Jenner Law is thrilled to announce Danait Issac as a winner of its 2026 Make A Difference Scholarship. A month into her first year at New York University School of Law, Danait spoke with us from her dorm near Washington Square Park. She talked about her roots in Metro Atlanta, her work in environmental justice, and the future she is building for communities of color.
“It’s a little overwhelming, just coming from the South and a slower pace of life,” she said. “But there’s just a lot of opportunity here, and I’m excited to explore more.”
A Community That Shows Up
Danait was born and raised in Metro Atlanta. She is the oldest daughter of Eritrean immigrants and has two younger brothers. She grew up in a predominantly Black immigrant neighborhood, and it taught her early what community means.
“When someone passes away, we spend weeks showing up at their house and being in their company,” she said. “Or when a family is experiencing financial issues with paying their bills, our community steps up and supports that family as well. That played a huge impact on me and the way that I move in this world.”
In DeKalb County’s public schools, her teachers “expected Black excellence, but also taught Black history.” That is where she first met the trailblazing Black women lawyers she names in her scholarship essay. “It’s just so cool being able to see where I could potentially go and have such endless possibilities,” she said. “That’s what I see law as for me.”
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Finding Her Path at Vanderbilt
At Vanderbilt University, where she graduated cum laude in 2024, Danait took an interdisciplinary path through gender studies, environmental justice, and public health. “I saw that law kind of connected all those interests,” she said. “It’s such a versatile degree, and it affords me a lot of opportunities for the work that I want to do.”
Her involvement on campus was just as wide-ranging. She became a wilderness instructor and inclusivity chair for the outdoors club. She had fallen in love with the outdoors during a high school internship with The Nature Conservancy, and at Vanderbilt she partnered with multicultural groups to offer free beginner trips in rock climbing, horseback riding, and fishing.
The trips were subsidized for first-generation students and tied to the history of Black Americans in outdoor spaces. On student government’s environmental committee, she helped bring reusable utensils to the dining halls and helped send leftover food to Nashville’s homeless population.
She also served as president of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Student Association, the group that welcomed her when she arrived in Nashville knowing no one. She helped build it into a community offering study sessions, mental health conversations, and cultural celebrations.
Bringing Environmental Justice Home
After graduation, Danait joined Girl Plus Environment, a nonprofit that mobilizes Black and Brown women on environmental issues. She explained that environmental justice reaches far beyond trees and parks:
“That looks like braiding hair that has cancerous chemicals. Or when we talk about asthma and young Black children, it’s because of these environmental issues. Or the fact that climate change is exacerbating heat in our cities, where communities of color don’t have access to green space in the same way.”
In Atlanta, she helped educate voters ahead of a recent Public Service Commission election. “A lot of people that we got to the table didn’t even know what the Public Service Commission was,” she said.
“They didn’t know that it regulated our energy bills and was a big part of why our energy bills were increasing so much, and that they could vote.” She also saw the limits of event-by-event organizing: “And then it’s like, after that, what’s next?”
That question led her to law school. “I wanted to be able to make more systemic change,” she said, through impact litigation and public interest work. She is drawn to organizations such as Earthjustice and New York’s WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
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A Vision for the Future
Danait sees the lasting effects of redlining and other discriminatory policies in her own city. “We see these impacts of legislation and policy 60 years later,” she said. “These areas are still being disinvested in.”
After law school, she hopes to take on environmental impact cases and a broad range of public interest and pro bono work, and to mentor others along the way. She expects to spend her first few years in New York, but her long-term plans lead home to Atlanta and the South, “giving back to the community that raised me.”
When we told her she had won, Danait said the timing was meaningful. She had recently re-read her own essay “because I just needed a reminder of why I wanted to go to law school and why I was here.”
Her goal is clear: “I am going to make a difference by paving the way for more Black and Brown girls to be in leadership positions, and to build more healthy, resilient communities of color.”
Then, with a smile, she added: “Expect to know my name.”
Jenner Law is immensely proud of Danait Issac. Her lifelong dedication to her community embodies the spirit of the Make A Difference Scholarship.
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About Jenner Law and the Make a Difference Scholarship Program
Jenner Law is committed to paying it forward with our Make a Difference Scholarship. We support students who show exceptional academic performance and a clear vision of how their education can make a meaningful impact on the world.
One of the founding principles of Jenner Law is compassion for our clients and a commitment to improving the lives of those around us. We have a proud tradition of charitable giving that reflects our obligation to advance social justice.
Through the Jenner Law Donor Fund and our annual scholarship program, we strive to promote positive change and support people who are dedicated to using their education for the greater good.
Congratulations once again to Danait Issac, a 2026 Make A Difference Scholarship winner. We look forward to watching the difference she makes.