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Alumna Kirsten Widner Directs Policy at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center

The Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University has appointed Kirsten Widner, a 2007 graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, as director of policy and advocacy. As director, Widner represents the Barton Center on collaborative initiatives on the local, state and national level, while also supervising the Policy and Legislative Clinics at Emory University School of Law. The Barton Center provides representation to youth in juvenile courts and offers safety, well-being and permanency for abused and court-involved children.

Widner joined the Barton Center under the prestigious Barton Fellowship in 2007 following a remarkable career as a law student at USD. In addition to serving as an editor of the San Diego Law Review and winning several national honors, including Best Oralist in Capital University’s 2007 Adoption and Child Advocacy Competition as a member of the national moot court team, Widner graduated with honors and was awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award, the D’Angelo Outstanding Child Advocate Award and selected to the Order of the Barristers. Widner also worked for USD’s Center for Public Interest Law and Children's Advocacy Institute, where she left an impression on several of her professors.

"Kirsten Widner is why teaching is such a rewarding profession. You get to take credit for extraordinarily talented and dedicated people—of which she is a prime example—and happily claim that you are the crucial progenitor," said Robert Fellmeth, founder and executive director of USD's Center for Public Interest Law and its Children's Advocacy Institute. "Emory is fortunate to have Kirsten directing policy work for its acclaimed Barton Child Law and Policy Center. She already has a national reputation as a child advocate."

Originally known as the Barton Clinic, the center was established in March 2000 to address Georgia’s need for an organization dedicated to effecting systemic policy and process changes for the benefit of the children in the state's child welfare system. Today, the Barton Center includes four clinics: Barton Public Policy Clinic, Barton Legislative Clinic, Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic and the Appeal for Youth Clinic.