Joshua Matz

Joshua Matz graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2012.  He is currently a law clerk to Judge J. Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York.  From 2013 to 2014, he will clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In law school, Joshua served as President of the American Constitution Society and as Articles, Book Reviews, and Commentaries Chair of the Harvard Law Review.  He also worked as a research assistant to Professors William Stuntz, David Barron, and Laurence Tribe, interned for SCOTUSblog, and assisted several professors with appellate litigation projects.  Joshua received the Irving Oberman Memorial Prize in Constitutional Law for the Class of 2012.

Before attending HLS, Joshua received a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.St. with distinction from Oxford University.

Joshua Matz is the co-author, with Laurence H. Tribe, of An Ephemeral Moment: Minimalism, Equality, and Federalism in the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage Rights.

Ryan Kendall

As a young, gay teen, Mr. Kendall was sent by his parents to a so-called conversion therapist in a desperate attempt to somehow “fix” him. The practice of conversion therapy, combined with familial rejection, virtually destroyed his sense of place in the world. At the age of 16, Mr. Kendall surrendered himself to the Colorado Department of Human Services and sought to have his parents’ custody of him revoked. What followed were dark years filled with depression, drug abuse, thoughts of suicide, and periods of homelessness. In 2010, Ryan told his story in the district trial of Hollingsworth v. Perry, to show to the world that sexual orientation is an immutable trait and to illustrate the fact LGBT people have been subjected to an ugly history of discrimination and abuse, often from members of their own families. Today Mr. Kendall studies political science at Columbia University and continues his work to ensure that no child is subjected to the discredited and dangerous practice of conversion therapy.

Ryan Kendall is the author of Prop. 8: Advancing Civil Rights Through Cultural and Constitutional Change.

Danieli Evans

Danieli Evans graduated from Yale Law School in 2012. She is currently a law clerk for Judge Diane P. Wood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Starting this fall, she will clerk for Judge Harry T. Edwards on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Danieli is involved with Yale Law School’s Cultural Cognition Project, researching the way that cultural backgrounds subconsciously influence how people perceive facts and risks, and investigating communication strategies for detaching empirical questions about disputed facts from cultural identity. She is passionate about civil rights, democratic governance, constitutional law and social change. Other writing projects (some published, others in progress) pertain to citizen enforcement in administrative law, inter-branch cooperation in statutory interpretation, the evolution of Equal Protection, reforming anti-discrimination law, and enhancing voter information and participation. Before law school Danieli attempted a career as an equestrian, and still moon-lights as one (training with the horse, Jolie, that she surreptitiously acquired during law school), as well as regularly practicing yoga, being outdoors, and skiing whenever possible.

Danieli Evans is the author of Imagining a Same-Sex Marriage Decision Based on Dignity: Considering Human Experience in Constitutional Law.

Graham Gee

Graham Gee is a lecturer in law at the University of Birmingham in England. His primary research interest is the British constitution and is currently working on a three-year AHRC-funded project on “The Politics of Judicial Independence in Britain’s Changing Constitution”. He has written on the legal regulation of same-sex relationships in Massachusetts, Canada and South Africa.

Graham Gee is the author of Same-Sex Marriage and Perry: A Case for Judicial Minimalism?.