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Pomona College Magazine is published three times a year by Pomona College
550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
Online Editor: Mark Kendall
For editorial matters:
Editor: Mark Wood
Phone: (909) 621-8158
Fax: (909) 621-8203
PCM Editorial Guidelines
Contact Alumni Records for changes of address, class notes, or notice
of births or deaths.
Phone: (909) 621-8635
Fax: (909) 621-8535
Email: alumni@pomona.edu
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Inspirational Alumna / Emily Arnold-Fernandez ’99
Advocate for the Dispossessed
Fresh off her first year at Georgetown Law School, Emily
Arnold-Fernandez ’99 did a summer internship in Cairo working as a legal
advocate for refugees. The young woman saw refugees working feverishly
to better their lives. Her first client—a Liberian youth whose parents
disappeared during fighting and civil unrest in his country—now lives in
Connecticut thanks largely to the research and advocacy Arnold-Fernandez
provided on his case.
 The Cairo experience had a dramatic impact on her and served as a
catalyst for the work she does today: Arnold-Fernandez heads up a
nonprofit organization that aims to provide free legal aid to the
world’s most embattled refugees as they struggle for legal rights in the
countries to which they flee.
Her ambitious foray into the field of refugee rights shares a pattern
with her other post-Pomona jobs: They all mark a desire to fight for the
abused and disadvantaged. Because of her outstanding public service,
Pomona has chosen Arnold-Fernandez to receive the Inspirational Young
Alumni Award for 2005–06.
“One of the really powerful things about being at Pomona was that I had
so many professors who believed in me, who believed I could do amazing
things,” says the San Francisco resident, adding that their faith in her
gave her confidence in herself.
While at Pomona, Arnold-Fernandez, who majored in philosophy and music,
volunteered once a week at a shelter for women who were victims of
domestic violence. After graduation, she worked for a Los Angeles
nonprofit that works to combat teen-dating violence, and in the wake of
earning her law degree from Georgetown she litigated sexual
discrimination and sexual harassment claims on behalf of women.
Asylum Access, the refugee-rights group, was founded by Arnold-Fernandez
and other refugee advocates about a year ago and incorporated last
September. The San Francisco-based nonprofit assists refugees in the
global south, primarily Africa, Asia and Latin America as they prepare
for asylum proceedings and during the actual proceedings themselves.
Without such help, these people are in nearly impossible situations,
Arnold-Fernandez notes. “When refugees flee to another country, they
often have no travel papers—and they certainly don’t have a visa,” she
says. “They’re usually with no money and only have whatever clothes they
are (carrying) with them.”
“I’m so excited about what can be accomplished with Asylum Access,” she
adds. “I feel like everything I’ve done before has been training for
what I’m trying to do with this organization.”
For more information, visit the Asylum Access Web site at
www.asylumaccess.org or e-mail
info@asylumaccess.org.
—Paul Sterman ’84
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