Michael Day and Chris Marelich Honored at Youth Law Center’s “Making Rights Real” Event

Mike and Chris were honored for their pro bono work representing YLC before the California Public Utilities Commission on the California LifeLine Foster Youth Program. For young people in foster care, a phone is often the link to family, caregivers, attorneys, health care, school, and work, yet eligibility and administrative barriers kept many from receiving the devices and service the program intended. Working alongside YLC, Mike and Chris helped bring youth experiences and legal requirements together into reforms the Commission could adopt. The CPUC approved major changes, including broader eligibility, streamlined enrollment, and stronger access for current and former foster youth.

It was a privilege to celebrate alongside the evening's other honorees: Bryan Vix of Coopers LLP and Brian Gearinger of Gearinger Law Group, for their work enforcing California's protections against unlawful room confinement of young people in detention; the Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight Tennessee litigation team, for its partnership challenging conditions facing youth with disabilities in Tennessee's juvenile justice system; and Nancy Wiltsek of the van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation, for her years of philanthropic leadership supporting legal services and advocacy.

We are grateful to YLC for this recognition and for its decades of advocacy on behalf of young people, and we extend our warm congratulations to all who were honored. Learn more about the Unsung Heroes.