Claire Nilsen Blumenson, Esq.

Claire has focused her career on the intersection of juvenile justice and education. After graduating from University of Virginia Law in 2011, Claire joined the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. Through this two-year fellowship, Claire provided post-disposition special education representation to young people ages 18-22 who had been placed in DC's secure juvenile facility. To continue this work, she co-founded and launched School Justice Project (SJP) in August 2013 thanks to seed funding from Echoing Green’s Black Male Achievement Fellowship. SJP is a DC-based special education legal services nonprofit for older court-involved students with disabilities.

Prior to working at PDS, Claire received her Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University, majoring in government, sociology, and psychology. After joining Teach for America’s New York City cohort in 2006, Claire earned her master’s degree while teaching third and fourth grade at Excellence Boys Charter School. From 2016-2020, Claire was an adjunct professor The George Washington University Law School. 

Claire is an attorney admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Claire can be reached at: cblumenson@sjpdc.org.