Inspired by their experience at CC, Alanna Jackson ’23 is now working as a Denver Housing Unit Paralegal for Colorado Legal Services (CLS), a non-profit organization that offers legal services to seniors and low-income Coloradans.
“My professors, especially those in the Sociology and Feminist and Gender Studies Departments, and their patient teachings about the intersections of power, prepared me for this job,” says Jackson, who majored in Sociology and double minored in Mathematics and Feminist and Gender Studies.
Jackson says that issues in housing are often mediated by other issues, such as how the structures of racial capitalism can make it difficult for people to make a livable wage or find a job, how a person’s language abilities might be a barrier to ensuring that their landlord fixes unsafe living conditions, or how a person’s disabilities and lack of accommodations might lead to a landlord filing an eviction. Jackson says their classes at CC showed them how the legal system in the United States centers systems of power, which showed them how facing eviction is not an individual problem.
“My clients tell me stories about tremendous hardships; yet, as I often say to them, these hardships are not individualized or their faults,” Jackson says. “The conditions that lead to evictions are due to wealth inequality, ableism, racism, and other systems of violence. Humanizing tenants and being compassionate towards them are two practices that guide my work, and I am truly thankful for my professors preparing me to think critically and extend empathy. I have a deep yearning to help my community and use my skills for securing and fighting for human needs.”
Jackson has lived in Colorado their entire life, so they knew they wanted to find a job where they could remain close to their family, as well as work to make change in their local community. They spent summers at CC working as a sociological researcher and community organizer through CC’s Social Action Institute, a Sociology Department program where students spend six weeks interning at community-based organizations in the Southwest to confront the criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color communities. Jackson spent three years in this program, where they worked at the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the ACLU of New Mexico Innovation Law Lab. They completed a total of six research projects for community partners and learned the importance of working with communities directly.
“My professors, especially those in the Sociology and Feminist and Gender Studies Departments, and their patient teachings about the intersections of power, prepared me for this job.”
Alanna Jackson ’23
After graduating, Jackson interned at the ACLU of New Mexico through the program for the third and final time, and then returned to Colorado. They worked at a law firm until September, when they then began their part-time, four-month internship as a Budget and Policy Analyst Assistant for the Colorado General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee. While they learned a lot about the legal field while working at the law firm, Jackson knew they did not want to continue working for a private firm.
“I wanted to work in the nonprofit realm and in a legal space that ensures that folks often harmed by the legal system or often not able to assert their rights in the legal system receive compassionate advocacy and education,” Jackson says. “Colorado Legal Services, an LSC organization that specifically provides legal aid to low income and elderly folks, immediately caught my attention. While I was unfamiliar with housing law, I did feel as though housing is an essential facet of collective wellness, which is something that I strongly align myself with and hope to continue to break down barriers for.”
Jackson knew their internship with the Colorado General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee would end in December 2023, so in between mapping budget processes, developing briefs about juvenile detention in Colorado, researching budget items, and assisting analysts and Joint Budget Committee members, Jackson applied to numerous jobs and participated in several interviews.
“During the interviews, I felt cautiously optimist – the folks at CLS were extremely kind and I loved the structure of folks in the housing unit leading clinics in different counties for tenants facing eviction,” Jackson says. “I received the job offer a few weeks before the end of my internship, and I was absolutely ecstatic. I remember when the supervisor of the Housing Unit called to chat about the position – we stayed on the phone for an hour, and I felt so excited to work with such kind and passionate people.”
In January 2024, Jackson moved to Denver to begin their work as a paralegal for CLS in the Denver Housing Unit. They have been there for eleven months so far and absolutely love it. Jackson works on a hybrid schedule. Three days a week, they work from the CLS office in Denver. For the other two days, they spend mornings working at an eviction defense clinic for tenants and working from home in the afternoons. Jackson helps lead the eviction defense clinic, which provides eviction defense for people in Arapahoe County living in both private and subsidized housing.
“Usually, this in-person clinic entails providing an educational class to tenants, answering their questions, screening tenants to see if they qualify for our services, directing tenants to community resources, and assisting the attorneys with drafting court paperwork and with asserting tenant legal defenses,” Jackson says.
Each day at the office is different, but usually there is a blend of working on casework, updating community education handouts, and attending meetings.
“My favorite part of the work is the casework, especially for clients with subsidized housing,” Jackson says. “For casework, I often conduct legal research, draft legal materials for the attorneys, and chat with clients. Subsidized housing, while complex, is incredible for folks who have it because there are so many more protections for tenants, which means I can be creative and dive into different areas of the law to hold landlords and housing authorities accountable.”
Jackson says that they also use a lot of math when they are assigned to subsidized cases, so their Math minor often comes in handy. “Many of the attorneys often ask me to double-check their math, create spreadsheets, and calculate rent portions to hold housing authorities accountable. I am really thankful to Minho Kim and Flavia Sancier-Barbosa, two of my math professors.”
“My experiences at CC taught me how to think critically while also being compassionate, which is something I use on a daily basis.”
Alanna Jackson ’23
Jackson is especially appreciative of Dr. Eric Popkin, Associate Professor of Sociology, and the two continue to keep in touch. Jackson says they know they can always reach out to Popkin for advice or guidance.
“I think so highly of Alanna,” Popkin says. “Alanna is deeply committed to social justice work and striving to create a better world, empowers others they work with, and knows how to maintain balance in a world with serious challenges.”
Jackson is also grateful for their research experience at CC, which they use on a regular basis. Jackson’s major concentration was in research methodologies and data analysis, and for their senior thesis, they designed and conducted a 16-week independent qualitative study on the wellness of queer nonprofit workers. Additionally, Jackson spent the summer before their junior year working as a sociological researcher for the Davis Project for Peace, where they researched youth civic education workshops and wrote a sociological-based paper about a collaborative project between Project Voyce and two CC students awarded a Davis Project for Peace. Jackson was named a Newman Civic Fellow in 2022 and participated in the fellowship from September 2022 through May 2023, where they attended the national conference of Newman Civic Fellows and was offered professional and civic development learning opportunities.
Giving back to their local community was always important for Jackson, who spent four years as a member of CC’s North Boys Enrichment Program, a partnership between CC and North Middle School. They also served as a K-12 Education and Youth Organizing Coalition Leader for the Collaborative for Community Engagement during their senior year. Additionally, while at CC, Jackson was a member of the Speech and Debate Team, worked on the Colorado Youth Election Advisory Coalition and the Sociology Advisory Board, and spent three years working as a First Year Mentor Program Leader and New Student Orientation Leader. They also served as CCSGA’s Vice President of Outreach during their junior year and as the Parliamentarian during their senior year.
Jackson says all these experiences continue to help them today, as they taught them to think critically, give back to their community, and look at the big picture.
“I especially think that my time with the Speech and Debate Team helps me to this day because it taught me how to carry myself confidently and communicate information in accessible ways – super important skills for the clinic setting, especially when I give the eviction defense class to tenants,” Jackson says. “All my extracurricular activities helped teach me how to balance different projects simultaneously, which is similar to balancing different casework and clients.”
A key part of Jackson’s job is explaining the eviction process to tenants and helping them navigate their options for avoiding eviction, both of which involve a lot of clear and direct communication and writing, which Jackson says they learned in both their extracurricular activities and in their classes at CC. Additionally, in their role at CLS, Jackson specifically works with tenants facing eviction, so sensitivity and compassion is key, which they feel they learned a lot about while at CC.
“My experiences at CC taught me how to think critically while also being compassionate, which is something I use on a daily basis,” Jackson says.