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2003 Interns
Fall 2003
Lara Cunanan, after completing her internship with the IPJ, joined the staff as the Internship Coordinator for the Spring 2004 term. In October 2004, she will begin her graduate studies at the University of York in England, where she will be a student in the MA program on Post-war Recovery Studies. While pursuing her masters degree she intends to focus her attention on issues concerning the rehabilitation and social reintegration of children in post-conflict societies.
Kim Edmunds, prior to joining the IPJ as an intern, worked as an English teacher in Barcelona, Spain after graduating from Emory University in 2002. She is currently completing her first year as a law student at the University of San Diego's School of Law where she plans to focus on International Law.
Mercede Goates is currently a second year law student at the University of San Diego's School of Law where she focuses on International Law and Human Rights issues. In addition to attending law school, she volunteers with the San Diego Lawyer Program in the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Clinic.
Michael James graduated from the University of California, San Diego, in June 2003 with a degree in Political Science/International Relations. He is currently working as a freelance abstract writer and planning to attend graduate school in the Fall of 2004.
Vanessa Lucas graduated from the University of San Diego in December 2003 with joint J.D. and MBA degrees. While attending USD she was actively involved in mediation training, the Human Rights Education Programs, and the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program "AIDS Team." After graduation, she moved to the East Coast to pursue her various interests. In the spring of 2006, Vanessa has represented the National Lawyers Guild on a visit to the Philippines, organized by the GABRIELA Network and co-sponsored by the Vanguard Foundation, to investigate "the prosecution, the extrajudicial killings, the targeting of women leaders, and the Philippine and the U.S. Government's role in these human rights violations."
Summer 2003
Carolina Cometto graduated in 2006 from UCSD's Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. Her studies focused on International Development and Nonprofit Management. Since then she has been working at Winrock International, an international development NGO based in DC. As part of the New Business Unit, Carolina assists in preparing grant proposals in a variety of program areas including agriculture, the environment and civic empowerment and engagement.
Abigail Ruane is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) School of International Relations (B.A., Psychology, Cornell University, 2002; M.A., International Relations, USC, 2006). She is fascinated by opportunities for intercultural conflict resolution and has visited over 20 countries. Abigail has enjoyed assisting in teaching and researching about international conflict resolution and gender at USC, and her dissertation draws studies how women’s rights have been negotiated in the United Nations. She has also advocated for student interests at USC, edited the Journal of Public and International Affairs, published in International Studies Perspectives, and interned in the U.S. Senate and in conflict-resolution-focused nongovernmental organizations. After graduation, Abigail hopes to pursue a career that promotes public policy which enables more just conflict-resolution practices and greater security and opportunities for vulnerable people. Abigail was recently awarded a Josephine De Karman Trust Dissertation Fellowship, a nationally competitive fellowship, which she intends to use to help complete her dissertation in 2007/2008.
Spring 2003
Keelia Bannon graduated from Saint Mary's College of California in 2002 and relocated to San Diego. She was first a volunteer at the IPJ and then was accepted as an intern. She stayed on as a research assistant during Summer 2003 and in Fall 2003 began teaching at an elementary school and pursuing her Teaching Credential.
Anna Gabriele graduated from the University of San Diego in 2003, and enrolled in and completed USD's Paralegal Certificate program with a specialty in Business and Environmental Law. She is currently searching for a position in a law firm as a paralegal preferably in business or intellectual property law.
Diana Vlasova graduated from USD in 2005 with a B.A. in International Relations with a Business Minor. After working for a time as a Legal Assistant in the Law Offices of James L. Pocrass, in Beverly Hills, she enrolled in Whittier Law School and plans on graduating in 2009.
