2026 Advancement of Animal Law Scholarship Recipients

The Animal Legal Defense Fund Advancement of Animal Law Scholarships are awarded to law students based upon demonstrated commitment to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission, “to advance the interests and protect the lives of animals through the legal system.” Recipients are actively involved with their Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter while in law school and show promise in the field after graduation.

The Stacey Gordon Sterling Scholarship

Since 2024, this special award series celebrates and honors the life and legacy of Animal Law Program Director Stacey Gordon Sterling. Stacey’s unwavering commitment to student success was woven through all her roles, whether as law professor, library director, board member, or program director, and will forever remain in all our work.

Every year, one student who exemplifies Stacey’s love for student empowerment and animal protection is selected from the Advancement application pool. This year’s student selection is Simran Kadam, a rising 3L at the University of Michigan Law School. .

As president of her school’s SALDF chapter, Simran revitalized the chapter from the ground up and grew membership to over 80 participating law students. Always working to create opportunity for her peers and to promote animal law as a career path, Simran created the chapter’s weekly newsletter, Paw and Order, that keeps members informed and connected to developments in animal law. In addition, Simran looks forward to expanding the chapter’s network for substantive legal pro bono work and to involve other legal fields that can cross into animal protection. Simran exemplifies building community to bring about positive change, and we applaud her dedication on behalf of animals and future attorneys.

Delaney Mutchler-Mara

Penn State Dickinson Law

Delaney is a rising 3L at Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. During her 2L year, she served as her student ALDF chapter’s president, and she looks forward to serving as the treasurer during her 3L year. This school year was especially meaningful for her because she and her amazing e-board resurrected their chapter after it had been functionally dormant for a few years. Delaney is also especially proud of the fact she was successful in bringing an animal law course back to Penn State Dickinson Law for Fall 2026.  

In addition to her work with the SALDF, Delaney also serves on the e-boards as a student representative for OutLaw (LGBTQ+ affinity organization) and the Native American Law Student Association. She is also incredibly proud of the article she published this year for the school’s Journal of Law and International Affairs Blog, titled, “The Butterfly Effect: How One Small Policy Change Could Have a Monumental Positive Impact the Monarch Butterfly Species.” 

A lifelong animal lover and daughter of a veterinarian, Delaney’s passion for animals began when she was just a little girl having passionate discussions with her dad about how to stop puppy mills and baby seal clubbing. She further explored that passion through a variety of opportunities, including working as a veterinary assistant for her father, camp instructor at the Florida Aquarium, volunteer at the Marion County Humane Society and Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, and Fall 2025 legal extern for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Pro Bono Program. She was also privileged with the opportunity of gaining a foundational understanding of animal welfare issues through earning her MSL in animal law from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2023.  

Delaney is active in Pennsylvania’s animal welfare community when she’s not at the law school. She volunteers weekly for Central Pennsylvania Horse Rescue, is an active member of both the ABA and Pennsylvania Bar Association’ Animal Law Committees (and serves as the Young Lawyers Division’s Animal Law Committee Liaison), enjoys attending events such as the Animal Law Conference and Pennsylvania’s biennial Humane Lobby Day, and is currently working to pass a local borough ordinance to ban the sales of dogs, cats, and rabbits in retail pet stores. Her non-legal interests include writing poetry, visiting state parks (her favorite being Silver Springs State Park in her home state of Florida), and spending time with her animal babies, which include a rabbit (Loki), ball python (Medusa), toy poodle (Ophelia), and 4 cats (A2, MJ, Smokey, and Raphtalia).  

Post-graduation, Delaney plans to find an animal law job or fellowship. She aspires to serve as an animal cruelty crimes prosecutor, but she would be over the moon to work for an animal law/welfare non-profit or a public interest firm that takes on animal law work. As a former high school teacher, she also would love to be a community college professor and teach an animal law course of her own.  

Learn more about Delaney Mutchler-Mara.

Paige Scatena

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law

Paige Scatena is entering her third year at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (UIC), where she will serve as the President for UIC’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. Paige will also continue to serve as the President of the Chicago Animal Law Student Initiative. She is a member of the ABA TIPS Animal Law Committee where she is the Social Media Vice Chair and the Student Chair of the Animals in Agriculture subcommittee. She has been a passionate animal rights activist for over a decade and plans to dedicate her career to this movement.  

