Leaders in Public Interest Speaker Series
2011-2012
Monday, September 12
“Finding Heroes in a Small World”
Commissioner Julie Brill’85
Federal Trade Commission
Monday, September 19
“The Arab Spring: Justice and the Rule of Law in Times of Transition”
Marieke Wierda, LL.M. ’97,
Director, Criminal Justice Program, International Center for Transitional Justice
Monday, October 3
“Confronting Injustice”
Bryan Stevenson
Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative
Monday, October 10
“Celebrating Equality: The Repeal of ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ in Military Hiring”
Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
Sue Fulton, West Point Graduate and Former Army Captain
Jonathan Lee, Department of Defense
Josh Rosenkranz, Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Kenji Yoshino, NYU School of Law (Moderator)
Monday, October 17
“Arab Culture and Islam: Challenges in Diversity Education”
Debbie Almontaser, Founding Principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy
Monday, November 7
“The Federal Role in Enforcing and Defending the Nation’s Environment and Natural Resources Laws”
Assistant Attorney General Ignacia Moreno ’90, U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division
Monday, November 14,
"Advocating for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence Locally and Globally,”
Dorchen Leidholdt ‘88, Director of Sanctuary’s Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services
Monday, January 23
The Guarini Lecture
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries '97, New York State Assembly
Monday, January
“Is Social Justice Best Promoted by Being a Prosecutor or Public Defender?”
Robin Steinberg ’82
Daniel Alonso ‘90, Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Professor Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
Anne Milgram ’96, Former Attorney General of New Jersey
Erin Murphy, NYU School of Law
Monday, February 6
“Building Worker Power on the Job and in the Community: Labor Law as Public Interest Law”
Matthew J. Ginsburg ’05
Associate General Counsel, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Monday, February 27
“Litigating Civil Rights Impact Cases in the 21st Century”
David Hinojosa
Regional Counsel for Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Monday, March 5
Joette Katz
Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, Hartford, CT
Monday, March 19
“Scholarship in the Public Interest”
Jose Alvarez, NYU Law School
Randy Hertz, NYU Law School
Marne Lenox ’11
2010-2011
Monday, September 13
Diana DeGette '82
United States House of Representatives (D-CO)
The Attorney General Robert Abrams Public Interest Lecture
Monday, September 20
Martha Coakley
Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Monday, October 4
Sally Kohn '02
Chief Education Officer, Movement Vision Lab, New York
Monday, October 11
Professor Bryan Stevenson
New York University School of Law
Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, Alabama
Monday, October 18
Chris Lamb '86
Executive Director, MFY Legal Services, New York, NY
Monday, October 25
Gail Johnson
U.S. Department of Justice, Torts Branch, Civil Division, Washington, D.C.
Monday, November 1
Anthony Romero
Executive Director, ACLU, New York, NY
Monday, November 8
Lourdes Rosado '95
Juvenile Law Center, Philadelphia
Monday, January 24
Neil Barofksy '95
Special Inspector General, TARP, Washington, D.C.
Monday, January 31
Robin Steinberg '82, Bronx Defenders
Nigel Farinha '92, Manhattan District Attorney's Office
Tony Barkow, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law
Monday, February 7
Alan Houseman '68
Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy, New York, NY
Monday, February 28
Rose Gasner, New York City Department of Health
Hayley Gorenberg '92, Lambda Legal, New York, NY
Monday, March 7
Judge Amul Thaper
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
Monday, March 21
Professor Cristina Rodriguez, NYU School of Law
Professor Randy Hertz, NYU School of Law
Laura Abel, Brennan Center for Justice
Marne Lenox '11
2009-2010
The Attorney General Robert Abrams Public Interest Lecture
Monday, September 14
Andrew Cuomo
New York State Attorney General
Monday, September 21
Professor Bryan Stevenson
New York University School of Law
Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, Alabama
Monday, October 5
Rachel Meeropol ’02
Center for Constitutional Rights, New York, NY
Monday, October 12
Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
John Reinstein, ACLU of Massachusetts
Monday, October 26
Gail Johnson
Senior Trial Counsel, Torts Branch, Civil Division, U. S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
Monday, November 2
Vivek Maru
Timap for Justice, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Monday, November 9
Jennifer Cunningham ’91
KnickerbockerSKD, New York, NY
Monday, November 16
Lauren Shapiro, Brooklyn Family Defense Project
Kevin Ryan, Covenant House
Judy Waksberg, Legal Aid Society
Professor Marty Guggenheim, NYU School of Law
Public Interest Forum
Monday, January 11
Debo Adegbile ’94
Litigation Director, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, New York, NY
Monday, January 25
Diane Thompson ’94
National Consumer’s Law Center, Boston, MA
Monday, February 1
Derwyn Bunton ’98
Orleans Public Defenders Office, New Orleans, LA
Monday, February 22
Deborah Axt, Make the Road,
Michael Rothenberg ’91, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest,
Amy Sugimori ’99, La Fuente
Monday, March 1
Bruce Cohen
Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington, D.C.
