Claire Samuelson L’21

Claire grew up in Minneapolis, MN before heading to Los Angeles to earn her B.S. from UCLA. She spent her four years in a criminal justice research lab with the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs before spending her gap year working there full-time as a research associate. Her main task was going into California state prisons to evaluate programs on violence and trauma. Claire also interned at the Downtown Women’s Center, a day center for homeless women in Los Angeles. Through these experiences Claire learned about the web of forces that operate to systematically prevent an equal, fair, and kind world.

At Penn Law, Claire is involved in National Lawyers Guild and If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice as the Education and Outreach Coordinator. Additionally, she started and currently leads the Prison Legal Education Project. She is interested in the broad field of criminal justice, especially as it intersects with gender issues. Last summer, Claire interned with the Orleans Public Defenders and will intern this summer with Brooklyn Defender Services, Family Defense Practice.