Paige has planned countless events both on campus and in her community including a 4-day animal rights conference, Colorado Animal Liberation Forum, during her freshman year in undergrad. This conference consisted of slaughterhouse vigils, a protest on Colorado State University’s campus, multiple trainings, an Animal Rights March on the streets of Boulder, and silent demonstrations. In 2020, Paige won People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Activist of the Year award for her dedication and years of activism. She is extremely passionate about issues involving animals used for food. These issues are particularly close to her heart because she rescued a potbelly pig, Daisy, who is her biggest inspiration. She plans to continue to defend animals like Daisy in the legal system. Paige had the opportunity to delve into the intersection of environmental and animal welfare issues at the Climate Change & Animal Agriculture Litigation Initiative at Yale Law School during her 1L summer. During her second year, Paige has continued to work on animal agriculture issues by interning with Animal Partisan and Animal Outlook. Paige will continue advocating for animals in the legal system with Mercy For Animals this summer. 

Paige pursued law school to pivot her activism to protect animals in the legal system. She became involved in the animal rights movement after speaking with a volunteer about the cruelty of captivity. Paige has seen firsthand the impact one individual can have and she wants to continue to create change for animals and encourage others to advocate for them. After graduation, she is committed to a career in animal law and serving as a chapter advisor. 

Learn more about Paige Scatena.

Simran Kadam

University of Michigan Law School

Simran Kadam is entering her third year at the University of Michigan Law School, where she currently serves as Co-President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. She is also the Executive Notes Editor for Michigan Law Review and is writing her student note on a topic at the intersection of environmental and animal law. Simran has previously externed at ALDF on the Legislative Affairs Team. 

Simran’s commitment to animal advocacy began during childhood visits to her family’s village in India, where early experiences with animals shaped the questions that continue to guide her work today: why some nonhuman animal lives are valued differently, and how the law can better protect these vulnerable beings. She became vegan 10 years ago, and engaged with local animal activist organizations in Portland Oregon, where she is originally from. In undergrad, she pushed her school’s dining hall to dramatically expand their plant based menus. Prior to law school, she worked on animal agriculture issues at Environmental Defense Fund. 

At Michigan Law, Simran focuses on the intersection of animal law and environmental protection. After recognizing the absence of an active animal law organization on campus, she helped rebuild the chapter from the ground up, growing it to more than eighty active members in its first year. She created the chapter’s weekly newsletter, Paw and Order, and has helped organize more than twenty events connecting students with practitioners and scholars in the animal law field, including attorneys from the Nonhuman Rights Project and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Through the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic, she is currently working on the clinic’s only animal law case, helping defend Michigan’s cage-free egg law against federal preemption challenges. She also leads a pro bono research partnership with the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, where student researchers develop legal resources to support practicing animal advocates. After graduation, Simran is planning to pursue a career in animal law.

Learn more about Simran Kadam.

Barbie Dolorit

Georgetown University Law Center

Barbie Dolorit is entering her third year of law school at Georgetown University Law Center, where she serves as the co-founder and President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter. During her 1L fall, she helped build the chapter into an active and visible presence on campus. Her academic interests include critical legal studies and the ways ostensibly neutral legal narratives and social norms can obscure violence and exclusion.

During her undergraduate studies at Florida State University, Barbie’s life was forever changed when she learned about the vast cruelties animals suffer at the hands of humans, igniting her passion for justice and advocacy. She founded VEGFSU, a student organization dedicated to animal advocacy, including efforts to preserve the Everglades and end the use of horses at football games. Barbie has also volunteered abroad as part of a wildlife conservation program, ensuring the safe release of baby sea turtles into the ocean.

Barbie hopes to advance the rights of sentient beings exploited by animal agriculture—such as animals, immigrants, incarcerated laborers, and BIPOC communities—by setting radical precedent through impact litigation and supporting the long-overdue transition to cultivated meat through regulatory work.

During her 1L summer, Barbie interned at Animal Partisan, supporting their legal research and strategy development. Barbie has also contributed pro bono to the Nonhuman Rights Project in support of efforts to expand legal recognition for nonhuman animals. In the summer of 2026, Barbie is beyond thrilled to join the Animal Legal Defense Fund as a litigation fellow.

Barbie’s hobbies include completing seasonal puzzles, playing deception games, and dissecting literature, whether in books, essays, movies, or lyrics. Barbie shares her home with her partner and her rescued companion animals, three cats and two bunnies.

Learn more about Barbie Dolorit.

Abigail Frankel

Colorado Law

Abigail Frankel is entering her second year at Colorado Law, where she will serve as Co-President of the Colorado Law ALDF Student Chapter. She lives in Boulder with her rescued cat, Boon. Since starting law school, Abigail has volunteered with the Colorado chapter of Pro Animal Future in their campaign to ban foie gras sales in Denver and interned with Animal Partisan. In her free time, she volunteers at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, which provides sanctuary and rehabilitation for abused and neglected farmed animals. 

