Health Justice Leader
Rossi Paola Vargas Daly Unites Public Health Research with Criminal Law Advocacy
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Key Points
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She earned a Juris Doctor in May 2023 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law via a part-time weekend program, graduating magna cum laude and first in her class.
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While in law school, she was licensed to practice as a student attorney under Illinois Supreme Court rules in Loyola’s Health Justice Project, a medical-legal partnership.
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During her tenure as an Assistant District Attorney in New Mexico, she managed a Santa Fe felony intake docket of about 120 cases in Magistrate Court and a Rio Arriba County misdemeanor docket of about 200 cases, including domestic violence misdemeanors and first- through third-offense DWIs.
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Her NM prosecutor role was within New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
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Health Justice Project is described as a medical-legal partnership that serves clients whose legal needs affect health outcomes.
Rossi Paola Vargas Daly has built a career that moves between hospital waiting rooms and courtrooms. The Chicago attorney combines a public health research background with criminal prosecution experience, making her one of the few legal professionals to bridge both fields at a high level, according to Barchart and Financial Content.
Her résumé spans more than a decade of work. It includes six-plus years of health equity research, a Johns Hopkins master's degree in public health, a law degree earned at the top of her class, a state supreme court clerkship, and nearly two years as a felony and misdemeanor prosecutor in New Mexico.
Top Law School Graduate While Working and Parenting
Vargas Daly earned her Juris Doctor in May 2023 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She graduated magna cum laude and finished first in her class. That is especially notable because she completed the degree through a part-time weekend program — while working and raising a child, according to Barchart.
During law school, she practiced as a student attorney in Loyola's Health Justice Project. That program is a medical-legal partnership. It serves clients whose legal problems directly affect their health outcomes. She was licensed under Illinois Supreme Court rules to represent real clients while still a student, Financial Content reported.
Managing 300-Plus Cases as a New Mexico Prosecutor
From February 2024 to November 2025, Vargas Daly worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New Mexico's First Judicial District Attorney's Office. She handled two separate dockets at once. In Santa Fe, she managed a felony intake docket of about 120 cases in Magistrate Court, according to Barchart.
At the same time, she ran a Rio Arriba County misdemeanor docket of roughly 200 cases. That docket included domestic violence misdemeanors and first- through third-offense DWIs. Together, her two dockets topped 300 active cases, Financial Content reported.
Six Years Researching Health Equity at Lupus Foundation
Before law school, Vargas Daly spent more than six years conducting health equity research at the Lupus Foundation of America. Her work there focused on disparities in health outcomes. She also worked on federal grant projects and health-related legal matters, according to Barchart.
She also holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. Her graduate focus was on perinatal and reproductive health. That scientific grounding shaped her later legal work, particularly her time in the medical-legal partnership at Loyola, Financial Content noted.
Clerkship at New Mexico Supreme Court Bridged Both Worlds
Between law school and her prosecutor role, Vargas Daly clerked for the New Mexico Supreme Court. Judicial clerkships at that level are highly competitive. They give attorneys deep exposure to how courts interpret law at the highest state level, according to Barchart.
That clerkship, paired with her public health training, sets her apart in a legal field where science and law rarely meet. Her career path shows how professionals can move between public health systems and criminal justice — two areas that often affect the same communities, Financial Content reported.
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