Armin Salek

While studying at the University of Houston Law Center, Armin Salek volunteered as a law instructor in Houston ISD. Unfortunately, the high school students’ description of lawyers involved firms they could not afford, legal aid they did not qualify for, and language barriers between their parents and effective counsel. Motivated by this experience, Salek returned to Austin and launched the first high school legal aid clinic, allowing him to both teach and provide free legal support. For that work, he was named the Austin ISD High School Teacher of the Year and the Texas Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year. After completing his Master’s in Education from Harvard, he returned to Texas and established a four-year, paid fellowship for aspiring first-generation lawyers.