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| Advocate for
the Dispossessed |
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Fresh off her first year at Georgetown Law School, Emily Arnold-Fernandez ’99
did a summer internship in Cairo working as a legal advocate for refugees. The
young woman saw refugees working feverishly to better their lives. Her first
client—a Liberian youth whose parents disappeared during fighting and civil
unrest in his country—now lives in Connecticut thanks largely to the research
and advocacy Arnold-Fernandez provided on his case.
 The
Cairo experience had a dramatic impact on her and served as a catalyst for the
work she does today: Arnold-Fernandez heads up a nonprofit organization that
aims to provide free legal aid to the world’s most embattled refugees as they
struggle for legal rights in the countries to which they flee.
Her ambitious foray into the field of refugee rights shares a pattern with her
other post-Pomona jobs: They all mark a desire to fight for the abused and
disadvantaged. Because of her outstanding public service, Pomona has chosen
Arnold-Fernandez to receive the Inspirational Young Alumni Award for 2005–06.
“One of the really powerful things about being at Pomona was that I had so many
professors who believed in me, who believed I could do amazing things,” says the
San Francisco resident, adding that their faith in her gave her confidence in
herself.
While at Pomona, Arnold-Fernandez, who majored in philosophy and music,
volunteered once a week at a shelter for women who were victims of domestic
violence. After graduation, she worked for a Los Angeles nonprofit that works to
combat teen-dating violence, and in the wake of earning her law degree from
Georgetown she litigated sexual discrimination and sexual harassment claims on
behalf of women.
Asylum Access, the refugee-rights group, was founded by Arnold-Fernandez and
other refugee advocates about a year ago and incorporated last September. The
San Francisco-based nonprofit assists refugees in the global south, primarily
Africa, Asia and Latin America as they prepare for asylum proceedings and during
the actual proceedings themselves. Without such help, these people are in nearly
impossible situations, Arnold-Fernandez notes. “When refugees flee to another
country, they often have no travel papers—and they certainly don’t have a visa,”
she says. “They’re usually with no money and only have whatever clothes they are
(carrying) with them.”
“I’m so excited about what can be accomplished with Asylum Access,” she adds. “I
feel like everything I’ve done before has been training for what I’m trying to
do with this organization.”
For more information, visit the Asylum Access Web site at www.asylumaccess.org
or e-mail info@asylumaccess.org.
—Paul Sterman ’84
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