個案總覽

Law Professor Ronald Sullivan was asked to lead a turnaround of the Orleans Public Defenders as a one-year assignment following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The office was underfunded and had perverse incentives embedded throughout the system. Sullivan's new vision to rectify the challenges was not readily accepted by judges and lawyers who benefitted from the flawed system and put up resistance. The case follows Sullivan and his team in their efforts to bring about positive systemic change to the Orleans Public Defenders and at a minimum live up to the principles provided by the American Bar Association.

Supplement for case 313026

Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and seemed to address a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in venture capital. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue Funding and it provided equity as an alternative to debt for students to finance college. Since he first set out on his journey, he faced a lot of resistance and difficulty in scaling his non-profit aimed at enabling one million low income students to obtain a postsecondary education debt free. Whelan continued to persist and adapt to the changing environment.