Anya Marino and Alejandra Caraballo talk about the barriers that can systematically block a community from excelling in, or even entering the legal field.
“For the longest time … I didn’t see other people who looked like me or had stories like me.”
But now, Anya Marino is not alone.
Marino, 37, is one of the first two transgender women of color to teach at Harvard Law School. Earlier this month, she joined the school’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. Her colleague Alejandra Caraballo, 30, began instructing at Harvard’s Cyberlaw Clinic Monday.
Both instructors, who identify as Latina, told The 19th that they are excited to start a new chapter at Harvard after dedicating years to LGBTQ+ legal and advocacy work. They are also both familiar with the unique pressure and emotional weight of their presence in the legal field — where systematic hurdles still block trans people from entry, much less the top of the profession.