Vera Institute of Justice

Jenessy joined Vera’s Center on Immigration and Justice in October 2018 as a program associate with the Unaccompanied Children's Program. Prior to joining Vera, Jenessy was a program officer in Cambodia with International Bridges to Justice, an NGO that provides access to justice services throughout rural provinces. While in Cambodia, she was also a lecturer at a local university where she taught legal writing and ethics to Cambodian students in an English-based bachelor of law program. She was also a consultant with the American Bar Association for Human Rights and monitored trials related to the right of freedom of expression. Jenessy also worked as a lecturer in Tbilisi, Georgia with the Open Society Foundation for an Academic Summer Scholarship Program for graduate students from developing countries. She completed her juris doctorate with Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she focused on children’s advocacy and was editor-in-chief of the Children’s Legal Rights Journal.