Amanda Furst Named 40x40 Alumni Changemaker of Equal Justice Works
For Amanda Furst, a career in public service began in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina—and has grown into a lasting commitment to opening doors to justice for both aspiring lawyers and the communities they serve.
Furst, Assistant Dean and Chief of Staff at the University of Minnesota Law School, has been named a 40x40 Alumni Changemaker by Equal Justice Works (EJW). As EJW celebrates 40 years of expanding access to justice, the organization is honoring 40 alumni whose careers demonstrate the power of public service leadership.
Across generations, issue areas, and communities, the 40 changemakers have built careers dedicated to making justice more accessible. Their stories illustrate how a commitment to public service can set justice in motion and create lasting change.
Few people have had as significant an impact on Minnesota’s public interest legal pipeline as Furst. During more than a decade at Minnesota Law, she built the Saeks Public Interest Residency Program into an innovative model for launching students into public interest careers. The program places third-year law students full-time with nonprofit and government partners and guarantees them a paid position at the same organization after graduation.
The result is a powerful two-way investment: students gain valuable legal training and a pathway to employment, while nonprofit and government organizations gain much-needed legal assistance. The program has helped strengthen Minnesota’s pipeline of attorneys committed to public interest law.
Today, Furst brings that same commitment to her work as Assistant Dean and Chief of Staff, where she serves as a strategic advisor to the Dean and leads high-priority institutional initiatives. In her role, she continues to champion public interest careers, expanding financial, resource, and skill-building support for students who want to use their legal education in service of others.
Her own path began with an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowship in post-Katrina New Orleans, an experience that sparked her enduring commitment to public interest law. That commitment has shaped a career devoted not only to practicing public interest law, but also to creating opportunities for the next generation of lawyers to do the same.
Furst was named an Unsung Legal Hero by Minnesota Lawyer in 2018 and has served on the Equal Justice Works National Advisory Committee. Now, through the 40x40 Alumni Changemakers recognition, EJW is celebrating the breadth and lasting impact of a career dedicated to putting the ideals of public service into action.
