Marisa Leib-Neri is DRNC’s Disability Law Fellow for 2023-25 and is a graduate of The University of Iowa College of Law. Marisa’s fellowship is with the litigation team at DRNC. She assists the team with impact and systematic litigation on behalf of individuals with disabilities to increase community integration and access. As a undergraduate at Grinnell College, she created a unique interdisciplinary major in disability studies where she investigated the intersectionality of disability and other identities including race and gender, and how these experiences differ from non-disabled individuals’ experience. Marisa also added a concentration in disability policy where she studied how housing impacts the quality of life for disabled people regarding community involvement and autonomy.
Outside the classroom, Marisa consistently sought opportunities to further her knowledge and skills in the fields of law and disability rights. Most recently, she was a summer law clerk at Disability Rights Advocates, and she has also served as a legal intern at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, a paralegal at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a research intern at DLA Piper, and an initiative/disability lead intern at Access Living and the Chicago Community Trust. In addition, Marisa volunteered at the Iowa Supreme Court, the National Disability Law Students Association, and Systems Unlimited, Inc. where she was an election ballot volunteer who assisted people with disabilities in completing their mail-in ballots.