Stephen Coger

Age: 29

Home Town: Darnville, Arkanas

Education: English, University of Arkansas; JD, University of Washington School of Law

Specific Field Interests: Equitable Access to Resources, Immigrant and Refugee Life

Placement: People's Watch, Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Area of Focus: Human Rights

Highlights: Stephen first learned to care for community in his 2,000-person hometown, where immigrants from Laos, Mexico, and El Salvador lovingly guided his growth, along with the town's European Americans and African Americans. Next, he attended the University of Arkansas, and founded OMNI at the UA for Peace, Justice & Ecology. The organization was responsible for organizing the Peace on Earth Music Festival, which featured artists and students from around the globe singing and sharing art for peace. OMNI UA also helped the state and university divest from the genocide in Sudan. He co-founded a group that united business leaders, attorneys, and undocumented youth to advance community interests and protect against police violence. Stephen worked in poverty law at a pro bono law firm dedicated to equal access to justice. He also co-designed the Justice for Arkansans Project, funding eight new full-time AmeriCorps positions throughout rural Arkansas, including members of the client communities. Stephen moved to Argentina on a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English, as well as music and swimming. Then he relocated to the University of Washington, School of Law in Seattle as a Gates Public Service Law Scholar. He worked in rural Argentina on poverty issues. Domestically, he served immigrant farm workers through legal research in support of litigation. Stephen writes fiction and music, and teaches yoga in a juvenile detention facility.