In January, HELP: MLP welcomed two new staff members, Jocelyn Mendez, Legal Extern, and Will Pelletiers, Public Health Fellow. We are incredibly excited to have Jocelyn and Will join our team due to their demonstrated passion for improving the health of communities and fighting for individuals’ rights. Please join us in welcoming Jocelyn and Will to our team!

Jocelyn Mendez is a second-year law student at Widener University Delaware Law

School and is expected to graduate in May 2021. As part of her passion for experiential learning, Jocelyn joined HELP-MLP as a Legal Extern in January and will work with the project throughout the Spring 2020 semester. Jocelyn has a long history of advocacy work, especially as it relates to the intersectionality of legal issues and issues concerning housing and the receipt of other public benefits. Last summer, she interned in the legal department at Cigna as a fellow with the Association of Corporate Counsel of Greater Philadelphia. At Delaware Law School, Jocelyn serves as the secretary for Widener Law’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and as Vice President of Widener Law’s Latinx American Law Student Association (LALSA). Jocelyn also volunteers her time as a student assistant with Wills for Heroes where she assists with drafting wills for low-income individuals and families. She also volunteers at Sojourner’s Place Wilmington, where she cleans and serves food to those in the community.

Will Pelletiers is a recent graduate of Moravian College who contributes to evaluation

projects as a consultant to nonprofit organizations. He has advised Meals on Wheels on the effective use of Geographic Information Systems and has providing consulting to other social service organizations on community-oriented evaluation projects. He has also contributed to the United Nations Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network to design and implement global issue lesson plans for elementary and middle school classrooms. Previously, Will managed data collection for a community civil legal-needs assessment that covered 20 counties and received over 600 respondents. He plans to pursue a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at Yale University in the Fall of 2020.