Virginia’s professors have extensive experience in public policy through government posts, as consultants and as volunteers. Professors have started their careers in, or taken leave to work at, the Justice Department, the State Department, the Solicitor General’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security and more. Others have advised state officials on proper policing policies, or served on committees or commissions on intellectual property, mental health, legislative reform and national security issues. Still others have worked for NGOs and advocacy organizations focused on shaping public policy. Examples of current and past work include:

BARBARA E. ARMACOST ’89, attorney adviser, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel

ADITYA BAMZAI, member, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; attorney-adviser, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel

RICHARD J. BONNIE ’69, associate director, National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse; secretary of the first National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse; chair, Virginia Commission on Mental Health Law Reform; chair, Institute of Medicine committees; special assistant to the Attorney General of the U.S.; consultant to the Office of National Drug Control Policy; chair of Virginia State Human Rights Committee

ASHLEY DEEKS, White House associate counsel and deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council; assistant legal adviser for political-military affairs, State Department Office of the Legal Adviser; legal adviser, U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

MICHAEL DORAN, attorney advisor and acting deputy benefits tax counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department

JOHN DUFFY, member, Administrative Conference of the United States; attorney-adviser, Justice Department

KRISTEN EICHENSEHR, special assistant, State Department Office of the Legal Adviser

AMANDA FROST, staff attorney, Public Citizen; worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee

RACHEL HARMON, trial attorney, Justice Department, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section

JOHN C. HARRISON, counselor on international law, State Department; deputy assistant attorney general, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel

A. E. DICK HOWARD ’61, executive director of the commission that wrote Virginia's current constitution, counsel to the General Assembly of Virginia, counselor to the governor of Virginia and a consultant to state and federal bodies, including the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

CALE JAFFE, director, Virginia office, Southern Environmental Law Center 

MICHAEL LIVERMORE, member, Administrative Conference of the United States; executive director, Institute for Policy Integrity

PAUL G. MAHONEY, member, Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Advisory Committee

JOHN MONAHAN, member, Committee on Law and Justice of the National Research Council; member, Institute of Medicine

THOMAS NACHBAR, judge advocate, U.S. Army Reserve; senior adviser, Department of Defense, Office of Rule of Law and Detainee Policy; member, Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council

RICHARD M. RE, attorney, Justice Department, Criminal Appellate Section

A. SPRIGHTLEY RYAN, inspector general, Smithsonian Institution; trial attorney, Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department

MOLLY BISHOP SHADEL, attorney-adviser, Justice Department Office of Intelligence Policy and Review

PAUL B. STEPHAN ’77, counselor on international law, State Department; consultant to Treasury Department and World Bank; consultant to the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development