Berkeley, CA, November 6, 2025
The John Paul Stevens Foundation announced today that Sara L. Woods, Esq. will serve as the Foundation’s new Executive Director. Woods, an experienced CEO and veteran public interest lawyer, will lead the Foundation as it embarks on its next phase of growth and impact. Interim Executive Director Jenny Chung Mejia will transition to a Senior Advisor role through December, 2025.
“Sara’s commitment to public service over the course of her 30-year public interest career and her demonstrated leadership as a transformational CEO since 2007 are vital to the Foundation’s next phase of impact. We are excited to partner with Sara to build on the Foundation’s success and to expand its impact nationally,” said Teresa Roseborough, President of the Stevens Foundation Board of Directors. “It is also a full circle moment to welcome Sara to this role. She has been affiliated with our mission since she was a law student in 1997, when she and her colleagues founded a fellowship program at Villanova Law School at the same time as the establishment of the first Stevens Fellowship at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.”
Woods most recently co-led Heights Philadelphia, an economic mobility catalyst that connects young people to careers and college with a network of people who invest in their talents. Under Woods’ leadership, Heights served over 3,000 students in schools within the School District of Philadelphia and over a hundred colleges and universities across the country. During her tenure, Woods meaningfully scaled services, support and impact for Philadelphia students and secured significant philanthropic gifts and support from organizations including Comcast NBCUniversal, the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, the Neubauer Family Foundation, the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services and William Penn Foundation.
“I am thrilled to join the John Paul Stevens Foundation at this juncture. The Foundation is thriving with an engaged and dynamic board, an experienced staff, loyal and generous supporters, and over 1,250 Alumni Fellows that are changing the world for the better. Our opportunity, and one that I’m privileged to lead at this moment in our country, is to expand the Foundation’s impact nationally, amplify the work and expertise of our Fellows, and leverage our collective strength to ensure a fair and effective justice system.”
Prior to her role at Heights, Woods was the President and CEO of Philadelphia Futures where she began in March 2017, driving growth and impact. She led a 50 percent increase in fundraising, doubled college partnerships, and transformed the organization’s position as a leading advocate for equity and justice for the region. In addition to her role with Philadelphia Futures, she also served as an adjunct professor at Villanova University School of Law. Through the development and implementation of the Public Interest Lawyering course, she played a pivotal role in nurturing the next generation of legal professionals driven by a passion for social justice. Her dedication to equipping aspiring lawyers with the skills and knowledge necessary to effect meaningful change underscores her commitment to fostering a more just and equitable society.
Woods will collaborate closely with Program Director Anjuli Arora-Dow and outgoing Interim Director Jenny Chung Mejia, to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Chung Mejia, a national nonprofit consultant and recognized public interest legal services leader with nearly two decades of experience, has served as Interim Executive Director since 2024. During her tenure, she strengthened the Foundation’s internal systems and infrastructure, launched a new fundraising initiative, and provided strategic guidance that deepened Fellow engagement and leadership development. Prior to stepping into the interim role, Chung Mejia developed the Foundation’s Public Interest Fellowship Program curriculum and advanced its communications and organizational strategy.
For more information about the John Paul Stevens Foundation and to get involved, please visit our website: www.jpstevensfoundation.org
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About the John Paul Stevens Foundation – Advancing a Legacy of Justice
The John Paul Stevens Foundation seeks to build a more just and equitable society. As a living tribute to United States Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the Foundation works to protect and promote democracy and the rule of law, access to justice, and equality by supporting law students, lawyers, and others working in the public interest. The Foundation was established in 2010 in honor of Justice Stevens’ retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court by a group of his former law clerks. An independent nonprofit organization based in Berkeley, the Foundation provides a formal home for the Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship Program.
About the Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship
The Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowship was created in 1997 at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Justice Stevens’ alma mater, to support law students who spend the summer working in otherwise unpaid public interest law internships. The Fellowship Program reflects Justice Stevens’ deep belief that a dynamic and effective justice system depends on a cadre of trained and committed lawyers committed to public interest work. Over the past 29 years, the Stevens Fellowship has supported over 1,250 law students, of whom 73% have gone on to work in the public interest after graduating from law school. In summer 2025, the Stevens Fellowship supported a cohort of 158 Fellows who collectively contributed over 50,000 hours of public interest legal work at more than 135 different public interest agencies in 25 states and Washington D.C.
Media Contact:
Sara L. Woods, Executive Director
sara@jpstevensfoundation.org