The 2026 LRAP application will open October 1, 2025 

Email the Public Service and Policy Program or call 541-346-8946 with questions.

Current LRAP Recipients

Hannah Bland
1st Year Recipient

Hannah grew up in Oregon and received her law degree through University of Oregon’s 3+3 Law Program with the UO’s Clark Honors College. During law school, she worked with UO’s Prison Education Program helping to make higher education more accessible to people who are incarcerated. She is now working as a Provisionally Licensed Staff Attorney at Oregon Justice Resource Center with the organization’s Civil Rights Project. 

Phillip Ebbers
1st Year Recipient

Phillip was born in the Bay Area of California and moved to Oregon in 2017. He studied cultural anthropology and worked as a barista, bartender, and archaeologist. During law school, he worked for the US Navy JAG Defense Services, Deschutes Defenders, and Public Defender Services of Lane County. He currently serves at the Lane County Circuit Court as a judicial clerk, specializing in family law and complex civil law. He will begin serving as a public defender for Lane County in late 2025. 

Sean Foster
3rd Year Recipient 

After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, Sean lived and worked abroad, including as an English teacher at a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery in Nepal. After some wrangling, he returned stateside to serve as an AmeriCorps member at Montana Legal Services and worked as a litigation assistant at an Indigenous Civil Rights firm in Seattle. These experiences inspired him to pursue a career with legal aid. He now is a Staff Attorney with the Eviction Defense Project at Oregon Law Center, defending low-income tenants from eviction.

Grant Gomez
1st Year Recipient

Grant grew up in Southern California and attended California State University Monterey Bay before attending the University of Oregon School of Law. Grant currently works as an Associate Director for Admissions at Seattle University School of Law. As an Associate Director, Grant works to provide access to legal education to underserved communities and non-traditional law students. Grant also works on creating pipeline programs to provide access and support to students throughout their law school application process. During law school, Grant was the treasurer of the Black Law Students Association and the Student Bar Association.

Michael Helock
1st Year Recipient 

After graduating with a B.S. in criminology and finishing several criminal defense internships at Florida State University, Michael moved to Oregon to complete his legal education. He started clerking for a judge on the Lane County bench just four days after he took the bar exam, which helped him settle into his current position as a staff attorney with the Public Defender Services of Lane County. In his current role, Michael represents the interests of underserved populations and tirelessly fights for just outcomes.  

 

Kassidy Hetland
3rd Year Recipient

Kassidy currently works as a staff attorney for the Oregon Innocence Project (OIP). As an attorney with OIP, Kassidy works to exonerate individuals convicted of crimes they did not commit. During law school, Kassidy interned with OIP and at a private criminal defense firm in Eugene. Before joining OIP as a staff attorney, Kassidy worked as a public defender in Multnomah County.

Elissa Karim
1st Year Recipient 

Elissa hails from Nevada City, a small, rural town in Northern California. While at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, she began participating in the nuclear disarmament movement. Elissa then moved to San Francisco to work for Ploughshares, a nonprofit dedicated to nuclear disarmament and progressive foreign policy. In law school, Elissa worked at WaterWater of Oregon, Wildlands Network, Cascadia Wildlands, and the Oregon Department of Water Resources.  She currently is completing a two-year clerkship at the Oregon Court of Appeals with the Honorable Josephine H. Mooney and the Honorable Ryan T. O’Connor.   

Aleesha Kazi
1st Year Recipient 

Aleesha Kazi grew up in Oregon, and she earned her bachelor’s degree from Willamette University. At Willamette, Aleesha worked at the Oregon Legislature and found her passion for public service. During law school, Aleesha worked for Legal Aid Services of Oregon and for Oregon’s Secretary of State. She externed with U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai and with the Federal Public Defender for the District of Oregon. Aleesha is now completing a two-year attorney fellowship at the Federal Public Defender in Cleveland, Ohio. She argues daily for her indigent clients in federal courts across the Northern District of Ohio.

Thomas Perkins
2nd Year Recipient

Thomas grew up in Half Moon Bay, California, and received a B.A. in English from BYU. He has always wanted to be a lawyer, but after serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Guatemala, he decided that he wanted to work in a field where he could help people navigate the US immigration system. His volunteer work has included immigration work with No More a Stranger Foundation. He currently practices immigration law at the Oregon Law Center.

Sara Takessian
1st Year Recipient 

Sarah is an Assistant Public Defender for Pima County Public Defender in Tucson, Arizona. Prior to law school, she received a BA in Political Science and a BA in International Affairs from Northern Arizona University. During law school, she was a Frohnmayer Leadership Program Fellow, a National Lawyers Guild Co-Director, the Executive Editor for the Oregon Review of International Law, and a member of the Jewish Law Student Association and the Criminal Defense Association. Sarah also was an OLSPIF stipend recipient and worked for Public Defender Services of Lane County.

Kayla Teeple
2nd Year Recipient 

Kayla has spent the last three years in public policy in both California and Colorado working for the legislature and in-house at a lobbying firm. Working both inside and outside the capitol, she has gained extensive experience in nearly all industries but has found her passion in energy and environmental issues. Through her work, she is committed to building an affordable, reliable, and clean energy future for the West.

Divine Zheng
3rd Year Recipient 

Divine moved to Oregon from Minnesota, where she received her BA in History and Justice & Peace Studies from the University of St. Thomas.  She was motivated to attend law school by her interest in civil rights and education policy reform.  Working for the courts during and after law school cemented her desire to serve the public.  Divine is now a staff attorney at Legal Aid Services of Oregon.  She specializes in administrative law and public benefits issues.