2008 POINT SCHOLARS

Kelsey Phipps

Georgetown University Law Center

Public Interest Law

Raised in Bothell, Washington, Kelsey grew up in a military family dedicated to public service. She carried these values to Scripps College, where she became actively involved in civil rights organizing. In addition to serving as student body president, she helped organize and lead a student march against Proposition 22, a discriminatory state-wide ballot measure, and helped develop a diversity awareness curriculum adopted by several of the Claremont Colleges.

Due to her service and academic achievements at Scripps, Kelsey was selected as a Truman Scholar and interned with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Later named a Fulbright Scholar to Ireland, she earned a Master's degree in Women's Studies and campaigned for a woman running for the Irish Senate.

Kelsey went on to work on Senator Edward M. Kennedy's staff and served as the first female co-chair of the Senate's LGBT staff caucus. In the Senate she focused on legislation to provide greater access to services for individuals with HIV/AIDS, mental illness, substance use disorders, and brain injuries.

Kelsey is currently a Public Interest Law Scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center. She hopes to begin a career in civil rights law and remain active in progressive politics and public policy.