Inaugural Rusty Dalferes Memorial Fund Recipients Announced

Oluwateniola Akinbodewa is a fourth year SJD candidate in International Legal Studies at Golden Gate University in the United States. She previously studied at Belgorod State University in Russia, where she graduated with honors at both the master’s and undergraduate levels. Her research is focused on the Law of Treaties and state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts. She credits the Jessup for inspiring her love for International Law.

Ramiz Husaini is the director of Jessup Alumni Association in Afghanistan. Currently, he is initiating a capstone project at Wake Forest University School of Law to bring legal aid in clinical legal education to Afghan law schools. He received his Bachelor of Law from Herat University in 2013 and earned an LLM in the Rule of Law for Development from Loyola University Chicago in 2022. Husaini has several years of experience with prestigious international legal and educational NGOs, including the Legal Education Support Program in Afghanistan, Afghanistan Jessup Moot Court Program, and Friends of the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan. He is passionate about training capable lawyers and introducing legal educational institutions in Afghanistan.

Dean Ralph Sarmiento is an accomplished academic in the Philippines with extensive experience in Public International Law. He is the author of a Bar Reviewer on Public International Law and has served as a Bar reviewer and lecturer on International Law for many years. He was the Dean of the College of Law at the University of St. La Salle from 2010-2017 where he earned his Juris Doctor degree Magna Cum Laude in 1997 and placed 10th in the Philippine Bar Examinations. He has been closely involved with the Jessup for many years, serving as National Administrator of the Philippines, as well as a judge. He has also served as a William Fulbright Institute Fellow at Temple University, a Swiss Institute Du Fédéralisme scholar at Fribourg University, and a consultant to the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Lu Shegay is the co-founder of the Institute of Animal Law of Asia and a professor of law. She earned her LL.B degree from KIMEP University School of Law in Kazakhstan and an LL.M degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in the United States. She has been involved with Jessup Competition since 2018, first as a competitor, then as a coach, and finally as a judge at the International Rounds in 2022. She now serves as the National Administrator for the Jessup in Kazakhstan. Lu has contributed to the draft of the Animal Welfare Law of Kazakhstan, published several articles on Animal Law in Kazakhstan, Russia, and the world. She is also the author of a chapter on Animal Law in Kazakhstan in the forthcoming Global Animal Law (Oxford University Press).

Ivonei Souza Trindade is a Brazilian lawyer with experience at the Inter-American Human Rights System. He earned his Bachelor of Laws at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul- PUCRS in Porto Alegre, Brasil and has served as a lecturer in International Human Rights Law at A PARI MUN - Instituto de Investigación y Debate en Derecho in Peru. Additionally, he has published a number of books on International Law. A Jessup participant since 2011, Ivonei won the Prof. Vasco de Jesus Rodrigues Award in 2020 for service to the Jessup in Brazil.