Monday, March 8
Kaoru Okuizumi ’95
UN Peacekeeping Department, New York, NY
Monday, March 22
Professor Rachel Barkow, NYU School of Law
Professor Randy Hertz, NYU School of Law
Julie Ehrlich ’08, former ACLU fellow
2008-2009
September 8, 2008
The Attorney General Robert Abrams Public Interest Lecture
Anne Milgram ’96
New Jersey Attorney General
September 15, 2008
Jim Marston ’78
Regional Director, Environmental Defense Fund, Austin, TX
September 22, 2008
Professor Bryan Stevenson
New York University School of Law
Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, AL
October 6, 2008
Geri Palast ’76
Executive Director, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, New York, NY
October 20, 2008
Michael Cardozo
Corporation Counsel, New York City Law Department, New York, NY
October 27, 2008
David Raff ’70
Managing Partner, Raff & Becker LLP, New York, NY
November 17, 2008
Spencer Boyer ’95
Director, International Law and Diplomacy, Center for American Progress, Washington, D.C.
January 12, 2009
Public Interest Forum
Jonathan Leibowitz ’84
Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.
January 26, 2009
Robin Steinberg ’82
Founder and Executive Director, Bronx Defenders, Bronx, NY
February 2, 2009
Joanne Lin ’97
Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union, Washington, D.C.
Gregory Chen ’97
Director for Legislative Affairs, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Washington, D.C.
February 9, 2009
The Bickel & Brewer Latinos and the Law Lecture
John Trasviña
President, Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, Los Angeles, CA
February 23, 2009
Fred von Lohmann
Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA
March 2, 2009
Professor Sam Rascoff, NYU School of Law
Ben Wizner ’00, Staff Attorney, ACLU, New York, NY
Marshall Miller, Office of the U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of New York
March 9, 2009
Luisa Cabal
Director, International Program, Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, NY
March 23, 2009
Professor Lily Batchelder, Professor Randy Hertz, NYU School of Law
Julie Ehrlich ’08
2007-2008
September 24, 2007
Melvyn and Barbara Weiss Public Interest Forum
Lisa Kung ’97
Director, Southern Center for Human Rights, Atlanta, GA
October 1, 2007
Joel Klein
Chancellor , New York City Department of Education, New York, NY
October 8, 2007
Lynn Kelly ’82
Executive Director, MFY Legal Services, New York, NY
October 15, 2007
Professor Bryan Stevenson
New York University School of Law
Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama
October 22, 2007
Cary La Cheen ’88
Senior Attorney, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, New York, NY
October 29, 2007
Jonathan Abady ’90
Partner, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, New York, NY
November 12, 2007
Jonathan Cohen
Project Director, Law and Health Initiative, OSI Public Health Programs, New York, NY
November 19, 2007
David Udell ’82
Director, Justice Program, Brennan Center at NYU School of Law, New York, NY
January 14, 2008
The Attorney General Robert Abrams Public Interest Lecture
U.S. Senator Ken Salazar
State of Colorado
January 28, 2008
Robin Steinberg ’82
Founder and Executive Director, Bronx Defenders, Bronx, NY
February 11, 2008
Sarah Ludwig ’92
Executive Director, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, New York, NY
February 25, 2008
Jimmy Yan ’97
General Counsel, Office of Manhattan Borough President, New York, NY
Suzanne Demitrio
U.S. Department of Labor, New York, NY
March 3, 2008
Ivy Lee ’98
Director, Anti-Trafficking and Immigrant Rights Project, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, San Francisco, CA
March 10, 2008
Lori Wallach
Director, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, Washington, D.C.
March 24, 2008, 2008
Professor Randy Hertz, Professor Lilly Batchelder, and Laura Abel, Brennan Center,
NYU School of Law, New York, NY