{"id":290256,"date":"2026-04-28T20:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/290256\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T20:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:47:10","slug":"three-berkeley-law-standouts-receive-top-honor-given-to-uc-berkeley-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/290256\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Berkeley Law standouts receive top honor given to UC Berkeley staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Cohen<\/p>\n

Reflecting the dedication and talent of those working at Berkeley Law, three of its standout employees \u2014 Sophia Wang, Toni Mendicino, and Amina Kirby \u2014 won 2026 Chancellor\u2019s Outstanding Staff Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Presented to individual staff members, the prestigious annual award honors those who demonstrate exceptional initiative to create significant positive impact on UC Berkeley\u2019s campus community. Wang, Mendicino, and Kirby were recognized at a recent ceremony with Chancellor Rich Lyons and other senior administrators.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wang, a staff attorney and lecturer at the Criminal Law & Justice Center<\/a> (CLJC), leads the center\u2019s Immigration Liberation Practicum<\/a>. Soon after the November 2024 election, alumni who defend undocumented immigrants approached CLJC Executive Director Chesa Boudin and Pro Bono Program<\/a> Director Deborah Schlosberg to see if the law school could help respond to the expected increase in detentions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Boudin,Wang worked closely with Criminal Law & Justice Center Executive Director Chesa Boudin (left) and Pro Bono Program Director Deborah Schlosberg (right) in launching the school\u2019s Immigration Liberation Practicum.<\/p>\n

Within months, the practicum was created and placed on the fall course schedule. Partnering with local immigration rights advocates, students have helped several immigrants win their release from detention, secured an order to prevent the arrest and re-detention of a longtime Bay Area resident, and obtained bond hearings for individuals who have waited years in detention for their cases to be heard by an immigration judge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly hard to believe how much we\u2019ve been able to accomplish in just over a semester,\u201d says Wang, who previously worked at the East Bay Community Law Center and Bay Area Legal Aid. \u201cThe speed at which we\u2019ve been able to get up and running with students and cases could not be possible without the support of and collaboration with the immigrant rights advocacy community who have long paved the way, and created the infrastructure, for pro bono representation of detained immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Wang says the practicum\u2019s work is \u201cjust a small drop in the bucket\u201d given the number of immigrants needing legal representation, she still finds great satisfaction in giving students a meaningful advocacy outlet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the most educational and meaningful part of my time in law school was working with clients in the immigration clinic,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s an incredible opportunity to be able to expand the experiential learning opportunities here at Berkeley Law and create a space on campus where students can engage directly in legal practice and develop the skills needed to be thoughtful, client-centered advocates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Award nominators Boudin and Schlosberg explained that under Wang\u2019s supervision, the practicum has secured groundbreaking victories in federal immigration detention cases that garnered national attention and set important precedents for due process protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHer leadership ensures that Berkeley Law is not merely teaching about justice in the abstract, but actively creating it through direct legal representation,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThis concrete impact on individuals\u2019 lives \u2014 reuniting families, protecting asylum seekers, and challenging unlawful government action \u2014 exemplifies Berkeley\u2019s values of access, excellence, and social justice in action.\u201d<\/p>\n

International impact<\/p>\n

A Berkeley Law staff member for 30 years, Mendicino began supporting the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law<\/a> and its International Law Certificate program in 2013 as part of her faculty assistant duties. When Dean Erwin Chemerinsky arrived in 2017, she \u201cpractically pleaded\u201d to maintain that role.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was deeply inspired by our students\u2019 accomplishments and eager to continue working with Co-Faculty Directors Laurel Fletcher<\/a> and Katerina Linos<\/a>, both professors I admire immensely,\u201d Mendicino says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fletcher,Mendicino was nominated for her award by Clinical Professor Laurel E. Fletcher (left), Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Whitney Mello (second from right), and Professor Katerina Linos (right).<\/p>\n

