Stanford Law School Announces Second Class of Sallyanne Payton Fellows

Stanford Law School (SLS) recently named five students as the second class of Sallyanne Payton Fellows. Payton, JD ’68, BA ’64, was the first African-American student to graduate from SLS and the first to serve on the Stanford Law Review. The fellowship is one of two school-sponsored programs that honor historic firsts at the law school – the other is a teaching prize recognizing inclusive pedagogy in 1L teaching in honor of SLS Professor Barbara Allen Babcock, the first woman member of the SLS faculty. Both are part of the law school’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives. 

“Named after one of Stanford Law’s most illustrious and well-loved alumni, this important fellowship is an integral part of the school’s efforts to provide a supportive pathway for our diverse students to pursue a legal academic career,” said Jenny Martinez, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean at SLS. 

After graduating from SLS, Payton built a trailblazing legal career, holding numerous influential posts in both Democratic and Republican administrations in Washington D.C. before being appointed as a legal scholar in the fields of health law and administrative law at the University of Michigan (UM). Payton held the L. Bates Lea Chair at UM until her retirement in 2013. She is also a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a senior fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. 

Image of Sallyanne Payton

“This is such an incredible honor. What I cherish the most about my Stanford experience is that its network has created opportunities that may have never occurred to me elsewhere,” said Payton in the inaugural year of the fellowship. “My hope is that this fellowship will help open doors for other people, and the existence of it will help make Stanford Law School students aware of the breadth of their career possibilities.”

The Sallyanne Payton Fellowship supports a diverse range of students who aim to pursue careers in legal academia. Fellows commit to preparing and submitting three papers for publication during their J.D. studies. In addition to individual mentorship and guidance, fellows will convene with sponsoring faculty to discuss research methods, research design, interdisciplinary approaches to legal thought, present work in progress, and engage in other supportive programming. They will also receive mentorship from Professor Norman W. Spaulding, the Nelson Bowman Sweitzer and Marie B. Sweitzer Professor of Law, Professor Bernadette Meyler, the Carl and Sheila Spaeth Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research and Intellectual Life, and additional faculty and alumni teaching at other law schools.

2022 Sallyanne Payton Fellows

Aaron Spikol

Aaron

Spikol, J.D. ’23, is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar who is pursuing a J.D from SLS and a Ph.D. in Stanford’s Political Science Department. Spikol is one of 76 students out of 6,000+ applicants to receive a full scholarship for a graduate degree program and leadership training as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2015 with a B.S in international relations and philosophy. Spikol was stationed in Georgia and Washington before heading to South Korea in May 2020 as an Operations Officer in the 8th Army General Staff. During the summer of 2021, he worked as a legal intern for the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where he researched criminal and civil legal issues. Spikol has received numerous awards both in the U.S. Military and in the U.S. Military Academy. In 2015, he received the Hugh H. McGee Award for being the social sciences graduate with the highest departmental GPA at the U.S Military Academy. In 2018, the U.S Military awarded him with the Order of St. George: Black Medallion. At Stanford Law School, Spikol is a co-president of the Stanford Law Veterans Organization and president of the Veteran Legal Assistance Program. During his time at SLS, he has also participated in the Bradley Student Fellowship in Constitutional Law.

Kazumi Hoshino-Macdonald

Kazumi

Kazumi Hoshino-Macdonald, J.D ’23, is a J.D candidate at Stanford Law School and a former Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. While at Oxford, he wrote his thesis on Thucydidean Finches and received a first-class distinction. He did so while also working as a research assistant at both the Balliol Interdisciplinary Institute & Civil Society Observatory and the Department of Politics and International Relations. Before attending Oxford, Hoshino-Macdonald graduated from McGill University as a first-class honors student majoring in international developmental studies. At McGill, his thesis was titled “Constructing National Identity-Muslim Integration in Singaporean State-Building.” He also has a series of publications ranging from the global liberal democratic order to pandemic resilience. Before Stanford Law School, Hoshino-Macdonald worked as a senior associate at WestExec Advisors. At Stanford Law School, he is employed as a legal researcher for SLS’s Rule of Non-Law project.

Nya Kai Hardaway

Nya Kai Hardaway, JD ’24 is a J.D. candidate at Stanford Law School and a first-year student in Stanford’s doctoral sociology program. After graduating from Washington University with an A.B. in African and African American Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Nya joined the Missouri Historical Society (MHS) as a Community Outreach Coordinator for MHS’s African American History Initiative. During her time at MHS, she expanded the museums research areas with significant attention to Black LGBTQIA+, Disability, and Birth Work history. Nya has research interest in critical race theory and the interplay between surveillance and punishment along race, gender, and class lines.

Peggy Xu

Peggy

Peggy Xu, J.D. ’23, is a J.D candidate at Stanford Law School and a senior notes editor for the Stanford Law Review. Before Stanford, Xu got her MPhil in Classics with distinction from the University of Cambridge as a Lionel Pearson Fellow which awards full tuition for one outstanding classicist in North America. She also received a B.A in Law, Letters, and Society and Classical Studies, both with honors, from the University of Chicago. While at the University of Chicago, she received the Howell Murray Alumni Association Award along with being a member of the Dean’s List. She has also worked as a public interest clerk for the Electronic Privacy Information Center and a law student volunteer for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. Before these positions, she was an associate at West Wing Writers, drafting books, speeches, blog posts, and event scripts along with holding an internship in the Office of the First Lady at the White House. At Stanford, in addition to working on the Stanford Law Review, she worked on the Stanford Technology Law Review along with being executive vice president for the Stanford Law Association. 

Sarah Corning

Sarah Corning

Sarah Corning, J.D. ’24, is a J.D candidate at Stanford Law School and a volunteer for the Domestic Violence Pro Bono Project. Before coming to Stanford, she received the highest honors in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia. She wrote her thesis about “Legislating Abortion in the Heartlands: How Missouri Shaped Anti-Abortion Law in the United States.” As an undergraduate, she also worked for the Wilson Journal of International Affairs as an editor-in-chief, a research assistant for the Power, Violence and Inequality Collective along with being a caseworker and translator for the Legal Aid Justice Center. Before coming to Stanford, she worked as a paralegal at Better Childhood where she covered ten federal class-action lawsuits with the goal of child welfare reform. While at Stanford, she is working for the Regilla Project at the Stanford Criminal Justice Center conducting archival research and in-person interviews with incarcerated women to determine the number of women nationally who are incarcerated for murdering their abusers.