YHeLPs Board

YHeLPS

The Yale Health Law and Policy Society (YHeLPS), the student arm of the Center, serves as a central hub for health-related programming at the Law School. YHeLPS invites speakers, plans career information sessions and networking events, helps organize experiential learning opportunities like the medical-legal partnership, and coordinates with other health organizations throughout Yale University. The student directors of YHeLPS play an active role in shaping the organization’s mission and developing new programs.

2025-26 YHeLPS Board

Shanice R. Guthrie

Shanice R. Guthrie has a focused interest in health law, FDA regulatory frameworks, and the corporate health and life sciences sector. She earned her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University, double majoring in Philosophy, concentrating on Metaphysics, and Medicine, Science & the Humanities, with a minor in Bioethics. Her academic foundation, paired with extensive public service, informs a deep commitment to equitable healthcare access and ethical governance in medical innovation. As a Summer Associate, Shanice drafted healthcare-related contracts for mergers and acquisitions transactions and contributed to a global human trafficking legal compendium. At the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, she conducted in-depth legal research and co-authored reports analyzing disability rights frameworks across Asia. During her tenure as a Public Service Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, she evaluated accessibility barriers in Baltimore and authored a report that led to concrete infrastructure reforms. Through these interdisciplinary experiences, Shanice has cultivated a passion for shaping legal and regulatory systems that advance both ethical innovation and health equity.

Juliet Isselbacher

Juliet Isselbacher earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Harvard in 2023 and an M.Phil. in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge in 2024. In both programs, her research centered on the ethics of belief. At YLS, Juliet has been involved with the Reproductive Rights and Justice Project, as well as the Yale chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. In the summer of 2025, she contributed to reproductive rights litigation as a law clerk at the ACLU of Missouri.

Artha Jonassaint

Artha Jonassaint graduated cum laude from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Global Health/Health Policy. Prior to matriculating at YLS, Jonassaint served the Florida FFA Association as its State President from 2018-2019 and the National FFA Organization as its Southern Region Vice President from 2020-2021. She was the first Black woman to hold both roles. Ultimately, Jonassaint hopes to pursue a career in which she impacts litigious disputes that contribute to a more vibrant rural economy and a more just food system for producers and consumers across the nation.

Mariama Mwilambwe

Mariama Mwilambwe is passionate about advancing global health through food sovereignty. Her work focuses on using international systems to promote equitable access to nutrition and build resilient food and farming systems. Before law school, Mariama lived in England, researching low-input sustainable farming systems. Last summer, she lived in Rome, Italy, working for the United Nations World Food Programme. She currently serves as the VP of Scholarship for the Yale Society of International Law. Mariama holds an MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from Newcastle University and a BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with minors in global health and legal studies.

Claudia Opper

Claudia Opper is from Wilmington, North Carolina. She holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on human rights from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she graduated with highest distinction in 2021. While there, she served on a health rights research team and as the Chair of the Undergraduate Honor Court, the student misconduct system. Following college, Claudia worked as a public health analyst at a research nonprofit, RTI International. In that position, she coordinated federally funded applied research projects that addressed health disparities for historically marginalized populations in the U.S. South. Claudia remains committed to giving back to her community and promoting gender equity. Since arriving at Yale Law School, she has been an active member in student organizations in addition to YHeLPS, including the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, Yale Law Women+, Title IX Student Advocates, and If/When/How: Lawyers for Reproductive Justice. In her free time, she loves trying new restaurants, taking walks with her dog, and watching movies.