Abigail has been vegan for eight years. Her interest in animal rights began in college, where she studied Environmental Science and Philosophy, which introduced her to the environmental and ethical implications of animal agriculture. At Cornell, she coordinated events to engage campus members with animal rights issues, including a talk and open debate featuring Earthling Ed. 

Prior to law school, Abigail worked as a paralegal in ERISA litigation, representing multiemployer pension funds of various construction trades unions in New York City. This summer, she is clerking at a plaintiffs’ side trial firm, where she hopes to focus on employment discrimination, and will extern with the U.S. Department of Labor in the fall. Abigail intends to use her legal education to advocate for farmed animals and working people. 

Learn more about Abigail Frankel.

Anna Maidment

William S. Richardson School of Law

Anna Maidment is a rising 3L at the William S. Richardson School of Law, in Hawai’i where she serves as President of her school’s Animal Legal Defense Fund student chapter. 

Anna’s passion for animals and environmental advocacy began through her ecotourism and ocean conservation position as an open-ocean shark safety diver in Hawai‘i. 

Her commitment to animal protection deepened while working directly with injured and abandoned farm animals as a TLC Specialist at Aloha Animal Sanctuary, where she provided rehabilitation and TLC for rescued boars, pigs, ducks, goats, sheep, chickens and turkeys.

Before law school, Anna earned a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Management and a Graduate Certificate in Ocean Policy from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She was also a standout NCAA Division I beach volleyball athlete for the university, earning multiple academic and athletic honors while competing at the national level.

Anna’s interest in animal law grew through her work in environmental justice, marine conservation, and legislative advocacy. She completed Pro Bono work and recently completed a Legislative Affairs Externship with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, assisting staff in advancing laws that protect animals and opposing legislation harmful to animal welfare. She also worked as a Research Assistant for the American Bar Association International Animal Law Committee, where she collaborated on international animal law initiatives and legal research. This summer, Anna will continue her work with the Animal Legal Defense Fund as a Pro Bono Program Clerk.

After graduating from law school, Anna hopes to pursue a career focused on animal protection, environmental justice, and conservation policy. She is especially interested in strengthening legal protections for farmed and captive animals, marine wildlife, and vulnerable ocean ecosystems, while supporting policy initiatives that promote sustainability and compassionate treatment of animals. Anna also hopes to continue mentoring future animal law students and expanding opportunities for advocacy and education within the animal law community.

Learn more about Anna Maidment.

Olivia Villamagna

Chicago-Kent College of Law

Olivia is entering her third year at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she serves on the Executive Board as an Executive Articles Editor for the Chicago-Kent Law Review. Her student note, “When Morals ‘Meat’ Markets: Cultivated Meat and the Dormant Commerce Clause After Ross,” was selected for publication in the 2027 journal. During her second year, Olivia externed with Animal Counsel, where she wrote an article on animals as authors in copyright law for the ABA TIPS Animal Law Committee. Additionally, she competed on the Giles Rich Patent Moot Court Team, continuing to develop her advocacy skills. 

Olivia lives in a western Chicago suburb with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. Her passion for animal protection began at a young age. At just eight years old, she wrote to President George W. Bush, urging him to end animal testing, a cause she continues to champion today as a member of the NAVS Women’s Board. She has long been involved in animal advocacy, volunteering with local animal shelters and fostering kittens. Olivia is particularly interested in litigation in the intellectual property and criminal law fields and is interested in how the two areas overlap. After graduation, she is committed to continuing her work in animal law and using her legal skills to advocate for meaningful change in how the law protects and serves animals.

Learn more about Olivia Villamagna.

Frannie von Friedeburg

Lewis & Clark Law School

Frannie is entering her third year at Lewis & Clark Law School. During her second year, she served as co-president of her ALDF student chapter. In her final year, Frannie will be the managing editor of Lewis & Clark’s Animal Law Review and remain on the ALDF student board as volunteer outreach coordinator to organize volunteer projects with animal rescues in the Portland, Oregon, area. 

Frannie is a lifelong animal advocate. Prior to law school, she obtained an undergraduate degree in anthropology with a focus on human-wildlife conflict and a master’s degree in animal science, where her thesis explored integrative urban wildlife programs. During her studies, she also worked on the outreach team at Alley Cat Allies in Washington, DC, and as an assistant at her local animal shelter in Billings, Montana.  

While in law school, Frannie has interned for the Animal Welfare Institute and served as a research assistant to a professor at Lewis & Clark’s Center for Animal Law Studies. She was also involved in an animal clinic on campus. While Frannie is generally interested in understanding a wide array of animal law topics, she has a particular passion for domestic and international animal crime and hopes to pursue both litigation and legislative initiatives to improve anti-cruelty protection for domestic, farmed, and wild animals. Frannie looks forward to furthering her growing legal skills while interning at the Humane World for Animals this summer.  

