My first year was challenging and rewarding. I not only learned the law, but also how to think critically from a biblical worldview. At the end of my second year, Regent Law launched the Center for Global Justice, much to my excitement. Through the Center’s internship grant program, I received one of four grants that year and was sent to Strasbourg, France to intern at the European Centre for Law and Justice. Using the law to protect persecuted Christians in the Middle East and to help secure the right to life for unborn children in Europe was exhilarating. I was doing what God had called me to do!

Through my internship, clerking with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) throughout the school year, taking classes like international Trafficking in Persons from expert Kathleen McKee, and receiving excellent teaching in all of my law classes, I felt completely prepared to use the law to fight injustice at the end of my three years at Regent. I now stand here humbled that the Lord has graciously allowed for me to return to the Center for Global Justice to help prepare more advocates for justice. Take a look below and see what some of our alumni are doing in the human rights field.

Having worked with abused and neglected children prior to attending law school, Keila’s heart and passion towards advocating for the legal protection of children was actually what led her to Regent Law. During her 1L year, Keila began interning at the Center for Global Justice and as a rising 3L, she interned for Casa Alianza Mexico as well as Fundacion Camino a Casa, where she worked with orphans, street children, and sex trafficking victims, while also continuing to build the Center’s partnership with then-Congresswoman Rosi Orozco, a Christian political leader in human rights advocacy.

The calling towards child advocacy has been something Keila at times fought against, and even tried to forget when she encountered tremendous fears and challenges which simply seemed impossible to overcome. Her journey while in law school was far from easy and even after obtaining her Juris Doctor, she faced even more serious adversity and hardship. Yet in realizing how God continues providing and positioning her at the right place, at the right time, Keila acknowledges that God’s ways are indeed higher and better than any of our own.  Her focus verse at this stage of her journey is Isaiah 26:12: “Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.”

In reflecting on how Regent Law, and the Center, equipped Keila for her present work, she expresses profound gratefulness for the opportunity to be taught by incredible professors, to be surrounded by invaluable support from each of her mentors, and most importantly, to be able to develop a strong biblical foundation for the pursuit of justice accompanied with kindness and mercy, as to effectively advocate on behalf of children, particularly those most vulnerable and defenseless in our world.

During her time with the ECLJ, Olivia conducted research pertaining to issues of first impression for the ECHR, gained a deeper understanding of European law, attended ECHR proceedings, and worked on a project to help the cause of then-imprisoned Iranian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani. In addition, she translated several ECLJ documents from French to English, one of which was presented to the ECHR. She now works as an associate attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice. Her work is primarily focused on protecting the First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion, but she also works to protect the rights of the most vulnerable — unborn children.

Her experience there led to a full-time position after graduation. She currently serves as Strategic Partnerships Liaison for the Faith-based and Community Initiatives division of the Department for Children and Families in Topeka, Kansas. Her job requires a working knowledge of the intersection between child welfare issues and the legal aspects of building a case to prosecute perpetrators. The position provides a unique opportunity to work in tandem with the Kansas Attorney General’s office, the Agency’s foster care providers and community partners across the State to implement statutory requirements for responding to this issue. She gives credit for her successes to a strong work ethic cultivated by the rigorous academics of Regent’s program, the Center’s support, and most of all, God’s divine positioning and favor on her life.

CCCI began its legal internship program while Tara was a second-year law student at Regent. She competed with students from Pepperdine and other candidates interviewed by CCCI at the Christian Legal Society’s national conference to land the internship which eventually lead to her present job.

It turns out that Regent Law’s strong reputation went a long way towards CCCI choosing to interview Regent Law students for its new legal internship program, and toward CCCI eventually bringing Tara on staff. “I never would have imagined that this is where I would be after law school,” she says. “I didn’t even know working for CCCI would be an option,” she continues, “and if I had not gone to Regent, I probably would not be an attorney for Campus Crusade right now.”

Kyle is a Cordes Fellow. He lectures on social entrepreneurship at Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School. He launched Socentlaw, a blog dedicated to the legal side of social enterprise as well as writing for Triple Pundit and Law for Change. He also launched Social Earth. He sits on the board of Explore — a charter school in Brooklyn — and The Adventure Project — a nonprofit that seeks to add venture capital to social entrepreneurs in the developing world.

1989, Ann launched the United States branch of the Jubilee Campaign. Formed in London in the early 1980s, the Jubilee Campaign aims to promote human rights and religious liberties in countries that imprison, terrorize or otherwise oppress minorities.

