The Good Fight

How do you fight against injustice? Akilah Lane J.D. ’09 is using her experience as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana to fight for the rights of others.

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Akilah Lane J.D. ’09 speaks outside the Montana Capitol building in Helena during a March 2021 rally protesting proposed laws that activists say violate the civil rights of LGBTQ people. Photo by Eric Seidle, used with permission from the Daily Montanan.

As a Black woman working on social justice causes in predominantly white Montana, Akilah Lane J.D. ’09 knows what it’s like to face adversity. “My many life experiences motivated me to seek meaningful change for communities who have been historically marginalized,” she told Santa Clara Law Magazine. “I went to law school hoping to someday be a civil rights attorney.” Today, as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, that’s just what she is. This year, she’s helping fight a discriminatory state law that requires trans people to provide proof of surgery to change their gender on identifying documents.

A Crescendo of Achievements

Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10 shares how his Santa Clara experience and passion for composition led to the creation of his largest project to date: “Dolores.”

Haunted or Not? We Ask the Winchester Historian

“One day, I was at the house very early when no one else was there, and I heard the clearest footsteps treading on the metal roof above me.” Meet Janan Boehme ’81, the first-ever historian of the Winchester Mystery House.

Impact That Lasts

“Steve and I want whatever is left when we die to make a real difference for people and the planet.”

A California Leader

Richard Riordan ’52 leaves a lasting California legacy as a distinguished leader, committed philanthropist, and a visionary innovator.