Chelsea Zielke

Chelsea Zielke conducted her 2017-2018 WRP-funded research while a third-year law student in the University of Wisconsin Law School. She received her undergraduate degree from UW-Madison in history and political science with certificates in Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies and European Studies. Upon graduating, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova for two years where she taught English at the local school in a small village. While in law school, Zielke has worked at the Immigrant Justice Clinic and is a member of the Wisconsin Law Review. Last year, she was a Russian Foreign Language Area Studies fellow and continues to study Russian this year as well. 

Zielke’s research under her advisor, Kathryn Hendley, focused on Russian cases brought to the European Court of Human Rights. She is specifically interested in how Russian attorneys choose cases that are then litigated at this court. This includes whether Russian attorneys choose clients strategically, such as those that have the best chance of winning, or select cases in another manner.