Under Ann’s direction, the Jubilee Campaign’s U.S. branch advocates for children’s protection and refugee issues, and against religious and political persecution. The organization works to bring international intervention and assistance, which requires some creative and daring work at times.

While the Jubilee Campaign will push for change in law when necessary, Ann explains its main mission: “We support and empower partners within countries. We seek out partners who are already doing the work within our mandate and assist them in areas of need.” Currently, Jubilee Campaign partners with organizations in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Egypt and the Philippines.

Since 1990, Ann has participated almost annually at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where she has given numerous interventions under various categories.

In 2004, she labored with other advocates before Congress to successfully pass the North Korea Freedom Act. In 2005 she testified before the Subcommittee on International Relations concerning North Korean refugees in China. That same year, her work in organizing speakers for a congressional hearing and briefing to free “Kids Behind Bars” in the Philippines led to a change of law to release Philippine children from adult prisons and transfer them to rehabilitation.

Ann teaches a course on International Religious Freedom at Regent.

Through that exchange, he was propelled to establish A Helping Hand Adoption Agency, and eventually Orphan Voice, A Helping Hand’s outreach ministry to orphans around the world. Through these vehicles, Tony has orchestrated several thousand adoptions.

The two organizations aim to plant hope into the lives of children by providing Christian education, care-giving, nutritious food, vocational training and love. A Helping Hand specializes in adoptions in China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Guatemala. Through Orphan Voice programs, Tony’s team is ministering to over 660 children in countries including China, Cambodia, India and Myanmar.

He says his legal education helps him to be strategic in his work. After graduating from Regent Law in 1991, Tony went on to complete an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown Law.

“I loved the international law courses that I took at Regent,” says Tony. “Later, my LL.M. helped to prepare me to think about dealing with other cultures and legal systems. In some of the countries in which we work, there is no developed legal system, and my legal education has helped me see how legal protections should be put in place for the protection of children.”

The great contributions Tony makes in the lives of the world’s orphans is a leading example of how Regent is preparing leaders to impact the nation and the world. Tony sees his work as the natural extension of his Christian faith. “It has been my privilege to serve those of different cultures, and I feel greatly blessed by it.”

From 2007-2014, Matthew was vice president for corporate relations at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) at its headquarters in Shanghai, China. He resided on SMIC’s Shanghai campus with his family and together they traveled widely. To promote U.S.-China relations, he hosted U.S. and Chinese delegations at work and at home and volunteered time teaching U.S.-style rule of law (ROL) courses at East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University, and Peking University School of Transnational Law. He also served as an adjunct professor for Council on International Educational Exchange, teaching international business law to American undergraduates studying abroad at East China Normal University. In 2010, the City of Shanghai awarded him Leading Professional status. In 2008, Matthew partnered with USAI to establish the USAI-Szymanski ROL Program for Chinese Students to host top Chinese law students in Washington, D.C. For four weeks each summer, a handful of students experience the U.S. system firsthand, observing legislative and judicial proceedings and meeting with officials from all three branches of the U.S. Government. In 2015, he partnered with USAI to establish the USAI-Syzmanski ROL Program for U.S. Students. The inaugural program occurred in May-June, 2016 in China.

Michelle was formerly a senior executive in the U.S. Department of Defense, where she was the only designated “Highly Qualified Expert” for Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform (SSR). Her work focuses on building capacity for multi-national, interagency, civil-military and public-private cooperation to build and strengthen the rule of law, resolve violent conflict, and enable sustainable peace. She has field experience in 12 conflict countries across four continents, to include a succession of deployments to Afghanistan where her role was to advise Senior Military Commanders on how to connect security force development to governance and justice. From December 2010 to December 2011, she was the Senior Rule of Law Advisor to the NATO Police Training Mission in Afghanistan. She is the principal author of the Joint Force Commander’s Handbook on Military Support to Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform.

In 1996, Michelle graduated at the top of her class from Regent University School of Law. While in law school, she was an editor of the Law Review, and received numerous academic honors and awards. She has practiced complex civil litigation, prosecution, and criminal defense in 14 State and Federal jurisdictions. She has special expertise in real property law, alternative dispute resolution, and government and military structures, and has served on drafting committees for uniform commercial codes. Her clients have included multinational corporations in the extractive, manufacturing and maritime industries, Fortune 500 Companies, municipalities, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.