Harvard Law School (HLS) graduates are exceptionally well prepared to put the law to work for the public good, but economic pressures often steer them away from public service. For more than a decade, the Public Service Venture Fund (PSVF) has helped HLS students and alumni launch careers devoted to confronting some of society’s most urgent challenges—from defending individual rights to challenging inhumane prison conditions to advancing climate and public health initiatives.
Inspired by the PSVF’s success, Ed Colloton JD ’90 and his wife, Eve, established a fellowship fund as part of the PSVF that provides immediate financial support for talented HLS students and graduates pursuing careers in public service.
“We believe in the power of public service,” Colloton says, “and that HLS graduates are uniquely positioned to answer the call at a moment when public service has rarely mattered more.”
Recognizing that financial realities can restrict students’ ability to explore nonprofit and government careers, HLS set out to help remove those obstacles and make public service a more accessible choice. Launched in 2012 by the Office of Public Interest Advising, the PSVF has awarded more than $13 million in year-long fellowships to HLS students and graduates working with public service organizations around the world.
“We believe in the power of public service, and that HLS graduates are uniquely positioned to answer the call at a moment when public service has rarely mattered more.”
— Ed Colloton JD ’90
In addition to giving students the opportunity to work for established nonprofits and government entities, the PSVF program has also provided more than $2.5 million in seed grants to third-year students and alumni who have created their own public service organizations.
“When our talented students and graduates step forward to serve their communities, everyone benefits,” says John C.P. Goldberg, Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law at HLS. “The Public Service Venture Fund catalyzes their ability to address critical challenges and strengthen organizations at the heart of our society. We are grateful to the Collotons for making transformative fellowships possible for our students.”
Colloton, who served as a navigator in the U.S. Navy followed by a role with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was drawn to law school by witnessing the impact of the lawyers around him—his mentor (a Navy lawyer) and the government attorneys he worked with—whose command of the law gave them an outsize ability to shape outcomes. Now, reflecting on what his HLS education made possible, he wants to pay it forward so that more students can follow a similar path.
“We feel privileged to help launch the careers of exceptionally capable, thoughtful people,” he says. “By investing in this program, we hope more students are empowered to step into public life—to strengthen our institutions, serve their communities, and tackle the defining challenges of their generation.”