One of the Committee’s central goals is to provide resources that ensure that Black law students are able to access and succeed in public defense as a profession that empowers marginalized communities. Each year, the Committee selects a number of promising Black law students to serve as BPDA Summer Fellows. Each Fellow receives mentorship, intensive skills training, and financial support that enables them to successfully complete an summer internship at a public defender office and be well positioned for post-graduate employment.

Through its events and the Fellowship Program, the Committee strives to create a pipeline of skilled Black public defenders that identify with and are committed to the populations most disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.