Vera Institute of Justice

Adena Ajike is a research analyst with Vera's Advancing Universal Representation initiative, which is dedicated to establishing a federal right to representation for all people facing deportation. In her role, Adena supports senior staff with the initiative’s various research projects.

Before joining Vera in 2024, Adena worked as a research assistant on the Work Law and Social Movements project at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. They have also interned at the California State Assembly and UnCommon Law, an Oakland-based organization supporting justice-involved people through advocacy, legal services, mental health counseling, and programming. Adena served as co-editor-in-chief of the Berkeley Political Review, one of 13 journals in the Alliance of Collegiate Editors.

Adena holds a BA in political science and legal studies, with minors in Chinese language and journalism, from the University of California, Berkeley.