Whitman Walker Health Presents Ava Benach with Fenner Award for Public Service

Whitman Walker Health Presents Ava Benach with Fenner Award for Public Service   Earlier this month, Ava Benach received the Fenner Award for Public Service from Whitman Walker Health Legal Services.  She got it for doing what she does best– winning cases! The award recognizes the unique relationship that Benach Collopy has formed with Whitman Walker Health.  Whitman Walker Health is the premier health care provider serving the LGBT community in Washington DC.  Since its founding in the early days of the HIV crisis, WWH has expanded its services to provide more holistic assistance to its community. 

My Summer Working on Transgender Asylum Cases at Benach Collopy and Whitman Walker Health

This summer, I have had the great privilege of working for Benach Collopy on transgender asylum cases as the Fellow for Trans Asylum. Through a partnership with Whitman-Walker Health Legal Services, I have had the opportunity to work on 11 different asylum cases for transgender women from Central America, Mexico, and Peru. Each of these women were forced to flee their country due to persecution based on their gender identity.

Introducing our Fellow for Trans Asylum Issues and Celebrating Thirty Years of Whitman Walker Health Legal Services

Introducing our Fellow for Trans Asylum Issues and Celebrating Thirty Years of Whitman Walker Health Legal Services This is a big week at Benach Collopy as a number of important projects are coming together and we are very excited to share them with you. First, we are very pleased to introduce Maria Celina Marquez as the inaugural Benach Collopy- Whitman Walker Health Fellow for Trans Asylum.  This fellowship is a collaboration between Benach Collopy and Whitman Walker Health, to provide a law student with a summer fellowship to work on asylum cases for transgender people. 

Benach Collopy Announces Summer Fellowship for Law Students Interested in Trans Asylum Issues

Benach Collopy Announces Summer Fellowship for Law Students Interested in Trans Asylum Issues       I have been so lucky to get to know so many brave, hard-working, family-oriented, and generous people from all over the globe. They all shared one thing in common: a willingness to take a chance to come to the U.S. to be the person they knew they were meant to be. -Ava Benach Description of Fellowship Surging violence against transgender and gender nonconforming communities worldwide continue to force a record number of individuals to seek protection at U.S.