Scholar

Marco Graniel

Texas

SCHOOL

University of Houston Law Center

Marco Graniel was born in Los Angeles, California. He loved his formative years in Southeastern and Central Mexico and moved to Houston, Texas for high school and beyond. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Spanish at the University of Houston - Downtown in 2010. He worked for the Drug Enforcement Agency and translated Houston Rockets online articles before becoming a 1st grade teacher at Crespo.

After nine years of teaching elementary and middle school students, Marco decided to pursue a law degree at the university of Houston Law Center with the purpose of advocating for underrepresented and underserved communities in Houston, with a focus on undocumented migrants. Working full-time as a middle school teacher while attending law school in the evenings allowed Marco to stay disciplined and focus on his purpose. During his summer breaks, he interned with Justice Gordon Goodman at the First District Court of Appeals in Houston and Judge Ignacio Torteya at the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Texas in Brownsville, Texas.

He recently started a position as a multilingual program specialist with the Houston Independent School District where he supports teachers and administrators at different campuses. His aim is to provide the tools and best practices necessary for emergent bilinguals’ English language acquisition and development. In addition to taking a full course load in the evenings, Marco is the Recent Developments Editor for the Journal of Consumer and Commercial Law and has recently joined UHLC’s ADR team. His goal is to work for a litigation boutique firm with a strong alternative dispute resolution side.

Scholar

Morenike Erinkitola

New Orleans

SCHOOL

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

Morenike Erinkitola is a 3L at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Prior to attending law school, the Chicago native enjoyed a successful career in hospitality. She later transitioned to working in state party politics after graduating from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Ms. Erinkitola currently serves as the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Law Student Vice Chair. She is the Student Bar Association’s Social Events Co-Chair, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society’s Alumni and Events Chair, and a member of the PACE Environmental Law Moot Court team at Loyola. She is also a Rule XX student practitioner in the misdemeanor section of the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic & Center for Social Justice. Ms. Erinkitola studied abroad in London this past summer while earning her Certificate in Global Arbitration: Law and Practice from Mitchell Hamline Law School. Outside of school, Ms. Erinkitola serves as the Judicial Independence Fellow for CourtWatch NOLA. In her free time, she enjoys being a mentor to first-year law students and cooking for her friends. Ms. Erinkitola hopes to become an arbitrator and settle international commercial disputes after graduation.

Scholar

Nermeen Karyaquos

Pennsylvania

SCHOOL

Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law

I am a 3L at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am a first generation American whose family immigrated from Egypt. As the first in my family to go to graduate school and become an attorney, I hope that I can make a difference by using my diverse background and experiences to help others who find themselves in conflicts. After law school I will be working at a firm, but I am hopeful to eventually find my way in the world of mediation and arbitration.

Scholar

Nicholl Paulerio

Texas

SCHOOL

University of Houston Law Center

Nicholl Paulerio is a 3L at the University of Houston Law Center, graduating in Spring 2023. A Houston native, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Religious Studies from the University of Houston. Nicholl is a first-generation law student. Her studies focus on corporate law and international Oil and Gas, complementing her employment as a specialist in Data Protection at Oceaneering, an energy services company in Houston. She also is an active member of the UHLC National Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition Team and was a 2022 finalist placing 2nd in South Texas College of Law’s Energy Law Negotiation Competition. She enjoys both litigation and transactional work. Post-graduation, Nicholl hopes to continue working in corporate law and aspires to standardize dispute resolution practices and skills into the corporate industry.

Scholar

Olivia Fortunato

New York

SCHOOL

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Olivia Fortunato is a student at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York. She serves as co-chair of the TV/film committee for the Entertainment Law Society and entertainment committee for the Intellectual Property Law Society. Olivia is a member of Cardozo’s ADR Competition Honor Society and recently competed in the FINRA Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon. She has had the pleasure of interning with Sony Music Entertainment and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Prior to law school, Olivia worked at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as the Associate Producer of Public Programming. She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music where she studied music business and harp performance and continues to work professionally as a harpist.

Scholar

Sanzida Talukder

New York

SCHOOL

City University of the School of Law

Sanzida Talukder is a full-time 2L student at the City University of the School of Law. She is completing a dual degree program — a Masters in International Affairs and a Juris Doctorate. She was born and raised in the Bronx and has previously worked at the local community boards. She has a passion to improve the quality of life of individuals in struggling communities through the legal system. As a current research associate at Neville Peterson LLP, she has the opportunity to engage in mediation as a form of dispute resolution. She is eager to learn more about alternate dispute resolution and how she can advance her career in alternative dispute resolution. Sanzida hopes to use ADR as a tool to increase access to justice.

Scholar

Sylvia Elena Davila

Mexico

SCHOOL

Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey

Sylvia is a Mexican Law Student at Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey (“FLDM”). She is at the top of her class and will be graduating in December 2022. She is currently writing her final article of investigation in the effectiveness of Arbitration for Business and Human Rights disputes. She has worked at different law firms, and currently she is part of the legal staff of Hogan Lovells in its Monterrey Office. During her time in Law School, she has participated in different student associations. She was a member of the 2020 FLDM Student Council. She is an active member of Salinas Martinez Inn Chapter of Phi Delta Phi and served as Vice-Magister of such Chapter for the 2021-2022 term. Additionally, she is a member of the International Law Society at FLDM.

As a sign of her commitment with her community, she drafted a proposal to amend the General Law for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Mexico in order to expand the scope of education and labor rights. Sylvia has a strong passion for ADR. She has been involved in Moots regarding Arbitration, obtaining significant results and awards. Additionally, she is a member of the founding group of FLDM International Arbitration Association. Finally, she has a deep interest in public and private International Law and aspires to become a successful arbitrator and mediator.

Scholar

Tony Reed

Nebraska

SCHOOL

University of Nebraska College of Law

I am a second-year law student at the University of Nebraska College of Law. As a non-traditional student, I previously worked in human resource management and in media marketing. I have many career interests, but am especially passionate about civil rights on college campuses and thus have a strong interest in institutional equity and compliance in higher education. Specifically, I would like to glean how schools can design and bring to life alternative dispute systems to provide informal resolution for Title IX complaints. Secondly, I would like to offer ADR services to address the unique needs of the LGBTQ community in Nebraska.

Scholar

Xiaoyu Huang

New York

SCHOOL

Columbia Law School

Xiaoyu Huang (he/him) is a J.D. candidate at Columbia Law School, where he is the development editor of the American Review of International Arbitration and received the Vivian Wu Yen Fellowship in honor of Michael I. Sovern. He graduated with an A.B., with honors, from Brown University in 2021. Before law school, Xiaoyu was the co-founding vice president of Pansophy Education Institute, an education company based in Vancouver, Canada.

Scholar

Victoria Mourenza

Argentina

SCHOOL

UT Law School

My name is Victoria Mourenza, an exchange student from Argentina studying at UT Law School. I participated in the FINRA Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon this year and it solidified my objective of studying to become a mediator. I believe this summit will help me understand how ADR works in the US and, together with what I have learned in Argentina, build a much more complex and inclusive perspective on the topic.