Tzedek DC is thrilled to announce the launch of our Open Horizon Fellowship program, aimed at expanding the pipeline of DC future public interest attorney leaders.
The program has two parallel goals: first, to expand the pipeline of DC public interest attorneys from historically marginalized communities who are well-prepared to assume future leadership roles; and, second, to contribute meaningfully to Tzedek DC’s ongoing direct legal services, policy work, community outreach, and management work.
The innovative Open Horizon Fellowship at Tzedek DC is intentionally longer than most—three years—and is designed to give post-law school Fellows a breadth and depth of experience in direct services, systemic reform, and nonprofit management and leadership, with one year each spent focused on those three areas, including, during the third year, mentoring the next Open Horizon Fellow at Tzedek DC.
“We are grateful for this social impact investment by Open Horizon and are excited to launch this Fellowship,” said Tzedek DC’s Director Ariel Levinson-Waldman. “Our full team looks forward to working closely with our Open Horizon Fellows to put them on the path towards future leadership.”
“We believe that experiential learning is a powerful driver of both personal growth and social change,” said Open Horizon Co-Founder and Acting Director Lisa Cohen. “The Open Horizon Fellowship at Tzedek DC will create access for emerging leaders who may not otherwise have these opportunities, and do so at an organization with an outstanding track record.”
Applications for the inaugural Open Horizon Fellowship at Tzedek DC open on July 15, 2025, and will close on September 30, 2025, with an anticipated start date in September 2026, running through September 2029. (A second such Fellowship is projected to begin in the fall of 2028.) Law students graduating in the spring of 2026 or those who will finish a judicial clerkship around that time are eligible for the Fellowship. Apply here today or share the job posting!
About Open Horizon
Open Horizon is a family foundation based in Alexandria, VA, established in 2019. Open Horizon collaborates with nonprofit partners to co-create opportunities that advance racial and social justice through support in Economic Justice, Education Justice, and Health Justice. Serving the Greater Washington DC area, the US South, and beyond, Open Horizon is committed to catalyzing positive change by funding, building capacity, convening communities, and amplifying voices. Through relational and values-driven philanthropy, we invest in transformative leaders and community-rooted strategies for lasting impact.
About Tzedek DC
Tzedek DC’s name is drawn from the ancient Jewish teaching “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” Headquartered at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and with offices also in Ward 8, Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents with lower incomes facing the often-devastating consequences of debt collection and credit-related obstacles. This mission is carried out as anti-racism work in response to the massive wealth gaps tracking race in DC and nationwide. Tzedek DC seeks to serve and empower our client base, which is comprised of 90% Black people, 60% women, and 25% disabled community members. Our strategic approach combines three synergistic activities: (i) free direct services—legal representation and advice and financial counseling; (ii) working in coalition to make systemic change; and (iii) providing bilingual community legal education on debt collection, identity theft, and credit management. Since launching in 2017, Tzedek DC has served over 5,000 households and catalyzed systemic change benefiting hundreds of thousands of DC community members.