Sandra Fluke

2010 Public Interest Grant Recipient

Sandra Fluke is the 2010 recipient of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant. The Grant funded the production of an instructional film on how to apply for a domestic violence restraining order in pro per. The film will be distributed to Los Angeles County courthouse clinics, domestic violence shelters, and legal assistance providers, in addition to being available online.

Ms. Fluke’s professional background in domestic violence and human trafficking began with Sanctuary for Families in New York City. There, she launched the agency’s pilot Program Evaluation Initiative. While at Sanctuary, she co-founded the New York Statewide Coalition for Fair Access to Family Court, which after a twenty year stalemate, successfully advocated for legislation granting access to civil orders of protection for unmarried victims of domestic violence, including LGBTQ victims and teens. Ms. Fluke was also a member of the Manhattan Borough President’s Taskforce on Domestic Violence and numerous other New York City and New York State coalitions.

Ms. Fluke is in her second year at Georgetown University Law Center, where she was selected as a Public Interest Law Scholar. She is a member of the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, as well as the Co-President of Law Students for Reproductive Justice and the Vice President of the Women’s Legal Alliance. In her first year, she also co-founded a campus committee addressing human trafficking. Cornell University awarded her a B.S. in Policy Analysis & Management, as well as Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies in 2003.

Ms. Fluke has interned with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County in their Family Law Advocacy Group; Break the Cycle; the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project; NOW Legal Defense and Education Found; Crime Victim and Sexual Assault Services; and the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County.