Edward Friedman, Macaulay Honors Graduate from Hunter College and JD Student at Yale University, has been selected as one of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is a merit-based graduate school program for immigrants and children of immigrants. Friedman is one of 30 fellows, chosen from a pool of over 1,800 applicants, who were selected for their potential to make significant contributions to the United States. Friedman and the other recipients will receive up to $90,000 in funding to support their graduate studies.
“Edward continues to make all of us proud with his growing list of accomplishments and academic achievements,” said Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab. “There are so many who already view him as a role model and I expect that list will keep on growing. We are honored to be able to say he is a part of the Hunter College alumni community.”
Born with Cerebral Palsy, Edward Friedman is a disability justice advocate. After graduating from Hunter College as a valedictorian from Macaulay Honors College in 2018, Edward was the policy and intergovernmental affairs coordinator at the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. In that role, Edward was the main contact for stakeholders, including high-level New York City and State partners, on all policy and legislative matters related to people with disabilities. At Yale, Edward currently represents the law school on the Graduate & Professional Student Senate. With a career at the nexus of legal advocacy and public policy implementation, Edward plans to use his Yale Law degree to ensure disability representation among legal decision-makers and advance accessibility for all.
Edward Friedman is the 6th Hunter student to be awarded the Soros Fellowship. In addition to receiving up to $90,000 towards his graduate studies, Friedman joins a prestigious community of past recipients, including US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; Olympians Amy Chow and Patricia Miranda; US Ambassador to Spain Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón; Stanford AI leader Fei-Fei Li and more than 715 fellows.
