Public Interest Law and Policy Speakers 2016-2017

BRENDA HOLLIS

Chief Prosecutor, Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone PROFILE
Topic: International Criminal Law: A View from the Trenches – The Accidental Jurist  
Co-Sponsors:  Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, International Law Student Association
Video: [VIEW]

JARED BERNSTEIN

Keynote Speaker, Conference on Grand Challenges in Social Work Policy; Senior Fellow, Center on Budget & Policy Priorities; Former Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden  PROFILE
Topic: Social Innovation for America’s Renewal 
Co-Sponsors:  Brown School Center for Social Development, American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare, Brookings Institution, Society for Social Work & Research, Fund for Social Policy Education & Practice, the Federal Reserve Bank St. Louis, and the Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series

DEAN STRANG

Defense Attorney for Steven Avery, “Making a Murderer” (Netflix); Author, Worse Than the Devil: Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice in a Time of Terror (2013) PROFILE
Topic: Considering Systemic Injustice in Light of “Making a Murderer”: The Need for Criminal Justice Reform in America
Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series; Olin Business School

BRITTANY PACKNETT

VP of National Community Alliances for Teach For America PROFILE
Topic: Between the World and You: Our Duty to Fight for Freedom
Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series; First Year Book Program

EBOO PATEL

Founder, Interfaith Youth Core; Author, “Interfaith Leadership” (2016) and “Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America” (2012) PROFILE
[with JOHN INAZU, Professor of Law, Author, “Liberty: The Forgotten Freedom of Assembly” (2012) and “Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference” (2016)]
Topic: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America
Co-Sponsors:  Washington University Center for Diversity and Inclusion, John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement & Institutional Diversity, American Constitution Society, Federalist Society, Saudi Student Association, and Middle Eastern Law Student Association
Video: [VIEW]

IMANI PERRY

Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University PROFILE
Topic: Looking for Lorraine (Hansberry): The Enduring Legacy of a Path-Breaking Playwright
Co-Sponsors:  Keynote Speaker, Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship, 25th Anniversary Celebration and Alumni Reunion
Video: [VIEW]

DOUGLAS MCADAM

Professor of Sociology, Stanford University PROFILE
Topic: What a Long, Strange Trip Its Been: Race, Social Movements, and the 2016 Presidential Race
Co-Sponsors:  Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy; the Department of Sociology
Video: [VIEW]

ARSALAN IFTIKHAR

Founder, TheMuslimGuy.com; Senior Editor, The Islamic Monthly; Weekly Commentator, National Public Radio PROFILE
Topic: Scapegoats: How Islamophobia Helps Our Enemies & Threatens Our Freedom
Co-Sponsors:  Rabbi Isserman Lecture; Assembly Series, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, Office of Residential Life, American Constitution Society, Federalist Society, Saudi Student Association, and Middle Eastern Law Student Association
Video: [VIEW]

DAVID LOPEZ

General Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission PROFILE
Topic: Title VII: An American Conversation on Workplace Equality
Co-Sponsors:  Latin American Law Student Association, Black Law Students Association, Labor & Employment Law Society, Public Service Advisory Board, and OUTLaw
Video: [VIEW]

TOM MAIER

Author, “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How to Love”  PROFILE

Topic: Sex in America, Then and Now: The Lasting Legacy of Masters and Johnson

Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series, Woman’s Club of WU, Arts & Sciences’ Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Medical Humanities Program, Brown School, School of Medicine, Health Promotion Services/ Peer Health Educators, J-CUBES, Phi Lambda Psi, and WU

Political Review

MICHELLE ASHFORD

Creator and Show Runner, Showtime Series,” Masters of Sex” PROFILE

Topic: Sex in America, Then and Now: The Lasting Legacy of Masters and Johnson

Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series, Woman’s Club of WU, Arts & Sciences’ Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Medical Humanities Program, Brown School, School of Medicine, Health Promotion Services/ Peer Health Educators, J-CUBES, Phi Lambda Psi, and WU Political Review

SHANNON PRICE MINTER

Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights PROFILE

Topic: New Social and Legal Approaches to Supporting Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Children and Youth

Co-Sponsors:  Keynote Speaker, 2016 Transgender Spectrum Conference; Washington University Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Brown School of Social Work, Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Institutional Diversity, Law, Identity & Culture Initiative, Institute of Public Health, School of Medicine, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Department of Surgery, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and the School of Law; University of Missouri- St. Louis Gender Studies Department; University of Illinois-Springfield Diversity Center and LGBTQIA Resource Office; and PROMO

IAN GERSHENGORN

Acting Solicitor General of the United States PROFILE
Topic: A view of the Solicitor General’s powerful role in representing the government before the U.S. Supreme Court and in shaping important public policy.
Co-Sponsors:  The Mel and Pamela Brown Family Distinguished Visitor
Video: [VIEW]

DAN ARIELY

James B Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, Duke University PROFILE

Topic: The Art and Science of Self Control: How to Act in your Long-Term Best Interests

Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series, Brown School Envolve Center for Health Behavior Change

JOHN MCARTHUR

Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute Global Economy & Development;and Senior Advisor, U.N. Foundation; Former Deputy Director, U.N. Millennium Project PROFILE

Topic: The Sustainable Development Goals: Toward Better Living Standards for Everyone.

Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series, Brown School of Social Work Global Programs

MITT ROMNEY

2012 Republican Party Nominee for U.S. President and Former Governor of Massachusetts (2003-07)* PROFILE

Topic: Fireside Chat

Co-Sponsors:  Assembly Series

CHAI FELDBLUM

Commissioner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission* PROFILE
Topic: Protecting LGBTQ+ Progress in Challenging Times.
Co-Sponsors: OUTLaw; Assembly Series
Video: VIEW

PHILLIPE SANDS

Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals, University College London PROFILETopic: East West Street: On the Origins of ‘Genocide’ and ‘Crimes Against Humanity

Co-Sponsors: Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, Assembly Series, Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers

Video: VIEW

WILLIAM BIRDTHISTLE

Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law* PROFILE

Topic: Investing for an Uncertain Future Symposium

Co-Sponsors: Washington University School of Law and Olin School of Business

MATTHEW DESMOND

John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and Co-director of the Justice & Poverty Project, Harvard University PROFILE

Topic: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

Co-Sponsors: Brown School of Social Work, St. Louis Metropolitan Equal Housing & Opportunity Council