Becca M. Heller ’10 Honored with Changemaker Award for Work with IRAP

Becca M. Heller ’10, a Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, was presented with the inaugural Changemaker Award during a regional Making History alumni event that took place on April 1 at New York City’s Gotham Hall. More than 300 guests were in attendance, and the evening included a performance by Redhot & Blue, Yale's oldest all-gender a cappella group.

Heller is the CEO and co-founder of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), which began in 2008 during her second year at the Law School. Heller was inspired by Iraqi refugee families she met during her summer internship who needed help finding safe living situations. Today, the organization provides free legal representation to more than 43,000 refugees in 123 countries and includes offices around the world.

At the start of the event, Jody Yetzer ’97, chair of the Fund Board, gave remarks and introduced Dean Heather K. Gerken who spoke about ongoing efforts by the Law School to support international students and hold fast to the values of the institution and the profession.

“The concern that is closest to my heart — at this moment — is our students,” said Gerken. “We are moving heaven and earth to do everything that we can to protect them and to preserve our community.”

In presenting the award to Heller, Gerken highlighted the impact that her work has had on countless refugees and future generations of vulnerable communities.

“Under her leadership, IRAP has grown from a student project into a global legal aid organization,” said Gerken. “It has trained thousands of law students and pro bono lawyers, it has built tools to deliver legal information across borders, and [it has] transformed patterns of injustice into legal victories.”

She continued, “IRAP doesn’t just help people survive broken immigration systems, it changes the systems themselves. Under Becca’s vision and leadership, IRAP has overturned discriminatory policies and established legal precedence to protect not just individuals, but entire communities, sparking real and lasting change.”

Gerken also noted Heller’s instrumental involvement in challenging a 2017 executive order that blocked refugees from entering the country. After hearing about two men who were detained at JFK Airport despite having the proper allowances to enter the United States, Heller elicited the aid of hundreds of lawyers who — along with IRAP, the Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, and others — were able to achieve the first win against the travel ban on their behalf.

“Becca’s work is grounded in a deep respect for the strength, resilience, and dignity of the people she serves,” said Gerken. “Through IRAP, she has built a model of advocacy that meets the courage of her clients with legal power, helping people understand their rights, navigate complex systems, and claim the safety that they deserve. She empowers them not just to seek refuge, but to shape their own stories, and in doing so she reminds us all that the values we carry from this place — integrity, creativity, courage — can be powerful agents of change in the world.”

In her acceptance speech, Heller emphasized the importance of the rule of law and asked her fellow alumni to reflect on how they will show up in the world to protect the sanctity of law.

“What if the fate of the rule of law is not a forgone conclusion? What if standing up actually might make a difference? What if the success or failure of our democracy, rule of law, our universities, and our Law School is not preordained, and in fact depends entirely on how we respond in this moment and whether we choose to stand up or give up?”

Heller is the first recipient of the inaugural Changemaker Award, which recognizes Yale Law School alumni in the early stages of their careers who exemplify the values of the Law School. As opposed to the Award of Merit which honors alumni and faculty for their contributions to public service and the legal profession, this award is presented to those who have graduated within the last 15 years and are pursuing nonlegal career paths. Recipients are selected by members of the Yale Law School Alumni Association’s Executive Committee.