We are excited to introduce our Student Ambassadors who will be assisting with the work of the American Branch, especially in the preparation of International Law Weekend 2024 (ILW 2024).

Helen Bamiro is a rising third-year law student at Fordham University School of Law with an International and Comparative Law focus. Bamiro received a Bachelors of Arts degree in International Studies with a concentration in Africa and the Middle East from the University at Buffalo in 2020.  She has a keen interest in providing civil remedies to disenfranchised communities throughout the continent of Africa in a proposed International Anti-Corruption Court.  In doing so, she hopes to provide relief for victims whose labor and infrastructural resources were exploited by different actors.  Since her first year at Fordham Law, ABILA’s International Law Weekend has shown her the vast array of opportunities international law offers.  Because of this, she conducted research for an international human rights organization as one of Fordham’s Crowley Scholar for International Human Rights and became a 2L J.D. Representative for her school’s newly founded International Law Association. As one of ABILA’s 2024-2025 Student Ambassadors, her goal is to encourage other students to advocate for communities around the globe legally.

Mina Nur Basmaci is a 2025 J.D. Candidate at Washington University School of Law. She is originally from Istanbul, Turkey and holds a B.A. in English and Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mina is a Dagen-Legomsky Hague Fellow at the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute and has deepened her knowledge of international law as a Research Assistant to Professor Leila Sadat and a member of her Crimes Against Humanity Initiative. Mina also represented WashU Law in the 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, where she individually placed second for oral advocacy in the international rounds. Her ultimate career goal is to litigate atrocity crimes before international courts and tribunals. She is spending her 2L summer at the United States Agency for International Development and will be interning with International Rights Advocates in the Fall. As a Student Ambassador, Mina looks forward to supporting and connecting with ABILA members while exploring her interests in universal jurisdiction, Head-of-State immunity, and corporate liability in international criminal law.

Madison Graham is a rising 3L at the University of Georgia Law School, where she has been focusing largely on public international law and national security law. She says: “While I came to law school knowing I would be interested in studying international law, it has been amazing over the past two years to have my perspective broadened on how widely the subject of “international law” spans. Groups like ABILA have been an integral part of my academic growth, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute as a student ambassador. I hope to use this position to meet other professionals across the field and give back in helping other students better understand the academic and professional opportunities available to them in studying international law. Throughout my law school career, in addition to this role,  I have been very fortunate to participate in UGA Law’s Global Governance School, a summer internship at Van Bael & Bellis in Brussels, Belgium, serve as President of UGA Law’s International Law Society, and currently am interning with Navy JAG in San Diego, CA. These roles have solidified my desire to return to a career in federal public service after graduation, ideally with the JAG Corps or back in Washington, D.C., with a federal agency.”

Anne Harper is a third-year law student at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. With ABILA, she hopes to build connections with those who share her passion for public international law and learn more about her fields of interest, specifically humanitarian and human rights law. After graduation, she would like to work for an international institution whose mission is protecting vulnerable communities.

Cris Kelman is a rising 3L and J.D. candidate at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where he focuses on international business law, inspired by his parents’ South American roots and his first language, Spanish. He has been actively involved in the Denver Journal of International Law & Policy, serving on the board for two years, first as Candidacy and Events Editor and now as Business and Events Editor. Cris is also the treasurer of the International Law Society. He has had diverse internships, including positions with an in-house financial services company, the Attorney General’s Office, the Colorado Court of Appeals, and a prominent private firm this summer. He is eager to collaborate with ABILA members, gain deeper insights into the field of international law, and enhance his ability to provide creative solutions for clients in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Paulina Macías Ortega is a Mexican lawyer and internationalist and will be starting an LL.M. in Global and National Health Law with an emphasis on human rights at Georgetown this fall. As an Ambassador, she hopes to learn about ABILA’s operations, understand the planning process of the International Law Weekend, and have the opportunity to attend presentations and network with professionals in the field. Her goal is to participate in this conference in a couple of years. After completing her master’s degree, she aspires to pursue a JSD or PhD in international human rights law, focusing on reproductive rights.

As a reminder, student membership in the American Branch of the International Law Association is free, and students may sign up from our website’s membership page.