Reeana Keenen

About

Reeana was born and raised in Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate education.  She earned a bachelor's degree in public relations and has always had an interest in public policy and advocacy.  During undergrad, Reeana worked for the Center for Child Protection in Austin and later volunteered for the Women's Center of Tarrant County in Fort Worth, Texas.  She also worked at an immigration law firm in Dallas, where she contributed to the firm's efforts of obtaining nonimmigrant work visas for its clients.  These experiences led her apply to law school to pursue work in the areas of public policy and human rights.  After making the decision to attend William & Mary Law School, Reeana shifted her interests toward rule of law, human rights, and comparative law, with particular interest in the law school's Center for Comparative Legal Studies and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. 

International Bridges to Justice is a nonprofit organization that works to ensure due process and other legal rights of those charged with crimes in developing and post-conflict countries.  As an intern with IBJ, Reeana’s primary responsibility will be to write and research grant proposals to secure funding for IBJ at its various offices.  This research will consist mostly of gathering statistics about IBJ’s work around the world, as well as interviewing IBJ’s past clients, meeting with staff attorneys, and gathering information about the legal history and status of each country.  Reeana will also partner with staff attorneys and fellow interns to seek out potential new locations where IBJ’s services may be needed.