This summer RHLS had three great interns who provided support and inspiration to the staff in the Glenside and Pittsburgh Offices. Each of our interns shared a little bit about themselves and their work at RHLS. (photo (from left to right): Aaron Joshua, Asia Archey, Wesley Speary.)
Aaron Joshua
I’m a rising 3L from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden. Before law school I worked as a financial accountant at both JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Fidelity National Financial. I came to law school because I believe that lawyers tackle the most important problems faced by society using the most effective tools available. My work is guided by the belief that if we as a people can put altruism over profit we can tackle the most pressing issues in the world. I’m interested in housing and community development because intertwined in the right to liberty and the ‘pursuit of happiness’ is the right to own property and come home to an accommodating and comfortable environment. Unfortunately, too many people live in dire conditions with no means to turn their house into a home. So to fix this I’m helping regional housing advocate for the expansion of VAWA protections for beneficiaries of the LIHTC program as well as to ‘untangle’ property titles, which should make federal and state benefits available to local residents.
Asia Archey
I am student at Fordham University pursuing a JD/MA dual degree in law and international finance and banking. I am originally from Philadelphia and hope to return once I graduate in 2014. I developed an interest in housing during an undergraduate internship where I learned how access to housing can be a fundamental gateway to a plethora of things including job stability, healthy and sustainable communities, self-confidence and general productivity. This realization resonated with me because I could immediately see how developing affordable housing could change people’s lives in my home community.
This summer at RHLS I learned, among other things, how affordable housing projects are executed and what moving parts need to come together, from a legal perspective, to make these projects possible. I am particularly interested in methods of financing these projects and would like to devote time to finding innovative financing mechanisms for funding affordable housing so that more people can partake in homeownership, which I consider a fundamental right.
Wesley Speary
I am joint-degree JD-MPA (Masters in Public Administration) student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Interning this summer at the Regional Housing Legal Services (RHLS) office in Pittsburgh suited me perfectly. The work that Robert (Bob) Damewood and Bridget Coyne assigned to me provided me with a comprehensive and fascinating introduction to the legal aspects of community and economic development. My assignments quickly turned into a crash course in Pennsylvania law. I researched a host of legal topics, including but not limited to property, water quality, waste management, utilities, receivership, corporations, non-profit bylaws, taxes, landlord-tenant issues, trespass, and civil procedure. The range of issues helped to keep me constantly engaged and focused on my work. More importantly, my work affected many people in multiple communities, which is why I chose public service.