Melissa Mona Receives Bandiero Award
Human
rights activist, Melissa Mona, received the prestigious Emilio
Bandiero Award from the Oregon Law Students' Public Interest Fund at
its annual benefit auction and celebration on February 27, 2004. The
award was presented to Melissa by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken
before a packed house of law students, faculty and community
supporters at the University of Oregon School of Law.
Melissa is a member of
the staff at the Lane County Law and Advocacy Center. She serves on
the Whitebird Board of Directors, the Lane County Law Library
Committee, the Break the Chains prisoner support group, the Eugene
Homeless Initiative and was formerly a member of the Eugene Human
Rights Commission. In her spare time, she is studying Spanish (she is
already fluent in English, French, and Ogalala Lakota - and reads and
writes Arabic!). She has devoted countless hours and energy to
supporting human rights, promoting equal justice and seeking freedom
for political prisoners, including Native American leader Leonard
Peltier. The Bandiero award is given annually for outstanding service
in public interest law.
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