Outside of school, Frannie enjoys baking and spending as much time as possible exploring Oregon’s coast and abundant forests with her two rescue pups.

Learn more about Frannie von Friedeburg.

Elly Ren

Emory University School of Law

Elly is a rising third-year law student at Emory University School of Law, where she serves as President of the Emory Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. Before law school, Elly spent several years as a Program Coordinator at New Roots Institute, a national nonprofit that educates and empowers students to address the impacts of factory farming on people, animals, and the environment. During her undergraduate studies, she studied Environmental Science and International Studies and volunteered with Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Program, the Humane League, and Vegetarian Resource Group. 

Learn more about Elly Ren.

Ema Davis

Fordham University School of Law

Ema is a rising 3L at Fordham University School of Law in New York City. She is the President of Fordham’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter and serves on the boards of Fordham Law Women and Fordham Non-Traditional Law Student Association. Additionally, she is the incoming Online Managing Editor for Fordham Urban Law Journal vol. 54, and she is a Crowley Scholar in the Joseph R. Crowley Program in International Human Rights. 

Under Ema’s leadership, Fordham’s SALDF chapter hosted multiple educational, advocacy, and social events in the 2025-2026 academic year, including a letter writing campaign in support of Ryder’s Law. Ema will be a 3L Advisor for Fordham’s SALDF chapter during the 2026-2027 academic year. 

Ema earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Ohio State University. After graduating from OSU, Ema worked in Columbus State Community College’s Advising Central, where she assisted students with a variety of academic and administrative processes, before moving to New York City to attend law school.

Learn more about Ema Davis.

Kynsee Fennel

Washburn University School of Law

Kynsee is entering her third year at Washburn University School of Law, where she will serve as co-director of the SALDF chapter during its second year as an official student organization. She established this chapter at Washburn as a first-year law student in 2025. 

At nine years old, her path toward animal law began when she rescued her first horse, Andy, from severe neglect on a rural farm in Missouri. Caring for Andy shaped her understanding of compassion, responsibility, and advocacy, and inspired her to pursue a legal career. Being Andy’s voice instilled in her a lasting commitment to protecting those who cannot speak for themselves. 

Now in law school, her commitment to this work has only deepened. Early on, she was told that her career goals were unrealistic and her interests “too niche.” Rather than discouraging her, those comments motivated her to create opportunities where none previously existed. In addition to starting Washburn’s first SALDF chapter, she helped in introducing Washburn’s first animal law course, bringing a previously absent field of study into the curriculum. Outside of law school, Kynsee has continued to deepen her knowledge of animal law through her work at Barnett Law Office, LLC, and her service as Student Vice Chair of the ABA TIPS Animal Law Committee. 

Her passion for animal law centers on preventing cruelty and holding offenders accountable. After graduation, she hopes to become a prosecutor handling animal cruelty cases, and intends to remain in the Midwest, where she believes the need for education, reform, and stronger enforcement is especially urgent. 

Learn more about Kynsee Fennel.

Jessica Booher

St. Louis University School of Law

Jessica is a rising 3L at Saint Louis University School of Law. She is the current (and next year’s) president of SLU’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter and serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Animal Rights Team, which hosts the city’s annual VegFest among many other annual events.  

This semester, Jessica was an extern with the Legislative Affairs team at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, working on a variety of tasks aiming to advance animal-friendly regulations and laws at the state and federal level.  Last summer, Jessica interned with Animal Partisan, primarily undertaking legal research and writing assignments in animal law, administrative law, and public records law. Jessica has twice attended the Animal Law Conference, Taking Action for Animals, and the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation’s Humane Lobby Day.  

As an undergraduate, Jessica majored in both Mathematics and Marketing and minored in data science. She worked as a Software Engineer for about three years before pivoting to law school to pursue a career in animal law. She fully aims to follow through on that upon graduation, whether that involves working on the litigation or legislation/policy side. 

 Jessica has been a vegan for over a decade and has spent the past 6.5 years rescuing and rehoming 100+ rats, with the majority coming from neuroscience labs. She is a passionate advocate for both animal rights and animal welfare, the latter of which is an exceedingly important consideration for “exotic pets” like rats who have very species-specific care needs and often require complex medical care. In her free time, Jessica enjoys rock climbing, karaoke, and hanging out with her dog (Rex) and her nine rats: Poppy, Sesame, Nutmeg, Basil, Oleander, Miso, Tempeh, Mung, and Pigeon. 

Learn more about Jessica Booher.