The Peggy Browning Fund has awarded summer fellowships to rising 3L Maria DiGeorge and rising 2L Daniela Florido. The application process is highly competitive, and the award is a tribute to their outstanding qualifications.
Securing a Peggy Browning Fellowship is not an easy task, with over 500 applicants competing for the honor this year. Peggy Browning Fellows are distinguished students who have not only excelled in law school but who have also demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights through their previous educational, work, volunteer, and personal experiences. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 Fellows will work remotely.
Maria DiGeorge will be a Peggy Browning Fellow at the International Labor Rights Forum in Washington, DC. Before coming to law school to pursue a career in labor law, Maria worked on various political campaigns in the U.S. and Scotland. She also served as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs for the Pennsylvania Department of State. She earned her master’s degree from the London School of Economics, where she studied international inequality. She was a Peggy Browning Fellow with United Steelworkers in 2019 and currently serves as co-chair of the Workers’ Rights Committee of Temple’s National Lawyers Guild chapter. She is active in the Sheller Center for Social Justice, where she represents low-wage workers and advocates for policy change in Philadelphia. “As a Peggy Browning Fellow with the International Labor Rights Forum, I use international law and policy to help eradicate forced and child labor from supply chains and to support international unionization efforts,” DiGeorge remarked. “I came to law school to advocate for workers, and am thrilled to be part of the movement for global worker solidarity.”
Daniela Florido’s Peggy Browning Fellowship will be at Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Pennsylvania Farmworker Project in Philadelphia, PA. Daniela was born in Cali, Colombia to two amazing, devoted and self-sacrificing parents. Growing up in the U.S. taught her the importance of fighting for what you believe in and using your abilities to help pave the way for others. Daniela’s purpose is not just to become a lawyer but to use her God-given abilities and talents to help others. She focuses on being an example to her Latino community, showing they too can excel in life and that education opens the doors to unimaginable opportunities. Daniela believes that studying law is not about saving the world, but is about giving yourself so that the rights and liberties of others are not taken from them. For Daniela, being a lawyer is about integrity and knowing that each battle cannot be won, yet fighting zealously and advocating for those who have entrusted their lives and livelihood to you. “As an immigrant female Latina, I have a duty and a responsibility to help and to advocate for my community, and being part of the Pennsylvania Farmworker Project allows me to learn the skills and create the connections I need to serve my community now and in the future,” she remarked. “Now more than ever our marginalized and oppressed communities, need advocates who are willing to stand at the forefront and demand that the rights, and voices of our people are heard. And being a Peggy Browning Fellow is equipping me to be the next leader and zealous advocate for my community.”
The Peggy Browning Fund is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1994 until 1997. Peggy Browning Fellowships provide law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social and economic justice. These experiences encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest labor law.