She transitioned to administer the institute full-time in 2021, eager to support its \u201cbrilliant faculty and graduates determined to address global crises through legal advocacy and public service.\u201d Mendicino produces Linos\u2019 groundbreaking \u201cBorderlines<\/a>\u201d podcast, which focuses on global problems in a world fragmented by national borders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fletcher, Linos, and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Whitney Mello nominated Mendicino for the award, stating that her work on the podcast \u201chas extended Berkeley\u2019s influence far beyond traditional academic boundaries\u201d and praising how her \u201corganizational excellence, flexibility, and meticulous attention to detail make seemingly impossible initiatives achievable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That impact was exemplified by the Miller Institute receiving the East Bay Chapter of<\/p>\n

the United Nations Association\u2019s annual Global Citizen Award. Her nominators credited that honor to Mendicino\u2019s \u201cability to anticipate needs, adapt to changing circumstances, and execute flawlessly to ensure that Berkeley\u2019s mission of advancing global understanding and addressing critical challenges reaches audiences worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citing curiosity and communication as key traits in her job, Mendicino loves that her position demands being a constant learner and calls producing \u201cBorderlines\u201d a \u201cpinch-me highlight\u201d of her career. She also values being \u201ca careful steward of institutional resources\u201d to ensure that the university\u2019s impact continues to flourish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly consider this school my extended family,\u201d Mendicino says. \u201cI am motivated daily by the values that bring people here to study, teach, and research. The Miller Institute\u2019s mission has taught me that advancing rights requires deep respect for diverse perspectives and a commitment to upholding the rule of law. It is a privilege to build bridges between our renowned scholars, dedicated staff, and amazing students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding value across the board\u00a0<\/p>\n

A senior audio-visual (AV) and information technology engineer, Kirby plays a crucial role in advancing technical operations in the school\u2019s classrooms and event spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the last decade, AV systems have increasingly shifted toward operating over standard IT infrastructure. While this has simplified many aspects of AV system deployment, it also presents complex challenges in ensuring successful operation while maintaining network security and stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gonzalez,Assistant Dean and Chief Information Officer Gabriel Gonzalez (left) and Manager of Instructional Technology Dino Johnson (right) praise Kirby\u2019s proactive approach to solving vexing tech issues.<\/p>\n

Before Kirby\u2019s arrival, many Berkeley Law AV system renovations were designed and installed through third-party contractors. She says these contractor-led projects \u201coften fail to assess in enough detail the full scope of work required to complete a successful installation.\u201d The result: stressful installations with unforeseen technical or structural issues, long delays, unexpected costs, last-minute fixes, and design changes which negatively impact the project\u2019s final outcome and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 the end-user experience.<\/p>\n

In response, Kirby pursued reducing the school\u2019s dependence on third-party contractors by shifting to a model that prioritizes the training and coordination of staff AV technicians and campus partners to install new AV systems in-house. Manager of Instructional Technology Dino Johnson and Assistant Dean and Chief Information Officer Gabriel Gonzalez, who nominated Kirby for the award, noted that she has saved the law school tens of thousands of dollars handling most of these projects herself \u2014 design and installation \u2014 with superior results.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kirby says this shift has also \u201cestablished and strengthened interdepartmental relationships and empowered the Berkeley Law Media Services team with valuable learning opportunities and far greater agency over our institution\u2019s AV systems.\u201d She works to ensure that every design function and feature \u201ccan be finely tailored to best serve the needs of our students and faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her nomination highlighted how she demonstrated outstanding creativity and exceptional initiative in eliminating waste that minimizes bureaucracy and saves university resources, created AI-powered custom chatbots on classroom podium iPads that can answer specific questions about that room\u2019s AV system, and is helping central campus pilot a new Wi-Fi-based assisted listening system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it both challenging and rewarding to work across departments to develop solutions that accommodate network-based AV systems while strictly conforming to campus IT standards,\u201d Kirby says. \u201cSuccessfully navigating this intersection to expand our faculty and student support resources is incredibly gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Andrew Cohen Reflecting the dedication and talent of those working at Berkeley Law, three of its standout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-290256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}