Washington, D.C., January 7, 2022—Today, The Society of American Law Teachers posthumously honored Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights’ Associate Director Elizabeth Frankel with the M. Shanara Gilbert Human Rights Award. The award recognizes the contributions of individuals or groups who are tireless advocates for social justice, human rights, equality, and justice. The award is named after a CUNY Law School professor who dedicated her life to these principals and worked for social justice domestically and internationally. Past awardees include Congressman John Lewis, civil rights advocate Sherrilyn Ifill, the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at MSU Law, Steven Bright and Bryan Stevenson, and other human rights champions.  

“Many of us at the Young Center are so proud to have worked with Liz,” said Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt. “She was a fierce advocate for children, a mentor for law students dedicated to justice when she taught the Immigrant Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, a loyal friend and colleague. And she was a teacher at heart. I am still learning from her.”

At the Young Center, Frankel founded the organization’s office in Harlingen, Texas before taking on the role of Associate Director. In that role, Liz launched a half dozen Child Advocate programs across the country, which have served thousands of unaccompanied and separated children in immigration detention. Over her tenure, she trained staff, students and volunteers to advocate for children’s best interests through a child-rights lens. She also wrote about the complex intersection of juvenile justice and immigration and took on some of the Young Center’s most complex, challenging cases, always keeping the child’s interests front and center. Before joining the Young Center, Frankel studied under both Randy Hertz and Marty Guggenheim at the NYU Law School of Law, where her work in the clinic distinguished her among her peers. She also clerked for Justice Susan Calkins of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine and worked at a law firm where she devoted a substantial amount of her time to pro bono asylum cases. 

To honor Frankel’s memory, the Young Center has launched the Elizabeth Frankel Summer Fellowship. Click here to learn more.  

To learn about Liz’s work and legacy, click here.  

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The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first. For press inquiries, please contact Noorjahan Akbar at media@theyoungcenter.org or 202-725-7184.