Faculty Directors
Deborah Burand is a Professor of Clinical Law at NYU Law, where she directs the International Transactions Clinic and is Faculty Co-Director of the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship. She writes and lectures on issues related to international finance, microfinance and microfranchise, impact investing, and social finance innovations such as social impact bonds, social entrepreneurship, and developing sustainable businesses at the base of the economic pyramid.
During 2010-2011, Burand served as general counsel to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the development finance institution of the United States. Earlier in her career, she worked in the environmental sector (Conservation International), microfinance sector (FINCA International and Grameen Foundation), and US government (Federal Reserve Board and Department of the Treasury). She also has worked in private practice at a global law firm, where, among other things, she supported, on a pro bono basis, the development of the world’s first debt-for-nature swap.
Burand is a member of the board and Investment Committee of the MicroBuild Fund, an impact investment fund sponsored by Habitat for Humanity International. She is an advisor to the Linked Foundation and Social Sector Franchise Initiative. She co-founded the Impact Investing Legal Working Group (IILWG) and Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) International.
Burand received her BA from DePauw University cum laude, and a joint degree, JD/MSFS with honors, from Georgetown University.
Helen Scott is Professor of Law and the founder and Co-Director of the Mitchell Jacobson Leadership Program in Law and Business at New York University School of Law, as well as Faculty Co-Director of the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship. In that capacity, she has participated in the development of innovative Law and Business courses, including Investing in Microfinance, Law & Business of Corporate Governance, and Professional Responsibility in Law and Business. Scott oversees the competitive Leadership Scholars program, and runs the capstone seminar for the program, Law and Business Projects. She has been a member of the NYU School of Law faculty since 1982 and teaches a wide variety of business law courses, including the basic Contracts and Corporations courses.
Scott currently serves on the Board of Directors of IEX LLC, the newly launched stock exchange. From 1999 to 2004, Scott co-chaired the Listing and Hearing Review Council of the NASDAQ Stock Market, an independent advisory committee to the board of directors, with primary responsibility for formulating and recommending corporate governance and quantitative listing standards for that market.
In 1997, Scott received the Legal Advocate of the Year award from the US Small Business Administration in recognition of her participation in the development of the Angel Capital Electronic Network (ACE-Net) project to increase financing available to early-stage entrepreneurial enterprises. Before joining the Law School faculty, Scott practiced law in Washington, DC, and New York.
Staff
Amaris White is the Executive Director of the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship. She is a mission driven social impact leader, with experiences in both the private legal sector and the nonprofit world.
Prior to joining the Grunin Center she was the Director of Operations at Catholic Charities of New York’s Youth Services Division, and the Director of Volunteer Services and Community Engagement for Catholic Charities of New York’s Federation of Agencies. Before joining the nonprofit world she was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Vice President and Senior Counsel at Citi.
Amaris received her BS in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, her BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and her JD from Columbia Law School.
Audrey Lee is the Program Associate of the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship. She is a research and project management professional with a background in nonprofits and public administration.
Before joining the Grunin Center, Audrey was the Senior Programs Officer at Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong, where her work focused on the project management and administration of a local transitional housing project. She also served as the Hong Kong office's Public Policy and Programs Committee Coordinator. Prior to her role at Habitat, Audrey worked at the New York City Department of Education in the Office of Community Affairs.
Audrey graduated magna cum laude with a BA in East Asian Studies from Princeton University.