Tyler Lawrence Peacemaker Award Goes to Kayla Fox ’25

05.06.25 — Kayla Fox ’25, a dedicated youth advocate and community builder committed to dismantling systemic injustice, has been named the recipient of the third annual Tyler Lawrence Memorial Peacemaker Award. Tyler Lawrence, grandson of Northeastern Law friend and colleague Stan Lawrence, was just 13 years old when his life was tragically cut short by horrific violence in January 2023. Those who knew Tyler described him as “a boy who was going to have a big impact on the world,” “a force for good” and “a peacemaker who brought people together.” This award was established by Professor Richard Daynard and his wife, Carol, to recognize and support Northeastern Law students who carry on Tyler’s legacy through youth advocacy and/or community building work accomplished through experiential learning.

“Receiving the Tyler Lawrence Peacemaker Award is an honor because it affirms a truth I’ve carried with me since walking into my very first classroom: that youth advocacy is powerful, necessary and deeply community driven,” said Fox, who will launch her legal career this fall as a pre-licensed assistant public defender with the law office of the Cook County Public Defender in Chicago.  “My work in the courts, Congress and classrooms has always centered young people whose lives are shaped by systems that too often underestimate just how capable they are. This award is not just a recognition of that work, but of the communities and young people who have shaped me, challenged me and trusted me to stand alongside them. I am grateful for the opportunity to keep showing up — for them, and because of them.”

Fox’s path as a youth advocate began in Title I classrooms in New Orleans and Chicago, where she witnessed firsthand the harsh realities her students faced — and the systemic inequities that shaped their lives. These experiences instilled in her a drive to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and build systems that affirm young people’s value and potential.

At Northeastern Law, Fox has pursued this mission through research with the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline project at the  Center for Public Interest Advocacy and Collaboration, designing school-based legal advocacy frameworks with NuLawLab and clinical work in the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic and Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Clinic. On co-ops with the Public Defender Service for DC, Cook County Public Defender and as a law clerk for the US Senate Judiciary Committee, she has championed the needs of youth inside courtrooms and in policy spaces, focusing on gun reform and mental health. Fox is driven by a heartfelt commitment to continue working with juvenile clients and their greater communities, whose resilience and brilliance continue to ground and motivate her every day.