Northeastern University School of Law presents the 2006 Daynard Public Interest Visiting Fellows Program

2006 Fellows

Stephen M. Kohn '84
Partner, Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto

Oona Chatterjee
Co-founder and Co-director,
Make the Road by Walking

Northeastern University School of Law is pleased to announce the 2006 Daynard Public Interest Visiting Fellows: social justice pathbreakers Stephen M. Kohn and Oona Chatterjee. The Daynard Program brings two distinguished practitioners of public interest law to the Northeastern campus each academic year for a three-day visit. The fellows, nationally recognized public interest leaders, serve as role models for students, demonstrating how legal skills can be used effectively and creatively to make the world a better place. The Daynard Fellows each deliver an address that focuses on the strategic use of law to promote public interest goals, participate in classes, consult about professional opportunities for students and graduates, and meet individually with interested faculty, administrators and students.

This vibrant program was established in 2004 through the generosity of Professor Richard A. Daynard and his wife, Carol Iskols Daynard. Professor Daynard is an expert on legal approaches to dealing with the epidemics of tobacco- and obesity-related disease. He chairs the Tobacco Products Liability Project, is president of the Tobacco Control Resource Center and directs the Law and Obesity Project of the Public Health Advocacy Institute.

Stephen M. Kohn is one of the nation's foremost experts in the area of whistleblower protection. He wrote the first legal treatise on whistleblowing and successfully litigated many of the nation's landmark whistleblower cases. He has represented witnesses in high profile cases, including the OJ Simpson case, the World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City bombing cases. Mr. Kohn currently represents the Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting officer, who blew the whistle on an improper no-bid award to Halliburton for the reconstruction of Iraq; the highest ranking FBI counterterrorism official to disclose major deficiencies in the War on Terror; and a compliance manager at the National Institutes of Health who exposed improper human experimentation in government-funded drug clinical trials.

A prolific author, Mr. Kohn has written numerous books and law review articles on whistleblowing and the rights of political dissidents, including Concepts and Procedures in Whistleblower Law; The Whistleblower Litigation Handbook; The Labor Lawyer's Guide to the Rights and Responsibilities of Employee Whistleblowers; Protecting Environmental and Nuclear Whistleblowers: A Litigation Manual; Jailed for Peace; and American Political Prisoners. He is the coauthor of the recently published Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees.

Mr. Kohn chairs the board of directors for the National Whistleblower Center. In addition his Northeastern law degree, Mr. Kohn holds an MA in political science from Brown University and a BS in social education from Boston University.

Oona Chatterjee is co-founder and co-director of Make the Road by Walking (MRBW), a community-run organization in Bushwick, Brooklyn, dedicated to empowering residents to advocate for their rights and improve conditions in their New York neighborhood. Since its inception in 1997, MRBW has grown dramatically and now includes more than 600 members, a member-elected board composed of low-income community residents, and a staff of 12. The organization is community-run and community-driven: decisions are made by consensus, and MRBW members must pay a fee or volunteer time to participate in the organization and receive its services.

MRBW has launched campaigns to address critical resident issues and has scored some major victories. It successfully required New York City to conform to federal law and provide translation services to non-English speakers in all of its food stamp, welfare and Medicaid offices, forced dozens of neighborhood employers to pay more than $100,000 in illegally withheld wages to garment workers, and continues to fight for workers' rights and improved conditions in Bushwick. MRBW works to address public health issues such as rat infestation, lead poisoning and hazardous vacant lots. Through education and advocacy initiatives, MRBW also strives to combat homophobia and promote the well being of children.

Ms. Chatterjee is a graduate of Yale University and New York University School of Law.