Sophie Lenihan

Sophie Lenihan

Public Service Venture Fund Fellow

Sophie Lenihan (she/her) is a Public Service Venture Fund Fellow with the Students’ Civil Rights Project (SCRP).

Sophie dedicated her law school career to youth advocacy and civil rights litigation. As a 3L in the Education Law Clinic, she contributed to innovative state constitutional litigation aimed at enforcing students’ right to an adequate education. In her 2L year, she interned with the Educational Opportunities Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where she helped draft a Statement of Interest challenging classroom censorship legislation that discriminated against LGBTQ+ students, and as an intern with Children’s Rights, she worked on litigation seeking systemic reform in North Carolina’s foster care system. Sophie also served on the leadership of the Youth Advocacy and Policy Lab, an intensive program for law students designed to combine clinics, courses, writing projects, and mentorship to prepare students for a career in youth advocacy.

Before law school, Sophie worked at a national education nonprofit dedicated to improving high school history instruction and civic engagement. She collaborated with teachers and students across the country to implement case method curricula in the classroom.

Sophie received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A in Psychology magna cum laude from Dartmouth College.