Graduate Students
lafoster@ucla.edu
Ph.D. Candidate, Women's Studies, UCLA
Research interests: My current research is focused on developing a feminist critique of intellectual property law. I am particularly interested in questions around patent law and genetics. My theoretical framework for this research draws upon post-colonial feminist theory, feminist science studies, and critical legal theory.
Advisor: Dr. Sandra Harding, Department of Social Sciences and Education, UCLA
J.D., University of Cincinnati College of
Law, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2000.
M.A., Women’s Studies, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, August
2000.
B.A., Economics & Government, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., May
1995.
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2005 Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Fellowship, UCLA
2004-2008 Pauley Graduate Fellowship, UCLA
1996-2000 Graduate Assistant Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
2000 M.A. Thesis Highest Honors Award, University of Cincinnati
1998 Spiegel Public Interest Law Fellowship, University of Cincinnati
1998 Women’s Studies Research Grant, University of Cincinnati Arts
1998-1999 University of Cincinnati Law Review Member
1997 Cox Law Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Adjunct Professor
• Women’s Studies 350: Women & Law
University of Cincinnati, Winter 2003, Fall 2003, Winter 2004, & Spring 2004
• Women’s Studies 101: Introduction to Women’s Studies
University of Cincinnati, Winter 1998 & Winter 2003
Teaching Assistant
• Women’s Studies 10: Introduction to Women’s Studies
UCLA, Spring 2005
Academic Advisor
• Arts & Sciences Advising Center
University of Cincinnati, Sept. 1996 – July 2000.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Public Interest Law Fellow, Metlhaetsile Women’s Centre, Botswana, Southern
Africa June 1998 - Aug. 1998.
PUBLICATIONS
Article, Social Security and African American Families: Unmasking Race and
Gender Discrimination, 12 UCLA WOMEN’S L.J., 55 (Fall/Winter 2001).
Comment, A Modified Approach to Claims of Sexual Harassment under Title IX
after Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District: Finding Protection
against Peer Sexual Harassment, U. CIN. L. REV. (1999).
Women in the Professions, in Encyclopedia of the United States in the
Nineteenth Century, Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York, 2000.
Women in Labor, in Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth
Century, Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York, 2000.
Abortion, in Reader’s Guide to the Social Sciences, Fitzroy Dearborn
Publishing, London, 2000.
PRESENTATIONS
Intellectual Property and Indigenous Peoples: Recognizing Indigenous Men’s
and Women’s Contributions, New Legal Realism Meets Feminism and Legal Theory
Conference, Emory University School of Law, June 24-25, 2005.
International Law and Resistance, Thinking Gender Conference, University of
California, Los Angeles, CA, March 4, 2005.
Social Security and African American Families: Unmasking Race and Gender
Discrimination, Institute for Women’s Policy Research International Public
Policy Conference, Washington, D.C., June 2003.
Women in the Law, Panelist, Women’s Legal Committee Seminar, Cincinnati Bar
Association, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 2001.
A Hard Lesson to Learn: The Demise of Title IX Protection Against Sexual
Harassment in Schools and its Impact on U.S. Feminist Activist Strategies,
Gender and Violence Symposium, University of Miami, Ohio, February 1999.
Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District: Finding Protection against
Peer Sexual Harassment, GROW Conference, University of Cincinnati, Ohio,
February 1999.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Associate Director, Dress for Success, Cincinnati, OH Nov. 2003 – July
2004..
Attorney, Beckman, Weil, Shepardson and Faller, Cincinnati, OH. Dec. 2001 –
Nov 2003.
Attorney, Deloitte &Touche, Cincinnati, OH. Sept. 2000 - Dec. 2001.