Diego, California, pursuing an M.A. in Education with a concentration in Policy. She received her B.A. from UCLA, where she interned with the Czech Republic Ministry of Education and helped develop a pilot role called “Metodik”—an experienced teacher who helps new teachers with challenges in the classroom, such as integrating Ukrainian refugees. After UCLA, she served with City Year Sacramento as a Student Success Coach in a low-income, inner-city kindergarten classroom, and witnessed how systemic inequities hinder learning. On campus, Lynne researches how AI education tools can reduce teacher burnout, particularly in underserved schools. Lynne plans to leverage her teaching practice and research to advance meaningful policy change in elementary and secondary public education in California. In her free time, Lynne offers virtual tutoring services to 5th-12th-grade students and is also currently learning how to salsa dance and speak Brazilian Portuguese.
Nkemjika Abad Emenike
Nkemjika is 1L at Stanford Law School from Los Angeles, CA, and Las Vegas, NV. Her academic interests focus on civil rights work, community organizing, history, and racial justice. Before coming to Stanford she was a paralegal at a civil rights firm in Chicago working on wrongful conviction cases and sexual harrassment cases. Nkemjika graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2023, magna cum laude, with a degree in History and minors in Chinese and African and African American Studies. At SLS, she is active in the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Black Law Students Association, and the Sports and Entertainment Law Students Association. In her free time, she enjoys sitcoms, baking, and running.
Erzsabet Gonzalez
Erzsabet (she/her) is a 1L at Stanford Law School. She earned undergraduate degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, in both Bioengineering and Theater Performance Studies. She strives to combat racism in health care and is passionate about the deconstruction of dominant narratives and the empowerment that is possible through literary arts and performance. At Stanford, Erzsabet works on the Education Defense pro bono project to ensure that youth in the juvenile justice system have their educational rights met. She is also a member of the Hopi Tribe Appellate Court Assistance project team and is active with the Black Law Student Association (BLSA). In her free time, Erzsabet enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, rock climbing, and puzzling.
Lily Hong
Lily is a 1L at Stanford Law School from the suburbs of Chicago. At SLS, she volunteers with the Election Law and Prisoner Legal Services Pro Bono Projects. She is also a 1L Editor for the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties. Lily double majored in Anthropology and Law, Letters, & Society at the University of Chicago, where she wrote her thesis on the Fourth Amendment and the Court’s different approaches to searches of people’s bodies, homes, and technology. After graduating, Lily worked at Jenner & Block as the Finance Coordinator.
Reva Kale
Reva is a 1L at Stanford Law School. She is originally from Westport, Connecticut, and received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. At SLS, she is a member of the Racial and Disability Justice Pro Bono Project. Before law school, she worked for two years at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on ghost gun cases. She also helped design a training program to educate law enforcement officers on Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is interested in exploring how AI tools can be ethically integrated into the criminal justice system, especially when it comes to improving the experience of people with disabilities.
Lauren Kim
Lauren is a first-year law student at Stanford Law School. Originally from Sacramento, they graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024 with a B.A. in Classical Studies and Linguistics. They have extensively presented and published their research on Asian American linguistics and the intersection of Classics and K-Pop. After graduating, Lauren led a digital humanities project on the history of free speech and printing in Philadelphia prisons. At SLS, Lauren is on the Women of Stanford Law board and is a member of the Immigration Pro Bono project. In their free time, they love knitting, doing daily yoga, and listening to horror podcasts.
Ayomide Oloyede
Ayomide is a J.D. candidate at Stanford Law School and a native of Columbus, Georgia. He is interested in civil and human rights law, access to justice, and how legal systems can be designed to work better for people facing crises. Before law school, Ayomide worked as an investigative intern at the DC Public Defender Service. Ayomide has also worked in policy and academic research settings at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Security Studies Program, and previously interned in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has written for the American Society of International Law, contributing legal research and analysis on developments in international law. Outside of law, Ayomide has a strong background in music and arts programming and is interested in the relationship between law, culture, and community.
Asante Spencer
Asante is a master’s student in the Stanford Graduate School of Education’s Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) program. Originally from the Bay Area, California, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and African American Studies from UCLA. Her academic interests center on how students engage with and are impacted by affinity-based programming, with a focus on ensuring that students with asymmetrical exposures to educational resources and opportunities are adequately served by academic institutions. Her work within schools has focused on developing culturally responsive programming and enhancing student engagement through strategic communications. She continues this work at Stanford, as she researches how affinity-based programming shapes student development and amplifies student voice. Outside the classroom, Asante serves as Co-Communications Chair of Stanford’s Black Graduate Students Association, and she enjoys live music, crafting, and hiking.
Samantha Taylor
Samantha is a 1L at Stanford Law School and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar from Berkeley, Illinois. Her academic and professional interests center on racial equity and criminal justice reform, with a particular focus on mass incarceration. At Stanford, she is involved with the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Black Law Students Association, and the Prisoner Legal Services Pro Bono Project. She earned a BA in public policy and philosophy from the University of Chicago, where she completed a senior thesis titled Punishing Poverty examining the criminalization of poverty in the United States. Her undergraduate research also explored gang violence in Chicago and legislative reform in post-apartheid South Africa. Prior to law school, Samantha worked with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, NYU Law’s Policing Project, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and UChicago’s Inclusive Economy Lab.
Nini Tufon
Nini is a JD candidate at Stanford Law School. She grew up in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and her family is originally from Cameroon. Her interests center on international law and access to justice, with a particular focus on how legal systems can better serve marginalized and underserved communities. At Stanford, Nini is involved in pro bono and research initiatives related to human rights and educational equity. Outside of law school, Nini is a co-founder of Bridge 19:17, a faith-based nonprofit that addresses housing insecurity, poverty, and resource access through community-centered initiatives. Her approach to this work is shaped by a commitment to building systems that make it easier for people to find support, feel seen, and succeed regardless of background. In her free time, Nini enjoys reading and writing, staying active, and engaging with creative outlets through movement and dance. She values mentorship and collaboration, and hopes to build a career that combines legal training with meaningful community impact.
Each year we invite applications for part-time internships from Stanford Law School 1Ls, other Stanford graduate students, and undergraduate juniors and seniors from across the university to support our work to counter polarization through rigorous research and policy solutions to America’s most contentious racial issues. Learn more about the program here.
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